Principles of Office Management Within Business Organization - Assignment Example

Office Management of Concrete Experience Subtopic principles of office management within business organization I am a mortgagemanager in one leading financial institution in the country here in the US. I supervise ten mortgage officers - consultants. Our company provides mortgages mainly to homebuyers and to a lesser degree, commercial enterprises. Subtopic 2: functions of office departments and office administration We bring together providers of capital or investors and those needing such funds, the homebuyers, in almost all regions. Subtopic 3: selection, training, promotion and retention of office employees Mortgage officer positions require a bachelor's degree in finance, economics, or a related field. Banking, lending, and sales experience are valued by employers. The individual must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, computer skills, and ability to work flexible hours including nights and weekends. Capable mortgage officers are promoted to managerial positions, which involve supervising a number of officers and staff. Subtopic 4: the ever-changing technological environment within an office Our office systems undergo regular upgrading and we have to keep abreast with the computing trends in the financing and mortgage industry. Subtopic 5: development of office procedures and manuals The HR group together with a creative team is responsible for the development and updating of our office procedures and manuals, in coordination with the technical group (us-- the mortgage managers and officers). Subtopic 6: overall relationship of the office function to the business enterprise We have began to receive online application for mortgages in keeping with the high growth rate of the industry. Mortgage institutions originated approximately $2.3 trillion in total home mortgages in 2003. Reflections Subtopic 1: principles of office management within business organization As mortgage manager handling a group of mortgage officers, I realize my task is more than just supervising my team and monitoring their performance. This is the professional level and I come to believe our relationship must subtly go beyond the professional realm for us to be effective as a team. In my mind, I have to assume a parent figure. I have to care for them, know when my officers are tired, pressured, or experiencing burnout. I have to guard against being a slave driver and instead be a coach, know the individual strength and weakness of my team members; know whom to send to field work and when, as well as whom to assign in-house when this particular "player" needs a respite from the rigors of field marketing. Subtopic 2: functions of the office departments and office administration Out there are the capitalists looking for productive ways to invest their money. In the same spectrum are young professionals, young families needing to own houses for various reasons such as convenience, stability, and the humble pleasure of being able to provide a home for loved ones, where at the end of the day the family finds a sanctuary. This is the soft side of our hard functions. A home is more than just a house. It is the foundation of long-term financial and emotional security for one's family, one's very own piece of the American dream. Subtopic 3: selection, training, promotion and retention of employees I started as a mortgage officer myself. It helped a lot that aside from my bachelor's degree, I have had other training opportunities. I often tell my officers that they need to pursue a masteral program of study, even a doctorate if they can. On-the-job experiences are best complimented by research-based theories and principles placed in context by experts in the academe. So that when promotion time comes, those who have MBAs already have edge in climbing the corporate ladder. Subtopic 4: the ever-changing technological environment within an office Going online has truly made radical changes within the office. Applicants for home mortgages can now fill up and submit online applications. The volume of online applications can be tremendous at times and our team has to be innovative to cope with the challenge. Subtopic 5: development of office procedures and manuals In a single month, policies change as often as eight times. These have to do regarding computations of principal, interests rates, discount points, insurance, taxes, loan fees, surcharges, penalties, and other factors. Aside from making the policies concise and clear, the creative team has the crucial role of designing and layouting the manuals in a user-friendly format. The HR team must be patient and persistent in alerting the technical staff to policy updates and communicating them as soon as possible, because much productive man hours are lost if the applications have to be processed again due to errors in computations. Subtopic 6: overall relationship of the office functions to the business enterprise The high growth of the industry brings with it new challenges such as need to come up with more client-targeted value packages. We have to do closer market segmentation so as to serve more customers as possible depending on their needs and spending capability. We must be careful not to overlook or bypass the low income earners. It is our social obligation to also serve this market. Generalizations / Principles / Theories Subtopic 1: principles of office management within business organizations Our business organization is a corporation and thus there is a hierarchy of policy and decision makers. The general corporate mortgage policies are set by the board based on the law and prevailing industry trends. The general policies in turn are the basis for implementing guidelines formulated on the managerial level. It is on this level that we introduce innovations that arecareful not to deviate from the original general policies. Subtopic 2: functions of the office department and office administration Market segmentation is a very important function in the operation of a mortgage institution. We apply the theories of demographics and psychographics. We do market researches and surveys, conduct informal interviews among prospective clients, and also do a post evaluation on successful transactions, analyzing the success factors and coming up with best practices data. We do similar post mortems with failed transactions, learn from mistakes and strive to avoid them in the future. Subtopic 3: selection, training, promotion and retention of office employees Being in a supervisory position, I am a stakeholder in human resources management (HRM). I keep abreast with "HRM in the 21st century," which is a knowledge-based economy. I sit with the HRM group in formulating criteria for selection of personnel. I am consistent in requiring soft skills (interpersonal relationship skills, ability to work in a diverse, multicultural setting, self esteem, healthy attitude towards work and colleagues, ability to deal with stressful situations, mentoring skill) together with the hard skills (technical competencies). I am careful to remind the HRM people about the best practices in recruitment (headhunting, online search, referrals), interview (avoid asking gender-sensitive questions and using words such as "long-term," "permanent," "career," to avoid legal problems), and short listing of candidates. Subtopic 4: the ever-changing technological environment within an office Due to the exponential growth of office technologies, particularly computers, companies can afford to do away with redundant functions performed by humans. Thus, during interviews, the HR committee is advised not to give false hopes of a long-term career to candidates for certain positions. We should never tell the applicant for instance, "You will stay with the company for as long as you do a good job," because what if the company suffers financial loss