IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ANAMBRA STATE.

ABSTRACT: This study examined the impact of information technology on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State. Information technology (IT) refers to all forms of processing, storage and transmission of information that are used in an electronic format. A sample of 200 staffs was selected from the population using random sampling. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources presented in tables and analyzed using percentages and frequencies. Hypotheses were formulated and tested using Chi square method. It was discovered among other things that, staff training will improve employee’s performance in Awka-South Local Government Area. It was observed that most computers and information technology equipment sent to Anambra State Ministry of Education don’t work and are not normally put to use, the study further revealed that Public office workers are not aware of the benefits of high performance and efficiency in using ICT. Following the above findings, the researcher has recommended that Anambra State Ministry of Education should consider enhancing information and communication technology tools as it is important for the organization in other for there to be an improvement in individual employee performance in terms of quantity, quality, and speed of work achievement and Anambra State Ministry of Education to keep an updated information technology tools in which will help employees to perform their work accurately, efficiently and effectively.

An Overview of Impact of information technology on employee performance in ministry of education Anambra state.

CHAPTER ONE

• Introduction
  • Background of the Study

The application of information technology (IT) has a great standing among basic industries since it plays an important role in different industries with factors such as productivity, social services and job opportunity improvement. Therefore, technology can be taken as one of the strategic factors which can help improve business productivity (Yang, 2007). Information technology began in 18th century along with industrial revolution and continued to the present day and it is still being used in different organizations to improve business operations (Harris & Nelson, 2008). Productivity improvement, service quality improvement, Cost reduction, Individual’s job satisfaction and long-term profitability are among the expectations of those researchers dealing with information communication technology (ICT) (Law and Jogaratnam, 2005). These researchers have also realized the controversial and useless results of productivity as a result of the analysis of investment activities in many industries. However, many studies validate the effect of information technology on productivity, service quality improvement and long-term profitability (Karadag & Dumanogl, 2009). Law and Jogaratnam, (2005) indicate that information technology investment has positively affected productivity from 1995 to 2003, information and communication technology (ICT) has not only changed the work styles of the organizations but also has considerably increased the efficiency and employees’ performance, the growth of any company, in addition to capital, intelligent human resources and good production techniques.

Information technology has become a greater part of mankind, as it affects all areas of business, society and global life and is developing at an unbelievable speed. This technology has a considerable effect on globalization and is a revolution in information, knowledge and organizational changes (Pavic et al; 2007). Information technology is a term which covers the concept of technology in information production, processing, retrieval and the distribution cycle. Furthermore, it is a new way of obtaining and processing information which allows discontinuous activities to be analyzed in a more effective way. This technology has brought a lot of advantages for customers and industries and helps them have options when choosing various products and services in the international market. It helps companies find new ways of improving their market share by providing their customers with their immediate needs (Phuong, 2008). Information technology implementation is very costly for organizations. These charges are not compensated in public organizations until it is followed by cost reduction, productivity and service delivery, quality improvement, increasing the capacity of the public organization’s decision-making and efficiency improvement systems and providing better access to information (Gichoya, 2005). Unfortunately companies have fundamental and financial limitations, inefficient and incompatible information systems, different organizational cultures and leadership styles, skilled and semi-skilled staff and attitude problems. Such limitations hinder the process of IT implementation (Ndou, 2004). Information technology is defined as different types of technology which process, store and send information electronically. Brady (2008) believe that obtaining high efficiency and effectiveness in organizations require investment in information technology components such as the Internet (Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy, 2004), office automation (Geiger & Turley, 2003) and management information systems (Li, 1995). The internet is a global network of computers which work independently and offers a variety of useful tools such as e-mail, web and news groups (Obra et al., 2002). Most companies use the Internet and know it to be a boost for the national economy (Martin & Matlay, 2001) with much more effectiveness and profitability than with telephone, fax etc (Grandon & Pearson, 2004). Administrative automation systems are one dimension of information and communication technologies which creates oral, written or video output.

Administrative automation systems also correlate, store, display and transfer the information (Helm, 1986). All office works are organized through software systems in a full office automation system with the purpose of creating an office system without papers to improve productivity.

