CHAPTER TWELVE
HUMAN RELATIONS
Is an approach to the theory of management which emphasizes the individual workers need for satisfactory relationship with other members of his work group and his need to participate in decision that affect significantly his work
Ways of improving human relations
- Creation of congenital work environment
- Provide enlightened leadership and set examples
- Democratic and permissive climate in the organization
- Proper and speedy redress of staff grievances
- Personal attention to staff problems
- Well planned communication systems
- Abundant opportunities for personal growth
- Treat staff with dignity and respect
- Recognize them, and praise them in public
- Be sincerely interested in their subordinates
Importance or role of human relations
- Improve people-organization relationship
- High productivity due to high motivation
- Reduce industrial arrest
- Reduced resistance to changes
- Enhance development of team work
REVISION QUESTIONS FROM KNEC PASTPAPERS
Outline reasons why open plan offices are popular
- They are economical in terms of space
- Supervision is easy
- They minimize staff movement
- Economy of equipment
- Economy of lighting
- Promote transparency of operations
What are duties of the accounts departments
- Preparations of the final accounts
- Preparations of the budget
- Budget control
- Credit control
- Payment of salaries
- Payment of debts
- Receiving payments
Outline ways of safeguarding files against unauthorized access
- Lock them up in cabinets
- Restrict access to non-registry staff
Outline the advantages of using office forms
- Time saving
- Limit responses
- Ensure uniformity of details
Outline ways in which an office worker may build good relations with seniors
- Complete work or schedule
- Follow instructions
- Report work related difficulties or problems promptly and accurately
- Requests for assistance if needed
- Help where appropriate
- Be courteous
- Give feedback to confirm understanding
- Adhere to policies and regulations
What are the functions of a research and development department
- Develop new methods of manufacturing
- Discover new products
- Explore new markets
- Find ways of improving existing products
- Develop better packaging
Explain factors to be considered when choosing a filing system
- It should be easily accessible
- It should be suitable for the type of correspondence
- It should cater for future expansion
- It should be suitable to work with
- It should allow quick reference
- It should be able to safe guard documents/information
What are the measures to be taken to reduce delays in the distribution of mail
- Assign staff for distribution
- Establish clear channels for distributions
- Establish specific time for distribution-classify collection point
- Institute proper follow up systems and fix responsibilities
- Maintain constant communication with departments
Outline various advantages of office automation
- Saving on time taken to perform in certain functions
- Less labor may be required
- The staff experience less fatigue
- Less monotony compared to manual
- Reduce paper work
- Encourages specialization
- Improves efficiency
What are the benefits of an office to an organization
- It is a center for communication
- It safeguards an organizations assets
- It provides a place where records are kept
- Its a meeting place for the organizations departments or clients
Outline the desirable qualities of a receptionist
- Interested in people
- Good memory
- Patient
- Tactful
- Well-dressed/groomed
- Mastery of official languages
Name the details which may be obtained from a file absent card
- Name of the borrower
- Department of the borrower
- Date borrowed
- Date returned
- Name and number of the file
Explain the methods of preparing a master for duplication
- By electronic scanner
- By using a thermal copier
- By using a type writer
- By hand writing
- By photographic/electrostatic processes
Describe the responsibilities of an office supervisor
- He coordinates the work in the department
- Monitors work progress
- Distributes work among staff
- Identifies training needs
- Solving work related problems
- Deals with staff issues e.g. discipline
What are the advantages of reproducing documents Using computer printers
- The copies are neat
- Printers are very fast
- Colorized production is possible
- Easy to correct errors
- No preparation of an intermediary device
- Storage of data is easy e.g flash disk
Suggest measures to improve accuracy in filing
- Ensure that every document filed has the mark releasing it for
- Sort papers and group them before filling
- Place correspondence in the correct file
- Arrange correspondence in chronological order with the most recent on top
- File daily
- Use a cross reference where applicable
- Seek guidance when in doubt
Suggest ways in which an organization may control the quantities of stationery used by departments
- Monitor the quantities used by each department
- Appoint somebody to be in charge of stationery requisition
- Issue stationery only against a signed requisition
- Store stationery under right conditions to avoid wastage through deterioration
- Set minimum and maximum levels of stock to overstocking
- Have set times for issuing stationery
- Issuing relevant stationery to relevant departments
What are the benefits of having an effective stock control system
- It prevents pilferage
- It ensures that stock levels are maintained
