Course : ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

Strand : GA/ABM
Grade Level : 12
Semester & Year : 1st Semester, 2024-2025

FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF MANAGEMENT

DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF MANAGEMENT
A. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Human resources, also known human capital, drive the performance of organizations along with
other resources; hence, understanding the HRM functions of management is very important.
These include:

Conducting job analysis. Job analysis is the process of obtaining information about jobs
needed to achieve the organization’s goal/objectives by determining the duties, tasks, or
activities involved in jobs. Job analysis data maybe gathered through interviews, questionnaires,
observation, and diaries. They may also be collected through position analysis, and competency-
based analysis. Decision-making regarding job-related problems is done objectively by analyzing
the requirements of each job.

Planning labor need and recruiting. It is important to determine the number and kind of
people that may be attracted for employment. External recruitment enables the organization to
fill job openings with special qualifications and to employ persons with new knowledge, skills,
values, ideas, and perspectives. Internal recruitment may also be done if management finds it
more advantageous to promote or transfer present employees to fill the available job openings.
Recruitment from within company is said to be less expensive as existing employees no longer
need extensive orientation programs.

Selecting candidates for the job. This involves the matching of people and jobs. Job
specifications help identify the person-job fit and identify their competencies, their knowledge,
skills, abilities, and other factors that may lead to excellent performance. Managers may use
different selection methods such as interviews, psychological tests, and calling references,
among others.

Orienting and training new employees. This is done in organizations so that they could
contribute to the achievement of their organizational goals/objectives. The phases involved in this
function are:
• conducting needs assessment of the organization, of the person, and of the task/work;
• designing the training program by considering the institutional objectives, the trainees’
readiness and motivation, and the principles of learning;
• implementation of the training program for non-managerial employees using on-the-job
training, apprenticeship training, cooperative training, internship, government training,
classroom instruction, and e-learning.
• evaluating the training program in order to determine effectiveness, considering reactions,
learning, behavior of the trainees, return on investment (ROI) or results, and benchmarking.

Managing compensation pay. Compensation or pay represents a reward received by

employees in exchange for their contributions to the achievement of organizational goals. In
doing so, pay equity must be considered. It must be fair and just, acceptable to all concerned
parties, and commensurate to the value of the work performed. It is important as it determines
job performance motivation of workers.
 Providing incentives and benefits. Incentives are generally based upon a pay-for-
performance philosophy which means that a performance “threshold” or baseline performance
level must be reached by an employee or group of employees in order to qualify for incentive
payments. Examples of individual incentives are bonuses, merit pay, and sales incentives. Group
incentives include team compensation, Scanlon plan, and improshare. Enterprise incentives are
profit sharing, stock options, and employee stock ownership plans. Benefits, on the other hand,
include social security, workers’ compensation, health care and medical educational assistance,
vacation leave, sick leave, life insurance, retirement benefits, and travel benefits. It is important
that incentives and benefits programs be based on specific objectives compatible with the
organizational philosophy and policies and the organization’s financial standing.

Evaluating employees’ performance. Appraisal of employees is done on a regular basis to

find out who are doing their jobs well and who are not. The purpose of such evaluation are
administrative and developmental. Administrative purposes include: to aid in decision-making
regarding employee’s pay and promotions, transfers or layoffs, which are based on their
achievements and performance. The developmental purpose of appraisal is the use of results for
discussing employees’ strengths and weaknesses and for listing down performance improvement
needs.

Communicating. To be effective, managers must have good communication skills, both

oral and written and information technology proficiently. This is necessary to receive and
disseminate pertinent information needed by all organization members in carrying out activities
that will lead to the achievement of company goals/objectives. Besides carrying out internal
communication, managers must also have good communication with customers, suppliers and
other stakeholders in the external environment. Communication may be hindered by barriers and
breakdowns in the communication process. Identifying these barriers and learning how to listen
well will facilitate both understanding and managing process.

Developing employees. Programs should be designed to meet the special needs of

employees which will prepare them for future jobs or roles that they maybe be assigned to do.
These may include: graduate studies, cross training, which refers to the process of developing
employees to do multiple jobs within an organization; or ethics training, the process of developing
employees’ moral judgments that will help them determine right and wrong behavior which they
could use in jobs that require more decision-making functions.

