INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH IN FIRST BANK PLC

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH IN FIRST BANK PLC EKWULOBIA IN ANAMBRA STATE

ABSTRACT

The topic Impact on the information and communication Technology as a tool for Organization growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State. Before the advent of technology, the tasks in most organizations have been performed manually. And this involves the use of excessive human labour to perform them. The advents of the technologies are believed to give added impetus to organizational productivity. Specifically the study will identify the information and communication technology as a tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State. Three purpose of the study and three research questions were used for this research work related literature were reviewed and the simple percentage formula was used for data analysis. The population of the study consisted of 48 staff of First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State. A total number of 48 questionnaire was distributed to the respondents out of which were retrieved.. This research topic had been an interesting one various barriers were identified and possible remedies where suggested. Effective communication is very important and vital, It is seen from the research work that provision for adequate training also enhances effective communication. This study was carried out because of the belief that information and communication technology, which is a new business initiative and innovation, will help important marketing growth. Banks and other service organization should adopt resources/skill development policies with an emphasis of ICT training. Management should discourage any like hood that could bring about barrier to effective communication.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of The Study

The world has become a global village and as such communication has become so fast efficient that one can communicate across the globe in a matter of seconds. This development in the communication industry, has made possible by the advent of computer, information and communication technology.

Technology in the 21^st century is dominated. Today’s technological advances are faster and more fundamental, with their cost decreasing rapidly. It covers all forms of computer and communications equipment and software used to create, design, store, transmit, interpret and manipulate information in its various formats. Personal computers, laptops, television and network technologies are just some examples of the diverse array of ICT tools.

Information and communication technology is a general term that describes the process of creating, modifying, storage, transmission of information, between humans and machines alike globally, using several different electronic technologies to achieve an outcome. Organizations use information technology heavily to automate their work, making it easier and quicker to achieve their goals. Every business organization always wishes to attain a target profit a success. The attainment of the success depends largely on the adoption and management of information and communication technology in the marketing of goods and services. Modern day business literally abounds in several examples of organization and individual in different part of the world who made fortunes by seizing opportunities engendered by technological changes.

Less sighted organization operation on the same technological environment lost their fortune and in some a result of their inability to anticipate and adopt strategies that would match change brought about by technology. As a result of opportunities created by technological changes, information and communication technology in particular, forward looking organization such as banking industry have adopted different marketing strategies aimed at achieving organization objectives.

Business operates in a world of technologies and gulping changes which create new problems, risks and opportunities which they mobilize resources to meet such changes and tap the opportunities presented for the overall success of the organization objectives, marketing strategy which will enable the business to continually adopt its operation to the realities of the market and consumers satisfaction in particulars, which is the cornerstone of organizational growth.

1. Inadequate information flow in organization also affects organizational growth.
2. A change in technology in banking industry also affects organizational productivity because the employers and employee need special training on the job.

Statement of the Study

Before the advent of technology, the tasks in most organizations have been performed manually. This involves the use of excessive human labour to perform them. The problem here was not whether these organizations achieved their goals with a specific period. The essences of these organizations to make profit for the owners within a period of time the adverts of the technologies are believed to give added impetus to organizational productivity. The question is whether the introduction of ICT to most organization has added significantly to the overall growth of these organizations. Specifically the study will identify the introduction of Information and Communication Technology as a tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to identify Information and Communication Technology as tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State specifically the study will;

1. Identify the place of ICT in the overall growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.
2. Identify the shortcomings of ICT as a tool for organizational growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.
3. Identify the use of ICT as a tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.

Research Question

The following research questions have been asked as a guideline to the study;

1. What are the places of ICT in the overall growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.?
2. What are the shortcomings of ICT as a tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State?
3. What are the uses of ICT as a tool for Organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State?

Significance of the Study

1. The study will be beneficial to First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State as a means of companion between what is used to be before ICT in foundation and now.
2. It will also help First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State workers to embrace the new technology by way of further training.
3. First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State will benefit through quick and accurate job performance through the introduction.

Scope of the Study

This study is delimited to information and communication technology as a tool for organizational Growth in First Bank Plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State.

Definition of Terms

1. Bank: A financial establishment that invests money deposited by customer, pays it out when required, makes loans at interest and exchanges currency.
2. Technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purpose, especially in industries.
3. Organization: A social unit of people that structures and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals especially in society or association.
4. Information: Knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstances or knowledge gained through study, communication, research and instructions e.t.c.
5. Communication: The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1   Introduction

In this chapter, related literature were reviewed based on ideas, opinion and views of other people as concerning information and communication technology as a tool for organizational growth in first bank plc Ekwulobia in Anambra State. The study was reviewed under the following sub-headings.

