Office management is a profession involving the design, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of the process of work within an office or other organization, in order to sustain and improve efficiency and productivity.
Office management is thus a part of the overall administration of business and since the elements of management are forecasting and planning, organizing, command, control and coordination, the office is a part of the total management function.
By organizing tasks, controlling supplies, and supervising staff, office management ensures that business operations run smoothly. Scheduling, keeping records, and streamlining communication are important responsibilities. Teamwork and focus are aided by efficient office management, which boosts productivity and fosters a positive work environment.
Office management is the technique of planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling office activities with a view to achieve business objectives and is concerned with efficient and effective performance of the office work. The success of a business depends upon the efficiency of its office. The volume of paper work in offices has increased manifold in these days due to industrialization, population explosion, government control and application of various tax and labour laws to any business[1] enterprise. Efficiency and effectiveness which are key words in management are achieved only through proper planning and control of activities, reduction of office costs and coordination of all activities of business.
In simple words, office management can be defined as “a distinct process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling office in order to facilitate achievement of objectives of any business enterprise’ the definition shows managerial functions of an administrative manager. Following diagram indicates various elements or functions in the process of office management.
Importance of Office Management
The following point enlightens the importance of office management:
(i) Helps in Achievement of Targets
Targets or goals are results in quantitative terms which are to be achieved in a given time. Management makes people realize the goals and directs their efforts towards the achievement of these goals.
(ii) Optimum Use of Resources
Management helps in utilization of resources effectively. Scarce resources are put to use optimistically by managers. Managers bring about coordination and integration of various resources. It is management which guides the personnel in office in the use of resources.
(iii) Minimization of Costs
Office costs can be reduced under the guidance and control of efficient management. Office Management is concerned with doing the office activities in a best and cheapest way. Cost reduction is one of the object of management which can be achieved through work simplification and mechanization. Through better planning, sound organization and effective control, management enables a concern to reduce costs and prepare an enterprise to face cut throat competition.
(iv) Smooth Flow of Work
Uninterrupted flow of work is only possible if there is proper planning and control. Management ensures efficient and smooth flow of work.
(v) Helps in Maintaining Office Efficiency
Management helps in maintaining efficiency in an office. A manager not only performs and produces results, but may do it in the most efficient manner so as to contribute towards profit generation.
(vi) Managing Survival and Growth
Management has to play an important role in keeping the organization alive. Change in technology and methods must be anticipated and adapted for survival and growth. It is only management which can do so and molds the enterprise in such a changing environment.
(vii) Provides Innovation
Innovation is finding new, different and better method of doing existing work. To plan and manage innovation, management has to play an important role. Suggestions from customers, information from salesmen, close watch on competitor's activities provide source of innovation.
(viii) Helps in Retaining Talent and Inculcating Sense of Loyalty in Office Staff
Efficient management helps in retaining talented and hard working employees by providing them comfortable work environment. Manager must motivate his employees by recognizing and appreciating their talents.
(ix) Provides Leadership
Management provides leadership by influencing and guiding office personnel. Managers influence his subordinates to work willingly for achieving organizational goals.
(x) Managing Change
Importance of office management is that it helps in planning the change and introducing it at the right time and in the right manner. Due to change in technology methods, work procedures etc. have to be changed for efficiency and economy. People resist change due to lack of understanding the reasons for change and lack of training in new methods. Management helps in minimizing resistance of people and acts as a change-agent.
(xi) Maintaining Public Relations
Office management helps in improving public relations and increasing goodwill of an enterprise by dealing with grievances of consumers and general public.
(xii) Social Benefits
Management is beneficial not only to the business enterprises but to the various segments of society also. It provides and maintains link with various types of suppliers, banks, insurance companies, government departments, and general public. It benefits society as a whole by providing its services.
Functions
An office manager is responsible for monitoring and reviewing systems, usually focusing on specific outcomes such as improved timescales, turnover, output, sales, etc. They may supervise or manage a team of administrators, allocating roles, recruiting and training, and issuing assignments and projects. As such the role is varied, often including responsibilities across a diverse range of functions such as:
Personal competencies useful in the role are: problem solving skills, good decision-making abilities, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, assertiveness, flexibility, time management skills and the ability to cope with pressure.
