My Bite Into The Apple

Accelerating Technology and the Economy

Technology always seems to be developing rapidly, at ever increasing-speeds, but although there can be advantages to this rapid advancement, there are also risks involved, particularly in the way that new technology can affect the economy.

Artificial intelligence is one area in which technology is currently developing rapidly. It has been suggested that success in this area may not be too far away. Computers could be thinking for themselves within twenty years, although some scientists believe that it could take much longer to create machines that can really think for themselves. However, everyone agrees that computer technology is going to continue to undergo rapid development in the near future, become capable of things that are impossible for the computers of today as well as developing greater flexibility and new ways of reasoning.

As computers begin to grow more intelligent, their impact on the economy could grow stronger. If computers begin to match and surpass the human mind, then they could begin to take on some of the jobs for which human beings are currently required. A computer which could work with far fewer errors and with no need for sick leave, vacations or pay would be far more attractive to business owners than a human employee. Machines have already taken on many of the roles that were once taken by people, but advances in technology could see even more human jobs being replaced, particularly those that require a lot of repetitive, boring tasks. A computer would not even need to be as intelligent and adaptable as a human in order to perform a particular job well enough to replace an employee.

The problem with this technological advancement is that, while scientists and technology lovers spend a lot of time thinking about the future of technology and the ways in which they can improve it, economists do not seem to be taking technological advances into consideration. They seem to be planning for a future in which computers and technology will continue to perform the same sorts of functions that they do today. Economists have not been considering the fact that computers could replace human workers in many roles. They continue to think of technology as something that will lead to more jobs through increased prosperity, rather than as something that could take jobs away from people.

In order for the benefits of rapidly accelerating technology to be enjoyed without forcing the economy to suffer through job losses, it is important for the economy to be prepared for what these new technologies will bring. If accelerating technology is not to bring high unemployment, people need to prepare for the changes that it will generate.

 

macbook


Image by Swansea Photographer
I took this shot as an example of human / technology interaction for possible inclusion in a book on the subject…

strobist: 430ex on full power into reflector to the right of the computer. i wanted it to look as natural as possible.

Cloud Computing: Trendy or Transformational

In the world of information technology, it seems that every few years a new concept comes along that emerges as being the next great leap in technology.  One of the current concepts that fits that description in the IT world is called cloud computing.  However, before a company decides that it will embrace cloud computing, it needs to make sure that it understands all the implications of this new offering.  As with most technologies, there are many benefits that can be gained, but along with understanding the benefits, the business risks must also be evaluated.  When making this evaluation, it is important to keep in mind not only the short term needs, but the long term objectives and goals of the organization.  In recent years, the Obama administration has pushed for all federal agencies to investigate cloud computing to see if it will benefit each agency.  “The Federal CIO Council under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO), Vivek Kundra, established the Cloud Computing Initiative to fulfill the President’s objectives for cloud computing.”5 With the recent push from the current administration, cloud computing is expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years.  In some studies, there are predictions that “cloud services will reach .2 billion in 2013, up from .4 billion of today, according to research firm IDC.”4  This paper will lay out the considerations that an organization should consider at before making a decision to use or dismiss cloud computing at the present time.

Overview of Cloud Computing:

“Cloud Computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network-based access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interactions.”2  This definition is one of many that have been introduced within the IT industry, but what does this actually mean?  The concept of a cloud can be looked at as a “leasing-versus-owning concept – an operational expense versus a capital one.” 4

To understand the cloud computing concept more clearly, let us compare it to a more common concept: paying for electric utility.  Each month, a household or business utilizes a certain amount of electricity which is monitored by a company and the consumer is billed based on their usage.  If each household had their own power source, that would be congruent with non-cloud computing; there is no central power source that households take advantage of.  If, as is the standard case, households buy their power from a consolidated power source (e.g. a power plant), that would be like taking advantage of a cloud; many users sharing a resource to fulfill their independent needs. Using this simple example, the cloud would be similar to the power plant, providing either infrastructure or software to customers on pay-per-use basis.

