MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN
NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF NTA, AWKA
BY
EZEUDU, TOCHUKWU SIMON
PG/M.Sc/09/51120
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
OCTOBER, 2011
MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN
NIGERIA: A CASE STUDYOF NTA, AWKA
BY
EZEUDU, TOCHUKWU S.
PG/M.Sc/09/51120
BEING A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc) OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
OCTOBER, 2011
i
TITLE PAGE
MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN
NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF NTA, AWKA
ii
CERTIFICATION
I, Ezeudu, Tochukwu Simon, a post graduate student of Department
of Public Administration and Local government, whose Registration number
is PG/M.Sc/09/51120 has satisfactorily completed the requirement for the
award of Master of Science (M.Sc) in Public Administration and Local
Government of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
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
degree of this or any other University.
____________________
PROF. C. OFUEBE
Project Supervisor
____________________
PROF. FAB. O. ONAH
Head of Department
____________________
PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Dean of Faculty
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APPROVAL PAGE
This Thesis has been approved for the award of Master of Science degree in
Public Administration and Local government, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
____________________
PROF. C. OFUEBE
Project Supervisor
____________________
EXTERNAL EXAMINER
____________________
PROF. FAB. O. ONAH
Head of Department
____________________
PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Dean of Faculty
iv
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to God Almighty for his guidance and love
throughout my stay in this institution and to members of my family.
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to first register my sincere gratitude to God Almighty who granted
me the special grace throughout the period of my study at University of
Nigeria, Nsukka. My heartfelt appreciation goes to my supervisor, Prof. C.
Ofuebe, who inspite of his tight schedule still devouted time to supervise this
work. His priceless effort, endurance, painstaking and meticulous contribution
immensely led to the success of this research work.
My profound gratitude goes to my brothers, Ugochukwu, Emeka,
Chijioke, Ejike, Anayo, Ikechukwu, Chidi and Obiora, and to my lecturers and
other staff of the Department of Public Administration and Local government,
their contribution cannot be over-emphasized.
I must express gratitude to my good friends, Dibua Tochukwu, Nweke
Chikwendu, Ugwu Julius, Mr. Tochukwu Oguegbe, Ozuru Kenneth, Innocent
Nwangwu,
Yuni
Dennis
Nfor,
Onyema
Bourgeoisie,
Ndive
John,
Chukwuemeka Okafor, Ezeh Henry, Iwuchukwu Akunne, Eze Egodi,
Umeokafor Chidinma, Audu Amodu, and others who helped me in various
ways to boost my ego in this University.
Finally, I wish to thank staff members of NTA, Awka for their
contribution and information.
EZEUDU, TOCHUKWU S.
PG/M.Sc/09/51120
vi
ABSTRACT
Management in all ramifications has been noted as a critical and
indispensable element in all organizations. Nevertheless, public enterprises
are in dilemma of some management constraints, which tend to hinder their
goals and objectives. Against, the background of the above explication, this
research work empirically explored into the management of public
enterprises in Nigeria with a particular reference to Nigeria Television
Authority, Awka. The purpose of which is to investigate the management
problems of NTA, Awka and as well proffer solution to such problems.
However, in order to investigate this, relevant data were collected through
both primary and secondary sources such as direct interviews and well
structured questionnaire distributed to some staff in various departments of
the organization. Also other information was gathered from books, journals,
newspapers, unpublished materials and internet to complement the primary
data. From the analysis of the data, the findings shows that there are factors
that constitutes management problems of the company. Among the critical
factors are managerial inefficiency and government interference,
bureaucratic corruption, poor staff relationship, lack of motivation,
conflicting objectives, lack of training and development, excessive control
nepotism. These were identified as impediments of operational efficiency of
NTA, Awka. As a result of these problems the following recommendations
were made. Management should accelerate the growth of the company
through increase in skill and knowledge acquisition. Also training and
motivation is important. Government should curtail its excessive
interference and control on the affairs of this organization. It was also
recommended that adequate measure should be in place to check the menace
of corruption in the company. Furthermore, improvement should be
encouraged in staff relationship. Achievement of efficiency and
effectiveness depends to the extent management deviates from the above
mentioned problems; otherwise, achievement of goals and the task of
promoting economic growth and development will ever remain a dream.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page
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Certification page -
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Approval Page
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Dedication -
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Acknowledgement -
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Abstract
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Table of Contents -
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CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
1.1
Background to the Study -
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1.2
Statement of the Problem -
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1.3
Objective of the Study
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1.4
Significances of the Study
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1.5
Scope and Limitations of the Study
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CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review and Methodology
2.1
Literature Review -
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2.1.1 The Concept of Management
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2.1.2 The Public Enterprises
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2.1.3 Reasons for the failure of Public Enterprises -
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2.1.4 Factors Affecting Management of Public
Enterprises in Nigeria
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2.1.5 Gap in the Existing Literature -
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2.2 Hypotheses
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2.3 Operationalization of the Key Concepts -
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2.4 Methodology -
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2.5 Theoretical Framework
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3.1 Background information on NTA Awka -
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CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR: data presentation, Analysis and finding
4.1 Lack of good Knowledge of Management and Operational
Efficiency of NTA, Awka -
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4.2 Government Interference, Conflicting Objectives,
bureaucratic Corruption, Lack of Motivation and
Lack of Training and Development are the Management
Problems of NTA, Awka
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4.3 Management Inefficiency and Poor Performance are the
effects of Management Problems on the Operational
Efficiency of NTA, Awka. -
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CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 Summary
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5.2 Conclusions
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5.3 Recommendations
Bibliography
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
In most Countries of the world, particularly the developing ones, the
decades following World War II (particularly, the 1960s and early 1970s)
witnessed a massive intervention of the government in national economics.
One of the ways through which the government intervened in the economies
of these countries was by establishing public enterprise state-owned
companies. According to Ezeani (2006:211) stated “that public enterprise
was seen as veritable tools for achieving national socio-economic
development”. Thus, since the 1950s, successive governments have used
public intervention in the development process. This was eloquently stated
in the Nigeria Second National Development plan (1970-74) thus:
their primary purpose is to stimulate and accelerate National economic
development under conditions of capital scarcity and structural defects
in private business organizations. There are also basic considerations
arising from the dangers of leaving vital sector of the national economy
to the whims of the private sector often under the direct and remote
controls of foreign large scale industrial combines
Also according to Nwoye (2001:1) opined “that there are many
reasons for establishment of public enterprises, which one of them is
development emphasis, he further stated that in many developing countries,
the resources available to the private sector are not adequate for the
2
provision of certain goods and services for example, the investment required
in the construction of a hydroelectricity-generating plant or a water scheme
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
other British-ex-colonial territories, Nigeria realized soon after political
independence that she still had to battle for her economic independence. Her
weak economic base limited infrastructural facilities, paucity of social
service-providing inadequate local financial entrepreneurship etc.
Furthermore, Adeyemo (2005:224) stated that “other factors that
accelerated the growth of Nigeria’s public sector was the indigenization
policy of 1972 as enacted by the economy, the policy further provided much
needed legal basis for extensive government participation in the ownership
and control of significant sectors of the economy”. Ugorji (1995:541) also
observed that “public enterprises have also been established for political
reasons; many government undertakings are used to provide jobs for
constituents, political allies, and friends, Public Enterprises and the
distribution of government employment were further been defended in the
need to maintain “federal character” and promote national integration.
Consequently, the Public Enterprises especially in developing
countries became active in likely sectors such as manufacturing,
3
construction, finance, services, utilities, transportation, agriculture, natural
resources, etc.
According to Ezeani (2006:21) stated that “the colonial government
established some public enterprises to provide essential services like
electricity, railway, telecommunication and pipe borne water to mention but
a few.”
Also according to Obadan and Ayodele (1998:1) they opined that “it
is in order to put socio-economic development underway and also guard
government finances under conditions of capital scarcity and structural
detects in private business organizations, Nigeria and most other African
countries, regardless of Ideological dispositions, unavoidably made fairly
extensive use of public enterprises for resource mobilization and allocation,
particularly within the utilities and social services sectors as (NTA, Awka)
in the 1950s through the 1960s. In both technical and economic perspectives
Public Enterprises are seen as:
Organizations whose primary function is the production and sale of
goods and/or services and in which government on other government
controlled agencies have an ownership stake that is sufficient to ensure
their control over the enterprises regardless of how active that control is
exercised.
The Public Enterprises approach to resource mobilization and
allocation for national socio-economic development is in consonance with
4
the Keynesian approach to economic approach reflected the problem of
market failures and the growing demand for citizenship rights such as a
decent living standard, adequate education and health care, and minimal
social equality, he further stated that whereas in developing countries, this
approach became the pivotal policy option to ensure national development,
wealth redistribution, employment generation, and economic self-reliance.
In most developing countries like Nigeria, where ideology has not
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
of political, social and economic considerations, but not ideological.
Thinking in the direction, S.A. Sosna in Ozor (2004:110) asserted that:
The emergence of a fairly extensive public sector is a major regularity in
the development of the young states. Although, the scope and pace of
the change differ form country to country, the public sector and related
problems are central to their economic polices. To a certain extent this is
independent of what social forces that hold the reins of government; the
reason being objective factors, which are not rooted in political and
ideological motive alone but are associated with the processes occurring
in the multi-structural economic patterns of these countries and with
their economic and social situations.
Implicit in the above citations of eminent scholars in the subject
matter, is the fact that public enterprises are established for various reasons
which include not only ideological but also objective factors such as, the
provision of essentials services. Ozor (2004:111) also maintained that public
5
enterprises are established to provide certain essential services and public
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
necessities of these services; they are considered basic necessities or merit
goods.
Government must, therefore, step into provide such services and
subsidies their consumption; otherwise the discretionary pricing policies of
private monopolies will render their consumption too exorbitant for the
average consumer/citizen. This is why government establishes social
services like NTA, Awka in order to achieve its education and information
objective. This explains the existence of state governments.
Some public enterprises are established for the purpose of mineral
exploration and exploitation. The rationale is that the benefits of such
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
Corporation, Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC) etc. Indeed a
prime reason for enterprises to undertake such major functions as
transportation, communication and manufacturing.
6
Public enterprises may also arise as a result of governments desire to
create an integrated national economy and to stimulate balanced regional
development throughout the country. The establishment in Nigeria, of steel,
rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos, Katsina, and Ajaokuta are clear examples.
Also, at times, public enterprises are set up by government in response to the
complaints of its citizens regarding poor services, extortionate prices,
uneven performance, and discrimination in private service delivery by
private concerns. For example, the establishment of state transports
companies by various state governments as well as the incorporation of the
national freight and cargo handling company about the high fare charged by
private transporters. In order, therefore to effect a fair distribution of service
and national resource and thereby achieve economic integration, various
governments in the federation had to address and redress some of these
complaints.
Another reason for the blossoming of public enterprises is strategic. In
most countries, national security has constrained the government to assume
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
stake if private investors handle and thus become acquainted with
information regarding vital defense equipment and strategic military
locations and installations etc. This is the rationale for the establishment of
the defense industries Corporation (D.I.C) of Nigeria and the Government of
the United States of America’s Intervention in providing some military
establishments in America.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Public enterprises are expected to have their hallmark and watchword
as efficiency and effectiveness. This is predicated on the rational behind
their establishment by both the state and federal government, but
unfortunately the reverse has been the case most contemporary public
enterprises are associated with inefficiency and ineffectiveness, which have
led to liquidation of some enterprises like the Nkalagu Cement Company,
This is reason Adeyemo (2005:223) stated that “inspite of the impetus
given to public enterprises especially in Nigeria criticisms are leveled
against them. He further stated that their problems are so enormous that even
left the Nigerian public in a state of great disillusionment. These criticisms
vary from lack of profitability and reliance on large government subsidies.
Also Ogundipe (1986:7) once argued that between 1975 and 1985,
8
government capital investments in public enterprises totaled about 23 billion
Naira, in addition to equity investments government gave subsidies of 11.5
billion to various state enterprises. All these expenditures contributed in no
small measure to increase government expenditures and deficits.
Similarly, public enterprises suffer from gross mismanagement and
consequently resulted to inefficiency in the use of productive capital,
corruption and nepotism, which in turn weaken the ability of government to
carry out its functions efficiently. NTA, Awka is not excluded from this
problem. Still on the problems associated with public enterprises in Nigeria.
Obadan (2000:8) argue that, “in country after country, unbridled state
expansion has led to the following.
i.
Economic inefficiency in the production of goods and services by
inadequate and costly delays in delivery of the goods produced.
ii.
Ineffectiveness in the provision of goods and services such as failure to
meet intended objectives, diversion of benefits to elite groups etc.
iii. Rapid expansion of the bureaucracy severally straining the public
budget with huge deficits of public enterprises becoming massive drain
on government renounces inefficiency in government etc.
iv. Poor financial performance of Public Enterprises reflecting a history of
huge financial losses, overstaffing, and burden of excessive debts. Also
9
Ezeani (2006:223) opined that “most public enterprises operate at a
loss, and therefore, constitute a massive drain on government resources
through transfers and subsidies”. Obadan (2000:10) further maintains
that:
In Africa, the poor performance of Public Enterprises attracted a great
deal of criticisms, particularly, in the 1980s as the macro-economic policy
environment, arising from the impact of the global economic crisis
became less accommodation to the resulting inefficiency in resource
allocation.
Generally, speaking the performance of these enterprises has been
disappointing perhaps, these form the reason government embarked on
restructuring and strengthening of public enterprises in the country via
privatization and commercialization the purpose of which is to make them
more viable result oriented and formidable. This is the reason Rondinelli and
Lacono (1996:247) viewed that “Latin America countries such as Chile and
Argentina had transferred large-state controlled telecommunication railways,
power and energy, airline, mining and oil and petroleum industries to private
ownership or management during the 1970s and 1980s.” Also Ostrum and
Ostrum (1992:309) argued that in terms of improving state-owned
enterprises performance. Market forces are only half the equation. After all,
market are unforgiving. Even when carefully structured, they produce
inequitable outcomes.
