Four different types of office structures for text processing can be identified:
5.2.1 One-for-one relationship
Traditionally most offices function around the one-for-one relationship of a manager to a secretary. It often is a status symbol for managers to have a private secretary.
Simila~ly a secretary's seniority depends on that of the manager she works for. Apart from production typing, administrative duties of a general nature are assigned to
the sec~etary. Receiving visitors, filing, copying and making appointments are examples of these duties. The
succl:ss of office structures based on the one·-for-one
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-relationship depends on how the manager manages his
secretarial assistance. If used as "p~rsonal assistant", with delegated powers, a competent secretary can help the manager to increase his productivity at higher creative levels. On the other hand the secretary may be unproductive as regards typing as a result of being away from the desk for other duties or waiting for work - also affecting the performance of the manager she works for.
Cecil(4
) is of the opinion that a lot of time is wasted in an office structured on this basis. She divides secretarial work into four categories and reports the results of a
survey by Geyer-McAllister Publications of New York of the average time spent on each of the categorizs in a
one-for-one structure. Table 14 reflects this.
TABLE 14
TIME SPENT ON DIFFERENT SECRETARIAL WORK CATEGORIES
55% 22% 18% 5%
I
Administration: Production: Away from Waiting for
• Reception and • Letters and the desk. work.
phone memos
.
Filing.
Reports.
Mail distribution.
Large documents• Copying
.
StatisticalResearch documents
•
Bookkeeping
.
Standard letters.
Office maintenance
.
Forms•
Services
.
Miscellaneous.
(refreshments)Source: CECIL, P.8. : Word processing in the modern office Cummings Publishing : California : 1976 : p.163.
Different managers lay down different standards and criteria for their secretaries. This results in different
procedures, uneven work loads, lack of training and unawareness of office technology that may facilitate the production process.
Electronic text processing systems are seldom justified for the small typing work load in the average one-for--one
structure. The basic premise of a text processing sy3tem is the division of work. In text processing division of ~ork
can be between the correspondence and the administrative support activities. Developments in the field of electronic
L_
text processing and its cost/justification favour the complete separation and division of typing and non-typing tasks. It is only in large organisations that this approach can be implemented and cost justified. The assumption is that the most productive system is also the best system.
This premise is not always applicable since organisational and human needs differ.
5.2.2 Single-unit office structure
Sometimes the typing requirements and administrative support needs of managers in certain work activities do not justify
the one-for-one structure. One secretary is then used to support more than one manager administratively and with typing. It has now become common practice for three or more middle managers to share one secretary. Depending on the nature of the work (e.g. statistical analysis) it sometimes happens that the secretary is being assisted by a clerk.
5.2.3 Work-group structure
Organisations are mostly structured by function or
application. These functions normally form the basis for departmentalisation. Each department deals with different activities in the organisation and after· a while becomes an entity with specific characteristics, needs and
terminology. A number of managers may work with related aspects of these functions. Secretarial services can then be allocated on a work-group basis where several secretaries are grouped to perform production and administrative tasks for a department on a specialised basis. Some secretaries will specialise in production for which electronic text processing equi pnen t may be justified, others in
administrative support. This means that managers are supported by a number of secretaries which leads to even work distribution, shorter completion times and better quality through specialisation of secretaries. It is
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-important to note that the work-group structure changes the reporting structure. The individual secretary still serves a manager but does not report to him or is not supervised by him. This function may then rest with a senior secretary or supervisor.
5.2.4 Centralised unit
A centralised text processing unit specialises in
production, freeing secretaries in the various departments to devote their time exclusively or to a large extent to administrative duties. This is the ideal arrangement for implementing cost-effective electronic text processing
systems. This is a typical supportive function with its own structural characteristics and behavioural implications.
The ideal structure is the one which satisfies structural, worker and managerial needs. Increased text processing productivity is very desirable, but it is only one of the several important performance criteria of a good text processing system. The individual management needs differ from organisation to organisation and may result in a combination of structures.
According to Rosen and Fielden(5 ):
"A successful system, then, is one that satisfies the needs of the principals and the organization it supports, and the key to a successful system is to provide the right combination of components that will meet these needs."