OFFICE PRACTICES VBS102

Study Office Practices

Increase your value to employers, or improve the running of your own office.

Even if you have never worked in an office before, there is no reason why you cannot begin now.

  • Develop skills and knowledge in the operation of an office and take the first step to a new career.

Office work today is very different to what it was only a few years ago, having been changed dramatically by technology.

This course provides you with a essential knowledge of the nature and scope of equipment and procedures used in most modern offices.

  • Improve your performance in any capacity, from office manager to trainee administration assistant.

Learn about Office Practices

Gain the skills required for a career working in an office environment!

Employers value office staff who are efficient, adaptable and self starters, capable of solving any problem that is thrown at them.

  • Office Practices provides you with a foundation to deliver all of these things to an employer - and that increases your employability and career prospects for working in any modern office situation. 

If you run a small office, then Office Practices will help you understand ways to improve the efficiency of your office, including:

  • Learn ways to improve communication.
  • Understand the value of procedures.
  • Learn about the layout of an efficient office environment.
  • Learn to use the most appropriate equipment for the job.

Duration: 100 Hours (Nominal Duration).

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS

There are 8 lessons in the course:

Lesson 1. The Modern Office

  • The Scope and Nature of Office Work.
  • Where to Work.
  • Office Equipment.
  • Information Technology.
  • Office Processes.

Lesson 2. Communication Systems

  • Common Office Communication Systems.
  • Electronic Communications.
  • Communication Networks.
  • Electronic Mail.

Lesson 3. Interpersonal Communications

  • Kinds of Communication.
  • Effective Communication.
  • Becoming an Effective Communicator.
  • The Communication Process.
  • Email and Electronic Communication.
  • Communicating with Clients.
  • Giving and Receiving Instructions.

Lesson 4. Phone Skills

  • Telephone Techniques.
  • Telephone Answering When You're Not There.

Lesson 5. Writing Letters and Other Documents

  • Office Stationery.
  • Good Business Writing.
  • Memoranda.
  • Business Letters.
  • Business Reports.
  • Editing and Proofreading.

Lesson 6. Computer Applications

  • Computer Applications in the Office.
  • Types of Computer.
  • Software.
  • Computer Specifications.
  • Viruses.
  • Optical Drives.
  • Peripherals.

Lesson 7. Office Organisation and Procedures

  • Organising Data.
  • Record Keeping.
  • Organising Office Space.
  • Organising Work.

Lesson 8. Health and Safety in the Office

  • Power Leads and Outlets.
  • Using VDU Equipment.
  • Lifting and Manual Handling.
  • Fatigue in the Workplace.
  • Stress Management.
  • Office Security and Legal Restraints.
  • Legal Risks.

 

Aims

  • Determine the price range of different items of equipment and materials.
  • Determine the upper and lower limit of what it might be likely to cost you to set up a new office.
  • Design a memorandum form.
  • Explain postal systems used in a business.
  • Create a MS Access Database.
  • Design a filing system.
  • Design a work schedule suitable for a specific workplace.
  • Design a security system that can be implemented in a work situation.
  • Design a layout for an office situation.

 

An office is the centre of business activity.

There are all kinds of offices; in general, though, they share common functions. These include:

  • Initiating tasks by issuing instructions etc to appropriate departments or personnel
  • Maintaining all documents in order and storing documents for easy access when required
  • Creating necessary workplace documents, such as letters, memos, reports, receipts, and invoices
  • Copying and duplicating documents
  • Recording and monitoring results and outcomes of activities
  • Handling incoming money and distributing money as required
  • Maintaining and updating staff records, payments and legal requirements
  • Ensuring availability of equipment and materials
  • Receiving and communicating with people from outside the organisation (customers, sales representatives etc)
  • Communicating with relevant people within the organisation.

These essential tasks are carried out through a range of different key processes:

  • Mail distribution
  • Communication
  • Records management
  • Time keeping
  • Pay roll
  • Costing
  • Inventory control
  • Credit control
  • Accounting control
  • Petty cash
  • Word processing services
  • Data entry
  • Systems analysis
  • Office layout/design

As you can see, the typical office is the hub of business operations and, therefore, essential to business success.

 

 

What Does the Course Cover?

Here are just some of the things you will be doing:

  • Make a list of essential equipment, stationery and other materials.
  • Visit an office supply company.
  • Collect catalogues or price lists for different products available.
  • Compare the implications of having an office at home with leasing, buying or using a serviced office.
  • Explain applications to use and apply the following office equipment:
  • Report on the range of systems covering:
  • Write a letter applying for this job.
  • Write a letter from an organisation (real or imaginary) to another organisation.
  • Ask your local computer supplier about virus removal software and hardware.
  • Compile a table of 10 computer systems.
  • What roles can computers play in business?
  • Contact or visit various stationery supplies to find out about what materials are available.
  • Write a report about how to design a filing system suitable for your area of work.
  • Inspect various offices to see how they are utilising space and storage.
  • Contact various suppliers of office furniture to see what furniture is available.


Common Jobs Within an Office include:

Receptionist Duties

A receptionist is often a customer’s first contact with the organisation, and can therefore set the tone for ensuing customer relations with that person. Reception duties are primarily those of greeting customers and meeting their needs. This usually involves referring the customer to the correct person or department, whether the customer is on the phone or is in the office. The receptionist might also keeps records of incoming customers and phone calls, and pass on any information to staff members about the day’s activities, expected visitors, schedule changes etc., by entering it in a diary or by other means. The receptionist might also receive mail for distribution to relevant staff, and prepare and oversee outgoing mail, though in large organisations, these activities might be handled by the Mail Department.

Clerical Duties

These are functions carried out by people working in different sections of an office, such as processing wages, orders and sales. Looking at jobs advertised under "Clerk" in the employment section of the newspaper can give a very good insight into the nature and scope of this type of work.

Clerical duties can also involve a great deal of interaction with customers and clients, over the phone, or as they come into the office on other business. In many offices, receptionist duties are shared by clerks.

Secretarial Duties

These are the duties that are performed by a secretary. They can include any of the tasks that a clerk does, and almost certainly will include the creation and management of documents, through word processing, copying documents and filing. A secretary’s main job usually is one of "supporter" or "assistant" to a person in a managerial position, and may involve providing secretarial support to more than one person. Once again, looking at jobs advertised in a newspaper under ‘Secretary” or ‘Personal Assistant’ can provide a good insight into the duties that a secretary would perform.

Information Processing Duties

These duties involve collecting, storing, manipulating and retrieving different types of information. Today this is commonly done with a computer, though other methods can also be used. People involved in these tasks can be filing clerks, data entry clerks, or IT (computer) personnel responsible for handling entire information networks.

The role of each worker in an office needs to be specified very clearly when they are employed. Failure to do this could create problems later; possibly disputes over work tasks to be undertaken or even disputes over the pay and conditions under which a person is employed. Government legislation and/or agreements with unions are often very specific about what a particular job entails. If an employee is given the wrong job title, or if conditions are not clearly defined, management can be restricted in what it might use an employee for.

You can enrol now, or contact us with any questions

Phone: (International) +44 (0) 1384 442752, (UK) 01384 442752

Email: [email protected]

or, contact us using our FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE.