ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to examine office info-exchange facilities and secretaries’ service delivery effectiveness in business organization. To accomplish this, 20 respondents comprising of secretaries selected business organizations in Ikot Ekpene Urban were randomly selected to constitute sample. The instruments used for collecting data in this study were a structured questionnaire, titled “Office Info-exchange facilities and secretaries service’ delivery effectiveness”, distributed and retrieved by hand. The statistical techniques used for the analysis was simple percentage. The findings showed memo, email and correspondence influence secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization. Therefore, Secretaries who lack adequate knowledge and skill in the usage of modern office information-exchange facilities, technology/equipment should be retrained to fit into the current trend of technological advancement for effective performance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title

Approval                         –         –         –         –         –         –         –

Certificate                        –         –         –         –         –         –         –

Dedication                       –         –         –         –         –         –         –

Acknowledgment            –         –         –         –         –         –         –

Table of Contents             –         –         –         –         –         –         –

List of Tables                   –         –         –         –         –         –         –

Abstract                           –         –         –         –         –         –         –

CHAPTER ONE:   INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study –         –         –         –         –

1.2 Statement of the Problem –         –         –         –         –

1.3 Purpose of the Study –         –         –         –         –

1.4 Significance of the Study –         –         –         –         –

1.5 Research Questions –         –         –         –         –

1.6 Delimitation of the Study –         –         –         –         –

1.7 Limitation of the Study –         –         –         –         –

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1     Introduction

2.2     Concept of Service Delivery

2.3 History of Secretarial Profession

2.4 Secretaries Roles and Responsibilities in Contemporary Organisation

2.5     Office Info-Exchange Facilities and their Importance in Secretarial Service Delivery

2.5.1  Internet

2.5.2  Electronic mail (E-mail)

2.5.3  Telephone

2.5.4  Computers

2.5.5  Teleconferencing

2.6 Causes of a failed service delivery system in an Organization

2.7 Advantages of Office Info-Exchange Facility

2.8 Understanding Employee (Secretary) Performance

2.9     Summary of Literature Review

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS

3.1     Introduction                     –         –         –         –         –         –

3.2     Area of the Study            –         –         –         –         –

3.3     Research Designs            –         –         –         –         –

3.4     Population of the Study   –         –         –         –         –

3.5     Sample and Sampling Techniques        –         –         –         –

3.6     Research Instruments                 –         –         –         –         –

3.7     Validation of the Instruments     –         –         –         –         –

3.8     Reliability of Research Instruments     –         –         –         –

3.9     Data Collection Techniques                 –         –         –         –

3.10   Data Analysis Techniques                    –         –         –         –

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.1     Introduction                     –         –         –         –         –         –

4.2     Data Presentation             –         –         –         –         –         –

4.3     Discussion of Findings    –         –         –         –         –         –

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1     Introduction           –         –         –         –         –         –         –

5.2     Re-statement of the Problem     –         –         –         –         –         –

5.3     Summary of Findings      –         –         –         –         –         –         –

5.4     Conclusion            –         –         –         –         –         –         –

5.5     Recommendations           –         –         –         –         –         –

5.6     Suggestions for Further Research        –         –         –         –

References

Appendix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

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).

The introduction of office info-exchange facilities significantly impacts on the level of secretaries’ productivity especially in the area of communication (Onoja, 2020). Koko and Okogun (2020) viewed the abilities to communicate not only as indicator of good foundation in education but also as an ensuring tool necessary for jobs acquisition/maintenance among secretaries in Anambra State. Communication is the process of transmitting information from one person or place to another. Osso in Agboola and Ademiluyi (2015) observed that communication is more than passing information to a receiver and involves dialogue and social exchange. Agboola and Ademiluyi (2016) opined that through the integration of ICT, communication can be effective because it necessitate that intended message is received, correctly interpreted and understood, accepted and appropriately acted upon by the receiver and confirmed by feedback.

The role of a secretary is indispensable in every organization. A secretary according to Mayer (2016) is an executive assistant who posses a mastery of office skills, demonstrates the ability to assume responsibility with or without supervision, exercises initiatives and judgment and makes decision with the scope of assigned authority. The secretary is a public relations expert, a staff assistant, the boss’s office memory. The secretary is responsible for much of the detail work of the office and is expected to carry out the duties with a minimum of supervision and direction. He is expected to represent the organization and the employer attractively to the public and generates good human relations in working with all employees in the organization (Nwosu, 2017). This explains that a qualified secretary should have a wide knowledge of business acumen, be versatile in office practice, communication and knowledge of the operation of all departments within the organization where he works, unlike a half-baked secretary who possesses only knowledge of shorthand, typewriting and basic office practices.