Some experts may disagree, but in many regards, cloud computing is similar to the way that computers were used when they first entered the market.  At the advent of computers, computers (and associated facilities) were extraordinarily expensive and only owned by a few select organizations such as universities or the government.  Few had the expertise to support a separate computing facility in house.   Therefore, companies would lease time on computing resources provided by a small number of providers, only purchasing what they needed for what they were working on.  In a similar model, cloud computing introduces the concept of buying resources as needed, and similar to the past, the resources can be accessed from a remote location.    Key differences include quality of service, and variety of services offered by cloud computing vendors.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) serves as a guide towards helping government agencies achieve cloud.  NIST’s cloud model “promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”2  As this paper continues, each of these components will be addressed.

Development Models:

Prior to being able to evaluate if cloud computing is a good fit for a given organization, the general concepts of cloud computing must be understood.  There are a number of different deployment models as well as applications of clouds that make up a cloud environment.  The cloud deployment models include: public cloud, community cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud.  There are strengths and weaknesses to each deployment model as it relates to the specific case that a cloud is being considered for use with.  The following provides a summary understanding of each deployment model so that one can be chosen to move forward with consideration of cloud implementation.

Public Cloud

“Made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services”2

A public cloud is owned by a third party vendor that sells, or offers free of service, a cloud that can be used by the general public.  A public cloud is the quickest to setup within an organization, but it also has a limited amount of transparency and limits the amount of customization.

Community Cloud

“Shared by several organization and supports specific community that has shared concerns” 2

A community cloud is an architecture that is established when a group of organizations come together to share resources.  A community cloud is a mini public cloud, but only a select group of organizations will be authorized to use the cloud.  In contrast to the public cloud, it will generally be more expensive since it will only be used within a smaller group of organizations and all of the infrastructure must be established.  A community cloud is a great choice for a group of organizations, such as a group of federal agencies that desire to share resources but want to have more control over security and insight into the cloud itself.

Private Cloud

“Operated solely for an organization” 2

A private cloud is one that is established to support a small singular organization.  There is much debate if a private cloud should be considered a cloud at all, as the infrastructure and management of the cloud remains within the organization.

Hybrid Cloud

“Composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enable technology that enables data and application portability.” 2

A hybrid cloud allows for some of the resources to be managed by a public cloud environment, while others are managed internally by a private cloud.  This will normally be used by an organization that wants to allow itself to have the scalability features that a public cloud offers, but will want to keep mission critical or private data internal to the organization.

Service Models:

In addition to the platform on which a cloud will be deployed, there are a variety of different applications of cloud.  There are three major types of cloud services, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).  Described below are the concepts between the varying types of cloud models.

Software as a Service (SaaS):

“Delivers software over internet without need to install and run applications on the customers own computers” 2

SaaS allows applications to be used by customers over the internet to complete business processes.  SaaS is not a new concept; for example, “Salesforce.com has been providing on-demand software for customers since 1999.”6  The advantage of SaaS is the software is run from one centralized location, which means that that the software can be accessed from any location over the internet.  The other benefit of having the software managed in one location is that the patches and updates only need to be done once, eliminating the time consuming need to conduct software updates on every machine.  Lastly, SaaS is generally “on-demand” which means that an organization does not have to commit to enterprise licenses.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

“Delivers a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications” 2

The PaaS is a platform that helps to deliver an environment where a user can use the clouds to develop new applications without the need to have the software or infrastructure purchased in-house. The consumer will have control of the applications that are running on the cloud, but will not have control of the infrastructure that it is running on.  In essence, PaaS provides “anything needed to support how a company builds and delivers Web applications and services in the cloud.”3

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

“Delivers computer infrastructure, typically platform virtualization environment as a service.  It’s an evolution of virtual private server offerings.” 2

IaaS is using the cloud to supply the infrastructure that would normally have to be procured by a singular organization to run an organizations IT infrastructure.  Included in the infrastructure are such things as servers, memory and storage that allow a customer to scale up or down as necessary.  The infrastructure can than be used by customers to run their own software with only the amount of resources that are needed at a given moment in time.  In the past, companies would often have to purchase a huge infrastructure to support a periodic spike in the need for resources, leaving the servers and networks idle for much of the remaining time.  With IaaS, resources will not be wasted, because only what is needed at a given moment is utilized.  The customers to the cloud service have control over the operating systems and applications, but don’t manage the cloud infrastructure.

Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing:

Now that the basic concepts of cloud computing are understood, an organization needs to consider all of the impacts that cloud will influence.  As one might expect, there are a number of considerations that need to be weighed to decide if an implementation of cloud computing is the best approach for a given organization.

Advantages:

There are many advantages that can be gained from the use of cloud computing.  Cloud computing is built upon the idea of economies of scale.  The great thing about the concept of cloud is the potential cost-savings benefits that can be gained for a small startup, large company, or even an entire federal agency.  Cloud computing eliminates the usual high up-front cost that companies often cannot  afford, allows for “infinite” resources on-demand, and provides the ability to pay for resources as they are needed.  It also removes the need for special facilities and highly trained personnel dedicated to IT and the need to continually upgrade hardware and software as technology moves on and company requirements change.

In general, the use of cloud computing should reduce costs by companies paying for only the resources that are needed. Many companies do not know what the demand will be for their IT infrastructure, which previously meant that companies either over-bought servers or were overwhelmed by demand that could not be handled; leading to a loss of customers or degradation of service to their customers.  In either scenario, there is a detrimental impact because money was inefficiently expensed on unnecessary hardware and/or potential sales were lost.

Maintenance of software can be just as big an expense for organizations as the initial purchase.  With the use of cloud computing, software updates and backups are made without the organization having to spend time and money on these activities.  This helps to alleviate many of the technical burdens that are often put on companies and allows them to concentrate on their core competencies while still gaining the advantage of having the most up-to-date version software.

Cloud computing allows a company to operate in an elastic fashion.  Resources can be scaled up or down as needed by a project, consumer demand or operating need.  The elasticity that is gained by cloud computing allows projects to proceed in a manner that is appropriate, without the time consuming and costly delays that the purchase of hardware and software has through the procurement process.  Resources can be quickly provisioned/de-provisioned, which should result in a lower investment cost.

The use of cloud is looked at as an environmentally friendly approach.  Currently, there are a huge number of server farms that operate to serve individual organizational needs.  With cloud computing, a single server farm can support a large number of different entities, potentially reducing power requirements, emissions, and disposal of old electronics.

Disadvantages:

A company may think that cloud computing is unquestionably the way to go, but there are a number of concerns that need to be taken into consideration before a company elects to implement cloud computing.  The main concerns inherent in cloud computing include security, privacy, reliability and cost.

Security is by far the most common reason that an organization states for not moving forward with cloud.  Many organizations ask: “who would trust their essential data out there somewhere?”1 The amount of security control that an organization will have depends on the type of cloud structure that is adopted; private, public or community.  The amount of security control is highest in a private cloud and lowest in a public one.  While a cloud environment might be just as secure as a non-cloud, there is limited transparency into the cloud which escalates the worry of security.  Along the same lines, there is also a concern by many organizations about the amount of privacy that a cloud environment could potentially lack.  The third party vendor that is supplying the cloud could potentially access a company’s sensitive information, which increases the risk of a privacy breach.

Reliability is a huge concern for many organizations; having a service down for even a few minutes a year could be very costly or even cause a safety concern.  Cloud takes the control of reliability out of the hands of the organization and puts it into the hands of the cloud vendor.  It is important that service level agreements are established with the cloud vendor to make sure the reliability requirements are agreed upon by both parties upfront.

In some organizations, especially within the government, there are reporting laws that make it so a cloud option might “not be an acceptable solution due to government regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Health and Human Services Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)”.1  In addition, there are many regulations that prevent sensitive data from being transmitted beyond the borders of a nation.  Cloud computing farms are general built in locations that offer the lowest possible cost, many times outside the borders of the customer’s nation.  Currently, clouds are being established that alleviate this concern, but as a result, the cost of using the cloud vendor increases.

While the “advantage” section mentioned how cloud computing was a way to lower costs, this is not always the case.  The initial cost of utilizing a cloud will be lower, but the lifetime costs could be much higher due to the continual expense of paying for service.  Lastly, there is always the concern the business that is selling the cloud services goes out of business.  Cloud applications from one provider will generally not be compatible with other providers’ clouds; thus limiting an organization’s options if they needed to change providers for some reason.

