UNIT-7

Office information system

7.1 Nature of office
Introduction:-
The combinations of information technologies that have a dramatic impact on day to day office
operations are called Office Information System (OIS).
Originally OA was intended to assist secretarial and clerical workers, but its ability to facilitate both
formal and informal communications with people both inside and outside the organization attracted
managers and professionals as users.
All of these users use OA to increase their productivity.

Office Automation:-
 The terms expressed the concept that office activity is centered on the processing of words.
 The intent was to draw the same attention to office products that had been on computers and data
processing.
Nature of the Job in office:-
Generally there are five types of office workers in the office:-
 Managers-Managers generally spend most of their time in planning .coordinating and controlling the
activities of other people.
 Staff Professional:-Staff professional support the activities of managers .These professionals have no
direct line responsibility ,i.e., their role is mostly one of planning ,analysing ,and informing management
of their findings.
 Line professionals:-Line professionals include sales persons and purchasing agents. They typically
interact daily with such outside groups as the organisations customers and suppliers.
 Secretaries:-Secretaries are normally assigned to one or more knowledge workers in an office. They
perform such support tasks as typing, filing answering phones a keeping appointment calendars.
 Clerical Personal:-Clerical Personal are usually not assigned to any one in particular. Generally, they
support the entire department/section/division. Typical tasks of clerks are filing, typing, assisting in
report preparation.

7.2 Types of office information systems

There are four major types of office automation system these are:
 Document Management System
 Communication System
 Tele-conferencing System
 Office Support System
Document Management System:-
Document Management System are computer-based tools that provide access to repositories of data,
regardless of their form or location. The retrieved documents can be displayed in different formats,
edited, distributed and integrated using other communication system.
Word Processing:-
The most widely used and recognized office system technology is word processing. It involves hardware
and software tools that allow the computer system to become more then a powerful type-writing
device.
Desktop Publishing:-
Desktop publishing is the use of a computer to be prepared printed output. It consists of a micro
computer configuration.
The configuration includes a high resolution cathode ray tube screen and a laser printer and is driven by
DTP software.

DTP application fall into three areas:-

 Administrative applications include documents intended for such internal use as correspondence,
reports and newsletters.
 Technical applications include such training materials as slides, overhead transparencies and manuals.
 Corporate graphics include advertisements, brochures and other documents intended for use outside
the firm.
Multimedia System Development:-
1. Define The Problem:-
The system analyst identifies the users needs and determine that the solution requires multimedia.
2. Design The Concept:-
The System analyst and user possibly working with such communication professionals as
procedures, directors and video engineers, engage in concept design by determining the overall
message and conducting a walkthrough of all major sequences.
3. Design the Content:-
The Developers engage in content design by preparing detail application specification. This is where
the media selected. It is important to avoid Christmas tree look of incorporation too much
multimedia and too little system functionality.
4. Write The Script:-
The dialogue and all of the detailed elements of the sequences are determined.
5. Design The Graphics:-
Graphics are selected that support the dialogue. Any necessary sets or props to be used in videos
are designed.
6. Produce The System:-
The system developers produce the various parts and integrate them into a system. In addition to
development of the application software, the tasks involve such specialised activates as video
editing, and authoring. Authoring is the integration of the separate elements through the use of
special prewritten software.
7. Conduct User Test:-
The system analyst educates the user in system use and gives the user an opportunity to become
familiar with all of the features. If the system is satisfactory the user puts iy into use. Otherwise the
prototyping process is repeated by reverting back to an earlier step. This iterative process is
repeated until the user is satisfied with the system.
8. Use The System:-
The user benefits from System Use.
9. Maintain The System:-
Just like any other computer-based system, the multimedia system must be maintained. The main
difference is that the user cannot be expected to perform the maintained. This is the task of the
specialist and professionals. Multimedia is not an end user computing application.

Communication System:-
EDI Method – Electronic Data Interchange Method:-
EDI may be introduced where a group of organizations wish to ensure that electronic transaction are
passed between one another.
EDI groups require EDI service in order to affect the data exchanges. These are often provided by a
third-party organization.
Benefits of EDI.
EDI ensures:-
 The speed with which an inter-organization transaction is processed, is minimized.
 The paperwork involved in transaction processing is eliminated.
 The costs of transaction processing are produced, as much as the need for human interpretation and
processing in removed.
 Reduced human involvement reduces error.

Electronic Mail:-
 Electronic mail, popularly known as E-mail, is a system that allows a person or a group electronically
communicate with others through a network, in written from at any time, from anywhere in the world.

Electronic Mail Service:-

It can acquire its own hardware and software and install an in-house system, or it can subscribe to an
electronic mail service that provides the necessary computing and communication facility for a fee. In
the latter case a subscriber needs only furnish the terminal to tie into the network.
Voice Mail:-
It facilitates oral communication. In this system the sender dictates a message by speaking them over
the telephone rather than typing them. A special device called a codes converse the analogue signal of
the sender’s voice into a digital message.
Facsimile:-
It is popularly known as fax, systems are commonplace in most organizations today. Fax technology uses
telephones, modems and scanners to transmit text and graphics to an individual or organization
anywhere in the world. The scanner in the fax machine scans the document at one and at the other end,
a built-in modem receives the message, and printer prints it.

