No es lo mismo ser Secretaria que Secretary según Wikipedia.
Podeis comprobar las diferencias que existen en la Wikipedia en inglés con
respecto a la del español sobre el término “secretaria”.
La definición de
Wikipedia en inglés es
realmente interesante y completa como podréis comprobar. El contenido se divide
en etimología, los orígenes históricos, los orígenes más modernos de la
profesión, los distintos niveles de secretaria, los papeles de secretarios de
gobierno etc, el secretariado médico, y algunas otras cosas. Muy interesante
para conocer el por qué de esta profesión, qué factores llevaron a convertir a
las mujeres en las candidatas perfectas para ello, y cómo el término tiene
gradaciones, tanto desde el punto de vista terminológico como laboral.
Sin embargo la secretaria
Wikipedia en
español , ni
siquiera hace una definición
de la palabra, se limita a hacer dos
apartados “funciones” y “centros de trabajo”. Las funciones no es que no
sean verdad, pero son muy simples, y lo de los centros de trabajo no dice
mucho.
De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
La
profesión
de
auxiliar administrativo está orientado(a) a realizar actividades
elementales en centros privados o públicos.
Sus funciones principales están relacionadas con el trabajo de
oficina, como
pueden ser:
- Recepción de documentos.
- Atender llamadas
telefónicas.
- Atender visitas.
- Archivo de documentos.
- Cálculos elementales.
- Informar sobre todo lo referente
al departamento del que depende.
- Estar al día de la
tramitación de expedientes.
- Tener actualizada la
agenda, tanto telefónica como de direcciones, y de reuniones.
- Poseer conocimiento de los
departamentos de las Administraciones Públicas con los que esté más
relacionada la sección de que dependa.
- Asimismo, tener
conocimiento del manejo de maquinaria de oficina, desde calculadoras hasta
fotocopiadoras,
pasando por ordenadores personales y los programas
informáticos que conllevan.
- Amplios conocimientos en
protocolo institucional y empresarial.
En definitiva, la figura de la persona profesional del secretariado(a) es
como gestora del tiempo del directivo con el que colabora, para que éste no
deba preocuparse más que en la toma de decisiones que beneficien el progreso de
la compañía.
Pueden ser cualquier lugar donde sea necesaria una persona que tenga la
capacidad suficiente, pudiendo ser una empresa privada, una
Administración Pública o cualquier otro
lugar donde se deban desarrollar las funciones descritas.
En las distintas Administraciones Públicas se requieren otras
características añadidas a las exigidas y que están redactados en las distintas
leyes estatales, autonómicas o locales para tener acceso al puesto de trabajo,
asimismo es necesario superar alguna prueba consistente en responder una serie
de preguntas o realizar una supuesta práctica o alguna prueba con la tecnología
que se utiliza en ese momento, como puede ser de
mecanografía
o soltura con algún
software informático, donde se demuestra que tiene la
capacitación necesaria para el desempeño de la tarea. La ventaja de trabajar en
las Administraciones Públicas se halla en que es un trabajo para toda la vida (
funcionario público) mientras las leyes no
digan lo contrario.
En algunas empresas privadas también se da algún caso puntual donde es
necesario realizar alguna prueba demostrativa corporal de capacitación, pero
muchas de éstas pueden ser «empresas familiares» donde todo quede entre
parientes, siendo ellos mismos los que ejerzan de jefes y trabajadores, por lo
que el acceso es más limitado. Pero que es secretario(a) en si es una persona
que ejerce un trabajo en oficina y que es muy indispensable su labor.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An American
secretary at work.
A secretary, personal
assistant, or administrative assistant is a person whose work
consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of
project management, communication, or organizational skills. These
functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be
for the benefit of more than one. In other situations a secretary is an officer
of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members,
and organizes official meetings and events.
A secretary has many administrative duties. Traditionally, these duties were
mostly related to correspondence, such as the typing out of letters,
maintaining files of paper documents, etc. The advent of
word
processing has significantly reduced the time that such duties require,
with the result that many new tasks have come under the purview of the
secretary. These might include managing budgets and doing bookkeeping,
maintaining websites, and making travel arrangements. Secretaries might manage
all the administrative details of running a high-level conference or arrange
the catering for a typical lunch meeting. Often executives will ask their
assistant to take the minutes at meetings and prepare meeting documents for
review.
Contents
Etymology[edit]
The term is derived from the Latin word
secernere, "to distinguish" or "to set
apart," the passive participle (
secretum) meaning "having been set apart," with the
eventual connotation of something private or confidential, as with the English
word
secret. A
secretarius
was a person, therefore, overseeing business confidentially, usually for a
powerful individual (a king, pope, etc.). As the duties of a modern secretary
often still include the handling of confidential information, the literal
meaning of their title still holds true.
Since the
Renaissance until the late 19th century, men involved in
the daily correspondence and the activities of the mighty had assumed the title
of secretary.
With time, like many
titles, the term was applied to more and varied functions, leading to compound
titles to specify various secretarial work better, like general secretary or financial
secretary. Just
"secretary" remained in use either as an abbreviation when clear in
the context or for relatively modest positions such as administrative assistant
of the officer(s) in charge, either individually or as member of a secretariat.
