Secretarial Practice and Office Procedures
This domain tests the secretary's routine duties: handling correspondence, filing, meetings, appointments, confidentiality, and office records.
Core routines
- Inward mail: receive, date-stamp, sort, enter in the inward register, mark to the department, and follow up.
- Outward mail: draft, check, obtain signature, dispatch, enter in the outward register, and file a copy.
- Filing: classify alphabetically, numerically, chronologically, or by subject; index, cross-reference, and follow retention rules.
- Meetings: notice, agenda, quorum, minutes, resolutions, and an action list.
Worked example
A board meeting is scheduled but only two of five directors attend. The secretary checks the quorum rule. If quorum is not met, the meeting cannot transact business; it is adjourned and absent members are informed. Reasoning: decisions taken without quorum are invalid, so the secretary protects the organisation by recording the adjournment.
Traps
- Filing a letter without a reference number.
- Sending a copy without marking cc.
- Recording opinions in minutes instead of decisions.
- Disclosing confidential information.
Key points are listed in the key_points field.