Recently, there have been some resentment shown by some organizations as a result of the disappointment that they encountered while interviewing people who are supposed to have been trained as secretaries. It is also an experience that is becoming common or rather already common with students dispatched for their industrial training scheme. But we know that a large part of this problem can be traced back to the lack of adequate secretarial training facilities in our higher institutions. It is not a hidden truth that most of our higher institutions are not what they ought to be in the sense that they lack the variety of equipment they need to up to – date models of the equipment they need.
No doubt, this lack has affected the production of secretaries that is why this project work wants to look at these shortcomings their effects and people reaction to them. Now, when we talk about producing a secretary, a is different from a typist. If we are going to produce a secretary, the facilities or equipment required will be very much different and advanced than that required to produce a typist. It is, however unfortunate today that if one goes to some of our institutions of higher learning, he will discover that the totality of the facilities left to the disposal of the or the students look more like than it looks likes that of secretaries. A secretary is an executive assistant who possess a mastery of office skills, who demonstrate the ability to assume responsibilities without direct supervision, who exercises initiative and judgement and who make decision within the scope of assigned authority –NATIONAL SECRETARIES ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL.
It when we have a knowledge of who the secretary is that we can assess the type of training. The secretary needs a good knowledge of general education, good knowledge of short hand, typewriting, office practice and administration, business law, law and practice of meeting, human resources management, accounting, data processing, industrial psychology, human relations, economies and a foreign language. For shorthand, the students need good shorthand laboratories equipped with ear phones cassette players and recorder etc. for typewriting, they need good and modern typewriters ranging horn manual typewriters, electron/electronic typewriters to computers. This is to mention but a few looking at all the facilities needed for effective secretarial training without which you cannot produce a secretary.
The students don’t need to hear about office equipment with their ears only but need to know how to operate them practically in view of the fact that the secretarial profession is a practical one. For more emphasis, if we re talking about filing, the students must have been able to file documents. By definition some students don’t known how these equipments look like until they meet them in the organization they find themselves out there in the labour market; and what do you think, the effects will be numerous. When students don’t know what to do, they do what they know. With the consistent standard of the various examination bodies like the National University Council (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the students seek means of maneuvering their ways to pass. More of the after mart includes unemployment, incompetence, termination of appointments, loss of confidence, loss of reputation for certificate etc. It is therefore the believe of the researcher that this research work will enlighten, educate as well as serve as a role model for production of first class secretaries from our universities and polytechnics.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This research which will be carried out in the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu in 2002/2004 will study the effects of lack of adequate secretarial training facilities an the production of secretaries. The problems are quiet enormous. The secretary produced will be half backed, in competent, inefficient and ineffective. With the increasing miniaturization in information technology which is increasingly being employed by most organization, secretary that was trained with out-dated facilities will non be able to she will be both stranded and frustrated finding herself in a completely electronic office.
The co-ordinations of the various activities are and information of the organization, which forms a large part of the secretaries’ responsibility, is central to the profitability of the organization. This failing will mean the business /organization failing. Operating with the knowledge of out dated equipments have made her also outdated because she will be lagging behind in processing organizational information marking her inefficient and ineffective. The consequence of the above will be firing of the said secretary thus leaving him/her unemployed. Many to these graduates who have suffered the some fate in higher institutions will be bounced at the pre-employment interview which will make the unemployment problem more severe.
The above will in turn study tells on our society will suffer some social vices without results from idleness, the idleness of the unemployed. The society reposed some confidence in the organization but when the organization cannot deliver because the secretary cannot deliver, these is loss f confidence in the organization and the business is bound to loose its customer to competing firms. The quality of education an individual acquires form part of his personality. But as long as modern information, communication and secretarial function is concerned, such ill-trained secretary has acquired half –baked knowledge. To carry out this study, secretarial staff and the Nigeria higher Institutions will be studied precisely those of IMT and data collected will be analyzed using percentages.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study is very essential because lack of adequate secretarial training facilities effect the quality of secretaries produce from our higher institutions and once it is so, the individual i.e. the secretary is already affects, secretaries are going to work and then also affect the economy and society in general. This is so because of the enormous taste the secretary performs, it is that will is central to the progress of the organization and the contributions of the various organizations in the society forms a large part if not the totality of the economy. And if people go to spend years in the universities and come out to become unemployed because they don’t know the job, obviously idleness will degenerate to various social vices. On the other the society will better if we have meaningful, responsible, educated and well trained secretaries. There will be less unemployment and reduced social vices.
