btec entry 3/level 1 business administration student book unit 5

UNIT 19: Creating Business DocumentsUNIT 5 WORKING IN BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATION

Why do you think a big business needs administrators?

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WORKING IN BUSINESS &

ADMINISTRATION

UNIT

5

UNIT UNIT UNIT

The term administration covers a very broad area. If on completion of this course you obtain a job or go on to study this aspect of business in more detail, you may specialise in one particular area. Within administration there are many exciting and varied jobs such as working in a marketing department or maybe in IT support. However, all of these jobs will require a core set of skills which you will learn about in this unit.

This unit will give you an introduction to what it’s like working in this important area.

In this unit you will:

• Know what activities are routinely undertaken by administrators

• Be able to follow instructions to carry out administrative tasks

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BTEC’s own resourcesBTEC’s own resources

LO1

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Activity: Group discussionYou think Azeem should employ an administrator. As a group, identify the different tasks you think an administrator would do if they worked at Malek’s Motors.

How would this help Azeem to make his business more successful?

In business, administration is a range of tasks that need to be completed for the organisation to work effectively. This means that administrators perform an important function, helping managers, sales people, etc. to focus on making the organisation successful.

Case study:

Malek’s Motors

Malek’s Motors is a car dealership in Bristol, run by Azeem Malek. The business employs two sales people, Carlos and Sharon, and Azeem deals with the business management.

Customers looking for cars make appointments with Malek’s Motors to organise test drives. In order to book a test drive, the customer must show their driving licence and proof of identity to one of the sales staff. The business needs to keep a copy of these documents to cover their customers on their insurance.

Malek’s Motors is getting more and more customers. Azeem is very pleased – this means more money! However, he, Carlos and Sharon are fi nding it diffi cult to keep track of the different test drive bookings, meetings and documents that they have to deal with each day.

The role of an administrator

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UNIT 17 WELCOMING VISITORS

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UNIT 5 WORKING IN BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATION

Activity: Group discussionWorking in small groups, choose one business function and identify three different administrative tasks that the function might need help with.

How could this help a business be more effective?

Check• Administrators help businesses to run smoothly by providing

support to business functions.

• Businesses have a range of different functions. They may share an administrator between different functional areas, or each functional area may have its own administrator.

How do administrators help a business?A business will have a number of different functional areas. These may include some of the following:

Business function Purpose

Sales Selling products or services to customers. The sales department is important because it brings money into the business.

Marketing The marketing department will advertise the business’s products or services. They often work very closely with the sales department.

Finance The fi nance department will manage the business’s money. It will make sure that the customers pay for the products or services they receive. It will also make sure that the business pays any money it owes.

Production Not all businesses have a production department. Businesses that make and sell products will probably have one. This department will make the products the business sells.

All the departments in a business will have their own administrative tasks. These may involve keeping copies of fi nancial documents, sending out letters, sending invoices to customers, and many more tasks.

As a business becomes more successful, so the amount of administration each department needs to keep on top of grows. One or more administrators can help the business department to focus on their individual functions by completing the department’s administrative tasks.

Functional areasDifferent parts or departments of a business that focus on a limited range of important tasks.

Key term

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Administrative tasks

Verbal communication Talking to someone – or a group of people – to give them information.

Key term

Below and opposite are some of the tasks that administrators commonly perform.

LO1

LO2

Task How this helps the organisation Skills needed

Answering the telephone

The administrator is the fi rst point of contact for customers or suppliers. The administrator can direct callers to the people within the organisation that they need to talk to.

Good verbal communication

Filing and retrieving documents

Organisations need to keep a lot of information. This information may be about customers, suppliers, products, etc. and may need to be accessed at any time. The administrator will use good fi ling techniques to make it easy to access this information.

Good organisational skills

The administrator may also need good IT skills as the fi ling may be electronic as well as paper-based

Producing documents using IT

Different types of documents need to be produced quickly and effectively. The administrator may also use tools such as mail merge to send the same information to many different people or organisations.

Good IT skills

Activity: How am I doing?Look at the skills administrators need. How do you think you rate for each skill?

Give yourself a score for each from 1 to 5, with 1 being an area for improvement and 5 being excellent.

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Check• Administrators need good IT skills, strong verbal communication

skills and have to be well organised.

• Administration involves a range of different tasks.

Task How this helps the organisation Skills needed

Photocopying and collating documents

A manager may need many copies of the same document to hand out at a presentation, for example. The administrator would save the manager time by photocopying and collating the documents.

Good IT skills

Collecting, sorting and distributing mail

A big organisation will receive a lot of mail each day. The administrator will make sure the mail gets to the right people.

Good organisational skills

Good communication skills – it’s important to know who everyone is

Receiving visitors Organisations have a lot of different visitors, from customers to suppliers. The administrator will help organise meetings and will make sure the visitors see the right people.

Good verbal communication skills

Professional behaviour

CollateTo mix copies of different documents together to give information in a specifi c order.

Professional behaviour Acting in a business-like manner. When receiving visitors, answering the phone, etc., you are the public face of your employer. First impressions of an organisation are as important as fi rst impressions of a person.

