Introduction and Importance of Office

Resources

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Introduction
"The office resources are the human, physical and financial resources which are utilized for
performing all the activities in order to achieve the organizational objectives."
An organization is established to achieve definite objectives. In order to achieve such objective,
it has to perform a number of functions. To perform these functions smoothly and efficiently, the
organization requires enough office resources. The quantity and quality of the office resources
needed to the organization depend upon its nature, size and volume of transactions. Office
resources determine the competitive position and overall success of the organization. In fact,
modern office resources help to satisfy the customers and increase the goodwill of the
organization.
Meaning and definition
Office resources are the inputs which are the means for obtaining outputs. The office resources
are manpower, materials, and sources of income, means of transportation and means of
communication. The office resources are the tools that support to perform all the activities of the
organization for achieving its goal. The following is the main definition of office resources:

"Office resources refer to all those means including manpower, which support the operation of
office procedures." -S.P. Arora
From the above definition, it can be concluded that the office resources are all the facilities
available in the office like men, materials, and supplies, furniture and equipment, money, means
of transportation and communication which are utilized to perform all the activities for achieving
organizational objectives.
Needs and Importance
1. It helps to perform official activities: The office resources are necessary to perform all
types of manufacturing, administrative, selling and distribution activities of the
organization. Qualitative office resources with required quantity help in the smooth and
efficient functioning of office procedures.
2. It helps to provide better products and services: The office resources are basic for
producing qualitative products and services. The quality of product and services depends
on the quality of resources introduced. Better resources provide better results or outputs.
3. It helps to maximize profit: Efficient human physical resources assist in producing
qualitative outputs at the least cost. Standard products and services satisfy needs and want
of the customers which help in increasing sales increases the efficiency of the staff.
4. It helps to save time: Every organization should complete its activities within the
specified time period. The cost of the job done depends on the time spent on it. Modern
office resources like computer, calculator and photocopy machine helps to perform the
official work with a greater speed which saves valuable time of the employee.It helps to
increase goodwill: Modern office resources play an important role in making the outlook
of the office attractive which helps to satisfy employees and other concerned parties
create positive impression in the society which helps to increase the goodwill of the
organization.
5. It helps to increase goodwill: Modern office resources play an important role in making
the outlook of the office attractive which helps to satisfy employees and other concerned
parties create positive impression in the society which helps to increase the goodwill of
the organization.
6. It helps to minimize cost: Proper management and utilization of office resources help to
minimize the cost of products and services. Modern office resources assist in producing
quality output in a greater quantity which results into a lower cost of production.
7. It helps to increase efficiency: Modern office machinery and equipment help to perform
the assigned work with greater accuracy and reliability. Chances of errors are almost
eliminated by using modern office equipment like computer, calculator and photocopy
machine. In fact, accuracy helps increasing reliability in official works.It helps to obtain
greater

It helps to obtain greater output: Every organization makes an effort to

obtain a larger quantity of output with the least amount of resources. Such
efforts can be materialized by managing and utilizing right type and amount
of office resources. In fact, the right type of Types of Office Resources
(Manpower)

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Manpower

Manpower refers to all the staff who is appointed in different positions for performing
administrative, clerical, as well as technical jobs. It is also known as office personnel. Manpower
is the only living resources which utilize other resources in order to perform official activities.
The organization should estimate a suitable number of staff for a given period. The act of
estimating the required number of staff in different positions of the organization is called
Darbandi. It avoids the situation of over and understaffing and helps in controlling labor cost.
Types of manpower

The manpower can be divided into administrative and technical according to the nature of jobs to
be performed.
1. Administrative manpower: The manpower who involves in preparing plans
and policies, implementing them into practice and controlling whole activities
of the organization is called administrative manpower. They perform
administrative as well as clerical works. They perform a specific job and do
not require specialized knowledge and skill to perform such job. They prepare
plans and policies and implement them into practice. They direct,
communicate, coordinate and control the activities of the organization. The

office chief and office assistant are the examples of administrative

manpower.
2. Technical manpower: The manpower who have specialized knowledge and
skill required to perform a specific job is called a technical manpower. The
technical manpower requires specialized knowledge and skill to perform it.
The office appoints skilled, semi-skilled technical manpower as per its
requirement. The staff who are highly experienced, trained and have
specialized knowledge are skilled manpower. The semi-skilled manpower
does not have the same degree of experience, training, and knowledge as the
skilled manpower have. They assist to the skilled manpower to perform a
specific technical job. Similarly, unskilled manpower is that staff who do not
have any specialized knowledge and training but assist the skilled and semiskilled manpower to perform a specific job.
Manpower Development

