There seems to be a growing misnomer in the secretarial professions ...

International Journal of Development Studies, Volume 5, Number 1, 2010

MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND THE ACQUISITION OF SECRETARIAL SKILL IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTION: A CASE STUDY OF RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, PORT HARCOURT

*T. A. Ngerebo and S. 0. Okiridu . Banking and Finance Department Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria ABSTRACT There seems to be a growing misnomer in the secretarial professions whereby students and graduates of secretarial studies as well as practicing secretaries demonstrate high level of ignorance of basic skills and knowledge of the profession and its tools. This study investigated the reason for this misnomer by looking at the impact of technology on the acquisition of this knowledge. The study used a combination of case study and survey research designs and analyzed the responses from 550 respondents with the x2 statistical techniques. It found that there is a negative relationship between technological advancement and the acquisition of secretarial skills. It recommends that in order to benefit from the high productivity of the computers, identified solutions to the problems militating against the acquisition ofknowledge should be implemented in universities. INTRODUCTION Skills are acquired in different forms. But the most outstanding methods of acquiring skills are through training in educational institutions, apprenticeship on-the-job, and informally at the home level. Out of these options, acquisition of needed skills through the educational institutions appears to be the most respected. This is because apart from acquiring the requisite knowledge, other forms of knowledge related to the skills in question will be acquired. Even when skills are considered, not all educational institutions can offer the technical and specialized knowledge. This is why there are different kinds of educational institutions, such as polytechnics, monotechnics, technology universities, science and technology universities, technical colleges, etc. Although secretarial skills are basically acquired from commercial schools, modernization has resulted in the acquisition of technological skills or knowledge at higher levels like the universities. And at such high level, the distinction between skill and technology seerris to be blurred, hence the reference to technology as the totality of the means employed in acquiring knowledge and their practical application in order to provide objects or phenomena necessary for the· comfort and sustenance of human beings. At the university level secretarial skills are acquired either in Secretarial Administration Department or Business Education Department. These departments have the major responsibility of imparting technological knowledge about the technical machines and tools and their use and application in business and industries for the enhancement of productivity and efficiency. This means that the output of organizations (or society), with reference to the work force (which is made up of the graduates from the educational institutions), depends on the efficiency of the institution. Centuries ago, record keeping or secretarial activities were Iabouriously undertaken manually. For instance, one of the foremost methods of record keeping ~as through tablets of stones. Technological improvements aimed at easing these labourious activitjes .Jed to the invention of papers, calculators, typewriters and lastly computers. These technological changes reaffirm the need for higher level educational training in dynamic forms. Graduates from these institutions are expected to be vastly trained to perform highly. But this is not the case in most quarters as graduates of these departments, faculties or institution have been found wanting. Observations reveal that graduates and graduating students of secretarial administration, business education (with secretarial bias), mass communication, accounting, etc, do not know the positions of keys on the keyboard of typewriters and computers. Consequently, this paper attempts to investigate the status of the training centres vis-a-vis the reasons for the turnout of low quality outputs in the areas of training or acquisition of relevant technical knowledge about modern business machines, using Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria as a case study. One basic question posed was whether technological advancement is the reason for the downward trend in the acquisition of secretarial skills. This is based on the fact that it has being alleged in some quarters that the advent of technologically based equipment makes.the acquisition of . certain skills irrelevant. 116

Modern Tec~~ology; a.n.d ·the Acquisition of Secretarial Skill in Nigerian Tertiary Institution: A Case · • Study of Riyers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Although not much research has been conducted in this area, the little related literature will be discussed under the followirig' headings viz-crcquisitiOii''bf'typewriting,~shorthand, computer, filing skills and the need for safety practices in offices.

