Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1984

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major Professor

Gerald K. LaBorde

Committee Members

Radcliff

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn what basic skills are necessary to acquire entry-level employment in office occupations in Sullivan County, Tennessee, and to determine skills in use in offices within a 15-mile radius of Sullivan North High School. The questions to be answered include determining whether shorthand dictation and machine transcription are used regularly, whether shorthand and typewriting speeds are required by companies, and with what frequency are skills taught in Vocational Office Education being used in Sullivan County businesses.

A one-page questionnaire was delivered personally to companies after a limited mailing to eight of the companies proved too slow and inadequate. Fifty-three of the sixty companies returned the survey forms for 88.3 percent rate of return, which served as the data for this study. Criteria for selecting companies consisted of using the ten largest companies plus a random sample of the smaller companies and offices.

Major findings include the following points:

1. Thirty-four companies require typewriting speeds, and fourteen require shorthand speeds. Nine companies give other kinds of tests.

2. The average minimum speed required for shorthand ranged from 60 to 120 words per minute with the most often used speed 90 to 100.

3. The average minimum typewriting speed ranged from 45 to 60 words per minute with 60 as the most often used speed.

4. Shorthand and machine transcription are required for only 23 percent of the companies. In actual use in offices, shorthand is seldom or never used in 74 percent and machine transcription seldom or never used in 62 percent of the companies.

5. Ninety-eight percent of the companies use spelling, English grammar and telephone technique either extensively or regularly. Filing is used by 96 percent, and typewriting is used by 94 percent of the companies surveyed.

6. Recordkeeping/bookkeeping is required for entry-level employment by 70 percent of the companies, and 83 percent use it extensively or regularly in the office.

7. Computers are used by 49 percent of the businesses, and word processing is used by 41 percent. Many of the responding companies indicate that computers will be important in their organizations within the next one to three years.

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