Divine Word College of Legazpi

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTANCY

Legazpi City

FHOM ELEC 03
Office Procedures and Administration

Lesson 2 – Management of the Office Environment

Objectives:

1. Understand what is Office Management

2. Understanding the Different Elements of Office Management
3. Explain the principles of management
4. Understand the culture and structure of the office environment
5. Show enthusiasm and eagerness to acquire new learning competencies.

Meaning of Office Management

Office management refers to the process of planning, organizing, guiding,
communicating, directing, coordinating, and controlling the activities of a group of
people who are working to achieve business objectives efficiently and economically.
Office management is not only necessary to the business organization but also
essential to non-business organizations. In modern internet society also, there is a need
for direction to individual efforts towards a common purpose or objective. The direction
is given from a place i.e. office.
The process can be treated as office management. A business is carried on by a
businessman with the help of a group of people. This group of persons has different
interests, talents and mottos. So, it is the function of office management to organize,
guide and control the activities of such a group of persons to achieve business
objectives.
Office management can be defined as the art of guiding, directing coordinating and
controlling the salaried people of an organization in order to achieve specified
objectiveswithin a time schedule.
Elements of Office Management
Elements of office management are termed as pillars of a building. If the pillar is strong,
certainly, the building is also strong. Hence, the efficient functioning of office
management is based on the elements of office management. The following are the
essential elements of office management.
1. Personnel
Office personnel are actually performing the office work. Generally, the selection and
placement of office personnel is carried on by the office manager in small organization.
In large organization, staffing is carried on by the human resource management
department.

In both the case, the office work is to be performed by allocating the work to each
individual according to their efficiency, guide the personnel to do the work with the help
of means available in an office within a specified time and control the activities of office
personnel. The office manager has to do all these activities.
2. Means
Means refers to tools used to perform the office work. Means include pen, pencil,
eraser, paper, ink, office forms, typewriter, computer, printer, calculator and the like.
Adequate tools have been supplied in an office and put them to the most efficient and
economical use for achieving objectives.
3. Environment
The nature of business determines the environment of an office. The various office
works have to be carried on under a particular condition or environment. A working
environment is created and maintained for the smooth performance of office work. It is
the duty and responsibility of an office manager to bring suitable environment by
adopting various procedures and practice.
4. Purpose
The office personnel must be aware of the purpose for which a particular work is carried
on and the impact of such work on others’ performance. The office manager teaches the
purpose to office personal. If not so, the performance of office work does not bring the
most efficient and economical use of office resources and achieve the objectives.
Principles Of Office Management
Management as “the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people.”
came from the ideas of Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933) written by P. Graham, Mary
Parker Follett: Prophet of Management (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995).
Their shared ideas promote help in the growth and development of the company.
Participative management will be better if the principles of management by Henry Fayol
will be incorporated into the workplace. The principles of management are the activities
that “plan, organize, and control the operations of the basic elements of [people],
materials, machines, methods, money and markets, providing direction and
coordination, and giving leadership to human efforts, so as to achieve the sought
objectives of the enterprise.
An administrative office manager handles a wide range of administrative
responsibilities in the workplace, ranging from providing administrative support to
managing office facilities to supervising entry-level administrative staff.
Principles of Management ( Henry Fayol)
1. Henri believed that segregating work in the workforce amongst the worker will
enhance the quality of the product. Similarly, he also concluded that the division of work
improves the productivity, efficiency, accuracy and speed of the workers. This principle
is appropriate for both the managerial as well as a technical work level.
2. Authority and Responsibility-
These are the two key aspects of management. Authority facilitates the management to
work efficiently, and responsibility makes them responsible for the work done under their
guidance or leadership.
3. Discipline- . It is the core value for any project or any management. Good
performance and sensible interrelation make the management job easy and
comprehensive.
4. Unity of Command- This means an employee should have only one boss and follow
his command. If an employee has to follow more than one boss, there begins a conflict
of interest and can create confusion.
5. Unity of Direction- all the person working in a company should have one goal and
motive which will make the work easier and achieve the set goal easily.
6. Subordination of Individual Interest- a company should work unitedly towards the
interest of a company rather than personal interest. Be subordinate to the purposes of
an organization. This refers to the whole chain of command in a company.
7. Remuneration- This plays an important role in motivating the workers of a company.
Remuneration can be monetary or non-monetary, however, it should be according to an
individual’s efforts they have made.
8. Centralization- Henri Fayol stressed on the point that there should be a balance
between the hierarchy and division of power.
9. Scalar Chain- Fayol one of the principles highlight that the hierarchy steps should be
from top to the lowest. This is necessary so that every employee knows their immediate
senior also they should be able to contact any if needed.
10. Order- A company should maintain a well-defined work order to have a favorable
work culture. The positive atmosphere in the workplace will boost more positive
productivity.
11. Equity- All employees should be treated equally and respectfully. It’s the
responsibility of a manager that no employees face discrimination.
12.Stability- An employee delivers the best if they feel secure in their job. It is the duty of
the management to offer job security to their employees.
13. Initiative- The management should support and encourage the employees to take
initiatives in an organization. It will help them to increase their interest and make then
worth.
14. Esprit de Corps-It is the responsibility of the management to motivate their
employees and be supportive of each other regularly. Developing trust and mutual
understanding will lead to a positive outcome and work environment.
Organizational Structure
An organizational structure is a hierarchical outline of a company's roles, teams, and
employees. Organizational structures describe what employees do, whom they report
to, and how decisions are made across the business. At a minimum, your org structure
should include employees' titles and basic hierarchies.
Defines how job tasks are formally
– Divided
– Grouped
– Coordinated
Six key elements: Work specialization, Departmentalization, Chain of command, Span
of control, Centralization & decentralization, Formalization, Controls, coordinates &
motivates employees
Work Specialization- a process that assigns each professional to a specific task.
Because the management of the company is clear in what they expect from their
employees, each one can focus on their task, gaining special skills and experience that
can help them improve. The degree to which tasks in an organization are subdivided
into separate jobs
Example: An assembly line, where individual workers perform specific tasks in the
production process, is the best example of specialization.
Advantages:
 Efficiency gains
 Payment related to skill-level required
 Increase in performance in specific task
 Encouraging creation of special inventions
  Efficiency losses- Boredom, Fatigues, Stress, Poor quality, High absenteeism &
turnover

