CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The word ethics has been defined variously by different people. Ethics is defined as a moral principle that control or influence a person’s behavior (OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNERD DICTIONARY).
Richard, Donald, Arnold, Bernard, Preona (2005) stressing further, they defined ethics to mean the system of principles, rules of conduct, science of morals or morals sounders which depicts a professional body and its members.
From the above definition it can be deducted that ethics is a study that moulds ones standard and imposes reasonable obligations on a particular classes of people to act right.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
In spite of the widely accepted nature of moral requirement and the presence of universal work ethics of a class or society, there also exist specific rules of conduct for the increasingly growing number of professional activities. These rules of conducts for ethics are of two things it refers to well based standard of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of right obligations, benefit to society. Fairness or specific rules and virtues. (Richard, Donald, Arnold, Bernard, Presha 2005).
Stressing further, they explained ethics to mean the system of principles, rules of conduct, science to moral or morals soundness which depicts a professional body and its members. From the above definitions, it can be deducted that ethics is a study that moulds ones standard and impose reasonable obligations on a particular class of people to act right.
Since business organization does not function without workers who carry out different duties to achieve the objectives of the organization. A secretary who is indispensable worker has special jobs she performs in the organization and the level of the ethical conduct goes a long way on standing her out of the crowd in her workplace.
Today, many professional bodies have developed policies and professional codes for their practitioners and the secretary is not exempted from their rules that govern the behavior of professionals. These set morals or code of conducts are strictly adhered to end inculcated in the discharge or conduct professional bodies.
Professional ethics prays an important role in ensuring continuity in the moral conduct development of the society sides, it enhance a stable code in the moral life of people especially where forces of simple moral commandment grow weaker or fails. Besides, social system and regulation surpasses one another due to intensive social tensions (Richard, 2005).
The ethics and social behaviors as well as the interest of secretary only to the extent she put into practice the general principles of social and moral arisute adopted to the specific features of her profession and the degree of her awareness of her responsibility to the performance and conducers of her jobs. A low level of professional ethics is one of the moral distractive administrative and prostrated consequences of the unwanted.
Professional ethics normally is identified in those varieties of specialized activities in which man him self is the objective of research thus, it relates to the behavior of people profession as regards to their career. Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, and Secretaries etc. the expected to behavior in a certain ways follows specific codes of conduct in performing their jobs as this will guard against their actions or behavior being there profession to disrepute.
Since secretary she is a profession, it must have set of code of conduct expected from practitioners of the profession therefore, thus project will discuss those professional ethics which are required in the conduct secretarial job for better performance.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Professional ethics is part of the requirements for efficiency in the conduct of secretary’s job. The secretary is required to keep secrets of her employer and organization as this will determine the duration of her job as a confidence secretary. The problem of this study posed as a question in line with Kelinger (1993) “apart from keeping secrets and confidentially, are there no other ethics or set of code of conducts for professional secretary?
To answer this question, this project is set to address and generate empirical data on professional ethics required in the conduct of the secretary’s job for better performance.
1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to determine the professional ethics which the secretary requires in the conduct of her job for better performance.
Especially, due study attempt to”
1. find out professional ethics of the secretary
2. Evaluate the extent to which these codes of ethics have impacted on the job of the secretary.
3. Identifying problems and proper solutions.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
For the objective of this research to be realized, the following questions are being put forward as a guide for the research. The response received from them will be the decision making in this project.
1. What does an ethic mean?
2. What are the professional ethics of the secretary?
3. To what extent have these codes of ethics impacted the job of the secretary?
4. What are the problems encountered by a secretary excibiliting these codes and what are the solutions to these problems?
1.5 SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY
This is a build-up additional information as an extension of knowledge in secretarial profession. The findings of the study will enhance the professional ethics, the secretary will improve secretarial image and enhance acceptability of the profession by the society.
In addition, this work when completed will be an eye opener or guide for the chief executive in employing secretaries and also for the secretary, in the performance and conduct of her job which speed organizational objective goals.
Above all, this project when completed will serve reference material for prospective secretaries who may wish to be enlightened more on the professional ethics required of secretaries in the conduct of her job.
Finally, it will be of immense help to other students and researchers who may wish to embark on similar research in the future.
1.6 SCOPE OF STUDY
This research project was restricted or examines the professional ethics required of office manager in a changing office environment
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In the course of this research works, the researcher encountered many drawbacks which are enumerated thus:
1. Lack of finance: finance is a factor that speed up every project that is handled by an individual and where it is unavailable posed lost of problems.
2. Lack of reference materials: insufficient reference material also posed a lots of problems to the researcher.
Lack of cooperation: by some respondent to volunteer information as they did not believe the assurance given them that the data collected were purely for academic purposes.