Online service providers and Nigeria situation?
For adequate decisions to be taken by business managers information is necessary and there are different sources by which this could be obtained.
The internet and its facilities are now available and can be accessed given the right atmosphere.
In Nigeria, online service is exist, though at a very limited level due to different factors, some of these services include free websites where information is available free of charge, fee-base websites where specific fees are charged as well as value added information services where fees are paid within organizational or company's purchasing process.
The Nigerian situation however does not favour free web based sites as government cannot actually provide for the subsidy required by providers to make their services free.
For the fee as well as value added websites majority of Nigerian citizens are not usually able to pay for the desired information as the country’s economic situation is not favourable. Only few individuals or organizations have the capacity to pay.
The above situation can be considered as a result of wrong foresight as the nation priorities are usually wrongly placed by those at the helm of affairs. Adequate attention is not given to technological advancement due to corruption and desire to acquire unnecessary wealth. In adequate power supply has contributed greatly to the underdevelopment infrastructure.
SOLUTIONS:
(1) The solution to these problems, government should Endeavour to provide the facilities of online services from urban to rural areas. Awareness should be created, and also develop its manpower.
(2) Government should ensure that financial support budget is meant for the maintenances of the facilities to aid people constant in search of information.
(3) Government should ensure power supply is constantly available to reduce the cost of fueling generators and charges should be minimized.
Princess Bridget Terfa Ikyembe (Mrs.)
MIM/Educ/12702/2007-08
4.00 pm.
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2 comments:
FREE, FEE-BASED AND ADDED VALUE
INFORMATION SERVICES:
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My comment your work.
What are the sources that you are referring to madam?
The internet is available quite alright but the cost to access them is the problem.
These service providers you are referring to most of them are conducting their online services without registering with Co-operate Affairs Commission to warrant government to assist them.
Ogala, Raphael A.
MIM/Educ/11154/2007-08
26/8/2008
Information which is processed data is a vital source for effective and reliable decision making in both business and non-business sector, however access to exact information or its authenticity leaves much to be desired in most companies/institutions.
The key to making good decision is a good and reliable information which could be sourced offline or online. In this case emphases were made to the online information source which most decision and policy makers relied upon for professional decisions which are aimed at maximizing profit while minimizing cost. In today’s global village the information required to make decisions often resides not only within the orgainsation itself but beyond its boundaries. When options are weighed related to competitive, regulatory or product development, issues like what the managers needs are facts about other companies or institutions of similar functions, services or products. To find that external information today’s managers and knowledge workers go online. American companies spend about $107 billion dollars yearly paying their employees to search for external information which could be use as an advantage over and about other competitors.
Most managers in information service companies now a day has similar Task having convinced that for any effective decision it needs to be based on good information.
Three types of business information providers are outlined and discussed for the decision makers to choose among, namely;
• Free Web Sites
• Fee-Based Web Sites
• Value Added information Services
Free Web Sites- these are free web sites which allow users to access the stored contents without any service/subscription fee, but it is worthy to note that many important business information could not be access free on the web and that the contents are not aggregate in the sense that user most be browsing from one site to another thus consuming much time without finding the need information.
Fee-Based Web Sites- These are combination of web sites that offers copyrighted materials such as articles or analysis but charge access fees. They often have preformatted collections of materials such as company’s profiles and usually provide an archive of materials on the site dated back to a year or more. E.g. of such web site are www.nytimes.com,www.sec.gov.com, www.cnnfn.com etc.
Value-added Information Services- These categories of web sites offers high-quality information from a wide variety of sources including newswires, newspapers from around the world with extensive house archives of periodicals and historical financial data. There services are simple but comprehensive in the sense that it enables researchers to search hundred of source-current information and archives-simultaneously result can be downloaded, printed or e-mail. Plus, electronic clipping that keeps business researchers informed about topics they selected, but charges fees for a specific number of users e.g. www.dialog.com, www.factiva.com, www.lexisnexis.com .
However, research was conducted in order to ascertain the usage as well as their suitability from certain number of users (among the three prominent online information industries, namely; free, fee-based and value added information services). According to the survey research conducted by the I-AIM that internet has given end users the perception that all information is available for free own the web, but, given the free information on the web-much of it doesn’t exist and the rest can not be verified for business managers. So managers that wants to be sure they are making the right decision have to seek stronger, more accurate source of information. Thus, value added information services are the best.
To this end, these services (value-added information services) provide better information with access to both current content and archive for a continuous accessibility. Value added information services, even though charges fee but it enables business managers to make more informed and more effective decision which would promote there sufficiency.
Criticism
The paper titled Free, Fee-based and Value added Information Services is educative quite agreed, but it is not categorical on whether or not such free information providers on the web are not totally suitable or above average for less risky business decisions. However the paper led much emphasis on the research conducted in a small place in comparison to the number of internet users world wide which is considered not adequate enough to come up with such conclusions. Information is a priceless commodity in the sense that access to it to some extend could not be restricted or totally commercialized.
It is common happening in the competitive arena for completing parties to always ridicule the performances of others but as professionals in the field of information disseminating our major concern is to make best from any situation towards meeting the yearn and aspirations of our clientele information requirement, thus applying knowledge at determining the authenticity and source of what ever information source rendered to our clientele.
In Nigeria for instance more 90%(unconfirmed source) research conducted are based on the information sourced either from the free web sites or from the hard copies of text books, articles and reports, so in countries like ours (Nigeria) where there is abject poverty and neglect from the main regulatory body on the need to equip library and information services providing centre with the much needed information materials. One can not help but to make best use of what is available on the free web site, more importantly who and who have access to the internet connectivity? So the issue of fee-based or value added in countries like ours is a secondary matter.
while criticizing, one must appreciate the fact that the paper really exposes the actually trends in today’s online information businesses and avail readers the opportunity(s) to make preferential choose(s) from the three major providers of information on the web.
Aliyu Ashiru Mani
MIM/EDUC/19934/2007-08
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