Watch on YouTube Whether through virtual or traditional classroom environment, Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) has since its establishment in 2018, focused on developing and adding value to the global community. In terms of boosting appropriate skills amongst its stakeholders as well as members of the immediate community, and prospective students looking to gain entry into the university, SUN has recently organized a ‘Changing Gear’ Seminar and campus tour for the Students of Lufaloy School, Kano. See what members of Lufaloy school are saying about us.

Introduction Man’s pursuit of knowledge has led to a shift in development, from the industrial era to the information age with vast amounts of information being created and collected. Information collected has been used to revolutionize critical aspects of development, central to activities that have come to be known as the “information sector’’ including education and research, media and publishing, Information systems, and comprehensive information services such as financial services, consulting, and trade which have become more easily understood. Information is also important to the delivery of health care and public services. Concept of Information The term information is used by various individuals of diverse disciplines in a wide array of aspects to aim to develop an understanding of their disciplines and to relate different aspects of their body of knowledge. Today’s definitions of information are so diverse that it is largely impossible to reconcile them, however, information definitions should nevertheless incorporate one or more of the following features: is a set of symbols with some structure which users of information can read and understand to some extent (Meadow; 1992). Information Society The change in technological developments and globalization towards the end of the 20th century saw the introduction of the term “information society.” The concept of information society brings together the new world order, in which the position, strength, richness, and influence of nations depend increasingly on their access to and use of information. The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has significantly increased the amount of available information and the speed and facility at which it is distributed. The ICT is increasingly able to build an acceptable society for all, that is, to build knowledge societies with their use to make global access and networking available. How Information Serves as an Indicator to Nigerian Environment The importance of information as an indicator of the Nigerian environment can not be underestimated. The specific benefits of information to the different sectors of the national, economic, and educational life of a nation that has led to a contribution to sustainable national development are mentioned thus. The use of information in business management has provided a lot of interaction and communication between the manager and employees. Information serves as a means of check and balance to the government. Education focuses on the use of information for teaching and learning only; with genuine information, educational institutions will be able to live up to their social and political responsibilities. Legal systems use the information to practice law and for them to have effective and efficient service delivery in cases relevant information must be employed. Conclusion The information has become the engine of the 21st century and beyond, since it serves nations, especially in developing countries for their economic, religious, cultural, legal, and social life. Information has affected various sectors of the economy in Nigeria. It is a matter of fact that information is essential for Nigeria’s drive for sustainable development. The potential advantage of information for sustainable development in Nigeria as an imperative paradigm should be recognized. Reference Diso, L.I. (1994). Information policies and government guidance in Nigeria: What hope for communities? Resource Sharing and Information Networks 9 (2):141–151. Ukodie, A. (2004). Ekuwem: Nigerian striking force: Icons of ICT in Nigeria: Their passion, vision, thoughts. Lagos: ICT Publications Omekwu, C.O. (2005) Management Imperatives for Libraries in the Information Age (Paper presented at the 2005 Annual Workshop of the Nigerian Library Association, Lagos Chapter, Badagry, September),4-5 Dawson, A. (2012). Information Society. London: Department of Information Studies, UCL   Mr Abdulqawiyyu Mustapha is a  Library Assistant in Skyline University Nigeria. He has a Degree in Library Science from Bayero University Kano (BUK), Kano. You can join the conversation on Facebook @SkylineUniversityNG and on Twitter @SkylineUNigeria