10
Quite a number of public sector enterprises are operated without
respect to financial cost or returns. Not all such investment is expected to
yield immediate financial return as some of the benefits are social rather
than private in character that is, they accrue to particular or denominated
individuals.
Okigbo (1998:16) suggested that the production method must be
efficient and that the price change should at least cover the cost of
operations, therefore commercialization which differ from privatization is
one of the policy thrust of the reform of state-owned enterprises. Also Kuye
(1990:7) once asserted “countries such as United Kingdom, France, Canada,
Turkey, Nigeria etc. 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 economy would fair much better in terms
of the set out goals.
In Africa, the poor performance of Public Enterprises attracted a great
deal of criticism, particularly in the 1980s as the macro economic policy
environment arising from the impacts of the global economic crisis became
less accommodating to the resulting inefficiency in resources allocation.
11
Also Ukwu (1985:80) he stated that “structure and management problems
real enough and should be addressed directly.
According to Ozor (2004:155) opined that “the performance of public
enterprises in Nigeria is nothing to write home about”, he also stated that
public enterprises in Nigeria have failed to perfume the initial role for which
they were established striking at this Augustine Otiji, in Ozor,(2004:156)
maintained that “the bane of the Nigerian Public enterprises has been that of
to underlined roles”, it is confusing to play a welfare role and at the same
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
corruption, this may not be totally justified but it reflects apparent
dissatisfaction with public establishments. Implicit in Otiji’s assertion is the
fact that public enterprises have failed to live up to expectations and have
therefore become unviable.
Specifically looking at NTA Awka which is not excluded from the
above problem, it can perhaps be posited that management problems of the
company are multi-faceted such as operational inefficiency, poor employees
relation, over staffing lack of coordination at staff level, poor motivation,
conflicting objective and functional connection syndrome vis-avis under
utilization of staff.
12
However, against this backdrop, the primary questions that require
investigations and which these studies intend to address are:
i.
What is management and public enterprise?
ii.
What are the management problems of NTA, Awka?
iii.
What are the effects of management problems on the operational
efficiency of NTA, Awka and the measures for overcoming these
problems?
1.3 Objective of the Study
In a nutshell, the objectives of this study are categorized into two: the
general and specific objectives. The general objective of this study is to
explain the management of public enterprise in Nigeria, especially NTA,
Awka.
On the other hand, the specific objectives are stipulated as follows.
1. To explain the meaning of management and public enterprises
2. To find out the management problems of NTA, Awka.
3. To find out the effects of management problems on the operational
efficiency of NTA, Awka and as well suggest possible panacea to these
problems.
13
1.4 Significance of the Study
Theoretically, this research shall be a relevant material and a
contribution to scholarship, constituting a reference material on the studies
of management of public enterprises in Nigeria and related subject matter for
further research. It will also expose the management of public enterprises in
Nigeria including NTA, Awka to the modern styles of management and
leadership, as well as other strategies for improving public sector
performance such as Total quality management, Capacity Building,
Decentralization,
Ethics,
Accountability
and
Information
and
Communication Technologies.
Empirically, at the end of this study, it is hoped that it will create
awareness and assistance on the need to improve the management of public
enterprises in Nigeria especially the management staffs of NTA, Awka.
In addition to this, the study provides baseline data on the numerous
management problems undermining operational efficiency of NTA, Awka to
the management of the enterprise, particularly the policy makers as making
such information available will help to forestall future of the organization.
Apart form contributing to empirical research and increasing the
quality and quantity of information available in the field of management,
most often; poor performances or services of some of these enterprises have
14
attracted criticisms without any devoted attempt to identifying causative
factors of these anomalies. It is on this premise that an in-depth research
becomes imperative to pin-point these variables and at the same time
proffers solution.
This study at the end will enlighten the management of the company
on the implication of employing mediocre instead of competent and skilled
labour in the name of functional connection and ethnic consideration.
Finally, this study exposes us to the effects of management problems
of NTA, Awka on the operational efficiency and thus, it serves as
correctional measure to the company and to other related enterprises that
have similar problems, which erode and impair the productivity or rather
performance of the company.
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study
This study is intended to examine the management of public
enterprise in Nigeria with a particular emphasis on NTA, Awka.
During the course of this study, the researcher was confronted with
numerous constraints that pose difficulties to proper understanding of the
subject matter.
15
The first constraint relates to the dearth of adequate literature on
management of public enterprises in Nigeria. It was rather difficult and in
most cases impossible to get hold of certain documents and records that
would have been vital to this study, most especially as it concerns
endogenous problems that tend to displace the objective of the company
from time to time.
Also bureaucratic red-tapes and the hostility of the top level
management could not help issues. There was misconception about this
study to the extent the researcher was seen and treated as intruder. The
human resources head refused answering most questions directed to him by
the researcher.
Finally, the location of the company posed a little impediment
because the researcher was obliged to permeate beyond the boundary of his
school to his state in search of materials and information.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
Management of public enterprises and its problems can be seen as
those dysfunctional factors affecting the operation of government
established business. Generally, it has been agreed that these enterprises
have performed below the expectation of people. This situation however has
attracted the attention of some scholars and authors, who have made various
contributions on the subject matters. Therefore, in this section, I shall
examine the major contributions of some scholars with a particular reference
to the concept of management, public enterprises and factors affecting
management of public enterprises in Nigeria.
2.1.1 The Concept of Management
The discourse of the subject matter cannot be complete without
touching on the concept of management. The act of management is not a
new creation. From the recorded events of man in the Garden of Eden
through the successful organization of the extended family relations to the
period where organizations such as the church, army, school and hospital
were established, there has always been traces on management practices
17
exhibited, for example the ancient history of Egypt is replete with
construction of great palaces and pyramids; there are the ancient but great
walls of China; there is the Hanging Garden of Babylon; we know also of
the military prowess and accomplishments of Romans in the battle fields.
All these speaks of management practices in the areas of planning,
organizing, directing and controlling. Perhaps what may be new about
management is the search for a rational and systematic ways of
management. Management according to Amobi and Nnabuife (1999:2) “is
the role of certain group of officers occupying top and privileged positions
in the organization. These people formulate the overall policies of the
organization giving guide and setting limits as it were on how the
organizations resources are to be utilized.”
According to Lawal (1993:2) stated that “the word management was
derived from the Italian “managgiare”, meaning to train horse. It was
originally used to indicate the process of managing, training or directing
sporting and house keeping activities.” Later it was extended to the
operation of government and businesses. Also according to Heinz, Mark and
Harold (2008:4) opined “that management is the process of designing and
maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in
18
groups efficiently accomplish selected aims.” This basic needs according to
them is expanded:
1. As managers, peoples carry out the managerial functions of planning,
organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.
2. Management applies to any kind of organization
3. It applies to managers at all organizational levels
4. The aim of all managers is the same: to create a surplus
5. Managing is concerned with productivity, which implies effectiveness
and efficiency.
Also the word management is used in four ways, namely, as a
resources as a body of knowledge, as a process of organizational section and
as economic at of allocation of very scarce resources.
According to Cole (2004:9) opined that “the system approach to
organizations is based on the three major elements of inputs, conversion, and
output. The process of management is concerned with all three of these
elements, and especially with the conversion processes of organization”.
Also according to Griffin (1997) in Onah (2003) unequivocally
posited that “management is perhaps best understood from a resource-based
perspective, human, financial, physical and information resources. Thus,
management to him is a set of activities involving planning; organizing,
19
coordinating and controlling directed at an organization resources with the
aim of achieving organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner”.
Most acceptable by Ejiofor (1984:21) “management is the art and
science of directing and coordinating activities of people to achieve one’s
personal goals in the context of the goals of one’s organization”. This is in
recognition that individual work in organization not necessarily for the goal
of the organization but for their own goals. This form of deviation stagnates
the success of organization. All types of organization, government, business,
industries, cooperatives whether profit or non-profit making require good
management to ensure viability and perfection via efficient and effective
goal attainment. However, to achieve the organizational goals the manager
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
are carried out according to mission statement of organization.
Also management has paradigmatic perspective. First, it is seen as a
group of persons, referring to those in the helm of affairs in any
organization. Second, it refers to a process of activity of managing, relating
to integrating resources of organization, channeled towards making
organizations prolific. From the various views and contributors of writers
and authors, management can be summarized to be an activity as well as
20
process, which involves the coordination and controlling of group activities
with the purpose of maximizing organizational goals effectively and
efficiently. This no doubt suffices to say that achievement of organizational
goals depends heavily to the extent manager adhere to the fundamental
principles of management, which are: planning, organizing, coordinating,
controlling, directing and supervising.
Also Fayol in Ogunbameru (2004:44) stipulated the fourteen
principles of management as follows:
1.
Division of work: Fayol believed division of labour to be efficient but
subject to certain limits beyond which it would bring diminishing
returns.
2.
Authority: Fayol also believed that official authority should be
legitimized by personal authority and aligned with responsibility.
3.
Discipline: This refers primarily to the honouring of agreements and
rules.
4.
Utility of command: Employees should not be subject to orders from
two different and potentially contradictory sources.
5.
Unity of direction: Fayol consistently uses the biological analogy.
Seeing the organization as an organism which should not have two
heeds.
21
6.
Subordination of individual interest: Fayol saw it as essential that
the interests of one group should not be advanced at the expense of
the others or of the organization as a whole.
7.
Remuneration: Fayol argued that remuneration should be fair and
should be enough to motivate but should not be solving conflict
between capital and labour, and believed instead in the need for
judgment and experience in finding the right rate of pay.
8.
Centralization: Although Fayol appears to see top management in
the role of the brain of the organization, he states clearly that
9.
Scalar chain: All personnel are to be arranged in a clear hierarchical
structure. Fayol was aware of problems of communication across the
hierarchy and therefore advocate the use of lateral “bridges” where
appropriate, although he appears to have preferred this to be agreed
formally.
10. Order: Everyone and everything must have its appointed place,
although, this may be seen as an ideal rather than an injunction to
organize every last detail.
11. Equity: All levels should treat their staff equitably. Here Fayol is
clearly thinking in terms of employee’s perceptions rather than any
hard and fast status.
22
12. Stability of tenure of personnel: This refers to the high cost of
developing managers who know the organization and those in it.
Fayol goes so far as to state that mediocre managers who stay are
better than outstanding managers who leave.
13. Initiative: Allowing initiative is seen as means of motivating staff.
Managers are expected to allow this at the expense of their own
“vanity”.
14. Esprit de Corps: Fayol was an advocates of what might be termed an
integrated culture. Interestingly, for ones often seen as the epitome of
bureaucratic management, Fayol argued against the culture of memowriting (as opposed to verbal communication) which he saw as
necessarily divisive.
These principles are what Fayol believed that if applied in any enterprise
both public or private, that efficiency and effectiveness will be enhanced.
Looking at most public enterprises in Nigeria, including NTA, Awka, it is
obvious that these principles according to Fayol are lacking.
The understanding of management could be seen from other
perspective, according to Bruce and Peter (2003:1) opined “that the nature of
management may be conceptualized from a perspective of system theory as
the process by which an organization generates a global representation of its
23
own processes”. Also according to them management depends upon
modeling an organization, which means that modeling allow management to
perform its distinctive information processing activities such as monitoring,
evaluation, prediction and control. The purpose to which these management
is a product of the interaction between a management system and its
environment. The question I am asking is how can public enterprises in
Nigeria be managed using system approach to management? This question
can not be answered properly without understanding organization as a social
system.
Olum (2004:1) sees management as one of most important human
activities, from the time human beings began forming social organization to
accomplish aims and objectives they could not accomplish as individual; he
stated further that managing has been essential to ensure the coordination of
individual efforts. As society continuously relied on group effort, and as
many organized group have become large, the task of managers has been
increasing in importance and complexity. Henceforth, managerial theory has
become crucial in the way managers manage complex organizations. The
central thesis of Olum’s view is that although some managers in different
parts of the world could have achieved managerial success without having
basic theoretical knowledge in management, it has to be unequivocally
24
emphasized that those managers who have mixed management theory in
their day-to-day practice, have had better chances of managing their
organizations more efficiently and effectively to achieve both individual and
organizational objectives, which is one of the major aims of this research
project as it concerns NTA, Awka as a public enterprises in study.
Therefore, managers of contemporary organizations ought to
appreciate the important role they play in their respective organizations if
they are to achieve set goals. Secondly, there is need to promote excellence
among all persons in organizations, especially among managers themselves.
Also seeing management from performance perspective, Economic
Commission for Africa (Development Policy Management Division,
DPMD) (2004:12) maintained “that performance management is one of the
various New Public Management (NPM)-inspired measures to address some
of the accountability problems in pursuit of the goal of performance
improvement, performance management advocates for the “empowerment”
of managers, i.e. vesting the public manager”.
Also seeing management from Decentralized Perspective, the ECA
(2004:15) still maintained “that Decentralizing management is a strand of
NPM derived from “managerialism” which is part of an effort to
“debureaucratize” and “delayer” the hierarchies within the public service,
25
the key concern is to give managers the freedom to manage their units in
order to achieve the most efficient output. The above explanation is to
understand management from decentralized and public management
perspective, which shows that if government should decentralize function
and authority and also reduce interference in the activities of public
enterprises, especially in Nigeria, that efficiency and effectiveness will
improve. This lack of decentralization and government interference is one of
the causes of failure of public enterprises in Nigeria including NTA, Awka.
Still on public management, World Bank (2003) put it thus:
the final dimension of management decentralization is the adoption of new
forms of corporate governance and the board of directors model, which
aims to reduce the power of elected representative and minimize the
influence of labour union management”
Understanding the concept of management is not complete without
touching on scientific perspective of management. According to Taylor
(1911) in Ogumbamerm (2004:6 2) in his book “the principles of scientific
management” published in 1911 sought to establish a scientific process to
address productivity problems by organization. He criticized the arbitrary
approach of managers to their responsibilities and the workers irresponsible
disposition to work maintaining that such actions accounts for poor
productivity performance by organization. For this reason, Taylor urged the
26
need for managers and workers to be guided by a system of established rules
and standards. He proposed four principles of management in the hope of
making management a science resting on well recognized, clearly defined
and fixed principles instead of depending on more or less lazy ideas. These
principles include:
1. The development of a true science of managing complete with clearly
stated laws, rules and principles to replace old rule-of-thumb method.
