Information and communication technology are crucially important for sustainable development in developing countries. Thioune (2011) notes that for the past two decades most developed countries have witnessed significant changes that can be traced to ICTs.
These multi-dimensional changes have been observed in amt all aspects of life: economics, education, communication and commerce. In a technology driven society, getting information quickly is important for both sender and receiver. Information and communication technology have made it possible to quickly find and distribute information.
Read:
Thoiune (2011) indicates that many initiatives have taken at the international level to support Africa’s efforts to develop a communication infrastructure and these efforts are designed to enable African countries including Nigeria to find faster ways to achieve durable and sustainable development.
Helmut (2011), cited by Akpore (2013) states that of the technological changes that influence our lives in recent years, information and communication technology has had the greatest impact. This will continue at least until the end of the first half of the century, when other major technological breakthrough in the area of new materials, biotechnology, or energy, may provide entirely new ways of living.
Also, Annan (2011) notes that the information and communication technology society is a way for human capacity to expanded, built up, nourished, and liberated by giving people access to tools and technologies with the education and training to use them effectively.
Information and communication technology equip the employees of business organizations including secretaries with the requisite skills necessary for accurate, fast and proficient job performance. It also allows improved productivity and excellent service delivery.
Impact of Information and Communication Technology on the Job Performance of Secretaries
Today, the business world is undergoing far-reaching technological revolution due to the advancement in science. For all types of organizations to succeed in today’s rapidly changing environment, they need to be able to process data and information effectively.
According to Ezeocha (2011) in conducting day-to-day operations, organizations use information and communication technology for functions such as planning, controlling, directing, organizing and decision making. For secretaries not only have their equipment changed but also their administrative processes and office routine management systems are similarly evolving into new forms.
Information and communication technology equipments like computers have replaced manual typewriters and electric typewriter while telephones replaced telex machines. There are also different type of advanced communication gadget such as cellular phones, pager etc. with this radical change, the secretaries are expected to change and be able to keep up with all these professional changes around them.
The main impact of information and communication technology is simply to facilitate office operation as they are now being carried out. For example the word professor replace the secretary’s type writer, the mini-computer replaces the clerk’s filling cabinets etc.
Read:
More, recently professionals and secretaries have begun using personal computers and sophisticated calculators to speed up their work. The timing of there development has largely been dictated ye emergence of the technology starting with the widespread introduction of word processors in the 1970, and in the late 1970s and its legitimate recognition as a business tool in 1981, with the introduction of the IBM P.C
In support of the above views, Offor (2012) observes that, the expansion of offices necessitated the development of modern office equipment. In developing countries like Nigeria for instance where children build things for fun e.g kites, toys, etc, the white-men of old constructed certain equipment in past years.
As a result of new trend in manufacturing industries world wide, they strive to give better product and better services so as to remain in business. The need for more information and circulation transaction exchange, distribution, book-keeping, records, payrolls communication, copies of documents etc. the advert of the industrial revolution and ever increasing amount of data to be processed, gave rise to the need for faster, cheaper and more efficient method of processing words and data.
Moreso, Asuzu (2009) posits that, information and communication technology help secretaries to perform most duties at unique speed. It also help them to process with accuracy and speed the information needed by the management in policy making and decision takings for instance, copying machine is a quick and simple method of making copies of documents. A single copy or a number of copies can be made depending on the size of the machine one is using.
It suffices to say from the foregoing that an efficient secretary making use of electronic typewriters procedures work at twice or three times the speed of a clerk using manual typewriter. Also as exact copies or the originals are made by the duplicating machine, they (the copies) do not need to be checked.
This saves time, the mistakes which are too many in hand writer method of recording data especially calculations are invariably difficult to locate and much valuable time and money can be spent in searching for them. Such delays means that information available to management is neither readily obtained nor up-dated. Also, these delay may prove costly since statement sent out late mean late statement of account, extending credit and increasing risk of bad debts. But machine like the computer system has facilities to spot and correct errors present in a text.
Read:
In view of the above, Igwobi (2012) asserts that it is clear and well established fact that information and communication technology equipment have the ability to produce more reliable out-put, once correct data are feed in. Also, computer system, word processors, IBM electronic typewriter itself and files for future use. The active storage of the computer holds the operating programme and data which is used by the secretary. The use of information and communication technology makes information available to the management at the desired period.
No comments:
Post a Comment