THE SECRETARY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NEW OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES ON RECORD KEEPING MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT  A lot has been written by many authors about new office technologies and how they have immensely affected secretarial performance. This study was therefore conducted to find out the secretary and the effect of new office technologies on record keeping management in institute of management and technology, in Enugu. As a result of this, the research question was formulated as follows: - a)Do the working environment of practicing secretaries have each of the new office equipment? b)Are the available new office equipment being put into effective use? c)What factors influence the availability or lack of this new office equipment? d)How is the job performance of secretaries affected by these new office machines? It was concluded that the acquisition of new office technologies could make secretaries more effective in the performance of their duties. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made. a.A reasonable purchase of these machines should be made for the practicing secretaries in Enugu. b.This establishment should be subsidized by the management to enable them to purchase more of the machines. c.Stand-by generating plant should be purchased by these establishments that have power supply problems.
  INTRODUCTION Technological advancement has ushered in drastic changes in record keeping through the introduction of new office technologies and new methods of communication. Man is an embodiment of change, his life circle is marked with different stages of metamorphosis which when it finally actualizes, adulthood is made secretarial profession, an inseparable bed fellow of management no exception. The secretary has been defined as one entrusted with secrets or confidence of a superior, or employed to handle correspondence and manage, routine and detailed work for a superior. Also Orisananya (1991) put it that, a secretary is a skilled and specialize type of employee in an establishment or part of it who is charged with some aspects of organizational functions in the unit including dealing with people’s correspondence and other business matters, with the above definitions, it can be deduced that the secretary is an important officer in any establishment and that the contribution and effectiveness of a secretary enhances the efficiency of an organization. This is the more reason that the secretary needs a proper training to be able to carry out her functions.