In an enterprise, various functional areas work cohesively to ensure the smooth operation and success of the organization. These functional areas are interconnected and hierarchically structured to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and achieve overall business objectives. The main functional areas in an enterprise typically include marketing, finance, human resources, operations, and information technology.

Marketing is responsible for creating awareness, promoting products or services, and understanding customer needs. It interacts closely with the sales department to drive revenue and establish a strong market presence. Finance manages the organization's monetary aspects, handling budgeting, financial reporting, and investment decisions. The finance department collaborates with other areas to allocate resources effectively and support strategic initiatives.

Human resources (HR) focuses on managing personnel, recruitment, training, and employee relations. It plays a crucial role in fostering a positive organizational culture and ensuring that the workforce aligns with the company's goals. HR is closely linked with operations to ensure adequate staffing levels and optimal utilization of human capital.

Operations involve the day-to-day activities that contribute to product or service delivery. This area collaborates with all other departments to ensure a seamless production process and timely delivery of goods or services. Information technology (IT) supports the organization by managing technological infrastructure, software, and data. It is interlinked with every functional area, providing the necessary tools and systems for efficient business operations.

The hierarchical structure within these functional areas is designed to facilitate effective communication, decision-making, and coordination. Typically, each functional area has a department head or manager overseeing its operations, and these leaders report to higher-level executives or the CEO. This hierarchical structure ensures that information and directives flow smoothly from top management down to the operational level and vice versa.

As for the company's career hierarchy, it depends mainly on short- and long-term strategic planning, and then the pyramid is structured according to each skill for each profession.

In order to link these functional elements based on the company's hierarchy, the company's strategic planning must be divided into a set of objectives for each function in order to achieve all the main planned objectives.

For me, Marketing is the most important since it is the area that provides income atracting clients with strategies. On the hand, hi-tech enterprises may consider the research and development área as the most important to remain competitive in markets

The typical hierarchi in a company is :

1. The board of directors

2. CEO

3. Reporting directly to the CEO: CFO, CMO, COO, CIO normally in the same hierarchical level and depending on the focus and relevance the company gives to human talent, wouldn't be rare to see the head of HR or Talent Acquisition and the Chief HSE (depending on the industry) in this same level.

4. Managers and heads of departments would be next

A comment asside the question: In my opinion, to have a top of the line talent acquisition and retention policy and processes is pivotal to the success of a company. We can have the best organizational chart, the best ERP and all the information and reporting flows at the maximum level of detail, but at the end of the day, the type of leadership, the degree of committment and integrity within the ranks of the organization are key to win any battle.

These functioning ares will probably vary from one enterprise to another sepending on the organisational vission and mission(Strategy). But we cannot miss the basic ones like Human Resources, IT, Research and Development and of course the organisational bloodline in terms finances.

Again the interconnectivity and hierarchically structure will follow the enterprises vision and mission. I would perhaps suggest the follwing structure. However, the size of the enterprise can necessitate more bigger structures and more departments.

Executive director

Finance director.........................Human resorce director................R & D.........................IT

# Operations # Training # Marketing

# Budgeting # Competency and skil # e-marketing

# Planning # social media

Las áreas funcionales de la empresa son actividades de carácter homogéneo y coordinado, que se realizan para alcanzar los objetivos organizacionales. En algunas empresas, son: Dirección, producción, finanzas, marketing y recursos humanos suelen mencionarse como las funciones básicas, pero no únicas en razón de las características particulares de cada firma. Éstas son unidades especializadas dentro de la empresa, es importante conocer y determinar cuáles tareas y procesos son responsabilidad de cada una, solo así será posible alcanzar altos niveles de eficiencia que garanticen el mejor desempeño organizacional

Sugeriría diferenciar sistemas, subsistemas, procesos o actividades, por una parte y, de la otra, las estructuras organizativas o puestos de trabajo que sustentan aquellas. Unas y otras, dependen de variables como el entorno regulatorio y social en general de la empresa, su pertenencia o no a una entidad superior (corporación, división, etc.), tamaño (muy grande, grande, mediana, pequeña, micro), sector, etc. Una empresa debe tener procesos sustantivos de producción, mercadotecnia y logística; su gerencia se debe realizar en un ciclo directivos cuyas funciones convencionalmente son: planificación (estratégica y corriente), organización (diseño y rediseño de procesos, estructuras y puestos de trabajo), gestión (de crisis, rutinas e innovaciones) y control; así como dirigir recursos de 6 tipos: humanos (pueden ser un el área funcional), materiales, espacio (ambos pueden serlo por el área funcional ya mencionada de logística), tiempo (mediante la planificación), información (mediante un sistema informativo asociado al ciclo directivo) y dinero (Finanzas).

When talking about main functional areas of an enterprise some aresa can not be over ruled, because here we talking about

Functional areas working together in an organisation to achieve the organisational set goals.

Marketing which is solely Responsible for promoting products or services to maintain clients.

Finance:Manages monetary aspects, including budgeting and financial reporting.

Human Resources (HR):

Deals with employee-related matters, hiring, training, and HR policies.

Operations:

Focuses on efficient processes to deliver products or services.

Information Technology (IT):

Manages technology infrastructure and supports software/systems.

Sales and Logistics

Engages with customers to sell products or services and ensure it get delivered.

Research and Development

Innovates and develops new products or improves existing ones.

When we say the main functional areas of an enterprise whether it can be a big matrix structured or simple organization that engaged in product manufacturing or service rendering, the functional areas varies however marketing/sales, finance and production/operation functions are more common as it stated in most OM books. It doesn't mean other functions are ignored as they can support another functions, in this regard, Porter's clearly identified as Primary & support functions in an organization.

So, in all these functions there maybe a system and sub-system to get a product or render a service as in a holistic approach and all shall be responsible for an organization success. Besides, as an integrated functional unites a process-view theory is more important in each functional & sub-system process.

@To all researchers who have contributed, I agree with your thoughts.

I would add thoughts on the two major types of enterprises; Manufacturing and Services with their unique differences.

I add to the functions mentioned above; Production, Legal, 3-in-1; Procurement, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Accounting ( Independent of Finance)

Marketing and Sales (M/S) Supply Chain Management (SCM) Accounting and Finance (A/F) Human Resources (HR)

In an enterprise, there are several main functional areas, each responsible for specific tasks and contributing to the overall functioning of the organization. While the structure and interconnections can vary depending on the size and nature of the enterprise, the following are commonly recognized functional areas:

These functional areas are interconnected and hierarchically structured to ensure smooth operations and alignment with organizational goals. For instance:

• Operations management relies on input from various departments such as finance, marketing, and IT to optimize production processes.
• Marketing and sales activities are supported by data provided by IT and insights from market research conducted by the research and development department.
• Finance and accounting provide financial support to all other functional areas, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and budgets are managed effectively.
• Human resources management collaborates with all departments to ensure that the organization has the necessary talent to achieve its objectives and that employees are effectively trained and motivated.
• Information technology enables communication and data sharing among different functional areas, streamlining processes and enhancing collaboration.
• Supply chain management coordinates with operations, finance, and other departments to ensure timely delivery of products or services while minimizing costs.
• Customer service interacts with customers based on information gathered from marketing, sales, and IT systems to address their needs and concerns effectively.

Overall, the hierarchical structure ensures that each functional area has clear roles and responsibilities, while the interconnectedness ensures alignment and collaboration across departments to achieve organizational objectives.