Career Management Skills Assignment

Part 1;

I have chosen to compare and contrast the three roles of Corporate Finance, Human Resources and Sales &Trading. All three roles can be found within the sub sector of banking and building societies, however all financial sub sectors require human resources departments. In addition to the banking sub sector Corporate Finance roles also appear in accounting sub sector, and Sales & Trading in the Investment Management & Pensions sub sector.

By working in Human Resources you will deal with the vast majority of the workforce, it is your job to look into how to motivate and ensure staff happiness as well as performance. In order to do this you would meet and discuss with managers, and construct new programmes in order to further enhance the skills of the companies' workforce.

In contrast traders work with clients or they trade with their organizations money in order to create greater revenue for their company. If working on the trading floor it is likely that a trader shall specialise in a certain field; such as foreign currency, futures & options, fixed interest bonds, or securities. If working with clients they would either have the role of directly buying and selling for the client as a market trader, or as a sales trader they would deal directly with the client, and advise them of market progress and of new interventions as well as placing orders for the clients. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan have these roles.

As a Corporate Finance Analyst there are various tasks to complete whilst likely working in a division of an accountancy firm such as PricewaterhouseCoopers or KPMG, or a division of an investment bank such as HSBC or Lloyds. These tasks can vary from raising capital to possibly address debt or expand in size, or structuring deals and valuing businesses. This therefore involves working with various clients and companies. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize corporate value while managing the firm's financial risks. Along with Trading, both roles can see the working environment change quickly, as meeting new clients may take place in a variety of places, and other work may take place within the office itself.

The three job roles require a high level of education, with all wanting an upper second-class degree, though Human Resources can be slightly more lenient with this. Trading requires a broad range of information regarding markets, regulations and eventually through training greater details with regards to a specific product. Corporate finance roles would appreciate this knowledge, but are more interested in the understanding of business strategies and structuring along with risk analysis, with a good development of all in a short time frame. Human Resources however looks more onto legal and regulatory aspects, though it is essential for an interest in behaviour and understanding of how to make the most of a workforce by ensuring the happiness and integration of individuals. Each role also has various professional qualifications, which may be required dependent on the exact task at hand.

Both Corporate Finance and trading have three significant levels of progression, which the initial stage shall help to enhance the understanding and experience of an individual. Earnings increase and bonuses are dependant on performance, and these bonuses can show an individuals success throughout that year. Human resources however have various levels of employment, going from assistant to director, each with different levels of experience required. Tasks go from maintaining records in the lower roles, to eventually creating strategy, and influencing business proposals at higher levels. Bonuses are not awarded on the same level as the other two roles, and therefore success can be measured by level and speed of progression to higher roles. HR

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