Office Management: Scope and Functions

• This unit explores the nature and scope of office management.

Objectives

• Describe the meaning and scope of an office.
• Outline the functions of a modern office.
• Explain the principles of office organization.
• Distinguish between centralization and decentralization of office services.
• Describe the processes of office management.
• Discuss the functions and status of an office manager.

Introduction to the Office

• Visiting various offices like schools, colleges, and government facilities is a common part of daily life for various tasks.
• An efficient office enables tasks to be done quickly.

Meaning of Office Services

• A modern office plays an integral role in any organization.
• Managers rely on recorded information in office records to efficiently conduct managerial functions.
• Ready accessibility of records and documents is crucial for managers to perform business activities effectively.
• This unit covers the meaning, importance, functions of a modern office, principles of office organizations, the central process of office management, and the roles within an office.

Defining the Modern Office

• In a rapidly changing society, every business encounters fast evolving conditions.
• Constant changes in techniques of productions are challenging.
• Markets are also evolving.
• To manage, changes require "Information" as well as assistance.
• Information must be collected, retained, analyzed and supplied.
• The term "office" commonly refers to a place where paperwork is done.
• The common perception of an office involves clerks and officers sitting, writing on paper, and managing files.
• However, office work goes beyond just paperwork and isn't confined to a specific location.
• Traditionally, office work was seen as only involving the records of a company for future reference.
• Traditionally, the purpose of an office was to give assistance to other departments through only clerical operations.
• Modern view: An office is an administrative center where relevant records are prepared, preserved, and available for efficient management.
• In a broad sense, an office offers service functions and clerical work.
• The contemporary office needs personnel that can receive and process records, supply information, and do clerical tasks like receiving and mailing letters, typing, duplicating, and maintaining files.
• 'Office' is defined as a place where records are prepared, handled, preserved and made available when required, its nature of work is significant
• Office activities concern the collection, processing, and supply of information to business managers for decision making.
• Activities involve managing documents, copying, filing, classifying, preserving, and quickly locating relevant information.
• The office is responsible for processing and presenting numerical data in statements and reports, managing internal and external correspondence and providing internal and external communications.
• Offices maintain public relations through press releases and notifications, responding to public inquiries and complaints.

Functions of a Modern Office

• A modern office does 2 functions: primary/basic & administrative/management.

Primary Functions

• Primary or basic functions of an office consist of receiving, recording, arranging, analyzing and giving information.
• Every organization receives information from internal and external sources through various forms like letters, circulars, memos, orders, reports, etc.
• Internal sources: Information from within the organization comes from departments or executives in letters, memos, circulars, orders, instructions, or messages via telephone.
• External sources: Information from outside the organization originates from customers, suppliers, government departments, financial institutions, the general public, and other organizations through letters, inquiries, orders, invoices, circulars, and notices; offices may send out inquiries and questionnaires to collect data.
• Received information is raw; the office must process and present it in a usable structured format.
• The process involves arrangement, summarization, tabulation, and graphical representation of data.

Storing Information

• Recorded information is preserved and maintained for future access.
• Preserving information helps management retrieve files without delays.
• Regulations like the Companies Act and the Income Tax Act require maintaining vital records for a specific time.
• The data serves in the organization’s 'Data Bank'.

Supplying Information

• Collected, processed, and recorded information is supplied to managers as needed.
• Management decision making relies on accurate and timely information.
• Routine information like attendance, stock position, cash, and bank balances are supplied on a regular cadence.
• Special information like cost estimates, credit information, or outstanding dues is provided as and when needed.

Administrative Management Functions

Communications

• Arranging communication within the organization through intercoms, meetings, between different individuals and outsiders.
• Facilitates communication between individuals in the organisation as well as the outside world.
• Channels of communication guarantee continuous flow of information with speed and accuracy through telephone, telex, posts or delivery.
• The system helps interaction between individuals and managers, and also ensures transmission of policies, instructions, and orders issued by the management.

