Impact of ICT in Office Development

IMPACT OF ICT IN OFFICE DEVELOPMENT A proposition for SMEs in implementing ICT into the office system for improved efficiency

By:

Giwa Reagan Iziomo ([email protected])

Most people treat the office manual the way they treat a software manual. They never look at it. James Levine.

To all users of technology who are willing to take a chance, make a choice,

and try a new way of doing things so that we can nurture and enjoy a happy, healthy planet. Katherine Murray.

IMPACT OF ICT IN OFFICE DEVELOPMENT By: Giwa R. Iziomo

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Appreciations to God almighty for inspiration and guidance through the course of this work; the idea came as a passing thought. Clueless of a means to realize it, I went into research and his grace has seen me to the end. Many acknowledgements to the management and staff of all the offices visited, for their warmth and willingness to help; this research would not have been completed without your sincere and resourceful assistance. Not to forget my loving mother Mrs. Itohan Iziomo and brothers; many thanks for your unconditional love and support, and lastly to my good friend and colleague, Obinna Okongwu for the editorial insight and friendly advices throughout this work.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The office is a place of function. From basic information management and administrative duties to complex business activities, the office serves as a platform for operation. ICT is affecting vastly all spheres of economic activities, hence; this thesis expounds the extent to which ICT has influenced the development of the office system. Forty six (46) Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as major offices including banks, educational outfits, government ministries and parastatals, Law firms, telecommunications service centers, vehicle maintenance outlets, medical and industrial facilities etc. were visited in different areas around Abuja and Port-Harcourt Metropolis in Nigeria. The office setup and activities were accessed for a period of 30 minutes and in each office, at least a staff was interviewed to ascertain the level of ICT impact in their official functions. From results gathered, more established firms with offices undertaking a broader scope of activities were observed to maintain better ICT equipped offices than SMEs, SMEs that have adapted more of ICT in service delivery were also observed to be thriving better than others with lower level of ICT adaptation, and due to the nature of job/services delivered, SMEs tend to require ICT infrastructure for office functions just as much as the more established organizations. This research thesis expatiates on the impact of ICT in office development, outline ways to adapt ICT in the office system for better efficiency and lastly, proffer that SMEs implement more of ICT infrastructure in office and business activities.


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TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.....i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......ii

TABLE OF CONTENT.....iii

LIST OF FIGURES...iv

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction....1

1.1 An Office (Definition)....1

1.2 Information and Communications Technology (ICT)........2

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Overview of ICT and application in the office system...3

2.1 The office system....3

2.1.1 Basic functions...........................................................................................................................3

2.1.2 Administrative functions................................................................................................................4

2.2 Overview of ICT implementation in the office system..5

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Methodology12

3.1 Areas of ICT impacts in office development...12

3.2 Networking..14

3.3 Reduced office operating cost..15

3.4 Document management and Records Keeping................................................15

3.5 Monitoring of office activities and increased productivity..................................................16

3.6 Impact of the Internet in Office development..............................................................................17

3.6.1 Publicizing the business...............................................................................................................17

3.6.2 Easy access for remote customers/client..17

3.6.3 Accessible pool of information for research....18

3.7 Impact of the various ICT infrastructures in the office...18

3.8 Impact of ICT in Nigerian offices development..20

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Conclusion and Recommendation...21

4.1 Conclusion...21

4.2 Recommendation.21

REFERNCE22


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LIST OF FIGURES

2.1: A flat screen desktop computer..6

2.2: A laptop..6

2.3: A typical Printer..7

2.4: A new generation mobile phone.7

2.5: A fax machine.8

3.1: A network setup between an office and another remote office....14

3.2: Distribution of internet users from 1996 2012...17

3.3: Bar chart showing a distribution of the means of establishing customer contacts....18

3.4: Evaluation of some ICT products as related to their impact in the office.....19


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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

In recent decades, the necessity for ICTs in almost every aspects of life has been in an increased

acceleration. As time passes, the dependence of mankind on this invaluable addendum has kept

progressing in a positive vertical order; most industrial processes are now automated, using a technique

known as Computer Numeric Control (CNC) to achieve a quicker and more uniform line of production.

More significantly, ICTs has found more use in communication, business transactions, data storage and

management, securities, aviation, military, education, engineering as well as in modern homes. More and

more people are now sorting to become computer literate in order to fit into a global economy of total

dependence on ICT. Applicants are required to have a good knowledge of computing to be considered for

employment positions most especially in the white collar sectors. These amongst many other reasons have

prompted the need to look ever keener into ICT as a vital tool for global development.