1. Define ICT
2. Place of ICT in global trend
3. Problems or shortcomings of ICT
4. Uses of ICT

Define Information and Communication Technology:

Information and communication technology is the digital processing and utilization of information by the use of electronic computers. It comprises the storage, retrieval, conversion and transmission of information. (Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, 2011).

Information and communication technology is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing; radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications and distance learning. ICTs are often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, healthcare, or libraries. (Margaret Rouse 2005).

Information and communication technology is a branch of engineering dealing with the use of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit ad manipulate data. (Daintith, John, Ed. (2009).

Place of Information and Communication Technology in global trend.

Nigeria economy over the years has been predicted upon crude oil production and sales. But going by current realities, oil is no longer a viable economy mainstay. Globally, the price has continued to nose dive and economies which made mistake of putting their eggs in one basket are quickly looking for a way out. Diversification, has however, been identified as the viable solution and that is where Nigeria is headed.

Eventually, knowing what to diversity into is an important as the diversification itself.

Meanwhile, several information and communication technology, ICT professionals have argued that technology is the alternative to what oil cannot give Nigeria at the moment. They back up these arguments with turnaround several economics of the world are recording now, courtesy of technological developments.

That argument was carried further, Monday when one of Nigeria’s National Dailies, Business day, Newspaper, gathered the best of industry practitioners in Lagos to discuss the possibility of ICT presenting viable alternative to Oil.

The event under the theme “Beyond Oil: ICT as a viable alternative” X-rayed the potentials that support ICT as a viable candidate for this bottlenecks that could militate against immediate impact.

Interestingly, with every speaker, from the founder and CEO of computer warehouse group, (Mr. Austin Okere), CEO Rack Centre (Mr. Ayotunde Coker), Director Lagos Angel Networks (Mr. Collins Onuegbu), CEO MTN Nigeria (Mr. Ferdi Moolman), the direction was clear-Nigeria should upgrade as a full digital economy. A digital economy is essentially a global network of new economic activities enables by technology and data. This new economy has the potentials of opening a wide horizon of possibilities that were unknown or unthinkable before.

Incidentally, Nigeria has witnessed a bit of that transformation with the liberalization and opening up of the telecommunications sector of the economy in zool. That move threw open several other subsectors like the financial institutions, e-commerce, data centers , computer games, voice over 1p communication, among others that leveraged on the possibilities of technology to blossom.

Global trends

The good news is that other current global ICT trends are all suggesting that the power of technology innovations are heavily leaned towards the emerging markets. Where Nigeria obviously calls the shots. Coker, the Rack centre, CEO, said that his company has carried out researchers to benchmark other reports and found out that there is an addressable market in the data centre business for him, the data center business was going to explode in the economy. The reason according to his was that the operators are suddenly realizing that if their networks fail and their customers churn, they were going to lose tremendous business.

Again, he disclosed the same way, they are beginning to understand that trusting their networks with local based data centre was for more profitable and reliable than hosting their network abroad where it will surely take a few rigmaroles to cover if there is a sudden occurrence. Having discovered this trend, Coker said rack centre was going to invest over and 200 million on its data centre’s network, in addition to the hundred millions of dollars they have spent already.

From big data to smart data, the fast moving world. The world is experiencing a restless technology market. No one dwells on the motion but the movement. All just suddenly the market is trying to fully understand the dynamics of big data and its potential but development has moved beyond big data. At least that is what Kuzai Danha, managing director, West Africa for has been at the forefront of technology innovation and job creation. In other words, the new digital economy revolves around the data revolution.

So big data volume, data velocity, data veracity and data value. But today, Danha said that smart data and super computer are the current trends “we are now in the era of super computer, which means that things are done much faster than the usual. So any business operator who is doing things the old way should prepare to lose business should his competitor launch into the new order, the interesting thing is that those new businesses are looking towards the emerging market.

Problems or Shortcoming of ICT

Sustainability and Scale: The use of ICT in development programs supported by INGOs (International non-governmental Organizations) has to date, been relatively ad hoc, with many examples of small initiatives or pilots but very few large scale, sustainable, ICT-supported programs. To unleash the full potential of ICT in development programs, a new level of collaboration, but internally and with other organizations, and a new approach to scaling solutions to achieve a really material impact are needed.

Lack of knowledge: Many INGOs are not well equipped internally support and nature the effective exploitation of ICT to benefit development. They simple do not have the knowledge, expertise, or organizational capacity needed. The use of ICT is often seen as throng, problematic issue relating to back office systems. Furthermore, ICT often has a questionable reputation result of previous unsuccessful or costly initiatives.

