Evolution Of The Roles Of Office Workers Information Technology Essay

This short report covers about the evolution of the roles of office workers’. For this report I have collected information from the magazines, websites and books which are related to office administration. In this report I have basically focused on Introduction to office Administration & importance of an office, the evolution of modern office and Roles of different office workers in the past. Moreover the diverse roles of office workers in the information age, Technologies that have replaced the conservative office worker’s job and Critical analysis: the future of office workers, Also a reference list.

Introduction to office Administration & relevance of an office

The base of the organisation is the office. It is a place to do all the administrative works in a professional manner. It is described as a place where people carry out the daily affairs of a business.

Office Administration is keeping documents in good order. Controlling funds, coordinating activities and safeguarding the assets are office administrative works. Also capturing, storing, processing and retrieving information.

All the work is normally done through organized management policies and coordinates the roles of the various departments and sections. When talking to a dealer about something, you can come into the office and talk things out in a professional manner. Offices are the most important thing in any person’s life I believe.

An office is required to store organizational assets and records manually in files or electronically in computers. Every organization will have a plan to accomplish their goals. Therefore to achieve their vision or goals, organized management is very necessary. When managers do their duties, generally conflicts and personal problems will reach among employees and to resolve these problems there should be an office for managers. Office is the place where employees can meet face to face. Also to provide services to the public and to contact within the organization an office is required for every business. Virtual, Centralized and Decentralized office are the three types of office.

The evolution of modern office

Due to technologies rapid changes have brought into office environment today and modern offices are much differs from traditional offices. Important changes in the office have centered on appearance, technology advancements, innovative office furniture, appearance and implementing eco-friendly policies. Brook (1999) noted that new work styles include more relaxed work environments and dress. Flexible work hours, job sharing and telecommuting are becoming increasingly common place. Moreover more and more businesses happens almost entirely online (Brook).

At this instant most of the offices are rapidly changed in to decentralize offices. Also decision making and responsibilities are divided among different departments or sections. The modern offices are very PC-intensive environment; therefore technical proficiency is a prerequisite for modern administrators.www.Officeworkers.org (n.d) stated that “the reasons job prospects for administrative professionals have changed are complex and include the integration of the Internet into the workplace, cost effective organizational restructuring, technological advancements.”

Roles of different office workers in the past

In the past role of a secretary involved assisting managers and executive with clerical and secretarial tasks and in smaller businesses they also undertook reception duties. Furthermore shorthand and typing speed were their main challenges. While now they are expected to have master skills; technical and software skills have enabled them to assume a broader range of more sophisticated tasks such as internet research, desktop publishing.

Staff computer literacy has improved also to a point where they can now produce their own correspondence or make their own appointments rather than this being the function of the secretary.

Taylor (2000) Stated that as others employees assume traditional secretarial duties such as keyboarding, controlling assets photocopying and bookkeeping, there is a trend in many offices for managers to replace the conventional arrangement of one secretary per manager with administrative assistants who support the work of whole departments. Moreover computer programs and message systems allow many managers to handle much of their own correspondence rather than submit the work to support staff.

The diverse roles of office workers in the information age

The diverse information needs of knowledge workers in the changing workplace.

Characteristics of knowledge work environment.

Elizabeth and Bridget (2002) noted that the knowledge workers generally are defined to include Executive and managerial personnel, Professional and technical knowledge workers, Sales and marketing personnel and Administrative support, including clerical. Some sources are using the term knowledge workers to describe these employment categories (Elizabeth and Bridget). Tailoring information systems for work groups or individuals involves a different set of consideration than designing systems on an enterprise level. User interface issue and flexibility, for example, become much more important, and security and control issues become less over loading.

Changing organizational structure.

It is the responsibility of the management to coordinate and control of an organization. Traditionally, planning and decision making ware done at the top of the organization structure. Today, however authority is frequently accorded by expertise as well as position. Information technologies allow managers to oversee and control more worker spread over greater distances, which has led to pushing responsibility down the organizational hierarchy empowering workers.

Elizabeth and Bridget (2002) says historical organizational hierarchy has been represented by a triangle with a broad base of low-level employees and a much smaller number of professional, technical, supervisory and managerial personnel. While today the typical organizational hierarchy is more accurately represented as a diamond than as the traditional triangle of the past (Elizabeth and Bridget).

Typical functional divisions and related information requirements in a business.

Organizations have different departments and it needs information in various ways. Such as in marketing department information relating to market surveys, sales forecasts, customers, shipments etc… In research and development department information relating to new technology, research reports etc… In production operations department information relates to products quality control, scheduling etc… In administrative services information relating to purchasing, dealing, supplies materials inventory etc… Executive management information summarized for strategic plans, public relations and corporate decisions.

Technologies that have replaced the conservative office worker’s job

Technology and innovation have made significant advancements in businesses. In the last 10 years technology has transformed the workplace and office workers at all levels and in all sectors.

When typing with a typewriter, speeds were the main challenges and now keyboards ware replaced as a substitute of typewriters. Coordinating and control of an organization are responsibilities of management. Internet plays significant role in making effective decisions in the organization by discussing with managers in different departments. Fax messages, emails and videoconferences were main tools that organizations used to communicate. Photocopiers ware replaced as a replacement for of chap machines.

Scanning machines, Binding machines, Guillotines, laminators, Shredders, IP phones and VoIP software’s ware made works done professionally. Introducing and development of cell phones makes easy to communicate among employees. With the help of cell phone you can check emails or text messages at anytime, anywhere.

Critical analysis: the future of office workers

The role of the traditional one-to-one PA has evolved. Today, a successful PA will work for a team of managers or directors and will competently manage both their own time, and that of the team for whom they are working. Also employees are more efficient and more satisfied with internal services.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, generally due to advanced technology and machines replace human jobs because of the convenience and quickness they provide. Keeping up with changing technology is an important issue to affect the administrative profession in the future.