A study examined the use of office technology and the changing role of the management supportive staff in the modern office. During the study, the researcher conducted prearranged, one-hour personal interviews with individuals responsible for supervising day-to-day activities of management supportive staff at 50 companies in 16 sites. The interviewees were asked questions pertaining to the numbers and types of office machines and reprographics equipment used; the skills, knowledge, and understandings required of entry-level employees, types of preemployment tests used by their firms, job requirements for office management and secretarial positions; job duties of secretaries; the extent of information processing, records management, and electronic mail as a part of office routine; complaints concerning entry-level employees hired; and expectations concerning the progression of technology in the next five years. Based on the responses to these questions, the researcher urged business education teachers to provide an introduction of office technology to all students in business education programs; to provide hands-on training in word processing, keyboarding, and machine transcription to students training for secretarial and managerial supportive jobs; and to stress the importance of productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness at advanced levels of all courses. (MN)