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INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT A HANDBOOK ADDRESSED PARTICULARLY TO SECRETARIES OF INDUSTRIAL CONCERNS, AND COMMERCIAL STUDENTS BY EDWARD BROWN, F. C. I. S. VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE mRMINGHAM BRANCH OF THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF SECRETARIES LECTURER IN SECRETARIAL WORK AND PRACTICE, CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMERCIAL COLLEGE LONDON SIR ISAAC PITMAN SONS, LTD. 1930 SIR ISAAC PITMAN SONS, LTD. PITMAN HOUSE, PARKER STREET, KINGSWAY, LONDON, W. C. 2 THE PITMAN PRESS, BATH PITMAN HOUHF, LITTLE COLLINS STREET, MELBOURNE ASSOCIATED COMPANIES PITMAN PUBLISHING CORPORATION 2 WKST 45TH STREET, NEW YORK 2O5 WEST MONKOE STREET, CHICAGO SIR ISAAC PITMAN SONS CANADA, LTD. INCORPORATING THE COMMERCIAL TEXT BOOK COMPANY PITMAN HOUSE, . Sl-jSj CHURCH STREET, TORONTO MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE PITMAN PRESS, BATH C9 B. 342 PREFACE THIS book has been written in an endeavour to deal from a practical standpoint with the day-to day problems which arise in the life of the man who is called upon to organize and control the commercial side of an industrial company of medium size not so large, on the one hand, as to require a highly skilled specialist in charge of each department, nor so small, on the other hand, as to be capable of management by personal and visual methods without any formal or written systems worth mentioning. In writing it I have had in mind primarily the secretary who is called upon to act more or less officially as commercial manager of his company, and there are very many in medium-size concerns but I hope that it will be found equally helpful by business managers of other types, and also by students, many of whom have little opportunity of obtaining practical knowledge of commercial officeroutine. It may perhaps be thought that some of the questions dealt with are of a somewhat elementary character but in my experience it is just the neglect of detail of this description which often spoils the effective working of an otherwise sound scheme, and I have consequently tried to cover the minor points which are so frequently over looked when drawing up a general outline of office control. In order to concentrate on the practical aspect 6 PREFACE of the matter I have drawn most of the illustra tions from my own experience and from the industry in which I have been engaged for many years but the principles involved are equally applicable to most industrial concerns, and the methods indicated can be easily adapted to the requirements of any particular business. E. B. CONTENTS CHAP. rAOF PREFACE ..... 5 I. THE SECRETARY AS ORGANIZER ., 9 II. CORRESPONDENCE . . . - 13 III. ORGANIZATION OF CORRESPONDENCE . l8 IV. CORRESPONDENCE SECRETARIAL AND ESTIMATING DEPARTMENTS . . 22 V. FOLLOWING UP .... 33 VI. FILING ...... 38 VII. THE ORDER DEPARTMENT . . - 45 VIII. DISPATCHING AND INVOICING . . 51 IX. THE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT . . 58 X. THE BUYING DEPARTMENT . . 72 XI. OUTSIDE REPRESENTATION . . 79 XII. ADVERTISING . . . . .89 XIII. WAGES AND COSTING . . .96 XIV. INSURANCE ..... 107 XV. LABOUR-SAVING DEVICES . . . Il6 XVI. STAFF RELATIONS .... 128 XVII. BOARD MEETINGS .... 138 XVIII. GENERAL MEETINGS .... 145 INDEX ...... 153 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CHAPTER I THE SECRETARY AS ORGANIZER THE subject of Business Management is of great importance to those who have to deal with the administration of manufacturing undertakings and in this work an endeavour is made to outline practicalmethods and suggestions for handling effectively some of the thousand and one questions of detail which arise from day to day in commercial offices...