Does Mudalovers know what office administration is? Office administration is an activity that is directly related to the administration system within the scope of the office. The management system within an office scope is one part of management that provides information in accordance with the administrative field needed to support the work of an activity effectively.
To make it easy to understand, we have to know the meaning of office administration. There are many people who provide opinions in defining the meaning of office administration. So, Mudalovers can listen to the explanation in this article.
What is the meaning of office administration?
What is the meaning of office administration? Office administration is a series of routine activities in an organization related to managing data and information in order to achieve the organization’s goals systematically.
If seen etymologically, the word ” Administration ” comes from Latin, namely ” Ad” which means intensive and ” ministrare” or which, if interpreted in Indonesian, means helping, serving or fulfilling . We all need to know that the definition of office administration is divided into two, namely the broad definition of office administration and the narrow definition of office administration.
So what is meant by office administration in the narrow sense? In a narrow sense, office administration is all technical activities and has a main role in carrying out operational activities, presenting reports to the board of directors, and plays an important role in creating a more effective company organization.
Meanwhile, if viewed in a broad sense, office administration can be understood as the activity of planning, organizing, directing, administering and supervising various work related to the scope of the office as well as orderly and good administration.
What is the definition of office administration in general? In general, office administration is an activity of financial planning, billing and recording, personnel, and distribution of goods and logistics in an organization. Generally, an employee who serves as office administration is called an office administrator or office manager.
What is the definition of office administration according to several experts? According to George Terry, a researcher and author entitled Principles of Management, office administration is planning, controlling and organizing work in an office and being a driver for those who run it so that the goals that have been set can be achieved well.
Another opinion was expressed by Prajudi Atmosudirdjo, the first Director of the State Administration Institute, who stated that office administration is a combination and combination of corporate management (the office as a unit consisting of buildings, land, personnel and equipment) with operations management (work in the office).
What are the duties of office administration?
WH Evans, an office administration expert, states that office administration tasks are functions related to management and directing all stages of company operations regarding the use of information, memory and organizational communication.
So what are the main office administration tasks? So, the task is to recapitulate data, manage documents, and store documents in a structured manner. From this main task, we can derive several office administration tasks which include:
1. Communicate using the telephone
Office administrators generally have the most important tasks, namely communicating via telephone, reception and outside telephone calls. In this task, an administrator needs to have good communication skills. For small and medium scale offices, usually an obligatory task is answering the telephone. Unlike large companies, there are usually other divisions such as customer service or what we usually know as customer service .
2. Make all office agendas
With the task of communicating via telephone, it is possible that there are partners who want to meet with company management or other departments. Other office administrative tasks are also needed to prepare the agenda for these activities. However, to schedule a meeting, further communication with other departments is needed so that the schedule can be arranged properly and there are no clashes with others’ schedules.
3. Data entry for the company
The next important task implemented in every office for this work is usually data entry or data recap. Transaction data from customers, consumer data, and other information will be recapitulated. However, not everything is recapped alone. If the company already has other divisions, such as a warehouse division, the office admin’s job is usually just to summarize that other divisions have been worked on.
A person who is in charge of office administration is required to have in-depth accuracy. Data such as addresses, telephone numbers, and others must be recapitulated to make searching easier.
4. Create data files
The final task, so that data can be managed well and easily, is that the data must be archived. This is also an office administrative task. This allows document data and everything to be managed well.
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What is the Scope of Office Administration Work?
From the various office administration tasks above, we can actually estimate what needs to be done. By knowing the scope of office administration, we can prepare ourselves to learn what skills will be needed later. The scope of office administration duties includes:
1. Office activities
This scope includes planning , organizing , acting , and controlling .
2. Office work facilities
This scope includes buildings, office locations, interiors, equipment, and machines available in the office.
An administrator must be responsible for planning work for employees, supervising employees, and requesting the procurement of necessary facilities and infrastructure or repairs to existing office equipment.
What is the purpose of office administration?
In general, the aim of this office management process is so that company goals can be achieved effectively and efficiently and meet the requirements from a technical, economic and psychological perspective.
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Technical means it has benefits and effectiveness
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Economical, namely a price that is appropriate or in accordance with what it should be
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Psychological, namely giving satisfaction
So, the following are complete office administration objectives.
- Providing complete data and information to parties who need it to carry out organizational tasks effectively and efficiently.
- Supervise office and administrative work to ensure the implementation of quality standards, deadlines and procedures appropriately.
- Implement company or department policies and provide good service standards in relation to management.
- Communicate with employees regarding work performance to identify problems and their causes, and attempt to resolve these problems.
- Provide training or work orders to employees.
- Carrying out work verification, monitoring and evaluation by making reports related to production, delivery and payroll activities.
- Carrying out the employee recruitment process, starting from interviews to selecting employees.
- Interpret and communicate all work procedures and company policies to all employees.
Meanwhile, GR Terry, in his book entitled Office Management and Control , has his own views on the objectives of office administration.
- Provide all detailed and complete information and classify who, when and where it is needed for the proper and efficient implementation of the organization or company.
- Take notes with minimal costs.
- Providing administrative work effectively and efficiently.
- Helping companies compete well with competitors
- Provide financial reports with minimal costs
Meanwhile, in general, the objectives of office administration include the following.
- Apply and improve information technology capabilities so that the implementation of tasks runs effectively and efficiently.
- Implement and improve document management capabilities in accordance with standard operational procedures applicable within a company.
- Implement and improve financial administration management ( accounting ) skills, so that the process of managing financial aspects can be accounted for and reported.
- Implement and improve company services in relations with external parties.
- Apply and improve abilities in planning, implementing, organizing and evaluating tasks that are the responsibility of each employee.
- Apply and improve communication skills in relations with external parties, of course by paying attention to ethics and the environment.
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What are the Functions of Office Administration?
According to Quible (2001) there are five types of administrative support functions in offices, namely routine, technical, analytical, interpersonal and managerial functions. The following is a description of the office administration functions.
1. Routine Functions
Routine functions are administrative functions that require thought and skill, which at least include archiving and duplicating company goods
2. Technical Function
The second function is a technical function that requires opinions, decisions, and qualified office skills for administrators
3. Analysis Function
The third function is the analytical function which requires critical and creative thinking as well as the ability to make decisions quickly and precisely.
4. Interpersonal Function
The fourth function is the interpersonal function which requires analysis and judgment as a basis for deciding something as well as skills in communicating with other people well.
5. Managerial Function
The final function is the managerial function which requires planning, organizing, measuring, and providing motivation to employees
What are the Characteristics of Office Administration?
There are three characteristics of office administration, namely:
1. Service nature
Work in the office has service characteristics, because its function is to help the main work to be carried out effectively and efficiently.
2. Open and spacious
Office administration is open and spacious, what does that mean? All office tasks can be carried out anywhere, it doesn’t have to be in a building as a reference.
3. Implemented by All Parties
Office work can be done by all parties in the organization or company, from the leadership to the lowest-ranking employees in a structured manner.
What If You Study in the Department of Office Administration?
After listening to the definition of office administration, is Mudalovers interested in studying at the Department of Office Administration? This department actually exists in vocational schools, there are also in Vocational Programs (D-3) and of course at the Bachelor’s level (S-1).
In the Department of Office Administration, we will learn about the knowledge and skills needed to complete various jobs in an organization, whether in a company or office. The office administration tasks that we will study in the Department of Office Administration are examples of archive management, correspondence, information technology, and of course many more.
Everything we learn in the Department of Office Administration equips us with managerial skills, communication, managing organizations, strategic thinking, and even mathematical knowledge. Students majoring in Office Administration will later study special courses such as Electronic Typing, Stenography, Computer Practice, Typing Practice and Office Simulation, Complaint Management, and various other Office Administration courses.
Students in the Department of Office Administration at Vocational Schools also learn about attitude, how to dress, communication skills over the telephone, and so on. Many graduates of the Office Administration Department of Vocational Schools then go on to work or also choose to continue their studies in the Office Administration Department in the Vocational (D-3) and Bachelor (S-1) Programs.
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What are the Job, Profession and Career Prospects for Office Administration Graduates?
In fact, since vocational school level, graduates of the Office Administration Department have bright prospects in the world of work. What are the job prospects and duties? Here are some of them:
1. Secretary
The job prospect for Office Administration is to become a secretary whose job is to filter information about business for the management, including as a recorder and reminder of various management activities in the company.
2. Administrative Staff
The second prospect is as an administrative staff. The office administration tasks carried out include office administration tasks that support company operations so that they run well and smoothly.
3. Personnel Staff
The next job prospect is to become a personnel staff. Payroll, database , attendance, loans, and recording employee leave are the duties of Office Administration for personnel staff.
4. Personal Assistant
The fourth prospect is to become a personal assistant . Important people with a high level of activity usually need the help of a personal assistant. With his skills as an alumni of the Office Administration Department, a personal assistant can take part in various activities and help with all the needs of his superiors in a company.
5. Public Relations
The fifth prospect, namely becoming a public relations officer . Because of their communication skills, alumni of the Office Administration Department also have the opportunity to work in the field of Public Relations to bridge the outside world and companies.
6. Vocational school teacher
If we continue studying at the Department of Office Administration Education, we will have the skills to become a teacher and teach Office Administration at the vocational school level.