Building employee commitment. This is another important function of HR practitioner which

will bind them to engage in activities that will ensure the achievement of organizational
goal/objectives. This must be followed by employee accountability or accepting responsibility for
one’s actions.

Providing good working conditions. This includes giving a clear statement of the
company’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives; offering a good compensation and benefits
package; preparing a well-ventilated, well-lit, and pollution free work area for employees; and
practicing ethical management styles.

Handling grievances and industrial relations. When differences arise between labor unions
and management, these are usually settled through the grievance procedure, wherein the
feelings, needs, and desires of both parties are aired. Managers must try to master the art of
handling grievances and industrial relations to bring peace in their organization. Again, it must be
emphasized that satisfied workers are more motivated workers, which in turn, makes them more
effective and efficient in performing their assigned tasks; thus, they hasten the attainment of their
company’s set goals/objectives.

IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Human resource management deals with the management of people – the most
important business resource. Money, materials, and information resources are not capable of
moving the business activities without the aid of the primary performance drivers, human
resources. Therefore, mastering the activities involved in human resource management
(recruitment, selection, placement, training, and development) is a must since all other
management activities (planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling) could be done
easily if organization managers practice proper human resource management.

RECRUITMENT

HUMAN
TRAINING AND SELECTION
DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT

PLACEMENT

Figure 1. Activities involved in human resource management

B. MARKETING MANAGEMENT
As marketing expert Philip Kotler puts it, marketing management “is essentially demand
management.” This is because it involves “influencing the level, timing and composition of
demand” so that an organization may reach its goals.

The marketing management functions of management include the following:

Analyzing, planning, implementing, and controlling of goods, services, and ideas to create
exchanges that satisfy customer needs and company goals. Analyses of demand management
starts with the gathering of data through marketing research. Activities under marketing planning
include decision-making on target markets, market positioning, product development, pricing,
distribution channels, physical distribution, communication, and promotion. The implementation
of the marketing plan is formally carried out by sales managers, salespeople, advertising and
promotion managers, and customer service managers.

Controlling refers to monitoring of the marketing plan’s progress. Goals and budgets are
set for each month or quarter. A review of the results follows in order to identify business that are
not attaining their goals. Managers of unsuccessful businesses must explain what the problem is
and propose contingency plans that the management has to take in response to such negative
developments.

Management of marketing resources. Marketing resources include salespeople,

advertising, and marketing research.
a. Management of salespeople involves inculcating the establishment of satisfying
long-term relations with customers, suppliers, and distributors in order to help their
long-term preference and business. Good marketers and able to maintain win-win
relationships by seeing to it that they always deliver high quality, good service, and
fair and reasonable prices to the key parties that they deal with over a long period
of time.
 Figure 2. The marketing mix is an important consideration in marketing management.

b. Management of advertising. Although used less frequently than sales calls in

business markets, it is still important in marketing. In can perform different functions
such as: build awareness; build comprehension of the good features of the product
or service; remind prospective customers about the product; provide the
company’s contact information to customers; and lead to customers to get in touch
with sales representatives.
c. Management of marketing research. This involves identifying the seven
characteristics of good marketing research:
1. the principles of the scientific method are used;
2. research creativity is practiced by using innovative ways to solve marketing
problems;
3. multiple methods of research are used in order to adapt the method of the
problem;
4. interdependence of models and data which recognize that data are
interpreted from underlying models;
5. value and cost of information is concerned with estimating the value of the
information against the cost which helps the marketing research
department
determine which projects to prioritize;
6. healthy skepticism enables researches to show a healthy questioning of the
hurried assumptions made by the managers about how a market works;
and
7. ethical marketing research which is concerned with research that benefits
both the sponsoring company and the consumers; self-serving results may
mislead consumers
to buy the company’s product which, in reality, is not good or effective.

