The Impact of Modern Office Soft Skills of Office Technology and Management Students on Job Performance in Selected Organization in Oyigbo Local Government of Rivers State
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The study will examine the impact of modern office soft skills of office technology and management students on job performance in shell petroleum development company. The specific objectives are;
- To ascertain job performance of office technology and management students in shell petroleum development company in Oyigbo LGA
- To ascertain whether modern office technology help shell petroleum development company in achieving their objectives
- To find out whether students of office technology and management are more skillful with modern office technology than those in other profession in shell petroleum development company
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual framework
Technology and management productivity
Information and communications technology (ICT) ensures continuous interaction between managers and their subordinates (Davenport, 2013). Technology is the key in improving performance in an organization. Kleis et al. (2012) state that prior research concerning information technology (IT) business value has established a link between business IT investment and tangible returns such as output productivity. The study further suggests that IT is vital to intermediate processes such as those that produce intangible output. Among these, the use of IT in innovation and knowledge creation processes is, perhaps, the most critical to a firm’s long-term success. A study conducted by Azih (2013) emphasizes the need for building secretaries’ capacity in modern office technology. He mentioned that secretaries should be abreast of the importance and use of modern office technology, and recommended the need for training program to be organized periodically for secretaries to update their knowledge on modern office skills, and institutions training secretaries must include in their curriculum these modern office technology skills for program relevance. Azih (2013) also showed that training is important in complementing the use of modern office technology. He mentioned that secretaries and managers perform various office duties in their organization, and their ability to apply some of these modern office technologies leads to efficiency in the performance of their assigned roles. The necessary office technology equipment should be provided in every organization, and training and retraining program should be organized for secretaries in every organization for occupational relevance. According to Kao, Kuo, Chen and Wang (1996), the productivity frontier shows the maximal attainable productivity at different levels of technology and management (ability of manpower). It should be noted that, in a firm, management has a much stronger impact on productivity than technologies do (Huselid, 1995; Lorenzi and Riley, 2013). A firm can derive a strategy to improve productivity by taking other factors into account, although productivity can be seen as being confined to the technologies of firms. Ziedonis (2004) mentions that the functions and effectiveness of business managers in today’s business organizations depend on the availability of office technologies, and on the skills and competencies of the managers. The ability to use technologies to benefit the organization can help managers to easily complete their tasks, and, most importantly, can increase their performance. Modern business organizations have come to appreciate the roles and importance of business managers, and the need to provide necessary office machines and equipment to facilitate managerial functions (Barber & Bretz, 2000). Margaret and Pac (2009) assert that, based on the reorganization of the office and introduction of automated office equipment, managers’ work is produced faster and with a professional touch. The manager is also able to concentrate on more creative tasks with the assistance of modern technologies A study states that rapid developments in information technology (IT) have not left any sphere of man’s work life untouched (Tony, 2006). Organizations are growing in size and functions and are working across nations, thus, becoming more and more complex to handle. Therefore, technological trends bring about the need for automated business to maintain profession in some business tasks, and such complexity brings with it a need for well-organized managers to control management functions in the organization. More and more organizations are integrating IT into their human resource activities to improve their effectiveness.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research is the process of arriving at a dependable solution to problems through planned and systematic collection, analyzing and interpretation of data (Osuala, 1993).
Green and Full (1975) defines research methodology as the specification of procedures for collecting and analyzing the data necessary to solve the problem at hand such that the differences between the cost of obtaining various levels of accuracy and the expected value of the information associated with each level of accuracy is optimized.
Thus, in this chapter the method and techniques of data collection and analysis for this study are discussed in details, research design, population of study, sample and sampling technique, sources of data collection, research instrument, validity of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, procedure for administration of research instrument, as well as the limitation of the research methodology. This will be important in order to assess performance appraisal and staff motivation in the financial sector.
Research Design
The research design adopted in this research work is the survey research design which involves the usage of self-designed questionnaire in the collection of data. Under the survey research design, primary data of this study will be collected from shell petroleum development company in order to determine the impact of modern office soft skills of office technology and management students on job performance. The design was chosen because it enables the researcher to collect data without manipulation of any variables of interest in the study. The design also provides opportunity for equal chance of participation in the study for respondents.
Population of Study
The population of study is the census of all items or a subject that possess the characteristics or that have the knowledge of the phenomenon that is being studied (Asiaka, 1991). It also means the aggregate people from which the sample is to be drawn.
Population is sometimes referred to as the universe. The population of this research study will be the entire staff of Seventy-five (75)
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter is about the analysis and presentation of data collected from the field through questionnaire. The analysis of the data with particular question immediately followed by the presentation of findings.
As mentioned in chapter three, 50 questionnaires were administered and 50 were retrieved and necessary analysis was carried out on them and presented as follows:
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on the impact of modern office soft skills of office technology and management students on job performance in shell petroleum company. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of modern office soft skills of office technology and management students on job performance in shell petroleum company
Summary
This study was on the impact of modern office soft skills of office technology and management students on job performance in shell petroleum company. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain job performance of office technology and management students in shell petroleum development company in Oyigbo LGA, to ascertain whether modern office technology help shell petroleum development company in achieving their objectives and to find out whether students of office technology and management are more skillful with modern office technology than those in other profession in shell petroleum development company. In line with these objectives, three research questions and hypotheses were formulated and answered. The total population for the study is 75 staff of selected shell petroleum development company in Oyigbo local government area, Rivers state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study.
Conclusion
Modern office technology can make a significant difference in a workplace. It was found that office technologies enhance performance, but only if the office is equipped with relevant and needed technologies. There is a fairly strong correlation between the right use of office technologies and positive change in management performance.
Recommendation
The study recommends that business should procure managers to increase productivity, and to stay abreast of modern way of conducting business. This study affirms that information technology (IT) investment is associated with significant productivity gains. There is no reason to believe that the current rate of change in technology will slow down. Therefore, the great challenge is to harness this newly emerging technology for the benefit of businesses
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