Management is the administration of organizations, whether they are a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administration respectively. It is the process of managing the resources of businesses, governments, and other organizations.
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. The primary constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives.
In management accounting or managerial accounting, managers use accounting information in decision-making and to assist in the management and performance of their control functions.
A management information system (MIS) is an information system used for decision-making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an organization. The study of the management information systems involves people, processes and technology in an organizational context. In other words, it serves, as the functions of controlling, planning, decision making in the management level setting.
X-inefficiency is a concept used in economics to describe instances where firms go through internal inefficiency resulting in higher production costs than required for a given output. This inefficiency is a result of various factors such as outdated technology, inefficient production processes, poor management and lack of competition resulting in lower profits and higher prices for consumers. The concept of X-inefficiency was introduced by Harvey Leibenstein.
Organizational theory refers to a series of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also seeks to explain how interrelated units of organization either connect or do not connect with each other. Organizational theory also concerns understanding how groups of individuals behave, which may differ from the behavior of an individual. The behavior organizational theory often focuses on is goal-directed. Organizational theory covers both intra-organizational and inter-organizational fields of study.
An organizational structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination, and supervision are directed toward the achievement of organizational aims.
Departmentalization refers to the process of grouping activities into departments. Division of labour creates specialists who need coordination. This coordination is facilitated by grouping specialists together in departments.
Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a business management strategy originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization. BPR aims to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors.
Organizational architecture, also known as organizational design, is a field concerned with the creation of roles, processes, and formal reporting relationships in an organization. It refers to architecture metaphorically, as a structure which fleshes out the organizations. The various features of a business's organizational architecture has to be internally consistent in strategy, architecture and competitive environment.
Organizing or organising is the establishment of effective authority-relationships among selected works, which often improves efficiency.
Project portfolio management (PPM) is the centralized management of the processes, methods, and technologies used by project managers and project management offices (PMOs) to analyze and collectively manage current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics. The objectives of PPM are to determine the optimal resource mix for delivery and to schedule activities to best achieve an organization’s operational and financial goals, while honouring constraints imposed by customers, strategic objectives, or external real-world factors. Standards for Portfolio Management include Project Management Institute's framework for project portfolio management, Management of Portfolios by Office of Government Commerce and the PfM² Portfolio Management Methodology by the PM² Foundation.
Design management is a field of inquiry that uses design, strategy, project management and supply chain techniques to control a creative process, support a culture of creativity, and build a structure and organization for design. The objective of design management is to develop and maintain an efficient business environment in which an organization can achieve its strategic and mission goals through design. Design management is a comprehensive activity at all levels of business, from the discovery phase to the execution phase. "Simply put, design management is the business side of design. Design management encompasses the ongoing processes, business decisions, and strategies that enable innovation and create effectively-designed products, services, communications, environments, and brands that enhance our quality of life and provide organizational success." The discipline of design management overlaps with marketing management, operations management, and strategic management.
Workforce productivity is the amount of goods and services that a group of workers produce in a given amount of time. It is one of several types of productivity that economists measure. Workforce productivity, often referred to as labor productivity, is a measure for an organisation or company, a process, an industry, or a country.
Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Internal auditing might achieve this goal by providing insight and recommendations based on analyses and assessments of data and business processes. With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to business management:
Project workforce management is the practice of combining the coordination of all logistic elements of a project through a single software application. This includes planning and tracking of schedules and mileposts, cost and revenue, resource allocation, as well as overall management of these project elements. Efficiency is improved by eliminating manual processes, like spreadsheet tracking to monitor project progress. It also allows for at-a-glance status updates and ideally integrates with existing legacy applications in order to unify ongoing projects, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and broader organizational goals. There are a lot of logistic elements in a project. Different team members are responsible for managing each element and often, the organisation may have a mechanism to manage some logistic areas as well.
A glossary of terms relating to project management and consulting.
Public budgeting is a field of public administration and a discipline in the academic study of public administration. Budgeting is characterized by its approaches, functions, formation, and type.
Fayolism was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized the role of management in organizations, developed around 1900 by the French manager and management theorist Henri Fayol (1841–1925). It was through Fayol's work as a philosopher of administration that he contributed most widely to the theory and practice of organizational management.
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