THE PROSPECTS OF SECRETARIES IN OFFICE ADMINISTERATION AND MANAGEMENT

(A CASE STUDY OF I.M.T ENUGU)

ABSTRACT

This area of the research is to acquaint the reader on the prospects of secretaries in the office researches in office administration and management. It is the research conviction that neglect of these prospects possesses are the mirror in which the office uses to seen, this is as a result of what they play in an organization.

However, the research tries to x-ray the prospects of secretaries in office administration and management.

Further more, a rundown of what the researcher have in the study are;

Chapter one- this is where the background of the study, statement of problem purpose of study scope of study, research question and significance of the study was elaborated.

Chapter two – This has to do with literature review where authors gave their view of the secretary the following are there in Types of secretaries the role of secretaries secretaries, prospects and characteristics problems of secretaries prospects of secretaries and summary of related literature review.

Chapter three- it has to do with research methodology applied by the researcher which includes, Deign, Area of study, population, sample, instrument, Reliability and method of data collection and analysis.

Chapter four- It has do with Data presentation and results, How data was analyzed.

Chapter five –This chapter contains Discussion of Results conclusion, Recommendation, implication, suggestion for further study and lastly limitation of the study. 

  CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The prospects of secretaries have been giving a lot of concerns to intending student of secretarial administration and many other  segments of the society especially those in secretarial field.

The word secretary coined from  letin word secretes’ which  literally means a secret; this definition shows more or one of the function of secretary. (Okafor 1987).

Prospect on the other hand according to Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary of the English Language is defined as the chances of being successful.

Harding (1988) define secretary as someone holding a very responsible position with in an organization, who provide a full range of management support which cells upon variety of skills and ability that would  not be pre-requisites of office generally.

Horny (1996) also defines a secretary as an employee in office who deals with correspondence keeps records, makes arrangement and appointment for a particular member of staff.

Ofuru (1997) sees secretaries as the image makers, who combine both official and one-official duties for  overall success of their bosses as well as the organization where the work.

The   American secretarial Association  defines a secretary in the most acceptable way as an assistant to an executive, possessing mastery of office skills and ability to assume responsibility initiative, exercise judgement and makes decision with in the scope of his authority.

With the above definitions, in mind one can easily seen the need  for a secretary in any organization or institution be it secondary or tertiary can not be over emphasized.

A secretary is a major comminuting link between the executive and his association the office staff and the public. He/she  is the life wire of that organization.

As a result of this important linking  position, a secretary can display vital roles in helping to create and maintain the smooth running of business organization 

For a secretary to perform his/her to undergone some educational studies and obtain the basic office knowledge  and skills Days  are gone when any person that works in an office is being regarded as a secretary.

However, for one to quality as a secretary one must have taken courses in shorthand, typewriting, office practice and secretarial duties and must be computer literate for easy adaptation in morden office challenges.   

A close look at some selected higher institution like the institute of management and technology Enugu, Federal polytechnic Oko, Anambra state, federal college of Education current problems and  prospects of secretaries.

Some of these problems include the following:

1.     poor placement of their sartorial staff

2.     lack of good working environment

3.     Lack of modern office equipment like computers printers modern electric typewriter etc.

4.     Lack of attending external course or seminars or even in-house training.

5.     In a situation where the above mentioned facilities are lacking the advancement of  the secretaries both in academics and otherwise will be a mirage.

THE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT  AND TECHNOLOGY I.M.T ENUGU. 

The institute of management and technology Enugu was established in the year 1972 and was known ass institute of public Administration then east central state (ECS) . it was later re-named institute of management and Technology in 1976 by then old Anambra state Government. The institution is now owned by Enugu state government after the  creation of Enugu state form the old Anambra  state. A survey shows that the institution has produced many and famous professional who  have excelled in their endeavors.

Since its inception and it is still leading in academic in Nigeria as far as polytechnic education is concerned inspilt of all constraints 

Various higher institutions these days have realized and on their stressed on the impact of modern technology on their secretaries.

The service of secretaries are utilized by various organization and institutions. Secretaries work  directly with management of those organization as supporting staff and they help in realizing effectively the missios and objectives of the organizations.

In view of all these facts, the problems and prospects of  the secretaries in these higher institutions are critically investigated in this study.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The state of a secretary in the civil service has been a vexed issue for quite sometime. While some think of the secretary as a mere servant of the boss while others regard her as another boss.