SAMPLE. Not for training purposes. Student Workbook BSBADM504 Plan and implement administrative systems. 1 st Edition 2015

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1 Student Workbook BSBADM504 Plan and implement administrative systems 1 st Edition 2015 Part of a suite of support materials for the BSB Business Services Training Package

2 Acknowledgement Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council (IBSA) would like to acknowledge HASCOM Pty Ltd for their assistance with the development of the resource for BSBADM504B. BSBADM504B writer: Kensington Budgewater Revised by IBSA for BSBADM504 (2015) Copyright and Trade Mark Statement 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd ( IBSA ). Use of this work for purposes other than those indicated above, requires the prior written permission of IBSA. Requests should be addressed to Products and Services Manager, IBSA, Level 11, 176 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002 or sales@ibsa.org.au. Innovation and Business Skills Australia, IBSA and the IBSA logo are trade marks of IBSA. Disclaimer Care has been taken in the preparation of the material in this document, but, to the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the original developer do not warrant that any licensing or registration requirements specified in this document are either complete or up-to-date for your State or Territory or that the information contained in this document is error-free or fit for any particular purpose. To the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the original developer do not accept any liability for any damage or loss (including loss of profits, loss of revenue, indirect and consequential loss) incurred by any person as a result of relying on the information contained in this document. The information is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the information contained in this document undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. If this information appears online, no responsibility is taken for any information or services which may appear on any linked websites, or other linked information sources, that are not controlled by IBSA. Use of versions of this document made available online or in other electronic formats is subject to the applicable terms of use. To the extent permitted by law, all implied terms are excluded from the arrangement under which this document is purchased from IBSA, and, if any term or condition that cannot lawfully be excluded is implied by law into, or deemed to apply to, that arrangement, then the liability of IBSA, and the purchaser s sole remedy, for a breach of the term or condition is limited, at IBSA s option, to any one of the following, as applicable: (a) if the breach relates to goods: (i) repairing; (ii) replacing; or (iii) paying the cost of repairing or replacing, the goods; or (b) if the breach relates to services: (i) re-supplying; or (ii) paying the cost of re-supplying, the services. Published by: Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Level Wellington Parade East Melbourne VIC 3002 Phone: Fax: reception@ibsa.org.au ISBN: Stock code: BSBADM5041W First published: June st edition version: 1 Release date: June 2015

3 Table of Contents Getting Started... 1 Features of the training program... 1 Structure of the training program... 1 Your Business Success... 1 Recommended reading... 2 Introduction to Administrative Systems... 3 Some background... 3 What are administrative systems?... 5 Causes of change... 7 What is your role as manager?... 9 A final word of caution Section 1 Plan or Review Systems What skills will you need? Identifying requirements Obtaining quotations Selecting suppliers or developers Section summary Section 2 Implement Systems What skills will you need? Developing implementation strategies Obtaining staff participation Defining and communicating procedures Providing training and support Dealing with contingencies Section summary Section 3 Monitor Systems What skills will you need? Monitoring the system Continually improving the system Monitoring and addressing training needs Section summary Glossary Appendices Appendix 1: Implementation plan template... 65

4 Appendix 2: Standard operating procedure (SOP) template Appendix 3: Specification template Appendix 4: Case study Appendix 5: Stakeholder mapping template Appendix 6: Skills matrix template Appendix 7: Purchasing policy Appendix 8: Reframing matrix template Appendix 9: Answers to selected learning activities... 74

5 Student Workbook Getting Started Getting Started Features of the training program The key features of this program are: Student Workbook Self paced learning activities to help you to understand key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down into several sections. Facilitator-led sessions Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook. Assessment tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems. Structure of the training program This training program introduces you to current practices in business administration. Specifically, you will develop the skills and knowledge in the following three topic areas: 1. Planning/reviewing administrative systems 2. Implementing administrative systems 3. Monitoring administrative systems. You facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this training program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight sessions. Your Business Success Innovation & Business Skills Australia has licensed the use of over 200 video vignettes from the Channel 9 television program, Your Business Success. The videos have been carefully selected and embedded into relevant learning and assessment resources in order to assist education providers and students in the learning process. Each video is accompanied by a learning activity. Videos can be found on IBSA s YouTube channel at < Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 1 of 75