2. Scientific selection, training and development of workers (whereas in
the past workers were randomly chosen and often untrained).
3. Enthusiastic cooperation with workers to ensure that all work
performed is done in accordance with scientific principles; and
4. Equal division of tasks and responsibilities between the worker and
management.
Fredrick Taylor by these principles envisioned a “mental revolution”
in which the concerns of both management and workers would be based on a
“mutuality of interest”. He sees management interest and those of workers as
mutual and thus the need for better understanding and cooperation between
them. Management for example press for increased productivity and the
workers for enhanced remuneration. Understanding it is through returns
from productivity that the enterprise survive and groves thereby assuring
27
improvement on workers remuneration which factor also influences their
motivation on the job. In his presentation before a special United States
House Committee Taylor defended his ideas as:
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.
His overall goal was industrial efficiency in terms of high
productivity, lower cost as well as higher pay for workers for increased
productivity. Looking at all these veins of management, the question one
supposed to be asking is, managers in our public enterprises are they really
practicing management or not?
Still on management, Koontz and Weihrich (1990:4) stated that
“management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in
which individuals, working in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.”
Stoner et al (2003:31) also opined that “principles in management are
fundamental truths, explaining relationship between two or more sets of
variables usually an independent variable and a dependent variable, he
further maintained that principles may be descriptive or predictive, and not
28
prescriptive, that is they describe how one variable relates to another, what
will happen when these variables interact.
However, the concept of management is still not complete without
touching on Total Quality perspective. According to ECA (2004:39) opined
that “Total Quality management (TQM) is a management technique that
emphasizes high quality service (performance-oriented civil service) and
customer satisfaction (Customer-Driven Government)”. TQM entails the
constant improvement of product or service quality and reliability, combined
with shorter and more reliable response times through the production and
sales chain or service-provision process. It also involve increasing flexibility
of response to customer requirements and a constant concern about
efficiency through waste elimination, the removal of duplication of efforts,
and curtailing overlaps of roles and responsibilities.
Management commitment is the sine-qua-non for a successful TQM
strategy. TQM will not be successful without linc management ownership,
active involvement and leadership by example. The commitment of
ministers and senior officials has been identified as a major influence on
implementing successful public service reforms. Such commitment must
involve a willingness to indicate a clear preference for a better future and
29
also entail the willingness to take responsibility, and to accept praise and
blame.
What it means is that, the public enterprises in Nigeria lack Total
Quality management since they are characterized by inefficiency and
ineffectiveness this is according to Ezeani (2006:212).
Let look at the human resources or personnel aspect of
management. There is no doubt that the ability of any
organization or society to achieve its goals depends to a large
extent on the caliber, organization and motivation of its human
resources. This point was succinctly captured
Similarly, Harbison (1974:52-77) opined that “human resources and
not any other constitute the ultimate basis for the wealth of nations. And
according to Drucker (1978:273) “good organizational structure does not by
itself guarantee good performance. Human resources is as a fact of life of the
existence, survival and development of an organization as food is to man”.
These and such other statements by human resources management
experts and practitioners alike are pointers to the importance and critical role
of the human element in organization. Indeed, the human resource is a
critical factor in the attainment of the goals of any organization. However,
the ability of the human resources to contribute to the attainment of the goals
30
of an organization such as the public enterprises like NTA, Awka depends to
a great extent on how well they are managed.
The human resources of an organization comprise of men and women,
young and old who engage in the production of goods and services and who
are the greatest assets of the organization. According to Ndiomu (1992:34)
opined that “the personnel of an organization have to be properly managed
for them, to be able to make maximum contribution to the organization.
What then is human resources managements? There are many definitions of
human resources management but, a widely accepted definition is the one
provided by the institute of personnel management:
personnel management is that part of management concerned with people
at work and with their relationships within an enterprise. Its aim is to bring
together and develop into an effective organization the men and women
who make up an enterprise and having regard for the well-being of the
individual and the working groups, to enable them to make their best
contributions to its success.
It is important to mention that in this section, human resources
management is used interchangeably with personnel management. Human
resources management is therefore an activity aimed at ensuring efficient
use of human resources of an organization to achieve optimum productivity
for the organization and at the same time enable the employee to gain
optimum psychological and material benefit from his or her work. It is
however, important to state that although human resources management is a
31
responsibility of all those who manage people, it is a function of the
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
a number of reasons why human resources management has become
increasingly very important:
i.
Human resources are becoming increasingly expensive to employ. It
is therefore essential that they are managed effectively.
ii.
Social science research has emphasized the importance of increasing
productivity and the benefits of having a satisfied workforce.
iii. Legislation and the development of industrial relations has
encouraged the emergence of specialists able to interpret and apply
their skills to this area.
Human resources management at the public enterprise in Nigeria, like NTA
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
management must be able to:
32
i.
Plan for human resources it requires
ii.
Recruit/select the critical skills and abilities it requires
iii. Develop its human resources
iv. Utilize its human resources
v.
Motivate them adequately
vi. Provide inspiring leadership; and
vii. Ensure the existence of cordial relationship between management and
employees.
As I noted earlier, the human resource is the most pivotal of all the
resources for organizational productivity. To this extent, this ‘most critical
resource’ has to be planned for, procured, nurtured and sustained for overall
organizational efficiency. Thus, all the activities directly or indirectly related
to the planning procurement and nurturing of the human side of any
enterprise are ultimately “personnel functions”.
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
must be coordinated and directed. This is the work of administrators and
managers in public organization. They form the leadership in the public
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
shambles. Hence the organizational ineffectiveness mostly associated with
the public service in Nigeria.
Theories of Leadership
Considerable volume of theories and research has been carried out on
leadership because of its relevance to group action. It is, therefore, no
surprise that when in 1974 Stogdul completed his research on leadership, he
analyzed over 3000 books and articles in the field. Though legion of
leadership theories have been propounded, we are going to discuss briefly
those considered popular are relevant to us.
a. Trait theories of leadership
The trait theory of leadership argues that there are certain traits which
effective leaders should possess. According to Stogidill (1974) in
Ogunabameru (2004:236) he found that even among the traits most
34
commonly
cited
in
empirical
studies,
intelligence,
achievement,
dependability, and socio-economic status. He further argued that this might
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.
The facelessness trait studies and many contemporary studies can be
traced to several methodological and measurement problems, first,
measurement of personality traits are still inexact science. There is a
considerable amount of disagreement regarding even the most familiar and
most frequently tested traits.
Intelligence, for example is measured in many different ways while
there is generally some correlation in intelligence test, it is common for a
person to score high in one test ad relatively low in another. Second, there is
a failure to distinguish between effective and ineffective leadership. One
might have a great deal of leadership capacity and have little ability to lead
others in productive activity. Also according to Nwankwo (2003:7) stated
that “characteristic like decisiveness, charisma, intelligence, enthusiasm,
strength, bravery, integrity, self-confidence etc have been suggested as
relevant traits which leaders should posses”. Mahatma Ghandi, Martin
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
specific characteristics that could be identified in each.
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
effective leaders have distinct ways of behaving. It emphasizes the training
of the leaders. This implies that leadership behavior could taught and
learned. Experiences have however, shown that the behavior of each leader
is determined by prevailing situational variables. This implies that a leader
can act in divergent ways at different situations. The demise of the
behavioural theories is its inability to clarify such situational factors.
c. The situational approach to leadership theory
This theory is in some academic quarters, called the “zeigeist” theory;
“zeitgeist” is a German word meaning spirit of the times. According to
Igboeli (1990:158) “this theory of leadership maintains that a leader is a
product of time or situation. This implies that one will be called, a leader if
he is able to meet up with the demands of a situation or time.
36
d. The path-goal theory
The path-goal theory was developed by Robert House of the
University of Toronto. According to this theory, the subordinates accept a
leader’s behavior once they view it as a source of their satisfaction, either
immediately or in the future. It could also be stated, that a leader, becomes
acceptable to his sub-ordinate once his behavior appears motivational to
them. According to Robbins (1988:390) stated that “the path-goal model
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
subordinate locus of control.”
This theory, therefore, identifies two basic dimensions of leadership as:
i. Initiating structure; and
ii. Consideration
In other words, the leadership should be motivational when the task structure
correlates effective performance with the satisfaction of the subordinate
needs, as well as provide the requisite training, guidance, support and reward
that would enhance the effective performance.
e. The contingency model
This model was first developed by Fieldler (1967) according to this
model, effective group performance is dependent upon the compatibility
37
between the style of the leader is controlled and influenced by the work
situation with his least-preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire, he
purportedly measured if a person is task-or relationship oriented. He further
isolated three situations criteria-leader-member relations, task structure, and
position power. He believes that these criteria could be manipulated to create
the proper match with the behavioural situation of the leader. This is
according to Robbins (1988:390).
The managerial grid
This theory was developed by Blake and Mouton (1984) depicting
two-dimensional framework of leadership styles. One dimension depicts the
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
attaining 9.9 team management style of leadership.
Styles of Leadership
It is administratively difficult to isolate theories of leadership from the
styles of leadership or behavior of leaders. According to Koontz (1980:670)
stated that “study of leadership is somewhat incomplete, if styles of
leadership is omitted. Since the ability to lead and willingness to follow are
based on leadership styles.
38
Leadership styles refers to different philosophies adopted by leaders
in the piloting of the affairs or activities of an organization. Eilon (1992:134)
maintains that “these philosophies often find expression in the way the
enterprise is organized and in the design of lines of demarcation of authority,
accountability and responsibility.
There could be numerous styles of leadership but for academic
convenience, most scholars in the study of corporate management have
compressed them, and categorized them into three major kinds namely:
laissez-faire, autocratic/despotic and democratic styles of leadership.
i.
Laissez-faire style of leadership: The assumption here is that there is
no need to keep people under control, dictate for them, or direct them
towards a given action. Rather, the leader should, given the
subordinate free hand to discharge their functions as they deem fit
without any sort of control as this style of leadership presupposes,
there will be no discipline and where there is lack of caution, people
will not know their limits, and anarchy soon sets in.
ii.
Democratic style of leadership: This style of leadership implies the
participation of both the leader and his subordinate which could be
beneficial to the leader in his formulation of intelligent corporate
39
policies, instead of assuming that the leader knows all, it rather
accepts that two heads are better than one.
Consequently, democratic style of leadership maintains that the
best decision emerges when many heads are participating.
iii. Autocratic or despotic style of leadership: This style of leadership
assumes that the consummation of intelligence needed for the
formulation of corporate policies lies in the leader. Consequently, the
leader does the thinking and takes all decisions while the subordinate
are duty bound to concede and implement his politics without any
objection. This style of leadership relies on intimidation and coercion
to win compliance. The major de merit of this leadership behavior
according to Wilkinson (1994:260) is that “it may waste workers
creativity and expertise, and it will fail to motivate and make workers
feel committed to their tasks.”
Public enterprises cannot be effective and efficient without
understanding its management from strategic and policy management
perspective.
Organizational strategic management
Organizational strategic management (OSM) integrates all major
activities and functions of an organization and directs them towards
40
advancing an organization’s strategic agenda. It integrates all other
management processes to provide a systematic coherent and effective
approach in establishing, attaining, monitoring, and upgrading an agency’s
strategic objective. Poister and Streib (1999:41) stated that “an effective
strategic management capability is essential for maintaining or strengthening
the links between the organization, external stakeholders, and managing for
result.” African public service agencies need to formulate their strategic
plans and use the plans as a basis for effective public service management.
Policy management
Policy management is the process of policy initiation, analysis,
formulation, approval, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M α
E) in the public sector. Policy analysis skills have been identified as a key
weakness within the civil service in many developing countries, particularly
Africa. In Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Zambia, this
has been addressed by strengthening the office of the president prime
minister and cabinet through the creation of policy units. In Ghana and
Malaysis, Inter-ministerial Committees have been set up for special policy
issues, supported by national forum involving the private sector.
The new culture of policy management emphasizes participation,
accountability and transparency. It hinges upon the involvement of the
41
private sector and civil society in policy formulation, monitoring and
evaluation, and on the recognition that at stakeholders in the policy
development process must be involved in order to enhance support and ease
implementation.
2.1.2 Public enterprise
There is no generally accepted agreement among scholars with
regards to the definition of public enterprise. This lack of universal
agreement on definition among scholars emanated. From the variation in the
nature of public enterprise. According to Amara (2009:51) stated that
“public enterprises are essentially the public organization that have emerged
as a result of government acting in the capacity of an entrepreneur” he
further stated that they include the parastatals, state- owed companies and
statutory corporations. Also Ezeani (2006:213) opined that “public
enterprises are defined here as legally constituted bodies operating services
of an economic or social character or both on behalf of the government” he
also further stated that through largely autonomous in their management
then are subject to different types of government control and are also
characterized by different degrees of public financed support. Ozor
(2004:108) stated that “the term public enterprise denotes an organization
42
operating or supposed to be operating on commercial principle wholly or
partly owned and effectively controlled by public authority. This definition
emphasizes the type of public enterprise that are commercially oriented and
therefore less encompassing.
Public Enterprise combines the features of public administration with
the key attributes of private enterprise. The creation of these enterprise
results from the desire to infuse more flexibility and efficiency in the
organization of some governmental activities. It must be emphasized here
that while the civil service exists by the some law (authority) will
government pubic enterprise are created by separate laws. Therefore,
subsidiary arm of government, like local government, come under public
enterprise classification. This is why laieye (2002:28) stated that “a public
enterprise is an organization that is set up as a corporate body and as part of
the governmental apparatus for and entrepreneurial or entrepreneurial like
objective”. Also SoSna (1983:27) opined that “there are many reasons why
in developed capitalist countries there is no single standard definition of
public enterprise, he also stated that public enterprises were established at
different periods and each epoch naturally brought forth the types of public
enterprises most clearly matching its own conditions.
