Lecture1 (is342) (office automationsystems)

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Office Automation
System Concept
(IS 342)
Taibah University
Department Information Systems
College of Computer Science & Engineering
Lecture 1
Reference: Barbara C. McNurlin, and Ralph H. Sprague (2003): Information Systems Management in Practice 6th edition,
Prentice Hall.)
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, Faculty of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University
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Course Objectives
To understand the need and importance of
Office Automation Systems
To understand the benefits of paperless Office
To know about the components of Office
Automation
To study the concept of Office Information
System

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Session Objective
Understanding office automation
Knowing the changing office concept
Understanding the organisational status of office
automation
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Office Automation
An automation system is a precisely planned change in a
physical or administrative task utilising a new process,
method, or machine that increases productivity, quality,
and profit while providing methodological control and
analysis.
The value of system automation is in its ability to
improve efficiency; reduce wasted resources associated
with rejects or errors; increase consistency, quality, and
customer satisfaction; and maximise profit.

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Office Automation (cont…)
Definition:
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 and goals.
Raw data storage, electronic transfer, and the
management of electronic business
information comprise the basic activities of an
office automation system.
Office automation helps in optimising or
automating existing office procedures.
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The backbone of office automation is LAN,
which allows users to transmit data, mail and
even voice across the network.
All office functions, including dictation, typing,
filing, copying, fax, Telex, microfilm and
records management, telephone and
telephone switchboard operations, fall into
this category.
Office automation was a popular term in the
1970s and 1980s as the desktop computer
exploded onto the scene.

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The automation of everyday office tasks is one
of the key results of the electronic revolution
No modern office can hope to survive without
many of them
IT as the technological innovations that have
transformed the way we work in the late
twentieth century
Integrated into a smoothly working business
system, office automation tools can vastly
improve office productivity
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About Office Automation Systems (OAS)
The use of computer systems to execute a
variety of office operations, such as word
processing, accounting, and e-mail.
Office automation almost always implies a
network of computers with a variety of available
programs.
Includes a wide range of applications of
computer, communication and information
technologies in office environments.
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Automation has altered not only our work
environment, but our very concept of work
Automation as a continual state of flux, the size
of the market is huge, with annual investments
measured in billions of dollars
Office automation is the basic requirements of
any office or department within an organisation.
Office automation aims to organise the functions
in such a way that they do not have to be carried
out on a variety of equipment.
About OAS (cont…)

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About OAS (cont…)
Office automation seems to proceeding more
rapidly and penetrate economic activities more
thoroughly than have other waves of automation
World economy is driven by the incessant
demand for information as it is by the continuing
necessity of converting raw materials into
finished products
Office work is rapidly being “automated, ” or
computerised
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About OAS (cont…)
The office as the primary workplace for many
industries, such as banking, insurance, and real
estate
Handling information as the main activity it
requires a system
Use of information for the purpose of tracking,
monitoring, recording, directing, and supporting
complex human activities

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Towards OAS trend
A continuing strong movement towards microcomputers
and towards distributed data access and data handling,
usually superimposed on rather than superseding
centralised automatic data processing;
More powerful, easier to use, software;
A strong trend towards linking and networking of
microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframes, and
peripheral and supporting systems;
Increasing choice among technological options for
accomplishing information handling objectives;
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Towards OAS trend (cont…)
More and more capture of data at the point of
origin, decreasing the need for repeated
keyboarding and centralised data entry;
Growing capability for communication, between
devices, between organisations, and between
locations.

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What "Office Automation“ means? (cont…)
Considering that company organisations
requires increased communication, today, office
automation is no longer limited to simply
capturing handwritten notes:
Exchange of information
Management of administrative documents
Handling of numerical data
Meeting planning and management of work
schedules
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What is next?
Here is required a system to coordinate the
automation and make an environment of things
which can work together for a purpose.
It is System thinking which comes up next

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Why OA as a system?
A system is an arrangement of parts
which interact with each other within the
system's boundaries (form, structure,
organisation) to function as a whole
A "system" is a dynamic and complex
whole, interacting as a structured
functional unit
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The Systems thinking (cont…)
A system is a group of interacting, interrelated,
and interdependent components that form a
complex and unified whole
Systems Thinking value lies in the way that it
enables one to design smart, enduring solutions
to problems
Systems Thinking gives you a more accurate
picture of reality, so that you can work with a
system's natural forces in order to achieve the
results you desire

