The U.S. economy can be characterized as one in which global competition is fierce, industry is basically information-based and service-oriented, process and quality are emphasized over productivity in mode of procedure, and technological developments have led to the creation of new products and services and thus new types of jobs and diverse office careers.
The workplace is changing as an outgrowth of new technologies. It is now the locus for new organizational structures, applications, and procedures. Companies are now assuming a much greater role in the lives of their employees and are investing more capital in employee training, benefit plans, and child-care programs. For individuals with skills in demand, as well as for retention of valued employees, work style options such as alternative work schedules, job sharing, and free-lancing are available.
The workforce is experiencing a growing gap between needs of the labor market and employee skills. The pool of potential workers is shrinking due largely to the changing demographics of the American work force and the baby bust of the 1970s, which accounts for the declining number of young people now entering the labor force. Entrants into the work force are from diversified backgrounds, thus presenting new challenges because of language, cultural, and gender differences. Government statistics indicate that by the end of 1990, minority groups, women, and immigrants accounted for 85 percent of all new job seekers. By the turn of the century, 81 percent of women in the United States will be working and will account for 47 percent of the nation's labor force. These women will be the source of workers needed to support this country's economic growth. Employment of secretaries is expected to grow through the year 2000 at the same rate as other occupations, and the demand will continue to be strong.
The personal lives of the American family also have experienced dramatic changes during this century. As described by John F. Stinson, Jr., in the July 1990 Monthly Labor Review, these changes reflect shifting economic roles and increased labor force activity of wives; a growth in the number of divorced, widowed, separated, and single persons; and a trend toward fewer children and having them later in life. Also, the expanding economy, after the recession of the early 1980s, led to ''moonlighting" or multiple job holding positions by a large number of individuals. Of the 7.2 million Americans who held two or more jobs in 1989, women accounted for 3.1 million or 5.9 percent. These changes led employers to redesign their packages from ones for the male-sup-ported family to more flexible and innovative programs to meet the needs of contemporary family structures.
The Canadian Marketplace
The Canadian economy, like that of the United States, is undergoing tremendous changes as a result of significant investments in technology and equipment, new products and services, and new methods of production. Similarly, there has been remarkable growth in the service sector, which accounts for the largest number of jobs; a slowdown in the growth of the labor force; and a shortage of flexible, skilled workers. Currently, women comprise 42 percent of the labor force, and by the next decade this figure will rise to 50 percent.
The government is playing an active role in the current labor force challenges. It is taking steps to stimulate industry; to provide training that is responsive to current market needs; to develop a realignment within the Unemployment Insurance program so that more money is spent on active training and reemployment of the unemployed; and to revise unemployment insurance benefits to better respond to the needs of working parents, to encourage active employment of workers who are over 65 years of age, and to reduce work disincentives.?
The Nature of Secretarial Positions
In the United States, the secretarial profession and clerical work continue to make up the third largest major occupational category, despite predictions of their demise. This finding was published by Roberta Spalter Roth and Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women's Policy Research in April 1990. The burgeoning of office technology and computerization has led to changing roles of secretaries. Today's secretary has been adroitly described by Leonard Kruk, head of the University of Georgia's Business Education Department, as the techno sec (technological secretary). If you are considering becoming a secretary, then you should be aware of trends that are affecting the nature of the work and the competencies required for careers in automated offices.
Apparently there has been some confusion between machines replacing secretaries and the changing roles of secretaries. To begin with, a secretarial position is no longer a dead-end job or one that necessarily moves in tandem with the executive for whom you work. Rather, many career options are now open that have not existed previously. Depending on your personal needs or desires, you will have choices. What is important to keep in focus is that there are many kinds and sizes of offices. Not all firms are highly automated; however, as electronic equipment has decreased in price, even the smallest offices have purchased personal computers, printers, fax machines, and answering systems. By the mid-1990s, a PC might be found on the desk of almost every worker, and it may not be unusual for office employees to be viewing several screens. This means that individuals who are currently in the labor market or who are new entrants need to upgrade their communication skills, become knowledgeable about systems and office procedures, achieve operational experience with equipment and software programs, and develop good human support skills.
