8.4. Office activity in systems of organizational and economic management

The concept of office includes the material and organizational aspects, while in the first case the premises and equipment are meant, and in the second - the form and structure of management. An office is most often either an independent institution or may be part of a larger organizational structure. The peculiarity of the work of the office is that it is a source not only of the final information services, but also of solutions that limit the behavior of people or the distribution of material resources. The main task of the office is to develop solutions that have value for the client. In addition, the office is an information company that converts information resources into information products.

The process of using computer and other organizational equipment in an office includes several stages: a traditional office, a production office, an electronic office.

A traditional office consists of a relatively small team of people with a fairly wide range of responsibilities. The standard composition of business operations in an office includes: preparing materials, printing, maintaining card files, reconciling documents, working with mail, searching for information, maintaining information funds, making calculations, conducting business calls by phone, working at the terminal.

The production office is characterized by large volumes of work of the same type, its precise formalization, and a rigid distribution of the functions of employees. In such an office, the essence of automation lies in the formation and maintenance of large information funds, their systematization, and the production of data samples.

An electronic office is an implementation of the concept of the comprehensive use of computer and communications equipment in office activity in developing the traditions of the previous forms of activity. The main functions and means of an electronic office are: providing access to documents without duplicating them on paper; receipt of documents, their control and execution; remote and joint work of employees on the document, e-mail; personal data processing; preparation of documents and their reproduction; information exchange between databases; automation of documentary control; organization of electronic document management; decision support information; participation in meetings using remote access tools; work with automated information systems, etc. With the help of e-mail, PC and computer networks, an electronic office can expand the range of direct interaction of people without requiring them to actually be in the same room.

The nature and purpose of the organization’s activities are influenced by its information system, the type of information product produced and processed. If the task of an organization is to produce an information product drawn up in the form of documents, then for it the most important element of the activity is the storage of information related to the specifics of the activity and necessary for making management decisions. Such information organizations include, for example, notary offices, travel companies, information agencies. For supply offices, it is important to know the sales markets, product manufacturers, product prices. Basic information needs of offices can be met using standard hardware and software, including text-based, tabular and graphical information processing software, PCs, and online documentation reproduction tools, electronic communication tools.