ADMINISTRATIVE AND
OFFICE MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 1 – KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
A D M I N I S T R AT I V E O F F I C E S TA F F A N D M A N A G E R
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
MANAGEMENT (AOM)
It is the way or even the dealing with the things in the office in
an efficient way. It practices different virtues and
accomplishments of different chores and works in the office
within a given time.
MOST SIGNIFICANT NEW THRUST IN
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE MANAGEMENT:
• Information Management (IM) – It entails organizing,
retrieving, acquiring, and maintaining information closely
related to data management.
• Knowledge Management (KM) – Involves managing the
organization’s intellectual capital, human resources and
strategic relationships. Comprises range of practices used in an
organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and
adoption of insights and experiences. Components of KM are:
people, process, technology, and structure.
AOM OBJECTIVES
1. To ensure that relevant organizational activities are designed
to minimize individual and unit productivity;
2. To provide effective management of the organization’s
information;
3. To maintain reasonable quantity and quality standards;
4. To develop effective work process and procedures;
5. To provide a satisfactory physical and mental working
environment for the organization’s employees;
AOM OBJECTIVES
6. To help define the duties and responsibilities of employees
assigned within the AOM function area;
7. To develop satisfactory lines of communication among the
employees within the AOM function area and between these
employees in other areas within the organization;
8. To help employees maintain a high level of work
effectiveness;
9. To enhance the effectiveness of supervision of office
personnel; and
10. To ensure the efficient and proper use of specialized office
equipment.
SKILLS NEEDED FOR AOM
• Teamwork - Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture
which values collaboration.
• Flexibility – Managers should love flexibility because it
reduces absenteeism, overtime, sick leave and tardiness, and it
reduces stress significantly.
• Communication Skills
• Oral Communication
• Verbal Communication
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AOM
The five functions of management are responsibilities of the
AOM:
• Planning Function
• Organizing Function
• Staffing Function
• Directing Function
• Controlling Function
QUALIFICATIONS FOR AOM
Considering the diversity of functions, someone holding an
administrative office manager position is expected to have many
talents. Some of the competencies which he or she is expected to
possess are:
• Thorough understanding of various business management
fundamentals
• Leadership
• Educational requirements
• Traits such as: integrity, intelligence, energy.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR AOM
• Able to write the formal reports on finances and planning.
• Assertiveness
• Flexibility
• Accuracy
• Ability to cope with pressure
“Learning how to learn is life’s most
important skill.”
(Tony Buzan)
ADMINISTRATIVE AND
OFFICE MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 2 – THE ORGANIZING PROCESS
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations are groups of people, with ideas and resources,
working toward common goals. The purpose of the organizing
function is to make the best use of the organization’s resources
to achieve organizational goals.
ORGANIZATIONS
Formal Organization – it is an important aspect of structure. It
is the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly
defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated.
It is the official organizational structure conceived and built by
top management.
Informal Organization – it is the network, unrelated to the
firm’s formal authority structure, of social interactions among its
employees. It is the personal and social relationships that arise
spontaneously as people associate with one another in the work
environment.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Organizational Structure is the formal decision-making
framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and
coordinated.
Even though the differences among organizations are enormous,
there are many similarities that enable them to be classified. One
widely used classification is the twofold system: mechanistic
versus organic forms of organizational structure.
ORGANIZATIONS
• Mechanistic Structure – is the traditional or classical design,
common in many medium and large size organizations. They
are somewhat rigid in that they consist of very clearly
delineated jobs, have a well-defined hierarchical structure, and
rely heavily on the formal chain of command for control.
• Bureaucracy
• Tall structure
• Command and Control
ORGANIZATIONS
• Organic Structure – is a more flexible, more adaptable to a
participative form of management, and less concerned with a
clearly defined structure. The organic organization is open to
the environment in order to capitalize upon new opportunities.
• Flat Organizations
• Contingency Organization
ORGANIZATION DESIGN
Designing an organization involves choosing an organizational
structure that will enable the company to most effectively
achieve its goals. Organization Design is the creation of an
organization’s structure, traditionally functional, divisional,
and/or matrix.
ORGANIZATION DESIGN
• Functional Organization – functions or divisions arrange
traditional organizations. In a functional organization,
authority is determined by the relationships between group
functions and activities.
• Divisional Organization – in a divisional organization,
corporate divisions operate as relatively autonomous
businesses under the larger corporate umbrella. In a
conglomerate organization, divisions may be unrelated.
Divisional structures are made up of self-contained strategic
business units that each produces a single product.
ORGANIZATION DESIGN
• Matrix Organization – in a matrix organization, teams are
formed and team members report to two or more managers.
Matrix structures utilize functional and divisional chains of
command simultaneously in the same part of the organization,
commonly for one-of-a-kind projects.
• Boundaryless Organization – are not defined or limited by
horizontal, vertical, or external boundaries imposed by a
predetermined structure.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND
OFFICE MANAGEMENT
C H A P T E R 3 – C O M M U N I C AT I O N I N T H E W O R K P L A C E
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE
To succeed at the workplace, you need more than just hard
work. You need good etiquette as well as good workplace
communication skills. In the office, you are an employee,
someone who is supposed to go about his work in the most
professional manner. There is a way to talk to your superiors, to
your peers, and your subordinates.
This mode of communication is known as workplace
communication and is typically formal and to the point.
WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION SKILLS
1. Courteousness
2. Precision
3. Language
4. Low Speaking Volume
5. Clarity
6. Listen to Others
7. Posture and Body Language
EFFECTIVE OFFICE COMMUNICATION
Communication is technically the process of the transfer of
information between the communicating entities.
The meaning implied by communication is much more than
mere transfer. It is the sharing of one’s thoughts and feelings
with the intention of being understood.
The interactions between company employees determine the
work environment and organization culture.
EFFECTIVE OFFICE COMMUNICATION
Office Communication could be:
• Verbal
• Non-Verbal
It could also be:
• A telephone conversation
• An electronic mode
OFFICE COMMUNICATION
OVER A TELEPHONE
• Remember to start the conversation by introducing yourself
and the purpose behind your call.
• Keep your conversation brief and precise.
• If you do not happen to get to the person on the phone, you
might prefer leaving a message. Clarity is important. Leave
your phone number with the message.
• In case you have not been able to answer your calls, respond
to them as soon as possible.
• Do not end the call abruptly. It is important to give due
consideration to the age and position of the person on the call.
EFFECTIVE ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATION
• Emails help in case of language barriers and accent problems.
Emails are useful in case of a time difference due to the
varying time zones of different countries.
• Electronic communication increases the turn around time, as it
lacks immediate feedback.
• Emails are best options for formal communication. You need
to be careful in writing because electronic communication
puts your expression into black and white. Precision in
expression and a thoughtful use of words are essential
constituents of writing communication.
WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION
Business deals happen over phone, contracts are signed over
electronic media; thus, making these ways of communication
key players in business.
Learning to effectively communicate is the need of the day.
Effective office communication is the vital component of the
corporate world.
