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I have often found the secretary to be the "virtual manager"
since the managers I have had were rarely in their office and avaliable
to converse with. When I had paperwork to submit for the managers
approval or signiture, I gave it to the secretary. When my manager
had information or paperwork for me, he/she gave it to the secretary
who gave it to me. With the exception of the once a year review,
the secretary was my manager. She is the one I told when I was
going somewhere out of the office, the one I asked when I wanted
to find someone or get a message delivered, the one who knew who
to contact for something or where to get something, or how to do
something. I have often felt that if someone wanted a management
job, the position to hold first was that of the secretary. How
better to be familure with the paperwork involved, the players of
the management circle, the way things were done. I have never had
a male secretary, but I feel this postion is a valuable one, and
one that men need to hold. In my opinion, the status of secretary
should be upgraded immediately, (along with the salary), and that
many secretaries should be considered for a management postion when
one opens up. I haven't quite figured out why this hasn't happened
already. After all, "Secretary of State" is not considered a bad
job. I hate to see the waste of potential that occurs. It cost
the company and all of us money in the long run.
DRC
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| I'd imagine that anyone who "expects" their secretary to act like
your notion of a wife would soon find themselves in big trouble
- most likely by the secretary leaving.
I don't know about your life with your ex-wife, Steven, but certainly
not all men get "pampered and organized" by their wives. Even those
that do should not expect to get the same service from a secretary,
who certainly has better things to do than to compensate for the
man's own lack of initiative.
Personally, I've always tried to do as much for myself as I could,
recognizing that it was more efficient for the group if I did so.
Such things as creating overheads for presentations, typing memos,
and ESPECIALLY getting coffee, I can do myself just fine. Often
whole weeks go by where I never have to ask our secretary for anything.
Secretaries have specific jobs to do, and most do them better than
anyone would expect considering the compensation they get. A
group secretary is not a "gofer".
Steve
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| I used to be a secretary here at DEC, and I appreciated hearing
so many good things about my old profession. Too bad we aren't
paid more, I would have stayed with it. But I never made social
engagement appointments, (after learning to be assertive!)
Marilyn
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