Competencies Required Of Office Technology And Management Education Graduates For Effective Operation Of Private Modern Office In Asaba Urban

ABSTRACT

The study examined competencies required of Office Technology and Management Education graduates for effective operation of private modern office in Asaba urban. To achieve this essence, the study was divided into five chapters. Three research questions were raise and answered in the study, related literature were reviewed in the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study consists of eighty (80) registered private modern office managers. Sample of the study comprises of fifty (50) managers out of the eighty (80) registered private modern office managers in Asaba, Delta State. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire which was validated by two lecturers from the school of business education. The method of data collection was mean statistics to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that, word processing competencies, communication competencies and human/interpersonal relationship competencies required by office technology and management education graduate influence positively their operation in private modern offices. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that both school authorities and government should provide the needed facilities/materials for effective training of Office Technology and Management Education students, for them to acquire the relevant skills required of them to function effectively in a digital age. Office Technology and Management Education students should try within their limit to acquire the basic skill required of them while they are in school for effective operation of private modern office.    

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 Background to the Study

In Nigeria work setting, most adults are mainly from the private and public organizations while the remaining are in self employment. The private organizations range from the very small scale/one man business to the multi-national companies whose ultimate goal is to make profit, provide employment and contribute to social economic development of the nation. Some public organizations still fall into this category, while majority are established to render some categories of services to the society. For example, a public academic institution is not a profit driven organization but has a goal to ensure that the service of producing graduates is efficiently done with minimal waste (Mbadugah, 2017). The author further stated that in Nigeria, many government and private sector offices, are fast adapting to modern technologies. This trend appears to be one of most viable ways to survive the industrial and group competitions as well as the evolving global technological culture. Many organizations make use of new technologies to handle people, coordinate activities, and evaluate performance directed towards organizational goals and objectives.

Enyekit (2016) asserted that the modern business office is rapidly changing as a result of office automation, which has brought about new methods in carrying out functions performed by people in organizations. One office employee that constantly uses this ever-changing technology in the office is the office secretary who is expected to handle numerous office functions related to information processing. Enyekit (2016) further stated that the inability of the worker to make use of this modern technology in an office brings failure to the organization, therefore every organization (private and public) requires competence in every worker within the organization.

According to Nwankwo (2015), competencies are the state of being able to carry out certain activities in line with the required area of quality or specialization, having the eagerness to put thing into being. It is also the act of having sufficient skills in different area of specialization and being able to put all into execution without any anxiety or phobia in one’s mind. It’s the act of being totally complete in the skill and ability to do such work or put in motion. In line with this, Nwogwugwu (2014) defined office competencies as the abilities that is required for carrying out the office functions very well, the office work competencies varies just as office activities vary too because the various activities in an organization are grouped together or clustered and assigned specific job description like sales unit, purchases unit, technical unit, medical unit, transport unit etc. each of these units is involved in the function of an office. Nwogwugwu (2014) further stated that modern office competencies are those capabilities and abilities required for maximum utilization of innovative office technologies.

Competencies refer to the skills, behaviour and knowledge acquired and manifested by people. The organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2013) defined competency as a bundle of skills, which derives from a combination of knowledge and personal traits. Anann (2014) stated that competency in modern office requires a combination of skills, attributes and behaviours that are directly related to successful performance on the job. For the purposes of this study, office competencies are the knowledge, skills and abilities, which an Office Technology and Management Education (OTM) graduates requires to effect desirable changes in the office in response to prevailing circumstances. Cornacchione (2012) stressed that such competencies provide a sound basis for consistent and objective performance standards about what is needed and expected in an organization in terms of human relations, managerial competences, communication competences, information and communication technology competences, secretarial competences and problem solving competences.

Hence, Office technology and management education (OTME) is seen as one of the core courses studied under the department of business education in any tertiary institution or universities (Adebayo 2016). It implies that office technology and management education (OTME) is a branch of business education. Therefore, business education is a component of vocational technical education programme that prepare an individual for career in business and also to be an intelligent consumer of economic goods and services. Business education provides students with the needed competencies, skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes to perform as workers in industries, civil service and also as proprietors of business. Business education is work-focused, skill-based, result oriented and technology-based (Ugwoke, 2016).

The objective of Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) programme include among others; equipping the students with the knowledge competencies and special skills that will enable them to successfully hold position as secretaries, managers and administrative assistants in both public and private sectors of the economy, exposing student to industrial experience thereby affording them the opportunity to practice their skills, developing students’ potentials for further academic and professional pursuit, developing in the students an occupational intelligence that will make them versatile and adaptable to the changing situation in the world of work (Nnebe,2016).

