Group Presentation -
New Office Look |
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This report discusses the two popular New Office Look - Paperless Offices and Home Offices, and their social influences afterward. The purpose of this report is to let everyone know the new office look in the future as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore providing an opportunity for the readers to think of the value of the existence of paperless offices and home offices.
Nowadays, offices usually use a large amount of paper in fax, xerox and printing. However, when office information flows electronically through computer networks, the use of paper can be greatly reduced. For example, the use of electronic mail instead of passing a pile of memo is more convenient and can save many papers.
The Methods of Paperless Offices
The electronic exchange between organisations of transactions, such as orders, confirmations and invoices.
Scanning software capable of recognising typewritten and computer-generated characters and converting them into digital formats.
Enables user to easily store, retrieve and assimilate large amounts of data. Software can include OCR technology, automatic indexing, and integrated e-mail, fax and on-line services.
Preparation of documents among geographically removed users. The originator displays the master document on a screen; it is also displayed on the screen of the other participants. The participants can annotate the document while discussing it.
Software capable of reading handwriting. It adapts and learns according to the shapes of letters and configurations encountered. It is used by the United States Postal Service for scanning mail.
The conversion of documents from a physical medium (for example, paper) to a digital form where they can be manipulated by computers for easier access and retrieval. Most image management systems include workstations for viewing and manipulating images; storage devices; and servers to manage the image database, run application software and connect to host devices.
Company's Type
For instance, in Hong Kong, Company Registry of the Government makes the companies' annual reports into microfilm for easy storage.
Computer is fast and reliable in retrieving data. If a company needs to retrieve data, computer network is helpful. As the data is stored in the computer file system, data needs not to be printed out. The data can be displayed on the screen. Hence, it saves paper.
If a company has to deal with numerous customer inquiries, it may have to access the same batch of data frequently. Now, if we send our replies through computer file system, different inquiries can be replied simultaneously. It can satisfy numerous customers' needs at the same time.
Advantages of Paperless Offices
Owing to the use of computer system, invoices, faxes and memos use less paper, thus less space is needed.
When you want to search a certain kind of information, you can just type a search term, e.g. company's name or the name of product. Then the computer will do the search process quickly and accurately.
Computer searching is quicker and more accurate compared with people searching from print outs and records.
Since computer is an easy searcher, it improves work flow and efficiency. Fewer people are needed to deal with managerial work. Unlike the past, fewer people are needed to send documents that means labour saving now.
Disadvantages of Paperless Offices
Apart from computers, we need file storage system, scanner, high quality monitors, computer network, etc.... It costs a large amount of money for these installation. This is a very expensive start-up cost.
In order to have the best performance of computer system, we need a large amount of money for maintenance.
Besides, companies need to employ network managers to supervise the establishment of computer network. Therefore, the ongoing cost is also very high.
Courts never accept documents stored in computer system or floppy disks. Documents related to legal issue must be printed on paper. In that case, computer is not as important as we think.
"Paperless Offices" is one the new look of the future offices. With the increasing concern of the environment protection, Paperless Offices will surely be the new office look in the future as it can greatly help to reduce the use of paper.
The meaning of "Home Offices" can be directly realised from the name, that is, "setting up your office in your home", working as a tele-commuter through computer, modem, fax and phone.Since you can communicate with other people outside your home through these equipment and also you can use these equipment to do all the jobs, you will have no regular working hours and you have no need to go to office frequently.
What are needed in "Home Offices"?
In order to set up a home office in your home, you need the help of the technology for tele-commuting. Extra Data line and Voice phone line have to be installed in your home. The Data line is for checking e-mail, sending and receiving faxes and connecting to host computers or servers in your home office. The Voice phone line is for making standard phone calls.Besides, adequate computer, modem and other equipment, such as fax machine are necessary.
Why "Home Offices" Appears?
There must be reasons for the appearance of home offices, otherwise it will not appear. The reason for the appearance of home offices is because the employers think that it can help to enhance worker productivity since there is no regular office hour.The employee loyalty and the ability to retain valuable employees can also be increased since employees will think that their employers are concerning them if they allow them to work at home.
Moreover, no time is needed for the employees to go to the offices, hence there will be no late problem and a lot of time is saved.
Advantages of Setting Up "Home Offices"
They can close those costly regional offices since no offices is needed for their employees as they are all at home now. Only the main office is needed for the managerial, executive and administerial work. Therefore, a lot of money is saved.
Besides, the worker productivity is also increased because employees can work anytime and anywhere and as a result, more jobs can be finished in a short period of time.
Home offices give them flexibility of launching and checking on jobs anytime, such as at night and on weekends as there is no regular office hour. They can do their work much more freely than before.
Another point is that they have no need to deal with the troublesome office politics and boss breathing, they have no need to stick to a dress code so as to save a lot of money in buying clothes. Also, they need not to go to offices during the rush hours.
Moreover, some of them can even look after their children easily simply because they are working at home.
Lastly, it is a good idea for the disable people as it is much more convenient for them and their unfortunate experience will not prevent them from finding a suitable job anymore. However, it may have the risk that they are further isolated inside their own world.
They will know that it does not matter what time of the day as they can always find the people who concerned with their projects easily. For example, if your customer is in Canada, an idea is coming to his mind suddenly and he wants to tell you immediately. However, he is in the morning and you are at night, how can he tell you if you do not have a home office? Thus, the setting up of your home office actually benefit both your customers and you.
