IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON THE EFFICIENCY OF SECRETARIAL PERSONNEL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0       Background of the study

Major theories of motivation are classified as those dealing either with exogenous causes or with endogenous processes. Whereas the latter help explain motivation the former identify levers for improving worker motivation and performance. Seven keys strategies for improving work motivation are distilled from the exogenous theories. Illustrative performs are described for implementing those strategies, proms hat aim at cretin organization in with workers are both better  satisfied and more productive suggestion are offered for improving the science and technology of work motivation. The issue of motivation as it affects the efficiency of secretarial personnel is the concern of this research work. Many studies have demonstrated the relatively successful performance implications of formalized goal setting performance in organizations. However these findings typically do not identify the specific factors behind such techniques that are largely responsible for their success. Toward this and, research relating to 6 factor analytically derived attributes of employees task goals is reviewed to ascertain which attributes are more consistently related to performance. The 6 task-Goa attributes are goal specifically, participation in goal setting, feedback, peer completion, goal difficulty and goal acceptance. Although goal specificity an goal acceptance were found to be most consistently related to performance, several interviewed in variables emerged the attended to affect performance. Motivation has gone beyond monetary aspect, for example, in Nigeria, declaration of new salary  structures of about 75% increment made across the board in May, 2000 in all sectors of Government parasitatals cannot be justified. This gesture was extend to both public and private companies as the Nigeria Labour Congress mandated it for all labour employers effect the new salary  structure through their respective union or association. After this many more increase has been done but people still find it hard to make ends meet. The increase in salary make no significant difference in the lives of workers, the aims was not realized probably because money is not the only motivation expected by workers. Soil, what are the things that are leading to un-satisfaction on the job? Motivation includes other benefits and incentives, the various techniques of motivation such as compensation structure, hierarchy of power etcetera and how it inspects the productivity of a viable worker (Secretary). The role of secretary is one of the most importance roles in an organization aiming at success. Secretaries are becoming more demanding with the raid of technological changes in offices.  “Motivation of secretaries in an organization especially the monetary and promotion aspect is not encouraging” Abuka (1991), state that “graduates from other disciplines such as engineers, lawyers, accountancy, are placed higher than secretaries and are rapidly promoted to executive level who at this executive level will still depend solely on the secretary, this attitude will tend to demotivate secretaries. This is not so in advance countries, salary adjustments and promotions in advanced countries depend almost entirely on productivity.

1.1       Statement of the problem

In every environment the elements and factors of motivation must put in place loyalty and high productivity toward the achieving of the organization should be the aim and objective of such environment. Therefore, for an employee to perform accurately, some favourable practices must be put in place in an organization.

1. The transmitting of communication at the time.
2. The information cycle of secretaries must be pertinent.
3. There must be an effective communication in an organization.
4. There must be a good environment in an organization.

1.2       ResearchQuestion

1. Does monetary motivation have any significant impact on the effectiveness of secretarial personnel?
2. Does environmental motivation have any significant impact on effectiveness of secretarial personnel?
3. Does regular promotion have any significant impact on the effectiveness of secretarial personnel?

1.3       Significant of the study

This project will be suitable for established business organization that are experiencing personnel management problems, labour turnover and power performance employees. This research will be relevant in the study of office management producers and practices. The above mentioned significance will be highlighted as follow;

• It identifies and analyses areas of problems, which may hinder efficient and effective performance of secretaries.
• It suggests useful recommendation that can enhance the performances of secretaries in an organization.
• It assists the future researchers, students and manages in the understanding of the various need of human being.
• It diagnoses both past and present literature on the concept of the study.

1.4       Scope of the Study

            The scope of this study is limited to the Federal Polytechnic, Ede. Information will be collected mainly from the secretarial personnel in all the department in the institution.

1.5       Limitation of the study

The major factor that stands as limitation to this work is shortage of funds and time. Non availability of good quality textbooks also posed a serious challenge to the research coupled with the care-free attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher mode judicious used of the available resources.

1.6       Definition of terms

In other to enhance effective understanding of this project work, the following terms used in it are discussed below:

• Motivation:This can be defined as the process of stimulating the interest of somebody to do something that is the act that incites one into action. It is also defined as anything’s done to improve or manipulate the performance of human resources to achieve the set target. Motivating an employee or secretary for the purpose of this research work is providing external stimuli. Which states off a voluntary process and incites the individual to actions.
• Efficiency: Is the relationship between input and output. Therefore, for this research work, the terms “secretary efficiency” can be defined as a relationship between secretarial performance and organization output which form the organization goals.
• Productivity: This is measured by comparing the amount produced with the resources (inputs from employers and used to produce it).
• Incentive: Means encouraging somebody to do something and incentive to work harder. It can be internal or external. Internal in terms of providing snacks and drinks during working hours, give monetary encouragement for overtime and so on.
• Secretary: Is an assistance to an executive who provides secretarial function such as taking dictation, and reproducing them in typescript for her boss, receiving and attending to visitors, make enquires and office routine duties and other related duties as may be assigned by the executive.

