Factors Affecting The Work Condition Of Secretaries In Private Organizations In Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area Of Delta State

Abstract

The study investigates factors affecting the work condition of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The study used a descriptive survey. The population comprised of twenty one (21) managers working in aluminum companies in Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. There was no sample because those managers were few in number and was manageable. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire which was validated by two lecturers from the school of business education and one manager in Asaba Aluminum Company. The method of data collection was mean statistics to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that, fringe benefits, modern equipment, inadequate facilities and lack of in-service training influence the performance of secretaries in private organization in Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that management of private companies should always give fringe benefit/incentive to secretaries in other to motivate their performance. 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Organizations, be it public or private, large or small, are set up to achieve specific organizational goals and objectives. These goals and objectives include profit maximization of socio-economic well-being of members (Rubee 2016). He further stated that in recent years, the Nigerian government is showing increasing concern over the performance of her fully owned enterprises.  This current privatization and commercialization of governments owned cooperation is example of this concern for performance.

According to Nwozor (2015) a manager is a person who exercises managerial functions primarily. They should have the power to hire, fire, discipline, do performance appraisals, and monitor attendance. They should also have the power to approve overtime, and authorize vacations. He or she is the boss. The Manager’s duties also include managing employees or a section of the company on a day-to-day basis.

Hornby (2014), stated that the word “secretary” is derived from a latin word “secretaries” meaning something known only to one or few and kept secret or hidden from the views of things. In line with this, Nzenagu (2017) stated that the word “secretary” means an employee engaged in an office that deals with correspondence and keeps records of such organizations. He also makes arrangements and appointments for a particular member of the staff. Nzenagu (2017) furthermore state that secretary is the office worker who combine the major skills of shorthand and typewriting with other competence of filling, reprography and telephone technique in the performance of her duties.

Secretaries are needed in every type of office, be it advertising and public education, law and medicine, manufacturing industries, publishing and schools, insurance and bank etc they also work for politicians, writers and judges (Orah 2016). It is an unarguable fact that the secretary is stronghold of any organization. Many achievements have been made by the management of the workforce of which the secretary is no exception (Nwaokolo 2014).

Performance, on the other hand, denotes the carrying out of a task. It could therefore be said of secretaries been influenced or motivated with some factors for high job performance as the more occurrence of those factors may lead to incredible work in return (Nzenagu, 2017).

Secretaries as organizations members and agent through whom organizations achieve their objectives are very complex in nature.  Basely and Robinson (2014) states that the work of the secretary varies according to the kind of products or service being rendered by the firm in which he is employed.  The size of the organization, the position of the secretary’s employed in the organization, and his employer’s manner or method of work. A secretary is ranked according to his/her level of education or grade.  In the working condition of secretaries or office workers in Nigerian economy, there are many problems and difficulties encountered by all classes of workers and which in olden days were called stenographers, typist etc. are now designated secretarial, Assistants  I, II,  III and IV.

Problems ranging from the environment, public relations, accommodations, transport, the boss, salary and state governments are at presents raced with the problem of running result through efficient combination of resources at their disposal. These resources are man, machines, materials and money of these, man is regarded as the most important because he controls all other resources.  The failure of the enterprises can therefore be traced to a failure in the managements of the humans resources in the enterprises (Robinson, 2015).

Afom (2017) stated that the success or failure of every organization depends on the performance of the secretary because the secretary is seen, as the household of every organization that oversees the in and out flow of every activities in the organization. On this note, if the secretary is unable to manage or keep accurate record of activities in the organization it could cause failure in the organization but the process whereby the secretary is able to put things in other in the organization at the absence of his/her boss, and take accurate minute in the meeting, it can help in the improvement/success of the organization.

Any organization that wishes to succeed in achieving it aims and objectives has to maintain a good working condition so as to achieve its goals. This is so because of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors, the intrinsic factor is the incentives attached to one’s job that is what influence the secretary within the job, and this include achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility promotion and possibility for personal growth, while extrinsic are the environmental condition attached to one’s work element that contribute or motivate the secretary e.g interpersonal relationship with colleagues and subordinates (Ade 2017).

