Electronic Records Management Competencies Requirement Of Office Technology And Management Graduates

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the study

The business office is undergoing impressive changes and revolutions which affect the status of the secretarial profession. The changes can be seen in innovation and invention pertaining to equipment, nomenclature, environment, technology, attitudes, responsibilities, training, skill, ability and knowledge (Adewale, 2010). Emerging office technologies/innovations are profound changes introduced into office work. Agbamu in Obayi (2007) stated that these technological changes have made traditional office functions to be out modeled. The emergence of various modern technologies has changed the operations in modern offices. As a result of changes in technology, the role of graduates in business has changed tremendously from that of typewriting and shorthand dictation, answering of telephone calls and processing of mails.

The modern offices lay due emphasis on paperless office as a way of facilitating the process of correspondence handling and operation. Ekula (2010) pointed out that in offices, computers, database management and other accessories are increasingly being used to organize and control records. Graduates who could be seen as officers in charge of records, correspondence, minutes of meetings and related affairs of an organization, are expected to be able to operate the computer using Database, spreadsheet, graphic designs and word processing packages. Particularly, this calls for training of graduates in order to possess the dexterity to use most of the  business/office related application packages contained in the current Windows.

The 21^st century technology has changed the way things are done. Most things are now done online including office work. Luyombya (2010) posited that information technology embraces all modern systems of processing information and communication in data, text, image and voice. It is the technology that supports activities involving creation of data, storage, manipulation and communication of information together with their related methods, management and application. Instead of file cabinets, most organizations now use computerized means to save their records, hence graduates must key in which requires skill update for proper adaptability to the work environment (Dangata, Odesanya, & Baba, 2012). Therefore graduates who are not up to date in these applications find it difficult to manage the new proceedings.

The diversities of office technologies, according to Nwaokwa and Okoli (2012), require graduates to possess new skills and sub-skills to enable them to be relevant in the modern office. The skills required to be possessed by graduates should not be gender biased. Both male and female graduates should be competent enough to demonstrate proficiency in the use of the electronic resources.

Experience also determines the degree of skills possession. According to Osuala and Okeke (2006), graduates that have gained experience on their jobs perform effectively and are amenable to positive change of attitude, work habit, skill, and performance. Experience in this study is classified as low, moderate and high depending on the years of work. Graduates who work in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state are required to possess skills for ensuring efficient management of records created and stored in computerized systems in order to adequately carry out routine office tasks regardless of their years of working experience.

Assessment is a process of measuring existing skills against the expected skills in order to develop a vision and skills profile aimed at closing the gap which exists as a result of lack of the required skills among the workers in an organization. The outcome is the training needs analysis that identifies where training is needed. From time to time, there is need for man to assess his action and those of others around him in order to determine whether those actions are good or bad, efficient or inefficient, desirable or undesirable, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Assessment is a broad term that includes all of the various methods to determine the extent of an individual‘s achievement. Assessment refers to the methods used to determine skill gap of an employee within an organization (Singh & Goodman, 2006). To improve on the skills of graduates therefore, there is the need to assess or measure their existing skills against the estimated skills in order to close the gap which exists as a result of lack of the required skills among the graduates in organizations since graduates play pivotal role in the achievement of organizational goals.

It is therefore imperative to examine the concept of secretary. The word “secretary” originated from the Latin word “graduates” meaning a person entrusted with secrets and employed in an office to acquire or prepare information and transmit information. A secretary has been conceptualized differently by different authors. Anderson in Ogueiofor and Nwogu (2014) saw a secretary as one who can think for you, act for you, anticipate your whims, and increase your output phenomenally. The Akinleye (2012) defined a secretary as an executive assistant who has mastery of office skills, demonstrates the ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision, exercises initiative and judgment and makes decisions within the scope of assigned authority. From the foregoing, a secretary could be defined as an officer, who is in charge of records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organization. This implies that both male and female graduates with different years of experience, work in polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria and are required to possess electronic records management skills in order to cope with the increasing use of electronic information technologies to create and maintain records as with records in other formats.

The problem of this study is that, despite the benefits of electronic records management, most graduates in Polytechnics still find it difficult to effectively manage records using the electronic system. Graduates are required to possess electronic records skills of, storage, retrieval, and maintenance, but there seems to be a gap in the level to which the skills are possessed by graduates working in polytechnics in Nasarawa state Nigeria. This provoked the study on the assessment of extent of skills possessed by graduates for effective electronic records management in polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

1.2   Statement of the problem

Electronic technology has greatly expanded the methods of creating, editing, maintaining, transmitting and retrieving information but observations have shown that most graduates in the Polytechnics are still using the old methods like drawers and filing cabinets which lead to misfiling and loss of records. The results are costly delays, lost of business opportunities, and frustrated office personnel and managers being forced to make decisions based on inadequate information. In line with this scenario, Ayodele and Adeoye (2010) opined that records must be organized and properly managed for it to be of maximum value to the organization. The foregoing seems to point to the need for effective electronic record management skills in Polytechnics. But the extent to which graduates possess the relevant skills for effective records management is not clear and requires an empirical study such as this.

The problem of this study is that, despite the benefits of electronic records management, most graduates in Polytechnics still find it difficult to effectively manage records using the electronic system. Okoye (2014) in his study pointed out that graduates possess electronic records management skills for employment in medium-scale organizations. But there seems to be a gap in the level to which the skills are possessed by graduates working in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state.

 1.3  Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study is to assess the electronic records management competencies requirement of office technology and management graduates in Nasarawa state.

Specifically the study sought to determine the extent graduatespossess:

1. Electronic records storage skills for effective records management in Polytechnic in Nasarawa state.
2. Electronic records retrieval skills for effective records management in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria

1.4   Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions.

1. To what extent do graduates possess electronic records storage skills for effective records management in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria?
2. To what extent do graduates possess electronic records retrieval skills for effective records management in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria?

1.5   Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

H_O1:There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female graduates on the extent of skills possessed for effective electronic records management in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

H_O2: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of graduates according to their years of experience on the extent of electronic records management skills possessed for effective records management in Polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

1.6   Scope of the study

This study was carried out to investigate electronic records management competencies requirement of office technology and management graduates. The study was limited to Nasarawa state.

1.7   Significance of the Study

This study would serve as empirical evidence on electronic records management competencies requirement of office technology and management graduates in Nasarawa state. It could help university/ polytechnic administrators to create and adopt suitable policies and strategies that will improve the performance of graduate staff in management of students’ records.

Similarly, the study would be of help to the registry staff as to knowing how to manage their students’ records effectively with the broad knowledge of records management practices and computer literacy skills. The findings of this study could help in protecting the cooperate image of universities as their students’ records would be found intact at all times.

The findings of this study could equally help the government and any other establishment outside universities, private or public dealing with records in managing their records effectively and efficiently.  The findings of the study could contribute to the existing knowledge and literature on records management practices, computer literacy skills and job performance of graduate staff of polytechnics in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

Furthermore, every firm that keeps records and their administrators could find the study relevant as it would show them the caliber of staff, the impact of training and retraining and essence of having adequate facilities for records keeping and how it could boost the job performance of their organizations.

1.8   Organization of Study

The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the study’s introduction and gives a background to the study. Chapter two reviews related and relevant literature. The chapter three gives the research methodology while the chapter four gives the study’s analysis and interpretation of data. The study concludes with chapter five which deals on the summary, conclusion and recommendation.