Cloud Implementation:

The first step that needs to be taken before deciding to implement a cloud within an organization is deciding if cloud is the right fit.  The proper analysis needs to be conducted to include: cost, time, risk, benefits and interoperability.  The cloud environment could be a great revolution for a given organization, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution.  If flexibility and scalability are an organization’s paramount needs, cloud is likely an optimal solution.  In organizations that have high concerns for security and privacy, cloud might be a viable IT solution, but an in-depth analysis of the tradeoffs needs to be conducted.  The length of time that an application or infrastructure will be commissioned should be a factor in deciding if cloud is an appropriate model.  For a short duration project, cloud is likely an excellent candidate due to the fact that the infrastructure does not need to be procured.  In the case of a long term implementation, cloud might still be a very viable option due to the fact that demand often fluctuates.  This being the case, if demand is steady, a procurement of the hardware might a better option, considering cloud normally has a higher cost per transaction.

After it has been decided that a cloud environment is the correct fit, the layer of cloud that will be implemented needs to be selected: SaaS, PaaS or IaaS.  Each of the differing layers brings with it entirely different questions.  Following the selection of the layer, the type of platform that the cloud will be deployed on needs to be chosen: public, community, private or hybrid.

It is important to take into consideration the entire life cycle cost of implementing cloud.  Without much question, the initial cost of implementing a cloud will be lower, but since costs are paid for on a per-use basis, the cost over the entire lifetime of could potentially be higher with cloud.  When developing the cost estimate to establish an IT infrastructure without cloud, it is essential that cost beyond the initial purchase of the hardware and software are taken into account.  With cloud, especially in the public cloud, there is a large reduction in the costs for updates/patches, maintenance and reductions in staff, all factors that need to be taken into consideration when doing a fair comparison.  Simply put, opportunity cost must be determined for moving to a cloud and a decision should be made based on the needs of the organization.

Summary:

In summary, cloud computing has the potential to change the way organizations view and deal with IT needs.  As the private and government sectors continually look for ways to reduce costs, cloud is an approach that needs to be evaluated.  In general, the cost of this type of infrastructure will be lower, but to some degree at the expense of customization and control over security in the organization’s IT structure.  By fully investigating all of the considerations and options presented in this paper, an organization will be well positioned to make a smart decision on cloud computing for their current and future needs.

Works Cited:

1 Armbrust, Michael, et al. “A View of Cloud Computing.” Communications of the ACM 53.4   (2010): 50-58. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

2 Grance, Mell, and Peter Mell. “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing Version 15.”  7 Oct. 2009.

3 Lahey, David, and Taylor MacDonald. “Three flavors of cloud.” Accounting Today 24.10 (2010): 22. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

4 McCafferty, Dennis. “Cloudy Skies: Public Versus Private Option Still Up in the.” Baseline 103 (2010): 28-33. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

5 US General Services Administration. “Cloud FAQs.” Apps.gov. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

6 Yan, Han. “On the Clouds: A New Way of Computing.” Information Technology & Libraries 29.2 (2010): 87-92. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

Information Technology and the Business Communities: A Case Study of Small-scale Business Enterprises in Nigeria

Introduction

Due to globalization of the economy, emergency of information technology, growth of the Internet and other communication network, growing diversity of business transactions and increased competition, companies are changing the way they communicate with new processes that sharpen business performance. The Internet is becoming the foundation for new business models, process and new ways of knowledge distribution (Laudon K.C and J.P. Laudon, 2000).

                Small-scale enterprises now use the Internet and networking technology to conduct more of their work electronically, reliable linking factories, offices and sales forces around the globe (Dave C. 2000). This communication evolution is governed by applied infrastructures with converged services and integrated application (Lucas H.C and B. Jack, 1994). The convergence of information technology is an important trend influencing both current and future markets, industry and technology (James, A.O, 2004). Companies such as the shops, banks and institution interviewed, are extending these networks to suppliers, customers and other groups outside the organization to enable them respond instantly to customer demands and market shifts.

