Order 1071535: Principles of Administrtation
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BusinessAdministrationLevel3Unit4.pptxNCFE Business Administration Level 3
Unit 4 Principles of Administration
Element 1: Understand how to manage an office facility
Summary: Facility management is an interdisciplinary business function that coordinates space, infrastructure, people and organization.
Element 1.1 Explain the legal requirements relating to the management of office facilities
It is important to understand the 3 types of law, and that legal responsibility for managing an office facility can come under these laws:
Civil: contract law, employment law, tort (civil wrongs)
Criminal: breaches of regulations, enforcement of notices, punishment for acts (such as assault, burglary, murder), breaches of duty of care (such as waste management, water pollution)
Public: planning regulations, building regulations
Health & Safety
Security (Physical & cyber)
Employment
Environment
Fire Safety
Food
Information
Your task – select a minimum of 5 of the above areas that have legal requirements. You MUST include H&S & security within your selection.
Explain what the legal requirements are for each.
Element 1.2 Describe the typical services provided by an office facility
Typical services may include:
Purchasing/sales
Processing customer orders
Research
Resolving enquiries
Customer service
Auditing
Financial records
Your task - describe a minimum of 3 services that you provide within your own job role.
You must give a detailed breakdown of what the services include, and what you do.
Your task - describe a minimum of 3 services that you provide within your own job role.
You must give a detailed breakdown of what the services include, and what you do.
Element 1.3 Explain how to establish office management procedures
Office procedures are clearly defined practices that everyone who works in an office follows in the event of common or uncommon situations that arise throughout the work day.
H&S procedures
Employee job descriptions
Employee handbooks
Hazardous materials disposal
HR: e.g. Job descriptions, sickness/holiday entitlements, punctuality, break times
Data protection & confidentiality protocols
Office etiquette: e.g. personal calls, dress code, email & phone policies
File management
Your Task - explain a minimum of 3 procedures that have been established in your organisation.
HOW were they established?
For example, an employee handbook was derived from employee feedback.
The fire drill is written to meet the layout of the building in order to establish a safe and logical evacuation procedure.
Element 1.4 Explain how to manage office resources
Your Task – explain a minimum of 2 human resources & minimum of 2 physical resources in your workplace. HOW are they managed?
For example,
Stationery: Who are the cheapest suppliers? How often do items need to be ordered? Who is responsible for ordering & maintaining stocks? Who is monitoring waste?
Recruiting: Identifying the need for new staff and ensuring that costs are incorporated into the company budget. i.e. recruitment fees and pending salary.
Human resources – for example:
Recruiting
Induction & Ongoing Training
Individual & team responsibilities.
Communication
Physical resources – for example:
Transport
Stationery
Office layout/furniture
Welfare facilities
Equipment (e.g. printers, scanners, faxes, computers, shredders, dictation machines, label makers, franking machines)
Element 1.5 Explain techniques to monitor and manage work flows
Your Task
Explain a minimum of 5 techniques used in your organisation and how they enable the management of work flows.
Summary: ‘Workflow’ is the detailed execution of a business process, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rule
Examples of monitoring techniques:
Observation
Monitoring work performance and output
Monitoring absenteeism and staff turnover
Benchmarking
Financial recording
Employee surveys/questionnaires/feedback sheets
Measuring the time it takes to complete tasks
Monitoring returns (for example, customer returns)
Logging the level of errors/complaints.
Element 1.6 Explain typical support and welfare facilities for office workers
Your Task - explain the requirements of ALL of the listed facilities: in relation to the amount of employees in your organisation AND other sizes of organisation's.
Welfare facilities may include:
Toilets and washrooms
Drinking water
Eating areas
Sufficient ventilation, lighting and temperature.
Element 2: Understand health and safety in a business environment
Element 2.1 Explain the legal obligations of the employer for health and safety in the workplace
Summary: It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this. This means making sure that workers and others are protected from anything that may cause harm, effectively controlling any risks to injury or health that could arise in the workplace. (hse.gov.uk)
Examples of employer responsibilities:
PPE
H&S Policy / Risk assessments
Information & training
Employee consultation
DSE users
Your task – describe the employers responsibilities of ALL of the above.
Is there another that is specific to your own company?
Element 2.2 Explain an individual’s responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace
Summary: All workers are entitled to work in environments where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Under health and safety law, the primary responsibility for this is down to employers.
Worker s have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions at work. Workers must co-operate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements. (hse.gov.uk)
Your Task – explain your responsibilities for H&S in the workplace. Are there any responsibilities specific to your company?