- It minimizes the amount of capital tied up in stock
- It minimizes wastage of storage space
What are measures a manager could take in order to enhance human relations in his departments
- Allow initiative from staff
- Fair distribution of work
- Equal treatment in disciplinary cases
- Accept constructive criticism
- Sensitivity to workers feelings
What are benefits of a public relations departments to a customer
- Addresses customer queries
- Deals with customer complaints
- Organizes community assistance projects
- Creates awareness of the organizations activities/products
What are the challenges that employees face in coping with challenging technology
- High cost of retraining
- Limited access to training facilities
- Inadequate time for training
- Reluctance to embrace new technology
What are ways in which poor grooming and dressing can negatively affect human relations in the office
- Inappropriate dressing may elicit negative comments from colleagues which may strain relationship
- Bad breath and odor may lead to isolation of a colleague
- Unkempt appearance draws wrong conclusion and encourages gossip which stains relationship
- Showily dressing may be interpreted as pride or evidence of superiority complex which may lead to isolation
- Excessive use of perfumes and make up may cause irritation to colleagues
Suggest ways in which an organization may promote its image to customers
- Prompt delivery of goods and services
- Presentable and effective front office staff
- Prompt response to customer queries/complaints
- Periodic press releases
- Partnership with community in charitable events
- Fair pricing of products
What is the procedure for stock -requisition for a department
- Establish required items and quantities
- Compare with allocated quota
- Fill in the requisition slip
- Get authorization
- Submit requisition to store
- Verification by store clerk
- Issue of required items
- Record received items
- Distribute to users
What are organizational factors that could promote good human relations
- Provision of a good working environment communication
- Clear tasks and responsibilities
- Provision of adequate tools and equipment for the job
What are responsibilities of a purchasing department
- Purchasing goods and materials
- Preparation of orders
- Maintaining stock records
- Maintaining records of supplies
- Sourcing for suppliers
What are the effects of poor human relations in an office
- Poor quality of work/service
- Sabotage
- Absenteeism
- Lack of team work
- Conflicts among staff
- Low staff morale
- Staff lateness
Outline factors to be considered when deciding record retention policy
- Space available for use
- Frequency of reference
- Legal requirements
- Need to retain documents in original form as evidence in court
- Availability of duplicates in other departments
- Equipment available for storage
- Need of retention for auditory purposes
Suggest measures that an organization may take to ensure effective use of stationery
- Issue stationery in reams and packets
- Ensure there is proper follow up of use e.g. cheek dustbins for wasteful use
- Recycle/re use of used stationery where possible e.g. printing paper envelops
- Carry out regular inspection on stock taking
- Provide good quality stationery
- Restrict the amount of stationery to be used
Outline disadvantages of microfilming
- A reader is required in order to refer to the information
- Its difficult to locate the information required from the film
- Poorly prepared film will not be readable
- It requires special equipment which is expensive
- Specialized knowledge is required to prepare the film and to refer
- Retrieval of information takes time
What are the ways in which staff can display good office etiquette
- Time management -complete tasks on schedule observe official working hours
- Response to different clients-handle them with tact, courtesy and diplomacy
- Responsibility-show initiative, work without supervision
Discuss ways in which production department depends on the marketing department in an organization
- It promotes the goods produced by the production department in an organization
- It gives customers feedback to the production department
- It trains the sales man and makes them knowledgeable about the different products produced by production department
- It carries out market research and advises the production department in different product designs available in the market
- It sells the goods produced by production department
Outline measures that the organization may take to enhance good public relations with its customers
- Handling customers issues with urgency and concern
- By providing official dress code
- By providing suggestion boxes as a means of soliciting feedback from customers
- By using appropriate communication with customers
- By participating in charity events
- By providing quality products
Outline services offered by an office to an organization
- Filling documents
- Storage of information and making the same available in future
- Connecting the departments with customers ,suppliers etc
- Circulating all necessary information to all concerned
What are benefits of using E-mail in office
- Its a fast means of communication
- The same message can be sent to many people simultaneously
- Large amount of information can be sent inform of attachment
- E-mail messages can be sent to the recipients mail box at any time at the senders convenience
- Its cheap means of communication
