ABSTRACT
The study seeks to determine the extent of utilisation and integration of Operations
Research (OR) in Nigerian commercial banking institutions. Its specific objectives are to
ascertain the frequency of use of OR techniques in the investment decisions of Nigerian
commercial banks, ascertain the extent of use of OR model in the liquidity management
decisions of Nigerian commercial banks, determine the ratio of usage of OR techniques in
the loans and credit administration decisions of Nigerian commercial banks, determine the
level of application of OR in the operations management decisions of Nigerian commercial
banks, ascertain the determinants of successful OR application in the operations of
Nigerian commercial banks; and to determine the level of integration of OR in the
commercial banking operations of Nigerian commercial banks. The research instrument
used for data collection is a combination of questionnaire and structured oral interview.
The data collected was analysed using simple percentages and relative frequencies; while
the hypotheses raised were tested using Z-test statistics at five percent (5%) level of
significance.
The investigations revealed a high frequency of use of OR techniques in
solving the investment decision problems of Nigerian commercial banks, a high extent of
use of OR techniques in handling the liquidity management decision problems of Nigerian
commercial banks, a high ratio of usage of OR techniques in solving the loans and credit
administration decision problems of Nigerian commercial banks, a high level of
application of OR techniques in solving the operations management decision problems of
Nigerian commercial banks and a high level of integration of OR techniques in the
operations of Nigerian commercial banks. The study also revealed that the determinants of
successful OR application in Nigerian commercial banks include employee level of
awareness, education, top management support, nature of the business environment and the
intended benefits. The oral interview revealed that the extent of use of OR impacts
positively on corporate financial performance of Nigerian commercial banks; and that the
most critical challenge facing OR usage is the commonly talked about “human factor” in
decision making and implementation. The study however recommends the enhanced usage
of OR in Nigerian commercial banks and other related commercial banking institutions,
the establishment of OR departments in the nations citadel of higher education as well as
the strengthening of the newly established Institute for Operations Research of Nigeria, to
further enhance OR awareness and usage in Nigerian commercial banks. To the best
knowledge of the researcher, a unique contribution of the study is that no research work of
this nature has been specifically conducted on the utilisation and integration of OR
techniques in Nigerian commercial banking institutions.
