The OfficeProcedures and Technology

Chapter 2

Office Competencies

Copyright 2003 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning

Employment Overview U.S. Department of Labor employment

projections Total employment for all jobs expected to

increase 14.4 percent by 2008 Administrative support positions expected to

increase 9 percent by 2008

Topic 2-1 Office Competencies Needed for Employment Slide 2

Largest Growth

Topic 2-1 Office Competencies Needed for Employment Slide 3

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Information Sources The Occupational Outlook Handbook

In print Online at U.S. Department of Labor Web site

Topic 2-1 Office Competencies Needed for Employment Slide 4

Monthly Labor Review

Office Competencies Needed by many types of workers

Doctors, nurses, medical technicians Accountants, brokers, insurance underwriters Lawyers, architects, engineers Teachers, authors, computer programmers Managers, executives, office support personnel

Topic 2-1 Office Competencies Needed for Employment Slide 5

Key Areas Word processing

Producing written documents using software and computers

Important for creating electronic messages (e-mail)

Closely related to desktop publishing

Data processing Organizing, analyzing, and summarizing data Workers use spreadsheet and database

software Ability to interpret data is important

Information management and transmission Organizing, maintaining, and processing data Knowledge of records management principles

and procedures is important

General managing and communicating Handling work time and tasks efficiently Creating schedules and meeting deadlines Communicating with coworkers and customers Presenting reports orally and in written form

Topic 2-1 Office Competencies Needed for Employment Slide 6

Issues Affecting Success Total quality management

Establishing and maintaining high standards in how work is done

Involves all company personnel

Continuous improvement Being alert to ways of working more

productively Involves all company personnel Overlaps the principles of TQM

Customer satisfaction A key focus in many organizations Essential for long-term success Often measured with customer surveys

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 7

Issues Affecting Success Ethical standards

Require honesty and fairness in business dealings

Often stated in a code of ethics or conduct

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 8

A portion of a company’s code of conduct

A portion of a company’s code of conduct

Issues Affecting Success Responsible teamwork

Involves combining the efforts of two or more people to achieve a goal

Communication is especially important for remote teams

Global marketplace More U.S. companies are selling goods and

services abroad Many companies are expanding through

ecommerce

Diversity Reflected in a workforce with people from a wide

range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 9

Ecommerce: business conducted electronically, often via the World Wide Web

Key Term

Expectations Employers expect certain basic qualities in all

employees Reliability Productivity Cooperativeness Independence in learning

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 10

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 11

Set goals for developing new competencies

Set goals for developing new competencies

Identify office competencies you have now

Identify office competencies you have now

Focus On …

Teamwork Set clear goals for the team Identify responsibilities for each member Determine how success will be measured Identify obstacles Communicate with all team members Build on the strength of individuals Recognize accomplishments of the team

Topic 2-2 Developing Office Competencies Slide 12