What are the business functions in an organization?
Business functions are the activities carried out by an organization. The business functions can be divided into mainline functions and support functions.
Below is a Reference Model for Business Functions:
Business Functions in the Organization.
Mainline functions are the core activities that directly contribute to creating and delivering products or services. These typically include operations, sales, marketing, product development, and customer service. These functions are critical to fulfilling the organization’s mission and generating revenue.
Support functions, on the other hand, enable and enhance the performance of the mainline functions but do not directly generate revenue. These include human resources, finance, legal, IT services, and procurement. While not directly involved in producing goods or services, these functions ensure the organization runs smoothly and efficiently.
Defining business functions helps organizations improve coordination, assign responsibilities, optimize processes, and align activities with strategic goals. A business functions model provides a structured way to analyze and manage these areas, supporting better governance, process improvement, and organizational agility.
Read Also