Analyze, plan, and implement marketing programs that aim to b ring about an expected
level and mix of business deals with target markets. It is important that analysis and planning
precede the implementation of the marketing program, in order to ensure that its aim will be
achieved. Strategic planning for individual business entails defining the business mission, analyzing
the business’ external and internal strengths and weaknesses, and formulating goals and
strategies. In doing so, the implementation of the marketing program will go smoothly and the
chances that it will achieve its aim of bringing an expected level and mix of business deal with
target markets will be increased.
 Stimulate demands for the products of the company. This is achieved by influencing the
level, timing, and composition of demand, bearing in the mind the attainment of the company’s
objectives.

Make crucial decisions that will ensure the company’s competitiveness. These are
decisions regarding target markets, development of products, distribution of goods, market
positioning, and setting the right prices for their products.

Make sure that marketing techniques employed are efficient, effective, and socially
responsible or ethical. Marketing managers and their team members must balance their own best
interests (big sales commissions, recognition, or promotion) with the best interests of their
company, consumers, and society.

IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Marketing management is important because it is the key to organizational attainment,
customer satisfaction, and profit gain. With major marketing management processes – planning,
execution, pricing, and promotion and distribution of goods, services and ideas to create
exchanges with target groups – satisfying customers and achieving organizational goals will not
be possible.

C. OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Business managers today focus on productivity, technology use, quality of goods and
services, customer satisfaction, and speed. They are conscious that they need to innovate on
their processes and activities in order to succeed in a highly competitive globalized market.
Because of these needs, the operations management functions of management must include
the following:
a. Overseeing the transformation process that change resources into finished goods
and services. In order to do this, managers must address resource acquisition inventories, facilities,
workflows, technologies and quality. In doing so, productivity and competitive advantage will be
ensured as they accomplish the multiple processes that transform the various resources – in the
form of people, material, equipment, and capital – into quality finished products and services.
b. Improve of productivity and competitive advantage. Productivity measures the
efficiency by which inputs are turned into outputs. The basic equation for productivity is:
productivity = output / input
Competitive advantage is the competency of an organization to outperform a competitor
or competitors. To ensure productivity, work processes must be subjected to complete analysis
and redesigned, if necessary, through process engineering. Other ways to ensure productivity are
process value analysis and reengineering. In process value analysis, all elements of a process and
their workflows are analyzed to be able to know their contributions to key performance results.
Reengineering discards work steps that are not needed, combines other work steps, uses
technological know-how to reduce costs, and ensures efficiency and effectiveness. Competitive
advantage follows when organizations improve their productivity.

Figure 3. The-Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is one of the methods that may help managers improve
business processes and production.
 c. Managing the sequence of activities and information along the whole course of the
value chain. Proper management of these activities and information results in the creation of
finished products and services that have value to customers. Elements in an organization’s value
chain include inflow of resources and materials, organizing or resources and materials, creating
goods or services, distributing finished products or services, and serving of target customers.

IMPORTANCE OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Through the study of the essentials of operations management, businesses of different
types and sizes may increase their chances for survival and success in today’s business
environment which is characterized as highly competitive and fast-paced in producing quality
products and services.

D. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Gaining profit is the main goal of businesses. To attain this goal, managers must practice
good financial management and this, of course, starts with understanding the financial
management functions of management. These functions include:

Taking charge of the company’s financial policies and strategies, investments, capital
structures, and divided policies. Financial managers of organizations must formulate sound
financial standing plans that will communicate broad guidelines for their financial decisions and
strategies. These plans include typical financial policies that address the organization’s
investments, capital structures and dividend policies. Investment policy covers choice of product
lines and capital projects. Capital structure policy covers a working capital policy (for the
balancing assets and liabilities) and leverage policy (for balancing long-term financing). Dividend
policy considers the use of either a systematic pattern of earnings retention or dividend
distribution.

