Investigation Into The Performance Of Secretaries Trained In Selected Public Institutions

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study
Performance of secretaries can be one of the organization’s priorities for both private and public institutions. For any organization to thrive especially in this modern world, it will need a competent and well trained secretary in the work place. The use of new equipment in the office has increased during the past years. According to Elendu (2008), organizations have moved from manual typewriting and operational procedures to fully automated office where terms of data processing, micro-graphics and reprography are used to describe many technological processes that have been incorporated. Organizations and some government departments are now using office automation in their daily operations in order to meet the need for faster and more efficient ways and means of handling office procedure and decision making process, based on accurate data information. Whitehead (2002) is of the opinion that this new development has brought about challenges on the functional competence of the secretary in the modern organization.
Secretary is needed to perform secretarial duties to aid the boss to achieve the organization’s objectives. Therefore, any organization without well trained secretaries runs the risk of failing in some of its duties because of the role in the organization.
Almost every organization needs secretaries and it is most essential to note that an organization may have problems due to the first impression the customers gets from the secretary.
A secretary is an indispensable asset to any organization or institution.No tertiary institution whether government or private can in any way thrive in isolation of its office duties. The duties of a secretary in any public institutions are an inescapable practice of function. However, certain steps have to be taken to inculcate and promote the virtue qualitative training obtained by secretaries that can lead to secretary’s effectiveness and efficiency in the work place (Benneth, 1989).
These play major roles in both private and public institutions. Secretaries trained in public institutions are exposed to different facilities and courses such as, principles of account, keyboarding, shorthand, office practice, modern office technology and some other relevant courses that are related to office work. They are also trained with typewriter and computer which is the main equipment use in training secretary.

Statement of the Problem
The absence of effective secretarial training in public institutions is a critical problem in the performance and productivity of a secretary. The public institutions of higher learning, whose responsibility is to prepare competent secretaries, have not until recently started using modern machines, most especially equipments to train their secretarial graduates. Effective training of secretaries is not the only factor for increased productivity, but when neglected, it will disharmonize both performance and productivity.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for secretaries to cope with the challenges posed by inadequate training in some institutions. Some organizations, especially in private sectors, believed that all secretaries are trained secretaries irrespective of their certificates; they believe that anybody that can type a document using the typewriter is a secretary. But secretaries are much more than those skills acquired on the street. Secretaries trained in public institutions are more efficient and productive than those of private institutions.
Therefore, the training should be equipped and organized. At a time there had been reports of secretaries’ incompetency in discharging their duties in the organization. That was due to their lack of formal secretarial training through private institutions, unlike secretaries trained in public institutions that are exposed to various facilities and courses respectively. This research work therefore, tries to examine an investigation into the performance of secretaries trained in public institutions.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is:
1. to analyse the performance of secretaries trained in the public institutions.
2. to determine the significance of modern equipments and facilities as related to performance of the secretaries in publicinstitutions.
3. to know whether the training received in public institutions are adequate for the prospective secretaries.
4. to whether the personnel needed for the preparation of prospective secretaries are adequate.

Research Questions
Based on the purpose of this study, the following research questions are raised.
1) Do secretaries trained in public institutions perform better in your institution?
2) Do modern equipments and facilitieshave any effect on the job performance of the secretaries in the public institutions?
3) Does the training received in public institutions adequate for the trainees to face work challenges in modern organization?
4) Are the personnel needed to prepare prospective secretaries adequate in the public institutions?

Significance of the Study
This research work is of great importance in the sense that:
1. The study will aid the employers in institutions to maximise the performance and productivity of their secretaries.
2. It will aid secretaries in any organization to acquire the necessary knowledge on the job performance.
3. The secretaries trained in private institution will find the study helpful in revealing the causes of their inadequacies and possible ways to improve.
4. This research will equally help secretaries to know their roles in the organization and to know the relevant courses for secretarial courses in public institutions.

Delimitation of the Study
This study focuses on an investigation into the performance of secretaries trained in public institutions. The study covers only public institutions in Ekiti State.
Limitation of the Study
The major constraints that the researcher has to face and contend with in the course of writing this project is the inadequacy of sufficient direct related literature and time factor. Financial constraints and the uncooperative attitudes of some respondents have also posed some limitations to the research work. However, with concerted efforts put into the process of the work by the researcher, the outcome could be conveniently applied to similar situations elsewhere.

Definition of terms
The following terms have been defined as used in this study:
Secretary: An executive assistant who possesses a mastery of skills, who demonstrates the ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision; who exercise initiative and judgement and who makes decisions within the scope of assigned authority.
Performance: The accomplishment of a given task measured against present known standard of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed in achieving the organization goals.
Job: This is described as the smallest organizational unit into which activities are grouped and structured, which an organizational member can carry out simply and successfully (Olowe, 2005).
Job performance: The accomplishment of a given task measured against present known standard of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed in achieving the organization goals.
Training: It is the systematic process of altering the behaviour of an employee to increase organizational goals.
Institution: An established organization especially and dedicated to education.
Organisation: An establishment where business activities are carried out
Efficiency: The quality of being above to do a task successfully, without wasting time or energy.
Information: Data that had been produced in a way as to be useful to recipient.
Private Institutions: Is an organization that is owned and managed by a particular group of people or non- governmental bodies.
Public Institutions: An organization that is owned and managed by governmental bodies.
Office: A room, set of rooms, or building where the business of a commercial or industrial organisation of a professional person is conducted. A business or professional organisation.
Office automation: – Automation is the techniques of making and apparatus, a process or a system operate automatically. Is generally considered to refer to the use of integrated computer and communications systems to support administrative procedures in an office environment.