CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Office Technology and Management Education is a component of education        that provides  knowledge and skills for would-be office managers/confidential secretaries to perform efficiently and effectively in the world of work. It also involves acquisition of skills, knowledge and competencies that make the recipient proficient in secretarial profession. According to Aliyu (2006), Office Technology and Management as a course is offered in Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and the Universities, primarily to educate and train students to become competent professional secretaries.

The Nigerian tertiary institutions that offer office technology and management face some challenges in a bid to provide the desired knowledge, skills and competencies to secretarial students in office technology and management systems. To date, many tertiary institutions that offer Office Technology and Management as a course do not have adequate computers and the internet facilities in their laboratories to provide the secretarial students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed in the advanced office technology and information systems. The secretarial students that graduate from the tertiary institutions especially the polytechnics do not have iota of fundamentals of information processing and computer literacy.

They do not possess the basic skills required to utilize computer operating system such as word processing, e-mail and the internet. Those who may boast of having to operate computer or can browse on the internet may have gone extra mile to learn from the ‘roadside’ computer centre’s or institutes.

Modem Office technology and information systems in very simple terms depict modern office machines used in office administration by secretarial administrators, clerical workers and managers for the purpose of increased productivity, efficient, effective service delivery and also improved management decision-making. According to McLeod and Jones (1987), modern office technology (office automation) is the application of electronic and electro-mechanical devices for the purpose of increasing productivity for workers. They further buttressed that modern office technology and information systems include general computers, special purpose office machines and communication equipment.

The computer which is the latest office technology is used by the office workers to create, store, retrieve and transmit business communications.         The computer is used for processing written communications by using various word processing software and hardware that are currently in use. The secretarial   administrators or managers use word processing to prepare written communications. In these instances, word processing is usually regarded as a means of communicating information from the manager to someone else. Word processing is also viewed as a corporate resource for building a strong intra firm communication network, facilitating the flow of information to the managers. Other office information systems include Electronic voice and voice mail, videotext, image storage and retrieval, facsimile transmission, electronic calendaring and tele-conferencing. According to Azuka (1998) office technology is a process by which machines and equipment are introduced in an office with a view to facilitating the administrative process. Egbokhan (2000) stated that Office technology entails the use of machines with appropriate skills and techniques to make job easier in the office.

Previously, the requirement for office technology and management student and the career structure of a secretary in the public sector in Nigeria stresses shorthand/typewriting speeds, though the new Office Technology and Management syllabus has brought reforms which replaced shorthand/typewriting with computing. Despite the huge academic and ICT- based content of the new Office Technology and Management (OTM) syllabus, the government is yet to incorporate such reforms in the civil service career structure for secretaries. This therefore, causes frustration on the students and even the office manager.

The secretarial profession in Nigeria has no vibrant professional body collaborating with both federal/state ministries of establishment to introduce new career structure for secretaries to improve their productivity. The current effort by the institute of Certified Secretaries and Reporters of Nigeria (ICSR) to seek legislative backing has not paid off. Consequently, there is no professionally recognized secretarial body in Nigeria collaborating with the federal/state ministries of establishment to redesign the secretarial career structure and develop the professional content for secretaries. This situation causes low morale among students and declining productivity among office managers.

There is no clear job description for secretaries at each career level. Clear job description for secretaries at each career level needs to be addressed. One wonders why the jobs of secretaries are not enlarged and enriched at each career level to support job satisfaction. The present career structure for secretaries seems to show much of job limitation and restricted scope of authority which negate her promotion to the managerial level. This situation limits the secretary’s job performance.

For tertiary institutions in Nigeria that offered office technology and management education program to deliver on their mandates, the quality of the training given to individuals passing through a course or the other should be such that can give adequate skills and information needed in the real world sense. If business education should serve this purpose of providing the needs of the learners and the society, there should be continuous review in its curriculum in order to ensure that the quality of education provided is in line with societal demands. This review of the curriculum will be to integrate new technologies that can help in passing the desired and required skills to the learner to make him/her employable and as well relevant in the ever-changing business environment.

However, 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 latin 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 within 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 judgment and makes decision within 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 cannot 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 office manager 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 modern office challenges.

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The researcher observed that most of the Nigerian tertiary institutions that offer office technology and management suffer from inadequate modern office technology and information systems for teaching/learning and also acute shortage of qualified secretarial lecturers. This has significantly contributed to the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of university secretarial graduates in office occupation. This statement is supported by the observation of Njoku (1992) that lack of qualified secretarial lecturers in Nigerian universities accounts for these inadequacies of secretarial graduates in office occupation.

These challenges also make the secretarial graduates half-baked and of course not to effectively compete in the world of work and even in business in this era of technological advancement. The question now is how could these challenges be tackled in order to produce competent secretarial graduates that would be effective and efficient in the classroom as teachers and in office occupation as secretarial administrators?

Also, the career limitations place on the secretary cause intending students of office technology and management to be frustrated and often opt out of the profession.

More so, there is no vibrant secretarial professional bodies collaborating with both federal/state ministries of establishment to introduce new career structure for secretaries to improve their productivity. This has continued to be a source of concern to students of the secretarial profession.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the problems and prospects of office technology and management students in Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic Bori. While  other purposes are:-

1. To identify the problems of office technology and management students.
2. To identify the prospects of office technology and management students.
3. To provide solutions to the problems faced by office technology and management students.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of immense benefit to students, authorities of tertiary institution and professional bodies as the study will expose the problems faced by students of the profession.

The study will also stimulate the appropriate authorities to fashion out ways of addressing the challenges faced by student of the profession.

The study will also stimulate the appropriate authorities to fashion out ways of addressing the challenges faced by student of the profession.

This study will also serve as a reference materials for further research on the topic.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Based on the above  purposes of the study, the following research questions were raised

1. What are the problems facing students of Office Technology and Management?
2. What are the prospects of students of Office Technology and Management?
3. How could the problems faced by Office Technology and Management students be solved?

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study aims at investigating the problems and prospects of Office Technology and Management students in Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic Bori. This study only covers students in ND2 and HND2 of the institution.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to investigate the problems and prospects of Office Technology and Management students in Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic Bori. Carrying out a research work of this nature involves some problems. Some of the limitations to the study include:

1. Difficulties in collecting relevant data and information for the study.
2. Financial constraint in carrying out the study.
3. Little time given for the completion of the study.
4. Scarcity of relevant literature on the problem.

1.8 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Highlighted below are some of the key words used in the study:

Office Technology and – This is the administrative handling, controlling, and Management (OTM) maintaining a balanced process of work inside the office of an organization whether big or small company/business, which is necessary to achieve the administrative goal.

Shorthand – This is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that   increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language.

Secretarial Profession – This is the career undertaken by persons who had obtained a formal   education in Office Management and Technology and through    which they      earn a livelihood.

ICT – ICT (Information and Communications Technology – or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing:    radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and  software, satellite systems, as well as the various  services and applications associated.

Prospects – A them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning.

This is the likelihood of being successful or prosperous in the future, especially in a job or career.

Typewriting-   This is a machine that prints letter or figures on a sheet of paper when a person pushes its key source.

Problems –       An inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result or law.

Secretary –      A secretary is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executive and carryout administrative tasks.

Students- A student is a person who studies in the university or other place of higher education.