According to Wikipedia, "Office administration is a set of day-to-day activities related to financial planning, billing and recordkeeping, personnel, and physical distribution and logistics, within an organization." Right from entry of data, correspondence and communication with the client to organizational support and even the planning of party, comes under the purview of Office Administration. Office administrators are known as "the exterior face of an office, greeting clients, employees and visitors".

Management of the employees is the basic function of the Office Administration. The whole range of tasks to be carried on by an Office Administrator solely rest upon the operating structure of the organization. They may have to supervise the staff, confirming about the capabilities and resources of the employees whether they are suitable and sufficient to carry on the tasks given to them or not. Another important role which they play is to act as trouble shooters. They also assist and support the employees at the times of unusual situations they may arise while doing the task. Periodic evaluations of employees, salary appraisal recommendations and improvement of relationship between the staff and the management are also some of the functions that an Office Administrator can perform. Apart from conducting the above said functions, they also co-ordinate the repairs of equipment of office, submit the requests for new equipment, looking at the use of office supplies lime paper, writing instruments, printer ribbons etc.

Courses in the field of Office Management are offered by most of the B-Schools. There are certificate level, diploma level and undergraduate level courses. The students are trained in managing themselves efficiently by teaching them communicational skills, whether verbally or non-verbally, at all levels. They learn how to organize meetings and manage documents. They are trained well to deal with clients and work in teams. Rules, policies and procedures of within the organizations are also taught

Admission in an UG courses, requires pass marks in Higher Secondary Certificate Examination (10+2) in any stream, from a recognized state/national Board. For the PG programs, the candidate must have done graduation in relevant stream. Proficiency in computers and MS Word is an added advantage.

One should be self motivated, determined, able to present oneself, well dressed, well groomed and full of confidence. One should be able to think independently and able to take decisions. Skills regarding communication are needed. Multi tasking abilities too are required.

Business houses, PSU's or private companies, require a qualified and skilled Office Administrator. There are many job openings for the talented professionals. After getting required training and qualification one can get employed as an Office Administrator, Office Assistant, and Back Office Incharge etc

Management institutes and universities which offer courses in Office Administration are:

1. All India Institute for Management Studies (Chennai),
2. Kota Open University (Rajasthan),
3. Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (Maharashtra),
4. U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University (Uttar Pradesh)
5. Institute for Office Management - YMCA Delhi.
6. Delhi College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University

The salary of office administrators may appear to be low at the beginner's level, but the pay package can go up to Rs 200000 - 300,000 per annum, with experience. Experienced office administrators can earn five figure salary.

The article has been contributed by Ms. Abha Kheterpal. She has been an educationist for past 15 year. She has three masters degrees with her: M.A. in English, M.A Economics and M.Sc Psychotherapy & Counseling and being diverse in her interests, she also holds a Diploma in Computer and Software Applications. She is also a freelance writer with Jagaran Publications. She regularly contributes Career Related articles on CareerAge.com and does Career Counseling.