THE RELEVANCE OF MODERN OFFICE TECHNOLOGY ON THEJOB PERFORMANCE OF OFFICE MANAGERS IN AN ORGANIZATIONS
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study
For
decades, rapid changes have been taking place in all facets of human life,
including office technologies, as a result of technological advancement
(Davenport, 2013). Margaret and Pac (2009) state that for an office to run
smoothly, facts and accurate information are necessary for quick
decision-making, and modern office technologies can help managers be focused
and in contact with their co-workers. It can, therefore, be said that having
advanced office technologies can increase a manager’s work performance, because
such technologies make work flexible. According to Ndlovu (2009), businesses
need to be managed effectively so that they have highly productive employees
executing goals aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. Office
technologies play a part in helping businesses meet these strategic objectives.
Modern technologies need to be managed effectively, because during their use, a
business’s most important information can easily be lost. In businesses, an
effective way to improve productivity is to raise the level of technology.
Management support plays a vital role, managers are the key in ensuring that
technology is used to benefit the business. Kao et al. (1996) mentioned that
technology is more beneficial when supported by good management systems, and
that technology has a limited contribution to productivity. Business managers
play a critical role in planning, controlling, coordinating and leading their
employees in businesses, to ensure that the right technologies are brought into
the organization.
Several
changes have taken place in private and public offices as regard the roles and
functions of the secretary. The type of machines and gadgets that were used to
produce, duplicate and store information has undergone a great transformation
to cope with the fast growing world of technology. The success of any
organization relies much on the secretary whose role though supportive is
critical to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. In today’s
organizations one of the things that make organizations unique is the use of
modern technological gadgets. Both internal and external forces such as market
competition, consumer behaviour, technology and quality management are the drivers
of organizational change In today’s business world, every office requires facts
and accurate information for quick decision making (Akpomi and Ordu, 2009). In
Modern Office Technology the role of the secretary is crucial in the life or
progress of an organization hence, needs some technological and human backing
from the work place. The effective performance of the Professional Secretary
depends upon the office equipment, knowledge and skills, of Professional
Secretary. The skill level and functioning of the traditional secretary involve
greater physical and mental ability. The introduction of modern technologies
and programmes has lessened the onerous tasks for the modern secretary. These
range from production, reproduction, storage and retrieval among others. With
this advancement of technology, the use of the computer and software programmes
facilitates the work of the professional secretary. These include the use of
machines such as printer, fax, pen drive, cell phones, photo copier, telex and
internet. These requisite knowledge and skills make the position of the
secretary rather challenging. With the improvement in technology and recent
development in office, it is envisaged that the work of the secretary will be
easier. However, these new developments brought by technological challenges
require even more knowledge and skills beyond being a professional secretary.
For the secretary to be abreast with the changing times, face the challenges
and overcome the old ways of doing things she or he needs training requirements
in recent times to help meet organizational objectives. Information technology
have affected many professions in recent times. The roles of secretarial
professionals have been turned around by technology. It has provided the tools
that shift the role of secretaries from that of information recorders to
business strategists (Adedoyin, 2010; Appah and Emeh, 2011 and Jaiyeola, 2007).
Several other authors are of the view that the secretary has to be well
equipped to meet the present challenges of a modern office. There are
conclusions by experts in the secretarial profession that there need to be
changes that will reshape the office (Boladele, 2002; Onifade, 2009;
Igbinedion, 2010). The objectives of the study are to establish the level of availability
of modern office gadgets. It also measures the knowledge and usage of office
equipment and their impact on productivity.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
Cameron
(1982), a very long time ago, commented that it takes up to 10 to 15 years
between the introduction of new equipment in the market and its installation in
small organizations. This is particularly peculiar to private business
organizations in developing countries. In modern times, it is not uncommon to
find some organizations still subjecting secretaries and office managers to the
use of manual typewriters. When managers in an organization are not provided
with efficient and effective working tools, productivity is definitely bound to
be low.
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
The
main objectives of this study is to examine critically the relevance of modern
office technology on the job performance of office managers in an
organizations. At the end of this study, the researcher would be able to:
i.
State the usefulness of modern office
Technology
ii.
Identify types of modern office
technologies used in an organization.
iii.
Examine the situation in the use of
modern office technology in private business organizations in Ogun State,
Nigeria?
iv.
Analyse the impacts of modern office
technology used by the office managers in an organization.
1.4 Research
Questions
i.
What is the extent of usage of modern
office technological gadgets by the secretaries in business organizations?
ii.
What are the modern office technologies
used in an organization?
iii.
what are situation in the use of modern
office technology in private business organizations has been given?
iv.
How does modern office technology used
by the office managers had impact in
business organization?
1.5 Significance
of the Study
It
is hoped that the findings of this study will be of immense benefit to
administrators, secretarial staff, researchers, secretarial education students.
Administrators (management): There is no single organization that can do
without training and developing its staff. As such this study will provide
adequate information to the management that will go through it to get a
foreknowledge of the importance of modern office technology and the condition
that determine the use of modern office technology. The results of the study
will hopefully stimulate further research on the relevance of modern office
technology on the job performance of office managers in an organization.
Finally, secretarial education students would benefit from the findings of the
study. They would understand better concepts being taught and be able to
express their views about concepts encountered in classroom interactions.
1.6 Scope
of the Study
There
are several areas of research on students’ opportunities, but this study is
focused on relevance of modern office technology on the job performance of
office managers in business organizations. Specifically, some career
indicators; office skills, managerial skills, entrepreneurial skills and the
Information Communication Technology skills will be used to determine the use
of modern office technology within few business organization in Abeokuta, Ogun
State.
THE RELEVANCE OF MODERN OFFICE TECHNOLOGY ON THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF OFFICE MANAGERS IN AN ORGANIZATIONS
1.7 Limitation
of the Study
During
the course of this research work, the study was affected by some constraints,
However, the major constraint was that, the study was limited to business
organization in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the respondent were not fully open minded
due to some top secrets in the practice more so, the researcher were affected
by lack of coverage due to the wideness of the study area, data interpretation
and computation, finally, the researcher were affected by financial
constraints.
1.8 Delimitation
of the Study
This
study is delimited to the relevance of modern office technology on the job
performance of office managers in business organizations.
1.9 Definition
of Terms
Relevance: The quality or state of being
closely connected or appropriate.
Modern: Modern is relating to the
present or recent times as opposed to the remote past.
Office: a
room, set of rooms, or building used as a place of business for non-manual
work.
Technology: the
application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in
industry.
Modern Office: The modern office is an office that has
an open plan layout with few divisions.
Office
Technology: Office Technology is the study of a wide range of subjects related
to careers in the modern office of today.
Job: Job simply means a paid position of regular employment.
Performance: Performance is an act of presenting a play, concert, or
other form of entertainment.
Job Performance: This is the work related activities expected of an
employee and how well those activities were executed.
Manager: Manager is a
person responsible for controlling or administering an organization or group of
staff.
Business: an organization or economic system where goods and services
are exchanged for one another or for money.
Organization: A social unit of people that is structured and managed to
meet a need or to pursue collective goals.
Business
Organization: A business organization is
an individual or group of people that collaborate to achieve certain commercial
goals.