Work Condition Of Secretaries On Job Performance As Perceived By Managers Of Private Organizations In Asaba, Delta State

ABSTRACT

This study examined the work condition of secretaries on job performance as perceived by managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State. Four research questions guided the study.  A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 150 managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State while the sample of the study comprised of 60 managers of private organizations drawn through simple random sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a structured research questionnaire validated by two experts in Business Education and Educational Measurement and Evaluation. A pilot study was carried out on ten (10) small scale industry owners in Idemmili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. Using Pearson product moment correlation to estimate the reliability which yielded a correlation of 0.78. Sixty (60) copies of the validated instrument was administered to the selected managers by the researcher with the help of 2 research assistants and the researcher retrieved 56 instruments. Based on the analysis, it was found among others that fringe benefits, availability of modern equipment and in-service training improves the job performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba while inadequate facilities adversely affect the job performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended among others that private organizations in Asaba should ensure provision of fringe benefits and modern equipment to enhance the job performance of secretaries.

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 “secretarius” 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 deals with correspondence and keeps records of such organizations. He also makes arrangements and appointments for a particular member of the staff. Nzenagu, furthermore stated that a secretary is an office worker who combines the major skills of shorthand and typewriting with other competence of filling, reprography and telephone technique in the performance of his or her duties.

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

A Secretary is an employee who plays a vital role in helping an organization achieve certain objectives.  Basely and Robinson (2014) stated that the work of the secretary varies according to the kind of products or service being rendered by the firm in which he or she is employed.  A secretary is ranked according to his/her level of education or grade.  Many secretaries in Nigeria and Oshimili South in Particular work under pressure. Many are faced with numerous challenges, ranging from work load and the need to meet up with organizational demands, poor remuneration and lack of motivation from their employers.

Afom (2017) stated that the success or failure of every organization partly depends on the performance of the secretary. This is because he or she plays an important role of taking records of almost all the activities that takes place in an organization on daily basis. He or she is regarded as master record keeper. This means that records cannot be kept accordingly if the service of a secretary is not employed. If the secretary is unable to manage or keep accurate record of activities in the organization, it could cause failure in the organization. But when the secretary is able to take record of all the organizational activities, it could go a long way in helping the organization or establishment to achieve desired goals and objectives. In his view, Mbadugha (2018) stated that the role of a secretary in ensuring that an organization achieves its desired objectives cannot be over-emphasized. This is because the secretary contributes immensely towards achieving organizational goals.

Any organization that wishes to succeed in achieving its aims and objectives has to maintain good working conditions so as to achieve it. This is because a good working condition serves as a motivational factor to the effective performance of every employee in an organization. The ways through which the working condition of secretaries can be enhanced according to Obed (2017) includes but not limited to recognition in terms of award, promotion, increase in salary, appreciation due to work well done, establishing good working relationship with them and so on.

Despite the important role of secretaries in every organization, there are certain factors that affect secretaries while on the job and these factors positively or negatively affect their performances in the organization where they belong to. It sometimes determines their longevity in the organization. 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 world of work.

Many private organizations in Delta state and Asaba in particular employ the services of secretaries to help them keep records of day-to-day activities of their respective business or offices. They are assigned to different departments and given administrative and office correspondences to perform. In carrying out their duties, they are being influenced by certain factors such as work condition. If they have a favourable work environment, they tend to stay longer in the organization and even perform better. But when the work conditions are not favourable to them, they tend to perform below expectation. Austin (2015) stated that work condition contributes a great measure to the performance of employees in an organization. He added that for any organization to achieve its desired goals and objectives, it must ensure that its employees are happy and satisfied with their work condition

Hence the need to assess the work condition of secretaries on job performance as perceived by managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State.

Statement of the Problem

The importance of secretaries cannot be underestimated in an organization because they are seen as the bedrock of every organization. This is because they help to keep organizational records and administrative duties on daily basis.

Despite the importance of a secretary in an organization, some secretaries fail to avail themselves of the opportunities given to them.  This has created a gap between most executives and their secretaries because some of these executives 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 their duties.

Most of the factors that affect the performance of secretarial career are technological factors, poor language structure, sociological factors, environmental factors, and economic factors, fringe benefits, inadequate modern machines, environmental factor, lack of training, poor relationship with others, among others. Also, the inability of employers in modern business organizations to remunerate and motivate their secretaries accurately in line with ethics 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 secretaries.

It is against this backdrop that this study is carried out to ascertain the work condition of secretaries on job performance as perceived by managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The broad purpose of this study is to examine the work condition of secretaries on job performance as perceived by managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State. Specifically, the study seeks to ascertain:

1. The influence of fringe benefits on the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.
2. The influence of modern equipment on the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.
3. The influence of inadequate facilities on the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.
4. The influence of in-service training on the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba.

Research Questions

1. How does fringe benefit influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?
2. How does modern equipment influence the performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba?
3. How does inadequate facilities 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 could be of great benefit to the teachers, educational administrators, the parents, the government, field of business education and the researchers as a whole.

This study could be of immense benefit to the teachers because it could enable them understand the important role played by the secretary in any organization and how their work conditions influence their job performance. This could help to encourage the teachers to improve in their teaching in order to help the students understand every basic thing taught which will help them become good and productive employees in any organization they found themselves.

The findings of the study could also be of great importance to the educational administrators/policy makers because it could enable them understand the function of secretary in an office and the influence of their work condition on the performance of their job. This could help the educational administrators ensure all the necessary materials and techniques that could be appropriate to enhance easy flow for educating would-be-secretaries are provided.

The study could help parents to also understand role played by working condition on the job performance of secretaries which could help them to enlighten their children on the need to provide a good working condition for their secretaries in the future for effective job performance.

The Study could also help the Government to know the relevance of secretaries and provide in-service programmes that will help them to improve in their performance

Finally, the study could add to the literature in the field of Business education which could serve as a reference material to researchers and scholars as a whole.

Scope of the Study

This research study is delimited to work condition of secretaries on job performance as perceived by managers of private organizations in Asaba, Delta State. The study is further delimited to the influence of fringe benefit, modern equipment, inadequate facility and in-service training on job performance of secretaries in private organizations in Asaba. Manager of all the private organizations in Asaba constitute the population.

Pages:  60

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.