Duniya (2021) observed that due to the introduction of sophisticated technological (electronic) office equipment into today’s office and the role secretaries need to play in ensuring accuracy and efficiency in their jobs, the secretaries need to meet the challenges by acquiring new skills and competencies for efficient operations in the electronic office. There is continuous advancement in technology which has affected the secretarial profession in terms of the quality, speed and accuracy of works performed. This has led to the introduction of various electronic facilities to ensure adequate secretarial practice in organization. It is essential that secretaries are properly trained on the usage of these modern facilities to enhance their level of productivity.

Internal memo is a short, written, authenticated, and formal communication technique only used within an organization or workplace among the colleagues (employees of an organization), and not outside the organization, to provide work-related information or to ask/request for some form of work-related actions to take place (Oliver and Chapman, 2019).

There are eighteen important properties of a memo as described below very briefly:

Written Communication: A memo is a written form of communication neither verbal nor symbolic, Shortness: A memo is quite short and conventionally it is shorter than a standard page, Stationery: The paper in which a memo is written is a white paper, and not a slip pad or a small notepad. The paper must be white because papers of different colors (such as red, blue, yellow, etc.) are used by HR Division for some other special purposes. In addition, color talks. Don’t allow colorful communication that may lead to wrong decoding and may become an important communication filter such as distraction. On the other hand, a memo must not be written on a letter pad of the organization since the memo is used within the organization, Authentication: A memo must be authenticated by the sender with a legally valid original signature (initial is invalid in case of the memo, since the initial will never be validated by a complete signature anywhere in a memo. Think of a bank’s check). On the other hand, the very definition and form of initial are not clear to us. If I write only IA as an initial instead of my signature, it would be difficult to prove that I really have written the memo. Nowadays, we use a signature instead of initial in a memo due to a legal requirement. You must keep in mind that an initial has no legal validity unless it is validated by a full signature at the end of the document. Do not use sealed signature. Use of sealed signature is invalid/illegal and it violates the etiquette. Uncultured people sometimes use sealed signature (Ducheneaut & Watts, 2021). Identification of the Receiver: Receiver must be identified by three things. First, write the Mr, Ms., Dr. Professor, etc. Second, and then write the full name of the receiver. And finally, write the full designation of the receiver.

Electronic communication is vital to accessibility, quantity, and quality of information. PCs are constantly allocated and relocated, and technology-based tools are constantly upgraded and increasingly in demand. Channels (PCs) and carriers (internet) alike are identified with effectiveness and improved organizational performance. As the dictates of global economy expand, the geographic space covered by organizations increases incrementally, but physical space becomes more expensive. The need for efficient but inexpensive modes of communication, for sharing information and knowledge, generates increased electronic interaction (Gupta, Karimi & Somers, 2020), of which e-mail is considered the most satisfactory tool (Davenport & Prusak, 2018) because it is easily and quickly created, edited, stored, discarded or organized, appended and forwarded to the relevant recipients (Olson & Lucas 2022; Ducheneaut & Watts, 2015). For some, e-mail’s inherent properties (low cost, speed of communication, ease of use) and “technical neutrality” minimize potential communication distortions caused by differences in occupational, ethnic or gender characteristics of the communicators (Romm & Pliskin, 2019). Email can, for example, improve management processes by enhancing inter-departmental communication, which may significantly affect interdepartmental relations (Olson & Lucas, 2022; Lucas, 2018). However, some studies have questioned the appropriateness and effectiveness of electronic messages, and raise questions in regard to    the impact of information management on employees’ wellbeing (Sproull & Kiesler, 2021; Hogg, 2020) including work-related stress and job dissatisfaction (Lewis, 2019, p. 4; Ingham, 2023).

Correspondence is the most important channel through which Business Communication and Official Communication takes place in any written or digital form between two or more parties. It may be in the form of letters, memos, e-mail messages, text messages, fax messages, voicemails, notes etc. Business Executives have to write a large number of letters for various kinds of business enquiries, purchase orders, money collection, complaints and adjustments and for maintaining the good relations with other companies. A good business letter follows the 7C’s of Communication – clarity, completeness, conciseness, consideration, correctness, courtesy and concentration. Business Correspondence means the exchange of information in any written format inside an organization (intra-organization i.e. within a business), between two or more organizations (inter-organization i.e. b2b) and between the customer and organization. E-correspondence has also become extremely essential for modern businesses. The whole Business Correspondence should, preferably, be done on the letter-head of the organization. It is through letters that an organization can build good relations with different parties i.e. customers, suppliers and service providers. The image of an organization depends on what impression is conveyed through the business letters. These letters help to bridge the gap between two parties. Since the basic objective of a business letter is directly or indirectly to increase the business of the company, it should be drafted and typed with utmost care, accuracy and displayed in such a way that it gives a pleasing appearance (Jackson, Dawson & Wilson, 2003).