Furthermore, the society which deals will the organizations can actually have good confidence in the service the organization renders. The motto of the University of Nigeria is “to restore the dignity of man”. The institution believes in restoring the dignity of man through the rigorous discipline of the academia. So implementing this study will mean better citizen and better secretaries, all thing things being equal. To the organizations, its aims and objectives will met and this will mean increase turn over for such organizations. The same thing applies to the economy.
The purpose drain of this study is as follows: -
1. To find out the required adequate secretaries training facilities for students of higher institution.
2. To uncover the lack of adequate secretarial training facilities by institutions of higher learning.
3. To points out the importance or role of these facilities in production of secretaries.
4. To find out the effect the lack of these facilities have on our students today.
5. To make recommendations on the production of secretaries through the provision of adequate secretarial training facilities and to draw conclusion.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study will be limited to the department of secretarial studies in the Institute of Management and Technology, (IMT), Enugu. And the results will be used to relate to other secretarial training institutes not only nationally but also globally. Since the facilities need to produce a secretary here is the same facility needed to produce a secretary anywhere in the world and lack of such facilities will produce similar effect any where in the world.
1.5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This study may be limited due to time factor considering the workload one needs to contend with at this level in one’s academic carried. Other factors like availability of money and accessibility to every other secretarial training institute may also limit the study.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following terms used in this study should be taken to mean:
Adequate: Satisfactory in quantity or quality
Secretarial training: The process of teaching or preparing someone to become a secretary.
Facilities: Prices of equipments and systems used to prepare people as secretaries.
Production: the action of manufacturing or growing of things or people for a particular purpose
Effects: Results or outcome
Incompetent: Not having or slowing the necessary skills or qualification to do something successfully.
Inefficient: The failure of an individual or organization to make the best use of the available time and researches
Invective: Not producing the required effect or result;
Productive: The measure of the ability of an individual of organization to make good use of available resources in relation to the amount produced.
Skill: The ability, experience and knowledge to be able to do something well.
Fatigue: A feeling of being extremely tired, usually because of hard work.
Telephone Technique: A system of talking to someone else perhaps over a long distance using wires and radios.
A Partner card: Is a data processing card on which on single microfilm frame can be mounted.
Microfiche (pronounced microfiche): Is a transparent sheet of film containing multiple rows of micro images.
Microform: The format is which microfilm is stored.
Microfilm: A photographic film used to record documents, prohibited pages, drawing etc in a reduced size.
Switchboard: The central part of a telephone system used by an organization. It also a place where telephone calls are answered and connected to the appropriate person or departments.
Film/film strip: A thin plastic that is sensitive to light used in photographs or storage of information
Over-head projector: A piece of equipment that projects an image onto wall or screen so that many people can see.
Automation: This is a term used to describe to human labour and a maximum of continuous self-regulating machinery.(Agbo 2003).
1.7 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
HI Lack of adequate secretarial training facilities has adverse effect on secretaries’ productivity.
H0 Many of our higher institutions do not have adequate secretarial training facilities.
HI Many secretarial graduates are half-baked
HI The effect of this lack is transferred to business organization, society and economy.
1.8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Does lack of adequate secretarial training facilities have an adverse effect on the quality of secretaries’ produce?
2. Do you think that most of our higher institution lack adequate secretarial training facilities?
3. Do you think that many students who graduate are half –baked?
4. Does the lack of adequate secretarial training facilities in any way affect business organizations, the society or the economy?
1.9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is very significant in view of the role of the secretary in modern business coupled with the stage of our institutions of higher learning as regards training facilities most especially the secretarial studies department
This project will therefore reveal the state of poor state of the Nigeria secretarial training institutions as well as the facilities housed in the departments. We will also discover some of the effects we many not have thought will ge the consequence of the lack of adequate secretarial training facilities. Furthermore this project will help the government and the school authorities to be aware of the significance. Above and also almost all the equipment if not all that makes for “adequate secretarial training facilities so to be able to restock the departments of secretarial studies in all institution of higher learning.