Undoubtedly, information technology is bringing about changes in organization that make firms even more dependent than in the past when it depends solely on the knowledge, learning and decision making of individual employees. Besides, customer service, operation, products and marketing strategies, and distribution are heavily dependent on information technology (Brain K and C. Stacey, 2001).

This research work examines the impact of information technology on the economics of small-scale business enterprises. This is to ascertain the level at which information technology has transformed business processes for specific and applications; efficient business management, crime rate reduction, job creation and improved security of information systems. This will help make available the right kind of information at the right time place for optimum utilization of available resources to enhance the quality of life in the human society.

 

Material and Method: In the study, a statistical approach was adopted. Responses from the various business/institutions; shops, factories, eatery, markets, banks, fuel station, bakery, schools, cyber cafe, hospital, poultry, boutique, salon, phone call centers, guest houses and sport centers via the questionnaire in some selected cities in Nigeria for over 11 months in 2008 were technically examined and conclusion drawn in line with the hypothesis formulated.

 

Theoretical Background

The discipline of information theory came into focus with Claude E. Shannon’s classical paper, “A mathematical theory of communication” in 1948. This theory deals with the amount of information and does not handle the meaning of information. Similarly, the theory failed to provide necessary help in the design of an information system. As a result, the initial interest on information theory declined. However, the discipline starts to gain widespread acceptance only in the last few years. This is attributed to the fact that information technology now provides the support necessary to build an information system that serves best for some specific and application (David M.K, 1992).

                Information technology, as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. Basically, information technology deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and securely retrieve information. Examples of information technology include; personal digital assistant, personal computers, telephones, televisions etc (Brain K.C and C.S. Stacey, 2001).

                Today, the terms information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term is more recognizable than ever before. The end objective is to make the effective and efficient use of information to resolve uncertainly and enhance productivity at each level; individual, society and government (Charlse W.L.H, 2001). On this theoretical background is the hypothesis formulated.

                Hypothesis: Two types of hypothesis were formulated in this study; Null hypothesis (Ho) and Alternatively hypothesis (H1).

Null Hypothesis: Information Technology does not have positive impact on small-scale business enterprise.

Alternatively hypothesis: Information technology has positive impact on small-scale business enterprises.

Decision Rule: When the observed chi-square (X2) is greater than the critical chi-square (X2) from tables of chi-square, Hi is accepted and Ho is rejected and vice versa. This decision is similar to (Salami A and A.O. Usman, 2008).

 

Data Analysis and Interpretation of Results

The data from this research were analyzed and results interpreted in line with the research questions;

 

Research Question 1: Does the Introduction of Information Technology have impact on small-scale business enterprises?

 

Table 1: Impact of Information Technology on Business Growth and Income Flow

S/N

ITEMS

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Row

Total

1.

Information technology has improved the standard of small-scale business enterprise

120

(73)

92

(72)

28

(48)

16

(62)

256

2.

Every unit of a business has benefited from Information Technology

70

(55)

80

(53)

17

(36)

23

(46)

190

3.

Information Technology is of no positive Impact to small-scale business enterprises

12

(80)

15

(79)

103

(53)

150

(68)

280

4.

Information Technology has attracted more customers to all business enterprises

65

(42)

67

(41)

10

(28)

5

(36)

147

5.

Information Technology is meant for larger scale business enterprises and not for small-scale business enterprises.

20

(36)

27

(36)

30

(24)

50

(31)

127

 

Column Total

287

281

188

244

1000

*Observed X2 = 463.3, critical X2 = 21.026, µ =0.05, df =12.

From Table 1, the expected frequencies in brackets are calculated using the formula (Egbule J.F and D.O. Okobia, 2007).

