TITLE : SECRETARIAL PROCEDURES AND ADMINISTRATION. 8TH ED*

PREFACE

To achieve higher productivity at lower costs, business is adopting new organizational patterns and investing millions of dollars in sophisticated equipment such as intelligent typewriters, text editors, high volume copiers, microcomputers, and electronic mail systems. But of what value are new organizational patterns and new technology iœ there is an inadequate office force to fill the jobs available? One of the greatest needs of business is an adequate supply of secretaries to fill the over three million jobs in this category.

The Eighth Edition of Secretarial Procedures and Administration provides the capstone for the college-trained secretary preparing to meet the increasingly exacting requirements of a secretarial position. You are acquiring marketable skills so that you can perform the operational functions required of the secretary. Basic typing and transcription abilities are assumed; operational functions affected by changes in technology are presented as if they were new to you. You will perform some of these new functions. Others will be handled by specialists, but you will need to understand how these functions relate to your work. Even if you work in an office with limited new technology, your daily activities will relate to the new technology to such an extent that you need to understand it.

You will also develop the know-how to perform an assistant's functions as you develop an understanding of the organizational patterns in an office and the people who work there. A top-level secretary makes.many decisions, both about how to handle work assignments and how to deal with colleagues at all levels-executives, subordinates, and co-workers. Throughout this course emphasis is placed on the development of decision-making ability and the exercise of that most needed skill-good human relations. Without good human relations, it will be difficult for you, no matter how technically qualified, to be successful in business.

As you examine this book, you will see that it consists of 27 chapters organized in nine parts and a Reference Guide. It is possible to omit any part with which you are familiar without seriously affecting your understanding of the other sections. When you complete this textbook, you will understand why it is more than just a textbook. You will want to take it with you to the office and use as an on-thejob reference.

When you read this book, you will notice that Part I discusses the changing organizational pattern of secretarial work and the secretary's role in the total office environment. Parts 2, 3, and 4 deal with information processing, the transformation of ideas into typewritten or printed form. These parts cover such topics as typewriting, reprographics, word and data processing, dictation/transcription, composition, incoming/outgoing mail, postal and shipping services, and telecommunications. Parts 5, 6, 7, and 8 are devoted to administrative support services. Part 5 is concerned with records control and micrographics. Alphabetic filing rules are also covered. Part 6 enables the secretary to expedite travel arrangements and plan and facilitate meetings. Part 7 explains how to research business data and organize it into usable management information. Part 8 encompasses the financial and legal support that the secretary is expected to give to management. In Part 9, you have an opportunity to look at your professional future; that is, how to select and obtain a position and how to enter secretarial employment and advance in it.

At the end of each chapter is a list of carefully selected suggested readings. You will find many uses for this list, especially when you are writing a term paper for this or another course, when you are asked to speak on a secretarial subject, or when you want to delve more deeply into a topic of special interest. The end of each chapter also has discussion questions and special problems. These questions and problems allow you to apply to office related situations material that you read in the text.

At the end of each part are case problems that are close adaptations of actual office situations. These cases bring realism to this course. As you solve them, try to develop a set of principles you can use in coping with similar situations that you may encounter on the job.

The Reference Guide at the end of the book (Part 10) can be of enormous value if you will let it help you become the "word specialist" that a competent secretary must be. It identifies accepted practices for abbreviating and capitalizing words, writing and using numbers, spelling, using plurals and possessives, punctuating, and using grammar correctly. Following these sections are a communications guide and a brief review of business math.

We hope that this textbook will help you adopt high standards of performance consistent with your abilities. We hope, too, that you will experience some of the excitement that can be found in the business office by those who are prepared to perform competently and who bring with them a zest for learning new things as the office environment changes. Whether you are preparing for your first secretarial position or are updating your skills, you will find your secretarial education invaluable in equipping you for a successful career path. If you are flexible and adapt to the changing office environment, you can eventually reach your ultimate goal, whether it is a higher level secretarial position or a changeover to supervision or management.

Estelle L. Popham Rita Sloan Tilton J. Howard Jackson J Marshall Hanna