Use of Office Automation Tools for improving efficiency in administrative offices

Office automation systems (OAS) are configurations of networked computer hardware and
software. A variety of office automation systems are now applied to business and
communication functions that used to be performed manually or in multiple locations of a
company, such as preparing written communications and strategic planning. In addition,
functions that once required coordinating the expertise of outside specialists in typesetting,
printing, or electronic recording can now be integrated into the everyday work of an
organization, saving both time and money.
Office Automation refers to the varied computer machinery and software used to digitally
create, collect, store, manipulate and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic
tasks. Raw data storage electronic transfer, and the management of electronic business
information comprise the basic activities of an automation system.
It helps in optimizing the existing processes in such a way that it saves cost for the bank and
helps the customers in their daily lives.

Why Banking Sector?

We live in a digital age. There is no institute that wants to lag the world and carry on its age
old mechanism by not embracing IT. In fact, Banks and other financial institutions were the
first ones to embrace IT keeping in mind the enormous benefits that they would get through
it.
Almost all of banks operations were done manually in the past. This used up or ate up a lot of
time and resources of the bank staff and resulted in lesser and lesser productivity. This caused
stagnation of office staff at their positions.
Automation has led to reduction in redundancies in operations and has freed up staff from
their tedious manual work and has in-turn helped increase their productivity. This has also
helped the staff to concentrate on jobs that are more productive and less on the jobs that can
be automated.
Owing to the huge size of the BFSI institutions, IT companies have these days started
dedicated verticals for such institutions as contracts with such institutions are helping them
generate revenues in billions of rupees as compared to other smaller institutions.
ATMs have given the customers the power to withdraw money anytime anywhere, and has
eased the tension of handling customers mundane jobs like printing of the passbook,
withdrawing money etc.

Banks have come up with automatic passbook printers which help the customers get their
jobs done without waiting in long queues for a job that hardly requires a minute or so.
Automation is slowly becoming a feature of the modern society that we live in where in
technology is becoming one of the main drivers of it.
Given the need for profits and ways of reducing the costs incurred in doing the jobs, banks
have quickly realized the need of automation as it improves the bottom line and has led to
synergy between their processes. Automation takes out the human element form the equation
thus reducing or completely eliminating errors and making the processes glitch free.
Amount of fraud has decreased due to automation which is one major benefit to the BFSI
institutions which deal with huge sums of money of their customers. One more benefit of
having the processes automated is the maintenance of records over longer periods of time
with easy and hassle free retrieval.
Having offered facilities like Internet Banking and mobile payments, the need for cash
transactions has declined drastically over the last few years. Having automated front offices,
it is the turn of back offices to be automated in order to head in the direction of success at a
rapid pace. Due to the enormous population of our country and the number of account holders
increasing at a drastic speed, the back offices have to employ thousands and thousands of
employees in order to cater to the need of the customers. This process of manually processing
the data of the customers is very costly, consumes time, and is prone to Human errors and
inconsistent results leading to uncalled for expenses.
there is a significant opportunity that exists to increase the levels of automation in back
offices. By reworking the IT architecture, banks can have smaller operational units run valueadding tasks, which include complex processes, such as deal origination, and activities that
require human intervention, such as financial reviews.
Making banks IT enabled, and using IT solutions to manage operations which are done
manually over the years, banks can save up to 50% in productivity and improve their
customer service. This will lead to improved ratings for the bank as well as larger customer
acquisition.

Automation like every other thing in this world, it has positives and negatives. If it has saved
money on one hand, it has led to the loss of face-to-face interactions leading to relationship
building between the staff and its customers.

Office automation equipments are tools that generally enhance office productivity and ensure
that office procedures are effectively managed with minimum energy dissipation. The focal
point naturally is the computer system. However, the computer cannot effectively function
without other peripheral devices like printers, scanners and even multimedia projectors.
Computers also need to be networked so that information can be easily shared and
communication effectively carried out with minimum movement within the office
environment.
Automating office processes can help increase efficiency in the workplace, and many
businesses are taking advantage of the benefits automation offers. Several of today's office
tasks can easily be run by computers or machinery which is beneficial to a business for many
reasons.
Speed, convenience, accuracy, and innovation are some of the primary benefits a business can
derive from installing automation in their offices or work areas.
Additionally, employing computers or machines to run some of the mundane or easily
automated tasks is a good cost-cutting measure which can also increase productivity, hence
boost profitability.

