Management of Public Enterprises in Nigeria
Management of Public Enterprises in Nigeria
Management of Public Enterprises in Nigeria
BY
OCTOBER, 2011
MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN
NIGERIA: A CASE STUDYOF NTA, AWKA
BY
EZEUDU, TOCHUKWU S.
PG/M.Sc/09/51120
OCTOBER, 2011
i
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION
The work embodied in this research study (Thesis) is original and has
not been submitted in part or in full for any other certificate, diploma or
____________________
PROF. C. OFUEBE
Project Supervisor
____________________ ____________________
PROF. FAB. O. ONAH PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Head of Department Dean of Faculty
iii
APPROVAL PAGE
This Thesis has been approved for the award of Master of Science degree in
Nsukka.
____________________ ____________________
PROF. C. OFUEBE EXTERNAL EXAMINER
Project Supervisor
____________________ ____________________
PROF. FAB. O. ONAH PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Head of Department Dean of Faculty
iv
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to God Almighty for his guidance and love
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to first register my sincere gratitude to God Almighty who granted
Ofuebe, who inspite of his tight schedule still devouted time to supervise this
Chijioke, Ejike, Anayo, Ikechukwu, Chidi and Obiora, and to my lecturers and
EZEUDU, TOCHUKWU S.
PG/M.Sc/09/51120
vi
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page - - - - - - - - i
Certification page - - - - - - - ii
Approval Page - - - - - - - iii
Dedication - - - - - -- - - iv
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - v
Abstract - - - - - - - - vi
Table of Contents - - - - - - - vii
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Background information on NTA Awka - - - 81
Bibliography
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
decades following World War II (particularly, the 1960s and early 1970s)
One of the ways through which the government intervened in the economies
the resources available to the private sector are not adequate for the
2
provision of certain goods and services for example, the investment required
for large urban center are quite enormous and the returns on such investment
will take a very long time to realize. Ozor (2004:10) stated that “like many
independence that she still had to battle for her economic independence. Her
policy of 1972 as enacted by the economy, the policy further provided much
observed that “public enterprises have also been established for political
resources, etc.
a few.”
Also according to Obadan and Ayodele (1998:1) they opined that “it
particularly within the utilities and social services sectors as (NTA, Awka)
in the 1950s through the 1960s. In both technical and economic perspectives
market failures and the growing demand for citizenship rights such as a
decent living standard, adequate education and health care, and minimal
played any significant role in the shaping of their economic activities, the
reason for the spread of public enterprises can be found mainly in the realm
matter, is the fact that public enterprises are established for various reasons
which include not only ideological but also objective factors such as, the
wants which if left in the private hands these services will be beyond the
reach of the average man in the society. Even when the exclusion principle
can apply in the satisfaction of these services, they are considered basic
goods.
private monopolies will render their consumption too exorbitant for the
services like NTA, Awka in order to achieve its education and information
minerals should accrue to their owners. i.e. The public; in the producing
country. This is the reason for the establishment of the Nigeria Coal
rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos, Katsina, and Ajaokuta are clear examples.
national freight and cargo handling company about the high fare charged by
complaints.
direct responsibility for certain activities such as the production of arms and
ammunition including transport and fighter vehicles, military air fields and
defense installations. For one thing, investments in them are quite exorbitant
and sometimes prohibitive. For another, the security of the nation may be at
7
locations and installations etc. This is the rationale for the establishment of
establishments in America.
unfortunately the reverse has been the case most contemporary public
against them. He further stated that their problems are so enormous that even
Also Ogundipe (1986:7) once argued that between 1975 and 1985,
8
carry out its functions efficiently. NTA, Awka is not excluded from this
Obadan (2000:8) argue that, “in country after country, unbridled state
that:
more viable result oriented and formidable. This is the reason Rondinelli and
Lacono (1996:247) viewed that “Latin America countries such as Chile and
power and energy, airline, mining and oil and petroleum industries to private
ownership or management during the 1970s and 1980s.” Also Ostrum and
enterprises performance. Market forces are only half the equation. After all,
inequitable outcomes.
10
yield immediate financial return as some of the benefits are social rather
individuals.
efficient and that the price change should at least cover the cost of
one of the policy thrust of the reform of state-owned enterprises. Also Kuye
these countries have now accepted the obvious truth that if all, or at least
most of the public enterprises were turned over to the private sector they
would be better managed and their economy would fair much better in terms
environment arising from the impacts of the global economic crisis became
public enterprises in Nigeria have failed to perfume the initial role for which
maintained that “the bane of the Nigerian Public enterprises has been that of
time run a profitable venture the image of the public enterprises is so bad
that has come to symbolize inefficiency, red tapism, lack of initiative and
fact that public enterprises have failed to live up to expectations and have
utilization of staff.
