High School and School

The author of this brief report has been asked to engage in a critical analysis of two main components to the typical operations of a business. The two specific organizational facets that will be mentioned in this brief essay are marketing and finance in a hierarchal organization. These two very important topics will be linked to organizational theory along the way. Indeed, the linkages and pathways that link finance and marketing worth the organizational body of knowledge are significant and well-studied. With that, there should be a focus on more modern iterations and versions of the theory. While there are many other important parts of making the proper strategic decisions and keeping an organization in good standing, the importance of marketing and finance to a firm and its organizational strategy cannot be overstated.
Analysis
True to what was referenced in the introduction to this report, the first of the two primary topics that will be covered would be marketing. It is commonly known within the scholarly body of knowledge that there are some very important aspects to marketing for many to most firms. Two of the more important concepts to take to heart would be differentiation and what gives a firm a competitive edge from a marketing standpoint. Indeed, there has to be the duality of what makes a firm different and how that difference gives the company an edge. That advantage can come from any number of sources or a combination of the same (Munteanu, 2015). Just a few examples would include elite materials, low price point or some sort of coolness appeal (Datta, Ailawadi & Van Heerde, 2017). A good example of the latter would be Apple and their range of products (Sundar, Tamul & Wu, 2014). In more modern marketing contexts, even things like sustainability and other facets of corporate social responsibility can be a selling point (Walsh & Dodds, 2017). Regardless of how it manifests, marketing is all about differentiation, showing why one’s own service is superior to that of another company’s and so forth (Munteanu, 2015).
The other primary item that links strongly to organizational efficacy and performance and that will be mentioned in this essay is finance. While not true of all firms or situations, it is necessary to have a firm and defined command line so that there is no confusion about who makes any final calls or decisions. This is especially true when it comes to the finances of a firm (Bozhiday, 2016). The ways in which finances are very important to an organization and its function are numerous. One example is the credit rating of a firm because this affects its ability to borrow and leverage debt to expand and invest (White, 2016). The strategic goals and plans vis-à-vis finance will vary from firm to firm or form organization to organization based on the priorities and strategic goals of any given group. What should not vary, however, is the presence of firm and regimented governance to ensure that funds are allocated and spent properly and ethically (Ayyagari, Demiguc & Maksimovic, 2011).
Not only is it important to look at the facets of an business or other organization as singular parts, it is also important to look at how they interact and how they truly matter when it comes to the broader paradigm of organizational theory. Indeed, departments like finance and marketing do not work and function in a vacuum. Instead, there is a great amount of reliance and interaction between these important departments. A basic example would be the fact that the marketing efforts of a firm would have to be financed. As one might expect, the financial department of a firm would be responsible for making sure that the funds are supplied for such endeavors. Even with that, the satiation of organizational needs does not just flow one way. Indeed, the marketing arm of an organization is responsible for creating new business and revenue for the firm. If marketing fails in their endeavors, the money to finance any part of the firm, let alone just marketing, will eventually dry up. This is but one example of how even though each individual part of a business is important in its own right, there are always examples of how all of the departments rely on the others to complete their tasks and attain their goals. Finance has to be there to properly allocate and manage the money and marketing has to do its part to keep that money coming into the firm’s coffers. The same arguments and connections can be made when it comes to other departments as well. Just a few examples would be human resources, legal and customer service. There are perhaps some roles that are more important than others. For example, some may suggest that departments that are in the “income stream” of the firm are more important (Arditti, . Even if that makes sense in some ways, there are departments that are indeed a “drag” on the bottom line. Even so, some of those departments not in the income stream will lead to chaos and problems galore if they are not paid the proper attention (Palihawadana, Oghazi & Liu, 2016). For example, many firms are wont to just ignore and avoid any spending on matters that involve corporate social responsibility. This would commonly be a mistake, especially from the aforementioned marketing standpoint. Indeed, many Millennials and other current consumers are very fixated and aligned with the topic of corporate social responsibility. If those discerning consumers get the sense that corporate social responsibility is the antithesis of what a given firm is concerned about, the reaction can be rather negative. Even if it is deemed to be not enough of a priority for a firm, that alone can create perception problems (McGlone, Spain & McGlone, 2011). The lesson to take from that is that just because it is not a priority to a business owner or decision-maker does not mean it will not impact the organization or its finances. On the other hand, placing one’s attention on the right priorities can lead to better results with the bottom line (Gogoli, 2015).


Conclusion
Even if the organizational structures of different firms vary and look different, it is important that the structure that does exist in any given case to make sense given the needs, norms and customs of that particular business or industry. Contrary to what some people may think, there is not a single and monolithic way that organizations must be structured and operate. However, there are some best practices that firms should abide by and there are also things that should generally be avoided such as lack of command and control. It is only when the differing departments and functions of a company work in unity and in synchronization can a firm truly realize its potential and operate as well as it could and should.














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