INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) AS A TOOL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (OTM) GRADUATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION:
1.1 Background of the Study
The emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria has posed a serious challenge to all facets of the Nigerian economy. This has necessitated OTM graduates have to move further to keep abreast of the current technology as it affects office procedures and operations. For OTM graduates to contribute effectively and efficiently to the achievement of goals and objectives of the organization and stay self-defended they have to be well grinded with ICT skills and be given a learning environment on continuous basis in order to acquaint themselves with new challenges in the office as well as their place of occupations. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that advancement in technology has reshaped and transformed the way executive secretaries discharge their duties.
The aims in taking I.C.T as a tool for entrepreneurship opportunity for OTM graduates include: to update the OTM graduates and administrative employees to revamp their professional knowledge, skills, and competencies and to broaden their knowledge of the core areas of specialization in order to be contented and stay self-reliance (Itotoh, 1996).
Collins (1994) opined that there should be some constant retraining exercises for OTM graduates in order to be well equipped and up-to-date in their knowledge, attitude and skills. He went further to state that such retraining should be in all areas of secretarial development which include Information and Communication Technology Skills, Human relation skills, stenographic, Communication, Administrative and managerial skills, reprographic, micrographic and electronic record keeping skills. Retraining and developing the OTM graduates in the above areas will enable them to even become an entrepreneur for self-reliance and discharge their duties and responsibilities effectively and efficiently and with higher degree of performance.
Agbo (2006), described an executive secretary as an employee who can cope with all the stress and demands of the office in a manner that will ensure his/her overall control of the crises that may emanate from managing records, communication, information, people and other resources that are intrinsically involved in making office the nerve center of any business organization. OTM graduate is seen as an administrative assistant who is able to cope with the stress involves in his work and who is able to carry out his assigned responsibilities with less or no supervision. Public establishments according to Oldroyd (1994) are government owned, financed, controlled and managed organizations. Therefore, an effective and efficient public establishment is one that has workers who exhibit high levels of job quality performance, high productivity and organizational commitments. According to Cole (1996), ICT is a tool that leads an activity designed to improve key areas of skills and knowledge electronically.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Technological advancement has been extended to all spheres of human
endeavours. Offices are daily modernized through the use of latest ICT equipment and procedures and these affect OTM graduates tremendously, in this view OTM graduates find it very difficult in getting familiar with the new technology in handling matters that have to do with ICT since they were not well trained using new technology (ICT) to handle the affairs of their offices.
It is obvious that many organizations are facing problems of effective administrative/management here and there, as a result of OTM graduates nowadays are not capable to achieve organizational goals through proper use of information and communication technology (ICT).
Governmental and non-governmental organizations that owned, managed and controlled those public establishments are quite depriving OTM graduates to attend local and national conferences, workshops seminars as well as ICT training schools to help them build up their knowledge and keep abreast of new office procedures and operations especially in this era of automated offices.
There is also the management inability to recognize ICT as a tool for entrepreneurship to OTM students, the work force is generally under-tapped, under-utilized and therefore falls short of its anticipated contributions to the realization of organizational goals.
Therefore, these above inadequacies, if not properly addressed will result in poor performance, difficulty in attaining organizational goals and objectives, and lack of individual development and so on. These anomalies should urgently be corrected for the benefit of both the self-reliance of OTM students, organizations and their staff members. It is therefore very significant to find out the I.C.T as a tool for entrepreneurship opportunity for OTM graduates.
1.3 Aims and Objective of the Study
The major purpose of this study is to determine the I.C.T as a tool for entrepreneurship opportunity for OTM graduates.
Specifically, the study sought to:
i. To determine the Information and Communication Technology skills for entrepreneurship opportunity for Office Technology and Management (OTM) graduates.
ii. To determine human relation skills by Office Technology and Management (OTM) students to track entrepreneurship qualities.
iii. To determine the Administrative/managerial skills require by Office Technology and Management (OTM) students to promote entrepreneurial growth.
iv. To determine the reprographic technology skills require by Office Technology and Management (OTM) in entrepreneurship opportunity.
1.4 Research Questions
The following questions have been formulated to guide the study:
i. What are the Information and Communication Technology skills needed for OTM students?
ii. What are the human relation skills needed for OTM students to track entrepreneurship qualities?
iii. What are the administrative/managerial skills needed for OTM students to promote entrepreneurial growth?
iv. What are the reprographic technology skills needed for in taking I.C.T as a tool for entrepreneurship opportunity for OTM graduates?