12
problems?
In a nutshell, the objectives of this study are categorized into two: the
Awka.
problems.
13
Communication Technologies.
proffers solution.
This study at the end will enlighten the management of the company
have similar problems, which erode and impair the productivity or rather
During the course of this study, the researcher was confronted with
subject matter.
15
most cases impossible to get hold of certain documents and records that
management could not help issues. There was misconception about this
study to the extent the researcher was seen and treated as intruder. The
the researcher.
because the researcher was obliged to permeate beyond the boundary of his
CHAPTER TWO
have performed below the expectation of people. This situation however has
attracted the attention of some scholars and authors, who have made various
new creation. From the recorded events of man in the Garden of Eden
period where organizations such as the church, army, school and hospital
construction of great palaces and pyramids; there are the ancient but great
the role of certain group of officers occupying top and privileged positions
them is expanded:
and efficiency.
recognition that individual work in organization not necessarily for the goal
of the organization but for their own goals. This form of deviation stagnates
has to plan, map out strategies, find suitable people and the material to do
the job, assign different roles to different employees and ensuring that jobs
returns.
rules.
heeds.
21
between capital and labour, and believed instead in the need for
formally.
10. Order: Everyone and everything must have its appointed place,
11. Equity: All levels should treat their staff equitably. Here Fayol is
Fayol goes so far as to state that mediocre managers who stay are
“vanity”.
necessarily divisive.
These principles are what Fayol believed that if applied in any enterprise
perspective, according to Bruce and Peter (2003:1) opined “that the nature of
system.
activities, from the time human beings began forming social organization to
stated further that managing has been essential to ensure the coordination of
many organized group have become large, the task of managers has been
parts of the world could have achieved managerial success without having
they are to achieve set goals. Secondly, there is need to promote excellence
the key concern is to give managers the freedom to manage their units in
and fixed principles instead of depending on more or less lazy ideas. These
principles include:
management.
mutual and thus the need for better understanding and cooperation between
them. Management for example press for increased productivity and the
from productivity that the enterprise survive and groves thereby assuring
27
not a piecework system, not a bonus system, not time-study. The great
revolution that takes place in the mental attitude of the two parties under
scientific management is that both sides take their eyes off the division of
the surplus as the all-important matter, and together turn their attention
toward increasing the size of the surplus until this surplus becomes so
large that there is ample room for a large increase in profit for the
manufacturer.
productivity, lower cost as well as higher pay for workers for increased
supposed to be asking is, managers in our public enterprises are they really
prescriptive, that is they describe how one variable relates to another, what
with shorter and more reliable response times through the production and
also entail the willingness to take responsibility, and to accept praise and
blame.
not any other constitute the ultimate basis for the wealth of nations. And
experts and practitioners alike are pointers to the importance and critical role
the ability of the human resources to contribute to the attainment of the goals
30
young and old who engage in the production of goods and services and who
for the organization and at the same time enable the employee to gain
specialist and part of the general managerial process. Croft (1996:81) also
stated that “although managers must deal with people, the organization can
also provide a number of specialists who can easer the load of the line
managers and provide a specialist advisory service.” Croft also has identified
Awka aims at obtaining for the organization the greatest possible benefits
from the employees and at the same time enable the employees gain
optimum psychological and material benefit from his work. Ezeani (2002:4)
stated that “to achieve these aims or objectives, the director of personnel
employees.
As I noted earlier, the human resource is the most pivotal of all the
resource’ has to be planned for, procured, nurtured and sustained for overall
The Nigerian public service is not left out in this search, the public
service is the means of carrying out the activities of government, it is the life
wire of the nation. Whatever the policies or resource of a state, there must be
a reliable and proper administrative apparatus to put into effect the policies
and translate the resources into concrete goods and services for the benefit of
the state and the people, for this the political system contrives the public
33
service. The activities of the employees who put these policies into effect
service for effective management of the public service, the leadership should
ensure that the policy objective should be successfully and achieved with the
least cost, if the public service lacks the right caliber of leadership, this task
will not only be poorly performed but the organization itself will be in
Theories of Leadership
analyzed over 3000 books and articles in the field. Though legion of
The trait theory of leadership argues that there are certain traits which
be due to the fact that someone with one or more of these traits might be so
different from others in the group that he would be viewed more as a deviant
then a leader.
