A SEMINAR PAPER ON TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS REQUIRED BY SECRETARIES IN BUSINESS ORGANISATION PRESENTED BY ISAAC A.

MARTHA FPI/HND/OTM/10/096 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, IDAH, KOGI STATE. IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR COURSE ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILL (OTM 414) FOR THE AWARD OF HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES. CO-ORDINATOR: MR F. A. UGWU SUPERVISOR: ALI YAKUBU JUNE, 2012

ABSTRACT This study determined the relevance of time management skills in the development of organisations and to the nation at large. This study revealed that time management skills have become the most important requirement for business in todays business and organisational growth. No organisation will flourish and function without the skills of time management being adhere to or cleave to. This time and its management skills are necessary and vital for the development of the business organisation. It was recommended that secretaries should be provided with adequate training for time management skills to make them relevant as their involvement in organisations help increase the level of productivity. Seminars and conferences should be organised on a continuous basis. This will ensure and up-to date knowledge and skills for these professionals.

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INTRODUCTION Ever since the beginning of modern science in ancient Egypt in 1687, it has been realized that there are 60 seconds in a minutes, 60 minutes in an hour, 1,440 minutes in a day, 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week and 525,600 minutes in a year. While a vast majority of people confess faltering to come to grips with it, extremely few can claim to have made the most of it. How it is that successful secretary have got it all done in a business organisation? Its because they have managed a way to figure out how to manage their time effectively. One fact which is peculiar to time is that we all have equal opportunities to it as long as we live. That is to say nepotism, sectionalism and the rest of them are inoperative with regards to time since 4every living being has full opportunity to enjoy 24 hours per needs to know that the unique difference between success and failure is time. Time is a very precious asset, which cannot be stored, reversed or recouped. Peter Drucker (a renowned management expert) refers to time as the limiting factor for effective executives. Time is a unique resource you cannot rent, hire, buy or other wise obtain more time. Its supply is fixed both in the short and long run. Time management can be defined as the process of managing the things we so in that block of 168 hours per week. That is to say our ability to arrange and re-arrange, analyse and re-analyse, appraise and re1

appraise our commitments and priorities in such a way that time is allocated to every necessary activity such as sleep, eat, dress, work, leisure, family and so on. It must be stressed as a matter of utmost importance that the fundamental problem with many of us is that we dont even know what we want to do. If we really know our mission, we will be able to set priorities so that we can plan, organize, implement and control. Time management is more than just managing time. It is about controlling the use of the most valuable and undervalued resource. It is managing one self in relation to time. It is setting priorities and taking change of the situation and time utilization. It means changing those habits or activities that cause waste of time. It is being willing to adopt habits and method of the skills the secretaries are required of in a business organisation to make maximum use of their time. With time management skills, people will be in control of their time, in both stress and energy levels. Secretaries in a business organisation can maintain balance between their lives and work. This makes it possible for enough flexibility to respond to surprise or new opportunities. It is not how much time one has, but rather the way such uses it. The bottom line is how well the skills can be well adopted or properly followed.

According to Franklin (2011) Business can be defined as an activity of making, buying, selling or supplying goods or services for money making. It can also be seen as a group of people who form a business, club, etc in order to achieve to a particular aim. Adekola citing Nwadian (2010) saw business development as increasing productivity of goods and services within the country. The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus (Hawker and Cowky, 2010) defined time as all the years of the past, present, and future. On the other hand, Myles Munroe (2011) philosophically defines time as a temporary interruption in eternity. Organisation Nwachukwu 1(2010) can be defined as the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationship for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives. The time trap argues that the very idea of time management Dr. Alex Mackenzie is a misnomer because one really cannot manage time in the way other resources can be managed and this argument now calls for the skills that must be attained so as to ascertain a set gaol as secretaries in a business organisation. As time cannot be managed like financial capital. Physical capital, human capital, Information and time. While each of the first four can be argued, reduced, transferred or otherwise controlled, time can not be manipulated. Dr. Mackenzie contends that
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when it comes to time, one can only manage oneself in relation to it. In the world in which we live, time can not be replaced or re created. It is therefore not for us to choose whether we spend or save time but to choose only how we spend or use it is the appropriate usage of time by following or adopting the prescribed techniques that is time management. Experienced office workers frequently identify good time management as one of the most important basic skill for office workers. Effective time management skills required reducing the impact of the time stealers and increasing the effectiveness of a manager in getting the things done that need to be done. The following are the important skills that combine to enable the secretary eliminate distractions, interruptions and inefficiencies in the business organisation to make the most of time management.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Time management skills is the ability of an individual to know the amount of time he has and the task to be appropriately accomplished with the available time. This implies that everything needed in the business organisation depends on the secretarys ability to manage time. Knowing that time management is the drive of the whole organisation, it would be very disastrous if the skills applicable in good time management are not duly or properly followed or observed. It may go a long way affecting the whole organisation in productivity and management. This study therefore is directed towards finding out the skills required by secretaries in the business organisation so as to meet up with the present age requirement.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The major objective of this study is to determine the relevance of time management skills required by secretaries in a business organisation. Specifically this study sought to determine: 1. 2.
3.

