Unit 2d Revision - Alness Academy Business Studies



Standard Grade

Administration

Area of Study 1:

Administrative Support

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Unit 2 – The Working Environment

Unit 2d – Mail Handling

Theory Notes

Contents Page

Lesson 1 3

Internal Mail 3

External Mail 3

Incoming/Outgoing Mail 3

The Procedure for Handling Incoming Mail 4

Circulation Slip (Routing slip) 5

The Procedure for Handling Outgoing Mail 6

Lesson 2 7

E-mail 7

Features of e-mail: 7

Facsimile (FAX) 8

Voicemail 8

Lesson 3 9

Electronic Postal Scales 9

Franking Machine 9

Date Stamp 9

Lesson 4 10

Post 10

Recorded Delivery and Registered Mail 10

What Influences The Method Chosen For Sending Mail 10

Lesson 1

Means of communicating information – internal/external mail, e-mail, fax F

Dealing with internal/external mail F

Dealing with incoming mail F

Dealing with outgoing mail F

Internal Mail

This is when mail is sent or received within an organisation. This may be within

one building or different branches of the same organisation eg Boots, Bank of

Scotland, Scottish Power. Internal mail may be sent using e-mail, fax or delivered by hand.

External Mail

This is mail sent outwith the organisation using the Royal Mail postal service, fax, e-mail or external courier service.

Incoming/Outgoing Mail

Incoming mail is all mail which is delivered to the organisation. Outgoing mail is all mail which is sent by the organisation. The majority of mail sent or received by an organisation will be by post via the Royal Mail.

Incoming mail will normally be delivered at the start of the day. Staff responsible for handling mail will normally start earlier than other staff.

Outgoing mail may be sent throughout the day by individual employees in a small organisation or by mail room staff in a large organisation.

All mail must be dealt with efficiently to ensure documents arrive on time and do not get lost or misplaced.

The Procedure for Handling Incoming Mail

| |Sort mail | |

| | | | | | |

| |

| | |

|Content: |Health & Safety Booklet |

|Please read and pass on in order shown below: |

|Name |Department |Initial/Date |

|G H Lamb |Purchasing |GHL 4/10 |

|Mrs K Potts |Sales |KP 6/10 |

|D S Ames |Accounts | |

| | | |

| | |

|Please return to: |R Harris |

|by: |11 October |

Each of the employees reads the document and then passes it on to the next person on the list.

When the person on the list passes it on he/she ticks off his/her own name.

This method of distribution is particularly useful for confidential documents and ones which are subject to copyright as it prevents them having to be photocopied.

The Procedure for Handling Outgoing Mail

| |Collect mail from departmental out-trays | | |

| |at regular intervals throughout the day | |If mail still has to be put into envelopes then check: |

| | | |Letter has been signed |

| | | |Address on letter is same as address on envelope |

| | | |Enclosures are there and are attached |

| | | |Amount of any remittance to be enclosed agrees with amount |

| | | |stated in covering letter |

| | | | | |

| | | | | | |Fold documents using the minimum number of folds |

| | | | | | |Insert documents into envelopes |

| | | | | | |Seal envelopes |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

| |Sort mail into categories | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|1st Class | |2nd Class| |Special | |Parcels | |

| | | | |Deliver/Recor| | | |

| | | | |ded | | | |

| |Weigh, calculate postal charge and write | | |

| |cost of postage at top right corner | | |

| | | | |

| | | |Some electronic scales will automatically calculate postage |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

| |Stamp or Frank | | |

| | | | |

| | | |Record in Postages Book |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | |Bundle mail, using elastic bands, into 1st Class, 2nd Class |

| | | | | | |and mail to be handed over the post office counter. |

| |Send | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | |Place in mailbag to be collected by post office or place in |

| | | | |postbox. |

| | | | | |

Lesson 2

Dealing with e-mail F

Dealing with fax (Fax Cover Sheet) F

Voicemail F

Advantages and disadvantages of electronic communication F

E-mail

E-mail is when information is sent or received from one computer terminal to

another. All e-mail users must have their own e-mail address eg yourname@.uk. Information is sent directly to the users mail box whether the computer is switched on or off.

Features of e-mail:

• e-mail may be internal (sent between networked computers within the same organisation) or external (sent between computers which are connected using the phone system).

• security of e-mail messages may be improved by using passwords and/or ID to restrict access to mailboxes or by using encryption software when sending messages.