Use the gov.uk website for the most reliable source of information.
Element 2.3 Describe accident and emergency procedures
Your Task - describe (in full) the accident & emergency procedures for your own organisation. This must include:
Fire drill procedure and meeting point
Accident reporting
Appointed person and/or 1st aider.
Location of 1st aid box & accident book.
.
Element 3: Understand how to take minutes of meetings
Element 3.1 Explain the purpose of meeting minutes
Your Task - Use the internet to research and explain:
a minimum of 5 reasons for recording minutes of meetings
Element 3.2 Explain the legal implications of meeting minutes
Summary: The minutes of a business meeting are a legal document you must keep on file. This is particularly true of corporations, but no matter how you have your company organized, you may need business minutes to defend lawsuits, explain expenses to the Internal Revenue Service or support a copyright claim, to give a few examples. (Legal experts will maintain that if an action isn’t in the minutes, it didn’t happen).
Your task – research & explain the implications of the following:
Litigation protection (defending lawsuits)
Audit requirements
Inland Revenue
Copyright claims
Element 3.3 Explain the importance of accuracy in minute taking
Example: Your colleague makes a claim that simply is not true because they have misconstrued a meeting and the action points. You agreed to a pay-rise for 6 months. Yet the employee says it was a permanent pay rise. What was actually agreed?
Your task - The above is one example of the need for legal protection.
Explain the importance of the following categories, critical to accuracy:
Legal protection
Structure
Planning
Element 3.4 Describe what should and should not be included in different types of meeting minutes
Your task - use the internet to research and explain what should and should not be included. You must include a minimum of 4 ‘should’ and a minimum of 2 ‘should not’.
Element 3.5 Describe how to take notes during meetings
Your task - explain a minimum of 2 of the above techniques and how they work.
Examples of techniques:
Comprehensive notes
Mind mapping
Noting on the agenda
Technology tools
Element 4: Understand how to chair, lead and manage meetings
Element 4.1 Explain the features and purpose of different types of formal and informal meeting (slide 1)
Difference between informal and formal meetings:
An informal meeting is a meeting which is far less heavily planned and regulated than a formal business meeting, and so lacks many of the defining features of a formal business meeting, such as minutes, a chairperson and a set agenda. These informal meetings are far more likely to take place in a casual setting, such as a restaurant or a coffee shop, or at one of the participant’s desks, rather than take place in a boardroom.
A formal meeting is a pre-planned gathering of two or more people who have assembled for the purpose of achieving a common goal through verbal interaction. Formal meetings are characterised by their predetermined topics, a set of objectives and formal notices. These meetings are held at a specific time, at a defined place and according to an agreed agenda. Formal meetings are typically lead by a chairperson with the discussions and agreements recorded in a written form known as minutes.
Element 4.1 Explain the features and purpose of different types of formal and informal meeting (slide 2)
Examples of types of meetings:
Inaugural meetings
Annual General Meetings (AGM)
Extraordinary General Meetings
Directors or Board meetings
Section/department meetings
Conferences
Seminars & workshops
Ad Hoc meetings
Regular or Standing meetings
Your Task
Explain a minimum of 2 types of informal & minimum of 2 types of formal meetings.
What are the features & purpose of them?
Purpose of meetings:
To reach a common decision/agreement
To solve a problem
To understand a situation, exchange ideas and experiences
To inform, explain, present ideas
To give and get feedback on new ideas
To give training
To plan and prepare for action
To resolve differences and misunderstandings
To generate enthusiasm and seek cooperation
To review past performance and evaluate it
To create a feeling of continuity and solidarity in a body’s working.
Element 4.2 Explain the role and responsibilities of the chair
Summary: The chairperson for a meeting (otherwise known as the chair) is the person who has been appointed as the highest ranking officer at the event. The chairperson for a meeting presides over the event to ensure that participants are following the conventions of the meeting. They may also represent the organisation or body to the public, outside of the meeting.
Your Task – use the internet to research and explain the roles & responsibilities of the ‘chair’
Element 4.3 Explain the role of others in a meeting
Examples of other participants in a meeting:
Secretary
Treasurer
Timer
Grammarian
Attendee
Your Task – use the internet to research and explain ALL of the roles of these participants
Element 4.4 Explain techniques to facilitate a meeting
Tips for facilitating a successful meeting:
Choose the most appropriate venue
Prepare the agenda
Invite the correct participants
Organise the appropriate resources: microphone/speakers, screens, furniture, presentations, printed documentations, agenda, minutes of previous meeting
Stick to the timings and agenda (give time for speakers/participants)
Avoid jargon
Your Task – explain the importance of ALL of these points.
