The document provides details of a student's school-based assessment project on office orientation and procurement and inventory management. It includes sections on the aims of the assessment, functions of the department studied, methodology used including questionnaires and interviews, findings from the research, and the impact of office equipment. The key findings were that the business studied operates primarily in an open-plan office layout and employees reported having a generally good relationship with their coworkers. The research showed the importance of the office orientation and procurement department in improving the business's growth, services, and efficiency.

1. CARIBBEAN EXAMINATION COUNCIL
SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA)
YEAR OF EXAMINATION:
2015
SUBJECT:
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION
CANDIDATE NUMBER:
CANDIDATE NAME:
KHIMRAN SURJAN
TITLE OF PROJECT:
OFFICE ORIENTATION AND PROCUREMENT AND
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
NAME OF TEACHER:
MRS. STACY RAMPARAS
SBA SCORE:

3. Name/ Title Page
Criteria 1 - Preparation
 Title of Project
 Aim of This Assessment
 Functions of the Department
 Correspondence
3
4
5
6
Criteria 2 - Gathering Data
 Questionnaire
 Methodology
 Questions Asked to Business Personnel
 Schedule of Activities
 Regulations and Policies
7-9
10
11
12-13
14
Criteria 3 - Presentation
 Report
 Impact of Office Equipment
 Bibliography
15-17
18
19

4. Title
Office Orientation and Procurement and Inventory Management

5. The Aims of This Assessment
1) Is to investigate and find out what the types of office layout are and what equipments are
used in the office orientation and procurement and inventory management department.
2) Also is to find out the role and functions of the procurement department.

6. Functions of the Department
Office Orientation and Procurement and Inventory Management department typically handles a
variety of tasks.
The two (2) functions are:
1) The office layout is the environment in which employees work and determines the way in
which resources will be placed in the given space.
2) To ensure the supply and delivery of quality goods and materials required in the business,
at the best price, which includes the purchase of office equipment, stationary and all other
supplies need for the efficient running of the business.

7. Correspondence
#160 Tasker Avenue,
Cashew Gardens,
Chaguanas
The Manager
Lubetech Sales and Services Ltd
Trinidad
February 21, 2015
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I am writing this letter requesting permission to conduct a research on your business, in
order to complete my school base assessment (S.B.A), so that I can receive a satisfactory grade
in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
I will be sitting the Office Administration exam in June, 2015, which requires me to
complete a school based assessment on a topic named “Office Orientation and Procurement and
Inventory Management.”
My wish is to issue questionnaires, interview employees and observe them at work in the
business. All information that is received at Lubetech Sales and Services Ltd will be kept
confidential. You may contact me at Khimmy96@live.com or +1 868-689-3029.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
_______________
Khimran Surjan

8. Questionnaire
1) What are the responsibilities of the procurement and stock control office?
Buying new materials that are inputs into the production process.
Keeping track of the amount of stock on hand.
Maintaining a comprehensive list of suppliers.
All of the above.
2) What are the objectives of this business?
To create goods and services that will satisfy the desires of consumers.
To invest in materials and acquire resources.
To rip of your customers.
3) Why do you collect, process and disseminate information?
To ensure that customers are getting what they want.
To choose current and potential customers that you may want from the business.
To make the business profitable.
All of the above.
4) Why do you preserve information?
To keep a record of the day-to-day goings in the business.
To analyse the market in which it operates.
For compliance with the law.
It is just a habit of keeping both wanted and unwanted information.
5) How does one go about preserving information?
Storing it on hard copy files.
Backing up the information on computer servers.
Saving it to your mobile phone.
You do not know how it is done.
6) What is the role of the filing clerk?
To preserve information.
To categorize the information properly to make it easy for retrieval at a later date.
To bring coffee for the manager.
To answer the telephone at the front desk.
7) What type of office layout do you work in?
The cellular office.
The open-plan office.
Virtual office.
Cubicle type.

9. 8) What & how often are the types of equipment used in your office?
Paper cutter
Shredder
Computer
Printer
______________________________________________
9) When an applicant applies for a job at the clerical position, what requirements/ skills are
required of that person?
He or she must have effective communication skills.
Computer literacy certificate.
Literacy and numeracy skills.
Analytical, problem solving skills.
10) What are the objectives of the procurement department?
To ensure the supply and delivery of quality goods and materials required.
Liaise with other department closely.
Operation a switch board.
Preparation of the payroll.
11) What are the duties of the purchasing clerk?
To prepare and process requisitions.
To file the purchase records.
Maintain the stock records.
All of the above.
12) What attributes must a procurement clerk have?
Integrity
Honesty
Dishonesty
Sly
13) What are the procedures of the procurement office?
To consult a catalogue and price list before purchasing.
Complete an application form.
Prepare simple documents in the accounts office.
Issue tenders.
14) What documents are used in the procurement department?
Requisition form.
Payroll
Supply inventory documents.
No documents used.

10. 15) Is inventory management important in the business?
Yes
No
16) How is stock records maintained?
By preparing stock card/bin card.
Re-order level.
Receipts
All of the above.
17) How is the relationship among you and your co-workers?
Good
Bad
Do not get along well with each other.
Work in progress.
18) Are there any regulations and policies governing the office orientation and procurement
and inventory management department in the business?
Yes
No
19) Are there any health and safety policies implemented in the business?
Yes
No
20) Do the workers of your office follow the staff rules?
Yes
No
No all the time.

11. Methodology
As the source of primary data, questionnaire and interview sessions were conducted.
Questionnaire
Fifty (50) questionnaires were handed out, and ten (10) days was given to each person to
complete the questionnaire, ensuring that each person received sufficient time to complete it.
This method was used because the questionnaire is more time efficient because respondents can
complete the questions in their own time. Also more information will be obtained from the
questionnaires because respondents tend to be nervous in interviews.
Interview
The interviews took 10-15 minutes and the total amount of questions that was asked was
five (5). This method was used because it gives immediate feedback and more in-depth
information will be collected. It is also a convenient way of oral communication which is useful
for individual discussions.