6 Getting Started Student Workbook Recommended reading Some recommended reading for this unit includes: Alexander, M., 2008, Excel 2007 dashboards and report for dummies, Wiley Publishing, Indianapolis. American Society for Quality, 2010, ASQ, viewed June 2015, < Hammer, M., and Champy, J., 2003, Reengineering the corporation: a manifesto for business revolution, HarperCollins, New York. Lean Enterprise Australia, 2010, Lean Enterprise Australia, viewed June 2015, < Project Management Institute Inc. 2008, A guide to the project management body of knowledge: (PMBOK guide), 4th edn, Project Management Institute, Newtown. Please note that any URLs contained in the recommended reading, learning content and learning activities of this publication were checked for currency during the production process. Note, however, that IBSA cannot vouch for the ongoing currency of URLs. Every endeavour has been made to provide a full reference for all web links. Where URLs are not current we recommend using the reference information provided to search for the source in your chosen search engine. Page 2 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

7 Student Workbook Introduction to Administrative Systems Introduction to Administrative Systems The goal of this unit is for you to be able to effectively plan and review administrative systems. You will learn about: 1. planning/reviewing administrative systems 2. implementing administrative systems 3. monitoring administrative systems. However, before you begin, you may want to take some time to reacquaint yourself to some of the details of administrative systems. Some background What are systems? The word system comes from the Greek word systēma (σύστημα) which means a set of interacting or interdependent entities that make up a structure. The word system can also refer to the set of rules that explain how the structure operates. Systems occur naturally, for example: physical systems such as the solar system biological systems such as the circulatory system ecosystems such as the Great Barrier reef. The system concept has been applied to a number of areas of human endeavour, for example: engineering computer science business. Search for: Systems definitions To further develop your understanding of systems, search the internet for definitions of: system Business Process Management brocess Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 3 of 75

8 Introduction to Administrative Systems Student Workbook Features of systems Whether man-made or natural, systems have a number of features in common. These are: Systems have structure, defined by parts and their composition. Systems have behaviour, which involves inputs; processing; and outputs of material, energy or information. Systems have interconnectivity; the various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other. 1 Example: Consider your place of study Systems have processes, inputs and outputs Your place of study is a system. How well do you think the system works? Consider its: structure (its parts) relationships between parts (internal communication, reporting) behaviours (inputs, processes, outputs). 1 System, Wikipedia, viewed June 2015, < Page 4 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

9 Student Workbook Introduction to Administrative Systems What are administrative systems? Administrative systems can be defined as internal office and accounting functions. 2 When you reflect on this definition and on the definition of systems provided above, an administrative system could include such varied systems as: operational rules, e.g. those governing use of vehicles physical systems, e.g. a computer network electronic systems, e.g. a payroll system in MYOB or Quicken paper based systems, e.g. a document filing system. Search for: Administrative systems To further develop your understanding of systems, search the internet for definitions of administrative systems. You may want to try searching for: office systems administrative systems financial systems operational systems IT systems. Try to find 5 or 6 examples that you can use for a group discussion with your peers. Elements of administrative systems Administrative systems, regardless of whether they are big or small, electronic or paper based, simple or complex, all have these common elements: people equipment processes (activities or tasks) rules. 2Investor words, Administrative Systems, viewed November 2009 < Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 5 of 75

10 Introduction to Administrative Systems Student Workbook Example: Student records system At your place of study, there is a student records system that has all of the elements outlined above: People there is a Student Administration Officer (or similar role). Equipment There are computers and software for recording student details such as grades, personal details, and so on. Processes There are also processes for carrying out key tasks and activities such as entering grades and producing certificates. Rules Finally, there are rules that govern the system. Some of these rules come from standards (AQTF or ISO) or from industry best practice. Rules govern things like backing up data, releasing information to 3 rd parties, timeframes to complete processes and so on. The human element Administrative systems require a degree of human intervention to work properly. Some require quite a bit of intervention to work properly. Intervention in systems can take many forms such as following: management procedures operational procedures system maintenance procedures data recording procedures. Just to name a few. In brief, if the system isn t managed properly, it breaks down. Learning activity: Computer systems A common workplace complaint is that the computer network doesn t function the way it should. From the IT department s perspective, if people didn t use the computers, everything would work just fine! Consider the things that need to be done to ensure that a computer network works properly. Try to name at least 6. If you are like most of us, you shouldn t find it too difficult! Page 6 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