Financial management and control. The management and custody of the organization’s
funds also include control which gives an assurance that funds are properly utilized in order to
provide for all the organization’s needs. Examples of financial standard management and control
practices by organizations are the following:
 project management, which makes sure that long-term projects are implemented
according to previously planned budgets and checks if these have yielded
forecasted cash returns
 working capital management, which includes cash, accounts receivable, and
inventory management
 cash management, which gives an assurance that there is enough cash balance
that may be used for daily operating needs, that idle cash in invested through
marketable securities, and that proper cash control are instituted
 accounts receivable management, which ensures the optimization of accounts
receivable investments and the formulation of sound credit evaluation and
collection procedures
 inventory management, determines inventory levels by making maximum use of
trade-off between inventory carrying cost, ordering cost, and lost sales
opportunities; it also institutes good stable inventory control procedures
 fund sources management identifies short-and long-term funds that may be
available and transacts and keeps watch of credit facilities with banks and other
financial institutions.
 dividend policy implementation determines the form and amounts of dividends and
schedules their payment

Financial planning. Financial planning is the process of setting financial objectives and
determining what should be done to accomplish them. This includes financial forecasting,
financial analysis, and financial performance evaluation.
Financial forecasting involves:
1. Cash budgeting – a forecast of cash needs and sources
 2. Profit planning – a forecast of revenues and expenditures
3. Balance sheet forecasting – considers future assets, liabilities, and the
organizations net worth position
Financial analysis involves:
1. Capital budgeting techniques – involves the assessment of long-term investment
2. Operating leverage analysis – critically examines cost-volume profit relationship
3. Financial leverage analysis – studies the effect of debt on income to the
organization’s common stockholders.

Analysis of pricing and cost of products, materials, supplies, and production/

manufacturing also fall under financial analysis.

Financial performance evaluation refers to the assessment of financial ratios to indicate to

the overall performance of the organization, as well as the assessment of market-wide financial
indicators.

IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Financial management facilitates the choice investments, financial policies, and
operating mechanism of the organization in order to effectively achieve its goals and objectives.
It includes maximizing its profits as well as those of its shareholders and stockholders. In doing so,
financial managers are able to maximize the wealth of the organization and its
shareholders/stockholders and satisfy other goals like providing good customer service, minimizing
bankruptcy risks, and actively participating in present societal concerns.

To accomplish the abovementioned functions that give importance to financial management

in organizations, control techniques, that measure the company’s financial soundness,
management effectiveness, production and service efficiency, and human resource attitudes
and morale must also be considered. These include the following:

Break-even chart – is used by the organization’s financial management planners and

accountants to identify how the various sales levels affect the income and profits of the
firm.

The break-even point is the level of operations which

shows equal income and expenses incurred by the
company.

Figure 4. Break-even chart.

Financial statements – include income statement, balance sheets, and cash flow
statements which are carefully analyzed.

Financial ratios – make use of the above-mentioned financial statements to determine the
formulation of a series of ratios that will, in turn, determine of the company is stable or unstable.
Strong or weak and on the road to bankruptcy; examples of such ratios are rate of return on
capital invested, rate on return of assets, and rate of return on sales, among others.

Another functional statement used in financial management that also emphasizes its
importance is the organization’s budget. This states the amount of money that the company will
spend and receive during a future period of time. At the end of the period of operations, actual
expenses and budgeted amounts are compared to see whether that the company has operated
under or over budget. Difference allow management to examine specific expenditures and the
reasons behind such. Managers and department heads will then be forced to quantify their sales
objectives and other company targets because these must be expressed in pesos and not in
general statements or hopeful or optimistic expressions. Budget preparation in financial
management, therefore, is important in management decision-making, and this must be
prepared well on a regular basis by all organizations.

E. MATERIAL AND PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT

MATERIAL MANAGEMENT
Materials management is a function, which aims for integrated approach towards the
management of materials in an industrial undertaking. Its main objective is cost reduction and
efficient handling of materials at all stages and in all sections of the undertaking. Its functions
include several important aspects connected with material, such as purchasing, storage,
inventory control, material handling, standardization, etc.

SCOPE OR FUNCTIONS OF MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

Materials management is defined as “the function responsible for the coordination of
planning, sourcing, purchasing, moving, storing and controlling materials in an optimum manner
so as to provide a pre-decided service to the customer at a minimum cost”.

