Business Administration Assignment: Office Management and Practices

This Business Administration assignment solution covers various aspects of business operations, including formal and informal meetings, internal and external communications, and the importance of administrative support. It addresses meeting organization, travel arrangements, and the role of financial records. The assignment delves into the use of diaries, both manual and electronic, for maintaining records and the essential information required for diary entries. It also discusses office equipment, waste management, and different types of business communication, such as internal and external emails. Furthermore, the solution explores customer service principles, emphasizing the importance of being helpful, approachable, and efficient in customer interactions. The assignment also examines the consequences of poor customer service and highlights key document management concepts, including minutes, agendas, memos, and letters, along with document production standards, version control, and data security.

Running head: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Business Administration
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Unit 1
Answer to Q1:
a) Formal & informal meeting- Formal meeting is planned and regulated heavily. It has
defined duration within which the meeting will be commenced. Such meetings do have important
personalities of firms such as Chairperson of the company. The meeting is done on a set agenda
to get a conclusive content1. Informal meeting on the other hand has no fixed agenda neither it
requires the presence of a chairperson. It can even last up to an undefined time duration2.
b) Internal- Internal meetings are held between the internal staffs. Such meetings are held to
discuss the business planning along with discussions on the operation failure3.
c) External- This is held with the external bodies such as with the NGOs, Universities or
Museums. It is generally sought to address an issue or a need to development4.
d) Videoconference- This is a meeting, which is held to address an issue or plan a development
with the others being at the other parts of world. Video conferencing lets this happen5.
Answer to Q2:
Administrative support is required for following purposes6,
1Desimone, Laura M., Eric D. Hochberg, Andrew C. Porter, Morgan S. Polikoff, Robert Schwartz, and L. Joy
Johnson. "Formal and informal mentoring: Complementary, compensatory, or consistent?." Journal of Teacher
Education 65, no. 2 (2014): 88-110.
2Desimone, Laura M., Eric D. Hochberg, Andrew C. Porter, Morgan S. Polikoff, Robert Schwartz, and L. Joy
Johnson. "Formal and informal mentoring: Complementary, compensatory, or consistent?." Journal of Teacher
Education 65, no. 2 (2014): 88-110.
3Arce, Guillermo, Klaus Bak, Gregory Bain, Emilio Calvo, BennoEjnisman, Giovanni Di Giacomo, Vicente
Gutierrez et al. "Management of disorders of the rotator cuff: proceedings of the ISAKOS upper extremity
committee consensus meeting." Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery29, no. 11 (2013):
1840-1850.
4Koch, Svea. "From poverty reduction to mutual interests?: the debate on differentiation in EU development policy;
DIE research project" EU development policy to 2020 meeting internal and external challenges"." (2012).
5Coverdale-Jones, Tricia. "The use of video-conferencing as a communication tool for language learning: Issues and
considerations." IALLT Journal of Language Learning Technologies 32, no. 1 (2017).

2BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
 To communicate the purpose of meetings
 To educate on the minimum number of attendees
 Discussing the ways to arrange the every required resource
Answer to Q3:
Organizing a meeting required a long process, which includes but is not limited to such as
planning an agenda for the formal meeting, finalizing the time duration & the attendees of the
meeting and discussing the role-play of administrative body7.
Answer to Q4:
The types of the traveling process would be a car, bus r any other option. In certain cases
business planning will be made on boats, ships even in jets. Depending on the business
personalities the luxury transport would impose8. The standard of the hotel is also important as
the business personalities would maintain their place and do the easing process of doing
business.
Answer to Q5:
The business purposes could have been local or international but the confirm instructions
requirement is needed to be arranged for the particular accommodation process. The planning
process is very important as the purpose of the work and their consequences are relevant in this
matter.
6Cooper, Terry L. The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role. John Wiley &
Sons, 2012.
7Haug, Christoph. "Organizing spaces: Meeting arenas as a social movement infrastructure between organization,
network, and institution." Organization Studies 34, no. 5-6 (2013): 705-732.
8 Becker, Elizabeth. Overbooked: the exploding business of travel and tourism. Simon and Schuster, 2016.

3BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Answer to Q6:
The money that has been invested in the business process needs to be recorded as this is
the essentials for making the budget. After the end of every year, these money receipts are
important than tracking is needed. In case of business travel and cash flow, possible changes are
required for the business and that needed to be noted for the safety of business records.
Answer to Q7:
A diary can be used for the different purposes. It is a confidential thing that needs more
security and confidentiality. Electronic Diaries are a method of observance a print of a diary on a
computer9. This allows the customer to look at their arrangements and mark activities on the
electronic diary. So the features of the electric diaries are keeping the information safe, viewing
the free times and room and resources of booking.
Answer to Q8:
For maintaining the efficient practice and maintaining the record is the ultimate issue of
diary system. This has the benefit that the diary piece is unremitting. New pages are merely
added as the existence go on, so present is no require to find a new record towards the end of
every year. There are manual systems, electronic system all these are used to mitigate the
purpose of the process.
Answer to Q9:
9 Emerencia, Ando Celino, Lian van der Krieke, Elisabeth H. Bos, Peter de Jonge, Nicolai Petkov, and Marco
Aiello. "Automating vector autoregression on electronic patient diary data." IEEE journal of biomedical and health
informatics 20, no. 2 (2016): 631-643.

4BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Information such as moment, extent, year, time, place, attendees, leads, visitors are
obligatory to make diary entries. These are informative that needed for making a dairy. The diary
is the accumulation of thought, process, and imagination so these accumulations are important
for that period.
Answer to Q10:
Correct information is required for the diary entries as they are the reminder process of
the people. If any wrong date of time is registered on that diary then the whole thing might
change and that would put a wrong impression as well. Thus for the betterment of the registering
the dairy processes an ethical and relevant date, time, place and matter are required for the future
outcome.
Answer to Q11:
There are different types of essential office equipment10 like computer, telephones, Audio
transcribing machines, shredders, franking machines, photocopiers, label makers, lamination
machines, biometrics and postage meters etc. There are a lot of things also requiring for office
but at the general point of view, this is the required essentials for an organization. Computers are
important for the office works and most of the offices are doing their work in the computer as
these are the most efficient device at the recent times. Photocopies are important to generate a
photo and that help to identify an employee through identity card. The scanner is important to
scan a particular piece paper and that also generate the view in the computer to make the process
in progress.
Answer to Q12:
10 Dong-Cheol, S. O. H. N., Tae-Woong Lee, and Jong-Wook Shin. "Parts for automobiles, electrical/electronic
devices, home appliances, office equipment, or daily necessities." U.S. Patent Application 14/897,774, filed June 11,
2014.

5BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
The factors are very important as the organization work process is based on those
assisting devices.
 Machines used to be very simple in operation.
 Devices must be flexible.
 The machines are durable as well.
 They are in profitable size and range.
 Accuracy and better result is the ultimate need for those machines.
Answer to Q13:
Recycling of paper and dumping of recycling wastes are the mitigating process of waste
management. Use of efficient time is another significant way to control waste. Saving energy by
turning off the light for the leisure hours or when it was not is in use is the way of mitigating
energy loss as well as the purpose of controlling the workplace waste.
Answer to Q14:
There are some internal emails for the interaction with the employees in the organization11.
However, there are certain external emails are there to provide a response from the customers or
clients. Business mail is also important as these are the connecting procedure to interact with the
management. There is some interdepartmental mail for the battement ethics of the organization.
Answer to Q15:
Different types of mails are needed for evaluating the value of the messages. There are
some cases where inter-department employees are talking about the enhance procedure of
11 Wright, Marc, ed. Gower handbook of internal communication. CRC Press, 2016.

6BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
business that must be different from the external mail that creating a bargain about the payment
with the customers.
Answer to Q16:
Mail service is the secure way to delivering the message to any person. This is also the
speedy way of delivering the messages are to another one. The process also carried some
professional approach of writing as well as the speedy need of the requirement.
Answer to Q17:
The need of the customer is the ultimate requirement for a business. Thus types of the
product are to be very specific and relevant in this business scenario. There are convinced
restrictions that might serve up as an impediment. There are certain policies that may not be
appropriate for goods so the selling product needs to be perfect in its own way.
Answer to Q18:
Internal customers are those who unswervingly associated with the organization12. They
are maybe the stakeholders, employees or shareholders however the external customers are the
customers who will use company’s product or service but not internally connected with the
organization
Answer to Q19a:
a) Being helpful and friendly to a customer will help in retention of the customer
12 Zhu, Qinghua, Joseph Sarkis, and Kee-hung Lai. "Institutional-based antecedents and performance outcomes of
internal and external green supply chain management practices." Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management 19,
no. 2 (2013): 106-117.

7BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
b) Being approachable towards a customer will help in increasing the scope of selling a product
and as a result, increasing the profitability
c) Being empathetic towards a customer will help in increasing the goodwill of the company
d) Being efficient means increasing the retention of the customers
Answer to Q19b:
a) Being unhelpful will be creating a negative image among the customers
b) Keeping customers waiting will be making them feel agitated and this will be projecting the
company in a negative light where the employees will be considered being less skillful
c) Appearing uninterested might make the customers feel neglected and they might shun the
products and services of the organization
d) Being inefficient will project the staffs of being unprofessional and the customers might not
return to purchase the next time
Answer to Q20:
 A damaged reputation
 Dropping of the customer lifetime value
 Loss of business and returning customers

8BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Unit 2
Answer to Q1:
a) Minutes – These are the instant written record of a meeting, typically describing the events
regarding the meeting, also considered as protocols
b) Agendas – These are considered being the list of items that should be discussed in an official
meeting.
c) Memos – These are short official notes that are sent by one person to another within the same
organization
d) Letters – These are written documents used for communicating with individuals outside the
office.
e) Presentations – A speech where a new product, idea, or a sample work is to be shown as well
as explained to an audience.
Answer to Q2:
 Electronic Mail – Electronic mail can be used for transmitting as well as receiving digital
information.
 Video Conferencing – It is ideal in respect of business communication when varied
individuals might be required to be reached throughout the country or across varied time-
zones by using a camera, microphone monitor, loudspeakers as well as an internet
connection13.
13 Koch, Svea. "From poverty reduction to mutual interests?: the debate on differentiation in EU development
policy; DIE research project" EU development policy to 2020 meeting internal and external challenges"." (2012)

9BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
 Telephone Conferencing – Telephone conferencing will be allowing towards plugging
one party with another party. Companies will be utilizing telephone conferences when
they will be having audio portions in respect of participants for listening to.
Answer to Q3:
a) Use – It is needed for maintaining the standards regarding the document production
b) Content – It is important for attracting a targeted audience as well as taking a planned action
c) Layout – This helps in arranging elements on a page, generally referring to particular
placement of image, text as well as style in respect of document production
d) Quality Standards – For ensuring that the customer or the recipient of the document will
receive the quality standards that they are expecting
e) Deadlines – Meeting deadlines will be preventing any needless delays in respect of document
production.
Answer to Q4:
The importance of document version control in business organization is to revise and
redraft and is especially significant in respect of managing the changes regarding the electronic
documents.
Authorization assists in allowing access only to those resources that are pertinent to the
identification of an entity.
Answer to Q5:
a) Security – This will help in minimizing risks from theft or tampering of data

10BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
b) Data protection – This will be required for securing the data as a way to safeguard the trade
secrets. This can be done through the restriction of access.
c) Copyright – This will be helping in looking after and recognizing the value of the copyright
and making sure, it is not infringing other’s copyrights.
d) Intellectual property legislation – This will be helping in providing protection for the business
document production.
Answer to Q6:
 By reviewing the format
 By confirming the accuracy
 By doing a critical checking of the layout
 By doing the final proofreading
Answer to Q7:
a) Security – This will help in minimizing risks from theft
b) Data protection – This will be required for securing the data as a way to safeguard the trade
secrets. This can be done through the restriction of access.
c) Copyright – This will be helping in looking after and recognizing the value of the copyright
and making sure, it is not infringing other’s copyrights.
d) Intellectual property legislation – This will be helping in providing protection regarding
distribution and storage14.
Answer to Q8:
14 Netana, Celia, Rachel Bowen, David Brooksbank, Nick Clifton, and David Pickernell. "A Small Business
Administration for Wales?." (2015).

11BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
1. Physical distribution channels – It is associated with all the activities related with the supply of
finished products at every stage, from the production line to the customers.
2. Electronic distribution channels – It is associated with the buying and selling of products or
services through the internet. This is done by downloading from the internet to the electronic
device of the customer.
Answer to Q9:
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Knowledge management systems
 Executive support systems
 Transaction processing systems
 Office automation systems
Answer to Q10:
 In respect of having regulatory compliance
 In respect of having efficiency and productivity
 In respect of improving the working environment
Answer to Q11:
 Transaction Processing System – This is having the responsibility for processing daily
business transactions
 Management Information System – This system assists in carrying out the tasks needed
to solve problems and making decisions.