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ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to find out the role of secretarial profession in modern day business organization. Modern day business organizations have come to appreciate the role and importance of secretarial profession. The role of secretarial profession are the different functions performed by professional secretaries while the modern day business organization is an organization characterizes by increase expansion in organization line of business brought about by technological innovations with keen competition in the dynamic environment. The secretary is an executive assistant who posse a mastery of office skills, demonstrate the ability to assume responsibilities with or without superior, exercise initiatives and judgment and make decision within the scope of her assigned authority. The instrument used in collecting data for the study is the questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of twenty (20) question items, which were submitted to the project supervisor who corrected and approved it before administration. The population of the study consists of seventy (70) secretaries out of which, sixty five (65) were used as sample for the study and the data were analyzed using simple percentage. The major findings of the study are: who the secretary is, types and categories of secretary, roles the secretary play in modern day business organization Personal skills and ethical standards required of the secretary for effective performance of her job, problems encountered by the secretary and way out of the problems. Based on the above findings, it is recommended that the secretary should plan her duties effectively, go for self-development were necessary, display appropriate behavior, and abide by the professional ethics of her profession.
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv
TABLE OF CONTENT v
LIST OF TABLES vii
ABSTRACT viii
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1
1.2STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 4
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 4
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 5
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 5
1.6 COPE OF THE STUDY 6
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS 6
CHAPTER TWO 8
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 8
2.1INTRODUCTION 8
2.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK 9
SECRETARY 9
PROFESSION 10
MODERN DAY BUSINESS ORGANIZATION 10
2.3THEORITICAL FRAME WORK 10
2.4THEORITICAL STUDIES 10
THE SECRETARY 11
CATEGORIES OF SECRETARIES 11
TYPES OF SECRETARIES 15
ROLES THE SECRETARY PLAYS IN MODERN DAY BUSINESS ORGANIZATION 18
SKILLS AND ETHICAL STANDARDS REQUIRED OF THE SECRETARY FOR EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF HER JOB 20
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY THE SECRETARY IN CARRYING OUT HER JOB 24
WAYS OUT OF THE PROBLEMS MENTIONED 30
2.5RELATED EMPIRICAL STUDIES 36
2.6SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW 38
CHAPTER THREE 39
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 39
3.1 INTRODUCTION 39
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 39
3.3 SOURCES OF DATA 39
3.3.1 PRIMARY SOURCE OF DATA 40
3.3.2 SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA 40
3.4 POPULATION OF THE STUDY 40
3.5 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 40
3.6 SAMPLE SIZE 41
3.7 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION 41
3.8 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS 42
3.9 VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 43
3.10 RELIABILITY OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 43
CHAPTER FOUR 44
DATA PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION 44
4.1 INTRODUCTION 44
4.2 RESEARCH QUESTION ONE 44
4.3 RESEARCH QUESTION TWO: 45
4.4 RESEARCH QUESTION THREE: 46
4.5 RESEARCH QUESTION FOUR: 48
4.6 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 49
CHAPTER FIVE 51
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 51
5.1 INTRODUCTION 51
5.3 CONCLUSION 51
5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS 52
5.5 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 53
5.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 53
REFERENCES 54
APPENDIX A 56
APPENDIX B 57
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Several changes have taken place in private and public offices as regard the roles of the secretarial profession in modern day business organizations. The type of machines and gadgets that were used to produce, duplicate and store information have undergone a great transformation to cope with the fast growing world of technology.
The success of any organization relies much on the secretary whose role, though supportive, is critical to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. In today’s organizations, one of the things that make organizations unique is the use of modern technological gadgets. Both internal and external forces such as market competition, consumer behavior, technology and quality management are the drivers of organizational change. In today’s business world, every organization in this modern day requires fasts and accurate information for quick decision making (Akpomi and Ordu, 2009).
In Modern day business organization, the role of the secretary is crucial in the life or progress of the organization hence, the needs for some technological and human backing from the work place.
The word “secretary” has been defined variously by different authors and employers. Onifade (2004) defined a secretary as “An assistant to an executive, possessing mastery of office skills and ability, assumes responsibility without direct supervision, whodisplays initiative, exercises judgment, and makes decisions within the scope of her authority.” A secretary is the person who performs the myriad of daily chores that nibble away at an executive’s time. A secretary as the principal administrative supports position in an office increases the effectiveness of program staff by coordinating the day-to-day administrative support activities required to accomplish the work of the organization.” Moreover, Mayer (1997) also defined a secretary as an executive assistant, who possess a mastery of office skills, demonstrate the ability to assume responsibilities with or without superior, exercise initiatives and judgment and make decision within the scope of her assigned authority.
The effective performance of the Professional Secretary depends upon the office equipment, knowledge and skills, of Professional Secretary. The skill level and functioning of the traditional secretary involve greater physical and mental ability. The introduction of modern technologies and programs has lessened the onerous tasks for the modern secretary. These range from production, reproduction, storage and retrieval among others. With this advancement of technology, the use of the computer and software programs facilitates the work of the professional secretary. These include the use of machines such as printer, fax, pen drive, cell phones, photo copier, telex and internet. These requisite knowledge and skills make the position of the secretary rather challenging. With the improvement in technology and recent development in office, it is envisaged that the work of the secretary will be easier.
However, these new developments brought by technological challenges require even more knowledge and skills beyond being a professional secretary. For the secretary to be abreast with the changing times, face the challenges and overcome the old ways of doing things she needs training requirements in recent times to help meet organizational objectives. Information technology has affected many professions in recent times. The roles of secretarial professionals in the organization have been turned around by technology. It has provided the tools that shift the role of secretaries from that of information recorders to business strategists (Adedoyin, 2010; Appah and Emeh, 2011 and Jaiyeola, 2007). Several other authors are of the view that the secretary has to be well equipped to meet the present challenges of this modern day business organization.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Cognizant of the technical nature of the office in this modern day business organization brought about by technological innovations, it is pertinent to investigate the role that secretarial occupation play in the organization.
The problem of the study therefore, is to find out the role of secretarial profession in modern day business organization.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to research into the role of secretarial profession in modern day business organization.
The specific objectives are:
- To examine out the roles the secretary plays in modern day business organization.
- To examine the types and categories of secretaries.
- To examine the personal skills and ethical standards required of the secretary for effective performance of her job.
- To determine the possible problems encountered by the secretary in carrying out her job.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will increase the secretary’s knowledge of how indispensable her job is to the organization and the need for continuous self-development.
The study will also educate the secretary on how she can effectively perform her duties, possible problem she can encounter and the way out of the problems.
The study will also be of immense benefit to the student who would research on similar topic.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions will be answered in the study:
- What are the roles of the secretary in modern day business organization?
- What are the types and categories of secretaries?
- What are the skills and ethical standards requires of the secretary?
- What are the recommendations on ways to overcome the problems encountered by the secretary in carrying out her duties?
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is aimed at the role of secretarial profession in modern day business organization in some selected industries and organizations in Rivers State.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Modern day business organization:
Executive: A manager or director that takes part in the management function or planning work environment, activating workers and controlling standards.
An organization characterized by increased expansion in the organization line of business brought about by technological innovations with keen competitions in the dynamic environment.
Organization: A situation whereby individuals from different background and religious believes come together to give services for profit or non-profit achievement in order to set goals.
Profession: A vocation founded on specialized educational training; Anoccupation requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.
Secretary: An executive assistance who poses a master of office skills, demonstrates the ability to assume responsibilities with or without supervision, exercises initiatives and judgment and makes decision with the scope of assigned authority (Mayer, 1977).
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