Acquisition of Typewriting Skill

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Typewriting instructions is a vital and major part of secretarial skills. The subject lends itself to the attainment of the objective giving students a chance to "acquire further knowledge and developed skills [Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1981 as cited by Ndinechi (1990)]. The most important thing in typewriting or the main objective of the course is to train or produce students who can "typeset" at a reasonably fast rate and high accuracy. This goal is attainable if instructors or the lecturers systematically take the students in an organized pattern of speed and accuracy skills' development. To get this done the lecturer must have sufficient knowledge of the course and have a proper understanding of the students. This means that the teacher must know the state of mind of the students, to apply the psychological concept of readiness, motivation reinforcement, practice and transfer. Koko (2001) opined that typing as a means of data processing has undergone changes since its inception. This has kept some of the teachers with a lot of assumptions, as they believe that its aim is to concentrate on touch-typing. As a result of this they lay much emphasis on striking the keys without looking at the keyboard, by making use of the correct fingers . She further asserted that the advent of computer has shifted emphasis from the finger dexterity as a means of master of skiH·acquisition to the sight sense as the key to success. According to Nwaokolo ( 1990) there is a controversy between two schools of thought about the sequence of developing speed and accuracy in typewriting. One of the schools argued that accuracy should preceed speed. The other school advocated for speed to precede accuracy. Over time they dropped their arguments and supported the third option "technique with appropriate speed approach". This third approach advocates striking right from, the beginning, stressing that if techniques are right, speed and accuracy will follow. Since typewriting is a practical course or subject, Koko (200 I) is of the view that students should be taught in a stimulated environment, as well as being introduced to different methods such as demonstration, verbal problem solving, brainstorming, questioning and assignment techniques. The teacher should demonstrate every learning task for the student to observe and intimate by performing the task, in order to correct wrong habits. Positive reward for good performances will motivate and arouse the interest of the students.

Acquisition of Shorthand Skill Shorthand's position in the electronic office is very important. Modern technology has a great impact on the

way information is processed,. and putting it into the system is still the same as it originates from long hand, voices recording and face-to-face dictation. Shorthand is the act of writing symbols that represents sounds. Davis and Oladunjoye ( 1990) postulated that shorth.and is one of the cornerstone subjects of business education. The subject is being seen as a difficult one since many students try to avoid it. As a result, a lot of scholars have tried to invent new systems, which would reduce the learning difficulty associated with earlier shorthand system; such as Brief hand, Century 21 Forkner shorthand, Gregg shorthand, Nachine . . shorthand, Pitman shorthand, Quickhand shorthand, ABC shorthand, Stenoscript and Stenospeed. Shorthand is the only form of efficient input that can be used for urgent dictation, telephone dictation, recording calls, recording instructions, meeting notes and confidential dictation.The writing of shorthand is based on the sound of English words splinted into consonants, vowels and diphthongs. Shorthand writing involves almost all sensory organs of the human body. These organs of the body work simultaneously, the faster or the slower the rate of any of these organs relative to others the higher/lower the disruption of assimilation, retention and transcription of shorthand dictation. It is important that teachers of shorthand should get themselves equipped with phonetics and intonations, hence wrong pronunciation affects co rrect writing and speed. One of the ways of increasing understanding is to present shorthand to students in various ways. Catch the attention of the students Demonstrate and let them watch Explain for them to hear and show them short-forms for them to read. They should learn by doing. This will enable them to achieve accuracy in sign-writing and transcription. Short-forms should be committed to their memory. Constant practice is the only sure ·way to he development of shorthand skills, and it should be practiced everyday of the week. The school teac her shoul al~o draw up the timetable to accommodate this