• Pace of Change: INGOs current structures, staffing, and was of operating have a strong momentum that is not easy to halt or redirect. It is relatively easy to utilize ICT to sustain and improve current organizational constructs and approaches, making useful but incremental progress. It is incredibly difficult to conceive of new ways of working with organizational constructs that are fundamentally different from the status quo and require a shift in terms of strategy, competence, skills, and organizational structure

1. Funding: There also is a significant challenge in adequately planning of financing the use of ICT in development programs. With cyclical donor funding and pressure to minimize administrative and management costs, it is often INGOs to properly plan and resource financial and human investments in ICT as a core capacity for development programs.
2. Changing Roles and Norms: The emergence of new ICT possibilities. Potentially presets some more fundamental and far-reaching questions, changing or even undermining the assumptions on which INGOs came out being, when we reflect on why INGOs were originally founded. We can isolate a number of specific gaps between people and communities in poverty and those in more affluent, developed parts of the world for example, if we think about gaps around understanding and information, traditional INGOs helped us understand the dire need of communities in the poorest parts of the world. There is also a gap in terms of access, communication, and of course resources that INGOs have historically played an important role in addressing. While some of these gaps still exist, they are arguable not as clear or compelling as they once were. We can see that developments and possibilities created through ICT, directly and indirectly materially change the landscape in relation to many of these gaps.
3. Uses of ICT
4. To improve service delivery to customers: Generally, today’s modern business pride themselves on being customer focused and customer oriented, and many have invested in ensuring that their frontline staff are versed in customer service. However, frequently, little emphasis is given to improving service delivery and efficiency. From private sector to government, much can be done to improve the customer’s experience, and technology can be a major contributor to that transformation. Depending on the organization and the services being provided, it is likely that a detailed list of improvement can be identified, but some likely to be on the list include; providing certain service outline and introducing e-commerce facilitates, which would at the very least offer customers a more convenient and efficient experience.
5. To improve organization’s responsiveness to new developments: Although this point might seem most relevant to complex, goods oriented business that operate in higly dynamic industries, this point is as applicable to small service-oriented organizations with regard to organizational responsiveness. ICT/technology can be a major aid in;
6. Processing data generated from a diverse range of channels (e.g sales, web analytics, inventory control, customer feedback, industry data, etc.) which is handled correctly, can flag developing issues and be the impetus for important strategic decision.
7. Facilitating the implementation of the decisions that have been made, though innovative and (hopefully) cost effective options, some of which it might be possible to build in-house.

iii.   To change the basis of competition in Industry: Frequently in industry, a degree of complacency can occur when individual businesses no longer strive to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Certain equilibrium has been obtained and the business might be doing “Okay”. However, for organizations that aim to grow market share improve visibility, or wish to become the preferred vendor or service provider, ICT/technology can help them achieve those goals. Again ICT can be instrumental in;

1. Streamlining, optimizing and automating certain internal processes, which can reduce delays, human error, red tap, and the complexity of certain process.
2. Introducing operational efficiencies that can reduce costs and improve the bottom line.
3. Implementing new measures that can ultimately add value to the customer and improve his or her experience with the organization.

To improve your organization’s overall performance: Finally, and as a culmination of all earlier points, ICT can introduce a paradigm shit in organizations by helping them to re-evaluate, among other things what might be possible how they can raise the bar and perform better, and what new service and quality standards should be introduced. This point may be particularly applicable to micro. small and medium sized business, many of which have limited resources, and might be looking for ways to take their operations to the next level.

One way of beginning the process of getting more out of the technology your organization currently possesses, is not to focus on the devices themselves. Instead, the priority in the first instance should be to set the goals pr desired outputs that you wish to realize, and to examine and understand current processes or project cycles in order to be in a position to determine how best they can be optimized with technology to achieve the desired outcomes.

In closing, ICT has long been touted as being able to introduce efficiencies into businesses, but too often the organizations themselves do not actively introducing such measures. Depending on the expertise resident in the firm, some external assistance may be necessary to get the most of the current equipment.

However, as the corporate world becomes ever more fixated on profits and saving, and competition increases across various sections, a more considered investment to harness readily available ICT might be worth the inconvenience in the long term.

2.2   Summary of Related Literature

The summary of the related literature in this study shows that the increasing rate of technology advances in Nigeria is likely to create the opportunity for many people to participate in these new developments. New technology creates unusual opportunity to enhance employees’ involvement.

If organizations are making effort to tap the full benefits of technological innovation, the hangover or technological consequences on human interaction, behaviour, attitude and society in general may constitute another change to humanity. Technology, if not carefully used in a way consistent with human assert perspective may create a problem in the office. This challenge will create the problem that any organizational worker to adopt defensive mechanism so as not to be enveloped by the snares of “Technological Syndrome”.