Manpower development is an act of updating present manpower for performing future work in
the changing environment by increasing knowledge, skills and capacities of the employees. It
refers to the task of updating the present manpower. It is the process of preparing manpower to
cope with the changes in the organizational environment. It is concerned with increasing the
knowledge, skills, attitudes and capabilities of the present staff of the organization. It helps in
preparing the staff to work effectively and efficiently in the organization. It enhances personal
competencies required to perform present and future jobs. The manpower development is done
through training program, seminar, workshop and field visits. It can also be done by providing an
opportunity for future studies, making the evaluation of performance and proper counseling of
the employees.
8. office resources helps to obtain a large volume of outputs.

Materials and Source of Income

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Materials
Materials refer to all durable and non-materials items required by the office to perform all its
activities, accurate and systematic manner. These materials help the manpower to perform
official activities efficiently. These provide comfort, reduce tension, monitor, and fatigue. These
also help to increase the working efficiency to the staff.
There are two types of materials:
1. Durable materials: Durable materials are those materials which help to generate regular
incomes for an organization. The durable materials are useful for more than one year.
These materials are valuable economic resources and will provide a future benefit to the
organization. They are treated as fixed assets of the organization. These materials are
bought for the purposes of using in the organization and not for reselling. Plant,
machinery, furniture, equipment, and vehicles are some of the examples of durable
materials.
2. Non- durable materials: Non- durable materials are those materials which are used for
the purpose of manufacturing or selling or operating office and administrative activities.
These materials are consumed within one year. The amount spent on these is treated as an
expense. These materials help in maintaining incomes. These materials help for the
smooth operation of manufacturing, administration and selling activities of the
organization. Raw materials, work- in- process, finished goods, stationery and supplies
like papers, carbon papers, pen, pencils, inks, stamp pad, staplers, file covers, and
registers are some of the examples of non-durable materials.
Sources of Incomes
The revenue which is earned by selling and distributing goods and services on a regular basis is
called sources of income. It also includes revenue earned from non-business activities. An
income refers to financial benefit or revenue. It is earned against the goods sold or services
rendered. Every organization requires regular sources of income. Such incomes are essential to
meet regular expenses and to make a surplus. A number of incomes is essential to determine the
stability, growth, competitiveness and goodwill of the organization. The main sources of income
for the government are income tax, value added tax, interest tax, customs duty, excise duty,
donation, etc. The sources of incomes can be classified as follows:

1. Regular incomes: Regular incomes are those incomes which are earned by selling goods
and rendering services. These incomes are earned continuously throughout the year.
Incomes from the sale of goods or rendering services, discount and commission received
are the examples of regular incomes for a business organization. Similarly, value added
tax, income tax, customs duty and excise duty is the examples of regular incomes for the
government.
2. Other incomes: Other incomes are those incomes which are not earned regularly. These
are the incomes other than regular incomes. Rent received, compensation received and
interest received are some of the examples of other incomes for a business organization.
Similarly, donation, grant, and loans are some of the examples of other incomes for the
government.

Means of Transportation

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Transportation means the process of physical movement of products and people from one place
to another place. The means which are used to transport products and people from one place to
another place inside or outside the country is called the means of transportation. It facilitates to
distribute goods from the production place to another place inside or outside the country. It helps
in widening the market and making a large volume of sales. It saves the valuable time of the
office personnel. The car, bus, motorcycle, aeroplane, ship, etc. are the different examples of
means of transportation. The means of transportation used under different modes are as follows:

1. Road transportation
The act of carrying products or people from one place to another through land routes is
known as road transportation. It is a cheap, convenient and relatively fast mode of
transportation. It is an important mode of transportation for carrying goods, products and

people especially in a landlocked mountainous country like Nepal. Cycle, motorcycle,

car, bus, tractor or truck are some of the examples of means of road transportation.

2.

Rail transportation
The act of carrying products and people from one place another through railway is known
as rail transportation. It is cheaper road transportation. It is an old mode of transportation.
It is more reliable as compared to road transportation. Railway transportation facility is
extremely limited in Nepal.

3.

Water transportation
The act of carrying products and people from one place to another place through the lake,
canal, river, sea and ocean is known as water transportation. It is the cheapest and oldest
mode of transportation. It is an extremely slow mode of transportation. It is used for
transporting bulky products to a distant place. Water transportation facility is quite
limited in Nepal. Boat, motor boat and ship, are the some examples of water
transportation.