11 Student Workbook Introduction to Administrative Systems Causes of change The need for new or improved administrative systems can occur at any time in an organisation s lifecycle. There can be many reasons to implement new, or review existing, administrative systems: organisational change system is outmoded/outdated/not working ongoing commitment to quality continuous improvement to meet customer expectations to comply with standards. New systems An organisation will require a new administrative system when it is starting up or establishing a new office. Case Study: Setting up a training company Virgil is working as a project manager in a small firm. The firm is launching a new division and Virgil has the job of planning and implementing the administrative systems for the new division including: Accounting System Customer Relation Management System Student Administration System Document Management System. Virgil is surprised by how many systems are needed. He has found implementing the administrative systems to be quite a challenge since he has had to scope and plan the systems, develop specifications, source suppliers, get quotes, evaluate quotes and so forth. He has done some internet searches for different systems. He has also communicated with his contacts and networks to find out what systems they use and to get some feedback and advice Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 7 of 75

12 Introduction to Administrative Systems Student Workbook Modified systems On the other hand, an administrative system may be outmoded or outdated requiring a review. The outcomes of this could range from a modification/upgrade to complete replacement of the system. Learning activity: Filing system modification Part 1 Olivia works in an administrative role in a real estate agency. She was becoming frustrated with the sales agents lack of housekeeping. A common occurrence was that the agents would remove files and leave them piled up on their desks rather than return them to the centralised filing system. As a result, Olivia would often have to spend time searching for files only to find them sitting on an agent s desk. Olivia was responsible for the filing system but these sloppy housekeeping behaviours meant that she was doing a lot of unnecessary cleaning up. Finally, she held a review of the filing system with the agents. It seemed that the agents felt that walking back and forth to the centralised filing system several times a day was a waste of time, so they were keeping their active files on their desk because they had nowhere else to store them. The outcomes were: Agents were given filing cabinets next to their desks for active clients. Agents would keep their active files in their cabinets. When the account was closed or no longer active, it would be submitted to Olivia to place in the centralised filing system. Page 8 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

13 Student Workbook Introduction to Administrative Systems What is your role as manager? As a manager or as a person responsible for planning or reviewing an administrative system, you will have roles and responsibilities that you will need to fulfil. For example: managing change providing leadership project managing training and coaching Learning activity: Project management communicating budgeting evaluating options promoting team involvement. Project management skills are essential for planning or reviewing administrative systems. Imagine that you are responsible for upgrading the reception procedures in a workplace. This includes phone answering procedures as well as receiving visiting customers. Review the project management life cycle below and record some the tasks that you would be carrying out at each stage of this project. Initiate Plan Implement Monitor Close Compare and contrast your thoughts with your fellow learners Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 9 of 75

14 Introduction to Administrative Systems Student Workbook A final word of caution Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. Douglas Hofstadter Remember, when planning for new administrative systems in particular, you should be aware of some of the common pitfalls of project management. Namely: Communication, or lack thereof. Resources people, equipment, office space, funding. Scope creep define the scope agree and record changes. Risk identification and management, or lack thereof. Time and cost estimates (usually under-estimated). Skill/experience of the project manager and team, or lack thereof. Monitoring performance and meeting milestones, or lack thereof. Further reading: Cognitive biases No doubt, you will have heard from friends or colleagues of projects that haven t succeeded. Remember, it is human nature to overlook or disregard problems with projects that you are leading, so you need to be aware of some cognitive biases: optimism bias benefit shortfall planning fallacy. Do some online research about these topics and make notes on the meanings and implications of each. Page 10 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

