Office Management

OFFICE MANAGEMENT. The office is that part of an enterprise which is devoted to the direction and co-ordination of the various activities of the enterprise. It is characterized by the gathering, classification and preservation of data of all sorts; the making, using and preservation of all kinds of records; the analysis and utilization of these data in planning, executing and determining the results of operation; the preparation, issuing and preservation of instructions and orders and the composition, copy ing and filing of written messages.

Though clerks and clerical work have existed for centuries and large groups of clerks for decades, it is only in recent years that the management of clerks or office management, has become a problem of importance. This is wholly due to the rapidity of industrial change, which is best shown in the United States. In 1880, when there were but 172,575 clerks in that country, mostly book-keepers and accountants, the problem might be considered as practically non-existent ; but in 1920, when the number of clerical workers of all kinds had grown to 2,951,008, it assumed propor tions that could not be ignored. In 1920, one in ten of all persons engaged in "gainful occupations" was a clerical worker. The change was necessitated by the exigencies of an ever-growing large scale industry. While business organizations were small, and direct contact existed between producer and consumer, beyond simple book-keeping few records were required, there was little written communication between sections of an organization, and consequently few clerks were needed. All this has changed, and to-day the office has attained a position of major importance in business.

Many offices employ more than roo clerks each and a consider able number employ several thousands. Evidently the employment of such numbers of workers requires management of a high order, yet it is only recently and among the most progressive companies that the subject has received the attention it deserves. Ingenious systems of record keeping and filing have been invented, scores of clever appliances and marvellous office machines are available (see OFFICE APPLIANCES), but the problem of securing the great est result for the least expenditure of effort has not been given the attention in the office that it has in other lines of endeavour. This

is due to the newness of the problem, but there are signs that this condition is sure to change as time passes.

Frederick Winslow Taylor (q.v.), the "father of scientific man agement," was himself probably the first person to apply—at least in a limited measure—scientific principles to office work. In Cop ley's biography of Taylor is shown a "Time Note," dated about 1885, giving "piece-work" rates on 17 clerical operations, the im plication being that Taylor had at least studied these operations, found the best method of performing them and controlled them to the extent that he offered an incentive wage for their accomplishment.

The major divisions of office work are given herewith, but not necessarily in the order of their importance.

Organization.

The most essential factor here is clearly de fined lines of authority, and its lack is the greatest defect to be found in many companies. In the struggle for advancement it seems difficult to prevent officers from claiming more authority than is granted them, and where confusion of this kind exists, loss of morale invariably results. Functionalization—one of the lead ing principles of scientific management—is as efficacious in the office as elsewhere. The office manager himself holds a functional position—that of managing clerks, wherever placed. Where this principle is fully carried out, work, instead of being departmen talized, will be functionalized, and therefore performed much more effectively. Thus, a stenographer employed exclusively in taking notes and transcribing letters, will do much more effective work than one who also keeps and files records, answers telephone calls and performs other miscellaneous work. Functionalization, how ever, is to its fullest extent only feasible in large offices. It is uneconomical to have too many departments under the charge of one officer. A chart of the organization, and an organization dia gram, both giving not only the position of each individual in the office but his duties and relation to others, are necessities. Also there should be standard methods for performing each task, and written standard practice instructions so that the carefully devised methods may be perpetuated. Otherwise great loss of output will result.