Final Report: Managing an Office

Final Report: Managing an Office
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(April 19, 2012)
Final Report: Managing an Office
Office management is a wide topic, with many differentiated sub-topics on how to effectively run an office. The main purpose of the study is to ensure that employees have good etiquette in serving their customers. This paper will seek to analyze the effectiveness of various office activities such as communication, customer service, telephone techniques, time management, business meetings, record managements and ergonomics.
Effective Communication
It is the responsibility of an office to provide efficient communication within the firm. Effective communication mainly entails a free flow of information in all directions. It is the responsibilities of organization managers to ensure that there is a free flow of information within the firm. The perception of information being communicated matters a lot. For instance, if the information is positively perceived within the organization, then it certainly results to an increased output. In most cases, managers give instructions through the already established communication channels within an office. Examples of the communication channels used to disseminate information include emails, placing a memo on the noticeboard and calling for a meeting. When giving this instruction the intended audience is required to have appropriate listening skills. The audience should listen to the message patiently, comprehend it and then react to or against it. In case of a positive message, positive feedback should be expected, while a negative feedback should be expected for an undesirable message. It is not always the case for the audience to give direct feedback, but in some cases they may use body language to respond to a given message. There is however both positive and negative body language in which the audience may choose to respond to given information. In case the message is positively perceived then positive body language such as nodding of the head may be used to mean acceptance.
True Colors
Effective communication however should be able to bring out the true character of a person. In other words such communication should be able to bring out the true colors of a person within the firm. People within the organization should be able to identify their colleague`s strength and weakness, since such knowledge will enable them learn on how to efficiently coexist with one another. Managers and supervisors on the other hand should be able to efficiently understand the abilities of their subordinates, since such knowledge will help them ensure efficient communication between them. Since different people have different understanding levels, it is the responsibility of the managers to ensure that they use appropriate communication channels to suit them. For those who require close attention while communicating a given message, then proper time schedule should be set aside for them.
In order to encourage easy communication within the firm, managers should emphasize more on team work. This is because teamwork gradually develops communication skills amongst the members. Teamwork is also an efficient communication channel for the managers and supervisors since they only need to inform the group team leader who will consequently communicate the message to the group members.
Effective Customer Service
Every firm has both internal and external customers. The internal customers are those who have a direct connection with the organization. These customers may include the co-workers, and people working in different departments. The internal workers are very vital for the success of any given firm since they have the power to make or break an organization. The external customers on the other hand are those who are not connected with the organization, but needs the organizational products and services in one way or another. As a result the external customers usually pay for the goods and services they receive from the firm, thus assisting the firm to make profit or earn some revenue.
Customer service is the act of providing services to the customers before, on or after the purchase of a given products and services. An efficient customer service attendant warmly welcomes a customer through greetings before attending to his or her needs. He or she should also display a positive corporate image by maintaining positive etiquette at the workplace. A good customer service usually has a positive implication on the customers. It enhances customer satisfactions which further boost their loyalty and trust to a particular products and services. An efficient customer service should be ready to listen to the customer`s needs, deal with their complaints and should always ye...