CHAPTER TWO

RELATED REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0       Introduction

Various definitions of motivation will be dealt with in this chapter. The duties and responsibilities of a secretary, what action motivates a secretary and what organizational developments are aimed at motivating secretaries will be discusses vividly.

From the time pasts, one is made to understand that social scientific has been carrying out studies on human nature. Until about the middle part of this country, it has been so that people began to apply scientific approach to study the factors, which affects human productivity at the work place. The problem of proper utilization of people on the jobs became paramount to employers, the better employee morale and the need for more productivity. “For organization to get things done, human being must be used well” something must be done to energize human being in order to get the best from them by creating the drive need for them to exert their energies. It can then be regarded as motivation. Therefore, to achieve organizational goals, the behaviours of workers must be influenced.

2.1       Definition of Motivation

Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (1995:750) defines motivation as the process of stimulating the interest of somebody to do something. Motivation is also defined by Fagbounge and Longe (1999:08)” as the immediate forces that act to energize, direct, sustained and stop a behaviours’.

Motivation is said to be complex and highly individualistic because of the diversity of human motivation that manifest in human behavior.

The definition of Vroom (1965:96) who said, “motivation is a process where an individual will exerts work effort achieve performance that will result in preferred rewards” is supported by the above explanation.

All these definitions implied that motivation involve a voluntary process originated from within the individual who is clearing out the action. Motivating therefore implies providing some external stimuli which starts off this voluntary process and individual to an action in clearly the voluntary process which incites the individual to action be short-lived or may last long. I therefore pertinent to note that there can be motivation without a goal.

2.2       Motivation Theory

We cannot but mention the theory of Maslow in an attempt to discuss the impact of motivation successfully because the outlined various needs that must be incurred by human being.

Maslow (1950:370-396) asserted in his theory of motivation that Human being are motivated by their needs. These needs are many and they vary considerably in their degree of importance.

Because these needs are many and vary, they are necessarily arranged in order or priority starting with the lowest to the highest; he classified these needs into five and call it “Hierarchy of Needs”.

Man’s needs are arranged in hierarchy of importance and once a need is satisfied, another one emerges demanding attention. Hence, individual is motivated to engage in behavior which fulfill their needs in the following orders.

Physiological needs

Safety needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualization needs

Physiological Needs: Physiological needs are service need such as water, food and sex. They dominate motivating gents, that if they remain unsatisfied no other factor can perform the job of motivating towards a particular behavior.

Safety Needs: Safety needs is the next higher level needs which include protection from physical harm, health, economic disaster and the unexpected calamities.

Social Needs: Social need is the need of man demanding companionship. Non-satisfaction of this need affects the mental health of the individual.

Esteem Needs: Esteem needs is the realization of awareness of importance to others (self-esteem). Esteem from others must be felt as warranted and deserved. Satisfying these needs leads to a feeling of confidence and prestige.

Self-actualization Needs: Self-actualization needs is the highest a man could go into in terms of achievement in the line of his career. The desire of a man to become more of what he is capable of becoming. Therefore, whether one is a lawyer, a scientist or a secretary, the need is to be most efficient and efficient and effective in such role.

In practice each needs does not want to be satisfied hundred percent before focus switches to the net. The degree to which a need is satisfied before emphasis changes to the next in the hierarchy will vary from individual to individual.

2.3       Definition of Secretary

            Place et al (1980:49) defines a secretary as “someone who without direct responsibility assist another person with communication and public relations in business professional and personal affairs.

In an administrative sense, odiage (1992:28) described  secretary “ As one who as an appointed officers and executive support personnel is charged with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the office in relation to information, processing, record management, servicing, meeting human relations organization and miscellaneous functions.

A secretary is also defined as an executive assistant, who possess a mastery of office skill, demonstrates the ability to assume responsibilities without direct supervision exercises initiative and judgment and make decision within the scope of assigned authority.

Ademiluyi et al (2004:8) describes a confidential secretary as a person who deals with correspondence of confidential nature. A competent confidential secretary is said to be an indispensable alter ego of the boss.

2.4       Duties and Responsibilities of Secretary

The office is an integral part of a business organization, which is basically meant for clerical and secretarial duties. Therefore, the secretary requires warn attitude and have a lot of duties to carry out for the smooth running of the office.

The ability to write shorthand and type does not automatically make her a secretary in its entirety. She must not be lacking in some areas of the profession. She must undergo the training for secretarial professionalism where the ethics of the profession are inculcated in her for the effective performance of her duties.

