The office is a place that is usually used as a place to carry out administrative work or writing work. In doing all these jobs, of course, good management is needed, which is none other than office management.
Good office management must be able to achieve the objectives of implementing office work in the most efficient way possible. Office management is not visible, but can be felt by all employees in their daily work to achieve certain goals.
The modern office management must be able to plan, organize people, money, methods, materials, and markets in office work and direct employees in accordance with the goals of the organization or office concerned.
Understanding Office Management
Understanding Office Administration Management is part of management that provides information on administrative services needed to carry out activities effectively and have a smooth impact on other fields.
In addition to the definition above, several experts also expressed their respective opinions regarding the definition of office administration management, including:
Edwin Robinson and William Leffingwell
Office management is planning, controlling, and organizing office work, as well as mobilizing those who carry it out in order to achieve predetermined goals.
George R. Terry
Defines office administration management as planning, controlling and organizing office work, as well as the mobilization of those who carry out in order to achieve the goals that have been determined.
Millis Geoffrey
Stating defines as the art of guiding office personnel in using facilities that are in accordance with their environment in order to achieve the goals set.
W.H. Evans
Provide an opinion that office administration management is a function that involves the management and direction of all stages of the company’s operations regarding the processing of information, communication, and organizational memory.
Looking at some of the meanings of office management according to the experts mentioned above, it can be concluded that the notion of office administration management is a series of activities to plan, organize (organize and compile) direct (give direction and instructions), supervise and control (exercise control) to organize in an orderly manner in accordance with the purpose of something or an activity.
Office Management Goals
If simplified, the purpose of office management is to achieve goals in an effective and efficient manner. If waste is found in the achievement process, then it should be avoided, such as wasting time, money, or human resources.
George R Terry in his book entitled “Office Management and Control”, reveals that the goals of modern office administration management are:
Helping companies maintain competition
Provide careful administrative work
Take notes at minimal cost
Provide all complete and necessary information to anyone, anytime, and anywhere needed for the efficient implementation of the company
Provide sufficient records and reports at the lowest possible cost.
Office administration management must be able to ensure the availability of information that is always ready for use. The characteristics of ready-to-use information are:
Complete
Relevant to its use
Up to date
Accurate
Can be accounted for
Office Management Functions
The system in the office is certainly not an easy thing for most people. Therefore, there must be a function that can be felt through the implementation of good and correct modern office management.
For an explanation of service task activities in modern office management, you can see below.
Planning (Planning). Used in determining actions to achieve the desired result. A manager must think about what to do with the resources he has.
Organizing (Organizing). Functions that will make it easier for managers to supervise and determine the people needed to carry out the tasks that have been divided, help realize the organizational structure, describe the duties of each field or field, authority and responsibility in the organization, show tasks between each unit, and human and material resources needed can be clearly identified.
Directing (Commanding). Related to efforts to provide guidance, advice, orders, or instructions to subordinates in carrying out tasks so that they are carried out properly and according to goals.
Supervision (Controlling). Ensure that all activities and the effective use of existing resources do not deviate from the plan so that organizational goals can be realized.
Modern office management is really needed in the implementation of office administration. Modern means “latest” or “up-to-date”. Not always old methods or old equipment are still effectively used in today’s modern era.
The characteristics of modern office management are:
Have a good building and layout
Using the right tools and equipment, including furniture
Employees in carrying out their duties are disciplined and professional
Have attitudes and ways of acting in accordance with the demands of the times
Utilizing costs, implementing democratic, effective, efficient, productive, just, and humane treatment.
To carry out modern office management, it is appropriate to use today’s modern systems, such as computerization. So, the management of data or information can be done by computerization.
The advantages that will be obtained when using a computerized system are speed, accuracy, up-to-date communication and data processing.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have weaknesses. Here are some of the shortcomings of computerized systems that may be felt today.
Modern computer-based systems will be difficult to integrate with old systems
Errors in saving the master file, will make it difficult to search again if needed in the future
The infection of important files by viruses will greatly affect the decision-making process.
Management Principle
- Job planning
This principle explains the division of work based on the specialization of the objectives to be achieved. Formulate how the standards, procedures and methods will be carried out in completing the work.
- Organizing work
This principle explains the cooperation and division of tasks that must be carried out in an organization/office in order to achieve organizational/office goals. With the cooperation and clear division of tasks, it will make it easier for each member of the organization/office to complete their work.
- Coordination of work
In this principle, it is explained about activities to regulate work, so that all management activities and implementation activities are not confused with each other, are not contradictory and can be directed to the direction point of achieving goals efficiently.
- Work control
This principle explains how managers try to ensure that the work carried out moves in the direction of the expected goals. By doing a comparison between the planning standards that have been set with the results of the implementation.
- Employee empowerment
This principle explains how employees are given freedom, discretion, independence and responsibility in doing work as well as in participating and making decisions. So that it is expected to bring out the potential of employees and increase their motivation so that they are more adaptive, willing to accept the environment and minimize obstacles that slow down their ability to complete work.
- Communication
This principle emphasizes the existence of a harmonious relationship between fellow members of the organization as well as with managers/leaders of the organization. It takes an attitude of openness, mutual understanding and mutual respect in order to create a conducive environment so that employees can feel comfortable in completing their tasks.
- Office layout
This principle emphasizes an office layout that is neat and systematically arranged in accordance with the relationships between work units/departments in the office so that it is easier and can save time for completing work.
- Improved service quality
In this principle emphasizes the satisfaction of needs to customers to meet what they should be needed. The implementation of this principle requires timely service, an attitude of loyalty to the organization, and honesty and trustworthiness so that the best service can be provided.