THE DECLINE OF COMMUNICATION DUE TO TECHNOLOGY: IT’S IMPACT ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

One of the uniqueness of the human person is the ability to objectify his thoughts and ideas through language. With the social evolution of language, especially speech language, man was able to widen the gap between him and the rest of the animal kingdom. Thus, language can be seen as a system of sounds, symbols and words for purposes of communication. Communication touches every aspect of human activity. Business communication is any communication used to promote a product, service or organization, with the objective of making sale. In business communication, messages are conveyed through various channels of communication, including internet, print (publication), radio, television, outdoor, and word of mouth. There are scholarly arguments pertaining to the effectiveness of business communication in developing economies, including Nigeria. For example, the effectiveness of business communication in developing countries has attracted some criticisms with respect to such constraining factors as noise (e.g. fears, worry, lack of trust, racial and tribal discrimination, cultural and religious discrimination, undefined areas of responsibility, negative future expectation, concrete distractions, bad environment, corruption, and general behaviour towards marketing, amongst others). However, some scholars have argued that these constraints do not detract from the implementation of business communication and that communication should be of benefit to all the companies world over, including developing countries such as Nigeria. In an organization, the manager has to read, speak, write, listen, observe and supervise, and these are all media of communication. He uses letters, and memos for written communication. Business firms must send information about their goods and services to customers and consumers. This they do vide advertising, publicity, personal selling and other sales promotional techniques. Hence any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person’s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or effective state is regarded as communication. However, the effectiveness of communication differs from one firm to another. Therefore, it may be stated that business communication may be beneficial for some businesses, while it may not be for others as a result of variations in the environment, practices, noise, contexts and cultures amongst others influencing factors.

STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL PROBLEM

Overtime, the poor performance of small businesses in Nigeria has been a reoccurring problem as small businesses in Nigeria have not been adequate supported to develop thus leading to liquidation and thus throwing many people who would have been employed by these small businesses to unemployment or underemployment. The importance of small businesses to any economy cannot be overemphasized as it has been proven by developed economies that the small and medium scale businesses are the bedrock of any economy. The poor performance of small businesses in Nigeria as a result of lack of development has been partly responsible for the present economic hardship in Nigeria.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the study is to examine the decline due to technology and its impact on small and medium scale enterprises. Other specific objectives of the study include;

1. To examine the level of development of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.
2. To determine the importance of adequate communication on small business growth and development.
3. To examine the relationship between adequate communication and small business growth and development.
4. To recommend ways of improving communication in other to enhance small businesses in Nigeria.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the level of development of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria?
2. What is the importance of adequate communication on small business growth and development?
3. What is the relationship between adequate communication and small business growth and development?
4. What are the ways of improving communication in other to enhance small businesses in Nigeria?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

H0: The decline of communication due to technology does not have an impact on small and medium scale enterprises.

H1: The decline of communication due to technology has an impact on small and medium scale enterprises.

H0: There is a no relationship between communication and small business performance in Nigeria.

H1: There is a significant relationship between communication and small business performance in Nigeria.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study would be of immense importance to small and medium scale enterprises and business managers as it would reveal the impact of the decline in communication on the development of small and medium scale enterprises. The study would also be of importance to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies on the subject matter.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is restricted to the impact of decline of communication due to technology on small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.