Expression in Architecture in Our Accounting Offices

Running head; Expression in Architecture

Expression in Architecture

Expression in Architecture
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Architecture is an art or skill that involves planning, constructing and designing buildings. No matter which field of study one is pursuing, architecture plays a big role on the day to day activities of every student. Architecture and accounting go hand in hand, and they are not as complicated as initially thought to be. Understanding the fundamentals of any firm will involve knowing every manager and the levels at which every employee comes in. With this knowledge architecture plays a role in giving an overview of which account manager should be where and how the rest of the accounting staff should be positioned regarding workstations. The perfect setting for this study will be at our accounting offices, whereby the architecture designers put a lot of skill into improving the office, furniture, the hallways, and workstations.
The first element of architecture that applies to our offices is regarding behavioral facilitation. The offices environment has all the components necessary to make my accounting work easier. For instance, our offices are set up with the appropriate furniture such as chairs, office desks, bookcases and reception furniture. There are standing desks in the conference rooms. The importance of the standing chairs is to ensure that whenever the firm has a staff meeting people are active, and they don’t sit and get comfortable. When using these standing chairs, you are less likely to take a lot of time as compared to when staff members have to come in, sit and get comfortable then start doing other things unrelated to the meeting which will lead to the meeting taking longer and less productivity in the office. These chairs also have health benefits such as burning more calories when standing rather than sitting. Bookshelves are also strategically aligned on the far end of the office to hold reference materials and other accounting books. There are stands for computers and the VoIP phones that are on each employee’s desk. The VoIP phones are conveniently placed on the right or left-hand side of each employee’s desk so as to leave usable space for each employee to access their computers.
Regarding spatial conformance, our accounting offices are spacious since all bookshelves are placed on the far end of the room. The conference room is right next to the general work area so as to limit movement whenever there is a meeting. Office phones are set up right next to each employee so as to limit movements in the office. Each employee has a desk locker right beside their workstation where they can place all the necessary files and equipment such as a calculator. The hallways and corridors leading to the conference room and the kitchen are convergent to each other, and the space between each workstation is sufficient for movement. This is to ensure that when an employee needs to move, they don’t have to make the rest of the workers in that whole row to stand for them to pass.
When the temperatures change, there is bound to be a physiological maintenance plan to ensure employees are comfortable. Our accounting offices are no exception, but architecture played a primary role in ensuring this problem of climate change does not always have to affect our work. Our offices are covered with double-glazed windows that have a clear glass to allow high transfers of energy in or out of the office, but here is the catch, these windows can regulate heat loss or heat gain in any climate condition. Employees do not have to work about the weather being too hot or too cold. These windows keep the internal temperature of the office stable and produce adequate light as they are transparent.
Considering how well and high the desks are designed, all electrical cables are well packed into a patch panel where all electricity and Ethernet cables are installed. There is a large cabinet right above the kitchen window which has a switch and a router which are used to supply the internet to the office. With a small patch panel passing near the ceiling board then terminating right under the left corner of the office, there is not a possibility of anyone stepping over an electricity wire or internet cable. Even with these measures, the company has a hazard regulation protocol whereby there is a fire extinguisher right next to the employee lockers which are right along the corridor to the washrooms, and there is another one in the kitchen. The file cabinets are a few meters from the floor and are aligned across so as to avoid water contamination in case of floods. There is also a fire escape ladder for each two windows to ensure that one can successfully get away from the fire. These regulations are there to ensure all employees safety is guaranteed in case of any outbreak of an electrical malfunction or leaking pipes.
In perceptual maintenance, the firm’s design provides various sensory functions such as less or more lighting whenever necessary. An office can be very demanding when it comes to lighting since good lighting equals to maximum productivity. Perfect office lighting should ensure that there is enough illumination for people to perform all tasks at the same time. Poor lighting can contribute to eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, stiff necks and shoulder aches resulting from the straining. To avoid these, our accounting offices have sufficient light coming from the double-glazed windows and have no shadows. At night, we use light with extreme contrast and limited glare so as to produce the right type of light. When choosing the right type of lighting, computers are a significant challenge since they already have their own light. In our offices, one requires the computer as well as paper files which are used to store data manually. Since the monitor has its own light, we use a desk lamp so as to ensure no excess light is emitted. Adjusting the monitor brightness to your preference and placing the monitor at an angle that does not strain your neck or shoulder is an essential element in managing better lighting and less eye irritation or problems.
Sensory conformance in the office is to allow the perceptual environment to have a stimulus patterning. The work environment can either increase of decrease perceptual complexity. With proper lighting, the level of processing a visual image or a graph will be in the results of the analysis. An increases perceptual complexity gives you the ability to determine a 3-D reconstruction, motion analysis or even appearance of an aspect when faced with natural lighting and theatrical lighting. Use of anti-glare screens of computer monitors will enhance the quality of any image and increase the perceptual complexity. Another better way to control lighting is by better lighting design and positioning of the monitor. Stretching frequently and taking your eyes off the calculations on the screen and a little bit to the papers work will also help avoid eye problems.
The offices are also designed in such a way that employees can socialize when they are taking a break from work. Social initiation is established through the availability of an open rooftop which is secured and has wooden chairs. The rooftop is accessible to all employees during particular periods of the day so as to ensure performance as well as socializing. Socializing in a firm is important as it gives people a chance to get to know things about their workmates and even share techniques to improve their performance at work. During parties, all departments including the accounting team gather on the roof as it is spacious enough to hold all employees in the company. The only downside the roof being open is that in the case of heavy rains one cannot access them as it is dangerous and not comfortable. The chairs placed all round on the corners of the roof give room for one to sit and take a break from work. For instance, we have employees who love a particular corner of the rooftop as it has a breath-taking view of the city.
Apart from the social areas, each employee has their own workstation separated by a thick, tall wooden board. The board is tall enough to give one his or her privacy whenever he or she is working on their workstation. Privacy is important in any work environment as it is an essential tool for better performance. If your neighbor has to keep spying on what you’re doing on your screen or looking at your email, then there will be conflicts with employees. Conflict at work will result in poor performance; that is why each employee has their own workstation with a locker, desk phone, computers and files so as to avoid stepping into someone else’s private space. The only challenge with our offices is that if the person next to you turns around, they can be able to see what you’re doing. As much as privacy is important transparency is important too. Transparency will enable employees not to perform other activities while working.
In conclusion, architecture plays a vital role in the field of accounting. Proper architecture ensures that bookshelves, cabinet, desks, chairs and other office furniture are set and positioned in a way that is both productive and does not endanger one’s health. It also designs offices in such a way that there’s enough spacing between employees to give them privacy as well as better working conditions. Regarding climate change, a good architect will ensure you have the correct type of windows that correspond to any climate condition. High or low temperatures can affect work productivity. Therefore, ventilation is necessary. With proper lighting, our offices can operate up to late hours of the night without worrying about straining of the shoulders or the neck. Hazard regulations are also put in place to prevent loss of life and loss of important office documents. The social setting of the rooftop provides room for employees to stretch and take a break from work especially in a field like accounting which has constant calculations. Architecture is a key to better office designs, office planning, office management as work productivity.