In Canada, office automation is redefining the role of the secretary into that of information worker. The growth of the service industry, technological innovation, and changing procedures are transforming both the nature of jobs and the skills required to do them. Employers are now seeking employees with the following qualifications: basic academic competence, analytical and problem-solving abilities, communication and interpersonal skills, initiative, creativity, and adaptability.
The employment outlook for secretaries and stenographers is good. Average growth is expected until the end of the 1990s. Job replacement will be average because of the large number of employees who are younger than 54 years of age. Generally, employment is steady throughout the year, and only one job out of five is part time.
Management/Secretarial Relationships
Modem secretarial work is no longer limited to handling the routine clerical and administrative duties of employers. Secretaries are now the center of communications, and this has far-reaching implications for secretarial careers. New attitudes and expectations on the part of management and secretaries are evolving. Although managers are beginning to recognize the importance of secretaries, especially those individuals who demonstrate the ability to assume greater responsibility and who are creative and innovative, they still need to recognize secretarial aspirations for movement into managerial positions. Business is beginning to realize that secretaries are decision makers and that they provide the linkages between different parts of the organization.
The following examples illustrate the secretarial profession. A managing director of an accounting firm values secretaries highly because they make a major difference in the quality of customer services. In Subaru of America, secretaries are considered special, and the company has instituted a Secretary-Manager Team Building program to contribute to their development. It also holds periodic conferences at a nearby hotel. The top executives in a medical center recognize the importance of administrative secretarial staff and the vital function performed for management.
Recognizing a shortage of qualified personnel, the executives established an externship program to help develop the managerial abilities of the secretarial staff. A survey published in 1989 of area businesses in Des Moines, Iowa, found that the majority of firms surveyed provide promotional opportunities for secretaries to advance to management positions.
Secretarial Mobility
Some individuals perceive the secretarial route as the stepping-stone to positions of status in the corporate structure. In some instances secretarial skills do open the door into the business world where these skills coupled with a business acumen enable employees to advance to higher-level positions. However, some secretaries say their employers are reluctant to support such pro motions because they don't want to lose them. This was apparent when executives were asked if they wanted a secretary from the ''old school" or one who wants to move up the ladder. One executive expressed it this way:' 'There's a sense of history there.
I can ask Doris whether we've done this or that before. She's used as a confidante, someone to bounce things off of-because it is kind of lonely at the top." A director of a museum stated, "Just for the sheer volume of information and knowledge of the running of the museum, the history of the museum and the thousands of people involved in making the museum go, she is invaluable."
Prospective secretarial employees must be ready to move with the times. As managers continue to use new information tools, business environments are changing, and the traditional tools of paper, pencil, and typewriter are now being challenged by electronic substitutes. Seemingly inconsequential items in combination with sophisticated systems are merging toward integrated office automation. How will this impact the role of secretary? The nature of the work cannot be predicted with certainty, but the new terms that are evolving, such as telecommunications, satellite systems, modems, micro-processing, reminder systems, distributed systems, database management, records management, and digital data communications, are indicative of work that will come from a modem office. However, these designs are all components of communication systems to maximize management productivity. With these changes, new titles will emerge, reflecting the changing nature of the job, which is still basically to support administration. This portends a restructuring of positions; retraining; a need for higher-level skills of managing, delegating, decision-making, communicating; and opportunities for new career goals and aspirations. In effect, the secretarial position will be elevated to a position it rightfully deserves, and options for self-fulfillment and advancement both vertically and laterally will be available.
Opinions of Experienced Secretaries And Business Leaders
Opinions on the new role of the secretary in the information age were solicited for this book from several secretaries and business leaders. The respondents also were invited to make suggestions that would give interested individuals a better understanding of secretarial work as a career.
Through their statements runs a common understanding that as secretarial positions become more challenging, secretaries will be required to assume higher-level decision-making responsibilities. Education beyond high school is becoming a prerequisite for advancement in a secretarial career.
Kay Palazey, Certified Professional Secretary (CPS), an executive secretary to the executive director of the Mercer County Bar Association, Trenton, New Jersey, states that opportunities for advancement are greater today than ever before. However, secretaries themselves must make it happen by acquiring skills and qualities needed in positions that might become available.
The prediction in recent years has been that when the electronic age came into being, the age of the secretary would be over-they would no longer be necessary. It is interesting to note that rather than the prediction coming true, it has taken a very dramatic turn-THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF GOOD SECRETARIES.