Schematic Representation of Vital Office Automation Components

Data is essentially regarded as raw, basic and unprocessed facts about a situation. The
octagon shapes on the Data side of the schematic diagram depict a series of data sets for
different situations encountered in typical office procedures.
On the far right, we have the information column with a series of rounded edge rectangles
showing the required information systems that would generate relevant information in
everyday office procedures.
Computer Hardware and Software constitute the automators that ensure that the raw facts on
the left are processed into meaningful, useful information that can be used to make vital
decisions in the office setting
Computers are therefore the necessary ingredients to facilitate the desirable automation of
office procedures

Goals of Office Automation

The goals of office automation may be expressed in terms of

Greater efficiency

Better service

Better accuracy

Demanding for timeliness

Facility in control

Standardization of office routine

Relieves of monotony

Prevention of fraud

Better information retrieval

Lower operation cost

Reduction in paper work Improved communication environment

Here are some of the top ways these benefits of office automation can help efficiency:

Greater Efficiency
The use of Computers and other officer automation technologies on large scale has mode
prices lower by 10 to 30 percent and often much more than they would be without
Commuters. The use of goods or services that individuals and machines con produce in a
given time period. These productivity gains can lead to (i) a stronger Competitive Position
and (ii) higher levels of real income for an increased number of individuals. So, office
automation brings speed and efficiency to all types of office work. Improved efficiency leads
to greater profitability and at the same time creates good images in the minds in the minds of
the people who deal with office.

Better Service
Offices use office automation technologies to improve the service they provide to customers,
clients, patients etc. For example, Computer Processing techniques and office automation
tools make possible.Shorter waiting lines at airline ticket offices and at the reservation desks
of hotels, motels and car-rental agencies

Faster and more accurate answers to the inquiries of people served by the officers.

More convenient handling of purchase transactions through the use of credit cards

More efficient customer service and control in retail outlets.

Thus, office automation provides better service and help to improve the quality of work done
in the office.
Speed and Convenience
Speed is an obvious benefit that computers offer, one of which tends to naturally increase
efficiency. The fast processing automation is capable of means that faster transactions are
made, the supply-chain management line moves more swiftly, and ultimately customers don't
have to wait as long.
Businesses can easily purchase and stock their wares with the aid of technology. Many of the
manual tasks that used to be done by hand can now be done through hand held devices and
UPC and SKU coding.
In the retail setting, automation also increases choice. Customers can easily process their
payments through automated credit card machines and no longer have to wait in line for an
employee to process and manually type in the credit card numbers.
Office payrolls have been automated which means no one has to manually cut checks, and
those checks that are cut can be printed through computer programs. Direct deposit can be
automatically set up and this further reduces the manual process and most employees who
participate in direct deposit often find their paychecks come earlier than if they'd have to wait
for their checks to be written and then cleared by the bank.
Speaking of banks, they too have effectively reduced the long waits that tended to occur on
paydays by introducing the ATM machine. Between direct deposit, ATMs and online banking,
there is little need for customers to even set foot in a bank nowadays.
Other ways automation has reduced employee manpower on tasks is automated voice
direction. Through the use of prompts, automated phone menus and directed calls, the need
for employees to be dedicated to answer the phones has been reduced, and in some cases,
eliminated. The speed and convenience offered by automation is second to none.
There is no humanly way possible that employees can do certain kinds of tasks faster than
computers or machines.

Accuracy and Easy Retrieval

Using technology also augments accuracy. There are more mechanisms instilled in
automation that enable databases to double check entries and ensure data integrity.
For instance, certain database fields only accept numbers, letters, or other information
entered, and this ensures that less typos are made which can affect the accuracy of data.
Through relational databases, this ensures records in each area of a business' recordkeeping
are accurate and updated at the same time.
Before automation, files were stored in filing cabinets, card catalogs and folders in
fragmented systems. Through the conversion to streamlined automation, businesses can now
store, update and retrieve information very easily without using a lot of time which highly
increases efficiency.