From the definition it is clear that the scope of materials management is vast. The functions
of materials management can be categorized in the following ways:
1. Material Planning and Control
Material planning is a scientific technique of determining in advance the
requirements of raw materials, ancillary parts and components, spares etc. as
directed by the production programme. It is a subsystem in the overall planning
activity.
2. Purchasing
Purchasing is an important function of materials management. In any industry
purchase means buying of equipment, materials, tools, parts etc. required for
industry. The importance of the purchase function varies with nature and size of
industry.
3. Store Management
Stores play a vital role in the operations of company. It is in direct touch with
the user departments in its day-to-day activities. The most important purpose served
by the stores is to provide uninterrupted service to the manufacturing divisions.
Further, stores are often equated directly with money, as money is locked up in the
stores.
4. Inventory Control or Management
Inventory control is a planned approach of determining what to order, when
to order and how much to order and how much to stock so that costs associated
with buying and storing are optimal without interrupting production and sales.
Inventory control basically deals with two problems: (i) When should an order be
placed? (Order level) and (ii) How much should be ordered? (Order quantity).
5. Standardization
Standardization means producing maximum variety of products from a
minimum variety of materials, parts, tools, and processes. It is the process of
establishing standards or units of measure by which extent, quality, quantity, value,
performance etc., may be compared and measured.
6. Simplification
The concept of simplification is closely related to standardization. Simplification
is the process of reducing the variety of products manufactured. Simplification is
concerned with the reduction of product range, assemblies, parts, materials and
design.
7. Value Analysis
Value engineering or value analysis had its birth during the World War II
Lawrence D. Miles was responsible for developing the technique and naming it.
Value analysis is defined as “an organized creative approach which has its objective,
the efficient identification of unnecessary cost – cost which provides neither quality
nor use nor life nor appearance nor customer features.” Value Analysis focuses
 engineering, manufacturing and purchasing attention to one objective-equivalent
performance at lower cost.
Value analysis is concerned with the cost added due to inefficient or
unnecessary specifications and features. It makes its contribution in the last stage of
product cycle, namely, the maturity stage. At this stage, research and development
no longer make positive contributions in terms of improving the efficiency of the
functions of the product or adding new function to it.
8. Ergonomics (Human Engineering)
The word ‘Ergonomics” has its origin in two Greek words Ergon meaning laws.
So, it is the study of the man in relation to his work. In the USA and other countries, it is
called by the name ‘human engineering or human factors engineering.’ ILO defines
human engineering as, “The application of human biological sciences along with
engineering sciences to achieve optimum mutual adjustment of men and his work,
the benefits being measured in terms of human efficiency and well-being.”
The human factors or human engineering is concerned with man-machine
system. Thus another definition which highlights the man-machine system is: “The
design of human tasks, man-machine system, and effective accomplishment of the
job, including displays for presenting information to human sensors, controls for
human operations and complex man-machine systems.”
Human engineering focuses on human beings and their interaction with
products, equipment facilities and environments used in the work. Human
engineering seeks to change the things people use and the environment in which
they use the things to match in a better way the capabilities, limitations and needs of
people.
9. Just-in-Time (JIT)
Just-in-Time (JIT) Manufacturing is a philosophy rather than a technique. By
eliminating all waste and seeking continuous improvement, it aims at creating
manufacturing systems that is response to the market needs.
The phase just in time is used because this system operates with low WIP (Work-
In-Process) inventory and often with a very low finished goods inventory. Products are
assembled just before they are sold, subassemblies are made just before they are
assembled, and components are made and fabricated just before subassemblies
are made. This leads to lower WIP and reduced lead times. To achieve this
organizations, have to be excellent in other areas e.g. quality.
According to Voss, JIT is viewed as a “Production methodology which aims to
improve overall productivity through elimination of waste, and which leads to
improve quality”. JIT provides an efficient production in an organization and delivery
of only the necessary parts in the right quantity, at the right time and place while using
the minimum facilities”.

Figure 5. Scope of Materials Management.

IMPORTANCE OF MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

1. The material cost content of total cost is kept at a reasonable level. Scientific purchasing
helps in acquiring materials at reasonable prices. Proper storing of materials also helps in
reducing wastages. These factors help in controlling cost content of products.
 2. The cost of indirect materials is kept under check. Sometimes cost of indirect materials also
increases total cost of production because there is no proper control over such materials.
3. The equipment is properly utilized because there are no break downs due to late supply of
materials.
4. The loss of direct labor is avoided.
5. The wastages of materials at the stage of storage as well as their movement is kept under
control.
6. The supply of materials is prompt and late delivery instances are only few.
7. The investments on materials are kept under control as under and over stocking is avoided.
8. Congestion in the stores and at different stages of manufacturing is avoided.

