The History of the Profession

Since the Renaissance until the late 19^th 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.

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. Since 1998, this organisation has been known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). The organisation 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 Day¹ 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 Professionals’ Week² to highlight the increased responsibility of today’s secretary and other administrative workers, and to avoid embarrassment to those who believe that the term ‘secretary’ refers only to women or to unskilled workers.

Notes:

¹ Secretary’s Day – День секретаря – среда последней полной недели апреля; этот день отмечают в знак благодарности за тяжелую работу секретарей (офис-менеджеров, администраторов и т. п.); с 2000 г. официально называется День офисных работников.

² Administrative Professionals’ Week – Неделя офисных работников – последняя полная неделя апреля, в течение которой секретарям (офис-менеджерам, администраторам) принято дарить небольшие подарки в знак признательности за хорошее выполнение работы; первоначальное название “Professional Secretary’s Week” – “Неделя секретаря”.

II. Answer the questions.

1. Who had assumed the title of secretary since the Renaissance until the late 19^th century? 2. Compound titles were applied to varied secretarial functions to specify secretarial work better, weren’t they? 3. What school did Sir Isaac Pitman found in 1870? 4. Has the role of secretary been primarily associated with women since World War I? 5. What does the holiday called “ Administrative Professionals’ Week ” highlight?

III. Put different types of questions to the text.

IV. Identify the words as 1) nouns, 2) adjectives, 3) verbs, 4) adverbs.

Correspondence, secretarial, individually, multiplication, specify, position, secretariat, relatively, bureaucracy, commercial, professionalism, feminine, qualify, officer, standardize, financial, primarily, activity, recognize, embarrassment.

V. State the tense of the verbs in the following sentences. Translate the sentences into Belarusian/Russian.

1. Since the Renaissance until the late 19^th century, men involved in the daily correspondence and the activities of the mighty had assumed the title of secretary. 2. Less influential posts became more feminine. 3. By the 1930s, fewer men were entering the field of secretaries. 4. In April, secretaries will celebrate the Administrative Professionals’ Day. 5. Some people believe that the term ‘secretary’ refers only to women and unskilled workers.

VI. Rewrite the following sentences in the Passive.

1. They applied the term ‘secretary’ to more and varied functions. 2. Office workers celebrate the holiday during the fourth week of April. 3. Since World War I, people have primarily associated the role of secretary with women. 4. In 1870, Sir Isaac Pitman founded a school for shorthand writers. 5. Everybody must recognize the increased responsibility of today’s secretary and other administrative workers.

VII. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form.

1. The secretary explained that her responsibility (to increase) the previous year. 2. My colleague said she (not to celebrate) the Administrative Professionals’ Day the next year. 3. The lecture stressed that the National Secretaries Association (to be created) in an effort to promote professionalism among United States secretaries. 4. The manager asked if I (to work) as a secretary before.

VIII. Underline modal verbs and their equivalents. Translate the sentences into Belarusian/Russian.

1. Office environments can get extremely hectic, and a secretary may sometimes feel quite embarrassed. 2. A secretary has to organise meetings and keep track of inter-office correspondence. 3. If you have to print out a schedule for your boss’s upcoming week, you need to know how to use a word processing programme on your computer. 4. Those simple typographical errors on the documents could cause big problems. 5. An effective secretary is able to handle pressure gracefully.

UNIT III

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Section I. WORD LIST

Section II. READING MATERIAL

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