The ever-changing world has made it possible for different people across several cultures to work in the same organisation. This has increased the importance of being conscious of diverse cultural values when working in a team with different cultural backgrounds or leading a culturally diverse group. It is pertinent to note that people from different ethnic background hold dissimilar values which must be adjusted to realign with the goals of the team. However, this is a gradual process that is attainable through conscious efforts of the team members to respond to others taking into cognizance their differences. According to Azzopardi and McNeill (2016), conscious response in team increases performance, foster collaboration and reduces misunderstanding among team members with different beliefs and values. In this view, Curtis et al. (2020) and Kurtis and Ullah (2019), stated that the ability to be aware and conscious of different cultural background among team members is the key factor in managing business teams for more productivity and competitiveness. This suggests that both team leaders and members’ consciousness in their response to cultural issues determine the performance of the team. Enveloping conscious response to a culturally diverse team is cultural competence which is not simply learnt in the classroom. Instead, just as it is the case with most diversity issues in the workplace, cultural competence necessitates one to examine his own opinions, thoughts, ideas, and feelings, then work on developing his own cross-cultural skills necessary for excelling in the team or such culturally diverse workplace. The diversity in the-present-day’s workplace implies that a team member must be more sensitive to the cultures of others in the team, and in the same way, people from other cultures must reciprocate similar sensitivity. Some of the important skills worthy to be learnt include learning how to communicate clearly so as to avoid being misunderstood. Many conflicts arise in teams due to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Team members, who are of different cultural backgrounds, often have dissimilar styles of verbal and non-verbal communication (Shonk, 2020). For instance, in some cultures, a bow instead of a handshake is used to exchange greetings. In other cultures, to maintain direct eye contact while exchange greetings may be considered impolite, meanwhile in other cultures it signifies honesty and trust. In verbal communication, some cultures may regard a direct statement to a superior as disrespectful while other cultures may consider it a sign of efficiency and expediency. Therefore, the bottom-line remains a conscious response to issues while working in a culturally diverse team. It is recommended that team members of culturally diverse teams should spend time to do more research and findings about the cultures of those who comprise the team. This according to Anam (2020) is useful having awareness and understanding about the verbal and physical communication cues that vary from one’s own culture. One cannot effectively function in a culturally diverse team except he or she possesses a reasonable level of cultural awareness. As a result, there can be reinforcement in the strength of the team and team members are more likely to build skills that enhance their chances of becoming global professionals. References Anam, A. (2020), Culture awareness in the workplace. Small Business Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/culture-awareness-workplace-737.html Azzopardi, C. & McNeill, T. (2016) From Cultural competence to cultural consciousness: Transitioning to a critical approach to working across differences in social work. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 25(4) 282-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2016.1206494 Curtis, E., Jones, R., Tipene-Leach, D., Walker, C., Loring, B., Paine, S. & Reid, P. (2019) Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition. International Journal of Equity in Health 18 (1), 1-18 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1082-3 Kurtisi, H. & Ullah, A. (2019). How does cultural diversity affect the management of warehouse staff? Specifically, what processes are available to balance diversity and integrate human resources. (Unpublished undergraduate dissertation). Jönköping University. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1323940/FULLTEXT01.pdf Shonk. K. (2020). How to resolve cultural conflict: Overcoming cultural barriers at the negotiation table. Harvard Programmeme on Negotiation, Daily Blog. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/a-cross-cultural-negotiation-example-how-to-overcome-cultural-barriers/   Mr. James Terkura Ihum is working at Skyline University Nigeria as a Lecturer II in the Department of Economics You can join the conversation on Facebook @SkylineUniversityNG and on Twitter @SkylineUNigeria

Leadership exists to direct people working in organizations towards achieving their goals in line with the mission and vision of the organization. COVID19 has affected the majority of employees across the globe in one way or the other and organizations have changed their HR policies to accommodate practices such as work from home and started giving more importance to the wellbeing of employees. Organizations have successfully adopted new technologies to overcome the situation and trained employees on using them. In this context, all leaders need to be aware of the latest emerging technologies and how they can be used in their respective organizations. One important challenge that all leaders face in the current situation is to decide on the emerging technologies that can be used to make the organization ready for future requirements. An ideal leader in this era of technological disruptions is one who is driven by a compelling vison and who foresees how the new emerging technologies will impact and how the organization can change and adapt to the new trends to survive.  Training employees and making them align their personal goals with organizational goals is crucial. The lower the gap between individual and organizational goals the easier it is for the organization to create a culture of belongingness and build high-performing teams. Leaders have to play the role of accelerators to motivate people to go beyond their jobs and put in their hundred percent efforts to achieve organizational goals. Leaders should not look for perfection but look for employees with a positive attitude, willingness to learn, being adaptable as per the requirements of the organization and willing to complete the tasks as per the timelines. Leaders should focus on creating a culture where employees feel a sense of ownership which will help them in not only gaining recognition and rewards but also helps in attracting the right talent as per organizational requirements. Leaders also need to be creative and innovative and ensure that organizations are ready to face the challenges of the future. Achievement of organizational goals is the key metric to evaluate the performance of a leader. A good leader will embrace change, act as a mentor to identify and develop leaders for future requirements. Leaders in the new millennium have to give time for creativity and need to be up-to-date on the latest technological advancements that are happening in their respective fields.  One more challenge for leaders is to balance the traditional style of management and a new way of handling millennials as both of them are required for achieving the goals. The traditional managers have rich experience and the millennials are good with technology and the combination of both will help the organization in planning appropriate strategies and taking the organization to the next level. Good communication among the team members, trust, human connection, and knowledge of how the latest technologies can impact work is very important in the era of technological disruption. Leaders have to be role models and lead by example.    References:  Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2020). Crucibles of leadership. Harvard business review, 80. Cortellazzo, L., Bruni, E., & Zampieri, R. (2019). The role of leadership in a digitalized world: A review. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1938. Mukherjee, A. S. (2020). 5 Musts for Next-Gen Leaders. MIT Sloan Management Review, 61(3), 1-4.   Professor Ajith Kumar V.V, is the sitting Vice-Chancellor of Skyline University Nigeria. He has obtained his PhD in the area of Human Resource Management from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. You can join the conversation on Facebook @SkylineUniversityNG and on Twitter @SkylineUNigeria