Considering the huge archives of journal papers, articles and magazines on ICT related issues today,

much focus has not been directed towards its effect in office development, whereas ICT facilities have so

much been customized into the office system that virtually all the functions carried out are with the aid of

ICT gadgets. Ranging from documentation, communication, data storage, preparation of documents,

documents transfer, exchange of information, document reproduction, receipt allocations, financial

transactions, research and solutions, to monitoring the office activities, ICT plays a major role in these

accomplishments. Many banks are now beginning to adapt the electronic teller system as against the

customary written teller received for acknowledgement of transactions in the past, and this can be due to

the more efficient facilitation of transaction and record keeping offered by ICT systems. Hence; this paper

focuses on the Impacts of ICT in Office Development and is aimed at expatiating on the various

contributions of ICTs in bringing about the present day digitalized and more efficient office system.

1.1 An Office (Definition)

Office is a unit where relevant records for the purpose of control, planning and efficient

management of the organization are prepared, handled and preserved. It provides facilities for internal and

external communication and coordinates activities of different departments of the organization

(Littlefield, et al., 1970).

The above definitions highlight the following characteristics:

collecting information

processing information

storing information



coordinating information

distributing information

Thus, an office may be defined as a place where all the activities concerned with collecting,

processing, storing and distributing information for efficient and effective management of an organization

are carried out.

1.2 Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Information and communications technology or information and communication technology,

usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is

usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of

telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers, middleware as well as necessary

software, storage and audio-visual systems, which enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and

manipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telecommunication, broadcast

media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and

monitoring functions (Encyclopedia Wikipedia).

The expression has been in use since the 1980s but became popular when it was used in a report

by Dennis Stevenson in 1997 to the UK government and promoted by the new National Curriculum

documents for the UK in 2000 (Jim Kelly, 2000). The term ICT is now also used to refer to the merging

(convergence) of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling

or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone

network) to merge the audio-visual, building management and telephone network with the computer

network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management

(Encyclopedia Wikipedia). This in turn has spurred the growth of organizations with the term ICT in their

names to indicate their specialization in the process of merging the different network systems.



CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Overview of ICT and application in the office system

2.1 The office system

In any organization, say a software developing unit, it is observed that a number of activities are

being performed besides those directly associated with software development. Such activities include

receiving and sending letters, typing, photocopying, word-processing, filing, handling of machines like

the telephone, fax and computers etc. The place where such activities are carried out is basically referred

to as an office.

Every modern organization is required to have an office. Whether it is a Government department,

business firm, school, hospital, or a voluntary organization, the existence of an office is a must to enable

necessary clerical and administrative tasks to be performed properly. Thus, similarly as defined earlier,

office is a service department of an organization which is connected with the handling of records and

provision of various services like typing, duplicating, mailing, filing, handling office machines, keeping

records, drafting, using information, handling money and other miscellaneous activities.

An office is primarily concerned with collection and supply of information. Accurate and up-to-date

information relating to organization and other agencies affecting the organization is always required for

taking decisions and formulating policies. Besides, office has assumed many other responsibilities, such

as safeguarding assets, personnel management, and procurement of assets etc. which are incidental to the

primary function. Therefore, the functions of a modern office may be classified into two categories:

(a) Basic functions, and

(b) Administrative functions.

2.1.1 Basic functions

Basic functions are those functions of an office that needs to be performed in all types of

organizations. They are mainly related to receiving and giving information. These basic functions are as

follows:

Collecting information: the office receives or collects information about various activities of the

organization. The information may be collected from internal or external sources. Internal sources

may be employees and various departments of the organization. The external sources are customers,

suppliers and government departments etc. From internal sources information may be received in the

form of letters, circulars, reports etc., and external sources provide information through letters, orders,

invoices, inquiries, reports, questionnaires etc. The executives of the organization may also collect

information while visiting other organizations.



Recording information: the office keeps record of information collected from various sources to

make it readily available to the management. The information is kept in the form of correspondence,

reports, statements, circulars, lists, charts, registers, books, etc. An office has also to maintain records

as prescribed under law. For example, the registered office of a company is required to maintain

register of members under the company.

Arranging, analyzing and processing information: the information collected in an office is

generally not in the form in which it may be used by the management. Therefore, facts and figures

collected have to be arranged, processed, organized, Presented and analyzed to make them useful to

the management. In these connection financial statements, statistical statements, charts, lists, reports,

summaries are prepared.