Teleconferencing Systems:-
 The main feature of this system is that they reduce operating costs and increase productivity because
decision makers do not have to travel to attend face to face meetings.
Audio Conferencing:-
 The person who organizes the conference should solve as a moderator, making certain that all
participants have an opportunity to speak and that the objectives of the conference are achieved.
 The number of participants should be kept to a manageable size, say not more than ten.
 A copy of the conference agenda should be made available to the participants in advance.
 When participants speak, they should identify themselves.
 A taped record of the conference should be kept.
 A hard copy record should be prepared from the tapped record, and distributed to all participants.
Video Conferencing:-
 There are three basic type of video conferencing based on the signal capability:-
One-way video & One-way audio: Video and audio signal are sent from a signal transmitting site to one
or more receiving site.
One way video & Two way audio: The two way audio capability allows people at the receiving sites to
talk to people are the transmitting site while everyone views the same video images.
Two way video with Two way audio:- The video & audio communication between all sites are two-way.
Office Support System
An office has its own system to do office work. The reason is that volume of work of an office differs
from another. System means a preplanned approach to do the day to day work to achieve the desired
objectives of an organization.
According to Terry,
“a system is a network of procedures which are integrated and designed to carry out a major activity”

Need or Importance of O Systems

An office system is based on the nature of work performed and the extent of inter-linking among them.
So, office system is required to achieve the following objectives.
1. Improve Operating Efficiency: Office system helps to avoid unnecessary motions there by improve
the efficiency in the performance of work.
2. Maintain Uniform Procedure: Uniformity is maintained in the collection of dues from the debtors.
Whenever, a default is made by the debtor, the same practice is followed while collecting the amount
from them.
3. Optimum Utilization of Resources: The available resources of an office are equipment, (like computer
type writer etc.) personnel, space, furniture and the like. These resources are properly utilized for
performing office work in a planned and systematic manner.
4. Reduce office Expenses: Unnecessary motions are eliminated and standard automatic equipment and
machines are also installed in an office. In this way, the office expense is reduced to some extent.
5. Minimize the Operating Expenses: Standard or maximum limit i» fixed for each and every type of
expenses. The actual expenses can be measured and compared with standard». Necessary steps can be
taken to minimize the operating expenses, if needed.
6. Fixation of Responsibility: Works are assigned to the office personnel specifically. In this way, the
responsibility is fixed for satisfactory performance.
7. Facilitating the introduction of new checks: Sometimes, duty lists can he prepared for office
personnel separately and also included in the office manual. This process facilitates the introduction of
new check system.
8. Achieving Organization Goals: The performance of any work leads to achievement of organization
goals. Here, well designed office system helps to achieve organization goals in a better way.
9. Simplify the training: Office system clearly indicates degree of skill required to do a job. The result is
selecting the best training requirements of office personnel.
10. Errors Reduced: A good office system can reduce the chances of errors and improve the overall
efficiency of an organization.
11. Smooth Running of an Office: Delays and bottlenecks in the performance of work are reduced with
the help of good office systems.
12. Prevention of Fraud: Office system includes internal verification or internal checking. Internal
checking assists to prevent the frauds and exercise better control over work.
13. Better Coordination: Coordination is necessary among various sections or departments. The
required coordination can be arrived by having good office system.

7.3 Client server computing

In client server computing, the clients request a resource and the server provides that resource. A
server may serve multiple clients at the same time while a client is in contact with only one server. Both
the client and server usually communicate via a computer network but sometimes they may reside in
the same system.
An illustration of the client server system is given as follows −
Characteristics of Client Server Computing
The salient points for client server computing are as follows:
 The client server computing works with a system of request and response. The client sends a
request to the server and the server responds with the desired information.
 The client and server should follow a common communication protocol so they can easily
interact with each other. All the communication protocols are available at the application layer.
 A server can only accommodate a limited number of client requests at a time. So it uses a
system based to priority to respond to the requests.
 Denial of Service attacks hindera servers ability to respond to authentic client requests by
inundating it with false requests.
 An example of a client server computing system is a web server. It returns the web pages to the
clients that requested them.
Difference between Client Server Computing and Peer to Peer Computing
The major differences between client server computing and peer to peer computing are as follows:
 In client server computing, a server is a central node that services many client nodes. On the
other hand, in a peer to peer system, the nodes collectively use their resources and
communicate with each other.
 In client server computing the server is the one that communicates with the other nodes. In
peer to peer to computing, all the nodes are equal and share data with each other directly.
 Client Server computing is believed to be a subcategory of the peer to peer computing.
Advantages of Client Server Computing
The different advantages of client server computing are −
 All the required data is concentrated in a single place i.e. the server. So it is easy to protect the
data and provide authorization and authentication.
 The server need not be located physically close to the clients. Yet the data can be accessed
efficiently.
 It is easy to replace, upgrade or relocate the nodes in the client server model because all the
nodes are independent and request data only from the server.
 All the nodes i.e clients and server may not be building on similar platforms yet they can easily
facilitate the transfer of data.
Disadvantages of Client Server Computing
The different disadvantages of client server computing are −
 If all the clients simultaneously request data from the server, it may get overloaded. This may
lead to congestion in the network.
 If the server fails for any reason, then none of the requests of the clients can be fulfilled. This
leads of failure of the client server network.
 The cost of setting and maintaining a client server model are quite high.
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