As such less influential posts became more feminine and common with the
multiplication of bureaucracies in the public and private sectors, new words
were also coined to describe them, such as
personal assistant.
Modern developments[edit]
In 1870
Sir Isaac Pitman founded a school where students
could qualify as shorthand writers to "professional and commercial
men." Originally, this school was only for male students.
In the 1880s, with the invention of the
typewriter,
more women began to enter the field, and since
World War I,
the role of secretary has been primarily associated with women. By the 1930s,
fewer men were entering the field of secretaries.
In an effort to promote professionalism among
United
States secretaries, the
National Secretaries Association
was created in 1942. Today, this organization is known as the
International
Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) The organization
developed the first
standardized test for
office
workers called the Certified Professional Secretaries Examination (CPS). It
was first administered in 1951.
In 1952, Mary Barrett, president of the National Secretaries Association, C.
King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation, and American businessman
Harry F. Klemfuss created a special
Secretary's
Day holiday, to recognize the hard work of the staff in the office. The
holiday caught on, and during the fourth week of April is now celebrated in
offices all over the world. It has been renamed "
Administrative Professional's Week"
to highlight the increased responsibility of today's secretary and other
administrative workers, and to avoid embarrassment to those who believe that
"secretary" refers only to women or to unskilled workers.
Contemporary employment[edit]
In a business many job descriptions overlap. However, while administrative
assistant is a generic term, not necessarily implying directly working for a
superior, a secretary is usually a personal assistant to a manager or
executive. Other titles describing jobs similar to or overlapping those of the
traditional secretary are office coordinator, executive assistant, office
manager and administrative professional.
- At the most basic level
(Grade / Band 1 or 2) a secretary is usually an audio
typist with a small number of administrative roles. A good command of
the prevailing office language and the ability to type
is essential. At higher grades and with more experience they begin to take
on additional roles and spend more of their time maintaining physical and
electronic files, dealing with the post, photocopying, emailing clients,
ordering stationery and answering telephones.[1]
- A more skilled executive
assistant (Grade / Band 4 to 6) may be required to type at high speeds
using technical or foreign languages, organize diaries, itineraries and
meetings and carry out administrative duties which may include accountancy.
A secretary / executive assistant may also control access to a manager,
thus becoming an influential and trusted aide. Executive assistants are
available for contact during off hours by new electronic communication
methods for consultations. Specialized secretaries at higher level also
include Medical and Legal Secretaries/Personal Assistants.
- The largest difference
between a generalized secretary and skilled executive assistants is that
the executive assistant is required to be able to interact extensively
with the general public, vendors, customers, and any other person or group
that the executive is responsible to interact with. As the level that the
executive interacts with increases so does the level of skill required in
the executive assistant that works with the executive. Those executive
assistants that work with corporate officers must be capable of emulating
the style, corporate philosophy, and corporate persona of the executive
for which they work. In the modern workplace the advancement of the
executive assistants is codependent on the success of the executive and
the ability of both to make the job performance of the team seamless whereas
the job place evaluation is reflective of each other's performance
executive secretary for now.
Training
by country[edit]
Belgium[edit]
In Belgium, a Bachelor's
degree in Office
Management is ideal for the position. University courses economics, modern languages, and office administration offer
great preparation for the position.[citation needed]
United
States[edit]
In the United States, a
variety of skills and adaptability to new situations is necessary. As such, a four-year
degree is often
preferred and a two-year
degree is usually a
requirement.[citation needed]
Executive
assistant[edit]
Civilian[edit]
The work of an
executive assistant differs slightly from that of an
administrative assistant. Executive assistants work for a company officer (at
both
private and
public
institutions), and possess the authority to make crucial decisions affecting
the direction of such organizations, and is therefore a resource in
decision-making and policy setting. The executive assistant performs the usual
roles of managing correspondence, preparing research, and communication while
also acting as the "gatekeeper," understanding in varying degree the
requirements of the executive, and with an ability through this understanding
to decide which scheduled events or meetings are most appropriate for
allocation of the executive's time.
An executive assistant may from time to time act as
proxy for the
executives, representing him/her/them in meetings or communications.
An executive assistant differs from an administrative assistant in that they
are expected to possess a higher degree of business acumen, be able to manage
projects, as well as have the ability to influence others on behalf of the
executive.
Military[edit]
In the
U.S. Department of Defense, the title of
Military Assistant (MA) or
Executive Assistant (EA) is typically
utilized by Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps
colonels and Navy and Coast Guard
captains who are in direct support of a
general
officer or
flag officer, or a civilian defense official typically
at the level of a
Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense (DASD) or higher. Like their civilian counterpart, these senior
officers also possess the authority to make crucial decisions affecting the
direction of such organizations, and are also a resource in decision-making,
policy setting, and oversight of the military and civilian staff supporting the
general officer, flag officer or civilian official. EAs are often
interchangeable with other senior military officers of equivalent rank holding
the title of chief of staff in other service or joint commands, but should not
be confused with the 4-star officers holding the title of
Chief of Staff of the Army
or
Chief of Staff of the Air
Force.
[2]
See also[edit]