and needs to retrench some employees or the acquisition of a new office system does away with human work forces. Subtopic 5: development of office procedures and manuals The art and science of communication come into play even with such routine documents as office procedures and manuals. The writers of these documents must assume the vantage point of the user-readers. The writers must suffer the hard tasks of research, drafting, editing, revising, polishing in order to come up with a user-friendly, easy to read manual and not some boring, hard-to-understand technical info artifact. Technical documentation also needs the dedication and humility of a great writer who creates not just for self expression but most specially to educate and make life easier and more interesting for a lot of people. The writer must team up with a very good illustrator-graphic designer. Subtopic 6: overall relationship of the office function to the business enterprise Like all other industries operating in this 21st century, the mortgage industry must be knowledge-based. We do data mining. We place high premium on knowledge management and mentoring. We value all insights from our field officers, information technology (IT) staff, research and development (R&D) team, counter or front desk personnel, telemarketers, receptionists, clerical and utility staff, managers, executives, and corporate board directors and members. We encourage sharing of expertise and mentoring in all departments including HR, IT, R&D, and most specially the core technical group (us- the mortgage managers, officers and staff). Testing and Application Subtopic 1: principles of office management within business organizations If ever I decide to establish my own business, I will surely put into practice what I have learned as a mortgage manager. The insights I have gained will play a big role in ensuring my success. I will apply the principles of modern HRM with an eye on globalization and diversity in the workplace; put into practice knowledge management and mentoring; as well as optimize office automation, telemarketing, online transactions or e-commerce. Subtopic 2: functions of office departments and office administration I will adapt synergy in the workplace, arrive at a consensus after deliberations with all departments of HR, IT, R&D, PR, Marketing and the core technical group. I will encourage each one to contribute to the discussion from his unique point of view. I believe every person can bring in fresh ideas and the manager-facilitator can synthesize the best from all the various inputs to arrive at some strategic policy and marketing decisions. Subtopic 3: selection, training, promotion and retention of office employees When the time comes that I operate my own business, I will surely make use of online recruitment from my corporate Web site. I will place my corporate vision-mission in a way that will attract people of competence and integrity. I will provide a hyperlink that says "Talk to the President"-- that's me, and I will certainly respond to their emails. An online job application will bring in hundreds if not thousands of candidates from around the world. This is indeed an immense opportunity to choose the best. Subtopic 4: the ever-changing technological environment within an office My future company will start small with just about 50 employees but fully backed up by current information, communications, operations and marketing technologies. There will be 24/7 telemarketers to attend to customers from all over the world at any given time. Subtopic 5: development of office procedures and manuals I will create a special documentation team for office procedures and manuals. These documents are very important. These serve as the marketer's compass and roadmap. Operations must be efficient and accurate. What better mechanism is there to ensure efficient and error-free operations than intelligent, substantial, and attractive procedures and manuals. I would include an integrity manual as well, with details on how officers are expected to behave and react in integrity-critical situations. If ever I will establish a company, it is meant to be long-term and sustainable. I will not just be building a business but a name and a reputation, in fact, a legacy. When people see the logo of my company or hear my corporate slogan over ads on radio and TV, I want them to think of my company as an institution that provides not only houses but homes, neighborhoods, and communities. There will be a distinct psychological and emotional ambiance to my home mortgage company the feeling will be that of warmth, security, and quiet joy Subtopic 6: overall relationship of the office function to the business enterprise The dream company will be a reality because of me and the people working with me. I must ensure best practices in my overall management of office functions. I must be clear on my management style. Will I be performance and output-driven, profit oriented Or will I value loyalty and commitment more I have learned that there is fast turnover of personnel in performance-driven and output oriented companies. I would prefer working with the same groups and teams on a long-term basis. I would value loyalty more. I would ensure that people working with me have self esteem and stability and are not pressured, will not suffer burnout or depression. I need not be a slave driver for people who are competent, self-motivated, with integrity and commitment to the company that gives them a life and not mere survival. Such kind of people will be faithful to my vision-mission. They will be happy to serve with me and make a difference also in other people's lives. Defnitely, I will continue to educate customers, help them demolish the myths (as compiled by Wells Fargo) about buying a home which are: Myth 1: "I can not afford a down payment." In the past, buying a home required a 20 percent down payment. But not today. In fact, 7 out of 10 first-time homebuyers make a down payment of 10 percent or less. Mortgage companies have loan programs that can help a customer buy a home without a lot of cash, or any at all. Myth 2: "I have less-than-perfect credit, so I can not get a mortgage." A less-than-perfect credit history does not have to stand in the way of reaching one's homeownership goals. There are mortgage firms that helped thousands of individuals move beyond credit challenges into homes of their own. Myth 3: "It is less expensive to rent, and now may not be the right time to buy." In fact, the customer may be surprised how much home he can afford for the same rent check he is sending in now, especially when he considers the tax advantages of homeownership. And unlike rental costs, monthly principal and interest payments will stay the same for the life of a fixed-rate mortgage. Because home prices almost always go up (and only occasionally decline), buying as soon as one is able will be a better strategy than trying to time the real estate market. Moreover, as a homeowner, one is building wealth as the home equity grows. Myth 4: "The whole mortgage process is long and complicated." Buying the first home must be as easy as possible. Home mortgage consultants must help the customer through each step of the financing process, so he will never have to go through it alone. Myth 5: "I will not be able to make my monthly payments." The goal is to help the customer succeed financially, so the job of the mortgage officer is to carefully review loan options with the customer and help him choose the loan that is right for him. With a loan that fits his budget and financial goals, his home will be a powerful tool in building a secure future for him and his family. I have adapted the foregoing mortgage myths-demolishing tactics from Wells Fargo. Having said all these, I further realize that as a mortgage professional, I am an instrument in building not just homes but lives and futures. Read More