Element 4.5 Explain the information requirements of a meeting before, during and after a meeting
| Before a meeting: | During a meeting | After a meeting |
| Create an agenda Schedule the meeting Post & send out agenda Circulate supporting information in advance Make room arrangements Appoint key people (e.g. minute taker) | Start on time Review previous minutes & agenda Keep discussion focused Encourage participation Come to decisions & action plans Draft agenda for next meeting Evaluate meeting | Transcribe notes Distribute notes Complete ‘follow-up’ actions |
Your Task – explain a minimum of 3 points from each category
Element 5 Understand how to supervise an administration team
Element 5.1 Explain the use of targets and budgets to manage workloads
Think about the tasks you have to complete within your own workload…
Why do tasks have different deadlines?
Which tasks have a financial implication to your organisation?
For example, if the owner of your company had to employ another member of staff to complete the outstanding tasks of other colleagues, would the company’s budget be affected?
If invoices aren’t sent out by the end of the month, will the company have enough revenue for the following month?
How will you organise these tasks so that you can meet the targets?
Your Task - Describe a minimum of 2 tasks that you have to complete by a deadline, and why. Why are they important to the company budget and/or profit?
Element 5.2 Explain how to allocate work to individual team members
Key questions to ask before allocating work:
What actually needs doing?
When does it need to be done by?
How and where does it need to be done (what tools or equipment does it need, or specific locations, such as a particular part of a workshop where tools are located)?
Who can do it (what kind of skills and knowledge, or competence, are required)?
Your Task – describe specific tasks that have to be completed within your own organisation. How are these are allocated to team members? Explain a minimum of 2 tasks.
Element 5.3 Explain different quality management techniques to manage the performance of an administrative team
Quality management techniques could include:
Total quality management (TQM)
Statistical process control (SPC)
Continual improvement processes
Your Task –
research and explain a minimum of 2 techniques
Explain how you could use them to manage performance within a team.
Element 5.4 Explain the techniques used to identify the need for improvements in team outputs and standards
Your Task - Use the 2 techniques that you have explained for 5.3:
How could these be used to improve outputs & standards
Element 6 Understand how to organise events
Element 6.1 Explain the characteristics, requirements and purposes of different types of events
Events may include, but are not limited to:
1. A meeting
2. A conference
3. A product launch
4. An announcement
5. A celebration
6. A social occasion.
Your Task –
Explain a minimum of 3 different types of events.
Clearly define the characteristics and requirements of each.
Element 6.2 Explain the types of information and information sources needed to organise an event
For this task select from:
1. A meeting
2. A conference
3. A product launch
Your Task –
List the types of information required for a minimum of 2 of these events
Who & where would the information be gathered from.
Element 6.3 Explain how to plan an event
Your Task –
Create an outline of an event plan for one of the events that you have identified in 6.2.
Explain why you have identified each activity, and when it would need to be completed by.
| Activity | Reason | Deadline e.g. 2 months before event |
Event Plan template:
Element 6.4 Explain how to identify the right resources from an event plan
Your Task –
Using the event that you have planned for 6.3, explain the human, physical & financial resources required, and why.
| Human Resources | Physical Resources | Financial Resources |
| For example: Speakers Ushers/venue guides Caterers | For example: Invitations Audio/visual equipment Handouts Catering & refreshments | For example: Cost of physical and human resources, catering, transport, venue hire |
Element 6.5 Describe the likely types of information needed by delegates before, during and after an event
Your Task –
Using the event that you have planned for 6.3, explain the information that is needed by delegates before, during & after the event.
| Before | During | After |
| For example: Details of content of event Time, date & duration Venue address Transport options (incl. disability access) Joining instructions What to bring Catering selections (in order to specify any requirements) Any papers/information needed prior to event | For example: H&S procedures, such as fire exits ID badges Location of welfare facilities Handouts Refreshments/catering | For example: Evaluation forms Summary of events (e.g. minutes) Any follow-up actions required Next event details |
Congratulations! You have already began to understand the Principles of Administration.
There is a wealth of information that can be found on the internet for each element of this unit.
If you need any advice & guidance, please ask your tutor.
Remember: Do NOT just copy & paste your answers from any websites; this is plagiarism, and your tutor will not be able to accept it as your own work.
Research each aspect and then put it into your own words.
Wherever possible, relate the answers to your own workplace!
