Paperless Office Report - Free Paper Example

Dear Mrs. Sandy Meghan

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Enclosed is the report on reducing the amount of paperwork at the Office Service Department as per your request following my proposal memo a few weeks ago.

The purpose of this report is to analyze and discuss the need for the transition of our current office into a paperless system. This report also examines the advantages together with the challenges that the company might face during the transition process. In this report, you will find significant data supporting the need for the change.

I appreciate you taking time to go through this report, and I am hoping that you will find the information given to be convincing. Please if you find it appropriate email or give me a call if you would like additional information. It would be my pleasure to assist with the implementation of this transition to our organization.

Welch Tricia

Sincerely,

Office clerk

Executive Summary

Purpose

As technology develops and becomes more modern, the concept of paperless office becomes a likable possibility. Many firms are planning to go paperless because of the widespread of internet and computers. As much as many companies are opting to use paperless, our organization still utilizes the old fashion way of processing paperwork. Aside from performing our duties, there are also piles of paperwork that we are tasked to do every day. These piles of paperwork are often used a lot of our valuable time, time that we can spend more important things to accomplish our duties and responsibilities. Instead, we spend most of our time in finishing the documents and then filing them properly and accurately. Another concern is the lack of storage space in our office. Due to these challenges, this report provides recommendations and reasons for transitioning to a paperless office. This research will also discuss the possible benefits electronic system can achieve. The research conducted for this report includes interviews with members of the office service department as primary research as well as scholarly sources.

Findings

A literature review and a survey were used in this research to gather information about the subject matter. The articles for the literature review gave a general idea on the subject. A survey was done by almost all staffs to get feedback about the transition of the organization to a paperless office. Most staffs were familiar with the concept of going to a paperless environment and agreed with the idea of transitioning and utilizing the electronic system. Furthermore, Research shows a reduction of paperwork within a company:

Improves:

Employee productivity

Employee effectiveness

Environmental awareness

Decreases:

Cost for document storage.

Cost for paper, printer, and printer related accessories.

Labor cost.

Allows:

Employees to better service customers and co-workers

Recommendation

The research conducted concludes that a paperless system should be introduced to the office services department. The following changes are recommended: First, the enterprise will have to upgrade its computers and introduce various information systems, such as Transaction Processing System (TPS), Management Information System (MIS), and the Decision Support System (DSS). The TPS will help in capturing and recording of transactions; the MIS will use the data from the TPS to provide meaningful information, while the DSS will utilize the information provided by the MIS to facilitate the making of timely and effective decisions.

Introduction

A paperless office refers to a working environment where the use of paper is significantly reduced or eliminated. A paperless office approach is achieved through the use of the digital form of documents through the digitization process in which an organization acquires computers and servers that replace paper cabinets. A paperless office leverages the use of electronic communication through emails and organization-based information systems that incorporate easy sharing of information and convenience. Unlike the traditional offices that use paper-based filling systems the paperless office use cloud-based servers and information systems that are safer and also does not require any regular maintenance. Today, organizations should adopt paperless offices due to their ability to improve convenience as well as ease of sharing limited organization resources such as office space and information.

Nex Beauty Shop spends a considerable amount of cash to acquire paper and also printing equipment, which is used to document sales, invoices, and inventory of the beauty shop. Nex Beauty Shop manager should consider the prospects of making Nex Beauty Shop operations paperless. The beauty shop operations are slow which has a negative impact on the total organization of the selling process due to the time required to process sales. Further, decision-making in Nex Beauty Shop also takes a lot of time, which has significantly inconvenienced the beauty shop expansion and operation efficiency. Besides, using paper in a business setting is less convenient to consumers who require quick services.

The use of a paper-based system in a beauty shop requires those involved in the operations to commit a lot of mental and physical effort to ensure the operations are correctly carried out. A lot of physical documentation has to be done for every transaction to be completed. This comes with a lot of inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in the business' operations, which has a negative impact on its success and the quality of customer service. These include slow operations, increased costs, slow decision-making, and less competitiveness.

