Roles Of A Secretary In An Bank Administration

INTRODUCTION
1.1 WHO IS A SECRETARY
The secretary is an important officer in any establishment. The contribution and effectiveness of a secretary can either enhance or diminish the efficiency of an organization the title refers to professional auxiliary staff, mainly responsible to an executive.
Secretary is a person work, in an office working for another person, dealing with letters and telephone calls, typing, keeping records, arranging meetings with people.
He or she is one who carried out the following activities.
Performs general office work in relieving executive and other company officials of minor executives and clerical duties.
– Takes dictation using shorthand or a stenotype machine
– Assisting in scheduling meeting/appointments, compile minutes and reports on behalf of the executive and remind him of them
– Maintaining accurate files/correct records of accounts and of consumable stocks
– Coordinating, distributing stationary and supplies for the department, including maintenance of inventory
– Assisting in coordinating/organizing staff social functions/activities.
– Managing calls and visits by customers to the staff within the department
– Liaising with other groups, department, units and branches bankwise on behalf of the staff of the department.
– Performing other duties as may be assigned within the scope of the banking activities.
People tend to confuse confidential secretaries with chartered secretaries. For clarity sake the difference between them will be analyzed going by their roles in business. Since the most important duties of the confidential secretary have been discussed above we will now take a look into who the chartered secretary is and what he or she does.
A chartered secretary is by qualification a member of the institute of chartered secretaries and administrators. Duties of the chartered secretary include
Being responsible for general administration, including planning and control through the formation and maintenance of system, procedures and practices, promoting the smooth working of the organization through their coordinating and consultative note and encouraging management and employee participation in measures to promote administrative efficiency. The establishment and coordination of the main channels of communication of the organization both internal and external
The provision of services to management including information and advisory services, the preparation of memoranda and reports, including annual reports, the briefing of senior managers, the preparation of speeches and articles and the drafting of evidence to government and parliamentary bodies, advice to the board of directors or their equivalent, involving prior consultations and drawing attention to legal obligations maintenance of statutory and other records and in many organization, responsibility for certain legal work or for obtaining professional legal advice where needed.

1.2 HISTORY OF THE BANK
The banking business is dynamic and complex. It employs the highest labor force. Secretaries of today possess the advanced skill necessary to function in a complex banking business. The administration of the office is effectively handled by the top secretaries who are well trained.
First bank for example was found in 1894 by a shipping magnate from Liverpool, sir Alfred Jones, the bank commenced as a small operation in the office of Elder Dempster and was incorporated as a limited liability company on March 31, 1894 with Head office in Liverpool. It started business under the cooperate name of Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) with a paid up capital of 12,000 pound sterling. A branch was opened in Accra, Gold coast (now Ghana) in 1896 and another in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1898. the second branch of the bank in Nigeria was the old calabar in 1900 and tow years later, services were extended to Northern Nigeria with network of 315 branches throughout the federation including one in the city of London, First bank maintains the largest branches network in the industry
First bank of Nigeria PLC (FBN) got listed on the Nigeria stock exchange (NSE) in march 1971 and has won the NSE presidents merit award nine times for the best financial report in the banking sector, it also won the first institute of chartered accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) award for excellence in the corporate category. Fist bank has diversified into wide range of banking activities and services. These include corporate and retail banking Rigistra-ship, Trusteeship and insurance brokerage.
As a result, they become truly the first in leadership in energy growth market.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
The old traditional secretary or rather those that were referred to as secretaries before industrial development are taken to be a piece of furniture of at best a tool in the hands of the office managers.
Some of these problems are as follows
1. Their offices are not well equipped with necessary office automated machines, like computer, telex, fax machine and phone to communicate with their customers or even the boss when needed etc.
2. They are not being given a conducive environment for the kind of job they do
3. They use typewriters instead of computer or electric machines
4. The secretary is not being recognize by top officers
5. They are also being taken as ordinary typist.
But for about some decade now, secretarial administration has become a complex and dynamic area, especially with the advent of office automation and information technology. The dynamism of the banking world has made it obvious that the secretary cannot be left in the background in the achievement of banking goals

1.4 HYPOTHESIS
The following hypotheses were generated for the purpose of establishing the relevance of secretaries in modern banking
– That a secretary play an important role in bank administration
– That the duties of a secretary in bank administration cannot be dispensed with
– That the duties of a secretary affect her boss
– That office automation cannot replace the secretary in administrative assignment.

1.5 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to discuss details, the contributions of the secretary to the success of a banking administration. To consider whether the services she render to banking administration are vital importance or otherwise.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study would strive to ginger up the secretary and other members of the management team to understand the role of the secretary in the banking industry. It would highlight the important contribution of the secretary in the attainment and substance of bank administration.
It would assess and quantify the contributions of the secretary in relation to the achievement of the executive thereby highlighting the indispensability of the secretary to the executive. It would also identify other areas of importance. In secretarial services towards the achievement of corporate objective.
It will highlight that secretaries with office automation skill rather than being displaced by office automation, will become indispensable users of office automating equipment and information technology.

1.7 DELIMITATION/SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is restricted to the role of a secretary in an bank administration using first bank of Nigeria plc as a case study. The restriction in scope of this study is to enable an in-depth study of the topic
However, further research could be made by other researchers to cover other industries other than banking. In any case, I must state that this work is significant enough in scope to serve the purpose for which it is carried out been contributing immensely
Secretaries in first bank of Nigeria plc were picked for study in order to ascertain their contribution to the development of the bank and invariable to the economic growth of the country.