Let's begin by listing out the information given to us:
[tex]\begin{gathered} 1\text{ department = 7 }salesclerks \\ x,\text{department = }294\text{ }salesclerks \\ \Rightarrow1=7 \\ x=294 \\ \text{Cross Multiply, we have:} \\ 7x=294 \\ x=42departments \end{gathered}[/tex]