Preserving information: the information is properly sorted out and preserved in the most economic

and scientific manner. Various types of equipments, filing cabinets, etc. Are used for preserving

records. Unnecessary and out-dated records are destroyed to make space for new and valuable records.

Supplying information: all accumulated and processed information is useless unless it is

communicated. The office serves as a two-way channel for communication. On the one hand, it

supplies the collected, recorded and processed information to the management and, on the other, it

provides the policy decisions, guidelines and instructions issued by the management to the

departments are also routed through the office. The information may be supplied verbally or in

writing.

2.1.2 Administrative functions

Administrative functions are auxiliary to the basic functions of the office which are to be performed

for smooth functioning of the office. These relate to the tasks of protecting and safeguarding assets,

maintaining and enhancing the operating efficiency, stationery control, choice and use of the office

equipments and selection, training, placement, and remuneration of the personnel etc. The following

functions are normally considered as administrative functions of an office:

Management functions: various functions of management are also applicable to the management of

office functions. Office work has to be planned, organized and executed according to the plan. Control

is exercised to ensure efficiency of operations in the office. Staffing, directing, communicating,

coordinating, motivating are also important for the management of offices.

Instituting office systems and routines: an office has to develop systems and procedures for

providing better services to other departments. Each phase of office work is carefully analyzed and a

proper procedure is developed for it. Proper sequencing of different tasks is necessary to ensure

continuous flow of work.



Procuring stationery and supplies: adequate supply of office stationery of proper quality is

necessary for the efficient performance of office work. The office purchases standard quality paper,

pens, ink and other stationery items, maintains the stock and issues them only on demand.

Designing and control of office forms: use of standardized forms simplifies office operations. It is

the responsibility of the office to design, standardize, provide and control the forms to be used in the

office as well as in other departments of the enterprise.

Safeguarding of assets: different types of assets are maintained in an organization. The assets must

be protected against damages and losses on account of fire, theft etc. An efficient control system is

exercised by office to safeguard the assets.

Personnel management: the efficiency of office work depends very much on the employees. Their

appointment, training, promotion, appraisal and welfare are the functions of the office.

Maintaining public relations: an organization depends on public reputation and goodwill for its

existence and progress. Maintaining public relations is also the responsibility of the office, most

organizations have reception counters to greet and receive visitors to the organization.

2.2 Overview of ICT implementation in the office system

ICT has frequently been thought to be the driving force behind todays economy. It is generally

felt that there is a direct relationship between investment in ICT and productivity improvements in the

office (Sing, 2002). Some of these effects include;

Better customer service

Greater product/service variety

Shorter response time

Enhanced product/service quality

Better customization of products and services.

Basically, information & Communication Technology (ICT) is used to refer to infrastructure and

product development that facilitate the collecting, storing and analysis of information that may be

transmitted electronically, it includes equipment like telephones, computers, printers, scanners, routers,

modems, communication lines used to enhance communication between employers and employees,

businesses and customers, and inter-business communications across physical boundaries (Sing, 2002).

Presently, almost every primary and secondary functions of the office are carried out with the aid of ICT

infrastructure. Virtually all aspect of information management is now intertwined with ICT and this trend

has continued to ascend in an improved mesh, gradually resulting in a fully digitalized information

management system as time passes.



Some of the most useful ICT infrastructures in the office are discussed as follows;

Desktop: A desktop computer is a personal computer (PC) in a form intended for regular use at a

single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Desktop computers are designed

to comprise a Monitor, Central Processing Unit (CPU) and peripherals such as the Keyboard, Mouse,

Light pen, etc (Encyclopedia Wikipedia).

Figure 2.1: A flat screen desktop computer (Google Images)

Laptop: A laptop computer is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the

typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device

(touchpad) and speakers into a single unit. A laptop is powered by mains electricity via an AC

adapter, and can be used away from an outlet using a rechargeable battery. Laptops are also

sometimes called notebook computers or notebooks (Webopedia.com).

Figure 2.2: A laptop (Macbook Pro from Apple.com)

Printer: a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic

form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies (Encyclopedia Wikipedia).

Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most

new printers, a USB cable to a computer which serves as a document source. Some printers,

commonly known as network printers, have built-in network interfaces, typically wireless or Ethernet



based, and can serve as a hard copy device for any user on the network. Individual printers are often

designed to support both local and network connected users at the same time.

Figure 2.3: A typical Printer

Mobile Phone: A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone and a hand phone) is a

device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide

geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator,

allowing access to the public telephone network (Heeks, 2008).