person to score high in one test ad relatively low in another. Second, there is
might have a great deal of leadership capacity and have little ability to lead
Luther King (Jr) Adoff Hitter etc. were all leaders, but for sure, they were
35
individuals with utterly different characteristics. Herein lies the futility of the
trait theory. If this theory were to be valid then all leaders should possess
b. Behavioural theory
If the trait theory had been successful, it could have provided the basis
for selecting effective leaders for various organizations, but its futility led to
the emphasis on the behavioural theory. The behavioural theory argues that
of the leaders. This implies that leadership behavior could taught and
learned. Experiences have however, shown that the behavior of each leader
product of time or situation. This implies that one will be called, a leader if
proposes that leader behavior depends or the degree of task structure in the
job, the subordinate’s perception of his or her own ability, and the
ii. Consideration
In other words, the leadership should be motivational when the task structure
needs, as well as provide the requisite training, guidance, support and reward
between the style of the leader is controlled and influenced by the work
the proper match with the behavioural situation of the leader. This is
concern of the leader for people, while the other dimension depicts the
concern of the leader for production. The significance of the managerial grid
is that it enable the leader to express his style of leadership with the aim of
Styles of Leadership
leadership is omitted. Since the ability to lead and willingness to follow are
maintains that “these philosophies often find expression in the way the
compressed them, and categorized them into three major kinds namely:
no need to keep people under control, dictate for them, or direct them
will not know their limits, and anarchy soon sets in.
leader does the thinking and takes all decisions while the subordinate
are duty bound to concede and implement his politics without any
creativity and expertise, and it will fail to motivate and make workers
perspective.
strategic objective. Poister and Streib (1999:41) stated that “an effective
the links between the organization, external stakeholders, and managing for
plans and use the plans as a basis for effective public service management.
Policy management
E) in the public sector. Policy analysis skills have been identified as a key
Africa. In Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Zambia, this
minister and cabinet through the creation of policy units. In Ghana and
implementation.
“public enterprises are essentially the public organization that have emerged
further stated that they include the parastatals, state- owed companies and
then are subject to different types of government control and are also
emphasizes the type of public enterprise that are commercially oriented and
results from the desire to infuse more flexibility and efficiency in the
that while the civil service exists by the some law (authority) will
objective”. Also SoSna (1983:27) opined that “there are many reasons why
different periods and each epoch naturally brought forth the types of public
public enterprise into existence whatever the controversy and the lack of
which are owned by the state or in which the state holds a majority interest,
produce goods and have their own distinct management. Obadan and
function is the production and sales of goods and /or services and in which
stake that is sufficient to ensure their control over the enterprises regardless
of how actively that control is exercised. Also Cheng (2006:145) stated the
term “public enterprise” is used for any enterprise that is solely owned by
public section hold more then 50 percent of the capital/ shares. Also Cheng
(2006:168) in his own view stated that “legally public enterprise is treated as
financial auditing and even-day to day matters all under the strict regulation
which are owned and controlled by central government (in a Unitary state)
only control the majority of the shares, leaving other share holders to
separate from that of the government that establishes it. It can own
that “public enterprises are certain essential services and public wants
which. It left in the private hands, these service will be beyond the
the size of local market unreliable sources of supply and the absence
(2000;6)
stability.
stated that the government has determined to use its state owned
appears weak
The share size and diversity of public enterprises have made its
as follows
STATUTORY –CORPORATIONS
Nigeria Airways
Afribank Plc
Housing Corporation
Scholarship Board
board the general manager (managing director) and the secretary of the
powers and duties of the director are usually stated in the document
on the while the board of directors is usually the policy making body nit an
executive one
enterprises the policy board and the executive board. The policy board is
composed mostly of persons from outside the organization with the Chief
executive as the only internal board member. The policy board is more
widespread then the executive board. It is important to state that the size and
composition of the boards vary from one country to another as will as from
54
enterprise, board depends on its scope and strategic importance within the
economy.
comes into direct touch with all the corporation’s staff and he can take a
wide range of decisions on his own initiative, in order to ensure that the
many public enterprises the secretary is a lawyer, who gives legal advice to
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
GENERAL MANAGER
Marketing/Commercial
Department
General Personnel Accounts & Production
Administrati Department Finance Packaging Ware- General, Sales
on Public Recruitment Revenue Housing Units Promotion of Sales
Relations staff Collection and Advertisement
Security Disposition Accounting
Transport Development Disbursement
(units) Reconciliation
(units)
in the management of their affairs, they are still subject to some control. The
Ministerial Control
public enterprises take various forms: firstly although the public enterprises
enjoy a lot of autonomy and freedom in their daily cooperation they are
enterprises must inform the ministry and obtain its permission before it
makes any major change and embarks on any new important lines of
operation especially where such major changes affect the public interest.
Finally each ministry at the end of the year prepares an annual report
minister after studying the report ask questions where necessary before
Parliamentary Control
accountable to parliament through the ministers who are the political heeds
the minister
its annual account for a given financial year to the parliament. Such
and
corporation.
