OFFICE PROCEDURES

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

1 of 14
What is office procedures?
• Most of you already know how an office works

• There are many varieties of offices nowadays

• As we saw from Business Communications,

offices vary from in-house work, ad hoc teams,
open offices and hot seats
• In Office Procedures, we see more examples of
this variety
Today’s workforce (p. 5)
• Because of diversity (variety and mixing of
cultures, social circles, etc.) within people, there
have also been diversity in today’s workforce
• Working arrangements are being expanded to
accommodate the needs of employees through
such things as flextime, job sharing, and
telecommuting
Expansion of technology
• The use of social media and the growth of e-
commerce have made it a lot easier for
businesses around the world
• The expansion of technology has since altered
any office role, unlike previous generations, when
a person would work one job for a lifetime
• Nowadays, people are likely to experience more
than one career
Knowledge age
• The driving force (or reason) for such a big

change is because we live in what is called the

“knowledge age”

• Knowledge age: a time of tremendous explosion

of knowledge, and technology is an integral part

of this age
Knowledge age (continued)
• For instance, the recent changes in how we store
data (or what’s more simply called data storage)
• Before it was merely kilobytes that could be
measured
• Now we have gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes
and exabytes
Knowledge age (continued)
• Another example is how landline telephones was
the standard piece of telecommunications
equipment
• But now we can make conference calls, hold web
conferences with audiovisual equipment, or make
phone calls online instead of using a phone
carrier network
Smartphones
• Smartphones are also a good example of living in
the “knowledge age”
• Smartphones allow us to do a lot of things at
once; we can update our calendar, check our
email, maintain our contacts, download useful
applications, play games, complete bank errands,
and make voice calls with or without video
The evolving workplace
• So in order to “survive” (or manage very well) in this

evolving workplace, you need to have the knowledge,

skills, and qualities that allow you to become a valued
part of an organization
Diverse workforce
• Canada is becoming more and more multicultural

• Multicultural: relating to or including several

cultures
• Culture: ideas, customs, values, skills and arts of
a specific group of people
• At work, you’ll deal with people who are diverse
ethnically and culturally
Increased diversity
• This increased diversity challenges us to find
better ways to enable everyone, no matter what
their culture, to work to their potential
• It is very important to be “diversity-competent”,
which is when we accept everyone’s differences
• We can do be more “diversity-competent” through
awareness, understanding, and acceptance of all
cultures
• This helps create a harmonious and productive
work environment
Changes in education & training (p. 6)
• Not only has the workplace changed due to
technology
• Also, education and training have changed
• Many employers require a diploma or an
undergraduate degree as a minimum
• But some employers require a post-graduate
degree such as an MBA (Master of Business
Administration)
• Education is essential in landing a job, and
ongoing education is a must in keeping a job
Formal vs informal education
• While the most well-known route of education is
formal, there is also informal ways to educate
one’s self
• Formal education includes going to university or
college, which offers certifications
• Informal education can involve reading, attending
seminars and conferences, and being active in
professional organization
Informal education
• At work, you could be trained through
professional development (PD), where meetings
are held every once in a while to make sure every
worker is updated and equipped with proper
knowledge
• We can also educate ourselves through our own
personal experiences
• We gain a lot of valuable experience by learning
from our mistakes
Different work environments (p. 6-7)
• Globalization: global workforce, where many
different countries are getting involved in working
together
• Globalization is becoming more and more of a
trend
• So it is important that we effectively handle
cultural differences in the workforce
Telework and related terms
• Telework: work that can be performed at any
place and at any time using technology
• Teleworking: a working arrangement using
telecommunications to work from a home office, a
client’s office or another location
• Teleworkers: individuals who are employed full-
or part-time by an organization and work from
home or a mobile type of work environment for
part or all of the workweek
Remote & virtual employment
• Remote employment: any working arrangement
in which the worker performs a significant portion
of work at some fixed location other than the
traditional workplace
• Virtual office: operational domain of any
organization that includes remote workers
• These kinds of workplaces use instant
messaging, virtual meetings and email, creating a
niche (a comfortable position) for freelance
administrative assistants (or virtual assistants)
Quality focus
• According to Dr. W. Edwards Deming, workforce
teams are important to productive quality work
• His principles are called “total quality
management (TQM)” or “continuous quality
improvement (CQI)” (p. 7)
• Total quality management (or continuous quality
improvement) begins as follows:
1. Create constancy of purpose for improving
products and services
2. Adopt the new philosophy
TQM or CQI principles (p. 7-8)
• You may read the rest of the principles yourself, but
you will not be tested on it
• The most important part about these principles is
what they focus on
• TQM or CQI focus on influencing you to be:
• More involved in decisions that affect the organization
• Part of a workforce team (or leading a team) that is
responsible for improving a service or product
• A productive member of a team, making unique
contributions
• More involved in helping solve problems
Downsizing & outsourcing (p. 8)
• Downsizing: a cost-cutting measure that involves
reducing the number of full-time employees in an
organization
• Outsourcing: a cost-cutting measure that involves
contracting with an outside company or a
consultant to assume responsibility for a project
or some part of an organization’s business
• Overhead costs: salary and benefit costs
• Companies can save from spending on overhead
costs by unfortunately “letting people go” or hiring
outside of the company
Workweek
• Traditionally, people work from “9-to-5” (9AM to
5PM)
• Compressed workweek: employees work the
usual number of hours (35 to 40), but the hours
are compressed into 4 days
• So maybe instead of 9 to 5 on each weekday, you
might work three 9-hour days and one 8-hour day
in the week)
Workweek (continued)
• Flextime: an employee works a certain amount of
time but at periods mutually determined by the
company and the employee
• Flextime is beneficial in reducing traffic
congestion at the traditional peak hours
• It also allows employees to have some flexibility
in their schedules
Workweek (continued)
• Lastly, there is another type of workweek called
job sharing, which is an arrangement that allows
2 part-time employees to perform one job that
otherwise would be held by 1 full-time employee
• For example, Paul and Jane are both
administrative employees at a college, but Paul
only works from Sunday to Wednesday afternoon
for 30 hours, while Jane works from Wednesday
afternoon to Saturday evening for 30 hours too
Workplace organization (p. 8)
• Learning about the culture, structure and
management of the organization you work for will
help you perform your job better
• It will help you understand:
• Your position in the organization
• Acceptable behaviours and actions
• How the organization is run
• What to expect
Office culture and language
• Every organization has its own “culture”
• The office’s culture reflects the office or
workplace’s beliefs, values and attitudes
• The work culture defines the way the office does
business
• In fact, culture is expressed in symbols such as
the dress code and unwritten rules
• For example, WestJet Airlines is known for having
a relaxed, informal culture, which helps
employees have an upbeat attitude
Business organization
• There are 3 basic forms of business
organizations
1. Sole proprietorship: owned and controlled by an
individual; the owner receives all the profits and
is responsible for all the debts
2. Partnership: an association of 2 or more people
as co-owners of the business
3. Corporations: legal entities formed by following
a formal process of incorporation; if publicly
owned, investors (shareholders or stockholders)
can purchase stock the represents a portion of
the company
Formal organizational structures
• Board of directors: guide the management by