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International Journal.Of Development Studies, Volume 5, Number 1, 2010 Acquisition of Computer Skills . There is a misconception that with the advent of modern technology in the , industries and various establishment, many workers will be stripped off their jobs and rendered redundant, since computer, which is faster and automatic in operations, will take over their jobs. The advent .of computer is just an innovation in the industry, which will require re-organization, re-adjustment and re-training of staff, and engagement of those trained to use the computer. Computer cannot think man does th.e thinking. It is manufactured to make the work of man easier. In a dynamic society like ours it is important to monitor and be' at alert to know the exact skills and competencies the employers of labour want. This means that the student should be taught to master and develop the competence for the use of computer, is that these labourious, repetitive aspect of our jobs will be eliminated by the use of computer. Office skills are those abilities and competencies the employees posses that will enable him perform office duties most effectively and help job seekers to be easily employable in the office as office workers. Osuala (1981) as cited by Arukwe (1990) stressed the importance of office skills as necessary tools for work and the role of business education in imparting such skills. He pointed out that business and office education make significant impact on the nation's economy through the preparation of clerical workers for entry into the labour force. The statement issued by the National Business Education Association of America (NBEAA) Policy Commission for Business and Economic Education in 1983 indicated that: "Students who acquired business data processing competencies, utilizing the computer can increase their employment potentials" Kalu (1990) citing the work of Stoufer (1983) was of the view that that the goal at the secondary schools level should be to produce a well-rounded student, one who is "trainable", not a finished product. He also shared the view of Stubbe (1982) who postulated that what business education must do was to redesign the business curriculum to better meet students future needs. The changes suggested include: A new course called "-i ntroduction to computer". · Emphasis on key boarding instead of traditional typewriting, Integrating the microcomputer into a greater variety of business education classes and More business teachers should be trairied to be computer literate. Acquisition of Filing Skills This is the first phase of record management and if properly done can prevent the creation of non-essential records and thus decrease the volume of records to be manipulated, controlled, stored and disposed off. Proper record management can also enhance usability of value of r-ecords that are needed (since records created must be useable) and also to enhance the value of existing records. It is important to classify every record created for easy identification. A classification system places records of a similar subject category together, to guide and structure the thinking of the user. Filing and retrieval can either be manual, mechanized or automated and should be on the order in which records or information are filed maintained and ready for identification and retrieval of individual records and files. The system should adopt either the centralized or decentralized filing system depending on the organization. The essence of filing system is that it should allow ready identification of records of permanent value. This will also aid periodic destruction of records of transitory value and regular transfers of non-current files to where they are supposed to be to avoid storage problem, slow response to demand, old documents or correspondences disturbing current ones, loss of documents, etc. Communication Skills Communication could be seen as the interaction between two people. In every communication there must be a sender and a receiver. It could be within or outside the organization in a manner considered formal or informal, and the receiver must understand the communicator. Formal communications are those type of communication that have a particular procedure to be followed e.g. policy paper, invoices or letters etc., and could be between a manager and his secretary, management and her customer, staff and customers, etc. Informal communications are the type of communication, which have no particular layout or procedure, for example communication between husband and wife, father and children etc. Here, communication could be random, based on instruct, unsystematic, psychological etc. Users of communication must strive to employ simplicity and clarity to avoid some barriers, which could manifest through language, business jargons, biases, noise and time of communication. No matter the method adopted it is important to obey the rule of coinmu-niCatfori:' Such Yules . focluae clarity, purposefulness, understanding, - timeliness, . and -appropriate medium. Akpomi and Chiorlu (200 I) opined that mistakes in organization are sometimes caused by faculty communication. This is why the secretary, being the first point of contact with outsiders, has an important role to play. Therefore adequate information processing determines the efficiency of the secretary and the '"118

Modern Technology a~~- th-~ Ac.quisit~on of Secretarial Skill in Nigerian Tertiary Institution: A Case Study of Rivers State Umversity of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt

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organization and modern technologies are improving this all the time. It is very important for the secretary to understand the basic operations of the new technology to remain on the job. Some organizations require the acquisition of these skills before employment and t hese · skills· have to be taught in schools to make people ready for job opportunities.

Safety Practice The enactment of Health and Safety Act of 1974 empowered the Commission's Inspectors and extends legislative protection for health and safety to everyone employed. The Offices Act of 1963 followed the general safety, health and welfare provision of the Factories Act of 1974 applying then to the situations in the offices where secretarial duties are performed. Simpson ( 1993) as cited by Akpomi et al outlined of the Act asserting that much emphasis be laid on the health of the employees as regards lighting, cleanliness, ventilation, over-crowding, drainage of floors and sanitary conveniences. The provision is very important because compromising standard with respect to the health and safety of the employees will affect them negatively. The Act prohibits people acting unsafely or working under unsafe conditions hence focusing on the welfare of the employees by adding the use of protective gadgets with respect to clothing and appliances. The Act also made provisions for food, drinking water, facilities fo r washing and external ventilation for example electric fans and air conditioners. These items must be adequate and properly maintained, and these skills need to be taught in the schools.