Judicial Control
Many public enterprises in Nigeria have, at one time or the other, been
conflict with their economic objective for instance, some public enterprises
are expected to supply goods below costs in an effort to subsidize the public,
or hire workers to meet national employment objective even when they are
of accountability”.
v. Corruption
enterprises.
much to purchase and maintain. In addition, the roads are in a bad state.
(1983:45)
markets.
sector.
vii. To create a favorable investment climate for both local and foreign
investors.
61
that would ensure that the gains of the reform program are
sustained in the future. For this purposes and the widely use of
Privatization
holds some shares (sometimes majority shares) in the public enterprises. The
public enterprises that are partially privatized are usually the ones the
viewed the Latin American Countries such as chile and Argentina had
energy, airline, mining and oil and petroleum industries to private ownership
or management during the 1970s and 1980s. Also Kuye (1990:7) on asserted
which adopted mixed economy the government of these countries have now
accepted the obvious truth that if all, or at least most of the public enterprises
were turned over to the private sector they would be better managed and
their economies would fair much better in terms of the set and their
economies would fair much better in terms of the set out goals.
i. economic arguments
with its regulation in fact does nothing for competition”. Therefore “the
rather than sell assets unless deregulation occurs at the same times as
Hanke (1986:13) stated that “the private firms are believed to be more
efficient than public ones”. This has been attributed to the limited
privatization.
64
that public enterprises in Nigeria have failed to perform the initial role for
However, for the case of this study, we shall examine these problems
to the extent that the very fundamental reasons for their establishment
have been scarified. In other words, the twins objective of social service
2. Incompetent management/Board
Board of Directors constitute the decision making body, and as such assume
that the bane of public enterprises in Nigeria draws largely from the
3. Unstable management/Board
members emerge with new administration and thus makes for epileptic
enterprises in Nigeria.
67
4. General Incompetence
however results from the nature of recruitment and selection being made in
proposed by Weber.
5. Government Interference
that public enterprises operates under the supervision and control of the
6. Corruption
eaten deep into the fabrics of our nations. Most contemporary writers see it
especially in Nigeria.
that its affects has been grave. Most of these enterprises have been derailed
management.
7. Monopoly
arises from the fact that they do not have competitors. However, they are
often not in a hurry to either innovative or often better services since there is
69
no alternative. This is typical of NEPA now PHCN and NITEL before the
which this study have done by stating strategies for improving public sector
effectiveness.
communication technologies.
These are the strategies recommended for this study for improving
2.2 Hypotheses
Drawing form the statement of the problem and objectives of the
formulated:
getting things done through people with the view of achieving a desired
result.
incapable of undertaking.
responses.
off their best this could be by promotion increase in the salary, and
providing social services will little or no cost and making profit at the
same time.
2.4 Methodology
not just the mere writing of sound theoretical insight but also the practical
gather the appropriate data to be used for the purposes of inference and
I. Type of Study
From the nature and procedure of this study, it will be named “Survey
design should also take into account of the different methods of generating
data gathering.
1. Primary Source
The primary source of data for this work will be by oral interview.
the information and the person receiving the information. This helps to
2. Secondary Source
Under this, various materials relevant to the study are used, such
including, senior and junior staff; because of the procedure of this study
are as follows: The General Manager; the News Manager and The Finance
Manager.
The study would sample 70 members of both senior and junior staff.
They will be interviewed but the major information will come from the three
managers. The General manager, the News manager and the Finance
manager.
v. Sampling Procedure
unit that are conveniently available. For example, a student doing research
project may select his friends who can respond accurately to his research
generalization.
Because the study relies heavily on secondary data as its major source,
study’s subject. Either because they are deed. Rarely available for lengthy
facts, it increase the confidence in such source and could therefore be used
the same views with those obtain from secondary source, they will be held
as being valid and reliable and also serve as basis for generalization.
theoretical viewpoint or orientation, for this reason, this study will adopt a
efficient than all others. The variation also prompted the question of an
task, they perform and environment they face, the appropriate organizational
market, and the predictability of tasks”. Also Stacey (1993:177) opined that
follows:
secures a good match between its situation and its strategies and structures.
