MOHAMED ABDULLAHI

DBM/5731/22

MOI UNIVERSITY

DBM17; OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

ASSIGNMENT 3

QUESTIONS

1. Explain the methods of providing office services

Centralization

This is an arrangement where certain services common to all department like typing, filling supply of
stationery etc. are provided from a central place

Departmentalization

The opposite of centralization is decentralization or departmentalization where each department

Both these arrangements have their respective advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of centralization

• This arrangement helps to follow the principle of specialization

• Its economical to the organization

• Reduces the number of furniture and equipment as well

• Reduces the duplication of work and activities

• There is an even and fair distribution of work in a centralised office

• This arrangement makes easy to follow staff leave rotation policy

• A broader experience of the work of the office is given to one place which in turn means more
facilities for staff training and development

Advantages of departmentalization

• Departmental office services speed up work as there is less volume of work and documents

• Its suitable for certain tasks of confidential nature like accounting personal work

• Departmentalization reduces need for messengers and collection services between departments

• Its offers personal contact between workers and executives

• It reduces dissatisfaction of staff at the segregation of sexes that results from the creation of
central services department of this type

• This arrangement helps the workers to learn more in addition to their routine work

• Sometimes lack of coordination and cooperation departments can result in delays,

The advantages of centralization are disadvantages of departmentalization and vice versa.

Typing pool.

Advantages of centralization of typing pool

• Make economical use of typist labor as the typing pool supervisor spreads work evenly and fairly
equal among the typists.

• Sickness and holiday difficulties are easily overcome as realedlocation can easily be done.

• Training of new typist is easily done as all typist jointly contribute toward the training of s new
member

• Interruption to work is avoided as telephone and all other queries are dealt with supervisor.

• Noise especially emanating from manual typewriters is confined to one place.

• Less time is wasted compared to departmental typing.

• Higher standard of work can be achieved as there tends to be competition among typists.

Disadvantages of centralization

• Lack of personal contact between the typist and the executive which to a large extent is supposed
to create a good working relationship.

• Increased need for messengers to collect scripts from the various department to the typing pool
and back.

• No specialization for particular work

• Don't give secretaries a chance of upward mobility.

• It provides an atmosphere of gossip leading to waste of valuable time

• Tendency the supervisor to over work certain while giving less work to others.

CENTRALIZED FILING

Advantages

• Economy of space can be achieved.

• A uniform system of filing can be established throughout the organizations

• Files movement is efficiently controlled. This enables an efficient follow up system.

• It avoids duplication where each department needs a copy a certain document

• Suitable qualified staff are appointed or trained for the purpose

• Less costly as few staff are appointed or handle for the purpose

Disadvantages of filing

• Retrieval procedure may be longer than if it was localized

• It is desirable for confidential documents such as personnel records ,salary, legal documents etc.

2.What are the basic characteristics to consider when setting up office premises and general
environment

1. Location

“Location, location, location.” We’ve all heard that famous phrase, which drives home just
how important location is when choosing a space for your office.

Here are two really important questions to ask:

1. Can my clients get there without a hassle?

If you find an office that ticks these two boxes, then you’re well on your way to finding a good
location. Think about the security of the neighborhood as well and what’s close to the office.
Is there a gym nearby? Coffee shop? After work bar? All of these things are important for
keeping your clients and staff happy!

2. Price

Price is probably the most important factor to most businesses when they’re choosing a new
office. If you spend too little, you’ll either end up with an office you’re not happy with, or you
may find yourself moving out after a few months. Spend too much, and you might struggle to
pay the rent or have to move again to downsize. Neither of those scenarios are ideal.

Here are a few important questions to ask when considering how much to spend on your
next office space:

1. Can I afford to pay a three month rent deposit on this office right now?
2. Have I asked about any hidden costs? (Maintenance, extra cost of parking, etc.)
3. Is this office priced in line with similar office spaces in the area?

3. Size

Obviously both of the factors mentioned previously—location and price—will influence the
size of the commercial premises you choose, but it’s an important point to mention.

As a very general rule, it’s normally recommended to have 70 square feet per person.
However, you know your business best. If your employees need bigger desks or more
storage for example, then up this figure appropriately.

There’s also the issue of meeting and rest space. You’ll need an area to meet with clients,
and your colleagues need somewhere to eat their lunch!

4. Infrastructure

This is a more important feature for some businesses than others. Nowadays however, there
aren’t many businesses that can function efficiently without a reliable internet connection.
Some offices, particularly managed or serviced offices, generally include internet access as
part of their rent. If you’re leasing somewhere privately though, you’ll need to factor in the
cost of getting a line connected and the monthly payments for access.

