Rapidex Office Secretary Course (with Cd)

Preface
SESSION-I : Introduction
The Modern Office
The Changing Secretarial Function
Your Career Strategies
SESSION-II : Basic Skills
Job Applications, Résumé Writing and Interview Skills
Personal Care and Personality Development
Social and Business Etiquette
SESSION-III : Career Skills
Your Workplace & Work Ethics
Shorthand & Typing
Basic Secretarial Duties I
Basic Secretarial Duties II
SESSION-IV : Communication Skill Set
Business Documents
Language Rules
Language Usage
Spoken Communication Skills
Conversational English
SESSION-V : IT & Computer Skills
IT, the Internet and WWW and Email
Computer Basics
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
SESSION-VI : Advanced Skills
Financial Skills
Interpersonal Skills
The Accompanying CD-ROM

^ Top

1. Your Office
Office conditions will vary with the size of the firm and its nature of business. For instance, office conditions in a bank or a law firm will generally have a much better environment and facilities than in a small sales office or the front office in a warehouse. Similarly, the office of a multinational will be very different from a small office belonging to a one-man employer.
It is possible that the first impression you form of a new office is not quite what you had expected. If you had enquired about the size and the working conditions of the company you have joined, what you see should not come as a surprise. Concentrate on doing the job well. Your best opportunity for moving on to something better will depend much on what you learn and accomplish on the present job and how your performance looks to a new employer on your résumé.
1.1 Centralised versus Decentralised Office
Large companies have massive amounts of paperwork to do. Therefore, office automation requires major reorganisation of tasks and functions of the employees. Here, you will probably find that both the bulk of word processing and data processing is done in pooled work centres. Therefore, data processing equipment as well as fax machines and photocopiers will be shared by many users. All major word processing and data processing tasks will be routed through such a work centre.
While centralisation was the dominant trend even 10 years ago, recent trends are to move away from a highly centralised configuration. In very large offices today, you will find a distributed arrangement. Here, in addition to the large data processing pool, there will be smaller satellite centres for processing specialised and urgent work.
Most medium-sized companies will have one or two data processing centres consisting of several user terminals and a mini-computer. In addition, there will be some
stand-alone workstations to serve individual needs.
Small companies are likely to have several stand-alone computer workstations. These may be added or shifted as required by workload in a somewhat ad-hoc basis. As the organisation grows in size, the workstations are connected together over a local area computer network (LAN).
Regardless of the size and layout of your company office, you will be required to focus on the layout of your own workstation, which will have a significant impact on your daily work efficiency.
2. Your Workstation
There are many items of equipment that you will use daily such as the telephone, fax machine, photocopier, computer filing cabinets etc. The layout and working condition of such equipment will have a major impact on your work efficiency. Therefore, spend some time thinking about equipment layout. Clearly, things that you use most often should be closest to you. Other equipment that you may share with your colleagues may have already fixed locations (such as the photocopier) and you may not have any say in their position in the office.
First of all, decide on the location of your desk based on the traffic pattern of your boss and colleagues. Take into account your movements in a normal day. Keep a count of how often you have to go to the filing cabinets, the fax machine and to the photocopier. Position your desk so that it is closest to the place you go to most often. Many times, this will be your boss’s office or the filing cabinets. You must also be able to enter the boss’s office quickly and see visitors as soon as they enter the office area.
There are other considerations such as ventilation and lighting. Within the limits of the office layout, try to make sure that the place where you sit is well ventilated and well lighted. Poor ventilation or inadequate lighting will cause fatigue and discomfort in a short time. You will not be able to operate efficiently under these conditions.
Before suggesting layout changes, however, compare the present layout to your proposed one taking into account:
How it will benefit you and
How it may cause inconvenience to others
It is possible that you may meet with a refusal to your suggestions either from your boss or from a colleague. Do not take the refusal personally. Wait. You will get many opportunities in the future to convince the people concerned.
Even if a layout change is not possible, you can certainly rearrange your desk and the immediate environment around your desk. Rearrange your desktop and surroundings so that you are as comfortable and as productive as possible.
Therefore, you should arrange your desk, chairs, bookshelves, credenza, computer and printer tables to make your movement efficient, requiring minimal effort. For instance, a good swivel chair that lets you swivel from your main desk to the desk with your computer on it, without having to move your chair, will significantly boost your productivity and reduce your fatigue at the end of the day.
2.1 Practical Suggestions
2.1.1 Desk Chair
Your chair should provide good back support and promote a good body posture. It should be adjustable so that you can raise or lower it to suit your height. A swivelling chair is the best for you especially if your computer or typewriter is located on a side table at right angles to your main desk.
2.1.2 Lighting
Lighting should be such as to avoid any eye strain. Your computer keyboard should be well lighted but your monitor’s screen should reflect no glare.
2.1.3 Desk
Your desk should be large enough to hold daily office supplies and equipment that you use most often, such as shorthand notebooks, pencils, memo pads, telephone, staplers and pins. You may wish to keep references such as telephone diaries, dictionary and your desk organiser on a side bookshelf or table, within easy reach. The decision on whether to keep some item on your main desk or on a side table may be
dictated by the need to keep enough clear space for you to collate typed sheets, stamp envelopes, etc.
2.1.4 Computer or Typewriter