78
essentially about the need to achieve fit between what the organization is
and wants to become (its strategy, culture, goals, technology, the people it
employs and its external environment) and what the organization does (how
causal connections are liner in the sense that they run in one direction. It is a
and that causes a particular kind of successful structure. The theory does not
nature of the organization’s technology; its size, its legal incorporation, the
character of its market, and other factors confront the organization with
79
some opportunities as well as constraints and therefore set the tone of the
and its environment agrees with the equifnality concept propounded by Katz
equifinality concept contends that it is possible for open system to reach the
same final state from differing initial conditions if one pursues this line of
seem to align themselves with the view that the end justified the means.
environment changes. For example, the rapid changes in ICT world, most
improve its efficiency and effectiveness because the internet will enhance
managers because it will gives the managers ability to use their private
initiative.
make a decision, they must take into account all aspect of the current
situation and act on those aspects that are key to the situation at hand. It is
the approach that “it depends”. For example, if one is leading troops to Iraq,
Nigeria including NTA, Awka on the need to apply a leadership style that is
CHAPTER THREE
Before giving a brief history of NTA Awka, I will first give a general
back to that modest beginning on 31st October 1959 when the Western
Nigeria, Barely a year after. In 1960, the Eastern Nigeria Television (ENTV)
came alive. This was followed in 1962, by Radio Television Kaduna (RTK).
Still in 1962, the development was given an added boost by the federal
Decree 24 of 1977 was promulgated in March 1977 having effect from April
1976. By that Decree the Nigerian Television Authority became the only
existing state television stations were thereby taken over and incorporated in
NTA. The authority was organized on the six zones structure such that each
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zone consist of 3 stations except for one which is made of four stations. The
possible for anyone in Nigeria to receive any of the six zonal programmes by
choice. In 1977, when the NTA was inaugurated, there were 7 stations with
3 in their final stages of commissioning whilst the other states had none at
Programming
and BEN Television in the United Kingdom. The state was made available
through sky in the UK on channel 202, but in early March 2010, they
refused to make their channel pay-per-view on sky, the next day the channel
was removed from the sky EPG. It is also on the IPTV platform suncas TV,
and via free-to-air statellite on Galaxy 19, intelsat 905 and intelsat 907.
83
NTA Education
NTA Sports
Organization
The Decree establishing the NTA provides for one National Board
and Six Zonal Boards. The National Board has overall responsibility for
policy and standards and remains the corporate legal entity with the
central board and the chief executive to the zonal board is t he zonal
the zonal auditor ensures that proper books are kept in the various
production centers.
conform with the national policies and standards of NTA, the production
centre which is the third tier within NTA does the actual making of
functions were taken over by Chief Olu Adebanjo, special Adviser to the
carry out the functions of the board. The members of the committee are the
The NTA has over the years, distinguished itself as a force in the field
the following:
2. 1st prize for drama at the US prized pieces festival, with “this fall
part”.
other laurels.
The authority is equipped with new state of the art digital facilities, which
started with Eight Staff, the General Manager then was Mr. Azuka
Amangbo, he headed the organization for six months before handed over to
objective is
a) To educate people
c) To inform people
Organizational structure
(GM) under him are managers that head each units as assistants. The
are,
1. Administration Department
2. Finance/accounts Department
3. Engineering Department
4. Marketing Department
5. News Department
6. Programme Department
Administration Department
ii. Personnel Unit: This unit is headed by the personnel manager, the
The unit also ensures that supervisors fully understand and effectively
disciplined when and where necessary; that job specification and role
benchmarks.
iii. Security Section: The security section is charged with the responsibility
manager. However, experience has shown that this section does not
iv. Transport Section: This section is concerned with transporting all the
also responsible for the transportation of workers to and from their work
place. This section is headed by a transport officer who also reports to the
administrative manager. Its main personnel are drivers and their mates. In
Finance/accounts Department
Engineering/works Department
marketing strategy and planning for the products. This department also
News Department
packaging and reading the news for people to listening i.e. (News Casting).
Programme Department
new for news casters. The department also arrange other activities of the
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
This chapter will deal specifically with the information from data
The data analysis will be done under the three following sub-headings
Awka.
93
most managers of our public enterprises are not professional managers, they
lack the basic skills of management and knowledge of what they are
managing. In this study, it was observed that there are many reasons for this
factors was so much that one of the Heads of States boasted that Nigeria’s
problem was not how to make money but how to spend it and consequently
Art and Culture. But the truth is that the considerable growth in economic
output and in the resources available for development over the period since
1960 through 1970s was due largely to fortuitous factor Crude petroleum
and its fortunes in the world market. Actual economic development has been
The question that agitates ones mind therefore is why is the country in
problem. There is the thinking that our inability to properly manage our
(1981:126) opined that businesses that were set up by Nigerians both private
and public but which phase out at various stages of existence because of
the country would have created considerable impact on the fortunes of the
nation. Many writers have averred that the management problems we have
theories. Also Akpala (1990:123) cautioned that the problem many not be
practical explanation for the variation, He opined that it came from the
95
propounded the theories and the practicing managers who applied them.