43
It is therefore believed that the variation in definition are informed by
the ideological, values interest, disposition and circumstances that brought
public enterprise into existence whatever the controversy and the lack of
uniformity of some scholars of public enterprises. For instance Efange
(1987:5) defined public enterprise or parastatal as institution or organization,
which are owned by the state or in which the state holds a majority interest,
whose activities are of a business in nature and which provide service or
produce goods and have their own distinct management. Obadan and
Ayodele (1998:1) have seen public enterprise as organization whose primary
function is the production and sales of goods and /or services and in which
government or other government controlled agencies have no ownership
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
the government or other public enterprises, or is jointly owned by the
government or other public enterprises and private individuals, provided the
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
an important part of the government structure, with annual budgets, critical
investment plans, high level personnel nomination personnel management,
44
financial auditing and even-day to day matters all under the strict regulation
and supervision of relevant government organs and processes”.
In a United Nations (1974:2) publication public enterprise are defined
as those enterprise “in which the government has majority interest of
ownership and /or management”. Another United Nations (1968:1) Source
defines public enterprise as “industrial agriculture and commercial concerns
which are owned and controlled by central government (in a Unitary state)
or the control government and regional government (in a federation)
Adamolekun (2002:28) identified some of the main feature and
implications of public enterprise.
i.
A Public Enterprises as an organization implies that it is an entity with
explicit or implicit objective. Men money and materials are supposed
to be utilized in the pursuant of these objectives. In addition as an
organization a public enterprises would be expected to have its own
internal power or authority and its own method of operation.
ii.
A critical dimension of government involvement in a public
enterprises has to do with its financial commitment the capital
ownership does not have to be exclusively public the government may
only control the majority of the shares, leaving other share holders to
hold remaining shares.
45
iii.
As a corporate body a public enterprises has a legal personality
separate from that of the government that establishes it. It can own
property enter into contracts and sue and be sued. In recent
developments across the SSA countries this feature is being stressed
as a key element of a public enterprise. Consequently departmental
organizations
or regimes in francophone parlance are being
surreptitiously accorded the corporate body status
iv.
The entrepreneurial or entrepreneurial like objective connotes
business orientation. However, this should not be equated with profit
making. The experience in many countries indicates that the aim is to
promote efficiency, cost consciousness, and cost-deduction
v.
The implication of the fact that a public enterprise is part of the
government apparatus are numerous. Three of these implication
should be highlighted, a public enterprises is by virtue of its intricate
relationship with government an instrument of public policy its
primary mission is in connection with governmental objectives and
programs and is there fire naturally under governmental control
second by its nature a public enterprises mostly utilizes or manages
public resources especially public money. This means that attention
46
must be paid to mechanisms for enforcing accountability. Third the
combination performance measurement instrument.
Justifications for public enterprises
According to Ezeani (2006:24) he stated some of the justification for
public enterprises. Among which are the following:
1. The paucity or in some case absence of indigenous private sector that
can undertake to provide certain infrastructural facilities particularly
in services requiring heavy financial investment e.g. railway,
electricity ports and harbour, airways, etc under such circumstance
direct government control may be required to ensure that prices are
not set above the cost of providing such service
2. Establishment of public enterprise by the state enable it to pursue
objective relating to social equity which the market would ignore
notable among which is preventing the concentration of wealth or the
means of production and exchange reason. Ozor (2004:111) stated
that “public enterprises are certain essential services and public wants
which. It left in the private hands, these service will be beyond the
reach of the average main society.
3. Paucity and sometimes lack of private incentives to engage in
promising economic ventures due to factors such as uncertainty about
47
the size of local market unreliable sources of supply and the absence
of technology and skulked labour. This is according to Obada
(2000;6)
4. The need to ensure government control over strategies sector of the
economy such as central banking broadcasting, iron and steel.
International air transport shipping etc. klintworth (1995:90)
maintained that government was strongly committed to the public
enterprise system as the best method of controlling any extreme
inflation and of maintaining Taiwan’s political economic and social
stability.
5. State control of the key profitable enterprises enable it to general
overawes that will add to available national capital for financing
development programs and projects
6. State ownership of some enterprise is seen as a means of employment
creation in a situation where the private sector of the economy offers
very united employment opportunities. This is why Wu (2004:148)
stated that the government has determined to use its state owned
enterprise as pioneers and innovator in establishing new generation
high risk , high capital and high technology industries in order to
remain competitive in world trade market
48
7. Public enterprise is seen as a veritable instrument of plan
implementation especially, in a context where the private sector
appears weak
Classification of public enterprises
The share size and diversity of public enterprises have made its
classification necessary in order to structure the discussion of the variety of
organization in the sector. Adamolekun (198334) stated that classification of
public enterprise have been made according to a variety of criteria and by
different authorities the classification model according to Ozor (2004:131) is
as follows
STATUTORY –CORPORATIONS
(a)
Public Utilities
National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) now (PHCN)
Nigeria Coal Corporation
Nigeria Ports Authority
Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
Nigeria Railway Corporation
Nigeria Airways
Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL)
Nigeria External Telecommunication (NET)
49
Nigeria Mining Corporation
Nigeria Film Corporation
Nigeria Cargo Handling Company etc
(b)
Development and finance
Nigeria Industrial Development Bank (NIDB)
Nigeria Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON)
Nigeria Agricultural and Commerce Bank (NACB)
Federal Mortgage Bank
Nigeria Agricultural Development Bank (NADB)
Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI)
Export Credit Guarantee Corporation
Lotteries, Pools, Betting, and Casino Commission
Afribank Plc
Chases Merchant Bank (Nigeria) Limited
Union Bank of NIGERIA Plc
First Bank Nigeria Plc.
United Bank for Africa (UBA)
50
(c) Welfare and Social Service
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN )
Nigeria Television Authority (NTA)
Federal Housing Authority
National Library Board
Housing Management Board
Housing Corporation
Scholarship Board
Tafawa Balewa Square etc
(d) Federal –Owned Enterprise
Nigeria National Supping Line Limited
Nigeria National Supply Company Limited
National Root Crops Production Company
Aba Textile Mills Ltd
Nigeria Hotels Limited
Federal Palace Hotel
Durbar Hotel Limited
Daily Times Newspapers
New Nigeria Newspaper
51
National Freight Handling Company
Nigeria National Fish Company
Nigeria Produce Marketing Board, etc
Nigeria Rumanian Wood Industry
National Oil Nigeria Limited
Agip (Nigeria) Limited
Elf (Nigeria) Limited
Shell Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Ltd
State Government –Owned Enterprises in Nigeria
1. (Enugu and Anambra States)
(a) Public Liabilities
Enugu State Water Corporation
Enugu State Transport Company
Transport Company Of Anambra State
Anambra State Water Corporation
Anambra State Rural Electrification Board
Enugu State Rural Electrification Board
Anambra-Enugu State Steel Industry Emene etc
52
(b) Development and Finance
Enugu State Insurance Company
Anambra State Insurance Company
Enugu State Lotteries, Pools Betting and Casino Commission
Anambra State Lotteries, Pools Betting and Casino Commission
(c ) Welfare and Social Services
Enugu State Broadcasting Service
Anambra State Broadcasting Service
Enugu State Library Board
Anambra State Library Board
Enugu State Housing Corporation etc
(d) State Government – Owned Enterprise
Nike Lake Resort Hotel
Daily Star Newspapers
Nigeria Fracture and Construction Company
Presidential Hotel Limited
Ikenga Hotel Limited
Ebony Paints Limited
Vanguard Industries Limited
53
(e) Mixed- Economy Enterprises
Co-operative and Commerce Bank Plc
Orient Bank Plc etc
Management of Public Enterprises
The principal actor in the management of public corporation are the
board the general manager (managing director) and the secretary of the
board. We shall discuss in detail the role of each of these actors
The Board of Directors
According to Ozor (2004:142) stated that “At the apex of the
organizational structure of public enterprises is the board of directors. The
powers and duties of the director are usually stated in the document
incorporating the enterprises known as the Article of incarnation. However,
on the while the board of directors is usually the policy making body nit an
executive one
Admolekun (1983:38) identified two types of boards of public
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
Public Enterprises to another. The size usually ranges from a minimum of
fire to a maximum of about twenty –five members. In general the size of an
enterprise, board depends on its scope and strategic importance within the
economy.
The General Manager (or Managing Director)
The general manager supervise the actual operational functions of the
public enterprises. As Olisah et al (1990:86) state. He is the person who
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
corporation is functioning smoothly and effectively. The General manager is
usually assisted by several deputies and assistant who are in charge of
various division and section of the public enterprises.
The Secretary of the Board
The secretary of the board records the board’s transactions and
decisions. Usually the secretary is a non-managerial member of staff. In
many public enterprises the secretary is a lawyer, who gives legal advice to
the organization whenever necessary the secretary. Therefore help to clear
any doubts or misinterpretation about the boundaries of authority and
55
function between all categories of official of the corporation “this is
according to Olisa et al (1990:86)
Organogram of a typical public enterprise in Nigeria
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
GENERAL MANAGER
Administration
Department
Personal
Department
Accounts
Department
Production
Department
Marketing/Commercial
Department
General
Administrati
on Public
Relations
Security
Transport
(units)
Personnel
Department
Recruitment
staff
Disposition
Development
Accounts &
Finance
Revenue
Collection
Accounting
Disbursement
Reconciliation
(units)
Production
Packaging WareHousing Units
General, Sales
Promotion of Sales
and Advertisement
Control of public enterprise
Although public enterprises enjoys substantial autonomy and freedom
in the management of their affairs, they are still subject to some control. The
two main from of control according to Ezeani (2006:218) are ministerial
control and parliamentary control.
56
Ministerial Control
According to Ezeani (2006:218) stated that “ministerial control of
public enterprises take various forms: firstly although the public enterprises
enjoy a lot of autonomy and freedom in their daily cooperation they are
under a controlling ministry which supervises its policies and operations
receives general public complaints about it and takes ultimate decision s on
all important matters. Also Olisa et al (1990:89) stated that “a public
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
which it submits to the government through its supervising ministry. The
minister after studying the report ask questions where necessary before
submitting the report to the government with its own comments.
Parliamentary Control
Apart from ministerial control public enterprises are ultimately
accountable to parliament through the ministers who are the political heeds
of specifies government ministers that oversee one or more public
57
enterprises. According to Ujo (2001:83) stated that parliamentary control
takes the following form.
1. Control through annual report of its activities to parliament through
the minister
2. Control through annual account. A public enterprises usually submits
its annual account for a given financial year to the parliament. Such
annual account and report are subjected to debate in the parliament
and
3. The financial commit of the house may summon the minister of a
particular public enterprises to explain or discuss concerning his
corporation.
Judicial Control
Many public enterprises in Nigeria have, at one time or the other, been
subjected to judicial control by the government. As Olisa et al (1990:90)
state “from time to time, a government sets up a commission of inquiry into
the affairs of one or other of its public corporation, mismanagement in
incompetence in the company.
58
2.1.3 Reasons for the Failure of Public Enterprises
A number of factors account for the poor performance of most public
enterprises. The main reasons according to Ezeani (2006:224) are as follows.
i. Multiple and often Contradictory Objective of the Enterprises.
The social goals or obligations of most public enterprises often
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
already overstaffed. Consequently, they become inefficient and ineffective.
ii. Excessive control and lack of autonomy
Public enterprises managers suffer from excessive control and
interference
in their daily operations
by supervising
government
departments. Also Obadan (2000:11) stated that “this often stifles
managerial initiative and leads to costly operational inefficiencies and loss
of accountability”.
iii. Excessive political interference
Public enterprises also suffer from frequent political interference.
They are often seen as instrument of political patronage by the government
in power. This results in overstaffing poor choices of product and location,
recruitment of mediocre etc.
59
iv. Absence of Competitive Environment
This leads to complacency on the part of the management of most
public enterprises, resulting in poor services delivery and inefficiency.
v. Corruption
Most public enterprises, especially in the developing countries, such
as Nigeria, are seen as instrument for private wealth accumulation by their
managers and political appointees. Consequently, huge sum of money are
often siphoned into private accounts, leading to huge losses by the
enterprises.
vi. Poor Infrastructures.
The deteriorating state of infrastructures in most African countries
also contributes to the failure of public enterprises as they contribute to high
cost of operation. In Nigeria for instance, power supply is unreliable,
consequently, most public enterprises rely on standby generators which cost
much to purchase and maintain. In addition, the roads are in a bad state.
Public Enterprise Reforms
Since 1980s, some developed and developing countries have embarked
on reform of PE, starting with Britain, which embarked on comprehensive
privatization programme, and new Zealand, which combined privatization
60
with commercialization Pt reformers in these countries seek to achieve a
combination of the following objectives According to Adamolekun
(1983:45)
i.
To ensure profitability by avoiding trading losses.
ii.
To avoid liquidity crises and rising debts.
iii.
To restructure and rationalize the public sector in order to remove
the dominance of unproductive investments.
iv.
To prevent public enterprises from being an ever-increasing burden
on the government budget and to facilitate their access to capital
markets.
v.
To ensure positive returns on investments in restructured
enterprises
and
improve
the
managerial
and
operational
performance of those enterprises that will remain in the public
sector.
vi.
To initiate the process of the gradual cession of private sector of
public enterprises that by the nature of their operations and other
socio-economic factors, is best performed by the private sector.
vii.
To create a favorable investment climate for both local and foreign
investors.
61
viii.
To provide institutional arrangement and operational guidelines
that would ensure that the gains of the reform program are
sustained in the future. For this purposes and the widely use of
privatization as public enterprises reform tools we will explain the
meaning of privatization as form of public Enterprise Reform.
Privatization
This is “the partial or total transfer of ownership of a public
enterprises to the private sector. Full privatization entails government’s total
surrender of its ownership, whereas in partial privatization, government still
holds some shares (sometimes majority shares) in the public enterprises. The
public enterprises that are partially privatized are usually the ones the
government considers strategic, and want to keep under close supervision.
