Principles of Office Management - MIT School of Distance Education

1
MIT School of Distance Education

• Principles of Office Management

2

• Office management refers to the process of
  managing the activities, finances, workforce and
  everything within an organisation to enhance its
  efficiency as well as productivity. It works on
  some defined principles as listed below

3

• 1. Objective and Purpose
• In an organisation, management must operate with
  the purpose of effective coordination and avoid
  work duplicity or unnecessary time consumption.
  Effective coordination allows organisation to
  achieve its aimed objectives.

4

• 2. Division of Work or Specialisation
• In different departments, the entire work must be
  divided into smaller tasks. It should then be
  assigned to the person who best fits in that
  position. This leads to enhanced efficiency.

5

• 3. Efficiency
• Assigning tasks according to a subordinates
  efficiency and skill is important for enhanced
  efficiency.  
• 4. Unity of Command
• For the smooth functioning of an organisation, a
  subordinate must report to only one superior.
  Division of loyalty and dual command leads to
  duplication as well as delay in the work.

6

• 5. Scalar Chain
• Proper flow of communication is possible in an
  organisation only if there is a chain of
  authority ranging from the top to the bottom
  level of management.
• 6. Personal Ability
• An organisation must be able to achieve its
  objectives in a definite time period. In this
  process, it should also enhance its employees
  skills.  

7

• 7. Flexible
• The business environment is dynamic. So, an
  organisation must be flexible enough to adapt
  itself with the changing environment for its
  sustained growth and success.

8

• 8. Coordination
• In addition to planning, organising, controlling
  and directing, coordination also plays a key role
  in office management. At times, many big
  organisations fail to achieve their objectives
  due to the lack of coordination among its
  departments and employees.

9

• 9. Delegation of Authority
• It includes assigning the superiors authority
  as well as the responsibility to the
  subordinates. It leads to motivation as well as
  the possibility of quick decision-making by the
  subordinates.

10

• 10. Principle of Span of Management
• Every supervisor should have a limited number of
  subordinates assigned under him. This principle
  is concerned with the productivity of
  supervisors. If there are limited subordinates,
  the supervisor can easily assess their
  performance and communicate with them. 

11

• 11. Responsibility
• A superior can never delegate his responsibility
  along with authority. He will always be
  responsible for his subordinates conducts.
• 12. Parity of Responsibility and Authority
• Authority and responsibility always go
  hand-in-hand. A superior who has the authority to
  delegate his work is also responsible to get the
  work done from his subordinates.

12

• 13. Continuity
• A business organisation must be able to continue
  its existence in the long-run if it wants to
  expand further.
• 14. Leadership Facilitation
• This principle states that every department at
  every level of management is able to achieve its
  objectives because of the leadership qualities of
  superiors.

13

• 15. Balance
• Every department is expected to achieve one goal
  at-a-time. Therefore, there must be a balance
  while assigning the activities.
• 16. Simplicity
• If the structure of an organisation is simple in
  nature, then the activities will automatically be
  more effective. 

14

• 17. Authority
• Every superior must get the best work done by
  his employees.
• 18. Definiteness
• Every position in an organisation along with its
  purpose must be clearly defined to all the levels
  of management.

15

• 19. Authority Level for Decision-Making
• The authority level is concerned with
  decision-making for an organisation. The
  decision-making property flows from the lower to
  the top level. If top-level fails to make a
  decision, then the bottom level loses its power
  of decision-making.

16

• So, these were the principles of office
  management. Every individual must aware of these
  principles to make his/her mark in the corporate
  world. In order to facilitate the candidates to
  understand business operations and processes
  holistically, MIT School of Distance
  Education (MIT-SDE) offers 1-year Post Graduate
  Certificate in Modern Office Management.

17

• This course equips the candidates with a complete
  understanding of different principles,
  fundamentals and core departments that together
  facilitate an organisation in achieving its
  management objectives. So, apply for the course
  immediately and enhance your employability.

18

• THANK YOU