4.

Air transportation
The act of carrying products and people from one place to another place through airways
is called air transportation. It is the advanced mode of transportation. It is the most
expensive but the quickest mode of transportation. It is mostly used for travelling to a
distant place, carrying mails and transporting valuable and lighter products. For a
mountainous country like Nepal where adequate road transportation facility is not
available, the air transportation is an extremely useful mode for transportation. The
balloon, Helicopter, Jet are some of the examples of air transportation.

Communication

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Communication is a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding

the official information. The process of exchanging the information, ideas and opinions either by
speaking or writing or using the symbols between individuals and departments inside or outside
the organization is called communication. Communication is the chain of understanding which
binds all the persons and departments of an organization together and directs them to achieve the
organizational goal.
Importance of communication
1. It helps the management for formulating organizational objectives, plans,
policies, and programs.
2. It helps the executives for settling conflicts and misunderstanding between
people and departments.
3. It helps the management for the successful implementation of the plans,
policies, and programs.
4. It helps the executives for making sound decisions.
5. It helps the management for evaluating the performance of executives and
assistant.
6. It helps the management for the directing, coordinating and controlling the
activities of people and departments of the organization.
Types of Communication

An organization transfers the information either to the people and departments inside or outside
the organization. Hence, the communication can be classified into internal and external as shown
below:
Internal communication

The act of exchanging information between the people and departments inside the organization is
called internal communication. This communication takes place for passing instructions and
orders from superiors to subordinates and reporting performance, achievements and problems
from subordinates to superiors. It also takes place between or among the departments for
informing and coordinating their activities. The internal communication can be divided as
follows:
1. Downward communication: The process of transmitting the official
information by superior to subordinates is called downward communication.
Orders, instructions, and directions are given by the superiors to the
subordinates and departments. Since the information flows from the top level
to middle and lower level of the organization, it is termed as downward
communication.
2. Upward communication: The process of transmitting the official
information by subordinates to superiors is called upward communication.
Performance, progress, achievements, problems, and suggestions are
reported by the lower and middle level to the top level of the organization.
The information flows from the lower and middle level to top level of the
organization; it is termed as upward communication.
3. Lateral communication: The process of transmitting the official information
among the departments and executives of the same level is called lateral or
horizontal communication. The sectional or departmental heads exchange
their views for solving serious problems of the organization affecting the
workings of all these sections or departments. The information flows between
or among the departments or executives of the same level of the
organization, it is termed as lateral communication.
External communication

The act of exchanging information between individuals and offices outside the information
between two offices or organizations is called external communication. It flows the information
relating to the objectives, products, prices and position of the organization to the society. It also
receives the information relating to needs, wants, interest, attitude, complaints and suggestions
from the customers and other concerned parties of the society. External communication takes
place between two different offices inside or outside the country. The external communication
can be divided as follows:
1. National communication: The process of transmitting the official
information between two offices or organizations within the country is called

national communication. It flows from one organization to another

organization and hence it is called inter- office or inter-organization
communication. It also includes the act of exchanging information between
central level offices (ministries, departments, and constitutional bodies) and
operating level offices (regional offices, district offices, and projects) of the
government.
2. International communication: The process of transmitting the official
information between offices or organization of different countries is called
international communication. It flows from one organization to another
organization outside the country. It is also called inter- country
communication. The international communication is contributing a lot in
foreign trade, foreign relation, foreign employment, abroad study and
remittance of money. It is also used to control international crime and
terrorism.
Means of communication

The tools and technology which facilitate for exchanging information, ideas and opinions
between people and organizations of different places is called means of communication. The
office uses a suitable means of communication to pass a particular message to be communicated.
The selection of the right means of communication also depends on availability and suitability of
the means of communication. Telephone, telegram, fax, e- mail, the internet, and telex are some
of the examples of important means of communication. The means of communication under
different modes are as follows:

