Chapter 9 Flashcards
The administrative manager is responsible for
-Effective communication
-Office Layout
-Office equipment and furniture
-Office procedures
-Workflow
-Form analysis
-Systems analysis and design
Managing information effectively and strategically results in
-reduced costs
-Reduced uncertainty and risk
-Added value to existing products and services
-Creation of new value
The administrative function is responsible for
The orderly collection, processing, storing and distributing of information to decision-makers and managers within the organisation and other role players outside the organisation to enable then to execute their tasks
What is Data
=Facts in raw form
-Its unprocessed material that can be seen as potential information.
-Its used by machines and is useless unless its processed to create information
What is Information
=Data that has been processed into useful content
-Its used by managers to initiate actions, make decisions and manage their sections
Define information systems
A group of people, procedures and resources that collect, transform and distribute information in an organisation
Types of information systems
-Manual (PEN AND PAPER)
-Informal (ORAL)
-Computer based
Define management
The process of utilising an organisation’s resources to achieve specific objectives through the functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling
Management roles/behaviours
-Interpersonal
-Decisional
-Informational
Discuss the interpersonal management role/behavior
Formal authority and superior status therefore managers engage in a fair share of interpersonal contact with employees who have to report to thme
Discuss the Decisional management role/behavior
Managers have to balance competing interests, make decisions, implement strategies and ensure they’re executed
Discuss the Informational management role/behavior
Managers are accountable for information that relates to various business-related tasks at hand or issues that might occur that have to be resolved
The role of the administrative function within the organisation
-It doesn’t generate income for the organisation instead it renders a service and provides specialised support to individuals and other organisational functions
-Therefore the administrative manager must keep up with technological developments
-Continuous training is necessary to ensure that the administrative function functions optimally and productively
The positions that manage and execute all the activities in this function will depend on different factors and are governed by
-The size of the organisation:
The larger the organisation the more specialised the positions in this function become
-The type of industry:
Primary, secondary or Tertiary.
The needs and requirements in each sector are different
-The policy and psychology of top management
The role of the administrative manager
They’re responsible for:
-Managing the activities in an organisation that relate to information
-Combining people, technology, material, money and sources of information so organisational goals are achieved
-Managing the administrative function by planning, organising, leading and controlling all admin activities and HR related activities
The external role players and the information needed include
-Government requiring information on health, safety and other issues
-Banks that would like to know how their clients are doing
-Any other external person/ entity that requires information
-Suppliers who need to know about their future order quantities
Top management would need information externally about the following
-General economic variables: exchange rates, interest rates, etc
-Government Acts and Regulations
-Competitors in the market
-Technological changes and new development
Information needed about the business itself for long term planning and policy documents
-Population and other social trends
-The impact of new technology
-Changing consumer patterns and behaviour
-The trends of income and expenses involved in product lines
The information needs of functional (middle-level) managers
They need information to enable them to assist top management in planning, developing and implementing policies as well as manage their individual functions effectively
The internal information needs of supervisors (lower level management)
They need information to enable them to function on a day-to-day basis to control daily operations.
-They obtain information from pre-determined schedules, Gannt Charts, budgets and feedback from employees
The flow of information
Intelligence information: gathered from the external environment
-Public information: distributed to the external environment
-Top Management: Formulate strategy, long-term plans and objectives and make strategic decisions
-Middle (Functional) Management: Formulate tactical plans and objectives, provide functional strategy and guidelines for first-line managers
-Lower-level Management (Supervisors):Implement operational plans and objectives, make on the spot decisions, transact day to day business operations
Requirements for useful information
-Correct and accurate
-Must be relevant
-Be clear and detailed
-Needs to be complete
-Should be understandable
What is the primary purpose/behaviour of the administrative manager of the future
To process information and communicate it to stakeholders
Other behaviours of the administrative manager of the future
-Change management in the changing environment
-Implementing new technology in the workplace
-Addressing diversity in ages, cultures, beliefs, habits and attitudes
-Including employees in the decision making process and empower them
