AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWN-TURN IN MALE STUDENTS ENROLLMENT IN SECRETARIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC OKO, AND THE INTSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY ENUGU
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
There is this observation today that males are dropping out of secretarial profession. A critical look at this statement reveals that the secretarial profession is being dominated by the female secretaries in recent years the sole aim of every organization is its survival. As a result of this the employer of labor should make conscious efforts to ensure that the organization has the right to cheval caliber of employees who will contribute vigorously to the achievement of the organizational goals and who are also expected to portray a good image of the organization. All these have a lot of impacts in an organization particularly when it comes to business. As a result of numerous and sensitive nature of secretarial profession, there is need for a balance labor force to save the employers from the problems of whom to employ and whom not to employ in the past secretarial profession was perceived to be for females only and that males who engage in it do it as a last resort. Some have the impression that secretaries are females who took down notes and correspondence like shorthand and transcribe on the typewriter for their male executives or managers. It was also a synonym for females who organize and run small offices for their male employers they carryout all office jobs ranging from hiring junior staff keeping cash books and arranging for the day to day office routines, they are regarded as the channel of communication between their employers and the rest of the staff with constant demand on their ability, they are expected to be tactful, loyal, efficient discrete and maintain confidentiality they are expected to put in all their energy and enthusiasm to their boss interest, protecting him from undesirable demand and interruption, the above assumption about secretaries in the pas as “female who run office for males employers or boss is not the case these days. Analysis recently has shown that the advancement of secretarial profession was expanded and this is becoming more complex and challenging the roles of secretaries have increased tremendously to include other functions which are of great importance to any organization these made if possible for males to engage in the profession not as a last resort once more. At least in out of fire secretaries two are males.
National Secretarial Association of the United States of America defines a secretary as “An executive assistance, posing a good mastery of office skills and ability to assume responsibilities without direct supervision display initiatives exercises judgment and make decisions within the scope of his/her authority”
Harding (1988) went further to define a secretary as “one who provides a full range of management support which calls upon in a variety of skills and abilities that would certainly not be prerequisite office staff generally”. In these definitions, we see that secretary is an important officer in any establishment his works has even become more technical especially the advent of computers and other machines.