5. Style

Quite often this is pushed to the back of people’s minds while they’re searching for new
offices. Although it’s advisable to consider the “more important” factors like the four
mentioned above first, there is still a lot to be said for office style.

If you’re a business that hopes to become a “brand” or wants to protect your brand image
from the start, then you’ll need to take this into consideration. An office can be a fantastic
branding tool.

3. Explain the facilities of office organization and layout

Staff and customer conveniences

The arrangement of the rooms should be such that customers can have easy access to the
departments requiring frequent visits from them eg cash, sales.

There should also be provision for adequate number of cloak rooms, wash rooms, water fountains,
and canteens for the convenience of the staff

Cost of office accommodation

The cost factor will dictate the final selection of accommodation for the office

The cost should not be uneconomical but at the same time efficiency shouldn't be sacrificed merely
for the sake of the economy in cost

Location of departments

• Departments dealing with public like reception and mail office must be close to the entrance

• Those requiring some concentration and much thinking like planning or M.D's office should be kept
a bit far to allow them to work in quieter atmosphere

• The department with heavy machinery and equipment should be kept on ground floor

• Those which serve other department should be kept centrally eg typing pool

• Department should be located in such that toilets, wash basins and other facilities are within the
reach of all

• Some departments require natural light e.g. drawing department. They should be located
accordingly

• Some departments have very close relationship regarding their activities, and thus should be close
to each other e.g. sales and credit

Sanitation and cleanliness

Dirty or insanitary conditions not only creates an unpleasant and depressing environment for the
workers but also affects their health as they have to spend a large part of the day in office, thus the
office should always be kept neat and clean

Temperature and humidity

Noise affects the efficiency of office staff to a great extent Its important to control noise that may be
externa or internal

External noise may be caused traffic movements on the street, noise from neighboring premises,
factories etc.

Causes of internal noise

• Machines movements

• Movement and conversation of clerks, visitors

• Creaking doors

• Calling bells, telephones

• Shifting of furniture from one place to another

4.what are the causes of internal noise and external noise within organisation
Internal noise
 Thermal noise: This noise is generated during the energy transfer between electrons
and ions. This occurs due to the collisions caused by random vibrations of the free
electrons and ions in conductors. As they move around, some random current flows
inside the conductor and constitutes to the noise voltage which is referred to as
thermal noise.
 Transit time noise: The random noise occurs due to the movement of charge carriers
during the transit time. It is directly proportional to the frequency, hence more
significant at higher frequencies
 Shot noise: This is the most common type of noise in electronic devices; it is
generated by the random movement of holes and electrons across PN junctions.
Even with the correct bias that ensures the current flow in one direction, some holes
and electrons still move randomly due to the discontinuities in the device such as the
contact between the semiconductor material and the copper lead.
 Miscellaneous internal noise: such as flicker noise, partition noise and transistor
thermal noise.
External noise
 Man-made noise such as industrial noise, switch gear, electrical motors, aircraft
and automotive ignition, fluorescent lights, leakage from high voltage lines etc.
This type of noise is produced due to the arc discharges.
 Atmospheric noise: this is random and comes from lightning discharges and other
naturally occurring electrical disturbances. The atmospheric noise spreads over a
wide frequency range and affects the communication equipment most.
 Extra-terrestrial noise
 Shot Noise- The most common type of noise is referred to as shot noise which is
produced by the random arrival of electrons or holes at the output element, at the
plate in a tube, or at the collector or drain in a transistor. Shot noise is also
produced by the random movement of electrons or holes across a PN junction.
5.What measures should be put in place to prevent internal and external noise
 Use a different, quieter process or quieter equipment, eg:
 Can you do the work in some other quieter way?
 Can you replace whatever is causing the noise with something that is less noisy?
  Introduce a low-noise purchasing policy for machinery and equipment.
 Introduce engineering controls:
 Avoid metal-on-metal impacts, eg line chutes with abrasion-resistant rubber, and
reduce drop heights.
 Vibrating machine panels can be a source of noise - add material to reduce
vibration ('damping').
 Isolate vibrating machinery or components from their surroundings, eg with
antivibration mounts or flexible couplings.
 Fit silencers to air exhausts and blowing nozzles.
 Modify the paths by which the noise travels through the air to the people exposed, eg:
 Erect enclosures around machines to reduce the amount of noise emitted into the
workplace or environment.
 Use barriers and screens to block the direct path of sound.
 Position noise sources further away from workers.
 Design and lay out the workplace for low noise emission, eg:
 Use absorptive materials within the building to reduce reflected sound, eg open cell
foam or mineral wool.
 Keep noisy machinery and processes away from quieter areas.
 Design the workflow to keep noisy machinery out of areas where people spend
most of their time.
 Limit the time spent in noisy areas - every halving of the time spent in a noisy area will
reduce noise exposure by 3 dB.