Purpose of an office-
The place of office is incomparable as it fulfills the following purposes:
• It is a place where the manage¬ment can prepare the plans intelligently.
• The management can make their plans effective from the office.
• From the office, records of the progress of plan in action can be obtained.
• Through different control techniques carried out in the office with available records, the effectiveness of the plan in action can be ascertained.
• The results of such action are evaluated in the office without delay.
• Different activities are coordinated from the office.
Importance of an Office-
“No organization worth its name can exist without an office”. Thus, the office is an essential segment of any organization, big or small, govt. or private and contributes to its efficient and economical functioning. The importance of an office to a business organization is high because of the variety and complications that a business enterprise faces due to competition, legal and statutory restrictions, role of trade unions and a host of other factors. A business enterprise today cannot stand without the assistance of a well-organized office.
Office is behind every business activity and the nerve centre of all deliberations. In the words of Dicksee, what office is to business is what the man spring is to watch. All operations are directed, coordinated and controlled through the office. A well-organized office makes it possible for management to plan its operations intelligently, appraise results and coordinate all the activities of the business.
The term office has been defined in a variety of ways. In general terms, office means a place where clerical work is performed and all kinds of paperwork is maintained & dealt. However, in modern sense of the term, office denotes an activity and not a place. Whenever clerical operations are performed, they are treated as office function. According to Edward Roche “It is a mistake to regard the office as a specific place; instead, an office exists anywhere, wherever certain kinds of works are performed”.
Office is regarded as an important part of an organization. The very existence of an organization necessitates the presence of an office whether a government institution, business house or an educational institution. Office plays a pivotal role in its functioning because a well-managed office helps management to plan its operation intelligently and to put them in action competently. Without an efficient office, business activities cannot be carried on systematically. The importance of an office can be defined in the following ways:
a) Information Center: Office is an information center or a data bank of all information on which the business is carried. All present and past figures of business that it does should be in the office. Based on this information, the office plans, and forecasts and controls its operation and its area of operation.
b) Channel of Communication: It is evident that without any communication, the office cannot all alone function and serve its purpose. Every communication, especially the written communication flows from the top to the bottom, and the reporting has to flow from the bottom to the top. The office would fall if the flow of communications is not frequent and the reports are not made available or presented to the higher authorities within the stipulated time.
c) Aids in Coordination: The objectives of any office won’t be met if there is no proper coordination among the employees. The employer-employee relation and the employee-employee relation have to be strong if effective coordination has to be built up. An effective coordination jacks up the spirit of work tightens the unity and strengthens the morale of every employee working in the organization. Moreover, the necessary information and feedback from the top level is needed for promoting coordination.
d) Importance in Relation to Government and Public: Today, for every business to exist, it has to follow certain guidelines, rules and regulations as formulated by the government. Every business unit today is considered to be revenue-generating as well as a social institute. Every office has a wing, and it is a link between society and the government. It is also a link between the people and the government. Hence, an office has to create a proper type of image in the mind of the people for building a proper brand image and a corporate image.
e) Aid in Managerial Control: Control is a combination of corrective and measuring techniques of the performance of subordinates in order to make sure that the objective of an enterprise is achieved and accomplished. Control requires establishing ‘standards’ and then measuring the standards within the stipulated time and resources.
f) Importance in Relation to Customers: The actual importance of any office is its relation with its customer. It is the customer who brings the business to the office and, hence, a customer is the king. Except for the government office, every other business organization depends on its customer for its business to generate the revenue. Hence, the importance of office about its customer is of great significance “customer”, now, is the ‘emperor’. The orders received by the customer, their enquiries and their complaints are taken care by the office through direct and personal contacts. Nowadays, the modern office has a very important person—the Guest Attending Officer who attends all the customers and informs them everything directly, personally, or on the phone, about the company, its activities, and about its business.
g) Importance to Shareholder: Every office serves an important link between the shareholder on the one hand and the company on the other. The issue of division of shares, transfer of the shares, issue of the notice of the meetings of the company, and answering about all the queries to the shareholder is of great importance and these cannot be achieved or obtained without establishing a proper office.
h) Importance of the Worker: For maintaining a good workforce, a good environment, free from official politics, free from partiality and an effective relation, in the form of employee-employer and employer-employee a relationship is needed.