Effective Communication as a Determinant of Organizational Efficiency of Academic Libraries: The case of five University Libraries in the South Western Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examined effective communication as a determinant of organizational efficiency of academic libraries. Five academic libraries in the South West were surveyed. They were the University of Ibadan library, Obafemi Awolowo University library (OAU), University of Lagos library, Lagos State University (LASU) library, and Yaba College of Technology library. The objectives of the study were to determine the causes of effective communication in an organization; to determine whether there is any relationship between effective communication among staff, productivity and organizational goal attainment; to assess the organizational climate in relation to effective communication and organizational efficiency. A critical approach for data collection was adopted through the use of structured questionnaires. The same questionnaires were reacted to by the four categories of staff in the academic libraries surveyed. These were the academic staff of the libraries, the senior staff, the secretarial and clerical staff. The responses in the questionnaires were analyzed and discussed with tabular illustrations, figures and simple percentages. The study among other things shows that effective communication among staff is responsible for healthy organizational climate for maximum productivity. Effective communication has a positive effect on efficient human resources management for organizational efficiency. Lastly recommendations were made on the need for effective communication skills through training and formal education.