The importance of time management in a business organisation. The time thieves and how to overcome their tricks. The time management skills required by secretaries in a business organisation.

The Importance of Time Management in a Business Organisation With reference to the earlier discussions and facts revealed about time management, it could be said that hardly can any organisation exist without the knowledge of time management. Knowing that time is the non-special continuum in which events occurs in irreversible succession through the present to the future, the operation clause is events occur in apparently irreversible succession. The importance of time management can not be over emphasized in the existence of a business organisation just as the human body is of no value without the breath. In this sense, the knowledge of time management should be the first thing to be considered right from the business planning and through the organisational set up. Time management is more than just managing time. It is about controlling the use of the most valuable and undervalued resource. It is
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managing oneself in relation to time. It is setting priorities and taking charge of the situation and time utilization. It means changing those habits or activities that cause waste of time. It is being willing to adopt habits and methods to make maximum use of time. Time management enables office workers or business men and women to know the right time for a particular thing and to follow them up in that manner in order for such person to meet up with the set task for both the day and the week. Time management by Dr. Alex Mackenzie in his book the time Trap argues that the very idea of time management is a misnomer because one really cannot manage time in the way other resources can be managed: financial capital, physical capital, human capital, information and time. While each of the first four can be augmented, reduced, transferred or otherwise controlled, Time cannot be manipulated. Dr. Mackenzie contends that when it comes to time, one can only manage oneself in relation to it. One cannot control time as one can control other resources- one can only control how one uses it. In the world in which we live, time cannot be replaced or re-created. It is therefore not for us to choose whether we spend or save time but to choose only how we spend it. There are some misconceptions about time management which are:

i.

Time management is simple-all it requires is common sense. This is because the practice effective time management is not easy.

ii.

Work is best performed under pressure. Psychological studies show this to be no more than an excuse for procrastination. One does not work well under pressure only does the best one can under the circumstances. Pressure and challenge must not be confused. Laras performance when the West Indies Team is in trouble has more to do with application and determination rather than pressure.

iii.

I dont have time. The effective worker or manager often gets more work done in the earlier hour of the morning than most laggards get done in the whole day. He then no longer has to work against tight deadlines and under stress which contributes to heart problems and not unusually the ultimate reduction of time on this earth.

iv.

Time management might be good for some kinds of work but my job is creative. Time management is not about routine: it is about self-discipline. Lack of discipline prevents one from being great instead of simply

good.

The Time Thieves and how to Overcome Their Tricks. Dr. Donald Eetmore (Time Thieves: The Biggest Time-wasters Revealed) lists out the some inconsiderate troupe of some thieves that gang up to steal some of the precious time away from productive use of managers. 1. Poor planning: Failure to see the value of planning and getting impatient to get something done are the causes of poor planning. Absence of a plan of action is likely to trigger off a false start, resulting in unproductive time utilization on the critical path of the task being undertaken. Consequently, the managers might not find enough time for completing the task.
2.

Crisis Management:

Most often, crisis management is an

offspring of lack of prioritization of tasks. As a result of the inability to distinguish between the urgent, the important and the unnecessary tasks, unimportant tasks are likely to get done first at the cost of important tasks. Consequently, the managers are not likely to find enough time to get around to the important things.
3.

Procrastination: it is easy to put off tasks if they are not due right away. The trouble is tasks accumulation, and this can force managers to run into a time crunch later. Procrastination is generally triggered off by the fear of failure success, perfectionism, wanting to do it all or incorrect priorities. It is a
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virtue to want to do a good job. But some people become so anxious about getting a job done perfectly that the never complete it. Managers should examine whether their efforts to get the job done perfectly are really improving things or preventing them from getting the job done.
4.

Interruptions: interruptions and distractions arise due to lack of planning, poor concentration and lack of control over

environment. They are unnecessary thieves of a managers time and come in many forms- drop-in visitors, telephones, e-mails unscheduled meetings, poor communications and confused chain of authority etc. managers should be less willing to automatically give away their time just because they demand it. They should learn to avoid distractions if they are to get work done. They should work in areas where they are less likely to be disturbed and tell people when they are busy and cannot be disturbed.
5.

Not Delegating: Wanting to-do-all by oneself is yet another thief that could let the managers lose control. They feel that employees can never do anything as well as they can. They fear that something will go wrong if someone else takes over job. They lack time for long-range planning because they are bogged down in day- to- day operations.