1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study
The scope of this studies covers Information and Communication Technology “(ICT) as a tool for Entrepreneurship Opportunity for Office Technology and Management(OTM) Graduates” and is limited to how Entrepreneurship could assist OTM students.
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1.6 Significance of the Study
It is hoped that the findings of this study will be of immense benefit to administrators, office managers, researcher. Administrators (management): There is no single organization that can do without adopting ICT in developing its staffs in this technological era. As such this study will provide adequate information to the management that will go through it to get a foreknowledge of the types of ICT skills needed for their staff and the importance of ICT and the condition that determine that. They could adopt the findings to plan and organize in-service training programmes for their staff.
Secretarial staff: The executive secretaries will be made to realize that adequate ICT skills enable them to possess the level of intellectual skills with which they can perfectly and proficiently handle the demands of their daily routines and to understand that adequate ICT training will help to ensure job satisfaction.
Finally, secretarial education students would benefit from the findings of the study. They would understand better concepts being taught and be able to express their views about concepts encountered in classroom interactions.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Information and Communication Technology; the acronym (ICT) stand for Information and Communication Technology, is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or applications, encompassing; radio, television, cellular phone, computer and network hardware and software, satellite system and etc.
Entrepreneurship; business dictionary defined entrepreneurship as a capacity and wiliness to develop, organized and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make profit
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Nowadays, executive secretaries use computers instead of typewriters. With the help of computers, they perform tasks that were once done by managers. For example, they use computer software to manage data. They use spreadsheet programs to arrange and compute numbers. They use database software to organize data and create tables. They also use computers to produce finished documents, such as reports. They operate office equipment such as photocopiers. They study management methods and suggest ways to improve workflow. Personal attributes of OTM graduates According to Edun and Ajetunmobi (2000), the following are some qualities which can be ‘learned, required and/or developed through use and trainings by executive secretaries:
2.2 Need for OTM graduates in an entrepreneurial field.
OTM graduate is an individual who is expected to be grounded with ICT skill and other related skills in the area of specialization such as Team building, Book keeping skills, Analytical and Problem solving skills, Decision making skills and Listening/Communication skills, Computer skills including ability to operate computerized accounting, spreadsheet and word processing programme at a high proficient level, stress management skills and time management skills. OTM graduate is a top-level officer who reports to a senior executive in an organization. OTM graduate is the one who can cope with all the stress and demands of the office in a manner that will ensure her overall control of the crises that may emanate from managing records, communication, information, people and other resources that are intrinsically involved in making office the nerve center of any business organization (Agbo, 2006).
2.3 Entrepreneurial (ICT) skills for OTM graduates
The computerization of the office has added a new dimension to the role of OTM graduates in information and communication technology. Executive secretaries are therefore required to possess ICT skills to remain relevant in modern offices. Employers are of the view that advancement in technology, innovations in computer, telecommunication and the resultant effects have probably rendered executive secretaries effective in the electronic office (Okereke, 2005).
Rahman (2002) described Information and Communication Technology as the technology of creation, processing, storage, retrieval and transmission of data and information, including telecommunication, satellite, computing (software) the internet and global systems of mobile Communication (GSM). And millions of computers brought together or that are interconnected over the world that can communicate with one another to exchange messages and share information from the internet which is an indispensable electronic resources for learning, teaching and research.
Information and Communication Technology, according to Ayeni (2005) is the use of computers and communication gadgets in information processing. Information Technology is the use of computers and telecommunication devices for the acquisition, processing, storage and distribution of various types of information. Computer, therefore, is defined by Ayeni (2005), as series of related electronics machines which accepted data from input device, performs arithmetic and logical operations in accordance, with a predefined programme and finally transfers the processed data to an output device either for further processing or in final printed form such as statement of accounts, salaries schedules, etc.
Onyewuenyi (1994), defined computer as a device capable of accepting information, applying described processes to the information, and supplying the results of the processes. It usually consists of input and output devices, storage, arithmetic, and logical units, and a control unit. Computers today are used with telecommunications devices like telephone modem, tax, satellite and others to transmit information at a speed that has never been seen before. He went further to say that computers are used to compile, store, and process information while the telecommunications devices under the control of a computer, transmit the information to the points where they may be needed.
Date: 2026-08-09 00:00:00.000000