               

E  =  Row total x column total ————————– (1)

                     Grand Total

 

Where, E = expected Frequency and Grand Total = 1000

 

 

ROW I

For observed frequency = 126, using equation (1);

 

For observed frequency = 92,

 

For observed frequency  = 28,

 

For observed frequency = 16,

 

ROW II

 

For observed frequency = 70,

 

For observed frequency  = 80,

 

For observed frequency = 17,

 

For observed frequency = 23,

 

ROW III

 

For observed frequency = 12,

 

For observed frequency = 15,

 

 

For observed frequency = 103,

 

For observed frequency = 150,

 

 

ROW IV

 

For observed frequency = 65,

 

For observed frequency = 67,

 

For observed frequency = 10,

 

For observed frequency = 5,

 

 

ROW V

 

For observed frequency = 20,

 

For observed frequency = 27,

 

For observed frequency = 30,

 

For observed frequency = 50,

 

Applying the chi-square (X2) statistic as presented in (Omorogiuwa, 2006);

……………………………..(2)

 

Where, O = observed frequency and

                 E = expected frequency

 

By substituting into equation (2) above;

 

 

 

 

The degree of freedom is given by

df = (r-1) (c –1) …………………………….(3)

 

Where,                   r = Number of Rows and

                                 c = Number of Columns

 

From table 1, r = 5, and c = 4. \ df = (5-1) (4-1) = 12

Critical value of chi-square X2 = 21.026 (from tables) at a testing value µ = 0.05

 

These results shows that the observed chi-square X2=463.2 (from calculation), is greater than the critical value of chi-square X2=21.026 (from tables), at a testing value of µ =0.05 and degree of freedom df = 12. This indicates a significant relationship and it implies that information technology has a positive impact on business growth and generally increases income flow.

 

Research Question 2: Does the introduction of Information Technology in small-scale

         business enterprises provide more job opportunities for  

                                      unemployed Nigerians?

 

Table 2: Job opportunities using Information Technology

S/N

ITEMS

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Row

Total

1.

Information technology has provided a source of income to many young school leavers

201

(149)

152

(119)

35

(78)

29

(77)

417

2.

Information Technology provide holidays jobs for many students

116

(107)

101

(86)

39

(52)

44

(56)

300

3.

Drastic Reduction of mass unemployment since the application of Information technology in business.

40

(101)

33

(81)

98

(49)

112

(52)

283

 

Column Total

357

286

172

185

1000

*Observed chi-square X2 = 273.6, critical X2=12.592, df = 6, µ = 0.05.

 

                The results of table 2, show that Null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected and alternatively hypothesis (Hi) is accepted. The observed value of chi-square X2 equal 273.6 (from calculation not shown for convenience), is greater than the critical value of chi-square X2 = 12.592 (from tables), at a degree of freedom df = 6, using a testing value µ= 0.05. This indicates a significant relationship implying that the introduction of information technology in business provides more job vacancies for unemployed Nigerians.

 

 

Research Question 3: Of what relative impact is the introduction of Information

  Technology in efficient business management?

 

 

Table 3: Information Technology in efficient business management

S/N

ITEMS

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Row

Total

1.

Information technology enhance proper planning and execution of business strategies

102

(90)

96

(92)

17

(28)

30

(35)

245

2.

Information technology helps to improve on the skills of business-men

90

(71)

90

(72)

6

(22)

7

(28)

193

3.

Business-men are now more time conscious with the advent of information technology

78

(74)

87

(75)

15

(23)

21

(29)

201

4.

Information Technology discourages unwarranted journey.

97

(132)

102

(135)

76

(41)

86

(52)

361

 

Column Total

367

375

114

144

1000

*Observed chi-square X2 = 120.4, critical X2 = 16.919, df = 9, µ = 0.05

 

                The results show that the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected while the alternatively hypothesis (H1) is accepted. The observed chi-square X2 = 120.4 is greater than the critical value of chi-square X2 = 16.919 [from tables], at a degree of freedom df = 9, using a testing value of µ = 0.05. This indicates a significant relationship, which implies that the introduction of information technology helps in efficient business management.

 

 

Research Question 4: Has the introduction of information technology reduced the rate of

 Fraudulent activities in business?

 

Table 4: Information technology to fight business fraud

S/N

ITEMS

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Row

Total

1.

Information technology is a weapon for combating fraudulent activities in business

76

(58)

90

(54)

18

(42)

25

(55)

209

2.

Information technology encourages dishonesty in business

39

(78)

45

(72)

17

(57)

112

(75)

283

3.

Only the rich can effectively utilize information technology to fight crime

25

(66)

32

(61)

86

(49)

97

(64)

240

4.

The use of information technology assist in reporting fraudsters to law enforcement agencies

136

(74)

89

(69)

12

(54)

31

(71)

268

 

Column Total

276

256

203

265

1000

*Observed chi-square X2 = 320.5, critical chi-square X2 =16.919. df = 9; µ = 0.05

 

The results show that alternatively hypothesis (H1) is accepted and the Null hypothesis is rejected. The observed chi-square (x2=320.5) is greater than the critical value of chi-square (x2 = 16.919 from tables) at a degree of freedom df = 16 using µ = 0.05. This indicates a significant relationship, which implies that information technology has reduced the rate of fraudulent activities in business.

 

Discussion

The findings of this study provide useful answers to the research questions. On the impact of information technology resources on business growth, general income flow and job creation, results of the study show that a majority of small-scale enterprises have immensely benefited in these areas. It was obvious that some of the respondents engage in retailing of GSM materials and other information technology resources, alongside their goods and services. This invariably, contributes to business growth, general flow of income and provision of jobs for the unemployed.

                On the impact of information technology on business and efficient time management, some respondents generally agreed as seen in Tables 1 to 4 using the alternative hypothesis method that it was positive. However, it was discovered that inspite of the use of information technology for business promotions, most business men still lack efficiency in service delivery. This may be attributed to poor business skills or inadequate background. It is therefore not surprising that positive changes in business management are still not achieved. However, it could be hoped that modern information technology will help to sharpen the sense of business and time management skills.

 

Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, information technology has improved small-scale business enterprises in Nigeria. In order to consolidate on the present level of achievement of information technology in business, much more improvement must be welcomed. These include; improvement in the level of information technology services rendered to business enterprises, wide coverage (especially in the rural areas), reduction in tariff and better connectivity.

In line with the research findings, it is recommended that information technology service providers should intensify effort to make maximum use of the high penetration by business enterprises. This invariably, will help to enlighten the populace on the benefits attached to the applications of information technology.

                The tariff of all the service providers is too high. Consequently, this reduces the number of users that go online for Internet marketing. In order to reverse this trend, it is recommended that the charge deducted by the service providers should be reduced to encourage more small-scale business enterprises in Nigeria.

 

References

 

Brain K. W and Stacey C. S (2001): Using Information Technology: A practical Introduction to computers and communications, 4th Edition, Mc Graw-Hill Companies Inc, New York, USA. Pp 78-94.

 

Charlse W.L.H (2001): Global Business, 2nd Edition; McGraw Hill Companies, New York. Pp 100-132

 

Dave C etal, (2000): Internet Marketing strategy, Implementation and practice, pearson Education Limited, England.

 

David M. K (1992); Management Information Systems, 2nd Edition, Mc Grow Hill companies inc, USA.

 

Egbule J.F and Okobia D.O (2007): Research methods in Education for Colleges and Universities, Kmensuo Educational Publishers, Agbor. Chapter 3.

 

James A. O.B (2004): Management Information Systems: Managing Information technology in the Business enterprises, 6th Edition, McGraw Hill Companies Inc, New York USA. Chapter 5 & 6.

 

Laudon K.C and. Laudon J.P (2000): Management Information Systems: Organization and Technology in the Networked enterprises, 6th Edition Prentice – Hall, Inc, USA.

 

Lucas H. C and Jack B (1994): “The role of Information Technology in organization design”. Journal of management information systems 10. No. 4. pp 56-89.

 

Omorogiuwa O.K. (2006): Research and Applied statistics for the behavioural sciences: An introduction. Mindex Publishing Company Limited; Benin City. Pp 43-48

 

Salami A.O. and Usman O.A. (2008): The socio-economic impacts of global system for mobile communication (GSM) a university students, Journal of Economic Theory 2 (2): 63 – 70.

 

Cover from Purnell’s World of Computers


Image by odolphie
This is the front cover from the 1984 book Purnell’s World of Computers.

This is one of the books that first excited me about technology and the pervasiveness I could see it having the future. I would have been 9 years old reading this.

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