Arising from the above, empirical evidences points to the global
acceptability of privatization policy. Rondinelli and Lacono (1996:247)
viewed the Latin American Countries such as chile and Argentina had
transferred large-state controlled telecommunication, railways, power and
energy, airline, mining and oil and petroleum industries to private ownership
or management during the 1970s and 1980s. Also Kuye (1990:7) on asserted
“countries such as united Kingdom, France, Canada, turkey, Nigeria etc.
62
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.
Arguments in Favour of Privatization
There are arguments for the privatization of public enterprises the
main one are:
i.
i.
economic arguments
ii.
argument about management and efficiency: and
iii.
Ideological conceptions of what the role of government should be.
Economic
Argument:
The
first economic
argument
is
that
privatization exposes economic activities to market forces and
competition. Competition could be brought abut by selling or
deregulating to allow the entry of competitors. As Hughes (1998:117)
rightly noted “selling assets only improves competition, if an
enterprises is already in a competitive environment, selling a monopoly
with its regulation in fact does nothing for competition”. Therefore “the
easiest way of introducing completion is to deregulate the industry,
63
rather than sell assets unless deregulation occurs at the same times as
assets are sold.
ii.
Managerial Efficiency and Privatization: the argument here is that
public management is inherently inferior to its private counterpart.
Hanke (1986:13) stated that “the private firms are believed to be more
efficient than public ones”. This has been attributed to the limited
capacity of public enterprises to perform efficiently owing to a variety
of reasons which government have not succeeded in eliminating.
iii. Ideological Arguments: Ideological considerations re an essential
component of the privatization debate. Hughes (1998:122) points out
that “privatization is part of the more general debate about the
respective merits of market and non-market system of resources
allocation, “privatization is based on capitalist values assumptions and
ideologies. Proponents of privatization hinge their argument on the
superiority of market forces and private enterprises. They argue that an
even spread of ownership can be achieved with sound planning of
privatization.
64
2.1.4 Factors affecting management of public Enterprises in Nigeria.
Generally speaking, the performance of public enterprises in Nigeria
over the years has been undermined by a conglomeration of both centrifugal
and centripetal forces of various dimension exogenous and endogenous
factors. The reasons however is consequent upon these dysfunctional
variable hampering the operational efficiency of public enterprises.
According to Obadan (2000:8) stated that “the performance of most public
enterprises in both developed and developing countries has been generally
disappointing”. Also Ozor (2004:155) opined that ‘the performance of
public enterprises in Nigeria is nothing to write home about”. This means
that public enterprises in Nigeria have failed to perform the initial role for
which they were established.
However, for the case of this study, we shall examine these problems
specifically as it affects public enterprise. These problems specifically as it
affects public enterprises. These problems includes: Conflicting objective,
incompetent
management,
unstable
management/board,
general
incompetence, government interference, corruption and monopoly.
1.
Conflicting Objectives: the establishment of public enterprises,
especially in developing countries are predicated on basically two
reasons, economic and political reasons. This suggests that public
65
enterprises exist for national developmental purposes, and in particular
to play a leading role in the overall growth and development of the
economy. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, these enterprises are profit bound
to the extent that the very fundamental reasons for their establishment
have been scarified. In other words, the twins objective of social service
provisioning and profit maximization are contradictory and as such
impediment to the operational efficiency of organizations.
Implicit in the above assertion is that public enterprises have
performed disappointedly and have therefore, become unproductive.
Apart from being unviable, many have withered away.
2. Incompetent management/Board
The management mechanism of public enterprises, especially the
Board of Directors constitute the decision making body, and as such assume
the most strategic position in the hierarchy of enterprises. On this note, it is
therefore expected the management would have the technical or managerial
competence with which the realization of organizational goals and made
possible. Conceptually, the management structures of public enterprises lack
required skill, experience and expertise necessary for keeping or4ganizations
66
above board. This problem perhaps is pivotal to the liquidation of some
government establishments in the country.
More so, appointment of board members is on political patronage or
other primordial consideration in-lieu of merit. Also Ozor (2004:116) posits
that the bane of public enterprises in Nigeria draws largely from the
composition of the Board. To him, the management of these enterprises is
not run on sound universal criteria consistent with basic bureaucratic
principles and rules and advocated by max Weber.
3. Unstable management/Board
This is associated with political problems, which as associated Nigeria
since independence in 1960. The manifestation of political instability in
terms of constant change in government leads to alteration in the leadership
structure of public enterprises. This however follows that new Board
members emerge with new administration and thus makes for epileptic
existence of these enterprises.
In addition, the appointment of new Boards by a new administration
follows the same pattern of political affiliation and considerations. This
problem scuttles any meaningful growth or improvement of public
enterprises in Nigeria.
67
4. General Incompetence
The management apparatus of public enterprises both at the top and
bottom is highly characterized by a magnitude of incompetence. This
however results from the nature of recruitment and selection being made in
respect to these enterprises. In most cases, recruitment of staff of these
enterprises are not based on technical qualification and meritocracy as
proposed by Weber.
Incompetence among staff of public enterprises results to gross
inefficiency in their operations. The effectiveness and efficiency of public
enterprises depend significantly on the intelligent quotient, skills caliber,
potentials, capabilities and quality of employees recruited.
5. Government Interference
Obviously,
since
public
enterprises
are
government
owned
establishments, they are accorded limited autonomy. This however entails
that public enterprises operates under the supervision and control of the
government through its various ministries. Consequently, in most cases the
management structure of public enterprises is subjected to the dictates,
whims and caprices of the politicians who supervise a particular government
establishment. For example, some issues that ought to be handled by the
68
board or management are acted upon by these politicians without formal
arrangement with the board.
The aftermath of this development in our society can be grave since it
tends to create bureaucratic bottle-necks in the day to day running of this
enterprises as such distort the goals and objectives of these companies .
6. Corruption
Corruption has been described as unpleasant phenomenon, which has
eaten deep into the fabrics of our nations. Most contemporary writers see it
as an endemic development that permeates every sphere of our existence,
especially in Nigeria.
Corruption manifests in varying degrees in Nigeria public enterprises
that its affects has been grave. Most of these enterprises have been derailed
as a result of certain corrupt practices by both the government and the
management.
7. Monopoly
Most public enterprises in Nigeria is associated with monopolies.
These enterprises however face problem accompanying monopolies. One of
the major problems of monopolies, which some of these enterprise suffer
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
introduction of GSM network.
2.1.5 Gap or Inadequacy in Existing Literature
There is gap in other literature of management of public enterprises in
Nigeria, because other works on management of public enterprises in
Nigeria failed to state strategies for improving public sector performance
which this study have done by stating strategies for improving public sector
performance. Such strategies are: as follows
i.
Total Quality Management: is a management technique that
emphasizes high-quality service (performance-oriented civil
service) and customer satisfaction (customer-driven governemnt).
ii.
Capacity Building: A competency-based approach to the training
and development of public servants is recommended. The need to
train public servants as better managers is widely recognized as an
essential element of any public service reform programme.
iii.
Decentralization: Decentralization of responsibilities in its various
forms is advocated as a means of achieving public sector
effectiveness.
iv.
Ethics and Accountability: Fostering and promoting conditions of
service that enhance professional and ethical standard.
70
v.
Information and Communication Technologies: It is well
understood and acknowledged that application of new public
management tools cannot be possible without information and
communication technologies.
These are the strategies recommended for this study for improving
public sector performance that cannot find in other works on
management of public enterprises in Nigeria.
2.2
Hypotheses
Drawing form the statement of the problem and objectives of the
study as pinpointed in chapter one. The following hypotheses are
formulated:
i. Lack of good knowledge of management and public enterprises
constitute bane to operational efficiency of NTA, Awka.
ii. Government interference, conflicting objectives, bureaucratic corruption,
lack of motivation and lack of training and development are the
management problems of NTA, Awka.
iii. Management inefficiency and poor performance are the effects of
management problems on the operational efficiency of NTA, Awka.
71
2.3 Operationalization of the Key Concepts
1.
Management: This is a process as well as an activity, which involves
getting things done through people with the view of achieving a desired
result.
2.
Public Enterprises: These are institutions wholly or partly owned by
the government, created to perform some essential developmental
functions which the deficiencies of the public bureaucracy make it
incapable of undertaking.
3.
Performance: This means notable action and achievement centered
responses.
4.
Poor: of low in quality and quantity of service.
5.
Privatization: It means the handing over or selling of government
owned enterprises to private buyers.
6.
Bureaucratic Corruption: This refers to deliberate attempt by the
employees of Nigeria television Authority Akwa to enrich themselves.
It encompasses all those practices that stagnate the growth and
development of the company.
7.
Motivation: Motivation involves encouraging the employees to give
off their best this could be by promotion increase in the salary, and
providing a better condition of employment to workers.
72
8.
Conflicting objective: Conflicting objective relates to the dual role of
providing social services will little or no cost and making profit at the
same time.
9.
Efficiency: This relates to the ability of the management to achieve
desired result or the responsiveness of a given input to produce a
commensurate or greater output with low cost.
10.
Training and development: It involves the process of equipping the
staff with relevant skills and knowledge required for a job.
11.
Government Interference: This captures unusual involvement of
government in the activities of public enterprises.
2.4 Methodology
The methodology refers to the framework of activity or operations of
the research. Research is obviously an activity centered endeavor. It requires
not just the mere writing of sound theoretical insight but also the practical
efforts of designing instruments, collecting data and analyzing the data so
collected. Seen purely in terms of method of study, Oguonu and Anugwom
(2006:33) stated that it denotes the range of approaches used in research to
gather the appropriate data to be used for the purposes of inference and
interpretation on which to anchor explanation and predications”.
73
I. Type of Study
From the nature and procedure of this study, it will be named “Survey
Research”. According to Obi (2005:64) opined that in survey research, the
design should also take into account of the different methods of generating
data such as the personal interview, a telephone interview, a mail
questionnaire and “questionnaire” which this study adopted as method of
data gathering.
II. Data gathering instruments
In an attempt to explore and explicate the management of public
enterprise in respect to NTA, Awka, the researcher gathered information
through both primary and secondary sources of data.
1. Primary Source
The primary source of data for this work will be by oral interview.
According to Ofuebe (2002:12) interview constitutes the major techniques
for gathering relevant information. This survey instrument enables the
researcher to have a face-to-face discussion between the person giving out
the information and the person receiving the information. This helps to
provide sufficient information to the researcher.
74
2. Secondary Source
Under this, various materials relevant to the study are used, such
materials include: Newspapers, Magazines, journals, books and other
unpublished documents. This was therefore facilitated through the use of
Nnamdi Azikiwe Library of University of Nigeria Nsukka.
iii Population of the Study
The population of this study is members of staff of NTA Awka
including, senior and junior staff; because of the procedure of this study
three key managers of the organization will be interviewed. Such managers
are as follows: The General Manager; the News Manager and The Finance
Manager.
iv Sample of the Study
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
The sampling procedure shall be convenience samplings since the
primary source of data is oral interview. Some people will be interviewed
75
especially the three key managers of the organization. According to Obi
(2005:75) convenience sampling implies the selection of whatever sample
unit that are conveniently available. For example, a student doing research
project may select his friends who can respond accurately to his research
questions or an individual who he thinks possess the required information.
vi. Method of Data Analysis
The data from the in-depth interview will be analyzed using
qualitative techniques by relating to outstanding points of the responses to
the objective of study, upon which inferences will be drawn for
generalization.
Because the study relies heavily on secondary data as its major source,
it will therefore, adopt “Content Analysis” as the method by which data
generated will be analyzed. According to Ofuebe (2002:14) content analysis
implies the systematic collection of data through a set of procedure. It is
especially appropriate when it is difficult or impossible to interview a
study’s subject. Either because they are deed. Rarely available for lengthy
interview session and so on.
Also elucidating further, Babbie (quoted in Gawarah, 1996:60) posit
that when it is manifest or content. Content Analysis requires logical
76
reseasoning and judgment replication in order to ascertain its reliability and
validity. He further stated that this method of analysis relies on replication
and corroboration. As a result, if several source point to the same set of
facts, it increase the confidence in such source and could therefore be used
as a basis for generalization.
Similarly, if the information obtained from the indept interview hold
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.
2.5 Theoretical Framework
Hardly do we discuss and analyse concept meaningfully in social
sources without linking them to or understanding them from some
theoretical viewpoint or orientation, for this reason, this study will adopt a
management
theory
from contemporary
viewpoint,
the
theoretical
framework of this study is contingency theory of management.
According to Ogunbameru (2005:112) contingency theory is a strand
of organization theory (sometimes also known as the “rational system
perceptive”, situational approach “or it all depends sometimes”) the leading
practitioners of which were T. Burns, J. Woorward, P. Lawrence, and J.
Lorsch, an otherwise theoretical eclectic group who were nevertheless united
77
in their belief, that no single organizational structure was inherently more
efficient than all others. The variation also prompted the question of an
“ldeal” Theory. It showed that variation occurred because situation differed.
According to Marshall (1996:89) stated that since organization differ in the
task, they perform and environment they face, the appropriate organizational
structure should in each case be a function of such factors as technology
market, and the predictability of tasks”. Also Stacey (1993:177) opined that
“the effectiveness of a particular organizational structure, culture, or
sequence of actions is contingent upon or depends upon a number of factors.
The most important of these contingency factors according to Stacey are as
follows:
a) The environment, particularly the market
b) The size of the organization
c) The technology it employs
d) The history it employs
e) The history of the organization
f) The expectations of the employees and customers
The theory states that success will be secured when an organization
secures a good match between its situation and its strategies and structures.
78
In the words of Armstrong (2000:18) “contingency theory is
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
it is structured, the processes, procedures and practices it puts into effect)”.
“Contingency is a theory about the nature of cause and effect. It
makes statements like these: if an organization is operating in an
environment that is very complex and changing rapidly, then it requires
organic form of organization to succeed”. Ogunbameru (2005:114) stated
that, contingency theory postulates a complex web of interconnections
between the features of organization and their environment in which the
causal connections are liner in the sense that they run in one direction. It is a
particular environment that causes a particular kind of successful strategy
and that causes a particular kind of successful structure. The theory does not
contemplate circular causation in which the structure of organization cause
them to follow certain strategies which then create certain kinds of
environment to which they respond.