Figure 2.4: A new generation mobile phone (Google Image)

Recent developments in the mobile phone has led to the addition of multimedia functions, as well

as other office, educational and leisure tools such as the internet, e-books and Word processing

features, bringing about the innovation of the modern day Smartphone and tablets which is but merely

an improvement in the mobile phone for better function-ability and utility.

Fax Machine: Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission

of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a

printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier),

which processes the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a

bitmap, the information is then transmitted as electrical signals through the telephone system. The

receiving fax machine reconverts the coded image, printing a paper copy (Rouse, 2006).



Figure 2.5: A fax machine (Google Image)

Voice Mail: Voice-mail (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer based system that

allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice

information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services,

using an ordinary telephone. The term is also used more broadly to denote any system of conveying a

stored telecommunications voice messages, including using an answering machine (Wikipedia

Encyclopedia).

Video Conferencing: Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference (also known as a video

conference or videoteleconference) by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or

more locations to communicate by simultaneous two-way video and audio transmissions. It has also

been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware (Muhlbach et al, 1995).

Intranet/LAN: An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to share

information, operational systems, or computing services within an organization. The term is used in

contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network within an

organization. Sometimes, the term refers only to the organization's internal website, but may be a

more extensive part of the organization's information technology infrastructure, and may be composed

of multiple local area networks (Callaghan, 2002).

Internet/Server: The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the

standard Internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve

billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public,

academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad

array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive

range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the

World Wide Web (www) and the infrastructure to support email (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).



Email: Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital

messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other

computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online

at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-

forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Neither the users nor their

computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to an

email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages (Encyclopedia Wikipedia).

Electronic Data Sharing: Electronic data sharing or Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the

structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer

electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e.

from one trading partner to another trading partner without human intervention. It is more than mere

e-mail; for instance, organizations might replace bills of lading and even cheque with appropriate EDI

messages (Kantor et al, 1996).

Customized/Task Oriented Software: Custom software (also known as bespoke software) is

software that is specially developed for some specific organization or other user. As such, it can be

contrasted with the use of software packages developed for the mass market, such as commercial off-

the-shelf (COTS) software, or existing free software. Custom software can be developed by an in-

house software development group, or be commissioned from a software developer. Since custom

software is developed for a single customer it can accommodate that customer's particular preferences

and expectations. Custom software may be designed in stage by stage processes, allowing all nuances

and possible hidden dangers to be taken into account, including issues which were not mentioned in

the specifications. Especially the first phase in the software development process may involve many

departments, including marketing, engineering, research and development and general management

(Joseph, 2001). Large companies commonly use custom software for critical functions, including

content management, inventory management, customer management, human resource management, or

otherwise to fill needs that existing software packages cannot.



CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Methodology

The method of research was basically by physical interview and personal observance. Forty six

(46) offices situated in twenty three (23) different areas of Abuja and Port-Harcourt Metropolis were

visited, office activities were monitored for a period of thirty (30) minutes each, at least one staff was

interviewed for smaller offices and more in offices with Information Technology (IT) administrators.

Areas covered by this research were in Abuja; Garki I, Garki II, Central Business District (CBD), Wuse I,

Wuse II, Jabi, Gwagwalada, Kubwa, Maitama, Asokoro, Apo, Wuye and Gwarimpa, and in Port-

Harcourt; Rumuomasi, Rumuokoro, Rumuola, Rumurolu, Rumuobiakani, Ogbunabali, Rumuogba, GRA,

Oyigbo and Eleme. Offices visited were mostly estate management/surveyor firms, travels and tours

agencies, law firms, medical outfits, microfinance banks, supermarkets, educational centers, government

ministries and parastatals, vehicle maintenance outlets, hotels and guest houses, manufacturing industries,

consultancy and solutions firms and recreational centers. Following were the nature of questions asked;

What is your business about?

What are the natures of activities carried out here?

Is this your head office and do you have branches?

What is your customer scope or target client?

At what seasons or periods do you attain peak patronage?

How is your office run?

Do you have an IT administration department?

How large is your customer base?

What are your means of establishing contacts with customers?

Do you have internet access?

How dependent are your business activities on the internet or ICT infrastructures generally?

Do you own a website?

How often is it update with the latest activities of your office/business?

Are you able to access your website log, how is the traffic to your website?

How often do you send or receive e-mails?



What form of document archiving do you keep, electronic mostly or file cabinet?

