Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Topic
Topic 22
Systems
Systems Approach
Approach in
in Administrative
Administrative Office
Office
System
System
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.1 What is a System?
Integrated Systems
Are used by many organizations to control office
costs and improve their operating efficiency.
Areas typically incorporated into integrated systems
include these:
Sales
Finance Production
Purchasing Marketing
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Are often comprised
of several subsystems,
Integrated which commonly
Systems encompass the
organization’s
functional areas.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Functional
Functional Systems
Systems and
and Subsystems
Subsystems
Incorporate
Incorporate Several
Several Components:
Components:
Employees
Employees Equipment
Equipment
Forms/
Forms/
Materials
Materials
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Is a series of subsystems
comprised of interrelated
System
procedures to help achieve a
well-defined goal.
Consist of related methods
Procedures necessary to complete various
work processes.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Procedure
A planned sequence of operations for handling recurring
transactions uniformly and consistently.
Method
Represents a manual, mechanical, or automated means by
which each procedural step is performed.
What determines which method to be used?
• Nature of the system’s needs
• The skills and preferences of the workers
• The cost and availability of equipment
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.1.1Administrative Office Systems Functions
Key Elements in AOS
• system is defined as more specific and work-related
• specialized systems are responsible for planning,
organizing, operating, & controlling
Main systems objective:
• to provide appropriate information and service
for management’s use in making decisions
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
System
• A set of related elements that are linked together according to
a plan for achieving a specific objective
Use of Leffingwell’s Principles of Effective Work:
• Making decisions on what work is to be done
• How it is to be done
• Who will do the work
• When the work will be done and
• How well the work has been done
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Fig. 4-1: KEY ELEMENTS IN AOS
Controls
Physical
Resources
+
Methods of Goals of the
PERSONNEL Require Data + Using To AOS:
Resources and Achieve Desired
+ Data Info./Service
Media for
Using Data
Controls
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Fig. 4-1 emphasizes the primary role of personnel in
managing, supervising, and doing the work.
• Use of physical resources
• Use of data
• Use of media
2.1.2 Major Administrative Office Systems
• Purchasing, Sales, Production, Finance, Accounting and
Human Resources
• Large organizations or decentralized depts. might have
more functions.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Fig. 4-2 – Systems and Sub-Systems of Admin.
Office management
SALES
SYSTEM FINANCE
SYSTEM
PURCHASING
SYSTEM
THE FIRM
(The Total HUMAN
System) RESOURCE
ACCOUNTING
SYSTEM ADMIN.
PRODUCTION OFFICE
SYSTEM SYSTEM
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.2 Objectives of AOS
Personnel in AOS is responsible to achieve
organizational goals.
• To plan, design, operate, and control systems that
result in the highest levels of productivity at the lowest
possible cost.
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Objectives of AOS
•Establish an efficient, uniform procedure to follow for each
similar transaction.
•Design systems that ensure safer, less fatiguing work.
•Eliminate unnecessary work or the duplication of work.
•Automate repetitive, routine tasks where possible when
automatic equipment will do the work more quickly, more
accurately, more economically and more reliably.
•Furnish the best information, in the right format, to the right
people at an appropriate time, at the least cost, and in the right
amount so improved decision making results.
•Determine responsibility for satisfactory work performance.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.3
2.3 Advantages
Advantages of
of Systems
Systems
1. Various functions of the organization are better
coordinated.
2. Wasteful, unproductive, and uneconomical
activities are eliminated.
3. The operating efficiency of the organization is
improved.
4. More effective control can be exerted over various
activities and functions.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Disadvantages
Disadvantages of
of Systems
Systems
1. A certain amount of operating flexibility may be
destroyed when using a system.
2. Any inefficiency that is built into the system likely
will disproportionately increase as work flows
through the system.