The secretarial profession has gained strength and now offers even more challenges and opportunities than it has in the past. Strong basic skills are still requisites, but new technology has removed the drudgery and opened the door wide to giving the professional secretary the opportunity to be creative, use initiative, and develop and use decision-making capabilities within the scope of his/her authority.
Choose a field that attracts your interest and make everything you do matter. Understand what is going on around you. Your job satisfaction will be enhanced and doors to promotion opened to you if you know how to use the new technology, are flexible, have the ability to efficiently deal with routine matters, and are able to anticipate where and when you can contribute to assure the smooth running of the operation. If an opportunity for promotion arises which requires a skill you do not have, ask how long you have to learn it or brush up on it. Always be ready for the next promotion.
Professional Secretaries International is an association that can help you attain your goals. It provides continuing education, and through its Institute for Certifying Secretaries administers a two-day Certified Professional Secretary examination covering behavioral science in business, business law, economics and management, accounting, office administration and communication, and office technology. Successful completion of the examination attests to your skills and knowledge in your chosen profession and is a very important credential for the professional secretary.
Marilyn Hartnett, CPS, Monsanto Fund Coordinator, Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Missouri, states that although there are numerous opportunities for secretarial employment, the impact of technology might make positions more competitive because of skill and knowledge requirements and also because men might reenter the field.
There is a shortage of secretaries now that women are opting for jobs once thought of as "men only'' work-a result of the women's movement toward equal opportunity and equal pay. There is the “high-technology” boom going on-electronic typewriters, electronic mail, electronic offices-which means that secretaries will have more time to assume managerial responsibilities. These two things will have the greatest impact on the job description for the secretary of the future.
The same grammar, typing, shorthand, and office procedures skills will be necessary, but the job will be expanded and a practical knowledge of the new equipment will be required as well. Anyone trying to find a job, even at entry level, will need to have computer training.
The shortage of secretaries may be to our advantage now, but with the above changes, managers will be more selective in their choice of secretaries and may even require that they have a college degree, or at very least the Certified Professional Secretary rating. We also have to consider the fact that as the secretarial jobs are upgraded, men may find the work more interesting and challenging than ever before, including higher salaries. So the shortage may, indeed, be reversed very quickly. It is also important to note that secretaries who do move into management positions later in their careers will be better prepared for opportunities if they have continued their education.
To sum up, secretaries today and tomorrow must continue their education and training beyond the high school level. They should plan, as any professional does, the career path they want to pursue-long-range and short-range-to be able to compete in tomorrow's job markets.
James Corley, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Facilities and Property Management, city of New York, Department of General Services, Division of Real Property, emphasizes the importance of excellent language skills-treading, writing, and speaking correctly-for those students preparing to enter professional secretarial/clerical employment. He states:
If one can read, write, and speak with full understanding, there is no limit to the potential for growth.
In my division, a secretary or technical support aide (data input operator or word processor) with superlative language skills-one who can identify errors in spelling, usage, or syntax and can produce concise, informative, error-free documents-is an asset.
Since assignments are most often presented via written documents, the interpretation of these documents is the key to planning a solution. The correspondence that originates in the division and is distributed to elected officials, other bureaus within the agency, and the general public is often composed by secretarial staff, thus freeing the project manager, engineer, cost estimator, or architect to manage a diverse set of assignments at any given time.
Since many problems are presented via telephone contact, clerical staff must possess good communicative skills-the ability to speak clearly and concisely, to translate directions into a written communiqué, and to present a meaningful draft to appropriate staff. In essence, the secretary records, interprets, and prepares the draft correspondence. Frequently, they have to type budgets, cost estimate summaries, and other financial documents.
Socialization and people skills are also important to develop when preparing for a secretarial career. Screening visitors and telephone calls, knowing when to interrupt, using diplomacy in turning away unscheduled visitors, handling inquiries carefully and courteously from the general public, and knowing how to soothe the irate public when dealing with the bureaucracy in the public sector are skills that play a major role in this profession.
In conclusion, prepare yourself for the interview. The successful candidate is neatly groomed and wears businesslike attire; presents a concise, well-written resume; brings to the interview extra copies and samples of work; speaks clearly, doesn't ramble, never uses slang or colloquialisms; and is always in control of emotions, even during an unexpected waiting period.