12. Questions Asked to Business Personnel
Five (5) questions asked to the business personnel are:
1) What are some of the responsibilities of a purchasing clerk?
2) What are the procedures of the procurement office?
3) Are the equipments of your office contributing maximum efficiency to the business?
4) What are some of the equipment’s used for within this office?
5) Why is it necessary for the offices to be designed in such a particular way?

13. Schedule of Activities
Date Activities Comments
September 9, 2014 Visited the business place to see if it
would be a good choice for my
research
Explored the place a bit, found
it to be a good choice
September 10, 2014 Went to the business place to ask
permission to conductthe research
Supervisor approved
September 12, 2014 Emailed a letter of correspondence
to the supervisor
Supervisor replied and said
that the investigation can be
done
September 16, 2014 Called the business to find out which
date the investigation can be
commenced
Supervisor said it can be
conducted at any time next
week
September 19, 2014 Conducta telephone interview with
the manager
Proceedings was successful
September 23, 2014 Went to the business and issued
questionnaires
Said that they will answer them
after working hours
September 23, 2014 Interviewed personnel Important information was
gathered
September 26, 2014 Observed personnel service Information gathered on
September 23 was confirmed
September 26, 2014 Observed business activities Various activities were well
observed

14. September 26, 2014 Questioned the manager about the
rules, regulations and policies of the
business
Important information was
gathered
October2, 2014 Went to the business place to collect
questionnaires
It went smooth, there was no
delay
October2, 2014 Was requested by the manager of the
business
Manager thanked me for
choosing their business as the
site of research and wished me
luck with my S.B.A

15. Regulations and Policies Governing the
Business
In any business there are rules and regulations governing the business, workers, visitors,
its activities and its consumers. The following are the rules and regulations governing this
business:
Legislation
 VAT registration posted in sales office
Awareness of legislation given
 The researcher became aware of this legislation because there was a framed certificate on
the wall inside the business.
Health and safety
 No smoking areas, speed limit signs, fire extinguishers, exist clearly marked and
evacuation plans posted.
Staff rule
 One must knock before entering.

16. Report
The business I researched is Lubetech Sales and Services Ltd. They produce many
different products for a variety of different branches. The reason why this business was chosen
for this topic is that it has improved since upgrading its infrastructure and hiring more skilled and
qualified workers. Over the past two (2) to three (3) years this business has introduced the office
orientation and procurement and inventory management department within its business
operation. This has led to a restructure of its physical layout and its daily transaction routines.
The investigation that was carried out showed that the introduction of the office
orientation and procurement and inventory management department plays a very important role
in any organization. The research showed that the growth, services, preparation of documents
and production process of the business has improved drastically since the office orientation and
procurement and inventory management department. From the observation made, this has shown
that the business is much more efficient, being that the manager and the few employees doesn’t
have to maintain all business transactions by themselves which led to more business control.
Findings
Q7 from questionnaire: What type of office layout do you work in?
Figure 1
Cellular Office
50%
Open-Plan Office
35%
Virtual Office
12%
Cubicle Type
3%
What Type of Office Layout do you work in?

17. Q17: How is the relationship between you and your co-workers?
Figure 2
Q8: How often are the types of equipment used in your office?
Figure 3
Good
64%
Bad
20%
Don't get along
6%
Work in progress
10%
How Is The Relationship BetweenYou and Your Co-
Workers?
0
10
20
30
40
Paper Cutter Shredder Computer Printer
3 4
35
8
How Often Are The Types Of Equipment Used In
Your Office?
Paper Cutter
Shredder
Computer
Printer

18. Figure 4
Limitations
The major problem that was faced in the completion of this research is the scheduling of
activities. Due to the fact that business place is very busy and the manger didn’t have time to allow me to
do these interviews; the collection of data process was very difficult. A schedule time table was made
before the manger confirmed, thus it wasn’t a convenient time table.
Recommendations
My recommendation to solve the problem is by requesting a meeting with the manager of the
business and discussing a way of getting the interviews done. I recommend that you agree upon a
convenient time for the interviews to take place so the SBA can be completed in time.
3 Years Ago
2 Years Ago
Last Year
Present Year
7 8 10
25
Since You Hired A Purchasing Clerk, By How
Much Did Your Business Grow?

19. Impact of Office Equipment
Dates Equipment
used
Purpose of
Equipment
Suitability for
Tasks
September 26, 2014 Computer Used for keeping
records of operational
business activities
It allows for
electronic stock
taking and reduces
time spent to apply it
manually
September 26, 2014 Facsimile (Fax)
machine
Used to facilitate the
transmission of copying
documents
It reduces the
problems of postal
services
September 26, 2014 Printer ( All in one) A single machine used
to copy, scan and print
documents
It is a wise economic
decision since the
equipment saves
office space, time and
money
September 26, 2014 Shredder A very useful piece of
equipment that literally
shreds paper into
narrow strips
It reduces storage
spaceand protect
from ‘identity theft’

20. Personnel’s Interviewed
Name Date Place Job Title
Adam Ali 23/09/14 Business place Filing clerk
Hassan Abdool 23/09/14 Community Purchasing clerk
Ryan Ragbir 26/09/14 Business place Manager
Telephone Interviewed
Name Date Place Job Title
Ryan Ragbir 19/09/14 Business place Manager
The following book was used as a foundation for my research:
 Longman Office Administration for CSEC® 2nd edition by S. Finisterre, L. Payne and J.
Reid.