CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1      Background of the study
Todays office business, professional or Government is in a state of change. This change is reflected in the office structure and office positions from entry level to Executive Office Manager Level. Hence attention is now given to what the office does and the way in which office activities can be accomplished in an efficient and an effective way an office manager is responsible for the smooth operation of the day-to-day business of the company, a good office manager makes it possible for other people to function efficiently. Office managers work closely with the company partners, owner, or president to meet their company’s staffing, equipment, and organizational needs. Duties may include pricing products from vendors, interviewing job applicants, managing payroll, and reimbursing members of the firm for out-of-pocket business expenses, and so the need for information technology had to come into play as information technology has replaced the traditional equipment used by an office manager to perform his tasks.
Montgomerie (2004), defines information technology as the handling of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical Information by means of micro-electronic based equipment in computing and telecommunication. This clearly brings about the advantages of information delivery through technological means, since almost all aspects of office work can adequately be taken care of. Aronu (2000) defines Information Technology as the combination of two technologies, computing and the main purpose of which is to transmit representation of information signals between remote locations. The concept of “core competence” has been defined and studied at the organizational level in the management literature as well as in information systems, as exemplified Sambamurthy and Zmud’s work on managerial IT competence. These latter authors state that such competency enables an organization “to effectively acquire, deploy and leverage its IT investments in pursuit of business strategies and in support of business activities” and helps fulfill the objective of aligning IT strategies and business strategies. However, competence at the individual level is required for the creation of core competence at the organizational level. Research on this individual component is incomplete. This paper explores the concept of the IT competence of individual business managers. Based on an examination of the literature in several disciplines and consultations with business and IT managers, we define the IT competence of business managers and identify its sub-dimensions. We also present a theoretical model of the link between IT competence and business-led technology leadership. The model is designed to be empirically tested and used to explore differences in the managers’ leadership in IT projects and partnerships with IT departments.
Overtime in the business world, information technology has grown to be one of the cardinal pillars. The importance of information technology cannot be overemphasized in the 21stcentury. Information technology was known to be indispensable in stretching from the early 19th century. Information technology simply put can be regarded or defined as the application of computers to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business or other enterprise.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been identified as a vehicle with the potential to improve the competency of managers and every staff as well as the efficiency and service delivery of organizations both in the developed and developing countries. Information and communication technologies have changed the face of the world we live in (Benson, 1998).
ICT enables people to communicate with family, friends and colleagues around the world instantaneously, gain access to global libraries, information resources and numerous other opportunities. Nelson, 2010 opined that information systems strategy is still not properly understood while ethics and behavioural issues are of concern. There are still staggering losses involved in information technology investment.