CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Information technology is one of the most potent forces which are shaping the twenty first century. Its revolutionary impact changes and improves the society tremendously. In this present information age, it is generally agreed that information is the communication of knowledge. There is also a common aphorism that says "Knowledge is power". The essence of ICT is its power to help individuals and societies achieve greater access to knowledge and ideas for the benefit of humanity. ICT further allows a new, easy and better method of carrying out a number of library' operations. Old services have consequently been displaced by new proactive services (Ayo, 2001)

The application of information technology in Banks and indeed the continued changes 10 the need for information as a by-product of the dynamics of the society, economic, political and cultural advances worldwide, has tremendously transformed the banking services. The majority of information professionals in this country and in most' developing countries are currently in serious problems. They are in problem not because they are no longer providing their much desired services to their communities, but for the fact that a number of social, educational, economic, political and most technological forces are fast dictating the pattern and speed of the delivery of such services much more than they can cope with.

Without the information professionals, it is impossible to collect, organize retrieve, disseminate and preserve information with information technology. What impacts one may ask, are the Nigerian banks especially Jaiz Bank making through the application of this transformational technology? This is the central concern of this research work.

Technology can be seen as a systematic application of knowledge towards solving problem either by certain control of human nature or processes of mankind. The history of technology is as old as world history and technology has gone beyond creation of machines, because the experience of people create technology and it is used in every aspect of human activity ever known to man.

Information technology has succeeded in developing, the highly sophisticated and versatile machine used today with ever increasing variety of application. Hence the application of technology in all aspect of human endeavours is obvious. Banking is the business of receiving, protecting and sending money. The early bankers, the Jews in hand bandy in Italy, transacted their business on bunches in the market place, the word "Bank" itself derived from the Italian world "Banco" which means bank when a banker failed, then his banco was broken up by the angry people (The depositor of money). The type of banking we know today did not begin until the sixteenth century when Italians Goldsmith, working in London, began expanding their business to include the safe keeping of people's valuables and money, when such valuables, they represented and thus became the four thunders, of our present bank notes. These Goldsmiths with eyes for profit were quick to realize that some of the money deposited with them could be safely lent out and interest earned on it. This practice proved to be rewarding and many establishments tried to take advantage of this new way of making profit. In an attempt to alleviate this under situations, the British government established the Bank of England in 1694 and gave it the sole right to issue bank notes.

Before the discovery of computer, the Banking sector of the economy suffered from manual operations which caused a lot of problems for so many years, ranging from fraud, inefficiency, to inaccuracy just to mention a few. But with the intervention of information technology, it usage adds another dimension to banking and other parts of human endeavour which further simplifies the tedious manner of manual and mental procedures.

Similarly, today, information technology has greatly facilitated the flow of information in the society, thus, there is an ever successive growth in awareness of the need for person involved in business to have the basic knowledge of data processing techniques. Moreover, the information technology is also a tool used in business employed in industries to achieve smooth running of their programmes, such as personal payroll, production control network analysis and a lot more.

Furthermore, numerous aspects of our daily lives are affected by this new technology with wide-ranging benefits for the economy and for the people as well. But this device also has some disadvantages, it is a well-known fact that the world has become a global village and with human knowledge increasing every day, people use this device to perpetuate their evil acts such as online fraud putting up very attractive offers and setting up pornographic sites etc.

This work therefore intends to provide users with information on how the computer operates in a business environment with particular reference to the deposit money banks.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study is going to focus on why business organization especially commercial banks prefer to computerize their service systems with various banks springing up day after day, competing with the existing ones, banks have to be computerized so as to meet up with the present global trend. In view of this, most banks today have various mode of operation in order to meet the challenges ahead and to satisfy the needs of their customers in the most effective and efficient manner.

Similarly, during the course of this work, it was observed that documents and transactions were not thoroughly tested and therefore, the required output is low, the current calculations could not be made and this could lead to so many errors in the accounts. Transacting business outside the organization is very slow and delays were a common feature. The internal control system is not effective for example; payment of money through bank draft takes time for the draft to be cleared and for the customers to be issued with a teller. Also, labour unrest is another factor that cannot be left out. With inflation on the increase, workers have generally reacted to it by contently demanding for the increase in salaries.

All these problems led to the use of information technology in this organization to curb down these problems

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to find out the impact of information technology on the quality of services in Jaiz Bank, Nigeria. Other objectives include;

1. To examine the extent of utilization of information technology in banking services of Jaiz Bank.

2. To examine the impact of information technology on banking services of Jaiz Bank.

3. To find out the challenges of utilizing information technology in banking services in jaiz Bank.

1.4 Research Questions.

The following research questions guided the study:

1.      What is the extent of utilization of information technology in banking      services of Jaiz Bank?

2.       What is the impact of information technology on banking services of Jaiz          Bank?

3.       What are the challenges of utilizing information technology in banking     services in jaiz Bank?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study finds out the impact of information technology on the quality of services in Jaiz Bank, Nigeria. A study of this magnitude has a lot of contribution to make. The Management of Jaiz Bank, the staff, Network providers, customers and the government will find this study beneficial.  To the management of Jaiz Bank, the findings of this study will provide empirical data on the relevance of information technology and the necessity for its wide application in banking services. The staff of the Bank as an establishment will also use the result of this study to appreciate the need for their compliance with the use of information technology in the performance of their various responsibilities to ensure efficiency in the discharge of their duties.

The network providers will also use the outcome of this study to improve on their services seeing the place of information technology in banking services. They will see the need for continuous upgrade of their system and how they can provide more packages that could enhance banking services.

The banks are primarily established to serve the interest of its customers as well as providing good service delivery. This study will create awareness in the customers of Jaiz Bank on the use of information technology to gain easy access to information about their transactions. Example cash withdrawer alert and cash deposit alert all are due to the effective technological advancement in the banking industry.

         To the government, this study will serve as a yardstick to enact effective policies through the relevant agency that could enhance information technology in the country.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study finds out the impact of information technology on the quality of services in Jaiz Bank, Nigeria. A examination of the extent of utilization of information technology in banking services of Jaiz Bank, the impact of information technology on banking services of the bank as well as the challenges of utilizing information technology in banking services in jaiz Bank fall within the scope of this  study.

 

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