23 mins, 2004        [password required] What makes a company tick? This video explains basic business functions inside Cameron Balloons, the world’s largest maker of hot air balloons. Marketing: Like all firms, Cameron has to market its balloons. Specialist publications, “word of mouth” and the internet are vital parts of its “marketing mix”. Production: We show how a balloon is manufactured from the basic design to the production line. Personnel: Cameron employs 70 people and it’s down to the human resources department to do everything from hiring and firing to training people. Accounts: Tight control of the firm’s money is a key aim of the accounts function. To ensure they get paid, Cameron has a very simple formula - no money, no balloon. Structure: Textbooks imply businesses are divided up into functions and departments, but the real world doesn’t work like that. In Cameron everyone has to muck in to meet deadlines and solve problems.