Oral Communication
Oral communication

The method of exchanging information verbally is called oral communication. The information is
passed from one place to another place by speaking. The following are some of the important
means of oral communication:
1. Telephone: Telephone is the popular and quickest means of oral
communication. It is a modern technology of exchanging information

between two persons or offices of the satellite transmission system, the

message can be sent through the telephone in any part of the globe without
any wire communications system. Nepal Telecom Company Ltd. is the full
government- owned company established in Nepal, in 1970 B.S. for
distributing telephone lines. It has also been distributing mobile phones to its
customers. The government has opened the door for a private sector to
distribute telephone lines and mobile phones. The telephone is an important
means of communication for all business, government offices, social
institutions and individuals.
2. Radio and Television: Radio and television are the mass means of
communication. Radio Nepal and Nepal television are the government-owned
enterprises which are established in Nepal in 2007 and 2042 B.S. respectively
to provide mass communication service in the country. FM radio and
television stations are being established and operated in the private sector as
well. They are the quickest means in relaying the messages in wider
geographical areas of the country. These are equally suitable for making
advertisement of different products which helps to increase sales volume.

Written Communication
Written communication

The method of exchanging information by writing is called written communication. It is the flow
of information in black and which is the most reliable communication. Following are the
important means of written communication:
1. Fax: It is an electronic system of telecommunication which uses the
telephone line to send messages from one place to send the message from
one place to another place. It is one of the popular means of the
communication device by which text and graphics from source can be
transmitted and received in the same format. It is quite suitable means of
communication for sending lengthy messages to a distant place
comparatively at a lower cost.
2. Electronic mail (e- mail): An e- mail is generally a text message sent
through the computer. It is done with the help of telephone and an internet

service provider. But there are companies like hotmail.com, yahoo.com,

gmail.com and rediffmail.com that provide free mail- box to its clients. E- Mail
is the cheapest and the fastest means of communication. But it cannot
always be called the safest. Your email can be stolen or deleted by the person
you never know. here is the example of an email id info@kullabs.com, this is
the email address created by kullabs smart school. Hence, we can send a
message to kullabs smart school using this email address.
3. Internet: Internet has become a global market. Many people have
transactions of millions of dollars everyday. E- Commerce is only possible
through the internet. So, this is a better means of communication of this
modern age. Internet is the latest advanced technological in the field of
communication. It helps to promote trade and industry. The big world is
shrinking to a small house due to the internet. It facilitates in the field of
banking, insurance, education, health, health, foreign trade, and defense. It
has changed the life style of the people and opened the door for an additional
employment opportunity.
4. Telegram: Telegram is a wireless system of communication. It is the act of
transmitting the message to a distant place without wire connection system.
It is quite suitable for the relaying, urgent and short message. The cost of the
telegram depends upon the length of the message and its urgency. The
device used to send the message is called telegraph. The message sent
through telegraph inside the country is called telegram and outside the
country is called cablegram.
5. Letter: A letter is a written message on certain subject or problem. It is
exchanged between individual and office with some definite objectives. It is a
formal means of transmitting official information, order, instruction, direction
and guidelines from one department to another department and one office to
another office. Letter writing is the most importance function of
administrative activities are carried out perfectly and effectively.

Symbolic communication
Symbolic communication

The way of exchanging information by using different symbols is called symbolic

communication. These symbols carry definite meaning and meaning of such symbols is quite
familiar to all. The red, yellow and green traffic light of cross- roads, period bell used by
educational institutions, call bell used by executives of an office, the facial expression of fear,

anger, emotion, sorry , surprises reflected by human being, gestures, signs, and symbols are some
of the examples of symbolic communication.

Barriers to Effective Communication

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Barriers to Effective Communication:

An organization performs all the activities through proper communication. To perform the
organizational activities smoothly and efficiently, effective communication plays a vital role.
Effective communication makes the receiver understand the meaning of the message as per the
intention of the sender. It makes the receiver see and feel as the sender does. The effective
communication plays an important role for the successful operation of the organization. There
are a number of barriers to effective communication. These barriers are the blockage,
breakdowns, and disruption in the flow of the message. Due to these barriers, the receiver cannot
understand the meaning of the message as per the intention of the sender. These barriers create
problems in responding the message and carrying activities as per the intention of the sender. The
barriers to effective communication results due to the following reasons:
1. If the symbols used in the message are not correctly understood by the receiver.
2. If the information is manipulated as per the interest of the sender.
3. If the message is to be transmitted to a long distance.
4. If the sender uses technical and difficult words in the message.
5. If the sender uses long and complex sentences in the message.
6. If the receiver has poor listening and understanding skill.
7. If the environment of fear and mistrust exists between sender and receiver.

Besides the above reasons, the barriers to effective communication also result from incorrect
address, unclear writing, incorrect typing, incorrect pronunciation, use of inappropriate color and
poor printing of the message.