The Roles & Responsibilities of Employees (Edexcel IGCSE Business)

• The organisational structure of a business determines the roles, responsibilities and relationships between individuals in an organisation 

Diagram: Business Roles

Larger firms are usually arranged into functional departments such as finance and marketing, which are led by directors who carry the final responsibility for the work of everyone in the department 

The role of Directors

• Larger businesses often have a board of directors who make key strategic business decisions such as
  • Implementing new corporate policies
  • Investment of retained profit and share capital
  • Growth objectives
    
    
• The board normally consists of a senior employee from each department, officers (such as treasurer or secretary) and the owner or chief executive officer (CEO) of a business
  
  

The role of Managers

• Managers have many responsibilities in the business and help it to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis
• Types of managers include senior and functional managers, line managers and supervisors
    

Roles & Responsibilities of Managers

Role	Responsibilities
Senior Manager	Plan to achieve the business’ overall goals Set long-term plans and targets for the business Contribute to strategic decisions
Functional Manager	Work to achieve the short and long-term targets set by the directors and senior managers Responsible for running a function within the business, e.g. marketing or finance Make operational decisions Use employees and other resources in the best possible ways
Supervisor/Team Leader	Help managers achieve their targets by reporting any problems and passing on instructions Take simple decisions such as allocating jobs among different employees

 
 
The role of Operational & Support Staff

• Operational staff complete tasks to which they are directed by their manager(s)
  • E.g. In a department store operational staff include customer service representatives, sales assistants and security staff
    
    
• Support staff assist with the non-core operations of a business
  • E.g. In a bank support staff may include cleaners, IT technicians and human resources assistants

• Delegation is a process where responsibility for specific tasks is given to subordinates by managers 
  • Delegation usually involves transferring authority from manager to subordinate
  • E.g. the Human Resources Director of a large company delegates authority for recruitment and training to the Recruitment and Training Manager
    
    
• Delegation is particularly important in businesses with a flat organisational structure, where managers have wide spans of control

The Advantages of Delegation

Advantages for Managers	Advantages for Workers
Allows managers to concentrate on important tasks Managers do not have the time to do complete every task themselves	Delegation allows workers to feel empowered in decision making This can motivate as staff are trusted to perform a job well
Helps managers to measure the performance of their staff as they can judge how well subordinates carry out these tasks	Provides a form of training as workers learn on the job thus increasing job opportunities to progress within the organisation
Can help to reduce errors if managers delegate Workers may be skilled in certain areas and have sufficient time to complete the task to a higher standard	Makes employees work more interesting and rewarding This could reduce absenteeism and labour turnover

• Despite its advantages some managers are reluctant to delegate as they lose some control over decision-making
  • Managers may need support to be able to balance trust and control to delegate appropriate tasks
  • Autocratic leaders may not be willing to give authority to others
  • Some managers may feel threatened by highly skilled subordinates seeking promotion