Your computer or typewriter should be on a separate table. The height may be different from your main desk to make sure that the keyboard and the computer’s monitor is at the right height in relation to your chair. You should be able to fit your legs in comfortably under your desk or side table. Make sure that all cables and cords (especially in case of computer and printer) do not get tangled with other equipment or files that you have to handle.
In today’s office, you will need space for a computer, keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse pad, networking card, and storage for CD-ROMS and floppy diskettes. Other useful accessories include plastic dust covers for computer, keyboard, monitor, printer and an anti-glare monitor screen to reduce your eyestrain.
2.2 Management of the Workstation
Having gathered all the equipment and supplies that you need, you must manage your resources efficiently. For example, if you are required to produce a business document (a sales report, for instance), you must be able to find and retrieve the data you need very quickly. You must then produce a defect-free document along with necessary tables, graphs and charts. Finally, you must dispatch the entire contents to its destination at the shortest possible time.
You productivity will suffer if, for instance, the fax machine does not work because you forgot to have the machine serviced on time. If, however, you manage things well, paying attention to details, your workstation will hum along smoothly turning out quality output right on time, earning you high professional reputation.
3. Work Ethics
The ethics of an office secretary are the moral principles relating to his or her job. The secretary's position is unique because you will have access to many confidential documents and be present in many meetings or discussions where secrets vital to your organisation may be discussed. The term "confidential secretary" is really very appropriate. Therefore, there are some rules and codes of conduct that you will be bound by as soon as you accept the job.
Many organisations have rules of confidentiality and secrecy. In sensitive government organisations, such as defence, atomic energy, or finance, you will be required to sign specific undertakings. There are written undertakings required by many private sector organisations as well.
Even if the organisation you join does not ask you to sign an undertaking, certain rules will still apply to you just because of your position as a secretary. We discuss some of the important ones, which need to be understood irrespective of being written down or not.
3.1 Confidentiality
Always keep information private and confidential about the firm you work for and its clients. Never repeat sensitive information even if you are in a discussion with your colleagues where they wonder about what is happening and you happen to know the secret details. The temptation to appear knowledgeable is strong. However, it is far more important for you to be trusted, always.
3.2 Honesty
Do not take the credit for something you did not do and do not let someone else enjoy the credit for something you did! Always tell the truth. In the long run, honesty is indeed the best policy. You will be more credible with both your boss and fellow workers if you follow this simple rule.
3.3 Loyalty
Always be loyal to your boss and to your organisation. Even if you have reason to be unhappy about some unfair treatment, never sell them out at any cost. Instead take up your problem through the grievance channel that exists in all offices. This may be your boss, or the personnel department or even the staff union as may be appropriate to your problem. It is easy to get caught up in office gossip or office politics. Leave politics strictly to the politicians. You are, above all, a professional. Behave like one! If you display your loyalty, you will receive the same in return.
3.4 Reliability
Show that you are reliable. Be punctual for work and meetings at all times, and remember, always take the relevant documentation with you to the meetings. Do not make use of the casual or sick leave without real cause. Most organisations allow you to accumulate them so that you can either avail of them in a slack period (when your boss may be out on a tour) or even cash them. Ensure every task you are given is completed on time and to the best of your ability.
3.5 Responsibility
Prove you are responsible by setting priorities and carrying out tasks in a timely manner. Always meet deadlines when they are given. Your boss puts his/her confidence in you. Write yourself a "To Do" list, even if its priority changes 10 times a day. Do not delegate if the job cannot be done as efficiently and accurately as you would do it. If you do delegate, always check that the project is on track time-wise. Do not just forget about it because someone else is doing it.
3.6 Work Unsupervised
Always keep your work up to date and be productive. Even without being told to do so, write up a list of the tasks you need to complete on a daily basis. With some knowledge of your job and of the disposition of your boss, you will be able to draw up such a list on your own. However, make sure that your list is flexible enough to fit in some new task that your boss may assign you.
3.7 Be Co-operative
Always assist and share your expertise with your colleagues wherever it is possible. Always be happy to carry out duties asked of you. At the same time, you must be able to gently and firmly say no. Do take the time to explain why you cannot do the task asked of you.
3.8 Flexibility
If it is 5.00 pm and your boss needs an important report typed and faxed immediately do it! The best job relationship is the one where you have a "give and take" arrangement with your boss and colleagues. By accommodating and even covering for them, you will get co-operation when it is your turn to take time off at short notice because of some emergency you may face some day. The reputation you will build by being willing will only enhance your promotional prospects.
3.9 Multi-Tasking
Learn as much as possible about computer programs and the duties of other positions in the organisation. You just may need this knowledge when you apply for a promotion within the firm. It is quite possible that you will know more about some equipment or software than your colleagues or even your boss. By being helpful and appearing multi-talented, you shall only put your career on the fast track!
3.10 Gifts or Favours
Do not be tempted to accept gifts or favours from internal or external clients. Usually there is a hidden sinister reason for giving you a gift or doing you a favour. Always follow your company's procedures and policies. Remember that you will rarely get something for nothing there is always a trade-off. You may end up paying the ultimate price when you are found out, by losing your job!
Always remember and follow these guidelines in your professional life. You will find that both your boss and your work colleagues will respect you as a person and your position as a secretary.

^ Top