How much office consumables do you use for office activities and how often do you renew them?

How many laptops and desktops does your office own?

What would you say about your desktops and laptops, which is more useful in the office?

How often do you print with the printer machine and for what purpose do you print mostly?

Is the fax machine available in your office, and if yes how often do you send documents via fax?

Between faxing and e-mailing documents, which do you consider as more useful and reliable?

Is the telephone available in your office, and if yes how frequent do you call out or receive calls

from customers/clients?

Between the telephone, videoconferencing and internet calling such as Skype and the likes which

is more useful to your office?

What are the off-internet functions you basically undertake in your office computers?

Do you use the intranet network for office domestic file sharing, how often?

Does your office use a customize software, say a unique software for record keeping, business

data management, activity report within a branch or between remote offices of your company?

How reliable is this customize software?

How useful do you think the telephone voicemail service is to your office system?

How easily accessible is your internet service, do you require a password to access it?

What kind of internet service is installed for your office, a DSL, wifi or ISP?

What is the average speed of your internet?

How reliable is your internet network?

How often do you experience network breakdown?

How easy is your internet network interface, what would you say about its general usability?

How would you describe the effect of your ICT infrastructures in office space requirement?

In your opinion, are the questions asked suitable and adequate for the research being carried out?



3.1 Areas of ICT impacts in office development

From research made, the various areas that ICT has impacted office development cannot be easily

quantifiable. However, there are some areas that its effect has been most felt. Some of these areas are

discussed below;

3.2 Networking

Networking generally can be defined as the act of creating or maintaining links between people,

offices, organizations, processes, facilities, computers etc, for the sole purpose of interchanging support

and information. In this instance, office networking basically refers to interlinking offices, organizations

or markets, so as to on one hand mutually multiply the flux of business activities within bodies and raise

profit, or on the other hand interchange useful information between remote terminals (i.e. office office,

office client) to ensure synchrony, enable monitoring, and enhance productivity within an organization.

In organizations nowadays, intranet, local area networks (LAN), enterprise private network, ad hoc

networks, and a host of others are some of the mediums employed in networking offices within an

organization, while Internet protocols (IP), wide area networks (WAN), internet servers and internet

service providers (ISPs) are more advanced mediums for linking into a broader society, i.e. the internet

offers a platform for dissemination and acquisition of information to and from a larger recipient and as

well, help maintain a link between remote offices within an organization or between organizations.

In setting up an office network, whether within a small office or between remote offices, many

factors are considered; some of the key factors are network security, reliability of the network system and

usability of the network. Network security consists of the provisions and policies adopted by a network

administrator to monitor, control and prevent unauthorized access, use, modification, or challenges in

accessing the network-permitted resources. Network security helps to secure users identity and allow

access to authorized data in a network. To ensure network security, users choose or are assigned a

username and password or other authentication details that allows them access to information and

programs within the network. Network security is useful for different computer networks, i.e. public and

private, that are used in everyday jobs, conducting transactions and communications among businesses,

government agencies and individuals. Insecurity or breach in an office network may result in serious

problems, some of which might lead to bankruptcy or worse; a total collapse of the organization. Hence,

network security is employed in many organizations, enterprises, and other types of institutions to secure

the network, and as well, protect and oversee operations within the network to avoid breach. The most

common and simple way of protecting a network resource is by assigning to it, a unique name and a

corresponding password.

Secondly, reliability of the network is another important factor that must be considered. Generally,

reliability is the ability of a system to perform and maintain its functions in routine circumstances, as well



as in hostile or unexpected situations. In computer networking, a reliable protocol is one that provides

reliability properties with respect to the delivery of data to the intended recipient(s), as opposed to an

unreliable protocol, which does not provide notifications to the sender as to the delivery of transmitted

data. A reliable network enables a user receive information, send information, and also keep record of

information transferred through it. Many organizations nowadays employ permanent IT management staff

to keep track of network progress in order to insure reliability of the network. Reliability is of much

importance as security of the network in that a network break during an online transaction between remote

offices or organizations may result in an unbalanced transaction, and probably may lead to loss of client

credibility, if the occurrence becomes frequent over a long term.

Lastly, Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a network, it is a quality attribute that assesses

how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use

during a network design process. Usability is defined by five quality components:

Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the

design.

Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?

Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they

reestablish proficiency?

Errors: How many errors users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover

from the errors?

Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

A network being a link between offices, allows for information sharing within and outside its

domains, hence usability of a network is necessary as it defines the ease at which data is transferred from

one terminal to the other. For example, considering an organization that operates with customized

software, sharing information and synchronizing activities between its corporate office and a remote

branch office, usability is important to ensure ease in carrying out the operation, otherwise some tedious

but necessary processes may take too long to accomplish, causing a lag in information transmission and as

a result, reduce the collective speed at which the job is being carried out in both terminals. Figure 10

below is a typical network setup between a corporate office and a remote branch office.



Figure 3.1: A network setup between an office and another remote office (Google Images)

Some of the major impacts of network in the office are;

Communications facilitation: Using a network, people can communicate efficiently and easily via

email, instant messaging, chat rooms, telephone, video telephone calls, and video conferencing.

Permit sharing of files, data, and other types of information: In an office network, authorized

users may access data and information stored on other computers on the network. The capability of

providing access to data and information on shared storage devices is an important feature of many

office networks.

Share network and computing resources: In a networked environment, each computer on a network

may access and use resources provided by devices on the network, such as printing a document on a

shared network printer. Distributed computing, uses computing resources across a network to

accomplish tasks.

3.3 Reduced office operating cost

In managing an office, one of the major contributions to operating cost is the cost of office

supplies and consumables. Office consumables involve such products as paper, pens, file folders, post-it

notes, computer disks, and toner or ink cartridges. Most a times storing, transfer of documents and record

keeping in the office may require the use of these resources. Hence, depending on the size and nature of

activity of an office, money is continually spent to acquire office supplies and consumables. With recent

advancements in ICT, the world is beginning to initiate an idea of a paperless society and this is no doubt

affecting the office system as well. Most office documentation and record keeping are now being carried



out electronically and by the day this practice becomes increasingly safer, more reliable and adopted

especially by major organizations, minimizing the use of consumables for creating, sharing and storing

office documents and thus diminishing further, their office operating costs.

3.4 Document management and Records Keeping

A document management system (DMS) is a computer system (or set of computer programs) used

to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).

With respect to the many disadvantages of the old method of documenting office files and activities which

involves an array of ink printed paper, known as catalogs, stored in an office cabinet and its enormous

office space demands, organizations are now adopting the electronic document management system, that

offer many advantages when compared to the old method.

Deviation to electronic document management system may be attributed to several reasons.

Firstly, electronic document management system provides an almost unlimited storage space as against

the conventional method of office cataloging that involves categorizing several ink printed papers in a

cabinet to allow for retrieval when needed. This method is now seen to be more tedious and space

demanding when compared to electronic data management systems that billions of documents may be

stored in a hard drive for many years without the risk of damage or additional office space requirements.

Apart from keeping an office document record, information retrieval is seen to be of ease and in shorter

time when compared to the old conventional office cabinet method; provided the name of the document

sorted for is known, a search tool may be used to retrieve the file in a network within few seconds by

simply typing in the document name in the field provided. The time taken to search for a document

depends on the quality and speed of the ICT infrastructure used in the office.

3.5 Monitoring of office activities and increased productivity

Many large organizations are now adopting the use of ICT to help manage their enormous human

resources; biometric machines are installed for taking staff attendance, recording the number of exit and

entrance of staff and calculating the total amount of time actually spent in the office for every individually

and collectively as a staff. This is very useful in the office to monitor the activities of workers during the

stipulated working hours; it keeps them in check without extra effort from the management and reduces

the need for physical supervision.

In Nigeria, the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) is the first to pioneer the

strategic move of harnessing the intelligent features of ICT for employee management. Following the

inception of the registrar of the board, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, many key improvements have been noted.

It has now become a practice that results of candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination



(UTME) taken every year be released within a period of two weeks after the examination. This can be

said to be an attribute of good leadership through efficient employee management, realistic policies and

adequate implementation of ICT. It would be noted that the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) system has

been the usual practice of the body for many years, in spite of that it took at least two months for marking,

compilation and release of results in the past. Nowadays, through a better human resource management

offered by ICTs, the same size of task now take only less than half a month; this is no doubt a tremendous

improvement in service delivery and one that deserve to be commended a great deal.

Apart from a more efficient human resource management, ICT also makes possible in an office to

monitor Jobs in progress simply by a supervisor pairing with the computers of employees in a network

and gaining access to checkmate their working progress. This medium also makes it possible to

communicate with each user, directing them on possible changes to be made if deviating from plan and

therefore gives the quality of monitoring several office processes at a time from a specific position,

whether within a perimeter or from a remote location. In major industrial settings nowadays, the

adaptation of control engineering allows for the control and monitoring of manufacturing or production

processes via a remote or networked work station, managed by control engineers. Hence, ICT when

implemented adequately in an office system can raise the quality and pace of service delivery through

better human resource management and monitoring of office activities.