3. A totally integrated system may be affected
somewhat when changes are made in one of its
subsystems.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.4
2.4 Characteristics
Characteristics of
of Well-Designed
Well-Designed Systems
Systems
Flexible
Adaptable
Systematic
Functional
Simple
Resourceful
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Elements
Elements of
of Systems
Systems
(1
(1 of
of 2)
2)
Flow of work through a system
Input begins with the input of some
type of resource.
The transformation of input into
desired output takes place during
the processing element, which
Processing
is composed of methods and
procedures.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Elements
Elements ofof Systems
Systems
(2
(2 of
of 2)
2)
Interaction between the input
Output and processing elements
produces output.
Enables the system to determine
Feedback whether results are meeting
expectations.
Controlling Has both internal and external
dimensions.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.5 Systems Problems
Feasibility study –
A method that seeks to find whether
specific systems operations can be improved and if the
addition of the new resources is economically justified for
making improvement.
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Steps in Making a Feasibility Study
•Define the nature and scope of the problem as well as the
objectives to be achieved by the study.
•Gather data on current operations through personal interview and
questionnaire.
•Analyze the data collected by studying the work/ data flow,
including space assignments, personnel and equipment used.
•Develop an approach for solving the problem, including the
factual information that logically defends the approach.
•Present the completed feasibility study to management for their
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.6 Basic Systems Concepts
2.6.1 Two classes of systems:
• Open System – interacts with its environment
• Closed System – does not interact with its
environment; operates as a self-regulating unit.
AOMs deal only with open systems in business firms.
Phases of an open system:
• Systems Phase 1
Input
• Systems Phase 2
Transformation Process – changes input into a desired form
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
• Systems Phase 3
Output – ultimate goal of a system
• Systems Phase 4
Feedback – regulating force that compares the system’s
output (what was produced) with the stds. of performance
(what should have been produced).
• Systems Phase 5
Control – dictates what can and cannot be done in each of
the other phases
Systems boundary – dotted lines define the scope of an
open system and separates a system from its
environment.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.6.2 The General Systems Model
Model – An ideal form of operation
• Model Office
In systems work, a model:
Explains in simplified, general form the complex
interrelationships and activities of an organization
or its parts.
Solid lines – becomes a closed system
Systems environment – sets up controls that affect
the
operations of the firm.
Fig. 4-6 – Common system examples
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
Fig. 4-5- THE SYSTEMS ENVIRONMENT
ECONOMIC SYSTEM
LEGAL SYSTEM
TRANSPORTATION
SOCIAL SYSTEM SYSTEM
55 CONTROLS
CONTROLS
THE SYSTEM THE SYSTEM
22TRANS-
TRANS-
Input
Output
Output 11 INPUT
INPUT FORMA-
FORMA- 33 OUTPUT
OUTPUT Input
from Data,labor
Data, labor General: Profit
General: Profit to
to
from TION
TION
another andmaterials,
and materials, Productivity
Productivity another
another
another Human
Human
system equipment,
equipment, Specific: Products
Specific: Products system
system
system and
and
andmoney
and money machine Service,sales
Service, sales
machine
44 FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK
SYSTEMS
BOUNDARY
POLITICAL SYSTEM EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
ETHICAL SYSTEM
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.6.3 Systems Structure
• systems hierarchy – related to org. chart
Total System – Subsystems Relationship
Major System- information system (MIS)
Subsystem
Information Systems
Database – central master file containing company-
wide information from the major systems of the firm.
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Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.6.4 Systems Levels
Manual Systems
Mechanical Systems
Computer Systems
2.7 Typical Areas for Systems Studies
• Workflow
• Forms
• Equipment Use
• Personnel Use
• Systems Costs 26
Systems Approach in AOS OSM 553 – Administrative Office Management III
2.8 The Human System
Most important. element in the office
• expectations, behavior & performance of people
• office manager and office staff – key input to office job
• individual and group inputs
• by understanding philosophies of behavioral and systems
schools of management thought managers can effectively
consider employee and company goals in systems planning.
• therefore, objectives of AOS can be achieved: job
satisfaction for the workers and profit making for the firm.
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