In the light of the pervasiveness of modern technologies in offices, office technology and management Education (OTME) graduates ought to have the competencies to use these technologies to perform effectively in the workplace. This is important because OTME graduates are ever-present office workers needed in every type of government or private offices to assist their superiors or executives in carrying out their responsibilities (Idih, 2015). Igbinedion (2017) described the OTME graduate worker as an assistant to an executive, who possesses mastery of office skills and ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision, displays initiative, exercises judgment, and makes decisions within the scope of his/her authority. The OTME function requires a large amount of initiative, skill and resourcefulness to succeed. Thus, an efficient OTM graduate worker operates with a better combination of resources and opportunities with the aim of delivering the appropriate level of services at the quality level expected by a particular organization. Michael (2017) further stated that for OTME office workers to be able to perform their duties and make meaningful contributions to the success of the organizational goals, they also need to acquire the relevant office competencies. It was on this premise that the researcher tends to investigate on the competencies require of Office Technology and Management Education Graduates for effective operation of private modern offices in Asaba Urban.

Statement of the Problem

Developments and innovations in technology have brought about tremendous changes in today’s offices and business environments. These innovations demand greater responsibilities and improved performance on the part of Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates in view of their vital roles in processing office information.  This implies that today’s office managers who are unable to cope with the demands of office technology will become irrelevant, low priced or even unemployed as the case may be. Despite the importance of skillful Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates in a modern offices, the researcher wishes to ascertain the problem affecting Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates from performing well in a modern offices. Could it be that the training given to OTME students do not seem to reflect the wave of technological changes, could it be that some Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates fails to acquire the competencies needed for effective use of modern office technology during their training, could it be that unqualified Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) teachers influences the students of Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) from learning what they ought to learn etc.  Azih (2013) observed that the performances of some Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates fall short of accepted practices in modern office technologies, thereby suggesting that they have not adequately acquired the competencies needed for effective use of modern office technologies during their training.  Consequently, some functions supposed to be handled by Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates are thus given to graduates of other disciplines. Where Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) workers lack competencies to use efficient and effective working tools, productivity is definitely bound to be unimpressive. If these Office Technology and Management Education (OTME)graduates are exposed to a variety of office competencies, they might become more effective in their jobs. It then appears that the producers of the Office Technology and Management Education (OTME)graduates (institutions) are not quite sure of the exact competencies needed by employers of labour. It was based on the above problem that made the researcher to investigate on the competences required of Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) graduates for Effective Operation of Private Modern Offices in Asaba Urban.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the Study is to investigate the competencies required of office technology and management education graduates for effectives operation of private office in Asaba Urban.

Specifically, the study will seek to:

1. identify the word processing competencies required by office technology and management education graduates in private modern office
2. identify the communication competencies required by office technology and management education graduates in a private modern office
3. identify the human/interpersonal relationship competencies required by office technology and management education graduate in private modern offices.

Research Questions

The following research questions are raised to guide the study

1. What are the word processing competencies required by office technology management graduates in private modern offices?
2. What are the communication competencies required by office technology and management education graduate in private modern office?
3. What are the human/interpersonal relationship competencies required by office technology and management education graduate in a private modern office?

Significance of the study

The study would be of immense benefit to Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) students, Office Technology and Management Education (OTME) teachers, private offices, government and the society at large.

To the OTME students, the study will be of immense benefit because it will make them understand all the competences skills required of them on graduation in order to function effectively in modern office, and this will make them to strive to acquire the necessary skills while in school.

To the OTME teachers, the study will also be of immense benefit because after perusing this study they would be able to understand the competent skills required of the students after graduation and with that, teachers will be able to educate the students with all the necessary skills required for them to perform effectively at their various place of work after graduation.

To private officers owners, the study would be of immense benefit because after perusing this study, they would be able to understand the needs of a competent office technology and management Education (OTME) staff and will like to employ staff with those competent skills required to run an organization successfully.

Finally, to the government and the entire society the findings of this study, could be motivation for them to provide the schools with adequate modern technologies required to educate the OTME students, to possess skills needed for self-reliance upon graduation. This in turn would help to reduce unemployment rate in the society.

Scope of the Study

The study focused on the investigation of competencies required of office technology and management education graduates for effective operation of private offices in Asaba Urban.

Pages:  74

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.