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

(giwa_iziomo@hotmail.com)
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
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.
giwa_iziomo@hotmail.com
Page i
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.
Page ii
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
Page iii
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
Page iv
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
Page 1
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.
Page 2
CHAPTER TWO
2.0
2.1
Overview of ICT and application in the office system
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.
Page 3
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.
Page 4
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.
Page 5
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
Page 6
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).
Page 7
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).
Page 8
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-andforward 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 offthe-shelf (COTS) software, or existing free software. Custom software can be developed by an inhouse 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.
Page 9
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 PortHarcourt; 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?
Page 10
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?
Page 11
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
Page 12
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.
Page 13
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
Page 14
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
Page 15
(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.
Page 16
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.
Page 17
Means of Establishing Contact with Customers

In Person
Home Page
Telephone
Email
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
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;
Page 18
Evaluation of the Impact of ICT Products in the Office System

Desktop
Laptop
Printer
Mobile Phone
Fax Machine
Very Important
Voicemail
Not Important
Video Conferencing
Intranet
Internet
Email
Electronic Data Sharing
Customized Software
0
20
40
60
80
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.
Page 19
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.
Page 20
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0
4.1
Conclusion and Recommendation
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.
Page 21
REFERNCE
Callaghan, J. (2002). Inside Intranets & Extranets: Knowledge Management AND the Struggle for Power.
Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-98743-8.
C. L. Littlefield, F. M. Rachel, D. L. Caruth, (1970). Office and administrative management: Systems
analysis, data processing, and office services. Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, N.J)
Heeks, R. (2008). "Meet Marty Cooper the inventor of the mobile phone". BBC 41 (6): 2633.
doi:10.1109/MC.2008.192.
"Industry Statistics: Subscriber Data". Nigerian Telecommunication Commissions Retrieved 2012-07-28.
Internet users graphs, Market Information and Statistics, International Telecommunications Union.
Joseph M. M. (2001). Software Industry Accounting. p.1.10
L. Muhlbach, M. Bocker, A. Prussog, (1995). Telepresence in Videocommunications: A Study on
Stereoscopy and Individual Eye Contact. Academic journal article from Human Factors, Vol. 37, No. 2
M. Kantor, H. B. James, (1996). "Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)". National Institute of Standards and
Technology Retrieved 2008-05-13.
Rouse, M. (June 2006). "What is fax?" Search Networking, Retrieved 25 July 2012.
Sing, T. F. (2002). Impact of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) on Office Demand in
Singapore CBD, Presentation to Association for Project Management (APM).
T. A. Muritala, A. M. Awolaja and Y. A. Bako, (2012). Impact of Small and Medium Enterprises on
Economic Growth and Development, American Journal of Business and Management Vol. 1, No. 1,
2012, 1822.
http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://webopedia.com/
http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/71940/google-earth-demonstrates-how-technology-benefits-riscivil-society-govt
Page 22

Impact of ICT in Office Development

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Impact of ICT in Office Development

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

IMPACT OF ICT IN OFFICE DEVELOPMENT

Giwa Reagan Iziomo

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

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

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

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

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

The office system....3

Overview of ICT implementation in the office system..5

Areas of ICT impacts in office development...12

Reduced office operating cost..15

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

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

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

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

Easy access for remote customers/client..17

Accessible pool of information for research....18

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

Impact of ICT in Nigerian offices development..20

Conclusion and Recommendation...21

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

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

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

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

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

Overview of ICT and application in the office system

The office system

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

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

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

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

Overview of ICT implementation in the office system

Better customer service

Greater product/service variety

Shorter response time

Enhanced product/service quality

Better customization of products and services.

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

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

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

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

Figure 2.3: A typical Printer

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

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

Figure 2.5: A fax machine (Google Image)

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

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

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

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

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?

Do you own a website?

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

How often do you send or receive e-mails?

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

How many laptops and desktops does your office own?