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT
Procurement management is the strategic approach to managing and optimizing
organizational spend. It involves acquiring quality good and service from preferred vendors within
stipulated budget on or before deadline. The procurement management process includes
sourcing, requisitioning, ordering, expediting, inspection, and reconciliation.

STEPS IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS

Procurement involves much more than just handing over the company credit card and
paying for a purchase. And effective procurement strategy includes everything from identifying
which goods and services a company needs right through to maintaining the right
documentation and records.

Overview of the procurement process:

1. Identify which goods and services the company needs
2. Submit a purchase request
3. Assess and select vendors
4. Negotiate price and terms
5. Create a purchase order
6. Receive and inspect the delivered goods
7. Conduct three-way matching
8. Approve the invoice and arrange payment
9. Recordkeeping

Keep in mind, how a company shapes its internal procurement process will be influenced
by factors like the company’s size, industry, available human resources, and organizational
structure.

IMPORTANCE OF PROCUREMENT IN A BUSINESS

Procurement is important in business because it directly impacts a company’s profit. For
an organization to be profitable, the cost of procuring goods needs to be less than the amount it
sells those goods for, minus whatever costs are selling them.

In addition, procurement is linked to several core business functions within an organization.

So, it should always be considered critical part of nay organization’s corporate strategy.

To understand this, consider how procurement can influence the four pillars of corporate
strategy.

• Corporate Identity
o What does our company do and stand for?
o What beliefs inform our business model?
• Market Placement
o Who are our customers?
o What do they want?
 o What do they believe?
• Company Capabilities
o What are our strengths and weaknesses?
o Does our strength support our long-term goals?
o How do we want to grow?
• Management Issues
o Do we need to hire/develop talent to lead us to our goals?
o Does the company have the resources needed to achieve our goal?

Procurement touches on each of these components. For instance, procurement and

corporate identity intertwined. If your business is building (or has built) its identity around an
environmentally conscious ethic, then your procurement strategy should reflect that decision.
Policies should be in place to ensure you are sourcing from companies with similar ethics, or that
your sourcing materials that are not environmentally hazardous.

A company’s procurement strategy should also be shaped with its market placement,
company capabilities, and management issues in mind. The company needs the right people in
place to put into action the beliefs/philosophies you want your business to be governed by.
Dealings with vendor should reflect company philosophy.

F. OFFICE MANAGEMENT
Office management refers to the process of planning, organizing, guiding,
communicating, directing, coordinating, and controlling the activities of a group of people who
are working to achieve business objectives efficiently and economically.

Office management is not only necessary to business organization but also essential to non-
business organization. In modern internet society also, there is a need of direction to the individual
effort towards common purpose or objective. The direction is given from a place i.e. office.

The process can be treated as office management. A business is carried on by

businessman with the help of group of persons. This group of persons has different interest, talent,
and motto. So, it is the function of office management to organize, guide and control the activities
of such group or persons to achieve business objectives.

ELEMENTS OF OFFICE MANAGEMENT

Elements of office management are termed as pillars of a building. If pillar is strong,
certainly, the building is also strong. Hence, efficient functioning of office management is based
on the elements of office management.
1. Personnel
Office personnel are performing the office work. Generally, the selection and
placement of office personnel is carried on by the office manager in small
organization. In large organization, staffing is carried on by the human resource
management department.
In both the case, the office work is to be performed by allocating the work to
each individual according to their efficiency, guide the personnel to do the work with
the help of means available in an office within a specified time and control the
activities of office personnel. The office manager has to do all these activities.
2. Means
Means refers to tools used to perform the office work. Means include pen,
pencil, eraser, paper, ink, office forms, typewriter, computer, printer, calculator, and
the like. Adequate tools have been supplied in an office and put them to the most
efficient and economical objectives.
3. Environment
The nature of business determines the environment of an office. The various office
works have to be carried on under a particular condition or environment. A working
environment is created and maintained for the smooth performance of office work. It
 is the duty and responsibility of an office manager to bring suitable environment by
adopting various procedures and practice.
4. Purpose
The office personnel must be aware of the purpose for which a particular work is
carried on and the impact of such work on others’ performance. The office manager
teaches the purpose office personnel. If not so, the performance of office work does
not bring the most efficient and economical use of office resources and achieve the
objectives.