3.6 Impact of the Internet in Office development

The population of internet users all over the world today is on the rise. In developed countries,

almost 75% of the people are computer literate and over half of the computer literate people are heavy

computer users (people that use computer very often). Through the internet, the world is gradually

evolving into a global society/market, for example; purchasing an item is now as easy as getting on a

personal computer connected to the internet, simply searching for the intended product and only by a

click, purchasing it when found via a credit/debit card or mobile money. Overall Internet usage has seen

tremendous growth, from 2000 to 2009, the number of Internet users globally rose from 394 million to

1.858 billion. By 2010, 22 percent of the world's population had access to computers with 1 billion

Google searches every day, 300 million Internet users reading blogs, and 2 billion videos viewed daily on

YouTube (Encyclopedia Wikipedia). The effect of this development on office activities cannot be

overlooked as well; almost all major information management and sharing processes in the office are

carried out using the internet. Some of the areas where the impacts have really been felt are discussed

subsequently.



Figure 3.2: Distribution of internet users from 1996 2012 (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).

3.6.1 Publicizing the business

With the huge population of people flooding the internet every now and then in quest for different

information, products or services, business growth is now taking an exponential order. The cost of

creating a web page for a business is now relatively little. More also, with various hosting companies and

a large pool of web templates available online, owning a web page has become a viable practice that can

be undertaken with less resource and benefited from a great deal. Several social networks are springing up

by the day attracting a huge population of people per time. These social networks give room for

businesses to slot in tags, advertising their business and creating a link that can be clicked by an interested

user to get to the home page of the company. Apart from that, through Google adsense offices can now at

low costs post adverts on different sites in the internet attracting customers from all over the world to

transact businesses with them.

3.6.2 Easy access for remote customers/client

Speaking of a global market and attracting customers to an organization, there must be a medium

as well to enable effective access to and from these customers. As mentioned earlier, an office home page

allows for customers to remotely access an organizations activities. A new feature in most web pages

nowadays is the Contact Us tab; few fields such as name, email, phone number, location, and a message

box where the remote user could drop a complaint or request, are made available in the Contact Us

page. Messages dropped by users are received in the office, read by the employee in charge and a

response message is sent back to the email presented by the remote user. This feature helps take care of

not only the customers that are able to visit the office, but also the remote customers requesting for the

services of the organization. Figure 12 below shows a rating of the major means of marketing in the office

and their effectiveness.



Figure 3.3: Bar chart showing a distribution of the means of establishing customer contacts.

3.6.3 Accessible pool of information for research

The internet has been described recently by many people as the answer to all questions of

mankind. It is of no doubt true that the internet holds a large archive of information, and that virtually all

the information therein are in one way or the other useful for mankind to address issues from diverse

spheres of life. Offices today are set up for various reasons, some strictly for information handling and

administrative purposes, and others for services, solutions and consulting. In any case, obtaining

information is a basic need for an office system and the internet provides even more than needed. For a

consulting or solutions firm, the information available on the internet is of invaluable importance and they

depend greatly on it to supplement the knowledge base needed to carry out their functions.

3.7 Impact of the various ICT infrastructures in the office

Looking into the office system of today, many ICT infrastructures have so found themselves to be a

primary integral of both the office work space and activities; however, the level of importance of these

infrastructures differ, hence an assessment of their impacts in office development. The purpose of this

evaluation is to serve as a guide for small and newly sprung offices acquiring ICT infrastructures, so as to

help channel their limited resources to the most necessary areas first, before others; according to a scale of

importance. This evaluation is represented on a bar chart as follows;

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Email

Telephone

Home Page

In Person

Means of Establishing Contact with Customers



Figure 3.4: Evaluation of some ICT products as related to their impact in the office system

(Visitation to 46 offices around Abuja and Port-Harcourt metropolis).

From the bar chart, it is observed that the email, desktop, printer, internet, laptop and intranet

emerged the most useful in offices today. Considering the various importance the internet offers for

improved ease and quality of services delivery, offices without the infrastructure would literarily struggle

to compete in a growing society of digitalization. With features such as Adding Attachments in

emailing, a user is able to upload a scanned document from an office computer and sent through a

network to a recipients email which can then be downloaded and accessed by the remote email owner.