- Its a worldwide service
What are the reasons for filling documents
- To preserve records for future reference
- To protect records against damage
- To provide evidence in case of any dispute e.g in a court of law
- To keep the office tidy
- Preserve documents from wear and tear
What are limitations of using carbon paper as a means of making copies of documents
- Only few copies can be made at a time
- Copies tend to fade with time
- Confidentiality may be compromised
- Copies may be untidy
What are the reasons for cross-referencing when filing documents
- When more than one name is used by a person or company
- When correspondence may be sought under more than one name
- When firm is known by its initials
- When the name has changed
What are the ways in which a worker can show consideration for others at work
- Sharing resources and information fairly
- Not making unnecessary noise
- Taking up their work when colleagues are absent
- Being sympathetic to their colleagues
- Being respectful to colleagues
- Listening to other peoples opinion
Outline the procedure used when handling outgoing mail
- Mails should be collected from departments at a regular interval that are pre-arrangement
- Clerks must ensure that letters are put into the correct envelops and all enclosures attached to relevant letters
- Letter should be sorted according to the type of service required so that they can be weighed according to the category of service
- Letters should then be stamped with the correct amount of postage
- Where there is need to keep the record of the amount used on postage, the details of the mails should be recorded
- Franked letters must be delivered at the post office counter and mails requiring special service, should be delivered at the post office and a receipt obtained
What are the reasons for choosing photocopying method to reproduce documents
- Exact copies without loss of any details are obtained
- Quicker than duplicating or printing as no need for the preparation of the master
- Color copies can be obtained in some machines
- Large sized documents can be reduced by some machines and smaller ones can be enlarged
- There is no need to verify the number of copies as the quantity is preset before
What are the measures that should be taken to ensure that the forms designed are suitable
- The writing surface, the style of print, the paper sequence of information and method of entry should be easy for rapid completion of the form
- Good appearance and balanced arrangement of information of the form
- Adequate space should be provided for the expected information
- Every form should have an appropriate title
- Should be cost effective
- It should be easy to reproduce the form
- The quality of paper and color must be appropriate
What are the factors/reasons that may discourage organization from using alphabetical filing method
- In large systems it takes longer time to find papers
- There is likely congestion under common names
- It is difficult to forecast space requirement for different letters of the alphabet
- There are possibilities of a document being filed under a different name due to differences in spellings
Highlight five measures that may be taken to minimize noise in an office
- Carpets or rubber mats spread on the floor will reduce the sounds caused by the movements of the clerks and other people
- Below the office machines which create noise in operation, felt pads can be placed which reduce noise
- Calling bells can be replaced with buzzers
- Telephone may be kept in sound-proof booths to reduce the sound
- Clerks must be instructed to maintain calmness
- Workers must be engaged fully during the office hours so that they don’t waste time over idle gossip
- Banging or creaking doors should be fitted with rubber or felt steps to reduce sound
As an office manager you were asked by your boss to assess the best place to locate a new office. Discuss the factors you would consider while deciding about a new office site
- Office premises should be located in a good area with good reputation
- It should be located in those area where necessary facilities e.g. electricity, water, telephone etc.
- Office premises should be close enough to those businesses or other concerned persons with whom your organization is required to deal in most of the cases
- The office site must be suitable from the point of view of natural lighting temperature, cleanliness, safety etc.
- It should be located in such a way that there must be no problem for future expansion
- The cost of obtaining office premises must be reasonable and within the financial resources of the business
Outline the principles of office layout
- The arrangement should allow for a smooth flow of work with minimum of staff movement
- The floor space should be as free as possible to permit free movement
- For the benefit of easy supervision of staff’ good and efficient appearance of the office, desks should arranged in a standard plan
- All equipment e.g. filling cabinet, telephone etc. likely to be used by everybody in the office should be so sited that within easy reach of those who should use it.This reduces movements of staff and disturbance of work
- The number and location of gangways should be allowed in such a way that each employee should be able to leave and reach his desk without having to disturb others.
- The arrangement of furniture should not obstruct natural light and ventilation by placing them in front of windows