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16 Section 1 Plan or Review Systems Student Workbook Section 1 Plan or Review Systems This section deals with the knowledge and skills that you will need to plan or review administrative systems in your workplace. Scenario: Where to begin? Sally works in a small firm that makes and sells camping equipment in Australia and abroad. The firm employs approximately 25 office staff in roles such as administration, purchasing, sales, marketing, accounting, production and engineering. Sally is the administration manager and has recently been asked to manage the update of the computer systems for all employees. This includes updating the operating systems and desktop applications to the same standard desktop which includes Windows 7 and Office This is a big task. To make things more complicated, the organisation uses a number of different operating systems and applications which will need to run on the same standard desktop. It is going to be difficult, given the range of software and hardware that is used in the organisation, not to mention resistance to change from some of the employees. What skills will you need? In order to plan or review administrative systems, you must be able to: identify requirements obtain quotations select suppliers or developers. Identifying requirements Effective planning and reviewing allows you to identify what has to be done, by whom, at what cost and when. This involves: Complying with organisational systems, standards and processes. Reviewing organisational goals and objectives. Defining the problems. Stakeholder analysis and involvement. Financial analysis of costs and benefits, including a budget. Preparing the project plans. Page 12 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

17 Student Workbook Section 1 Plan or Review Systems Some of the biggest problems encountered with new and modified administrative systems derive from inadequate definition and poor planning. Complying with organisational systems, standards and processes Before you do anything, identify the relevant systems and processes for planning and reviewing that your organisation currently has in place. Systems and processes can include: project management change management continuous improvement professional development human resources quality occupational health and safety. Standards can include: internal standards such as using Office 2007 external standards such as ISO, and Australian Standards legal requirements. Learning activity: Managing continuous improvement Watch the video BSBADM504B: Managing continuous improvement on IBSA s YouTube channel at < 1. How have Jeff and Alana managed continuous improvement within their Platinum Electrics business? 2015 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 13 of 75

18 Section 1 Plan or Review Systems Student Workbook 2. What has been Alana s role in the business? Learning activity: IT Scenario Consider the IT scenario above. What might be some of the systems standards and processes that need to be considered by Sally? List as many as you can think of below. What might be the consequences if some of these were not complied with in the project? Page 14 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

19 Student Workbook Section 1 Plan or Review Systems Policy and procedures ensure that the organisation can meet legislative, quality, or other requirements that relate to the operations of the company. These can often been found in a manual or on a corporate intranet. Tip: Business rules When working with administrative systems, you may encounter the term business rules. These are the rules that explain how processes operate. For example: when to reorder inventory what events require disciplinary action terms of payment for accounts. Business rules create an unambiguous statement of what a business does with information. They can be used by people or electronic systems alike to aid in decision making. Review organisational goals and objectives A goal or objective is the aim, or end, towards which effort is directed. 3 An objective is a level of performance or achievement and can be monitored and graphed, e.g. We will increase sales by 10% by the EOY Strategic goals and objectives are set at the top management level of the organisation and are implemented at the departmental level. A review of an administrative system may be triggered by a strategic goal of the organisation. 3 Macquarie, 1998, Macquarie Concise Dictionary, 3rd edn, The Macquarie Library, Macquarie Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 15 of 75

20 Section 1 Plan or Review Systems Student Workbook In other words, the goal of the improvement may be part of a larger organisational goal, such as lowering costs, improving efficiency or improving customer satisfaction. Learning activity: Where do goals and objectives come from? Familiarise yourself with some of these strategic management terms on the internet to gain a better understanding of how goal and objectives set at the management level impact on operational levels. Look for: quality function deployment strategic management strategic planning Hoshin Kanri. Any improvement to administrative systems needs to be explained in terms of the organisation s strategic goals. This ensures that that the improvement can be justified to managers and operators alike. For example, if the organisation has set a goal of reducing operational costs and your administrative improvement increases these costs, then it is out of step with the organisation s strategic goals and should be reconsidered. Learning activity: IT Scenario Consider the IT scenario from the beginning of this section. If the organisation had a goal of improving customer service, what kind of goals might the administration team need to consider? How might this goal impact on: communication procedures (phone and ) processing complaints record keeping? Page 16 of Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd