A Survey of Determinants of Decision-making by Managers in the Aviation Industry in Nigeria

This paper examined access to and use of information systems, personality traits and decision-making by managers in the aviation industry in Nigeria. The stratified random sampling technique, complemented with a questionnaire, was used to collect data from 1,238 managers in aviation parastatals in Nigeria. However, only 945 responded, giving a response rate of 76.3 percent. The study found that personality traits (r = 0.330, P< 0.05) and information systems access (r = 0.170, P<0.05) and use (r = 0.350, P<0.05) had significant relationships with decision-making of the respondents, when taken together, significantly determined decision-making of the respondents.  Use of information systems was found to make the greatest relative contribution (32.0 percent) in determining the decision-making of managers in the aviation industry in Nigeria. Personality traits should be considered when recruiting managers for the aviation industry. Keywords: information systems access, use, personality traits, decision-making, aviation industr

Electronic Resources Access and Usage for Scholarly Research Work by Postgraduate Students at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

This study investigated the extent of electronic resource access and usage for scholarly research work by post graduate students at University of agriculture in Abeokuta. The thrust of this paper is to discuss the points of accessing, frequency of use, usefulness and strategies to improve students’ use of electronic resources. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The target populations for this study are postgraduate students of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The participants sampled numbered 350 postgraduate students using stratified random sampling method. Out of 350 questionnaires distributed, a total of 210 were collected representing 60% return. Based on the analysis of the data, it was found that the postgraduate students use email as a means of communication while other electronic facilities that can aid their research works were not adequately used by them. Recommendations were made for improvement.  Data collected were analysed using simple percentage, frequency counts and the mean. Keywords: Electronic resources access, usage, scholarly research, University of Agriculture, Nigeri

Influence of Locus of Control, Work Motivation and Information Use on Decision- making of Managers in the Aviation Industry in Nigeria.

This study discusses the influence of locus of control, work motivation and information use on decision making of managers in the aviation industry in Nigeria. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 1238 managers from five aviation parastatals in Nigeria out of which 945 responded. The response rate achieved was 76.3 percent. The study found that locus of control, work motivation and information use significantly influence decision making of the respondents. It is therefore recommended that aviation industry administrators and most especially policy makers in the industry should give due attention to locus of control, work motivation and information use in order to improve the decision making of managers in the industry. From the managerial context, being aware of your employee’s internal-external locus of control can be very helpful in that individuals with high external locus are less likely to be committed to their organisation, they may feel unable to influence organisational decision making

Innovation capability of managers in Nigerian large-scale manufacturing companies

Background: Manufacturing companies in Nigeria operate in a turbulent business environment and managers therein need quality information to operate with keen market competition. Information seeking behavior and use as well as knowledge sharing are critical ingredients to enhance innovation capability of managers in business organisations like manufacturing companies for survival. Objectives: This study examines the contributions of information-seeking behaviour, information utilation and knowledge sharing to the prediction of the innovation capability of managers in large-scale manufacturing companies in Nigeria with special reference to the food, beverages and tobacco companies. Method: A total enumeration technique was used to administer copies of a questionnaire to a population of 400 managers in 12 food, beverages and tobacco companies that are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Of these, 357 responded. The response rate achieved was 89.3%. Results: The study found that there were significant multiple relationships between information-seeking behaviour, information utilisation, knowledge sharing and the innovation capability of the respondents. It was also found that information-seeking behaviour, information utilisation and knowledge sharing jointly and individually predict the innovation capability of the respondents. In addition, information-seeking behaviour contributed 22.18%, information utilisation contributed 44.12%, and knowledge sharing contributed 40.88% to the prediction of innovation capability of managers in food, beverages and tobacco companies in Nigeria. The study equally found that, apart from the traditional ways of sharing knowledge in organisations, social media technology such as Facebook and Twitter, amongst others, are new ways of sharing knowledge in large-scale manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Conclusion: The study recommends that managers in these companies should be encouraged to seek for more information, make more intensive use of information and share knowledge in order to improve their innovation capability

Evaluation of reference service in the era of social media: A case of National Open University Library, Nigeria

Due to emergence of Internet and the ever-changing information world, access and dissemination of information is no longer restricted to limited arena. Reference service has become a trendy method of promoting access and wide dissemination of information to library patrons. The traditional face-to-face and armchair system where the library only physically consults or is consulted within its own walls or even the confines of the institution, has no place in modern reference service. This study, therefore, evaluated reference services in the era of social media in academic library of National Open University, Nigeria (NOUN). It examined awareness and level of usage of online reference services available to students. The study used questionnaire to collect data from students, while face-to-face interview was used to collect data from a librarian in the selected centres. The study applies random sampling to select participants while purposive sampling was used to select a librarian. The study analyzed the data using IBM-SPSS version 20.0. Findings revealed that students are aware that their university libraries are on social media networks but are still not familiar with most of reference services. Ask-a-Librarian, Facebook and Twitter were ranked as the most preferred methods for conveying online reference services. That online reference service was indicated as more supreme than traditional desk reference service because communication has no geographical barrier with a reference librarian and is easily accessible. The implications of the present research, although literature on evaluation of reference service in tertiary education does exist, studies on assessment of reference service in digital era by students are scarce and divergent. This research sheds light on this essential subject by intensely aiding the understanding of various social media for educational purposes. The study concluded that the intervention of modern and accessible social media tools in reference service make significant differences in access and dissemination of information to library patrons.Keywords: Reference, service, Evaluation, Awareness, Usage, Social media, NOUN, Nigeri