Key termsActivity: Routine tasksNow look at the tasks you identifi ed for an administrator working for Malek’s Motors (page 8). Can you identify any other tasks that an administrator would need to perform?

What skills do you think an administrator working for Malek’s Motors would need? Working in pairs, use the tables to suggest the skills the administrator would need.

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Confi rm To check that something is right. For example, if you’ve missed anything, the instructor should be able to tell you what else you need to do.

Key term

This activity will help you develop your English speaking and listening skills.

Functional skills

LO1

As an administrator you need to be able to follow instructions accurately (i.e. without mistakes). This is because you will often be completing a task for someone else – on their behalf – and they may need the task completed in a specifi c way.

For example, when receiving a visitor for a meeting you might be given specifi c instructions. These could include:

• Contacting the other meeting attendees so they are aware that the visitor has arrived

• Getting the visitor to sign the visitors’ book• Taking the visitor to the meeting room• Arranging for a drink for the visitor.

Activity: Instruction ladder1. One person should think of some instructions for a skill they use

either in the workplace or in a hobby. This shouldn’t be anything too complicated, so it may only be part of a task.

2. They explain the steps that need to be completed to a partner who uses the listening technique above to check their understanding.

3. The partner then gives the instructions to the next person, and so on, until everyone in the class has been given the instructions.

Remember

When receiving instructions, try the technique below to make sure you understand what you’re being asked to do.

1. Listen to the instructions.

2. If you are uncertain of anything, ask.

3. Repeat the instructions back to the person who gave them.

4. Ask them to confi rm your understanding by asking ‘Is there anything else?’

Understanding and following instructions

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Check• Always make a note of the important information in any

instructions you receive.

• Check you understand the instructions and ask questions if you need to. This will help you do a better job.

Case study:

Malek’s Motors

Malek’s Motors has employed you as an administrator. Azeem is presenting a range of cars to a local business that is looking into leasing a fl eet of cars.

This is an important presentation because the deal would earn Malek’s Motors a lot of money. Azeem needs to look professional and well organised in order to give the business confi dence in him.

Azeem has produced a PowerPoint presentation and a spreadsheet. The presentation contains photos and basic information about the cars. The spreadsheet includes information about how much each type of car would cost the business.

Activity: Paired discussionWhy do you think it would be important for you to follow Azeem’s instructions carefully?

What should you do if you are uncertain of what Azeem is asking you to do?

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BTEC’s own resources

LO1

By presenting information, you will be demonstrating your English speaking skills.

Functional skills

Case study:

Malek’s Motors

Malek’s Motors has a new customer. Azeem’s presentation to the business interested in a fl eet of cars went very well. They have asked for a formal quote. Azeem has written a letter to the manager of the business, Derek Smith.

He has asked you to type the letter and check it for spelling errors. The letter is on the opposite page. He would like it to be printed and addressed to Derek’s business: Smith’s Taxis, The Square, Cranbrook Road, Bristol.

Azeem would like a copy of the letter to be fi led in case he needs to check the quote at a later date.

Activity: Individual activityOn a piece of paper, produce a fl ow chart to show the steps you need to go through in order to complete this activity.

Read the activity

Create a list of the tasks to complete

Complete the tasks

Check your work

Your fl ow chart may need more or fewer steps than the example shown here.

Carrying out a task

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Activity: You are the administratorFollow Azeem Malek’s instructions in the case study on the opposite page. Check your work against your fl ow chart to make sure you complete all the steps you need to.

Check• Work out what you need to do to complete a task.

• Complete the task.

• Check that you have done everything you have been asked to.

This activity will help you to practise your ICT skills.

Functional skills

Formal quoteThis is when a business puts together a set of costs for a customer. For example, if you wanted to buy a computer, you might ask for a quote for a particular model. This would tell you how much you would pay if you decided to buy the computer.

Flow chart A list of tasks or stages that need to be completed, linked together in a specifi c order. Some tasks will need to be completed before others can be started. For example, you would need to type the letter in word-processing software before spell checking it.

Key terms

Dear Derek,

Following on from our meeting last Tuesday, I am pleased to enclose a quote for the lease of eight people carriers from Malek’s Motors. These vehicles will be brand new, and as we discussed, we will service them at 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever is sooner.

The lease of the eight vehicles for a period of 36 months will cost £23,000 per annum. Over the three-year period, this will be £69,000 including VAT at 17.5%.

If you would like any further details, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I look forward to working with you.

Yours sincerely,

Azeem Malik

Now check your work to make sure it’s accurate and correct.

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BTEC’s own resources

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Assignment tips• Ask someone who works in an administrative role to tell you about their day-to-day work.

• From what they tell you, you should be able to identify four routine offi ce tasks.

• When listening to instructions remember to repeat the tasks back to the person.

• Remember, never be afraid to ask if you are not clear what you are being asked to do.

ASSESSMENT OVERVIEWWhile working through this unit, you will have prepared for completing the following assessment tasks:

1.1 Identify routine administrative tasks Pages 8–11

2.1 Check understanding of instructions and ask for clarifi cation where necessary

Pages 12–13

2.2 Follow instructions to complete a limited range of administrative tasks accurately

Pages 14–15

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