These statements reflect the need for secretaries who will be able to cope with the higher-level administrative and managerial responsibilities and jobs that require "thinking" individuals who can make decisions. Undoubtedly, secretaries with the appropriate background, skills, knowledge, and motivation to learn will have many career opportunities in the years ahead.
The scope of this book is to give you a comprehensive overview of the secretarial profession so that you will have a greater understanding of this career and the labor market.
Historical Growth of Professional Secretaries
To understand the modem role of the professional secretary, it is necessary to trace the evolution of the office. An understanding of the past coupled with the present will give you a better grasp of what is yet to come.
The earliest civilizations of Greece had need for secretaries (also known as confidants) to handle the correspondence and to record historical, business, private, and public information.
Shorthand was mastered by such Roman leaders as Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus. In Italy and in France, it was used until the seventh century A.D., when it became mistrusted and disappeared into the cloisters during the Middle Ages. During the period of the Renaissance, from 1400 to 1500, several shorthand systems were developed in England, initially with religious terms, to be followed by legal, political, and finally commercial words. In the early days in the United States, in contrast to the current female-dominated secretarial positions, men dominated the office, performing stenographic and bookkeeping tasks. This was considered a position with distinction and status and from which these men could be elevated to higher positions. "Personal" or 'Private" preceded the word secretary to reflect this status. In the United States, John Quincy Adams, Henry Adams, John Hay, and Lyndon Johnson were some of our great leaders who began their careers as secretaries to important political persons.
It was not until Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter in 1867 and perfected it in 1873 that shorthand increased in use. Together, they became communication tools. About this time, women very slowly began to enter the office in stenographic positions, and private business schools began to flourish. Contrary to current statistics, which indicate a large enrollment of women, originally men and boys were students. It wasn't until the beginning of the twentieth century that the majority of trainees were women.
Another item of interest is that when men were working as private secretaries, the position was a prestigious one, but as soon as women began to assume this role, a reversal in image occurred. There was obvious discrimination against women, for they received much less pay than men for the same long hours. They were expected to conduct themselves properly and with loyalty. Women filled the void created by the expansion of industry and the growth of paperwork. They adapted to the technology of the time and learned how to operate the typewriter, telephone, transcribing machines, and calculation machines.
By the 1930s, women dominated the office work force and once again kept pace with technology by learning the electric type writer. A small group of women who had foresight and vision recognized the importance of continuing education and became the charter members of the Professional Secretaries International (originally the National Secretaries Association), organized in 1942. In Chapter 4, you will read about the Institute for Certifying Secretaries, a group responsible for a certifying examination for secretaries, which was designed in 1951.
The next major breakthrough occurred in the mid-1960s with the introduction by IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) of the Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST). Automatic deletion and insertion of words, storage, and flawless and random access printing became a reality. This was the beginning of our modern concept of word processing. Some subsequent inventions that impacted secretarial positions were the IBM Mag Card in 1973, memory typewriters, standalone word processors, video display terminals, micro-processing and telecommunications technology, desktop computers, modems, optical character readers, networked systems, and integrated information systems. The introduction of advanced technology led to transformations in the office-structures, organization, position responsibilities, and working environments.
This brings us up to the 1990s, the information era, when once again secretaries have to meet the challenges of new technology, systems, and changing office environments. Throughout the decades, secretaries have constantly forged ahead, meeting each challenge that spelled success,
Professional Secretaries Week
Professional Secretaries Week was originated in 1952 by Professional Secretaries International with a proclamation by Charles Sawyer, Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of this forward-looking group was to uplift the image of the secretary from one of servitude to recognition of ''the American secretary upon whose skills, loyalty, and efficiency the functions of business and government offices depend." Currently, the purpose of Professional Secretaries Week, which is observed annually the last full week in April, is twofold: "to increase public awareness of the vital role played by secretaries in business, industry, education, government, and the professions; and to reaffirm the dedication of secretaries to professional performance of their responsibilities." During this week, local chapters sponsor seminars and workshops while some members speak to educational, professional, and civic groups. Noted governmental officials have acknowledged the valuable contributions of professional secretaries.