Disadvantages of Setting Up "Home Offices"
They need to pay a lot of money in buying adequate equipment for their employees so as to show their willingness in setting up home offices for them. However, employers should remember that it will become cost efficient in the long-term. They will earn the money back in the future.
Social and professional isolation may be a problem for them since they are always isolated inside their houses. As a result, they may have the risk of losing their social skill and not catching up with the fast moving world.
Besides, with the concept of "anytime-anywhere" office, hard-working people may work overtime but the lazy one may not work. So, it is unfair to those hard-working people.
Furthermore, the heavy stress is a problem for some employees because they may find it difficult to forget their work worries since they have to be ready to answer requests or receive faxes all the time.
Another problem is the risk of lacking sense of belonging simply because they need not to go to offices. They just seem to be working for their own but not for their employers or companies.
Solutions to the Disadvantages
In order to eliminate these disadvantages, employers should set working guidelines for their employees. The working guidelines should include: guidelines in using the equipment, suggestions on the working hours, methods in relaxing themselves, etc....Besides, regular meetings should be organised for the employees to ensure that everyone has the chance to socialise and discuss their working progress with one another. Organising parties for them is also a good idea since it can help to relax their mind.
Finally, in order to ensure the employees are working in a certain period of time, appropriate and reasonable calls, e-mail or fax requests should be given by the employers.
"Home Offices" is one of the new office look and it is under developing. When someone wants to introduce home offices in his or her company, he or she should first think of the advantages and disadvantages of it and also try to find solutions to overcome the drawbacks of developing home offices. Nevertheless, "Home Offices" will become popular in the future society.
This change in working habit will bring some influences to the society.
The Rising Concern of Occupational Safety
Pro-longed using computers may be hazard to health. Someone who throw himself or herself in front of a computer usually work for hours before they stop. One may then suffer from neck-pain or back-pain if he or she has not sit properly or has sit in the same posture for a very long time.In addition, typing involves fast and repetitive finger movements, which may hurt the joints and muscles. Furthermore, look at the screen in short distance for a long time may affect the eye-sight. Some studies even claimed that radiation emitted from the screen may affect the health of pregnant women and their babies. However, these syndromes are not treated as job-related illness under the current labour law.
When more paperless and home offices being established, the above mentioned syndromes will surely be one of the new dimension in occupational safety in future and the idea of "working safely at office" will be recognised by the society. Law may be passed to enforce the employers in providing screen filters and suitable computer furniture for workers to reduce hazard to their health.
Social Differentiation
With the increasing use of computers in paperless offices and home offices, success is increasingly identifies with the ability to use computers and gain access to communication networks, for example, the Internet.The wide-spreading trend of data being exchanged electronically, means knowing how to use computer is a basic technique in finding a job.
In US, some companies consider only those job-seekers who sent their applications by e-mails. Back to Hong Kong, the recruiting advertisements 5 years ago, usually indicated that computer knowledge is an advantage. Nowadays, most advertisements says that computer knowledge is a must.
However, computer systems are not affordable by everyone. In some poor families, a computer system may cost more than the family monthly income. So they have little chance to use computers and face difficulties in finding jobs.
Furthermore, according to statistics in USA, a working person who is able to use a computer earns 15% more than someone in a similar job who cannot.
The consequence is the widening of gap between rich and poor, educated and uneducated. Those who are rich enough to buy a computer will become richer, those who cannot buy a computer will be poorer. The traditional class line will be broken but a new line will be drawn between those who own a computer and who does not own a computer.
New Considerations in Town Planning
To facilitate the idea of paperless and home offices, a fast and reliable communication network is required, which the coverage of such network should be large, not only to include urban areas but also suburban and rural areas. Contrasting to the expanding communication network, transportation network will be contracted. The reason is people go to office less frequently and their need to travel from one place to another is reduced.In the sight of paperless offices, fewer paper record will be produced and thus storage space required will be minimised. In the sight of home offices, less people going to office means consuming less working space. Summing up these two factors, offices will be down-sized. On the other hand, to accommodate an office room in home, people will search for larger houses.
The essentials of a modern city will be changed. It is not well-established transportation network and larger offices in tall buildings any more, but communication network and large comfortable house.
The society is changing everyday. The introduction of new working habit may change this society in ways that cannot be predicted. Some of the above mentioned influences may bring worries but humans can always adopt to changes and improve the conditions. The new office look may drive to a better world.
After several hundred years of development, people take working with papers in offices as a general practice now.
The use of computers in the commercial world raised only less than 30 years ago, a very young practice when compared with the above two issues.
Paperless and home offices are not very common nowadays. People need time to change their working habits which were followed for hundred or thousand years. As time goes by, old practices will be abandoned and new working habit, paperless and home offices may be, will take over.
The current technology for establishing paper-less offices and home offices is not mature enough, however the developments will surely be continued.
Andrew Hanibelsz, "Telecommunting Link", R magazine, Recruit, Issue No. 42, p. R6, November 1995
Anthony Edwards, "Stay-At-Home Employees", R magazine, Recruit, Issue No. 42, p. R9, November 1995
Glenn Rifkin, "The Future of the Document", Forbes ASAP, Vol. 156, No. 8, pp. 42-60, October 1995
Pico Iyer, "Caution: Road Hazards", Time, Vol. 145, No. 24, p. 61, June 1995
Suneel Ratan, "A New Divide Between Haves and Have-Nots?", Time, Special Issue: Welcome to Cyberspace, Vol. 145, No. 19, pp. 23-24, May 1995
