Office Skills: A Practical Approach - 5th Edition: Book 1

Part of the series Office Skills: A Practical Approach - 5th Edition.

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The 5th edition of Office Skills: A Practical Approach has been thoroughly revised and updated to address common and specialist administration units in the Business Services (BSB07) Training Package. This comprehensive text has been completely restructured to align with the new BSB07 competencies. The text has been split into three books to cover the different levels of TAFE and VET in schools certifications for Business and Business Administration.

• Book 1 covers elective and core units of Certificate I in Business
• Book 2 covers elective and core units of Certificate II in Business
• Book 3 covers elective and core units of Certificate III in Business

Workbook activities are now integrated within the main text and include Knowledge Questions throughout the book, as well as practical work tasks on perforated pages at the end of each chapter.

Features

• Aligned to new BSB07 training package each chapter is mapped to the relevant competency
• Workbook activities integrated within text
• ‘Real life’ examples and case studies allow students to reinforce their understanding of the material covered throughout the text
• An abundance of diagrams and tables to aid visual learners

View Competency Grid

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View Sample Pages

View Book 1 Sample Pages

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Table of Contents

Elective Units

• Chapter 1 BSBIND201A Work effectively in a business environment
• Chapter 2 BSBWOR202A Organise and complete daily work activities
• Chapter 3 BSBSUS201A Participate in environmentally sustainable work practices
• Chapter 4 BSBCMM101A Apply basic communication skills
• Chapter 5 BSBADM101A Use business equipment and processes
• Chapter 6 BSBITU101A Operate a personal computer
• Chapter 7 BSBITU102A Develop keyboard skills
• Chapter 8 BSBLED101A Plan skills development

Core Unit

• Chapter 9 BSBOHS201A Participate in OHS processes

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Book 1 Preface

Objectives

You will learn sound basic work habits that will provide you with a firm foundation for the effective operation of all office work skills. You will use these in business in any career you choose for the rest of your working life. Employability skills Business and industry have identified the following eight important employability work skills which should be used by office workers:

• Communication that contributes to productive and harmonious relations across employees and customers
• Teamwork that contributes to productive working relationships and outcomes
• Problem solving that contributes to productive outcomes
• Initiative and enterprise that contribute to innovative outcomes
• Planning and organising that contribute to long- and short-term strategic planning
• Self-management that contributes to employee satisfaction and growth
• Learning that contributes to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes
• Technology that contributes to the effective carrying out of tasks

Certificates

On completion of all the competencies in Book 1, you will be qualified to obtain a position as a clerical/administrative assistant, and you will be eligible to apply for entry to Certificate II. On completion of all the competencies in Book 2, you will be qualified to obtain a position as a clerical/administrative assistant, and you will be eligible to apply for entry to Certificate III.

Student assessment

Each chapter contains:

• Introduction providing insight to the topic
• Examples of real-life business experiences
• Knowledge questions to help students understand the theory
• Case studies for problem-solving and decision-making
• Summary for revision purposes
• Review questions to be used as and when required

Listed at the end of each chapter are:

• Practical work tasks involving students using office equipment, resources and technology, in an actual or simulated work environment, to test employability skills.
• Group discussions to encourage inclusion, control and acceptance.
• Role Play performed by small groups of students in virtual office situations to improve communication and teamwork skills.
• Group/team projects requiring students to use planning and organising, questioning techniques, listening skills and time management.
• Employability self-assessment and trainer assessment using portfolios of evidence, observation and evaluation of time-management strategies.
  • The trainer should select the methods of assessment to meet the requirements of employability work skills required by individual students.
  • As instructed by the BSB07 Business Services Training Package (Commonwealth of Australia) assessment must ensure:
    • Access to an actual workplace or simulated environment
    • Access to office equipment and resources

The work tasks in this series are designed, on completion, to satisfy the above requirements.

Note

This is a complete learning and assessment package for all types of students, including:

• Distance/self-directed learning
• Group activity practical learning
• Peer/co-assessment learning
• Theoretical/lecture/tutorial learning

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About the Authors

Margaret Horsfall

Margaret has extensive teaching and industry experience, both in Australia and internationally. Most recently, she taught office skills at Holmesglen TAFE in Victoria, where she was in charge of the office administration curriculum for all business students in the Administrative Studies department. She set up a virtual office consisting of all the sections you would find in a modern office, complete with relevant equipment. In this setting, students used ‘hands-on’ training and role-play techniques to develop all the skills that are used in a real office, and which are outlined in this book. Margaret has held previous teaching positions in office administration at Alice Springs High School, and polytechnics and colleges internationally. Previous to teaching, Margaret held different position levels at many types of companies, in wide spheres of business and in different countries. These included: administrative coordinator with a large insurance company in Melbourne; personal assistant to an accountant on a tobacco plantation in Papua New Guinea (an international organisation); relief secretary for many different types of businesses in the city of Nairobi in Kenya, Africa; personal assistant to the manager of a national bank in the United Kingdom and the World Bank in Nairobi; personal assistant to the managing director and owner of a textile company, with seven subsidiary companies, in the United Kingdom. Margaret has tried, in the chapters of this book, to pass on to students the experiences she gained in these many diversified office positions. Margaret holds a Bachelor of Business (Administration) from Monash University, Melbourne.

Sharon Turner

Sharon has been teaching for TAFE NSW Northern Sydney Institute in the Office Administration and Technology Section for nearly 10 years. Prior to teaching, Sharon was a corporate accountant for CSR Ltd where she held various positions including factory accountant and internal auditor. During her time with CSR Ltd, Sharon worked in such diverse businesses as coal mines and sugar mills, the building industry and finally corporate accounting. Sharon holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and is also a CPA. Sharon finds teaching to be an immensely rewarding career. In the chapters Sharon has written, her hope is that her business and teaching experiences combine to provide the student with a clear path through the financial maze of the modern office environment.