Safety and Security

• Keep well the records and ensure the security of assets like buildings, machines, furniture, equipment's.
• Ensure upkeep and maintenance.
• Insurance covers assets of the organization against hazards like fire and theft.

Coordination

• Orderly arrangement of group efforts ensures unity in action.
• Synchronize efforts of staff, timing and sequence of activities to achieve objectives.
• Serves as a store-house for all information.
• Co-ordinates the activity of different departments to achieve results with minimal cost.

Planning

• Planning involves consideration of factors and defining a course of action.
• All office functions require advance planning so it has to be decided beforehand, what is to be done, who's doing it, and how and when.
• Planning does not waste time while also reducing cost of operations.

Systematization and Cost Reduction

• Scientific methods are used for office procedures and activities.
• Systems include adoption of scientific method, system procedures and methods to carry out activities.

Office Personnel Administration

• An efficient office is a valuable asset.
• Employees bring efficiency through their work.
• To maintain efficiency and effectiveness of labor, the correct workforce must be hired.
• Staff must be delegated and given necessary authority.
• Individual staff members should be appraised, evaluated and incentivized.

Public Relations

• In its dealing with the public, the office is the point of contact.
• Requires steps to build a good image in the minds of the general public.
• Address queries to the public promptly
• Maintain changes in public opinion on the enterprise.
• Communicate back policies and programmes of the organisation,

Importance of Office

• Decision making is fundamental to managing any business activity.
• Decisions rely on the information supplied by the office.
• Cannot be managed without the office's clerical services.
• Well organized offices aid successful management.
• Offices provides: Information, linkage between departments, aids decision-making, co-ordination between management and department, and controls cost of business operations.
• They help maintain relationships between customers, employees, suppliers, government organizations and banks.

Efficiency of office in workforce

• Office work is not always productive, such as the work of making entries in books, or typing letters is not always productive.
• One must look beyond the papers and review office output towards the overall business achievements.
• Scientific principles and management apply to essential service.
• Modern office services have seen increased use modern machines and scientific methods.
• The most beneficial method of production is decided on paper, so paperwork is essential.

Modern Office Organization

• Organizing is the management process to coordinate and assign responsibilities within a group of workers.
• Managers use organization to blend human and material resources to achieve the goals of the enterprise and management.

Efficient Contributions of a sound office

• Provides framework for main & side functions. integrates thru defined responsibilities
• Stimulates motivation in co-workers
• Ensures that machines/people are used optimally
• Helps office work advancements

Definition of Office Organization

• Coordinate activities of a group to achieve the ultimate goal.
• It is how work gets effectively completed with determined employee duties and assigned responsibilities that ensure speed, accuracy and economy.
• structural framework of positions which is welded together in the office for the pursuit of the desired goals.

Principles of Office Organization

• Understanding organization is essential to efficiently coordinate/govern an office. Clear objectives allows effort towards achieving the same objectives.
• Specialization is achieved through division of specialized labor.
• Harmony to achieve objectives is critical. Major functions are making records, retaining and retrieving them, and disseminating when required.
• The organization should be readable.
• Supervision should be limited in teams.
• Parity of authority and responsibility means everyone may have necessary authority to do the jobs they are assigned to.
• The organization should be flexible to adapt to business.
• organization should yield a minimum goal at min cost and efficiency
• Superior-Subordinates should all be motivated for performance purposes, without feeling too dependent.
• Organizational reviews are vital for organization plans and staff developments.
• Office Manager should coordinate.

Steps to follow

• Establishing goals
• Aligning with organizational goals
• Formulating plans, policies and workflows
• Defining scope of work for activity
• Sub-divide into work packages
• evaluate and group sections by Department
• Grant authority with responsibilities
• Chart organization structure with staff relations

Organization Chart

• Organization charts demonstrate positions alongside relationships/between departments and personnel.
• It helps individuals have a clear picture of the entities within.