According to Ademiluyi and Agboola (2004:10) secretary’s duties are many, they vary from one organization to another, but in some organizations, specialist duties may be discharged in addition to the common ones. However, there are certain essential duties with which the secretary should be familiar. Her functions and duties include the following but are not limited to these only.

1. General office work – relieving executives of minor executives and clerical duties.
2. Take dictation and transcribe it only the typewriter.
3. Act as memory aid to the boss.
4. Read travel time table and plan itineraries for the boss.
5. Write congratulatory letters or letters of condolence when necessary.
6. Make hotel reservations another travel arrangement.
7. Keep financial records and handle imprest account.
8. Prepare agenda and notice covering meeting and send copies to members.
9. Dispatch letters.
10. Read and sort mails.

To establish an investment model of motivation the secretary and the management need to

answer to following questions.

1. What does the secretary wants to achieve (i.e promotion, pay and security)?
2. What does the secretary invest (time, effort, involvement and commitment)?
3. How much risk is involved? What are the changes of reaching the objective?
4. How long will it take to achieve the objectives?
5. What is the return to the individual employee?

The secretary assigns her value to the above question. When the secretary perceives that the

objectives can be met, then the result is a situation in which she will decide to invest and the management receives a commission in the form of her performance to foster long-term, sustained motivation, organizations must put the following to action.

• Delegation of Authority/Responsibility:This is form of recognition that grants the secretary a greater degree of independence of act of freedom from close supervision. It impose a greater measure of responsibilities and therefore, challenges are ability.
• Good Management: The secretary can be motivated by good management practice. Three key elements that can be used to improved employee’s performance is considered here, communication, commitment and continuation.
• Communication: Honest, completeand trusted communication with employees. It successes, plans, problem and failures, should be provided to employees routinely.
• Commitment: Participative Management can earn the co-operation and commitment of all employees. The management should involve the secretary in the planning goal setting and reviewing of the organization. Success through commitment should always be recognized and rewarded.
• Continuation: In order to sustain high productivity the practice of good management need to continue and the organization should always be able to standby their word especially in communication and commitment.
• Offer Outplacement Services: Many secretaries dreamt of career advancements, or career upgrading. Many organizational efforts that help to achieve these drams are not likely to serve as a motivational secretary may be helped to change their careers, continue and improve their education throughout place advice and service. It can be achieved through training that strengthens her. The secretary can be motivated to give her best to the organization she perceives is helping her to achieve her goals and motives.
• Over controlling: the manager should stop treating the secretaries like children, servants or dummies. They should respect and appreciate the secretaries and try as much as possible to always to always use the word “thank you” in order to make them feel at home while in the office and be more responsible rather than condemning and insulting them.
• Placement and Services: The system used by the oil companies in placement and salary structure should be adopted in the organization especially in the public sector.
• Recognition/Promotion: Nothing will motivate employees if they are not meeting their goals. The secretary will work harder if the notices that the organization has much in stock for her in terms of recognition and promotion. Organization should be ready to respond to the ever-changing needs of their employees.
• Working Environment: A well-furnished and equipped office may cause the secretary to be missing her job whenever she is not at work.

Current research efforts have shown the following checklists out of the numerous factors as

commondemotivators of secretaries:

Office Politics.

Unclear Expectations.

Unnecessary rules, tolerating poor performance.

Poorly Designed work process.

Unproductive meetings.

Lack of follow-up.

Constant changes internal competition.

Discouraging responses.

Criticism.

Under-utilization.

Over-control.

Unfairness.

2.5       What Organization development practices are aimed at motivating secretaries?

            It is far easier to deal with genera approach than to worry about satisfiers and dissatisfies on the management side. How attractive a particular outcome might be psychological connotation and their accompanying emotional impact where a person is on a hierarchy.

Therefore most organization does not have the necessary organizational response to ever changing needs of their employees which might not bring a position is on a hierarchy.

Therefore most organization does not have the necessary organizational response to ever changing needs of their employees which might not bring a positive solution. The investment models allow management to provide advice, guidance, and support and help furthering the employee’s effort to achieve his or her objectives.

There is economic depression in Nigeria, which increases deprivation, imbalances and insecurity. Thus, it became the need for which the individual is prepared to exert efforts to over come. Despite all these, the organization does not fail in motivating their top management and employees in other field, therefore, be treated differently from to her manager.

The organization must recognize that wanting more does not necessarily indicate lack of initiative or ambition, but may be the secretary’s judgment of the position in there way of life. Also, no organization wants any of its work force, especially the secretarial level to regard the job as relatively unimportant. The mode used to encourage secretaries to have much interest in their job is therefore, very important and should be put in place. The functions of leaders and his efforts, on motivation arise within the organizational perspective.