The basic conclusion of the contingency theorists therefore is that the
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
organization’s adaptation as revealed by its structure. The position of the
contingency theory that effective management varies with the organization
and its environment agrees with the equifnality concept propounded by Katz
and Kahn on the question of what should be an “ideal” theory. The
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
thought deeply, it would appear that the contingency management theorists
seem to align themselves with the view that the end justified the means.
Application of the theory to the study
The management of public enterprises in Nigeria should learn how to
adapt to the changing environment, depending on the speed at which the
environment changes. For example, the rapid changes in ICT world, most
organizations have introduced the use of computers and internet to their
operation. So the management of public enterprises in Nigeria should adapt
to ICT environment by laying off analog style of management and embrace
digital style of leadership by recruiting computer literate personnel, and
making use of computers in the organization. This will go a long way of
enhancing organizational intelligence. That the organization is intelligent is
because of kind of information it receives and how constant it receives such
80
information. Provision of internet facilities in our public enterprises will
improve its efficiency and effectiveness because the internet will enhance
the rate and quality of information it receives.
However, the management of public enterprises in Nigeria, including
NTA, Awka, should know that management is situational according to
contingency theory. Contingency theory will serve as a tool of motivation to
managers because it will gives the managers ability to use their private
initiative.
The situational or contingency theory asserts that when managers
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,
an autocratic style is probably best. If one is leading hospital or university, a
more participative and facilitative leadership style is probable best.
So this theory will expose the leadership of public enterprises in
Nigeria including NTA, Awka on the need to apply a leadership style that is
best suited to the situation at hand.
81
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON NTA, AWKA
Before giving a brief history of NTA Awka, I will first give a general
background information of Nigeria Television Authority in Nigeria.
The history of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) can be traced
back to that modest beginning on 31st October 1959 when the Western
Nigerian Television (WNT) beamed out the first Television Signals in
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
government with the establishment of the Nigerian Television Services
(NTS), Lagos, Midwest Television (MTS) came on stream in 1973 while
Benue/Plateau Television (BPTV) Jos, made history by commencing
transmission in colour from inception in 1974.
Nigerian Television Authority was inaugurated in May 1977 although
Decree 24 of 1977 was promulgated in March 1977 having effect from April
1976. By that Decree the Nigerian Television Authority became the only
body empowered to undertake television broadcasting in Nigeria. All
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
production centre exist in each state to contribute programme to the zonal
output. When all the installations, have been completed, it should be
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
all. By December 1979, there were scheduled television broadcasts from
every state capital in the country.
Programming
A number of NTA programmes can be viewed online via affricate.
NTA News bulletins are frequently aired on Africa. Independent Television,
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.
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NTA braches and network centers
NTA Aba
NTA Gomber
NTA Lafia
NTA Abeokuta
NTA Gusau
NTA Lokoja
NTA Abuja
NTA Ibadan
NTA Maiduguri
NTA Plus Abuja
NTA Ife
NTA Makurdi
NTA Ado-Ekiti
NTA Ijebu-Ode
NTA Minna
NTA Akure
NTA Ilorin
NTA Ondo
NTA Asaba
NTA International
NTA Osogbo
NTA Awka
NTA Jalingo
NTA Owerri
NTA Bauchi
NTA Jos
NTA Port Harcourt
NTA Benin
NTA Kaduna
NTA Sokoto
NTA Calabar
NTA Kano
NTA Uyo
NTA Damaturu
NTA Katsina
NTA Yenagoa
NTA Dutse
NTA 2 Channel 5 Lagos
NTA Yola
NTA Enugu
NTA Channel 10 Lagos
NTA Sapele
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
Director-General as Chief Executive he is assisted at HQ by departmental
Directors of Engineering, News, Finance, Programmes, Legal and
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Manpower Resources. The chairman of each zonal Board is a member of the
central board and the chief executive to the zonal board is t he zonal
managing director. The zonal management consists essentially of specialist
advisers to the zonal managing director namely secretary to the Board,
Programmes Coordinator, Chief Engineer and Chief Accountant. In addition,
the zonal auditor ensures that proper books are kept in the various
production centers.
It is the duty of the zone to ensure that the programmes broadcast
conform with the national policies and standards of NTA, the production
centre which is the third tier within NTA does the actual making of
programmes. It is headed by a general manager and staff strength in the
oldest stations numbers up to 500.
In March, 1980, the Board of Authority was dissolved and its
functions were taken over by Chief Olu Adebanjo, special Adviser to the
president on information. In September, 1980 the position was revised and
an interim committee was set up by the president-in-council, with powers to
carry out the functions of the board. The members of the committee are the
permanent secretary, federal department of information, the chief press
secretary to the president, the federal director of information, and the
director-general NTA, with the special
85
Adviser now as chairman of the committee
NTA-The largest TV network in Nigeria
The Nigeria Television Authority, NTA is the largest TV network in
Africa as well as one of the oldest and most accomplished indigenous
broadcast outfit in Nigeria.
The NTA has over the years, distinguished itself as a force in the field
of television broadcasting globally. Its quality programmes have received
numerous awards at international competitions and festivals, which includes
the following:
1. 1st prize for drama category at the URTNA competition in Algiers,
Senegal, etc with Cock Crow at Dawn, moment of Truth, etc.
2. 1st prize for drama at the US prized pieces festival, with “this fall
part”.
3. 1st prize in Documentary Category with ‘A Labour Honour lost at the
1988 TAM-TAM International Video Competition in Italy, among
other laurels.
The authority is equipped with new state of the art digital facilities, which
has additionally enhanced its competitive advantage as a major player in the
broadcast industry, worldwide.
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Brief historical background of NTA, Awka
Nigeria Television Authority was Commissioned on 31st March 2003
by Prof. A.B.C. Nwosu, on behalf of Mr. President Olusegun Obasanjo. It
started with Eight Staff, the General Manager then was Mr. Azuka
Amangbo, he headed the organization for six months before handed over to
Lady Mary Okonkwo, the staff strength by 2004 increased to 14 staffs.
The major functions of the enterprise in respect to its social services
objective is
a) To educate people
b) To entertain people and
c) To inform people
Organizational structure
At the Apex of organizational organogran is the General manager
(GM) under him are managers that head each units as assistants. The
Organogram is illustrated below
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General Manager (GM)
Administrati
ve manager
Finance
manager
Engineering
manager
Marketing
manager
News
manager
Programme
manager
As. Finance
manager
Asst.
Engineering
manager
Asst.
Marketing
manager
Asst. News
manager
Asst. Programme
manager
Prin. Admin.
Officer
Principal
Accountant
Principal
Engineer
Principal
Marketing
Officer
Principal
Editor
Prin. Program
officer
Senior
Admin.
Officer
Senior
Accountant
Senior
Engineer
Senior
Marketer
Senior
Editor
Senior
pgoramme
officer
Admin.
Officer 1
Accountant
1
Engineer 1
Admin
Officer 2
Accountant
2
Asst.
Administrative
manager
Engineer 2
Marketing
Officer 1
Marketer 2
Editor 1
Programme
Officer 1
Editor 2
Programmer 2
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Therefore, from the structure of the company. It is apparent that there
are proliferation of departments and sub-units assigned different
responsibilities based on job specialization. Some of the major departments
are,
1. Administration Department
2. Finance/accounts Department
3. Engineering Department
4. Marketing Department
5. News Department
6. Programme Department
In so far, we shall examine these various departments under the
management structure of Nigeria Television Authority Awka.
Administration Department
This is the center of all activities as well as an indispensable unit of
any organization. It is concerned with the day-to-day routine administration
of the enterprise. At the head of the department is the administrative
manager. The sections making up this department include the followingpersonnel unit, general administration, public relation, security, transport etc.
i. General Administration: The general administration is concerned with
the general aspect of the administration such as mails-incoming and out-
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going correspondence to and from the enterprises, etc. This section is
headed by an administrative officer.
ii. Personnel Unit: This unit is headed by the personnel manager, the
personnel manager is responsible for the staff disposition of all
departments.
The
function
of
this
unit
include:
recruitment,
training/orientation, and placement of staff, as well as staff development
and welfare. It formulates well developed employee welfare policies and
programmes, and ensures their effective implementation. It also takes
care of intra-and inter-staff relations within and outside the organization.
The unit also ensures that supervisors fully understand and effectively
apply personnel management policies in dealing with the workers under
their supervision. It further ensures that workers work under conducive
environment that the performance or output of each staff is well
evaluated: that workers are transferred, reassigned or promoted and
disciplined when and where necessary; that job specification and role
assignment are made with effectiveness and efficiency as their
benchmarks.
iii. Security Section: The security section is charged with the responsibility
of ensuring the safety of the property of the enterprise. This section is
headed by the chief security officer, responsible to the administrative
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manager. However, experience has shown that this section does not
effectively protect the property of the enterprise as evidenced by
incessant cases of missing property, pilfering rampant in most public
enterprise organizations in Nigeria.
iv. Transport Section: This section is concerned with transporting all the
materials needed by the enterprises raw materials from outside to the
enterprises or finished products from the enterprises to the outside. It is
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
addition to other technicians and mechanics.
Finance/accounts Department
The accounts department is usually headed by a qualified accountant.
This department is responsible for all the financial transactions which
include: accounting, revenue collection, control, and disbursement of fund.
The significant position of this department in any organization cannot be
overemphasized. This is illustrated by the fact that effective financial
management is necessary for the survival of any organization.
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Engineering/works Department
This department caters for the transmitting and broadcasting, the
transmitting equipments are under this department, also maintenance of
equipments. This department is headed by Chief Engineer.
Marketing Department/Commercial Department
At the head of this department is the marketing manager. This
department is responsible for the marketing of finished products including
services, namely-distribution, advertising, sales promotion and general sales
and services. It is also responsible for drawing up effective and efficient
marketing strategy and planning for the products. This department also
search for news.
News Department
This department source for news, daily information for dissemination,
packaging and reading the news for people to listening i.e. (News Casting).
The department is headed by Chief Editor.
Programme Department
This department has sole responsibility of packaging and arranging
new for news casters. The department also arrange other activities of the
station for airing. The department is also head by programme manager.
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CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
This chapter will deal specifically with the information from data
results. It will be analysed and thereafter inferences will be drawn for
generalization, the researcher makes use of interview instruments, hence
interview schedule was the researcher’s main technical instrument of
information gathering in eliciting good response from the respondents.
The data analysis will be done under the three following sub-headings
i.
Lack of good knowledge of management and operational
efficiency of NTA, Awka.
ii.
Government interference, conflicting objectives, bureaucratic
corruption, lack of motivation and lack of training and
development are the management problems of NTA, Awka.
iii.
Management inefficiency and poor performance are the effects of
management problems on the operational efficiency of NTA,
Awka.
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4.1.
Lack of good Knowledge of Management and Operational
Efficiency of NTA, Awka
From the interview with managers of NTA, Awka, it is indicated that
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
problem. Nigeria is a country richly endowed with resources, theses
resources enabled the country acquired modern technological and financial
leverage. The improvement gained in our financial returns from natural
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
embarked on a jamboree spending including hosting of Nigeria’s festival of
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
less impressive while that in social development has been most
disappointing. Indeed the present setting confronting us is a testimony that
Nigeria ranks among the poorest nations of the world.
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The question that agitates ones mind therefore is why is the country in
such an object poverty condition in the midst of plenty? Researchers on this
issues seem to come to one conclusion. The country has management
problem. There is the thinking that our inability to properly manage our
enormous resources to increase our prosperity. According to Ejiofor
(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
management problem. If our problem as identified is lack of knowledge and
poor management, one would expect that the growing number of
management training institutions and management consultancy services in
the country would have created considerable impact on the fortunes of the
nation. Many writers have averred that the management problems we have
in this country is traceable to the management approach developed in the
western countries not being appropriate to Nigerian situation because
Nigerian culture varied from western culture base of the management
theories. Also Akpala (1990:123) cautioned that the problem many not be
that of cultural variation but perhaps because Nigerian managers, at all
levels have not show proper orientation for rationalized management in
planning, organizing and controlling. Ejiofor (1981:128) gave a rather
practical explanation for the variation, He opined that it came from the
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separation and differences in orientation between the academic theorists who
propounded the theories and the practicing managers who applied them.
Whichever way we look at the matter, it is obvious that the relevance
of culture to responsibility and evaluating the success of managerial
approaches. The fact is most relevant in developing any management
approach for the Nigerian environment and we intend to explore this angle
deeply. According to Oshagbemi (1989:16) he stated that the following
factors have been pinpointed as being responsible for the poor performance
of most government-owned organizations in Nigeria.
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
gain the qualitative education it takes to properly manage organization.
Many rise from the ranks, from cleaners to clerks etc to managers as a result
they perform poorly.
ii.
Value System
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
as somebody to be respected since his words are words of wisdom, even
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when his ideas are wrong, the manager who must respect the value system
carries out the elders instruction. These practices then rundown the
organization since they do not go in line with the known management
practices.
iii. Person to Person Relationship
When this exists in organization then personalities are listened to,
attended to and respected instead of following a stated management
procedure. In our public organization including NTA, Awka, for example,
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
principles should be person-to-object and not person to person as it presently
the case in developed nations.
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,
family obligations are attended to at the detriment of the work obligations
for instance, Thursday and Fridays have now become the traditional burial
days with the result that sometimes only very few workers are seen loitering
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in the offices. Sometimes also to please an extended family members a
worker may commit offence which will make the organization suffer.
iv. Superstitious Belief
Nigerians believe in reincarnation with the result that somebody’s
failure can be attributed to his reincarnator or “Chi”. As a result of this basic
belief system, it may be very difficult to convince a worker to admit his
wrong doing and be sincerely sorry and responsible for them. Rather the
person’s “Chi” is blamed for the misdeeds. Also according to Oshagbemi,
when this is the case, then different management principles peculiar to the
Nigeria environment will have to be deviced to make them work. According
to Onyemelukwe (1981:182) cited an example where people are never told
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
Nigeria’s culture to tell somebody that he is totally wrong.
v.
