Administrative systems.

UNIT 7 – ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS

This report is for my line manager Judith based on my work experience at the Acorn Centre.

GAZ is based at the Acorn Centre and is rented from that Centre to set up a community youth unit for ages between 8-12 years old. GAZ is based on the funding’s and is registered as a charity and relies on the support funds for the activities. These activities include general sessions and day trips.

Administrative systems

Administration is particularly important in a company because it involves everything that goes on day to day. The key areas of administration are:

Information Handling – the creation, storage, retrieval and transmission of all the documents used by the organisation, the receipt, safe storage and monitoring of all the documents received by the organisation and all the records held by the organisation.

Communication – Sending and receiving messages by telephone, fax, email, sending and receiving email, dealing with customers, staffs and other visitors face to face.

Making arrangements – From booking activities to organising a foreign trip for a senior manager, from preparing for a small meeting to organising a large conference.

Obtaining resources – Providing stationery stock and other basic office items and equipments.

All these areas of administration are important to the running of a company because an organisation needs constant flow of information to survive. They need information to help focus on the company more in depth. They also need to be kept informed from time to time so the company has accurate information. Administration mainly depends on how well the work is done so you know where everything is.

GAZ is quite a small community so therefore the administration system is a small function and also has a small central department where the administration work takes place.

Most businesses use administrative systems. A system is a pre-planned procedure or a set of activities which has to be done when dealing with administration work around the office, such as what to do when you receive letters every day, stacks of paperwork that need to be done and dealing with phone calls and messages, Businesses need to know what to do with these things and how to do it. So they set up a system of procedures so they know exactly what to do when handling with administration work. Administrative systems can also be applied to many other jobs, such as the system of dealing with visitors at reception, the system for controlling photocopying or for sending fax or emails.

Administration system is there because the main purpose of it is to make sure that the organisation operates as effectively as possible by performing a wide range of activities promptly and efficiently to help support the business. Having a system to follow means that jobs can be done successfully most of the time.

The administrative system they use in the department is computerised, which is quite useful because it is fast, frequent and reasonably easy to use.

Manual filing systems such as filing cabinet, box files, folders, steel storage cabinet and shelves are also used in the department. These manual filing systems are used for paper documents, often known as hard copies. Paper documents include letters, reports, payslip, information and personnel records.

A few of these manual systems are quite useful and some are not.

The type of filing cabinet they have are vertical cabinets. They have two of these in the department. Both of them have four drawers fitted with a special suspension pockets, Labelled tabs are attached to these pockets to make it easy to identify the files. There are also labels outside each of the four drawers which also helps identify which drawer contains the information required. A sheet is also attached to the side of the cabinet explaining the general rules of filing and the order in which the files should be placed.

Box files and folders all have labels on them, which make it easier to find the right information. Both of these are stored on shelves and a few around the room.

The main tasks that are performed in the administration function are report writing and monitoring.

The job roles that are involved in the organisation are:

Job Title Job Role ...

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Box files and folders all have labels on them, which make it easier to find the right information. Both of these are stored on shelves and a few around the room.

The main tasks that are performed in the administration function are report writing and monitoring.

The job roles that are involved in the organisation are:

Job Title Job Role

Community Project Oversees everything, responsible for funding and all Manager financial documents

Office Manager Deals with administration work, supervise activities and

co- Ordinate the day-to-day programme and monitoring.

Session Manager Responsible for all sessions, has to plan and decide

the sessions

Premises Manager Responsible for the community premises and

oversees them

Communication

The five main methods of communication that are used in the department are telephone, fax, meetings, letter/post and face-to-face.

Below is a table of the methods used, when each one is used and the alternative methods for that particular communication.

Type of what is it used for Alternative methods

Communication

Telephone - Arranging appointments - By post

and activities.

- Confirming orders - By Email

Fax - Confirm appointments - Letter

- Respond to any issues - Telephone

Meetings - Discuss any business or - Telephone

problems. - Letter

By post/Letter - Send off reports - E-mail

- Confirming and replying - Fax

Face to face - Discuss problems - Telephone

The main communication method they use is the telephone. This is because it is handy and convenient to use, and it is also fast. They use telephone for various reasons such as to arrange an appointment, to confirm orders, to book activities etc. The alternative method instead of using the telephone could be e-mail and letter, this way they can keep the letter for hard copy and evidence to confirm that they did arrange the appointment if there are any complications.

The Fax machine is quite useful because it is fast and the letter can be kept for hard copy so there will be no need to type up any information. A meeting saves quite a lot of time and they get feedback from people immediately.

Some information may be confidential so a certain method may need to be used such as face to face or letter, this way no confidential information is being leaked.

There are different types of communication used because they need to know which type of communication to use for each purpose for example if it’s confidential they can either use telephone or letter so that no confidential information is being released out. And also if letter or email is being used, this can be kept for future reference and hard evidence for any purpose.

Below are the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative methods:

Although there are some disadvantages of using the alternative methods, this is due to the confidentiality of information handling. Some information needs to remain or private in a company so a certain method has to be used.

How information is collected, processed and stored

All administrative staff play a key role in:

Collecting information: whether it arrives in the mail, electronically, by telephone or is passed on by word of mouth.

Processing information: inputting it, merging it with other information, sorting it, reorganising it, reproducing it or updating current records.

Storing information: in filing systems and on computer.

The main aspect of a storage system is so you can find things quickly and the items stored are kept in good condition.

Information is processed when it is changed or converted in some way. It may be improved or may be prepared for a particular use such as notes from meetings, messages from telephones, sales figures that need to be input into a spreadsheet etc.