Another dimension of information communication technology is a management information system which is a unified part of the comprehensive management system in an organization. This system involves planning for organizational sources and information systems with the operational result of supporting organization decisions (Rensena et al., 2010). Management systems support management activities at all levels and offer some key indices in the process (Folinas, 2007). Since these systems can be used as middle managers, many human managers are against the creation of such systems in the organization. The establishment of ICT systems affects human resources productivity as well. Human resources productivity is a dimension of overall productivity and is defined as the number of hours an individual is working. Josephine and Iwe, (2005) define productivity as measuring human resources efficiency in the context of different situations. Economists believe that Labor productivity is a key factor for economic health and more importantly economic growth. Therefore, an improvement in living standards should follow human resources productivity (Battisti and Iona, 2009). information technology as a new form of human resources technology is rapidly affecting business and lifestyles, especially productivity and thus leading to a wide range of changes in all activities (Zafiropoulos, 2006). Most organizations are investing in information technology for more efficiency and profitability (Brady, 2008).

Information technology is considered in most organisations as one of the strategic factors for business process improvement and an increase in human resources productivity. Williams and Clark (2007) report in their studies that most companies invest heavily in information technology for obtaining better business feedback. Loukis and Sapounas (2004) support the relationship between Information Technology and performance. However, many organizations are hesitant about investment in this technology and do not believe it to be a strategic resource (Carr, 2011). One of the reasons these companies do not use this technology is that their managers do not use it completely (Maguire, 2007) and do not have enough skills for its full use (Chibelushi & Costello., 2009). The increasing importance of information technology in promoting workers performance in the organization is inevitable.

• Statement of the problem

Evidence from several countries suggests that the ICT revolution is skill-based and increases demand for high-skilled relative to low-skilled workers. For example, (Jorgenson & Stiroh, 2000) point out that high-skilled workers are likely complementary to ICT, while low-skilled workers are substitutable. Organizations that want to improve its productivity and efficiency has to keep up with the changing trend and cope up with the influence of globalization, and ICT innovations. Despite the fact that most of the public organizations staff, especially the administrative and management staff have not absorbed the use information communication technology to their office related practices (Albion, 2009). Research has shown that the majority of the computers and information technology equipment sent to public organizations in Nigeria don’t work and are not normally put to use (Rogers, 2007).  Despite the fact that ICTs may be considered central to improving performance of employee, and that public organizations has initiated strategies and made them a mainstream item in its programs, despite it being an expensive venture, public office worker’s do not seem aware of the need to gain adequate skills and high performance in using ICT. although majority attach this to lack of time, unstable network and lack of enough resources to enhance their ICT skill. According to Obaji (2012) the refusal of most public organizations to embrace Information technology has resulted in low worker productivity, which in turn affects organisation performance.

Also information technology implementation is very costly for organizations. These charges are not compensated in public organizations until it is followed by cost reduction, productivity and service delivery, quality improvement, increasing the capacity of the public organization’s decision-making and efficiency improvement systems and providing better access to information (Gichoya, 2005). Unfortunately companies have fundamental and financial limitations, inefficient and incompatible information systems, different organizational cultures and leadership styles, skilled and semi-skilled staff and attitude problems. Such limitations hinder the process of IT implementation (Ndou, 2004). Also some organizations do not want to keep updating technology because they believe saving money is the right way, and of course keep updating technology need to train staff to the new technology and in the process incurring more cost. Despite the high cost of Information technology, it will go a long way towards ensuring workers productivity improvement, service quality improvement, Cost reduction, Individuals’ satisfaction and long-term profitability (Law and Jogaratnam, 2015). Another dimension of information communication technology is management information system which is a unified part of comprehensive management system in an organization. This system involves planning for organizational sources and information systems with the operational result of supporting organization decisions (Sorensen 2010). Management systems support management activities at all levels and offers some key indices of the process (folinas, 2007). Since these systems can be used as middle managers, these managers are against the creation of such systems in the organization. This establishment affects human resource productivity as well.