establishing policies and setting goals

• CEO (chief executive office): sets the goals

• Other important executives: CFO, COO and CIO

• When interests and duties differ, one goes

through a conflict of interest

Management responsibilities
• Executives and directors of a company are the

key leaders

• However, management is the subset of

leadership, and sometimes the responsibilities of

both leadership roles overlap
Greater efficiency and productivity
• Flattened organizational structures: fewer

management levels than the traditional structures

of the past

• Many people in the workforce find their roles

continually shifting

• The shifting role generally leads to greater

responsibility
Greater efficiency and productivity
• For many administrative professionals, there are
various ways to name such a working position:
• Secretary, legal secretary or medical secretary
• Administrative assistant, administrative
professional
• Marketing assistant, payroll assistant, executive
assistant
• Human resources assistant, office manager
Fundamental skills (p. 11)
• Communicate (Chapters 5-7)

• Manage information (Chapters 4, 8 & 9)

• Use numbers (Chapter 10)

• Think and solve problems (Chapters 6 & 11)

• Personal management skills (Chapter 2)

• Interpersonal skills (p. 13 Self-Check)

• Teamwork and leadership skills (Chapter 9)

Success qualities (p. 14)
• Other qualities are also essential for career
success:
• Openness to change (p. 14, Figure 1-4)
• Dependability
• Confidentiality
• Emotional intelligence (Chapter 5)
• Integrity and honesty
• Initiative
• Flexibility and adaptability
Definitions of success qualities
• Openness to change: by accepting that change is

constant (p. 14, Figure 1-4)

• Dependability: being trustworthy

• Confidentiality: protecting secrecy or privacy of

the information received, or the confidences

shared may even be a legal requirement

• Emotional intelligence (EI): capacity to develop…

Emotional intelligence (p. 14)
1. Self-awareness: ability to recognize and
understand your own emotions and the effects
of your actions, moods and emotions on others
2. Self-regulation: knowing how to express your
emotions appropriately
3. Social skills: interacting well with others,
including active listening, and verbal and
nonverbal communication skills
Emotional intelligence (p. 15)
4. Empathy: the ability to understand how others
are feeling
5. Motivation: an incentive to act
• There are different types of motivation:

• Intrinsic motivation (internal); e.g., feeling of

happiness
• Extrinsic motivation (external); e.g., money,
materials
Other definitions of success qualities
• Integrity and honesty: the adherence to a code of

behaviour

• Initiative: ability to begin and follow through on a

plan or task

• Flexibility and adaptability: being responsive to

change and capable of making adjustments

What is a professional? (p. 15)
• A professional looks, speaks, writes and

behaves in a manner that reflects well on both

employer and employee

• A professional has a strong work ethic, which

does not need any extrinsic motivation

• Also, a positive attitude is important

• As well as self-confidence
Professional growth (p. 17)
• With the workplace constantly changing, you must
be willing to continue to learn and to commit to
continual professional growth
Announcement
businesscacc.weebly.com > office procedures

tomorrow: tentative guest student visiting

soon: starting the e-Portfolio by writing documents

next week: Monday (Sept. 17) – handing out

assignment
Thursday (Sept. 20) – forming groups and
picking out topics
 Critical thinking activity (p. 21)
• You’re working for CanAsian Airlines
• At a meeting, you mentioned issues
• Two people reacted badly and took offense
• How would you handle this?

• Answer: What is the problem?

• Should you talk to these employees before the next meeting?
• What would you say to them before the next meeting?
• How should you identify issues that are negatively affecting
office communication?
• How can you make sure that there will be no negative
reactions?
Type on a Word or Google Doc and send answers to
mariakasuncion@gmail.com