Analysis of affective and psycho-motor competencies required for the employment of secretaries in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area business offices

The problem of this study was to determine the competencies in the affective and psychomotor domains required of secretaries for entry to employment as perceived by employers and secretaries. To delineate this problem, answers to questions concerning competencies identified in research studies and textbooks and the perceptions of personnel directors and secretaries regarding those competencies were solicited.

The design of this study was basically a descriptive empirical type of survey. Questionnaires were distributed to a selective sample of 63 personnel directors from business firms located in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area and 68 secretaries who belonged to the Knoxville Chapter of the National Secretaries Association.

Fifty-four competencies were identified by the investigator and included in the survey instrument. The results of the study showed that 50, or 92.6 percent, of the competencies were perceived to be important by a majority of the personnel directors and the secretaries. Thirty-one competencies were affective, 14 competencies were psychomotor, and 5 competencies were education, shorthand, and typing requirements. Of the 54 affective and psychomotor competencies, 4, or 7.4 percent, were significantly different at the .05 level in responses by the personnel directors and the secretaries. The significant differences occurred as a result of the competencies receiving higher ratings from the secretaries as relating more to the actual practice in the office.

Major conclusions reached on the basis of the study were:

1. Personnel directors and secretaries have similar perceptions concerning affective and psychomotor competencies required for the employment of secretaries in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area business offices.

2. Of the 54 competencies, 4, or 7.4 percent, were significantly different in the responses obtained from the personnel directors and the secretaries. The significant differences occurred because the competencies received higher ratings from the secretaries as relating more to the actual practice in the office.

3. High school diploma is the minimum level of formal education for entry-level secretaries. Typing tests are required for the employment of secretaries; shorthand tests may be required. Terminal speeds of 80-100 words per minute in shorthand and 50-60 words per minute in typewriting are adequate for secretaries seeking entry-level employment.