According to (Watson-Manheim, Bélanger 2007) another issue that has increased the need of communication technologies is the growing amount of data and the need of shared decision making. Communication technologies play a key role in making this happen. One of the greatest problems of all time on information technology has been information overload and how different people cope with this phenomenon (Eppler, 2004). Information overload occurs when, within a given time period, information processing requirements are greater than the capacities for processing it inside today’s organizations, it is not only about the amount of information transferred, but also what type of information is being transferred. Increasingly, individuals are associated with knowledge work. Therefore the amount of effort that is used in deciphering and decoding information has grown. One of the major reasons behind this increase of information overload can be attributed to; deployment of new communication technologies such as; decision support system (DSS), Internet, email (yahoo mail, Gmail, Hot mail, etc), instant messengers (IM) and extensions of telephones such as telephone conferences and video conferences have certainly had a huge impact on the amount of information transferred through various channels (Oladapo, 2011). The discussion has been on the amount of positive and negative effects these technologies have. These technologies have provided the opportunity to adjust when and how an individual sends and receives certain information. It has also provided a better way of pushing the right information to the right person on a timely fashion. The downside of this is that people tend to receive information in a more continuous fashion through several channels, and not all information is relevant for the receiver. Several researches have indicated that each additional piece of information an individual receives, improves his/her performance. But this is true only till a certain point. After this point is reached, additional information no longer improves the employee performance, but actually deteriorates it (Eppler, Mengis 2004).

• Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to examine the impact of information technology on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State. Specifically the study will;

1. Examine the factors that limit the use of information technology in Ministry of Education Anambra State.
2. Identify the relationship between Information technology and employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State.
3. Examine the perceived effect of information technology on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State.
4. Determine the type of information technology equipments used in Ministry of Education Anambra State.
   • Research Questions
5. What are the factors that limit the use of information technology in Ministry of Education Anambra State?
6. What is the relationship between information technology and employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State?
7. What are the perceived effects of information technology on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State?
8. What are the types of information technology equipments used in Ministry of Education Anambra State?
   • Research Hypotheses

In a bid to facilitate the research and make it more purposeful, the study tested the following hypotheses

Hypothesis 1

H_i: There are factors that limit the use of information technology in Ministry of Education Anambra State.

H_o: There are no factors that limit the use of information technology in Ministry of Education Anambra State.

Hypothesis 2

H_i:  There is a significant relationship between information technology and employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State.

H_o: There is no significant relationship between information technology and employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra state.

Hypothesis 3

H_i: Information technology has a positive effect on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State.

H_o: Information Technology has a negative effect on employee performance in Ministry of Education Anambra State.

• Significance of The Study

The significance of this study is to assess the impact of information technology on workers’ productivity, and how it affects the activities and employee performances of staff of Anambra State Ministry of Education. The study will also help them in knowing the importance of information technology and the need to infuse Information Technology into the system, to ensure efficiency in service delivery and productivity. Anambra State Ministry of Education will benefit from a research of this nature because a digitalised /computerized organization will ensure that workers produce result that would lead to sustainable development and reduce the rate of under performance. This study will also aid scholars to contribute immensely in the academic circles in carrying out proper research and formulation of relevant theories, without much ado and will help me to obtain a B.Sc degree.

• Scope of the Study

This study focuses on the impact of information technology on employee performance, using Anambra State Ministry of Education as its place of study.

• Limitations of The Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher encountered some difficulties, the researcher discovered that the resources needed to carry out this research was limited, moving from one library to another. Also the questionnaire had to be typed and administered to selected respondents of the organization not as one thought process, it required the personal involvement of the researcher to motivate the worker to fill the questionnaire, explain certain words and answer. Another constraint is lack of total cooperation from the respondents in Anambra State Ministry of Education, who were unwilling to co-operate with the researcher because they felt that they had nothing to gain from the study. Another serious constraint is finance, because of economic difficulties Nigeria is passing through, it was difficult to get enough money to achieve ones crucial desires. A research of this nature involves a lot of fund e.g for typing, distributing and collecting the questionnaire, and other necessary data for the study.  Others, when interviewed refused to disclose certain information relating to their organization for fear of victimization from the authority of the organization.

In spite of all these limitations, however, data collected were able to provide enough insight to the study.

• Definition of Terms

Computer- this can be define as a programmable electronics device that performs mathematical calculations and logical operations, especially one that can process, store and retrieve large amount of data very quickly.

Efficiency: this is the extent to which a resource is used for the intended purpose; the ratio of useful work to energy expended.

Information Technology- refers to all forms of processing, storage and transmission of information that are used in an electronic format. Physical equipment that is used for this purpose includes: Computers, communication networks and tools, fax machines, and electronic software.

Organization: this refers to a group of people or other legal entities with an explicit purpose and written rules.

Performance: this refers to the act of performing; carrying into execution or action.

System- this can be defined as a collection of organized things.

Employee:  this can be defined as an individual who provides labour to an organization or another person.