approach for the Nigerian environment and we intend to explore this angle
factors have been pinpointed as being responsible for the poor performance
i. Illiteracy:
This has been pinpointed as one of the reasons why most organizations
in Nigeria including NTA, Awka fail to perform. Most managers did not
Many rise from the ranks, from cleaners to clerks etc to managers as a result
Nigeria’s value system tend to control the actions of the managers such
that the managers respect the value system instead of adopting the proper
management practices. An instance is the value system that sees the elderly
when his ideas are wrong, the manager who must respect the value system
carries out the elders instruction. These practices then rundown the
practices.
up till the present time, if a customer does not know one of the workers who
may help to quicken the services rendered, then such customer must be
ready to spend hours waiting for their turn. The proper management
Extended Family
This is a situation where workers are loyal to the family rather than to
the organization as far as their works in the firm are concerned. As a result,
for instance, Thursday and Fridays have now become the traditional burial
days with the result that sometimes only very few workers are seen loitering
97
worker may commit offence which will make the organization suffer.
wrong doing and be sincerely sorry and responsible for them. Rather the
when this is the case, then different management principles peculiar to the
that they are wrong rather parables and innuendoes are used to hide the truth.
He further referred to the open appraisal system and maintained that it is not
v. Attitude to Time
after fixing a time for an event, cognizance is or hours are given before the
offices, the offices are still locked by 10.00am sometimes, the manager who
also come late are locked out with the result that sometimes before offices
are formally opened for work, it is already 11.30am and yet the offices must
close by 3.30pm.
This is a situation where some workers group together to run down the
progress being made by the person at the helm of affairs once the person is
not “Our man” such people never attend meetings to contribute meaningful
absence are never abide by this practice tends to pull the organization
backwards.
vii. Embezzlement
enrich themselves. Huge sum of money embarked for different projects are
shared without executing any project. Besides people tend to believe that
such opportunity may never present itself again, therefore one should make
The progress that should ordinarily be made in offices are not made
somebody’s file is hidden until the person greases the palms of the officer in
charge. When the bribe is not given, the important files gets missing and the
purpose for which it would have served is not accomplished. The few that
Some workers are not useful in organization because they are not
productive. But because they are related to the managers, they are retained.
hospitals. Some take casual leaves more than they should in a year etc. They
always look for excuses not to come to work yet at the end of the month they
Also according to Ejiofor (1986:130) stated that there are factors that
conviction which serves to deter him from taking advantage of his position
subordinate. The average Nigerian still lacks integrity and that is why
can also defraud his organization. The manager does not lack integrity but
can be termed corrupt. A corrupt manager therefore lacks integrity and that
2. Attitude to Work:
infrastructural factors.
101
Under the historical factors, Ejiofor feels that the traditional reward
system which was usually with the white collar jobs, people are paid fixed
wages no matter what input they have made. In addition, the traditional
system allowed the workers opportunity to identify with the work, take
decision concerning its implementation. This is not the case with the civil
service rather, impersonality and anonymity are encouraged. Still under the
historical factors, Ejiofor writes that the traditional setting encouraged work
by age grade but that is not the case presently. The present requirements are
the work they are doing, they become so non-challant that anything goes.
Nigerian people live with and which have resulted to negative attitude to
work. Areas cited by Ejiofor are extended family system where the worker
thinks he is working for the extended family rather than for his nuclear
family, and resorts to doing other works once the pay is not enough to meet
water, good communication network etc. When these are available, they
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engender positive attitude to work. But when they are lacking, workers
sees his efforts to achieve organization goal ad closely related to the reward
that is apportioned to him. On the other hand, when a person does not see his
4. Lack of Discipline:
emphasize the fact that people are allowed to go unpunished for crimes they
redeployed. His successor having seen the way his predecessor was treated,
is ready to commit his own embezzlement hoping that he will not be treated
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Maslow in his hierarchy of needs writes that the needs of man are
ego needs and self-actualization. The first three needs he termed lower-order
needs. Most Nigerians are still battling with fulfilling the lower – order
needs especially the physiological need of food, shelter and clothing. They
are not sure of three meals a day which should be the minimum. As a result
of the above, any manager who sees a way to embezzle indulges, so that he
will not go back to the shackles of his former positions when he vacates
office. When the salary is not enough and the manager has lots of family
managers of our public enterprises including NTA, Awka lack basic skills
behaviour as managers.
