VIRTUAL STORAGE AND OFFICE MANAGER’S EFFECTIVENESS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study ascertained the relationship between virtual storage and office manager’s effectiveness in public universities in South-South, Nigeria. The study was anchored on Task–Technology Fit Theory. The study adopted cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised of seven hundred and forty-eight (748) office managers consisting of Deans of Faculties and Heads of Departments (HODs) of eleven (11) public universities in four states in South-South, Nigeria. The states to be covered included Rivers State, Bayelsa State, Delta State, and Akwa-Ibom State (See in Appendix A). The sample size of the study consisted of 261 respondents, determined using the Taro Yamane formula. Considering the disparity in their population distribution, Bowley’s Population Proportionate Allocation Formula was adopted in determining the sample distribution for each of the universities. Thus, the study adopted the random sampling techniques. Structured questionnaire was used as the main instrument for the collection of primary data. To establish the validity of the instrument, copies of the questionnaire was submitted to experts in Office and Information Management Department of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt. Their comments were used to validate the final copy of the instrument that was administered. Thus, Cronbach alpha was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. In line with the sample size, a total of 261 copies of the questionnaire was administered by the researcher, assisted by four trained research assistants (one for each state). Howbeit, 238 copies were retrieved representing 91%. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used for the analysis through the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0. It was found that virtual storage has a significant positive relationship with office manager’s effectiveness in public universities in South-South, Nigeria. The study concluded that public universities that deliberately invest in collaborative technologies alongside digital capacity development will be better positioned to sustain administrative efficiency, institutional coordination, and continuous organizational effectiveness in an increasingly technology-oriented environment. The study recommended that public universities should deploy institution-wide cloud-based document management systems that allow authorized personnel to securely create, access, edit, and retrieve official documents in real time, thereby improving collaboration and reducing administrative delays