CHALLENGES AND PROSPECT OF ICT AND SECRETARIAL PROFESSION

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECT OF ICT AND SECRETARIAL PROFESSION

​​​​​​​BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In the twenty-first century, information and communication technology has transformed every career, including secretarial activity. According to Abdul-Kahar ( 2015), technology has been a significant tool in practically all human endeavors. According to Jaiyeola (2007), ICT is like an engine that can be used in a variety of ways; the same engine that propels an airplane can power a conveyor that transports finished goods from the production line to a storage location; the same engine can power an automobile, a grinding machine, and so on. It is a tool in the hands of secretaries, but it improves and increases its performance.

The office is often a portion of a corporation that manages information pertaining to various activities inside an organization that are carried out to achieve certain goals. Accounting, payroll, and billing are examples of such procedures. Document preparation, filling, completing simple computations, verifying information, intraoffice communication, and external communication are all examples of office labor. The office may be considered as a mechanism that maintains the state of the business through a sequence of operations performed by a competent secretary that result in a change in state. A secretary is an executive assistant who has mastered office skills, can assume responsibilities without direct supervision, uses initiative and judgment, and makes choices within the area of power delegated to them (Akinleye, 2015).

A secretary is an officer in charge of an organization's records, communications, meeting minutes, and related concerns. A secretary aids his or her employer and, when necessary, acts in his or her place. In an automated workplace, the secretary must think clearly and respond quickly. According to Boladele (2020), a secretary may think on behalf of an executive, act on behalf of an executive, anticipate the boss's whims, and boost an executive's production. According to Abdul-Kahar (2015), each institution, whether primary, secondary, or tertiary; large or little; rural or urban; government or state owned and privately supported; collects data to accelerate action and provide information on office activities. Originally, the secretarial profession was restricted to typing, writing, and transcribing shorthand. However, it now extends much beyond this, involving tasks such as information sorting and retrieval, information transmission, and so on using electronic equipment. It means that, unlike an older version of a secretary who only knows shorthand, typewriting, and basic office practices, a qualified secretary should have a broad knowledge of business acumen, versatile knowledge in accounting, personnel, office practices, communications, and inside knowledge of the operation of all departments within the organization where he/she works. As a result, secretaries, regardless of gender or location, must be proficient in electronic records contemporary technology in order to keep up with the growing usage of electronic information technologies.

Technology, according to Oyeronke (2019), is the methodical use of scientific knowledge to accomplish practical consequences. It requires combining many ways to tackle an issue. It indicates that technology is all about ways and how people use them to achieve objectives. As a result, we live in a competitive atmosphere where things are changing quickly and for the better technologically, and the workplace is changing as well due to the increasing complexity of contemporary day management. Secretarial tasks such as tying and addressing a letter, which normally take minutes or hours, must be completed in seconds with exceptional speed, accuracy, and perfection. The introduction of information and communication technologies has transformed secretarial tasks and the workplace. In a modern workplace, the secretary must be well qualified to deal with both current and future issues.

Secretaries must have modern technology skills such as word processing, computer skills, internet skills, data processing skills, and others because an organization cannot exist without records, which must be created, captured, and retained for the period specified by the organization's retention schedule. Finally, when records become inactive, they must be properly disposed of. All of this is based on the secretary. . Technology is always evolving, which has had an impact on the secretarial profession in terms of the quality, speed, and accuracy of work produced. As a result, numerous technological services have been introduced to assure appropriate secretarial practice in organizations. It is critical that secretaries are thoroughly taught on how to use these new equipment in order to increase their productivity.

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