Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: What are the different departments in a company?

  1. #1

    Default What are the different departments in a company?

    Hello Everyone!

    I'm trying to find a list of the different departments in a company. Like: Marketing, Human Resources, Finanical, Sales etc.....

    I thought a quick google search would result in a large list but I can't find one. Were in the service industry. We work with children with autism and I'm analyzing all the different departments in the company. I know I can look at our small co. and build the list but does anyone have or know where online I can get an exhaustive list please?

    Thanks !!

  2. #2
    Web Consultant
    Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    9,842
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I don't think you are going to find any definitive list of departments that are across the board for every organization. It's going to depend on the needs of the company and how it's structured. But there are hundreds of possibilities.
    You can literally make up any department name that you want and assign them any responsibilities that you see fit.
    Are you looking for something specific or a little more targeted?

  3. #3

    Default

    Thanks for responding eborg9!

    First of all Im looking for the main departments in any company, I thought it would take 1 min on google but couldnt find. I'm also interested in other departments too:

    So far I have these:

    Services
    Marketing
    Human Resources ( hiring, benefits etc..)
    Financial (includes AP, AR etc)
    Purchasing
    Sales
    IT
    Inventory
    Quality Asurance
    Insurance
    Licenses
    Operational
    Customers
    Staff
    Customer Service
    Organizational


    Can ANYONE think of some more? Thanks !!!!
    Last edited by Grindstone1; 03-17-2011 at 02:00 PM.

  4. #4
    Registered Member
    Array
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Baltimore, MD
    Posts
    8

    Default

    Some more include:

    Research & Development
    Market Development
    Business Development
    Management
    Engineering

  5. #5

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Posts
    39

    Default

    This is an older post, but we thought it may still be of interest to new viewers.

    To us, the question “What are the different departments in a company?” really means “How do I organize and manage my business?”

    In addressing these questions we like to go by how the MBA programs around the world divide the functions that each business needs to fulfill in order to be successful. They all identify 6 main areas that need to be properly managed:

    1) Strategy
    2) Marketing
    3) Operations
    4) Finance
    5) Human Resources (HR)
    6) Research and development (R&D)

    These 6 functions are universally important to any business but how each of them is being managed may be different based on each business specifics. We believe that even a “solopreneur” should always have these functions in their mind and try to address them.

    If you are looking to create (or improve) the organizational structure (i.e the “departments”) of your business you need to start by setting goals within each of the 6 functions. Next step is to design/create business processes to achieve those goals. Lastly you need to budget and allocate the necessary resources to execute those processes.

    At the end of this exercise you will have a good idea what departments you need and what exactly each of them is supposed to do, how many people do you need in each department and what skills do they need to have.

    You don’t have to re-invent the wheel however, you can look at how other businesses in your (or similar) industry are organized, exercise your own judgment as to how the 6 functions are being managed and whether you could organize things better in some areas to give yourself an advantage over the competition.

    This is just a high level framework, you can certainly find more details on the internet in any specific area, we did work and address on the website all of the above functions as well but just wanted to suggest here a thought process to help creating a business’ organizational structure.

    Last piece of advice, if you need help with thinking through how to organize or improve your business you can hire a consultant or if the budget is limited even a young MBA graduate can help you find solutions or provide some suggestions in regards to how to organize your business for best results.

    Hope this information was helpful and we are happy to answer if there may be any follow-up questions. Good luck!

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •