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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Over the years, many innovations have taken place in the world. The most striking and most celebrated is the aspect of information technology. Organisations today are confronted with rapidly changing market condition indicated by high merger rate and strong competitors. Under these conditions, traditional management approaches that focus on financial figures and on centralised, analytical planning methods are considered to be insufficient for effectively steering the organisation in a dynamic environment. Hoffman (2002). Recent management support approaches like balanced score card is aimed at providing a broader view of organisational performance.

The role of technology in the “information age” is well recognised by banks, businesses, industries, governments and as such has completely woven in to their organisational structure and strategic planning process. Previous research work shows that information technology has become the nervous system of banks today and as such Nigerian banks which do not have the means to deliver banking service online and real-time across all branches within the country and abroad will be termed uncompetitive.

The integration of banks structure, business processes and strategies by the use of specialised information technology is considered a vital part of performance management concept. It has to be ensured that, strategic changes trigger modification on the business process level and the supporting information technology, and that innovation on the information system initiates the adjustment of the company strategy.

Organisations in the financial sector especially banks strive to achieve creation goals for the benefit of their owners or clients. These goals may be expressed in terms of objectives which include among others, increasing revenue, improving services rendered, expanding the customer base, minimising cost of operations.

Nigerian economy yearns for development. Irrespective of the fact that she is blessed with enormous natural resources, she remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Banks today are looked upon as vehicle of change for a much needed economic growth and development as it behoves on banks to develop the most effective means of delivering effective, efficient and quality service that will help drive our awaited economic success. These can be made possible if and only if information technology is properly put to use in the banking sector.

Information technology has been acknowledged as the life wire of banks in the financial sector as it promotes and facilitates the performance of banks in the country. These therefore call for a pre-requisite need to embrace information technology. It is in view of this that this research work attempts to examine the impact of information technology on the performance of banks in Nigeria today.

From time immemorial, Information has always played a prominent role in human life but the emergence of social progress and the vigorous development in science and technology has immeasurably increased the role of information in every facet of human Endeavour. The rapid expansion of a mass of diversified information has born the term “information explosion” and gave rise to a scientific approach in information and elucidation of its most characteristic properties which has led to principal changes in interpretation of the concept of information. It was broadened to include information exchange not only among men but also among machines as well as the exchange of signals in the animal and plant worlds. The pace of change brought by new technologies has had a significant effect on the way people live, work, and play globally.

Today’s business environment is very dynamic and experiences rapid changes as a result of creativity, innovation, technological changes, increased awareness and demands from customers. Business organizations, especially the banking industry of the 21st century operates in a complex and competitive environment characterized by these changing conditions and highly unpredictable economic climate with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is at the centre of this global change curve.

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