Mediating Factors in the Utilization of Management Information System for Effective Service Delivery of Administrative Staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike And Alex Ekwueme University

Abstract

The relevance of management information system (MIS) in promoting employee performance cannot be over-emphasized. However, the utilization of MIS in the a university information system possess the tendency of linking all the components of the university such as personnel, admissions, exams and records, bursary, library, sickbay, student’s affairs unit, security and management among others. It permeates all the components. This study was carried out to ascertain the various factors militating against the utilization of management information system (MIS) for effective service delivery of administrative staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and Alex Ekwueme University, Abakiliki. Specifically, the study determined the effect of adoption of MIS technology, identify various factors militating against MIS utilization and their effect on the performance of MOUAU and AEU. This study adopted survey research design method and the population of the study comprised of all the administrative staff under Bursary, F.M.C, Security, Library, Registry Department of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike and Alex Ekwueme University. It consisted of a total of one thousand three hundred and ninety-six (1394) in MOUAU, and one hundred and eleven (938) in Alex Ekwueme University, (Alex Ekwueme University Statistical Unit, 2022). The sources of data collection comprised of both primary and secondary sources. The research adopted stratified sampling technique to select the chosen sample staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture and Alex Ekwueme University in the various units selected respectively, while convenience sampling was adopted for interviewing the staff of both Universities as to fix a convenient time to carry out an oral interview on them. The simple random sampling method was used in this research to draw the appropriate sample sizes of 311 and 280 which was determined using Taro Yamen’s formular from the populations of 1394 and 938 under study. Bourley’s proportion allocation formula was used to determine samples for both universities individually. The instruments were designed in five-likert scale of strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagreed (D), Strongly Disagreed (SD) and Undecided (U) and were face validated and the reliability was ascertained to be .87. Results of the findings revealed that adoption of management information system by staff of AEU have significant effect on administrative staff performance. Furthermore, the findings of the study showed that limited use of infrastructure, poor allocation of resources, lack of technical support, rigidity in management information system, poor data base management poor resource allocation are barriers to MIS development in MOUAU and AEU. The study concluded that MIS acts as guidelines to business owners when making critical decisions about their businesses. As a result, managers and key decision makers are bridled from overstepping their boundaries or exceeding their business mandate. The study further recommended that there is the need for update in management information systems continuously and top management should initiate a support programme towards having an IT technologist to propel the affairs of both Universities and its environment.