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The Time Management Skills Required by Secretaries in Business Organisation. Evaluation Skill /plan your work in an orderly manner. Evaluate how time is used as well as plan your work in an orderly manner like writing down what you must do as the business organisations secretary. The first step of effective time management is identifying how a secretary is using his time. This can be done in two ways which are: To Do List or Activity Time Log. A. To do list in many occasions enables secretaries to use their desk

calendars or a small note book for this purpose. Writing down their task helps them in certain priority. Example of a to do list;
a. Prepare a memo to Mr Odoh in connection with the building with

audit signature. b. Book conference room for September meeting. c. Call Mr Johnson for budget provision request. d. Prepare master letters for photocopies. B. While activity time log is the skill that aims at how secretaries are

currently spending their time. This skill as an evaluator enables the secretary to make the list of the activities or tasks that they spend time on. The very act of measuring is often enough to raise their unconsciousness
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where they then have a chance to scrutinize and change them. This log is a valuable tool for scrutinizing time usage. Activity time log requires that secretaries track all tasks, including the routine tasks such as commuting reading, eating and attending to telephone etc. In a systematic way and note the successive sequence from the start, through the end of the day. Pick activity category or categories that will encompass the entire day. Label those below and add up the total time spent on that particular activity category. Also include a miscellaneous category for thing that does not fit well into typical categories. Keeping the activity log for several day helps secretaries analyze their time and answer question like: i. ii.
iii.

What is the most and least productive time? Did they achieve their goals? How could they done what they were doing more effective.

Goal Setting or Establishing Priority Skill. After you know what you want to do or accomplish as a secretary, you must determine the order in which the task is to be accomplished. Goal setting is so essential as a persons life is a sentence of a big and small choices that a secretary manages as regards to time. The difference between a successful and unsuccessful secretary is the

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availability and practicality of the goals they set for themselves or their ability of establishing priority. Goal setting is the wisdom that comes from practical experience that helps secretaries direct their conscious and subconscious decisions towards success, knowing that goal setting states clearly the measurable and specific results. To be accomplished by the secretaries and time frame to attain them. There are two types of goals secretaries can set for themselves which are: Rational goals and Directional goals Rational goal are specific and a short term goals which ask the following questions: * What do I want to accomplish? * Why am I doing this task? * Who are all involved in the task? * What are the expected outcomes of this task? * When can this task be expected to be complete? Directional goals as well as domain planning are long term goals with no predictable outcome focusing on the question. What do I want to accomplish to stay focus secretaries in a business organisation should aim and visualized these goals.
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To manage time well, the secretary should make sure the set goals or to be set goals are working for what he really wants but not just something that sounds good. The goals should be high enough though practicable. This is because high goals are pointers to the zest secretaries have towards their work. Scheduling Activities /Accessing The Time Needed For Each Task To Accomplished. After identifying the activities and prioritizing them, it is time to create a schedule. When scheduling, it is important to plan both weekly and daily schedules. Weekly schedule is important for the over all success of the activity and tasks, but it is the daily scheduling or planning that will help one to track ones progress and determine whether or not is on schedule. This skill is such a sensible and calculative one in the sense that, the right time for each task will really be or adequately be apportioned to it after the consideration of how a visitors visitation might distract, receiving of phone calls and other corrections on the task that will give it a professional look. This is to prove the skilfulness of the secretary as well as his confidentiality before his manager. Developing Strategies for Avoiding Time Wasters This is another skill that must be strictly adhered to so as to be able to meet up with the previous skills. Obviously, distraction must set in as
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far as office work if concerned but the secretary responds towards it is the determinant. It can be maintained through the following:
Tell friends or colleagues that while you indulge talking with them,

because you have urgent task to complete.

to eliminate procrastinating during the day refer to your To Do List which can act as motivation to working deli gently during each work day.
The secretary in the business organisation aught to avoid false

starts by first getting an overall understanding of what you are to do but to as much as possible get the comprehension of tasks.
Be sure of what you are to do and have all the information and

supplies required for a task before you get under way.

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FINDINGS Having reviewed relevant literatures on the topic under study; the following finding were drawn: 1 Secretaries in business organisation have the chance of improving the organisational development through the appropriate

management of time.
2

In business organisations, the secretaries over come the time thieves which are the misconceptions about time such as; i.
ii.

Time management is simple; All it requires is common sense, Work is best performed under pressure, I do not have the time.

iii. iv. 3

The secretaries have the following time management skills; time evaluation skill, goal setting or establishing priority, scheduling activities and developing strategies for avoiding time waster for the developing the business organisation.

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CONCLUSION Knowing that in any kind of human endeavour, time is of essence and importance, there is need for secretaries to develop their time management skills through constant practice knowing that practice makes perfect. This is because to any business organisation, the secretary is a key figure who plays very prominent and vital role that can make or mar the progress of such organization. Time management skills are acquired through education which is the key and strength to every forms of development which enable individuals livelihood, business organisation and the world at large.

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RECOMMENDATION From the foregoing findings, the following recommendations were made that: 1. The business organisation should make effort in the training of their secretaries so as to get them well equipped with the outstanding knowledge of time management skills for the development of the organisation.
2.

Secretaries should make themselves relevant to the business organisation by avoiding the possible time thieves such as procrastination in performing tasks, attending irrelevant meeting and wasting too much time on a particular task.

3.

Secretaries should acquaint themselves with the time management skills such as evaluation skills, establishing priority, scheduling activities and developing strategies for avoiding time wasters so as to standardize the business organisation.

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