Executive Secretary Educational Program Paper Example

The 7-day program focused on duties and other characteristics of an executive secretary. He or she has the duty to work as an administrative assistant who has various skills in scheduling meetings, supervise the work of other administrative staff, book travel, prepare reports and review information among other administrative roles. They work closely with the executives so that they can make their job easy and efficient. There are four main types of executive secretaries (Greenwood, 2018). Firstly, the gofers are executive secretaries who do the job under the close supervision and instructions from their bosses. They perform simple tasks such sending emails and write what the executive states. They depend on instructions at any point. Secondly, the administrative assistants can perform many duties for the bosses without consulting the executives provided they are within their boundaries. Thirdly, executive assistants are given the roles of being creative in every situation. They are given an unclear assignment and are required to come up with the best ways to perform them. Finally, the chief of staff is the high most executive secretary (Finkel, 2018). He or she has the duty of following up on behalf of the executive and ensure that all the objectives are met.

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The program also focused on the types of communication. These are; verbal, non-verbal, and written communication (Lear, Hodge and Schulz, 2015, 64). Verbal communication entails the use of word of mouth to pass information from one person to another. Non-verbal involves the use of gestures and symbols to communicate. Finally, written communication involves the use of written words to pass a message (Key, 2011, 275). Additionally, executive secretaries are needed to know how to formulate official letters. The letters need to be brief with the address and contacts of the sender. Also, it has to be written in simple language that could be easily understood by the reader.

Executive secretaries need to understand how to deal with different types of managers. They need to complete the tasks within the shortest time possible to ensure that no conflicts may arise when the managers ask for a report. An executive secretary needs to understand the working style of each manager and give them the respect they deserve (Burge, 2018). It is important to learn to say no to some tasks issued by the managers if they may not be accomplished within the provided deadlines. The strategy can ensure that the manager looks for another option to have the task done.

The program insisted on the need for the managers to have professional skills that meet the required standards. He or she need to have office administrative and management skills to ensure that all the activities are running smoothly (Ferreira, Erasmus, and Groenewald, 2010, 75). Additionally, it is important to have skills in word processing and preparation of spreadsheet. The executive secretary also needs to have to have some skills in graphics development since some of the duties may be based in the area. The secretary needs to be creative so that he or she can solve issues that may make the work of the executive easy. He or she has to follow the instruction of the boss and ensure that the duties performed are within the boundaries.

Conclusion

The experience in the learning was bad. The learning and training that took place were too basic and every executive secretary was aware of. I disagree with that the program was beneficial to the participants. The organizers could have discussed complex issues instead of the basic ones that are known by the executive secretaries. Therefore, the 7 days were wasted since nothing new was learned.

References

Burge, J., 2018. 10 Steps to Supporting Multiple Managers - Office Dynamics. [online] Office Dynamics. Available at: HYPERLINK "https://officedynamics.com/10-steps-to-supporting-multiple-managers/" https://officedynamics.com/10-steps-to-supporting-multiple-managers/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].

Ferreira, E.J., Erasmus, A.W. and Groenewald, D., 2010. Administrative management. Juta and Company Ltd.

Finkel, D., 2018. 4 Types of Personal Assistants (2 of Which You Need To Avoid). [online] Inc.com. Available at: HYPERLINK "https://www.inc.com/david-finkel/the-4-kinds-of-personal-assistants-which-do-you-need.html" https://www.inc.com/david-finkel/the-4-kinds-of-personal-assistants-which-do-you-need.html [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].

Greenwood, B., 2018. The Difference Between a Secretary & an Executive Secretary. [online] Work.chron.com. Available at: HYPERLINK "https://work.chron.com/difference-between-secretary-executive-secretary-6674.html" https://work.chron.com/difference-between-secretary-executive-secretary-6674.html [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].

Key, M.R., 2011. The relationship of verbal and nonverbal communication. Walter de Gruyter.

Lear, J.L., Hodge, K.A. and Schulz, S.A., 2015. Talk to me!! Effective, efficient communication. The Journal of Research in Business Education, 57(1), p.64.