This invaluable addition to emailing has greatly reduced the need for fax machines and thus, more and

more offices now resort to the highly reliable and speedy method of emailing documents instead of the

tedious, slow and expensive method of faxing that was used in the past.

In a more realistic analysis, it can be unanimously agreed that despite the advent of laptops that are

portable, more efficient and easier to carry about, enabling a person to carryout businesses or work in and

out of the office, the desktop still finds its use indispensable in the office system. Part of the reason may

be; besides serving as a node for other ICT gadgets, its contribution to the general aesthetics of the office

workplace.

0 20 40 60 80

Customized Software Electronic Data Sharing

Email Internet Intranet

Video Conferencing Voicemail

Fax Machine Mobile Phone

Printer Laptop

Desktop

Very Important

Not Important

Evaluation of the Impact of ICT Products in the Office System



3.8 Impact of ICT in Nigerian offices development

Nigeria is highly regarded throughout the world as the biggest ICT market in Africa; she is the

country with the tenth largest number of mobile phone users in the world and first in Africa

(Encyclopedia Wikipedia). According to a Nigerian Communications Commissions Publication; Industry

Statistics: Subscriber Data, over 101,271,578 mobile phones are in service and this make up more than

72% of her population owning mobile phones. The number of personal computer users is also increasing

by the seconds. Many businesses in Nigeria today depend on the internet to deliver their services, even

consumer items and infrastructures are now being marketed and sold via the internet. Recently, the

government of Nigeria has been discussing on implementing the mobile money method of wealth transfer,

and this bold move is now been effected in some parts of the country; with Lagos pioneering it. Apart

from that, Nigeria has been stated to be responsible for a huge percentage of internet traffic in Africa, and

this is due to the inclining percentage of Nigerian population gaining more internet presence either for

leisure or business purposes. On these notes, discussing on the impacts of ICT in Nigeria would not be

complete without the office system, given that it is a majority area where ICT has found more use apart

from education and research.

From previous researches, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) accounts for an average of 50%

of industrial employment and output in Nigeria (Taiwo et al., 2012), and the figure is still on the rise as

new businesses spring everyday to cater for the growing need of Nigerians in different measures of life.

One of the major driving forces of SMEs today is ICT; many goals are accomplished everyday by new

ICT facilities and a huge percentage of this subsector relies completely on ICT for the discharge of their

duties. Hence, the need for ICT literate staff is tending towards a climax. Applicants are accessed to

ascertain their knowledge of ICT before they are offered appointment, and this has prompted many to

seek training in various fields of ICT in order to fit into the demands of modern day Nigerian offices.

Speaking of which, the great number of ICT management firms established in Nigeria today only

depicts a growing dependence in ICT. Banks, law firms, consultancy firms, travel agencies and even

leisure places now apply the use of sophisticated ICT infrastructure to enhance not only their productivity

but customer comfort and satisfaction as well. With the rate at which ICTs are thrusting deeper into the

economy today, Nigeria would soon in no time measure up with developed countries in terms of ICT

usage and this would not only affect the growth rate of the economy but also, would improve the

efficiency of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) bringing about a synergic growth that would place

the country high above other African counterparts and on a par with the thriving economies of western

world.



CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Conclusion and Recommendation

4.1 Conclusion

Information and communications technology (ICT) is a key factor to office development; its place

in the office system is invaluable and it would no doubt continue to gain more grounds. It has affected

many areas of office activities and has improved tremendously, the productivity of organizations.

Amongst many major ways, it has provided a universal platform for both individuals and organizations to

interconnect, network, transact businesses and share important resources, it has enhanced information

management and documentation potential to ensure an improved office system, and has most

significantly, drastically reduced office operation cost, number of staff needed to carry out tasks and

office space requirements as well. This is not to say that ICT is a 100% safe and it has not had negative

effects in the office system; in areas of insecurity such as identity theft, web scam, hacking, computer

virus and the likes, it has posed a threat. But with modern developments in its infrastructures, mechanisms

such as antivirus, anti spam guard, firewall etc, are now available and continually updated to fight against

newly developed internet threats. Therefore it is of need for any office system to implement ICT in its

operations for better adaptability in a growing world of digitalization.

4.2 Recommendation

From research made, I would strongly recommend that SMEs incorporate more of ICT facilities

into their office systems. These enterprises are the main bedrock for economic development, and if ICT

can be fully harnessed to improve their operations, a synergy of these developments would help transform

Nigeria into the true giant of Africa she has for so long be named.



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