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Tarmac’s functions – working together CURRICULUM TOPICS

towards its mission statement • Operations

• Technical
• Human Resources
• Finance
Introduction
Tarmac was formed in 1903 as TarMacadam Syndicate Limited. The original name came
from the developer of the modern road construction system John MacAdam. It is now part of
Anglo American plc. In 2005 the Anglo American group had sales of around £21 billion
worldwide and 195,000 employees in 50 countries. GLOSSARY

Tarmac forms 90 per cent of Anglo American’s Industrial Minerals division. Its sales in 2005 Mission statement: a
were around £210 million and it employed 13,000 staff. A mistaken belief is that Tarmac short statement that spells
out what an organisation is
only mends our roads.
trying to achieve.

Tarmac’s mission statement Corporate planning:

All organisations have a purpose and this can be shown in the form of a mission the long-term process that
statement. Tarmac’s is: starts with the mission
statement and finishes with
‘To be the first choice for building materials and services that meet the essential needs for the
the preparation of budgets.
development of the world in which we live.’ The organisation sets aims
and objectives and
From this we know: develops priorities for
• Tarmac wants to be the first name a person thinks of when considering building materials achieving those objectives.
• its products are essential for building
Budgeting: corporate
• it is an organisation that behaves responsibly with sustainability in mind. aims and objectives,
translating them into plans
A mission statement can be used as the starting point for corporate planning, that are expressed in money
budgeting and corporate governance rules. Tarmac also uses its mission statement for and quantities.
setting such things as corporate values or culture as well as human resource
Corporate governance:
principles. ways in which organisations
are managed and the way
Tarmac expands on its mission statement by stressing four key corporate values. These are being: they deal with and relate to
• reliable the outside world.
• responsive
Corporate values:
• understanding company behaviour,
• straightforward. procedures, business
decisions and relationships.
Elements at Tarmac
Culture: the way an
The table below shows how the company is organised and the various support functions organisation deals with the
needed: people who work for it and
with its stakeholders and
others.
Business Units Functions Support Functions
Human resource
Human Resources principles: aspects such as
Aggregate Products Operations Strategy, Marketing and Technical dedication to its products
Building Products Technical Finance (inc IT, Procurement and services, respect for staff
International Business Commercial & Supply Chain) members, support for
individual growth and
TA R M A C

development and
commitment to a culture of
Tarmac operates both aggregate and building product operations internationally. It works in a responsibility.
wide variety of countries, including Poland, Spain, Romania, Turkey, Belgium, China, the
Czech Republic, France and the Middle East.

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GLOSSARY
International
environmental
certification: the
recognition by one or
more organisations such as
the International Standards
Organisation that a
company’s environmental
policies and procedures
are of a high standard.
Tarmac Porous
Pavement: this reduces
the risk and costs of flash
flooding through its
environmentally friendly
drainage system.
Tertiary sector: the
service sector of an
economy, which is typified
by such services as transport
and distribution, retailing,
banking, insurance,
healthcare and the media.
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Important functions within Tarmac
Operations
In general, Tarmac’s operations are:
• managing the utilisation of raw materials and the production process
• aligning production to market and customer needs
• gathering ideas to share across the company thus improving efficiency
• managing Health, Safety and the environment
• implementing sustainable projects e.g. restoring quarries after use
• supply chain management including transport and logistics.
Tarmac’s ‘operations’ can be split into two groups:
• Production operation and operations management – staff are involved with producing the
wide product range that Tarmac offers its clients, for projects such as road construction,
and sports pitches.
• Engineering Department - this department is concerned with developing and maintaining
the plant and infrastructure needed to make the products. It is its aim to continue to
produce the products more effectively at a lower cost.
Tarmac invested £110 million in its cement plant in Buxton (Derbyshire) trebling its output.
This site now produces 43% more than expected when the new operation was first planned.
Operating improvements and growth do not happen by accident. Tarmac encourages
employees to come up with good ideas, so these can be discussed, adapted and
implemented throughout the business.
Because of this:
• last year 92% of sites were free from time lost through injuries
• in 2005 Tarmac won the Quarry Products Association’s Best Practice Award for
Occupational Health.
Tarmac is aware of the long-term effects of quarrying sand and gravel. Working with
organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) it has:
‘… restored reed beds so the Bittern can return to the area. Working with the RSPB, we restore
and prepare previously excavated land ready for the planting of reeds. The RSPB then
manages and monitors the land and the wildlife it attracts.’
Tarmac has earned international environmental certification for 73% of its industrial
sites and aims to push that to 100% by 2007. By working in a responsible way, Tarmac is
making itself and its environment more sustainable.
Technical
Technical people:
• solve technical issues raised by operations and commercial departments
• liaise with technical support functions and customers
• ensure that the products sold to customers meet national and international standards in
terms of quality.
For example an individual from operations could find a way to reduce the size of the average
grain of sand before it goes into a concrete mixer. Technical operators, scientists, engineers and
systems engineers would all work together so that the process could be used company-wide.
It is not unusual to find that technical staff earn patents for their organisations, i.e:
Tarmac is …the first to the UK market after successful trials in Wolverhampton and Bristol,
working with the Transport Research Laboratory… the Tarmac Porous Pavement
technology to be used in housing developments, retail and business parks, and car parks.
In order for Tarmac to achieve such results, it needs to look at safety, health and the
environment.
Commercial
The commercial aspect of Tarmac’s organisation is part of the tertiary sector work it does. This
includes:
• dealing with customers – ‘Customer First’ programme
• feeding into the marketing department
• liaising with suppliers.
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Tarmac deals with businesses, non-profit-making organisations and government bodies.