METHODOLOGY In order to carry out this research, we employed the blend of case study and survey research designs. Th is is because one out of the more than 60 universities (i.e. Rivers State University of Science and Techno logy, Port Harcourt) is chosen for the study. And the Business Education and those of Secretarial Administration Departments were observed and interviewed. The sample size was five hundred and fifty, randomly selected amongst the students and lecturers of these departments. The 550 sample size represented the number of completely filled and retrieved questionnaire, out of 630 copies of structured questionnaire administered. The chi-square statistical tool was used to test the only hypothesis formulated. The hypothesis read thus: There is a negative relationship between technological advancement and the acquisition of secretarial ski lls. The chi-square test is conducted at 5% significance level and at a 6 degrees of freedom (see Appendix).

DATA ANALYSIS

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Appendix I is the tabular presentation of the responses to the reasons for the quality of graduates of secretarial studies. These responses were collated to test the above stated hypothesis. Appendix II is the contingency table drawn from Appendix I. From Appendix II, it could be seen that the calculated· x2 of 3.015 is lower than the tabulated x2 of 12.59. This means that the alternate hypothesis is accepted. The implication of these decisions is that there is a generally lackadaisical approach to the acquisition of secretarial skills (and by extension, of other skills) with the continued improvement in the technological quality of equipment. These equipments have been improved to the extent that they can perform jobs with ease and high accuracy depending on the expertise of the operator. Beside this statistical outcome, personal interview shows that several factors militate against the acquisition of secretarial skills from universities. These factors specified include lack of seriousness, lack of time, lack of instructional materials, lack of accommodation, and lack of previous knowledge. These problems notwithstanding, secretarial skills have some basic advantages that make it worthwhile to be acquired at higher educational levels. Some of these benefits include self-employment, added advantage during employment screening, better output at workplaces and the creation of continuity in the study and modernization of the secretarial courses, des igns and invention of more sophisticated equipment and tools.

CO NCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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This study has been conducted out of a burning eye-sore pertaining the competency of some graduates of such technical or practical discip lines like secretariaJ studies, accounting and engineering. The particular c'ase of ''secretaries" who cannot' file documents, take notes, -prepare letters, or even speedily or professionally use the key board, is most disgusting. We conclude therefore that the advent of technology has been deceptive in the acquisition of secretarial skills. This is based on the fact that students and graduates on the one hand, and other non-secretaries believe that knowledge of the personal computer (PC) is all that is needed to execute secretarial and other jobs. Little wonder they pay little or no attention to the thorough acquisition of skills . This is confirmed by the result of the chi-square test which led to the

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Internation-al Journal of Development Studies, Volume 5, Number l ; 2_010 acceptance of the hypothesis that the more technological advanced the equipment and tools the less the emphasis placed on the acquisition of skills. Based on these conclusion, were make the following recommendations: That admission should be made with reference to the availability of space, equipment and the number of teachers, instructors and lecturers. That in ajet or ICT age, computers (or at least typewriters) be provided at least in the ratio of 2: l. That existing facilities especially lec;ture halls and studios should be expanded and modernized for the impartation of knowledge. That those with relevant skills and knowledge should desist from aiding (mercenarizing) students because their activities are tantamount to the killing of generations of professionals as well as making a jest of the educational systems. That based on the limited number of equipment, lecturers should adopt group learning method whereby the class is divided into groups for effective learning. This will help cut the use of mercenaries and other forms of misbehavior That there should be a return to the old system where assessments are made objectively and grades/results published within record time. By this means, names of failed students (i.e. students on withdrawn on academic failure or W AF) should be published promptly and widely. That school circular should be dynamic so that they can adapt to changes in technology and other aspects.