Departmentalization- Departmentalization is an organizational structure that

separates people into groups, or departments, based on a particular set of criteria.
These departments have their own leadership and work together to complete tasks.
With large or complicated projects, multiple departments may work together.
–By functions performed ex.engineering, accounting, personnel….
–By type of product ex. fuel, waxes, chemicals
–On basis of geography ex. western, southern, midwestern, eastern…
–On basis of process ex. Casting, pressing, tubing, finishing, inspecting,
packing, shipping….
–By type of customer ex. Service retail, wholesale, and government customers
_Large companies might combine the forms!

The Chain of Command & Span of Control. The chain of command refers to an
organizational structure that indicates how each member of a company or organization
reports to one another, the Line of authority from the top of the organization to the
lowest part whereas the span of control defines how many subordinates each manager
or supervisor is responsible for in an organization.
Centralization and Decentralization are two modes of working in any organization. In
centralization, there is a hierarchy of formal authority for making all the important
decisions for the organization. In decentralization, decision-making is left to the lower
level of the organization.
Advantages of Centralization
 The organization can strictly enforce uniformity of procedures and policies.
 It can help in the elimination of overlapping or duplicate activities and save costs.
 The organization has a better chance of utilizing the potential of its outstanding
employees.
 It offers better control over the activities of the organization by ensuring
consistency in operations and uniformity in decision-making.

Advantages of Decentralization
 Faster decision-making and better quality of decisions
 Improves the effectivity of managers.
 Offers a democratic environment where employees can have a say in their
governance.
 Provides good exposure to mid and lower-level managers and creates a pool of
promotable manpower with managerial skills.
 Since managers can see the results of their own actions, they are more driven
and have improved morals.
Both centralization and decentralization have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Even if an organization is working in a decentralized manner, some functions are
usually centralized. 
Formalization. Formalization is the extent to which an organization's policies,
procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated. Formalized
structures are those in which there are many written rules and regulations. One of the
key advantages of formalization is the fact that formal organization have easy to fathom
leadership structures that are placed in concert by the given rules and regulations
thereby eliminating the question of who is in control of the organization.
Examples of formalization include job descriptions, clearly defined responsibilities,
behavioral norms like how to request days off, how to inform the manager when you fall
ill, internal bookkeeping norms, and so on.

Organizational control is Defined as any process by which managers direct attention,

motivate, and encourage organizational members to act in desired ways to meet the
firm's objectives. Control, thus, is central to organizational and strategic management
theories.
Four main categories that control falls into:
Physical control – the amount of inventory you have on hand, your quality control
guidelines, and how well your equipment and facilities are maintained;
Human control – including human resource functions such as placement, training,
benefits, and appraisals;
Information control – considers how well you can analyze sales trends, your ability to
track the economy, and public relations; and
Financial resource control – which involves avoiding debt, managing cash reserves, and
paying bills

Coordination is the act of bringing many individuals or departments together in order to

achieve a common organizational goal. It also refers to the integration of activities to
ensure that the resources of an organization are being used most efficiently to achieve
the organizational goal.
Coordination minimizes conflicts, rivalries are ended, wastages, delays, indifferences,
and other organizational problems. It ensures the smooth function of the organization.
Hence, with the help of coordination, an organization can fulfill its objectives promptly.

https://accountlearning.com/office-management-meaning-definition-elements/
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-rizal-system/human-resource-
management/introduction-to-office-management/20083529
http://www.christiane-schwieren.de/orgbe/StructureandCulture.pdf