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The above statement have answered the research question two, which
cost. Paul and Simon (cited in Obadan (2000:8) argued that in country after
also stated that a number of factors account for the poor performance of
follows;
v. Corruption
money are often siphoned into private accounts, leading to huge losses
by the enterprises.
in the field for hours. This could be due to bad tape mal-function of
challenges that station has been facing since inception is running daily
goes into the purchase of the diesel for running the generator. This is a
barely received in these places. The 60KVA ups which would have
stated that nepotism, unqualified personnel’s are being hired into the system.
in the public service since independence has bee largely in the direction of
servants. Also the subordinates are very much removed from the decision-
making arena. They are denied the opportunity of exercising the function of
of money are often siphoned into private accounts, leading to huge loses by
the enterprises. Any public officer or manager are expected to give account
servants in Nigeria have often been found wanting in the discharge of their
duties. I think reason for this dirty act could be value system of the people
enrichment when sources of wealth are not queried but praised. We live now
in the society where the end justifies the means, it is not a surprise the way
obtaining a job which one is not qualified. Also Arnold (1977:147) opined
make a goon leader are essentially the same everywhere with inevitable
that leaders’ need to be moralist not just poseurs who pretentiously exhaust
people to be good. This requires a clear idea of right and wring and the
administration lies in his or her capacity to effectively deal with the moral
perspective and set the moral social and motivational climate among
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and society in general in good faith. This require high sense of moral
proper harnessing of the limited resources. Public servants are thus expected
to give accounts of public servants in Nigeria have often bee found wanting
in the discharge of their duties. Edache (2003:5) opined that there are many
interference.
including NTA, Awka. Basically training helps as employee to learn the job
quickly and effectively and thereby helps to minimize the money incurred
during the training period. The standard and quality of work required by the
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trained for he job then id arrangement are haphazard and left to chance.
contrast to education, which is liberal and concerned with the whole man.
not gotten an adequate training before being given responsibility lack the
a confidant worker. He can think and originate ideas on how best to carry
There is no doubt that the ability of any organized enterprises and indeed
any group to achieve its goals depends to a large extent on the motivation of
motivates people. It was also suggested that all those who are responsible for
the entire system factors that will induce people to contribute as effectively
possible aspect of the organization climate those things which will cause
people to act in desired ways. So motivation is very important for any public
these problems. Also form the response of the management of NTA, Awka,
inefficiency. Most Nigerians have been living witnesses to the very poor
enterprises have not only failed to justify the huge government investment
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and subventions to them but have constituted a huge financial burdens of the
because the enterprises were so poorly administered and managed that they
had little or nothing to offer to the public for which they were meant to serve
economic structures inherited from the Colonial government and the absence
public enterprises have not only been unable to justify the high hoped and
their supposed crucial role. According to Ozor (2004:170) stated that public
unprofitable and therefore have failed to perform most of the roles they were
instead of performing the various functions for which they were instituted.
Ozor further stated that the image of public enterprises is so bad that it has
this may not be totally justified but it reflected apparent dissatisfaction with
public establishment.
Olabode (1988:2) stated that publicly run enterprises are notorious for
their ability to forget the reasons for their creation, thereby becoming ends in
collected from the taxpayers, for whom these services are created are spent
on paying employees who do not have any idea of what they have been
Nigeria Airways and the National Electric Power Authority are just two
and managed that they had little or nothing to offer to the public for which
they were meant to serve and, therefore, could not justify their continued
enterprises are still being managed on the principle of trial and error, or by
Institutional
candidates of high merit. The reasons for this ugly situation can be traced
information officers. Highly placed functionaries at the top of the system are
It is not being suggested that the illustration cited above represent the
state of affairs generally in the public organizations like NTA, Awka. On the
contrary, there are institutions within the public service which rigorously
uphold and enforce the principle of merit and whose integrity cannot be
faulted. Yet this fact should not blind us to the existence of frequent lapses
started to germinate. One fact which is seldom realize today is that mere
paper qualification is not a true test of the merit which the qualification
find two young graduates holding the same degree qualification, but while
one can write down his thoughts and ideas in logical sequence and correct
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grammar, the other can hardly write one sentence correctly without
Yet, they both hold the same degree qualification. This is why it is
him by training and experience. When you put a man on a job for which he
becomes most exasperating and self-defecting when you keep shifting such a
man from job to job, each one hardly related to the previous one. The
situation described above is all too common in the Nigerian civil service.
constantly on the move and never able to find his fact, let alone master the
Inadequate Training
organizations.