It was based on the above facts that made Mbadugha (2018) to state that the performance of secretarial careers cannot be overemphasized in an organization because qualified secretary plays a very vital role in growing any organization. So therefore the performance of secretaries is being influence if the necessary equipment needed is being provided by the boss or the conducive environment of work place and also when the secretary is being motivated with some intrinsic benefit or praises, when all these measures are put in place it is certain that the secretary will perform better in other to impress his/her boss.

Despite the important role of secretaries in every organization, there are certain factors which affect secretaries while on job and these factors positively or negatively affect their performances in the organization where they belong to. It sometimes determines their longevity in the organisation. Some of these factors are technological factors, poor language structure, sociological factors environment factors, and economic factors. Presently, the need for exposing secretaries to the use of modern office equipment has risen due to challenges they face in the modern word. The effect of language structure that secretaries in institute of management and Technology received during training cannot be over emphasized as in labour market and available jobs are meant for those who have good command use of word or good spoken English.

Statement of the Problem

The importance of secretaries cannot be underestimated in an organization because there are seen as the bedrock of every organization. Despite the importance of secretary in an organization, some secretaries failed to avail themselves of the opportunities given to them.  This has created a gap between most executives and their secretaries because most executive fail to motivate their workers and this makes them not to discharge their duties diligently while other workers that are motivated perform better in discharging of their duties.

Most of the factors that affect the performance of secretaries career are  technological factors, poor language structure, sociological factors environmental factors, and economic factors, fringe benefits, inadequate modern machines, environmental factor, lack of training and poor relationship with others. Also, the inability of employers in modern business organizations to remunerate and motivate their secretaries accurately in line with exportations of the present changing work environments is another pain or problem. This has led to low morale, poor standard of living, lateness and absenteeism on the part of the secretary.

The working condition of any organization plays an important role on the workers because the productivity of an organization depends mainly on them, lack of good working condition in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic values can lead to a great decline in productivity. It has been observed that many organizations fail to realize the importance of good working condition and this is seriously affecting their employees particularly, the realization of this fact that brought the researcher to investigate the factor affecting the work condition of secretaries in private organization in Asaba, Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The broad purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting the work condition of secretaries in private organization in Asaba, Delta State.

The specific objectives are:

1. To find out whether fringe benefit influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba
2. To find out how modern equipment can influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.
3. To find out how inadequate facilities can influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.
4. To find out how in-service training can affect the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.

Research Questions

1. What are does fringe benefit that can influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?
2. What are does modern equipment that can influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?
3. How does inadequate facility influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?
4. How does in-service training affect the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?

Significance of the Study

The result of the study should be of great benefit to the teachers, educational administrators, the parents, the government, the society and educational researchers.

This study could be of immense benefit to the teachers because after going through this study, they will be able to understand the important of secretary in any organization and their job performance which will encourage the teacher to improve in their teaching skills in classroom in other to help the students understand every basic thing he/she taught in the classroom because it help them later in future become a good and productive employee in any organization.

This study could also be of great important to the educational administrators because it will enable them after perusing this study understand the function of secretary in an office and having known the function, the educational administrator will ensure all the necessary materials and techniques that will be appropriate to enhance easy flow for educating would-be-secretaries.

The study could help the parents to also understand the need of a secretaries and its job performance in an organization and provide everything needed by their children/ward in other to be successful in life. Study will also help the government to know the relevance of secretaries and provide a skill acquisition programme to help eradicate poverty and employment in the country.

Finally, the finding of the study could serve as a source of literature for future educational researchers in related field of study.

 Scope of the Study

This research study was delimited to private organizations in Asaba Delta State. Based on the study, it was restricted to determine the impact of fringe benefit on the performance of secretaries in an organization, modern equipment influence on performance of secretaries in private organization, inadequate facility influence on the performance of secretaries in private organization and how lack of in-service training affect the performance of secretaries in an organization. Managers of private organizations are the respondents of the study.

Pages:  68

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.