IMPORTANCE OF OFFICE MANAGEMENT

The following points highlight the importance of office management:
1. Achievement of goals
Office management helps in increases office efficiency, smooth flow of work,
maintaining public relations, minimization of cost, managing change and accepting the
new challenges which help in achievement of goals of the organization.
2. Increases office efficiency
Office management focuses on office activities and helps office in economical
way.
3. Smooth flow of work
Office management helps in performing efficient and effective office work. It helps
in proper planning and effective control office.
4. Public relations
There must be a good public relation of the organization. The main purpose of
public relation is to make the organization look trustworthy to all people who deal with it in
all its action. It helps in increasing the goodwill of the organization.

5. Minimization of cost
Office management guides the use of capital, natural, financial, human and other
resources effectively without leakage and wastage which helps in minimization of cost.
6. Managing change
Office management helps in implementation of plans in right time and right way.
But there may be change in resources, need, technology, preferences and so on which
make it necessary to bring about the change in plans. Office management makes the
office flexible which helps to manage the change.
7. New challenges
In an office, to achieve goals, many challenges should be faced. It helps in
improving the research and information system. It helps in managing all the rigid matters.

G. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT (ICTM)

Management in the 21st century is driven by information and communication, and digital
network. Computers quickly provide more information to a greater number of people, groups,
and organizations than ever before. Hence, the study of the information and communication
technology management (ICTM) functions of management is relevant.

The ICTM functions of management include the following:

Developing the organization’s hardware, software, and other computing and

communicating technology. Information Technology (IT) encompasses different kind of
technology, such as different types of hardware (e.g. computers and printers), software (e.g.
operating systems), and computing and communication technology (e.g. telecommunications
and management of databases). The fast and ever-changing nature of ICT requires managers to
become flexible and open to change.

Developing the organization’s management information system (MIS) tailored to the needs
of the firm’s unit. IT has developed management information systems which gather, process,
disseminate internal and external information to the company on a timely basis order to support
managers in their tasks. Electronic equipment makes fast and reasonably priced processing of
voluminous amounts of data possible. The computer can process data and provide logical
conclusions and classify and prepare them for use in decision making.

Encouraging e-commerce through Internet use. Through e-business strategies, the

company gains competitive advantage over competitors. Common e-business strategies involve
business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) transactions. B2B transactions use IT and
web portals to link companies with members of their supply chains and those dealing with their
resource supplies. B2C transactions also use IT and web portals, but in this case, the link created is
one between the company and its customers. A common example is e-tailing or the sale of goods
directly to customers via the Internet. Other web-based business models are brokerage, which
brings buyers and sellers together; advertising, which provides information while generating
revenue from advertisements; merchant model, or selling products through the web; subscription
model, the selling of access to a website; infomediary model, the collecting of information on
users and selling it to other businesses; and the community model which supports websites by
asking for donations from users.

Table 1. A comparison between business to business and business to customer.

B2B
B2C ‘low involvement’
‘high involvement’
Target market Larger Smaller, niche
Purchaser(s) Single Multiple
Buying process Single step Multiple step
Sales cycle Shorter Longer
Relationship and detailed
Sales driver Recognition and repetition
information

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENT

Figure 5. E-commerce transaction

The widespread use of ICT has brought about the emergence of a “knowledge-based
society” due to easy access to information at low costs through the Internet. Management may
use it for its different managerial functions. It may be

used for scenario planning or identifying future scenarios in the business environment, which
may need careful planning; decision-making through the use of information generated by IT; aiding
team work; facilitating productivity measurement; easy, low-cost communication; worldwide selling
through the Internet; and many others. It may be said, therefore, that ICT has revolutionized the
business world.