Nature of Office Services

• Office actions don't create any functions, their production, marketing and personnel.
• Services are located "Central/Head office
• Common services are; Typing, Duplication, Stenography, Mailing, Filing, Stationary supply, Communication, Public relations, Maintenance, Estate, Security and Hospitality services.
• These ensure smooth and efficient workflow for orgs.
• Work and the environment have grown in business.
• Must face new challenge in the upcoming future, with automation and data being gathered, analyses, stored and supplied.
• Offices need a better information system and creative thinking.

Decentralization and Centralization of Office Services

• Common services are provided by the office; Those under 1 area are centralized.
• Those carried out in their respective departments are decentralized.

Decentralization

• Locating office activities in different functional departments, a dispersal of activities.

Merits/Demerits

• Secrecy ensured, records stay with department
• Better performance with the right staff.
• Work is often duplicated, with the standardization lacking on both systems and equipment. There may be coordination problems through uneven work distribution.

Centralizations

• Office services used by departments are pooled and run by a "central office".
• Central office has qualified and experienced professionals.

Centralization Merits

• Frees department heads from supervising office work.
• Specialists can develop skills and be more effective.
• Centralized office can be more flexible with workloads, utilizing capacity more.
• Machines and costs reduced through better distribution.
• Can distribute load of work if some areas require more or less resources.

Centralization Demerits

• Office work completion could be delayed if work is not prioritized correctly.
• Secrecy is not achieved with centralized functions.

Guiding decision

• When analyzing whether to centralize or decentralize, consider the business and organization itself, with associated costs and goals in mind.

Office Management

• To satisfy demand in a skill and effective way that has minimum cost, it is critical to provide an efficient system.
• Clerical services are provided to all other departments in the organization.
• Receives, records, analyses, stores and communicates the administrative workflows.
• Office management provides certain efficient service, achieved through the principles and practices of management.
• This includes; planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling the functions.
• One can see it defined as that branch of art and science which is concerned with the work.

Key Factors to Consider

• Office management sees that desired results are attained through staff cooperation in service, profit and social responsibility; Office service help and benefit the other departments.
• The office manager must employ the most appropriate materials and standard equipment available.
• Personnel must be managed by recruiting, training, placing and motivation for an effective work environment.
• Must ensure that the work environment is comfortable and practical.
• The processes are; Planning (setting targets, policies/procedures and programming), organizing(preparing descriptions and structure), staffing , directing (issue direction and workflow) and controlling (implementation, evaluation).

Departmentalization

• Requires diverse and capable workers with function.
• Each function done by a department which requires teamwork.

Descriptions of offices that are typically used

• Cash, who monitors revenue income and expenditure.
• Head legal counsel that renders legal advice and manages law suits.
• Filing departments, that is charge of all records.
• Mail, sorts all forms of letters and communicates back the latest updates.
• Communication, provides internal and external tools for calls and inter-office memos.
• Duplication, helps multi-copy letters easily.
• Supply Stationary, like pens and pencils to easily perform.
• Maintenance for support.
• Security to protect and secure asset's.

Functional Department Relations

• Production helps production and maintenance schedules while analyzing vendors prices.
• Provides aid by making purchases.
• The accountants can share results with top management and shareholders.

Office Manager

• Works with materials and machines to achieve objectives with supervision through organization volume and nature.

Office Manager Functions

• Office managers plan the activities to run the business economically and efficiently.
• They expand the location and handle business operations using judgement.
• Employees should be properly handled and employed.
• Suitable and cost efficient devices help everyone work and give benefit.
• Managers need a proper environment that enables efforts
• Modern intercom facilities that provide private telephone exchanges for long distances.
• Smooth day-to-day processing of data.

Office Manager Qualification

• Have a relevant education.
• Be able to speak with management or public.
• An analytical mind that can solve issues.
• Training in business administration.
• Experience is valuable with decisions and training. Qualities like self control, tact and firmness are invaluable as a leader.
• To motivate, inspire, guide and lead subordinates, can get the best out of staff.
• Know activities to tackle.
• The functions and managers adapt a lot due to technology. Can be said to have 'line executive' and 'staff officer' functions.
• Recognized in modern business and enjoys equal status. Information for control is useful so they are prompted to seek.