Figure 1: A beauty shop office using paper

Figure 2: A paperless beauty shop

Methodology

A literature review and an interview were used in this research to gather information about the subject matter. The articles for the literature review gave a general idea on the subject. Secondary research was conducted to have a thorough knowledge and understanding about the transition and the possible benefits of going paperless. An interview was done by almost all staffs to get feedback about the transition of the organization to a paperless office.

Primary Research

To get first-hand information on the topic, face-to-face interviews with the employees in the beauty shop, who are highly involved in the execution of various operations were conducted. This helped to present the actual impact of the paper-based system on both the employees and the operations, including but not limited to, employee stress and increased errors. Additionally, comparison of the costs involved in the use of paper-based and paperless systems was done. Finally, customers to be interviewed were sampled out to compare the level of customer satisfaction between the use of paper-based and paperless systems.

Secondary Research

Extensive secondary research was conducted to find out what the authors of peer-reviewed journals, books, magazines, and other relevant written materials are saying regarding the implementation of paperless systems. Most of them agree that the use of paper-based systems limits the success of a business establishment and that this can only be corrected through the implementation of well-thought-out information systems.

Results

Transitioning to a Paperless Office

A paperless office plays a significant role in reducing organization costs incurred in making paper-based reports and documentation. Creation of a paperless office today is possible due to the continued growth of communication and office technology, which reduces any need to continue using, printed documentation in an organization. With paperless technology business operators and government, institutions can improve their efficiency by acquiring paperless office technology (Dykstra et al., 2009 p. 258).

Karlsson & Stockel argues that the process of creating a paperless office involves a preliminary assessment of the organization, which will determine the best technological installations that will meet the organization needs. The paperless office requires a huge initial investment in modern technology such as paperless statements, bill paying, document storage and file sharing technological equipment's that will significantly eradicate the need for an office to maintain any paper printers. Hurried implementation of a paperless office without proper evaluation of the needs of the organization and the abilities of the employees will only result in poor communication and organization office efficiency (Karlsson & Stockel, 2017 p. 18).

Apart from acquiring the necessary equipment's it is important to understand the needs and the abilities of the employees, which will prompt the organization to train the employees and associates if possible. Further, the authors note the importance of organizations being realistic when creating a paperless office regarding the adoption of a paperless office (Davis et al., 2015). Complete eradication of paper in an office is not completely practical and also the cost of such a project is very big. Therefore, the client's needs and regulatory requirements are some of the external forces that make the process of adopting a paperless office even for the most tech-savvy companies a reality that needs proper assessments and tradeoffs to meet the needs of the clients and other important stakeholders (Citrome, 2008 p. 366).

Flaherty & Lovato, (2014) argues that there is a difficulty in implementing the transition because of the resistance to change. Most of the time people want to keep up with what they are accustomed. Not all employees can easily adapt to the changes and other lack the experience with using the technology. Another problem that may arise in transitioning to paperless is the risk of data loss due to software and hardware failure. Furthermore, greater initial investment is needed when transitioning to a paperless environment. Also, Up-to-date computer hardware and software and some other equipment is essential for a paperless office. Aside from that, expenditure on staff training and organizational changes will also add to the cost of the transition.

Benefits of a Paperless Office

A paperless office has unlimited benefits towards the organization due to improved use of organization resources and ease in information retrieval. As are the result, a paperless office can be able to make evidence-based decision-making, which plays a significant role in improving an organization's outcomes. Paperless office reduces the overall expenses that an organization experiences in a traditional office, which require paper restocking, and the repair of both printers and filling equipment (Dwivedi & Kumar, 2010 p. 352).

In a paperless office, an organization only incurs the training cost and the acquisition of information systems that will vary depending on the needs of an organization. In cases of burglary and office fire, a paperless office is safer because the organization information in a server can be retrieved and is safe from theft. Finally, a paperless office promotes the integration of different organization department in which they can access to real-time information and data that can be used in operations decisi...