• lengthy messages (wp docs, ss, etc) can be prepared separately and sent as attachments to e-mail messages

• a list of frequently-used e-mail addresses can be stored on the computer in an address book – saves time and avoids errors in keying in addresses.

• a printout can be made of e-mail messages to provide a permanent record

• e-mail messages can be filed, deleted, replied to, forwarded to another person or sent to a group of people

|Advantages |Disadvantages |

|messages are sent at very high speed |The sender has to know the e-mail address of the recipient. |

|graphics, illustrations, etc can be sent just as easily as text |There is no automatic indication that e-mail messages have been |

|it costs less than sending written information by post |received and opened. |

|it eliminates time barriers, an e-mail can be sent to anywhere in |There may be a time delay in recipients checking their mailboxes and|

|the world at any time |reading any new messages. |

|confidential information can be sent by e-mail. | |

Facsimile (FAX)

• Cost depends on the time of day, distance and duration of the transmission.

• Confidential information will not normally be sent by fax.

|Advantages |Disadvantages |

|messages are sent at very high speed |The sender has to know the fax number of the recipient. |

|graphics, illustrations, etc can be sent just as easily as text |No automatic indication that message has been received by the |

|messages can be sent at any time to anywhere in the world |recipient. |

|a fax is its own permanent record of the message |Fax machines will only accept A4 or smaller documents. |

|fax machines are relatively inexpensive and may incorporate phone, |If the quality of the faxed document is poor then the receiver may |

|answering machine and photocopying facilites |find it difficult to read the fax. |

| |An organisation is likely to require a separate dedicated phone line|

| |for sending and receiving faxes. |

| |Faxed documents will not usually be accepted as legally-binding |

| |documents. |

Voicemail

If a person being phoned is not available to answer a call then a prerecorded message invites the caller to leave a message. To listen to any voicemail messages, user dials his/her voicemail box – may require the use of a Personal Identification Number (PIN).

|Advantages |Disadvantages |

|allows messages to be left for a person who is not available to |person required may not check voicemail on a regular basis |

|receive a phone call – callers feel that they are being dealt with | |

|calls can be received 24 hours a day |no opportunity to seek clarification or further information from |

|avoids errors being made by someone else passing on messages |caller |

|verbally or in writing | |

|messages can be listened to at a convenient time |some people may not like to leave verbal messages |

Lesson 3

Machines and equipment used in the mailroom F

Electronic Postal Scales

• Weighs a package and automatically calculates the postal charge.

• Changes in postal rates may be made via the keyboard or by inserting a new ‘chip’ in the machine.

Franking Machine

• Prints postal impression (postal charge, date and place of posting) on to envelopes or labels.

• Faster than sticking stamps on to envelopes.

• Avoids having to purchase stamps (less chance of theft).

• Postal impression can also include an advertising slogan.

• Machine may be purchased, leased or rented from manufacturers.

• Units of postage purchased in advance from post office.

• Additional units are purchased by taking part of the machine (module) to the post office and getting it credited with additional units or by purchasing additional units over a direct phone link.

Date Stamp

• Used to stamp the date of receipt on incoming mail.

• Current date is set at the beginning of each day.

• Date of receipt may be referred to if there is a query about when an item of mail was received or the time taken to deal with a piece of correspondence.

• Date is stamped on a blank area of the correspondence – not over the text.

Lesson 4

Choice of appropriate methods of sending different types of internal and external mail G

Justification of choice C

First/Second Class Post

The advantages of this system are:

• it enables people who do not have access to technology to communicate

• there is no alternative for sending parcels

• confidential information, if clearly marked on the envelope would never be seen by anyone other than the addressee

Parcelforce

• the post office offers several services to ensure that mail/parcels will arrive within a specified time eg special delivery, datapost, parcel force

Recorded Delivery and Registered Mail

Important letters or parcels where proof of delivery is necessary can be dealt with separately by the Post Office. This mail will normally contain important documents or something of value eg references, confidential documents, qualifications. When sending mail using this service, the sender will be given a receipt as proof of posting. On delivery, the employee, normally the receptionist, receiving this type of mail will have to sign for it.

Courier

A courier company who deliver packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary postal services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialisation and individualisation of services, and committed delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a premium service, couriers are usually more expensive than usual mail services, and their use is typically restricted to packages where one or more of these features are considered important enough to warrant the cost.

Email

Fax

What Influences The Method Chosen For Sending Mail

• urgency

• size

• need for confidentiality

• value of the information

• methods available to the organisation and their costs

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