Deterioration of Health
from public office, they hold on and drag themselves to work, painfully
labouring with their official assignment by day, and collapsing on their back
fear of the possible outcome of the illness. The General orders contain
adequate provision for dealing with official whose efficiency had run low as
board and if the board finds that such officials can no longer operate with a
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provision in the general orders is hardly ever utilized, the fault is that of
action is reluctant to do so because of the fear that he has taken the bread
one of the month of a fellow Nigerian. Even where the departmental boss
summons up courage to refer the case to the medical board, the officer
concerned will set in motion such numerous channels of pressure and lobby
that the medical board is most likely to decide in his favour. Whether it is
the department boss or the medical board that develops cold feet, the result
is still the same; the official continues in office and with detrimental effect to
Incompetent Superior
have to direct and supervise the work of junior officials, such officials may
have shown some promise in their earlier years but somehow they have risen
have to direct and supervise the work of junior officials, they infect the
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juniors with their incompetence. In this particular instance the senior official
under consideration. And he had kept doing was picking faults at the various
efforts made by the junior to solve the problem. A senior official who is
worth his salt will after going through the submission from his junior, put up
his own submissions, referring to and making use of the contribution from
his junior where appropriate and giving his own views and recommendations
who will take whatever action he deems best. When the file returns to the
senior official, a good practice is for him to send it to his junior official so
that the junior can see the improvement made by the senior on the junior
official’s submission. This is where the junior learns by comparing his work
with the much superior prudent of the senior. A junior official head for the
from his superior, when there are quite a number of junior officials in this
quickly, then the seed of inefficiency have been undoubtedly sown into the
system.
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One great malady which afflicts most of the work in the public
government, believes that his main role is to attend to any work coming into
the tray on his table. As he comes in every morning and sits at his desk, he
glances at the in-tray and commences, one after the other, to attend to the
letters and other papers placed in files in the tray. These papers deal with
more or less routines matters – requests for information, applications for the
approval of one thing or the other, preparatory work for some routine
exercise.
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age by some public managers. It is remarkable how out of every ten public
who declared their true age on joining the public service. This perhaps, is
himself against want and penury in his advancing years. If he declares his
true age, he finds that some of his children are still at school by the time he
reached the age of retirement. There may also be the children of an uncle or
some other elation falling to him to train. Added to these are other
reduce their age by as much as five to ten years, whatever efforts such
official might make to deceive the world. The truth is that no one can chest
nature. But then such officials are often placed on assignments befitting their
declared age. The result is that having to cope with the physical strain and
demand of a job meant for someone ten tears younger. They crack under the
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impaired.
Attitude
False Reporting
Nigeria used the system of confidential reporting. Some senior officials and
their subordinates, giving to such subordinates merits and virtues that they
did not posses. The possible reasons for this situation is.
adverse reporting on the subordinate, lest he should turn round and appeal
against the report and bring to light the reporting officer’s own
misdemeanor.
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CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Summary
government of this country for the past two decades. This is why many
and bureaux have been set up to resolve the problem of poor performance of
than ever before brought this agenda to the fore. There have been serious
Nigerian cannot but attract serious research attention and study activity of
5.2 Conclusion
NTA, Awka has been regrettable inspite of huge sum of money invested on
5.3 Recommendation
On the strength of the observations and findings made in this study the
staff with necessary skills and techniques needed for the particular job
ii. Since it is agreed that motivation induces employee to give their best,
the organization.
between the loose and profit accruing to the masses and the government
NTA, Awka is one, each side will break down supposedly, the masses
effort in which payment will be made for such social goods and
services.
a deadly cancer that has eaten deep into the fabric of our economy and
example, such unethical issues as late coming, laissez fair attitude and
shorter and more reliable response times through the production and sales
2. Capacity Building
The globalization of the world economy and the demand from client citizens
call for a new form of civil service and new procedures whereby the quality
of service offered by public administration are essentially put under the same
inputs into the realization of the public sector reform agenda in Africa.
3. Decentralization
and participation of all stakeholders at the local level. In order to strength the
country wide.
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treated and analyzed for policy formulation and decision-making at all levels
of management. To this effect and given that Africa is lagging behind other
local authorities.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Adamolekun, L (1983) Public Administration A Nigeria and Comparative
Perspective. New York: Longman Inc.
Blake, R.R and Muton, T.S (1984) The New Management. Houston: Guff
Publishing.
Druker, F.P. (1978). The Practice of Management. New York: Pan Books.
Heinz, W., Mark, V.C. and Harold, K. (2008) Management of Global and
Entrepreneurial Perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company Ltd.
Stoner, J.A.F. Freeman, R.E., and Gilbert, J.D. (2003) Management; New
Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India.
JOURNALS
Adeyomo. D.O (2005) Public Enterprises Reform in Nigeria: A Review”.
Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 10 (3) pg 223-231.
Stockdaled, J.B (1983) A return in the Classic can Help Provide the Need
Perspective and Wisdom. Dialogue Quarterly Journal Vol. 4 No. 62
140
UNPUBLISHED
Hanke S. (1986) Strategic Employed in Successful Privatization Efforts
paper presented at the international conference on privatization
sponsored by the un agency for international development
Washington D.C. 17-19 February.
NEWS PAPERS
Ogundipe, V. (1986) “The Inevitability of Privatization” the Guardian:
January 7. Lagos, p.7.
INTERNET MATERIALS
Economic Commission for Africa (2004) Public Sector Management
Reforms in Africa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. http://www.uneca.org.