HRDM7: Administrative Office Management 1

LESSON 1: KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE STAFF AND
MANAGER

Three main skills needed in business:

1. Teamwork. Why is teamwork important in the workplace?
Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture which values collaboration. According to S.G.
Gault on the law of Countability, “teammates must be able to count each other when it
counts”. We don’t work for each other; we work with each other.
In team;
• TRUST is important;
• COMPETENCE is necessary;
• Teams succeed or fail based on teammates’ COMMITMENT to one another;
• CONSISTENCY in a team is a key component; and
• Without COHESION people aren’t really a team.

2. Flexibility
Flexibility is about an employee and an employer making changes to when, where and how
a person will work to better meet individual and business needs.

Types of Flexibility
1. Formal Flexibility the policies are “officially approved by human resources, policies as
well as any official policies that give supervisor’s discretion to provide flexibility.
2. Informal Flexibility refers to policies that are not officially and not written down on a
discretionary basis.

Advantages of Work Flexibility

Managers should love flexibility because:
1. It reduces absenteeism, overtime, sick leave and tardiness;
2. It reduces stress;
3. It improves performance, quality, productivity and satisfaction;
4. Increases commitment and job engagement; and
5. Reduce employee turnover.

However, workplace flexibility often is seen as a job accommodation or an exception to the

rule. Managers may fear of the following:
• If I let one person have a flexible schedule, everyone will want one.
• Someone not working on a traditional schedule is not as productive.
• You cannot have an effective team if employees are not working in the same place at
the same time.
• If I allow flexible work hours for one employee, it won’t be fair to the others.
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Flexibility can be done by trying the following suggestions of Kathy Gurchiek, an associate
editor of HR news:
• Seek out and listen to employees’ ideas about how to get the work done.
• Consider how a business decision will affect an employee’s life.
• Take time to anticipate work/life issues that may present a conflict.
• Make an exception in a normal work practice so an employee can handle a personal
issue.
• Let staff know you are open to considering flexible work arrangements and will approve
them as long as business needs can be met.
• Model behavior that says its OK to have a life.
• Trust that employees will get the job done, and demonstrate that trust.
• Offer information about the company’s resources and encourage their use.

1. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A. Oral Communication. Some employers test their employees in their ability to:
• Follow oral directions.
• Working with teams that need skills in empathy and feedback techniques, especially
in fields such as customer service, criminal justice, medical and legal.
• Critical thinking and the ability to function as part of a problem-solving group.
• Remain cool under pressure, adaptable to new technology and to a fast pace.
• Simple conversational skills are also important in the workplace, such as telephone
etiquette as important skills.
• Ability to interview to get important information is also a necessary skill.
• Deliver at least some formal presentations.

B. Written Communication
Oral communication is replaced by:
• Voice mail
• Informal conversation
• E-mail or fax-mail and
• Two writing tasks which are: the writing reports and filling out forms.

WHAT IS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE MANAGEMENT?

• 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.

WHAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT NEW THRUST IN AOM?

• Information Management-it entails organizing, retrieving, acquiring and maintaining
information closely related to data management.
• Knowledge Management- involves managing the organization’s intellectual capital,
human resources and strategic relationship.
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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE MANAGEMENT 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;
6. To help the define duties and responsibilities of employees assigned within the AOM
function area;
7. To develop satisfactory lines of communication among the employees within 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;
10. To ensure the efficient and proper use of specialized office equipment.

Office Administrative Manager

An Office Manager is an employee charged with the general administrative responsibilities of
any given office of a corporation.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AOM
• Planning function
• Organizing function
• Staffing function
• Directing function
• Controlling function

The position is also a combination of the following office management functions:

1. Responsibility for the overall work performance of a company.
2. Management of office environment.
3. Gathering, adapting, storing and distributing information within the company.
4. Using information systems.
5. Providing specialized support to other departments and managers.
6. Providing document and telecommunication management.
7. Planning, organizing, providing leadership and controlling all administrative functions.
8. Managing quality and cost control.
9. Rendering a service to other functions within the organization.
10. Providing training and development for your own staff.
11. Managing the many fields of work which the employees carry out.
12. Ensuring that human and material resources are correctly utilized.
13. Meeting with other members of management and planning for the future.
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QUALIFICATIONS OF AOM
• Thorough understanding of various business management fundamentals
• Leadership
• Educational requirements
• Traits such as: integrity, intelligent, energy
• Able to write the formal reports on finances and planning
• Assertively
• Flexibility
• Accuracy
• Ability to cope with pressure

THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

The Administrative Assistant may be responsible for compiling or even composing some parts
of formal report. The smaller the company, the more likely that an Administrative Assistant may
be asked to do such tasks.