These roles are important to the Business because it depends how well information has been organised and stored so that it can easily be accessed when it is needed.

Every day, Businesses receive a vast amount of paperwork that is generated by organisations such as forms, fax messages, telephone messages, letters, memos reports and many more. So the administrative staff is responsible for the storage, processing and collecting these information in order to keep the constant flow of the Business going.

Post arrives at the reception and then is sorted and stored separately by name in a little locker by the reception assistant, each locker is provided with a key so the administration assistant or the manager has to collect their post from their locker. After all the post is bought back to the department to be opened and read, they also have to do certain things such as processing and storing the type of information.

For example:

When they receive an invoice for the art and crafts equipment, the amount is processed onto spreadsheet on the computer by the administration assistant. This is because they need to record how much money is spent using the company’s money. Then the assistant writes a number on top of the invoice to help keep all the invoices in order which is then kept in a box file then stacked on the shelf. When the cheque is made out, the same number as the invoice is also written on the top of the cheque so they know they match.

Records of the young people who join the community are kept on a CD Rom. Their details are also kept in a lever arch file and are updated if any changes have been made. The lever arch file is then stacked on the shelf along with some other files.

When an application form is received, it is read by the manager and details of that person are noted down and then the form is filed in a vertical filing cabinet. If the manager approves one or two forms, he then photocopies them and then the original copy is filed and the other is sent to the director.

All other information such as catalogues and booklets from the suppliers of office organisations are stored in a tall cardboard box file and is kept on the shelf.

Decision making

Decisions are made every day within businesses. The Board of Directors makes the major decisions at GAZ and the Project Manager makes the simple decisions such as what equipment to buy.

When new equipment is needed for the department, the Project Manager decides. The information is obtained from the booklets and catalogues they receive in the post from the office/stationery organisation. The steps they take if they want to purchase a printer is:

What type of Printer
If it would useful to the department and if there’s enough space
If there is enough money to purchase the printer
Browsing through catalogues to compare prices
Complete order form and send off
Invoice sent by the supplier stating the amount and delivery date
Printer received
Payment by cheque made to the supplier
Supplier then notifies the buyer when cheque is received
The invoice is then marked with a number and stored in the box file

When recruiting an employee, the manager decides who to choose, the information for this is obtained from the application form from the post. The steps to do this are:

Application forms received in post
Manager checks it and read through it
Letters sent for interviews
Interview with individuals to see if the person meets the specification, job description and has the qualifications
Letter sent to those who hasn’t been appointed for the job
Interview takes place
Those who meets the criteria will be appointed for a second interview with the Board of Director
Those who doesn’t will be notified by letter
Manager lets the Director know who he has appointed for second interview
Second interview takes place with the Director
After interview Director has to make a decision whether to employ that person
If employed, the person is given an induction, health & safety policy and contract to sign

Conclusion

Meetings

Meetings are held for several purposes. Their main one is face to face communication between people who need to solve problems, exchange information, making decisions, discussion of any issues, generate ideas and suggestions, report on an event or activity and organise special events or occasions.

Meetings must also be well organised, this includes, the time, date and venue fixed in advance and should be convenient, the venue must be large enough for everyone and in a convenient location to minimise travel and cost, those attending must know what they need to do, one person must be nominated to chair the meeting and the other to take notes and all paperwork must be prepared.

The two major roles in a meeting are the chairperson and minutes secretary. This is because they help to keep the meeting run well without any chaos. The chairperson is the person who presides at a meeting and the minutes secretary is responsible for correspondence.

Without administration staff, the company will be in chaos and everything would be a mess and dis-organised. Stacks of paperwork would need filing, post would need opening and distributing, lots of information would need up-dating, telephone calls would need answering and customers/visitors need to be dealt with etc.

Without the administration staff, the company would be down and practically everything would need sorting so that’s why administration staff are important in a business because they help keep things organised and keep everything in control. If it is a large company, there has to be an assistant to deal with the administration work because the manager cannot do everything by himself, it would be far too much for him. The manager has other important things to do such as attending meetings and meeting clients.

Administration in a Business is important because it helps to control the business.

Information is collected, processed and stored so that everything is prepared and organised for any situation, it also helps the staff work more rapidly because they know what they are doing so the company runs successfully without any disaster. Following the procedures of a administrative system is important because if it is done incorrectly it could cost the company money.

Below are the strengths and weaknesses of the administration system at the Acorn Centre.

The strengths are:

using the computerised system because it is fast and easy to use
labelling every single file including boxes, folders etc
keeping the main door locked at all times even just to get a drink
easy to find documents from filing cabinet
keeping the main storage cabinet locked at all times
providing an office chair when working on the computer
Having an answering machine telephone so people can leave messages if the staff are not available

The weaknesses are:

The steel storage cabinet because it requires a key and the admin assistant might need to get some documents.
Photocopying, because the department only has a little photocopier machine, if the staff wants to photocopy more than 10 copies, they have to use the one in the general reception and also need to pay for it.
No display screen equipment can cause problems with eyesight when the staffs are working on the computer for a long time.
Cost of papers and stamps to send letters off
Youth workers sometimes don’t complete monitoring sheets for admin assistant to do
One steel storage cabinet full of arts and crafts is disorganised, the bits and pieces are untidy, pencils falling all over the place
No Fax machine or scanner in department, have to go to reception and pay if wanting to fax or scan
The cost of developing photos for projects and the community
Some floppy disks and CD’s just shoved in a box

Communication is very important and also useful in a Business, the staffs have to communicate with other people outside the Business and also their own member of staff, they need to keep informed so they can up-date information, details etc.