Attitude to Time
Managers of our public enterprises including NTA, Awka have been
known to believe in “African time,” it has even become a syndrome because
after fixing a time for an event, cognizance is or hours are given before the
function takes off. In a work organization, such allowance cannot be given
because workers must be in their offices by 7.30am presently. In some
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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.
vi. Formation of Cliques
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
to organizational growth and progress and whatever decision taken in their
absence are never abide by this practice tends to pull the organization
backwards.
vii. Embezzlement
It is generally still believed in Nigeria that the funds and property of
any government-owned including NTA, Awka belong to the masses. As a
result, office holders see their appointments to office as an opportunity to
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 most out of it.
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viii. Bribery and Corruption
The progress that should ordinarily be made in offices are not made
because many believe in giving and receiving bribes. Sometimes,
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
still refuse to engage themselves in the bribing suffer so much.
ix. Retaining Indolent Workers
Some workers are not useful in organization because they are not
productive. But because they are related to the managers, they are retained.
Some of these categories of workers go to banks everyday, some go to the
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
look forward to receiving their pay.
Also according to Ejiofor (1986:130) stated that there are factors that
are still lacking in the Nigerian managers including managers of NTA,
Awka which if imbibe will helps to overcome some of the problems of
management mentioned above. These factors are as follows;
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1.
The Integrity Factor:
Ejiofor defined integrity as the aspect of one’s character rooted in his
conviction which serves to deter him from taking advantage of his position
or strength to gain at the expense of his organization, customer, client or
subordinate. The average Nigerian still lacks integrity and that is why
managers still use their position to take advantage of their clients,
organization, and subordinate. Though Ejiofor tried to differentiate between
integrity factor and corruption, it must be noted that once a manager is
encouraged to bribe in the name of “PR” to gain a contract, such manager
can also defraud his organization. The manager does not lack integrity but
can be termed corrupt. A corrupt manager therefore lacks integrity and that
is basically why managers take advantage of their organization when they
embezzle company’s fund or commit so many other offences.
2.
Attitude to Work:
The general attitude exhibited by the Nigerian managers to work is
poor and negative by Ejiofor’s definition, work attitude is the predisposition
to work arising from concepts, feelings, beliefs, habits and motives. He
attributed these to have arisen from historical socio-cultural and
infrastructural factors.
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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
salary, experience and academic stratification. One workers loose pride in
the work they are doing, they become so non-challant that anything goes.
The socio-cultural factors emphasize those practices which the
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
the enormous responsibilities facing him in the family.
Under the
infrastructural factors, it is maintained that good infrastructural facilities
enhances work in organization. Some of these are good roads, electricity,
water, good communication network etc. When these are available, they
102
engender positive attitude to work. But when they are lacking, workers
exhibit negative attitude to work.
3.
Poor Instrumentality/Reward System:
Instrumentality according to Ejiofor is the relationship between an
individual’s goal or the reward he desires and the organizational objectives
that he is expected to fulfil. Instrumentality is present when an individual
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
efforts in an organization which help the achievement of organizational goal
as directly related to the reward he is getting, he develops a negative attitude
to work and this pull down the progress of the organization.
4.
Lack of Discipline:
In discussing indiscipline as one of the factors perpetrating lack of
growth and progress in our public enterprises including NTA, Awka. We
emphasize the fact that people are allowed to go unpunished for crimes they
have committed. Take for instance if it is discovered that a manager has
embezzled some company’s funds, the manager is merely removed or
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
103
differently. If strict disciplinary actions are taken on offenders, others would
be deterred from committing similar offences.
5.
Meeting the Basic Needs:
Maslow in his hierarchy of needs writes that the needs of man are
arranged in a hierarchy comprising of physiological, safety, social, esteem or
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
responsibilities, a manager that lacks integrity steals organizations fund as an
insurance in case he is removed. So in this section, it is observed that most
managers of our public enterprises including NTA, Awka lack basic skills
and knowledge in management and also other factors influences their
behaviour as managers.
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4.2.
Government Interference, Conflicting Objectives, bureaucratic
Corruption, Lack of Motivation and Lack of Training and
Development are the Management Problems of NTA, Awka
The above statement have answered the research question two, which
sought to know the management problems of NTA, Awka. Form the
responses of the managers of NTA, Awka, it is indicated that Government
Interference, Conflicting Objectives, bureaucratic Corruption, Lack of
Motivation and Lack of Training and Development are the Management
Problems of most public enterprises in Nigeria including NTA, Awka. The
performance of most public enterprises in Nigeria including NTA, Awka has
been generally disappointing, resulting in the words of Obadan (2000:8), in
widespread as to whether the benefits of public ownership are worth the
cost. Paul and Simon (cited in Obadan (2000:8) argued that in country after
country, unbridled state expansion has led to the following;
(a) Economic Inefficiency in the production of goods and services by the
public sector, with high cost of production, inability to innovate and
costly delay in delivery of the goods produced.
(b) Ineffectiveness in the provision of goods and services such as failure to
meet intended objectives diversion to benefits to elite group etc.
105
(c) Rapid expansion of the bureaucracy severally straining the public
budget with huge deficits of public enterprises becoming massive drain
on government resources, inefficiency in government etc. Most public
enterprises operate at a lost, and therefore constitute a massive drain on
government resources through transfers and subsidies. Obadan
(2000:10) further maintains that “in Africa, the poor performance of
public enterprises attracted a great deal of criticisms, particularly in the
1980s and the macro-economic policy environment arising from the
impact of the global economic crisis, become less accommodating to
the resulting inefficiently in resources allocation”. Ezeani (2006:224)
also stated that a number of factors account for the poor performance of
most public enterprises, the main reasons according to him are as
follows;
i.
Multiple and often contradictory objectives of the enterprises.
The social goals or obligations of most public enterprises often
conflict with their economic objectives for instance, some public
enterprises are expected to supply goods below cost in an effort to
subsidize the public, or hire workers to meet national employment
objectives even when they are already overstaffed. Consequently, they
become inefficient and ineffective.
106
ii.
Excessive Control and lack of Autonomy
Public enterprises managers including NTA, Awka suffers from
excessive control and interference in their daily operations by
supervising government department. Obadan (2000:11) also stated
that this often stifles management initiatives and leads to costly
operational inefficiencies and loss of accountability.
iii. Excessive Political Interference
Public enterprises also suffer from frequent political interference, they
are often seen as instrument of political patronage by the government
in power. This results in overstaffing, poor choices of product and
location recruitment of mediocre etc.
iv. Absence of Competitive Environment:
This leads to complacency of the past of the management of most
public enterprises, including NTA, Awka, resulting in poor service
delivery and inefficiency.
v.
Corruption
Most public enterprises, especially in the developing countries, such
as Nigeria, are seen as instrument for private wealth accumulation by
their managers and political appointees. Consequently, huge sum of
107
money are often siphoned into private accounts, leading to huge losses
by the enterprises.
vi.
Poor Infrastructures
The deteriorating state of infrastructure in most African Countries also
contributed to the failure of public enterprises as they contribute to
high cost of operation. In Nigeria for instance, power supply is
unreliable, consequently, most public enterprises rely on standby
generators which cost much to purchase and maintain. In addition, the
roads are in a bad state. Like in NTA, Awka according to GM.
Inadequate equipment constitutes challenges in the area of production
as well as transmission. Sometimes a reporter or a producer returns to
base with an empty cassette or a untransmittable material often being
in the field for hours. This could be due to bad tape mal-function of
equipment or even poor handling. This is very embarrassing
especially when the situation cannot be recreated one of the biggest
challenges that station has been facing since inception is running daily
transmission on generator. A large chunk of the stations lean finances
goes into the purchase of the diesel for running the generator. This is a
very challenging strength depends on how well we are received in the
commercial centers of Onitsha and Nnewi from all indications we are
108
barely received in these places. The 60KVA ups which would have
given us the much needed relief was damaged during installation by
the contractor company. So all these challenges are what we are
battling now to make sure that our services are better.
Also according to the response of one of the managers of NTA, Awka,
stated that nepotism, unqualified personnel’s are being hired into the system.
Leadership in Nigeria public organization has been highly influenced and
shaped by the country’s changing political scene. The experience of working
in the public service since independence has bee largely in the direction of
master-servant relationship al all levels, between ministers and top public
servants. Also the subordinates are very much removed from the decisionmaking arena. They are denied the opportunity of exercising the function of
presetting alternative ways of achieving objectives and setting consequences
of implementing policy alternatives. So the relationship between superiors
and subordinates in the public service in Nigeria as one of acrimony and
antagonism in the conflict rather than partnership in an enterprise with
resultant lack of team-work necessary in modern management.
Still in corruption, it is clear that most public enterprises, especially in
developing countries, such as Nigeria, are seen as instrument for private
wealth accumulation by their managers and political appointees. Huge sum
109
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
of public resources entrusted to them. Despite these expectations, public
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
lack of commitment, general poverty of Nigerian, lack of social services and
political interference. So corruption is a big problem, in a system where high
premium is place on material resources becomes a mean for private
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
our social institutions recognize people of questionable character.
Traditional rulers encourage people of questionable means in the society by
giving them chieftaincy title. So corruption is a major issue to tackle in the
public enterprises including NTA, Awka.
Striking on corruption as one of the management problem of public
enterprises in Nigeria including NTA, Awka. Ikejiani-Clark (1995:142) see
“corruption as the inducement of means of improper consideration to
commit a violation of duty, an inducement in cash or kind to secure services
or goods from public officials or agencies through illegitimate or unlawful or
irregular means”. As it was further stressed corruption in general include the
110
misuse of authority as a result of consideration of personnel gain which need
not necessarily be monetary. In public enterprises, corruption is mot usually
taken to mean the receiving or offering of money or other clear advantages
in return for contracts, not being obliged to discharge an obligation;
obtaining a job which one is not qualified. Also Arnold (1977:147) opined
that corruption is a behaviour of public officials which deviates from
accepted norms in order to serve private ends. Corruption is universally
accepted as exceptional behaviour tat is condemnable, like most concepts
used in the social science, corruption lacks an accepted definition.
Leadership is a universal phenomenon. The qualifies which go to
make a goon leader are essentially the same everywhere with inevitable
variations based on cultural and traditional difference. What is required in
public enterprises leadership are universal qualities recognized an accepted
everywhere particularly in democratic societies. Stockdale (1983:35) argued
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
integrity to stand behind your assessment. The quality and strength of an
administration lies in his or her capacity to effectively deal with the moral
complexities of the organization. The leaders give others a sense of
perspective and set the moral social and motivational climate among
111
followers. It is generally accepted that corruption is the public enterprises
problem and what is required in the country is a incorruptible leadership
which is not interested in acquiring wealth.
It is expected of any public officer to manage the affairs of the public
and society in general in good faith. This require high sense of moral
standard, accountability of resources, both human and financial in public
service, therefore becomes very important as it concerns development and
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
reasons for officials in public positions to indulge in corruption practices in
Nigeria, these include value system of the people, lack of commitment,
general poverty of Nigerians, lack of social services and political
interference.
Also looking at lack of motivation and lack of training and
development as a problem of management in Nigerian public enterprises
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
112
organization is more likely to be achieved and maintained if employees are
trained for he job then id arrangement are haphazard and left to chance.
Generally, training is often considered to be narrowly vocational in
contrast to education, which is liberal and concerned with the whole man.
However, an employer is interested in the responsibility, capacity for
leadership and foresight of his managers and supervisors, so that experience
including training courses, which demand institutive test stamina or broaden
people’s understanding of social stages and at certain levels as those which
increases technical knowledge or improves manual skills.
According to Nnadozie (2002:5) he stated that an employee who have
not gotten an adequate training before being given responsibility lack the
necessary confidence with which to execute the duty. A trained employee is
a confidant worker. He can think and originate ideas on how best to carry
out the task required of him or her.
The interrelationship between training and motivation is that a trained
employee is motivated employee. So the necessity for managers and
administrators to motivate their employees cannot be over-emphasized.
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
its employees. Indeed, no manager or administrator can succeed in achieving
113
optimal productivity for his or her enterprises without knowing what
motivates people. It was also suggested that all those who are responsible for
the management of private enterprises including NTA, Awka to build into
the entire system factors that will induce people to contribute as effectively
and efficiently as possible. A manager does this by building into every
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
enterprises that wants to succeed.
4.3.
Management Inefficiency and Poor Performance are the effects of
Management Problems on the Operational Efficiency of NTA,
Awka.
This section of the analysis will be guided by research question
number three, which sought to know the effects of management problems on
the operational efficiency of NTA, Awka and the measures of overcoming
these problems. Also form the response of the management of NTA, Awka,
it is clear that the effects could be poor performance and management
inefficiency. Most Nigerians have been living witnesses to the very poor
performance of the Nigerian public enterprises. Since independence, these
enterprises have not only failed to justify the huge government investment
114
and subventions to them but have constituted a huge financial burdens of the
government including NTA, Awka. Management inefficiency and poor
performance of most public enterprises led to their privatization, for example
NEPA to PHCN. So talking about poor management is also a major reason,
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
and therefore could not justify their continued existence.
One of the cardinal objectives for the establishment of public
enterprises in Nigeria was to aid economic development. Sequel to the weak
economic structures inherited from the Colonial government and the absence
of any strong indigenous capitalist and local entrepreneurs strong enough to
pilot the economic development of the country. Regrettably enough, the
public enterprises have not only been unable to justify the high hoped and
expectations reposed on them, but also appeared incapable of managing
efficiently, the huge financial resources hitherto appropriated to them for
their supposed crucial role. According to Ozor (2004:170) stated that public
enterprises in recent times, have been found to be inefficient, unproductive,
unprofitable and therefore have failed to perform most of the roles they were
expected to perform, this including NTA, Awka. Consequently, they were
seen in many quarters as constituting a financial burden on the government
115
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
come to symbolize inefficiency, red-tapism, lack of initiative and corruption,
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
themselves. The result is that million of naira of a significant proportion
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
employed to do, purchasing equipment which nobody knows how to
maintain and generally funding mismanaged enterprises and their debts.