REFERENCES Adeniyi, C. 0. (2005) "Effect of Computer Application in Business Enterprises in Nigeria" Lagos: Journal of Women in Colleges of Education, Vol. 9. P. 205. Adesina, A. I. (2002) Introduction to Computer (Revised Edition) Lagos, Kenia Publishers, pp. 18 - 25 . Aworjori, A. A. ( 1992) "Developing Computer Keyboarding Skill - A Challenge to Vocational Educators" Nigeria: Journal of Technical Education, Vo l. 9, No. 1 and 2, p. 114. Akpomi, M. E. (2001) Organizing Business Education, Port Harcourt: Pre-Joe Publishers, A Division of PreJoe Ventures. Akpomi, M. E. and Chiorlu, D. 0 . (2001) Office Secretarial and Safety Practices, Port Harcourt: Pre-Joe Publishers, A Division of Pre-Joe Ventures. Arukwe, 0. N. (1990) "Employees Office Skills Competencies and Employers Preferences" Business Education Journ'al, Vol. 11 No. 2, September, p. 33. Arukwe, 0. N. (1992) "Acquiring the Stenographic Skills for Self-reliance and Economic Growth" Business Education Journal, Vol. 11 No 4, September, p. 59. Davis, C. E. and Olagunjoye (1990) "Shorthand: A Specie for Economic Revival: An Overview System" business Education Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2, September, p. 33. Eunice, I. N. I. (1992) Business Education for Self-reliance" Business Education, Journal, Vol. 11, No. 4, September, p. 132. Koko, M. N. (2001) Teaching Bus iness Methods and Procedures, Besthands Publishers, Port Harcourt. Ndiche, G. I. (1990) " A Guide for Effective Typewriting Instructions in Secondary School" Business Education Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2, September, p. 13. Nnanna, I. K. (1990) " Implications of Computer Literacy to Youth Employment Opportunities" business Education Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2, September, p. 53. Nwaokolo, P. P. (1994) Instructional Strategies in Business Education, Asaba Precision Publishers, Nigeria. -

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N w a o k o lo, P. P. (1992) "Educating the Business Teacher for Self-reliance in a Decadent Economy: An Entrepreneurial Initiatives" Business Education Journal, Vol. 11 No. 4, September, p. 121.

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Modern Technology and the Acquisition of Secretarial Skill in Nigerian Tertiary Institution; A Case · Study of Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt Obioma, I. 0. (1992) "Appraisal of the Effectiveness of Graduate Secretaries": A Study on the Job Performance of the Performance of the Secretarial Graduates of Rivers State University of Science and ·. 'Technology, Port Harcourt, Business Journal Vol. 11 No. 4, September~ p. 42 . Osu, 0. E. (2000) Practical Approach to Office Management, Chase and Richfield Publishers, Nigeria.

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APPENDIX I FACTORS HINDERING ACQUISITION OF SECRETARIAL SKILLS Factors Students' Lecturer's Response response Modernization of Equipment I 88 Lack of Seriousness 105 3 II Inadequate accommodation 110 2 III Lack of Infrastructural Materials 53 2 IV Lack of Qualified Teachers v Insufficient Time for Training 80 2 VI Emphasis of Qualification 102 3 VII 538 12 Total Source: Survey Data, 2006

APPENDIX I CONTINGENCY TABLE FOR x2 COMPUTATION Students' Factors Response 88(86.08) Modernization of Equipment I 105(105 .64) Lack of Seriousness II 110(109.56) Inadequate accommodation III 53(53 .8) Lack of Infrastructural Materials 0(0) v Lack of Qualified Teachers 80(80.2) Insufficient Time for Training VI 102(102.7) Emphasis of Qualification VII Total 538 )

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Lecturer's response 0(1.92) 3(2.36) 2(2.44) 2(1.2) 0(0) 2(1.79) 3(2.29) 12

Total Response 88 108 112 55

82 105 550

( fo - fe )2/fe 0.04, 1.92 0.004, 0.174 0.002, 0.079 0.012, 0.533 0,0 0.001, 0.25 0.005, 0.220 x2 = 3.015