DIGITAL OFFICE TOOLS USAGE AND ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF STATE-OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study assessed how digital office tools usage relates to administrative effectiveness of State owned Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State. The descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study is conceptualized given the dimensions of digital office tools as routers/modems, computer, and wireless printing machines while measures of administrative effectiveness are actionable decision/implementation, effective communication and task accomplishment. Three (3) objectives, three (3) research questions and three (3) hypotheses were raised to guide the study. The population of the study was 260 administrative staff in the two tertiary institutions from where a sample size of 155 was drawn. Random and purposive sampling methods were used in selecting the respondents. A structured questionnaire was distributed to respondents.  Mean standard deviation and percentages were used to analyze responses from the questionnaire while Pearson’s Product Momentum Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the hypotheses. For the data analysis, SPSS (22.0) was used. The findings of this study revealed that there is a statistically significant moderate relationship between digital office tool usage and administrative effectiveness. The study thus, concludes that the use of digital office tools is a veritable tool for effective administration of tertiary institutions. Additionally, there is a commensurable report of use of digital office tools and the manifestation of administrative effectiveness in the tertiary institutions. Based on the findings, it was recommended that there should be annual evaluation/appraisal of office and Information Managers on the use of digital office tools in other to monitor the implementation of a sound organizational succession as well as monitor the knowledge level of office administrators on digital office tools and subsequently their output.