Internal memo information is harder to dispute than oral communication because the memo is evidence of what the writer said. If there is a dispute, employees and managers can refer to the memo to resolve the conflict. The memo also may serve as a reference for employees for the future as a way of maintaining memory clarity. This keeps operations efficient. Internal memos show what was happening in a company at a specific point. They show who was involved in company actions, what the goals were and who initiated them. By keeping a minimum of a digital copy of each memo produced, the company has records of operations. These are useful for audits and showing investors and other interested parties that the company is progressing toward goals. Business people are able to produce and deliver internal memos unobtrusively. Even when the memo is physically printed, employees can read the memo at their leisure. This is less disruptive than other means of communication such as phone calls, instant messaging or meetings. Delivery of memos is easy. With hard-copy memos, it takes just one person to hand the memo out to employees or put it in the employee mailbox. It usually does not take more than one business day for the memo to travel from department to department. With digital memos, business people can send the memo to hundreds or even thousands of workers with a single click, getting the memo out in just seconds. Business internal memos are designed to be short and to the point. Whatever is in the memo is evidence, as well. These two points encourage the writer of the memo to think critically about what he puts into the memo. By doing this, the writer gets a clear picture of the intent behind the writing and thus is better able to defend the memo’s purpose in the future.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

Modern office info-exchange facilities allow office duties to be completed more quickly and efficiently. The introduction of sophisticated technological (electronic) office equipment into today’s office, as well as the role secretaries must play in ensuring accuracy and efficiency in their jobs, requires secretaries to meet the challenges by acquiring new skills and competencies for efficient operations in the electronic office which has put secretaries, to the test. Thus, these communication technologies have recently revolutionized office skills, rendering some skills such as transcription skills and manual typewriter typing obsolete, while also giving rise to previously unknown skills such as webpage design, desktop publishing, networking, internet skills, and others in modern organizations. This evolution has clearly put secretaries’ abilities and functions to the test.

Bizarrely, one of the primary causes of poor performance among secretaries in most firms is their woeful lack of current technological abilities. Many of them lack the contemporary technological abilities necessary in the various offices, which has proven to have a detrimental impact on their overall effectiveness. The lack of abilities in the areas of webpage design, desktop publishing, office application, networking, internet competence, and so on among secretaries in government offices has frequently been a subject of concern for the management of such companies. Thus, office info-exchange facilities should have positive impact on the secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization. Therefore, the study seeks to ascertain the office info-exchange facilities and secretaries’ service delivery effectiveness in business organization.

1.3     Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is examine office info-exchange facilities and secretaries’ service delivery effectiveness in business organization.

Specifically, the study is to;

1. Determine the influence of internal memo and secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization.
2. Determine the influence of email and secretaries delivery effectiveness in business organization.
3. To determine the influence of correspondence and secretary delivery effectiveness in business organization.

1.4     Significance of the Study

This study will be significant to business owners secretaries and to public and private organizations. Specifically, this study will open the thinking of business owners to see the need of acquiring those modern communication equipment that are not available in their establishment.

To private and public establishment it will expose the need of the modern communication equipment and create better awareness of the implication of office info-exchange facilities.

The findings will among other thing help to dispose of the superstition belief that the modern communication equipment are “the greatest enemy of men as it displaces man from the job, deny them of initiative in his job, and makes them more machines operators and destroy old division of labour” it will encourage potential secretaries to set up efforts to undertake some training on the operation of modern communication equipment in order to improve their job efficiency.

Finally, the study will contribute to the general body of knowledge serving as reference material for students and researcher and at most giving opportunity for further research in this field.

1.5     Research Questions

The following research question will be asked to guide the study;

1. Does internal memo influence secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization?
2. Does email influence secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization?
3. Does correspondence influence secretaries service delivery effectiveness in business organization?

1.6     Delimitation of the Study

The study was delimited to office info-exchange facilities and secretaries’ service delivery effectiveness in business organizations a case study of selected business organizations in Ikot Ekpene.

1.7     Limitation of the Study

The study was limited due to the following reasons: Lack of fund, time constraint and reluctant attitudes of the respondents to provide the needed information required in the questionnaire.