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The Systems thinking
The approach incorporates several tenets
Interdependence of objects and their attributes -
independent elements can never constitute a system
Holism - emergent properties not possible to detect by
analysis should be possible to define by a holistic
approach
Goal seeking - systemic interaction must result in some
goal or final state
Inputs and Outputs - in a closed system inputs are
determined once and constant; in an open system
additional inputs are admitted from the environment
Transformation of inputs into outputs - this is the
process by which the goals are obtained
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Integrating the system
Office automation tools can vastly improve office
productivity.
However, the very richness and diversity of
these tools is the source of some of our most
serious office problems.
There thousands of programs running on
dozens of different kinds of computers and
operating systems, often linked together by a
variety of networks, the potential for
incompatibilities is great.
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Hierarchy of Office
Automation Systems,
(Chorafas, 1982)

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Data storage and manipulation
Storage of information would be the computer or a
computer like system
Data storage includes office records and other primary
office forms and documents
Data applications involve the capture and editing of files,
images, or spreadsheets
Example 1: Word processing and desktop
presentation packages accommodate raw textual and
graphical data
Example 2: Spreadsheet applications provide users
with the capacity to engage in the easy manipulation
and output of numbers
Example 3: Image applications allow the capture and
editing of visual images.

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The effect of office automation
Office automation reduces the number of clerical
Large firms no longer have to employ typists
Office employees become more flexible
Receptionists can spend more time with clients
Managers need not necessarily delegate typing,
to include more Public Relations work
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Within each basic activity of an office, hardware and software
combine to fulfill basic functions that are needed to successfully
accomplish the goals for a specific business.
There are three basic activities of an office automation system:
Storage of information, data exchange, and data management.
Within each broad application area, hardware and software combine
to fulfill basic functions that are needed to successfully accomplish
the goals for a specific business.
Storage of information would be the computer or a computer like
system.
Data Exchange would be a fax, phone, or some type of
communication hardware.
Data management would be using specific software tools to
organise and maintain data.
Office Automation Focus (cont…)

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Data storage and manipulation (cont…)
Text handling software and systems cover the whole
field of word processing and desktop publishing
Word processing, the most basic and common office
automation activity, is the inputting (usually via keyboard)
and manipulation of text on a computer
One important features of word processing packages are
their preformatted document templates
Desktop publishing adds another dimension to text
manipulation
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Data Exchange
While data storage and manipulation is one
component of an office automation systems
Exchange of that information is an important
component of office activity
Electronic transfer is a general application
area that highlights the exchange of
information between more than one user or
participant

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Data Exchange (cont…)
Systems that allow instantaneous or "real time"
transfer of information (i.e. online conversations
via computer or audio exchange with video
capture) are considered electronic sharing
systems
Electronic mail, voice mail, and facsimile are
examples of electronic transfer applications
Other examples would be a fax, phone, or some
type of communication hardware
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Data Exchange and Manipulation (cont…)
Office automation systems that include the
ability to electronically share information
between more than one user simultaneously are
sometimes referred to as groupware systems
One type of groupware is an electronic meeting
system
Electronic meeting systems allow geographically
dispersed participants to exchange information
in real time

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Data management
Office automation systems are also often used to track
both short-term and long-term data in the realms of
financial plans, workforce allocation plans, marketing
expenditures, inventory purchases, and other aspects of
business
Task management or scheduling systems monitor and
control various projects and activities within the office
Electronic management systems monitor and control
office activities and tasks through timelines, resource
equations, and electronic scheduling.
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Discussion Questions
1. What is Office Automation Systems?
2. Why we need technology for office automation?
3. Look at the difference between manual and
computerised office system; comparison of
manual and computerised system
4. Advantage and disadvantage of manual system
5. Advantage and disadvantage of computerised
system
6. How an organisation can:
Exchange information
Manage administrative documents

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Reference
Barbara C. McNurlin and Ralph H. Sprague (2003):
Information Systems Management in Practice 6th
edition, Prentice Hall.
Barbara C. McNurlin and Ralph H. Sprague: Information
Systems Management in Practice 6th edition, 2003
Gavriel Salvndy, Handbook of Industrial Engineering,
“Section Computer and Information Processing”.
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, Taibah University Lecture Notes,
2010.
James Bailey, James Gerlach, R Preston McAfee,
Andrew B. Winston. Office Automation, Chapter 12.7

Lecture1 (is342) (office automationsystems)

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