The Departments in an Office/Organization – JSS1 Business Studies Lesson Note (First Term)

An organisation is divided into departments, and each department handles one kind of work. In a large organisation, where division of labour and specialisation are practised, the departments include administrative, personnel, accounts, sales, purchasing and production. In a one-man business, the owner does most of these jobs, so departments are few.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• explain why large organisations have different departments;
• list the main departments in a large organisation;
• state the functions of the administrative and personnel departments;
• state the functions of the accounts, sales and purchasing departments.

Why do organisations have different departments?

The number of departments in an organisation depends on its size. In a one-man business, the owner can act as accountant, receptionist, clerk, manager, personnel manager and so on, so the departments are few.

In a large organisation, division of labour is practised. People with different fields of learning work in their own special areas, which is called division of labour and specialisation.

What are the departments in a large organisation?

In a large organisation, there are various departments. They include:

1. Administrative department
2. Personnel department
3. Accounts department
4. Sales department
5. Purchasing department
6. Production department

What are the functions of each department?

Administrative department

1. Formulating policies
2. Arranging a reception room for visitors to the organisation
3. Maintaining an efficient filing system
4. Documenting incoming and outgoing letters

Personnel department

1. Employing new staff
2. Arranging staff training
3. Looking after staff welfare
4. Keeping staff records
5. Carrying out staff dismissal

Accounts department

1. Preparing and paying staff wages and salaries
2. Keeping records of assets and liabilities
3. Paying those the organisation owes
4. Collecting money from outsiders who owe the organisation
5. Making sure that invoices are sent to those who purchased goods from the organisation
6. Offering financial advice to the organisation

Sales department

1. Selling and marketing the organisation’s products
2. Advertising the organisation’s products
3. Offering after-sales services
4. Following changes in consumers’ tastes

Purchasing department

1. Buying new materials and equipment at reasonable prices
2. Monitoring the available goods in the market
3. Checking invoices submitted by suppliers to ensure they agree with the goods supplied

Evaluation

1. What are the functions of the administrative department?
2. Write a short note on the personnel department.
3. Mention four functions of the sales department.
4. What is the personnel department?

Revision questions

1. Give another name for a large organisation.
2. Give two examples of a large organisation that exists in Nigeria.
3. List four different departments that can be found in such an organisation.
4. Mention three functions of the personnel department.
5. Why do you have different departments in most large organisations?

Assignment

Reading assignment

Business Studies for J.S.S.1 by O. A. Lawal, page 34.

Weekend assignment

1. The department that is responsible for staff welfare is …….. (a) personnel (b) accounts (c) sales
2. The department that is responsible for advertising the organisation’s products is …….. (a) purchasing (b) administrative (c) sales
3. The department that is in charge of staff dismissal is …….. (a) personnel (b) production (c) purchasing
4. The department that is responsible for keeping records of the organisation’s assets and liabilities is …….. (a) accounts (b) sales (c) purchasing
5. The department that formulates the organisation’s policies is …….. (a) production (b) marketing (c) administrative

Theory

1. Mention four different departments in an organisation.
2. Mention three functions of the personnel department.