Innovation
Through office automation, employees are freed up to focus on the company's core
competencies and do not have to spend hours or days doing the tasks that machines and
computers can now run.
All employees have to do is start the process through the push of a button, or click of a
mouse, and the computer or machine does the rest. This allows staff members to focus on
other more important tasks that require thinking and/or new ideas.
Innovation is a primary benefit because as processes run smoothly in the fore or background;
people have more time to contribute to help with the growth of the business with new ideas,
products or services.
Overall automation, while needing a large initial investment and some ongoing budgeting for
maintenance can be very cost-effective in the long run. This is one of the biggest benefits a
business can gain.
Instead of paying people to do a job, they invest in the machinery and the ideas and tacit
knowledge that only people can possess can be better put to work doing other more valuable
things.
Office automation is a wise investment. Companies that have realized the tangible and
intangible benefits of technology often gain a competitive advantage over the other
businesses in their respective industries.
Better Accuracy

If a data Processing operation is strained to and beyond the capacity for which it was
originally planned, inaccuracies begin to appear and the control of official activities suffers.
Computer Processing becomes quite accurate if the task to be performed is properly. so
Office automation ensures better accuracy. Chances of errors are almost eliminated. Thus
work goes on smoothly and bottlenecks and delays are eliminated.

Demanding for Timeliness

Timeliness of information is of great importance to all office and organizations for decision
making. For example, timely announcement of promotion, timely information about training
opportunities, timely modification of staff lists and their addresses, timely payment to
customer and so on, avoid many serious problem. For an administrator, a timely information
may help him to take timely decisions and actions and prevent undesirable consequences.
only office automation can perform these and provide timely information.
Facility in Control
Office automation facilitates the task of mangers. Office automation helps managers to
exercise better degree of control over their sub-ordinates. Certain office automation tools
allow for minimization of fraud in the accounting department.
Facilitates Standardization of Office Routines
Office automation helps to facilitate standardization of office routines and procedures.
Standardization of office routines facilitates better co- ordination of works.
Relieving Monotony
Office automation reduces the monotony of carrying of carrying out repetitive processes
which are boring and time consuming. The office worker is thus relieved of mental tensions
of going through same process again and again by using office automation tools and
technologies.
Prevention of Fraud
Computer and office automation tools are more reliable then man. A man can deceive Cheat
but a Computer works on its own motion. so, for the prevention of fraud, office automation
tools and technologies.
Better Information Retrieval
A New-York surgeon Contacted a Medical library when a near-term pregnant woman lapsed
into a hepatic coma. He needed immediate information on exchange blood transfusion for
woman. Using a computer terminal and a retrieval program, the librarian searched more than
a half million medical documents in a few minutes to get information needed by the surgeon
to perform an emergency blood transfusion. The Patient recovered fully form hepatitis. Most
information retrieval tasks obviously do not involve life of death decision, but quick

computer Assisted retrieval can save time and aggravation for many individuals. so, office
automation censures better information retrieval.

Lower Operating Cost

Operating Cost per hour of work declines with the use of office automation technologies. For
example, a PC can help a manager budget and balance his check book, control his instalment
purchases, control his homes energy use and analyze his investment. of course, there is no
doubt that office automation technologies require a large amount of initial capital investment.
However, now-a-das, office automation prove beneficial. The Cost of electronic- office
equipment have been falling rapidly in recent years. Executives are now more receptive to
ides of investing in new office automation technology to rising labour costs and improve
productivity.
Reduction in Paper work
Paper based office work is certainly costly. It is not due to the increasing cost of paper but
due to the procedure involved in preparing reports and letters. First, a letter is dictated (or
written by hand). Then it typed (draft), proofread and delivered to the executive. after
corrections and alternations, the process is repeated again till it is approved. office workers
use to output written document on paper- a physical medium that (i) takes space,
(ii) requires postage for mailing or effort for delivering (iii) often gets stored in file cabinets
that is space consuming, (iv) requires additional work to update and destroy. so, finding no
other way, managers are trying to reduce paper work to minimize the cost and improve office
productivity. only office automation provides a number of ways for accomplishing these
through the use of office automation technologies such as computer processing, distributor
data processing, e-mail, and teleconferencing etc.
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF MAJOR COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
Office operations essentially revolve around word processing, electronic spreadsheet,
electronic presentation and database management. Apart from these, there are also
communication software that facilitate e-communication processes.

Word processing relates to the production of professional documents that are

characterized by clarity and well disseminated information through standard and properly
defined structures.

Electronic spreadsheet handles the manipulation of numbers in an office. It is the

software that is said to be used to model numbers. Documents like ledgers, payroll, nominal
roll, expense sheets and others are effectively produced using spreadsheets. Spreadsheets also
present numeric data in graphical or chart form for easy analysis.

Database management software are used for the construction, usage and maintenance of
databases. This is particularly useful in managing large records like population statistics, and
other national statistical information