Nigeria Airways and the National Electric Power Authority are just two
examples of such wasted fund.
Nwachukwu (1988:16) opined that a glance at the public corporation
– Nigerian Coal Corporation, Nigerian Airways and the Nigeria Railways to
operate efficiently necessitated the sub-contracting of the management of
this corporation to expatriates. Another reason for the privatization exercise
embarked upon in Nigeria was due to management inefficient which
characterized these enterprises. The enterprises were so poorly administered
116
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
existence. Referring to this point Ozor (2004:173) stated that it is surprising
to note that despite the existence of Centre for Management Development
(CDM), the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), the Nigerian
Institute of Management (NIM) and all our universities, a number of public
enterprises are still being managed on the principle of trial and error, or by
intuition and quite unscientific methods.
Adebayo (2000:169) stated that in considering the factor of
inefficiency in the Nigerian public service, thirteen main reasons are
identified below, these reasons according to him can be grouped broadly
under five main categories i.e institutional, political, psychological,
attitudinal and sociological.
Institutional
Faculty recruitment of employees
One of the banes of the Nigerian public organization is the
recruitment of mediocre or totally unsuitable candidates of preference to
candidates of high merit. The reasons for this ugly situation can be traced
directly to nepotism. Corruption plays only a little part and is generally
117
prevalent in the recruitment of very junior officials of lower middle rank
who see an opportunity of making money on the side by collecting little
bribes from applicants. Much as this situation is reprehensible, it is not the
heart of the matter. The selection of unsuitable candidates,, which undermine
efficiently and lower performance of higher grades of staff-assistance
secretaries,
accountants,
technical
officers,
works
superintendents,
information officers. Highly placed functionaries at the top of the system are
responsible for the recruitment of these grades of staff.
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
in the system, when mediocre or totally unsuitable candidate are appointed
to senior position in the public organization, the seed of inefficiency has
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
proclaimed in the certificate is supposed to carry. It is not unusual today to
find two young graduates holding the same degree qualification, but while
one can write down his thoughts and ideas in logical sequence and correct
118
grammar, the other can hardly write one sentence correctly without
elementary errors of spelling, grammar and in totally unintelligible prose.
Yet, they both hold the same degree qualification. This is why it is
frightfully important that the processes of recruitment or appointment should
be an instrument for the promotion of efficiency in the public organization.
Faculty and Frequency Postings
A man’s capability can be best demonstrated in field most familiar to
him by training and experience. When you put a man on a job for which he
has no previous experience or background training, then it is asking too
much expect him to be master of that job immediately. The situation
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.
The question of frequent postings, again usually argued on the ground of
exigencies of service can be detrimental to efficiency. No one who is
constantly on the move and never able to find his fact, let alone master the
subject matter of his schedule of work, can be expected to offer useful
advice or assist in the formulation of policy.
119
Inadequate Training
Admittedly, much progress has been made in various public
organizations towards training and staff development during the past
decades, and particularly since the introduction of a result-oriented approach
to public service. Attention appears to be focused on senior management
training to relative neglect of the numerous other cadres in the public
organizations.
Deterioration of Health
Perhaps because of domestic commitments and responsibilities, most
Nigerian public organization managers whose health has deteriorated to the
point of permanent impairment of efficiency, never learn to retire gracefully
from public office, they hold on and drag themselves to work, painfully
labouring with their official assignment by day, and collapsing on their back
after office hours. Mental concentration on work is difficult for a man
afflicted with a physical ailment, difficult aggrieved by the psychological
fear of the possible outcome of the illness. The General orders contain
adequate provision for dealing with official whose efficiency had run low as
dealing of ill-health, such official are required to be sent before a medical
board and if the board finds that such officials can no longer operate with a
120
degree of competence compatible with efficiency in the public organization,
they are to be removed from public service. In practice,, however this
provision in the general orders is hardly ever utilized, the fault is that of
Nigerian socio-cultural behaviour. The department boss who should initiate
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
the efficiency of public organization.
Incompetent Superior
It sometimes happens that by some fluke or deficiency in the system,
some incompetent officials climb to a high point of seniority, at which they
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
to achieve final placement at their level of incompetence when such officials
have to direct and supervise the work of junior officials, they infect the
121
juniors with their incompetence. In this particular instance the senior official
had made no worthwhile contribution to advance the progress of the matter
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
in the light of his experience and knowledge at a higher plane in the
department. His own submission will then go up to the permanent secretary
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
road to stagnation and inefficiency when he had nothing to learn or gain
from his superior, when there are quite a number of junior officials in this
predicament and there is no means of removing the obstacle before them
quickly, then the seed of inefficiency have been undoubtedly sown into the
system.
122
Lack of Clear Objectives
One great malady which afflicts most of the work in the public
organisation is the complete absence of goals of objectives forming targets
for public managers to pursue. A public manager placed on a schedule of
work or assigned to take charge of some specific department or organ of
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
meeting or the visit of some celebrity. Occasionally the placed routine is
broken by an order from above for the preparation of a memorandum on
some subject or by the issue of a query on certain development in such
occasion, there is some stir in department the official summoning his
subordinates and everyone rushing to an from. Between the month of
October and February attention is largely concentrated on the preparation of
the budget. The exercise is not approached with a sense of a programme of
achievement in relation to an objective, but largely as an annual routine
exercise.
123
False Declaration of Age
There is another allied cause of deterioration of efficiency in the
Nigerian public organization. This is the chronic habit of false declaration of
age by some public managers. It is remarkable how out of every ten public
officers in Nigerian public organizations, it is difficult to find fun of them
who declared their true age on joining the public service. This perhaps, is
another factor of socio-economic culture in Nigeria. The average Nigerian
wants to stay as long as possible in the public service in order to insure
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
innumerable personal and domestic commitments. Faced with these distant
but highly
foreboding problems, a good many Nigerian public officers
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
124
strain and become a physical wreck. Efficiency of course becomes seriously
impaired.
Attitude
False Reporting
This is a phenomenon commonly found when the public managers in
Nigeria used the system of confidential reporting. Some senior officials and
heads of department have been known to write untrue confidential reports on
their subordinates, giving to such subordinates merits and virtues that they
did not posses. The possible reasons for this situation is.
A reporting officer who has himself been guilty of conduct
unbelieving of an official in his position and who known that a certain
subordinate official is aware of the conduct, becomes afraid to write an
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.
125
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1
Summary
The performance of public enterprises in Nigeria has become a subject
of national debate and hence a matter of crucial policy agenda of the
government of this country for the past two decades. This is why many
investigative and administrative study groups, commissions, committees,
and bureaux have been set up to resolve the problem of poor performance of
these enterprises. Moreover, the manner of the implementation of the
privatization and commercialization policy of these enterprises has, more
than ever before brought this agenda to the fore. There have been serious
allegation of frauds, unethical deals, and lack of public accountability
surrounding the disposal of some of these public enterprises to the extent
that members of the Nigerian senate committee on privatization have
expressed concern on the matter. This unsatisfactory state of affairs on such
a matter that touches on the welfare and economic well-being of every
Nigerian cannot but attract serious research attention and study activity of
scholars in the areas of economic, politics and policy matters.
126
On the other hand, the study noted that management is a cross-curtain
concept that transcend in all facet of human endeavour. Thus, management
is seen as an activity as well as a process of getting things done in an
organization through people by planning, organizing, coordination,
controlling, supervising and directing. This presupposes that management is
geared towards achieving goals and objectives of organizations. Various
intervening variables tend to impinge on the efficient management of public
enterprises in Nigeria. Some of these problems are, conflicting objectives,
poor
management
board,
unstable
management
board,
general
incompetence, government interference, corruption and monopoly to
mention but a few.
5.2
Conclusion
The performance of public enterprises in Nigeria including that of
NTA, Awka has been regrettable inspite of huge sum of money invested on
them. However, without an attempt to checkmate these management
problems of public enterprises in Nigeria which include poor and unstable
management board, incompetence, excessive government interference and
control, conflicting objective, corruption and monopoly, achievement of
efficiency, profitability and socio-economic growth and development in the
127
country will be unwillingly dwelling in utopia. The current predicament of
public enterprises the world over, notwithstanding, an active public sector
presence is desirable so as to counterbalance the excesses and contradictions
of the ubiquitous private sector.
5.3
Recommendation
On the strength of the observations and findings made in this study the
following recommendations have been made.
i.
Effective training and development programme should be inculcated
by the management of NTA, Awka. The essence of training is to equip
staff with necessary skills and techniques needed for the particular job
in the organization. In the case of change in technology and
innovations, an employee needs to be educated and trained in relevant
job. This significantly will help to boost efficiency and effectiveness of
the company and ensure full capacity utilization.
ii.
Since it is agreed that motivation induces employee to give their best,
proper motivation cannot be de-emphasize in NTA, Awka. This could
take the form of promotion, increasing the salaries of employees,
allowing their initiative in some policy issues and remunerating them
adequately so that their social obligation and responsibilities are
128
attained with good working condition, employees of NTA, Awka no
doubt will increase their elasticity to achieving desired result.
iii.
Under government interference, there is a policy which will aim at
making management board independent and autonomy in issues
relating to employment and decision making. With this attempt,
excessive politicization will be checked thereby creating a competing
ground for skilled and qualified personnel to discharge their duties
without fear and favour. In addition, regulating government interference
through policy initiation will contribute positively to the performance of
the organization.
iv.
Conflicting objective is a very critical aspect of the problems. This is
because depriving enterprises their original role of social provisioning
will be to the detriment of the masses as exploitation will set in to
reconcile this two Opposing variables. There should be an equilibrium
between the loose and profit accruing to the masses and the government
respectively. With this situation in government owned companies which
NTA, Awka is one, each side will break down supposedly, the masses
should not wait to be completely provided for rather, it should be a joint
129
effort in which payment will be made for such social goods and
services.
v.
Also in bureaucratic corruption, government should see corruption as
a deadly cancer that has eaten deep into the fabric of our economy and
social life. This phenomenon has posed a serious set-back to the
achievement of the much desired socio-economic growth and
development in Nigeria. On this note, an effective correctional measure
should be ensured in the polity. Similarly any action of corrupt practice
among employees should be accompanied with a heavy sanction. For
example, such unethical issues as late coming, laissez fair attitude and
unwillingness to work attract punishment.
There are other strategies for improving public sector performance
1. Total Quality Management
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management technique that
emphasizes high-quality service (performance oriented civil service) and
customer satisfied (customer driven government) TQM entails the constant
improvement of product or services quality and reliability, combined with
shorter and more reliable response times through the production and sales
chain or services-provision process. It also involves increasing flexibility of
130
response to customers requirements and a constant concern about efficiency
through waste elimination, the removal of duplication of efforts and
curtailing overlaps of roles and responsibilities.
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
scrutiny as service provide by the private sector. To respond to these
requirements, the civil service should be provided with adequate material,
human and financial resources.
 African government should now emphasize investment in developing
human capital towards effective policy formulation, analysis,
implication and evaluation. Trained and highly developed personnel,
complemented by political will and commitment, have become basic
inputs into the realization of the public sector reform agenda in Africa.
 A competency-based approach to the training and development of
public servants is recommended and to train public servants as better
managers in widely recognized as an essential element of any public
service reform programme.
131
 Schools and universities curricula should include civic education
geared towards the transformation of mentalities and instilling a
business culture into citizens and public servants in particular.
3. Decentralization
Decentralization of responsibilities in its various forms is advocated as a
mean of achieving public sector effectiveness and ensuring that public
administration are more responsive to citizens needs. Decentralization
improves the quality of decision making through better information flows
and participation of all stakeholders at the local level. In order to strength the
capacity of decentralized agencies, substantive measure include:
 Delegation of authority in respect of finance and personnel
management to managers at lower levels within the framework of
broad guidelines from the centre to strength field administration and
laterally from policy making units to implementing organs.
 Mechanism for full participation of the private sector and CSOS in
public policy formulation and decision-making should be established
in order to improve local democracy, accountability, efficiency equity,
effectiveness and sustainability in the provision of social services
country wide.
132
4. Ethics and Accountability
These can be enhanced by:
 Fostering and promoting conditions of service that enhance
professional and ethical standards.
 Advancing and affirming sound policies on recruitment, training and
public personnel management.
 Creating, strengthening and upholding the integrity and effectiveness
of public institution of accountability.
 Enacting, improving and effectively enforcing legal instruments, code
of conduct and regulations that promote ethics and accountability.
 Establishing coalition of business association and civil society to
expose and combat corruption.
 The systematic and impartial prosecution of violators.
 Fostering popular participation to ensure the responsiveness,
accountability and transparency of governance.
5. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
It is well understood and acknowledged that application of the new public
management tools cannot be possible without the information and
communication technologies. Indeed, the information should flow freely and
133
timely from one institution to another and within institutions in order to be
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
continents, the following measures are recommended.
 African countries should commit themselves individually and
collectively to creating and enabling environment for the development
of ICTs, including broadcasting at government, private sector, civil
society organization and international levels.
 Government should eliminate import tariff on ICT related equipment
and services, and identify mechanism to encourage national and subregional manufactured of suitable ICT equipment.
6. Enhancing Local Financial Management
 The establishment of tools that will help to develop the financial
management of the local authorities is a key element, as are analytical
tools to backstop appropriate appraisal. Sound management and
transparency in local financial system should also be encouraged.
 Establishing a civil service and the training of municipal tax collectors
should become a priority. This must be centred on local accounting,
local budgeting, financial analysis and local tax system; and
134
 It is recommended to establish a regional institution of credits to local
authorities that will serve as interface between financial markets and
local authorities.
7. Partnership with CSOS and the Private Sector
 The involvement of the private sector and civil society organizations
(SCOs and NGOs, etc) in public sector management is now
recognized worldwide. African government should improve their
relationship with these organizations, and use them as partners in
development rather than adversaries.
135
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