Page 54 - Information Management 3rd Edition

Information Management
such as the telephone, fax machines, electronic mail, wide area networks and teleconferencing.
Since correspondence plays such a major part in any business, the way a business handles its mail will determine its efficiency in this fundamental area. To achieve efficiency in the mailroom, two principles should be applied:
1. The mailing department is a specialist area that must operate with competence
and economy; and
2. All departments concerned with correspondence must feed into and out of the
mailroom.
Total efficiency demands that:
• the handling of mail must be recognised as being a specialist function,
• the mailroom must be supplied with suitable equipment and trained staff,
• costs should be kept as low as possible,
• mail must be distributed according to a set procedure and with the minimum
Pre-pub
delay,
• a system should be developed whereby outgoing mail is signed for and made
available to the mail department at prescribed times, and
• correspondence must be produced by the most efficient and economical
methods.
It is regrettable that in many businesses, the mailroom is an area that is largely
ignored by management. Mailroom supervisors are often not regarded as being a
part of middle management and their departments are frequently overlooked by
those responsible for efficient administration. Thorough management practice is
important for the efficient handling of the various postal activities. To achieve
copy
this, the various activities therefore also need to be examined in detail. The
calculation of the costs that are currently associated with the handling of postal
articles, may be used as the basis for evaluating the efficiency of the postal division.
This can also be used to assess the effectiveness of any improvements that might have been introduced. Automation is an important factor in the management of mail. The information manager must continuously pay attention to the possibility of replacing manual labour with machines for greater efficiency and cost-saving purposes.
3.6
•
Forms management
The definition of a form
A form is a paper document that contains fixed data and provides spaces for variable data. Data elements that do not change or are known in advance, can become part of the standard entries on the form. Only data elements that vary or may vary with each transaction need to be filled in. Forms are used to simplify and standardise office work, and to gather, report on, transmit or distribute and process information. A form can also be an electronic document saved on a computer.
To manage the business forms effectively, the information manager should have a clear forms management policy in place. This will make provision for a forms management system that will provide the business with forms that are necessary, efficient and generated at the lowest printing and processing
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