In 1990, U.S. President George Bush wrote: “Serving in government, industry, hospital administration, and private voluntary organizations, secretaries bring vital skills to the work of America.” Referring to ''Embracing a New Vision," theme of the 1990 Professional Secretaries Week, Bush noted, "That new vision reflects the dedication, integrity, and professionalism of America's secretaries . . . " The prime minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney, stated, "The advent of technological change and the more integrated approach which progressive companies are adopting have accorded secretaries long overdue recognition as key members of the team... as you continue to assume increasingly important roles and participate in the decision-making process, you have signaled that your profession is coming of age.
Professional Secretaries Week is a time for recognition by management of secretaries as professionals. Although many employers take their secretaries to lunch or send flowers in honor of this occasion, professional secretaries have commented that they would prefer becoming part of the management team.
Consciousness Rising Among Secretaries
As women came into the office, the status once accorded to men in similar positions gradually diminished. This disparity was not treated lightly by many women, which became evident in 1942 when they organized the National Secretaries Association (International), now known as Professional Secretaries International, to further the profession. This organization could be considered the initial feminist consciousness-raising effort of secretaries. However, it was not until the women's liberation movement started in the 1960s as well as other publicized provocative activities, such as The Secretarial Ghetto written by Mary Kathleen Benet and the film 9 to 5, that a new breed of secretary evolved and consciousness raising among secretaries was activated.
Those secretaries who have assumed managerial responsibilities such as budget management or who perform the higher-level tasks associated with spread sheeting, database management, graphics design, and presentation visuals want to be recognized, rewarded, and viewed as a vital part of the team. These "high-tech" skills, sometimes in combination with "high-touch" skills, are often unnoticed. One interviewer of ward secretaries at a university teaching hospital revealed that although the responsibilities for "coordinating and or gaining patient-care information through the use of a computerized record system" were recognized in job evaluation, the equally important human relations skills involving the use of diplomacy in "coordinating and organizing people-patients and medical personnel" went unrecognized. In another study, published in April 1990 by Roberta Spalter Roth and Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, 87 per cent of the women interviewed stated that although their skills were increased by technology, their salaries weren't raised, nor did they receive promotions. Secretaries clearly seek recognition, responsibility, and satisfaction from more challenging and interesting tasks.
Sometimes, the reverse is true and job content is lost. In a Wall Street firm, legal secretaries “were losing their keyboard work to the word processing pool and their 'lawyering' tasks to paralegals. Their work changed to basically nonr outine jobs involving social skills, time emergencies, and gate keeping (screening calls and visitors)?” This may affect career mobility. Other secretaries are no longer content to work with somebody else's ideas and want to have greater decison making powers as part of management.
Generally, secretaries now have more education than in previous decades, are more aware and have a greater understanding of organizational policy, and know what it means to be a professional. This has led to political activism among many women clericals, and professional organizations help support and publicize their causes. For example, a Task Force on the Image of the Secretary, comprised of educators as well as business and professional organizations, was formed in 1980 in an attempt to enhance the image of the secretary. It is seeking not only solutions to the shortage of secretaries but also to elevate their image as productive individuals who are professionally competent to move into their changing roles that now exist and are forecast for the 1990s.
Focus On Quality Improvement Of Employees
Quality improvement, a concept always related to the production process, is now becoming important in white-collar work throughout the nation. The application of this concept to knowledge jobs, such as that of the secretary, was practiced by the Japanese for several decades before it was finally adopted by the United States to maintain its competitive edge against the foreign markets. Companies that are adopting such programs are involving all office employees in their search for ways to improve quality of process. Knowledge workers become aware that the task they perform is part of a total process that serves the customer. They are becoming involved in quality circles where they discuss problems, brainstorm for innovative techniques that benefit both company and themselves, make decisions, and interrelate with their peers.
Visions For The Year 2000
John Peers, president of Novix, Inc., foresees a changing environment, one that would be foreign to today's secretary. Some of his predictions, as noted in the July 18, 1988, issue of Fortune magazine, include the following: computers that would be shirt-pocket and notebook like devices that respond to handwritten and spoken queries and commands; travel electronic books that display text on two facing screens; desktop workstations that have power of supercomputers; and screens on which you reproduce your correspondence on a sheet of paper or call up a file cabinet to file a letter; computer-based reference books; and telephone lines that allow simultaneous transmission of voice, data, and video. What does this mean to the secretary? Lifelong learning, flexibility, the right attitude, and willingness to adapt to change need to be integral qualities of persons interested in secretarial careers.