Service is just as important to these customers as it is to high street consumers.

However, Tarmac regards good service as vital. It asks its customers what they think of the www.thetimes100.co.uk
ways in which it works for them. It strives to improve by:
• understanding customer needs
• providing on-time deliveries
• giving timely notification of delivery delays GLOSSARY
• effectively handling complaints.
Strategic partners: the
This process is more efficient if the company and its customers communicate well because suppliers and customers of
then customers will inform Tarmac of their needs. One way of communicating the ‘Customer an organisation without
First’ approach is through the marketing team. which it could not perform
to the levels of efficiency to
which it aspires.
Representatives constantly meet customers. They learn useful information while getting sales
orders. It might be gossip for the customer but it is business intelligence for Tarmac.

Suppliers are now seen as strategic partners. Tarmac is concerned, therefore, with
building long-term relationships with organisations which are important to its future success.
Working with suppliers needs as much effort as working with customers because their input is
vital to the efficient delivery of a product.

Tarmac has high standards and expects the same from its suppliers. These include:
• regarding safety as paramount
• competitive prices and terms of supply
• innovation and research
• ethical working practices.

Support functions
Human Resources
Tarmac’s Human Resources (HR) department focuses on the following areas:
• Organisational Development including managing change, training and development
• HR Operations including recruitment, selection and employee life cycle
• Compensation and Benefits
• Pensions
• HR Administration.

It aims to ensure that:

• the Tarmac values are shared across the company
• employee satisfaction is increased which in turn can drive customer satisfaction.

One area in which HR is involved is recruitment. When a company recruits someone,

selection will be done by HR and the employing department working together. Induction and
training are the next steps. These are also managed by HR and the employing department.

HR ensures that, once recruited, staff remain. Moreover, as people need to develop and
maintain skills, HR is usually responsible for staff development.

It also monitors incentives and bonuses. A company recruits the best and it must reward staff
properly in order to retain them.

Tarmac has its own website for graduate trainees: www.gradlife.co.uk. This is designed to
show that Tarmac is the place to work.

Tarmac’s HR strategy ensures that its corporate values are shared and maintained across the
company. Staff are expected to follow its four key corporate values.
TA R M A C

Tarmac sees these values as essential for:

‘…helping us to carry out our work day in, day out; they guide us in our dealings with each
other and with our customers; ultimately, they are the bedrock of the culture of the company.’

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GLOSSARY
Brand: a name, symbol
or design used to identify
a specific product and to
differentiate it from its
competitors.
Finance function: the
general carrying out of all
financially related
operations in an
organisation.
Foreign exchange:
expressing of one currency
in terms of another.
Export credit
guarantees: a form of
insurance used by
exporters to guarantee that
they will be paid for the
goods and services even if
the customer defaults on
their duty to pay.
Hedging: the anticipation
of potential losses in the
finance markets by buying
and selling in advance.
Interest payments: the
costs of borrowing.
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of information, neither the publisher nor the client can be held responsible for errors of omission or commission.
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Strategy, Marketing and Technical
Strategy
In business terms, strategy is a relatively new concept. Strategy, strategic development and
strategic management are key roles in their own right. Additionally, various managers and
levels of management are involved in many different ways. The management team undertakes
a review with the aim to improve returns on investment and to identify parts of the company
not performing as well as others.
Marketing
Tarmac's marketing team is involved in four key activities to help it achieve its mission statement:
• gaining insight into markets and customers’ needs
• applying this knowledge to inform strategy development and marketing plans, and identify
new product ideas and services
• managing the Tarmac brand image and external communications through a broad range
of communication channels including public relations, advertising, website development,
e-marketing, brochures and exhibitions
• leading internal communications through the company magazine, newsletters, intranet and
conferences.
Technical
Through its technical team, Tarmac constantly looks for new and innovative solutions, for
example FoamMaster. This combines proven foamed bitumen technology with cold mix
production and paving. The result is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative
to hot asphalt materials.
Finance
No business can survive without cash or some form of credit, so to ensure it does not run out
of money, it needs to manage its finances properly.
Any company with sales in the region of £210 million is a big business and therefore
relatively complex. The finance function of any large business includes:
• bookkeeping
• accounting
• credit control
• finance
• taxation
• management accounting
• auditing.
A global business such as Tarmac also requires financial expertise in:
• foreign exchange
• export credit guarantees
• hedging of foreign exchange and interest payments.
Conclusion
Organisations like Tarmac are no longer mere factories or large scale projects. They are
organisations that have serious objectives tied to a commitment to achieving them. Tarmac is
also dedicated to operating as ethically as possible.
Working in a multinational and multi-functional environment like Tarmac is varied. There are
many departments that work together, e.g. an accountant working with an engineer, who in
turn works with a production controller.
Questions
1. Are the following statements true or false?
a. The Human Resources department is a Business Unit
b. Finance excludes IT and Procurement
c. A Business Unit is only British based.
2. Use the Tarmac case study to explain the
difference between marketing tactics and
marketing strategy.
3. We learn in the Tarmac case study that several
areas of the business often work together to
solve problems. Give an example that is not
from the case study to illustrate such a situation. www.tarmac.co.uk