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 PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Head of Department Dean of Faculty
 iii

APPROVAL PAGE

This Thesis has been approved for the award of Master of Science degree in

Public Administration and Local government, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka.

____________________ ____________________
PROF. C. OFUEBE EXTERNAL EXAMINER
Project Supervisor

____________________ ____________________
PROF. FAB. O. ONAH PROF. O.E. EZEANI
Head of Department Dean of Faculty
 iv

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God Almighty for his guidance and love

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 - - - - - - - - i
Certification page - - - - - - - ii
Approval Page - - - - - - - iii
Dedication - - - - - -- - - iv
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - v
Abstract - - - - - - - - vi
Table of Contents - - - - - - - vii

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - 7
1.3 Objective of the Study - - - - - 12
1.4 Significances of the Study - - - - 13
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study - - - 14

CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review and Methodology

2.1 Literature Review - - - - - - 16
2.1.1 The Concept of Management - - - - 16
2.1.2 The Public Enterprises - - - - - 41
2.1.3 Reasons for the failure of Public Enterprises - - 58
2.1.4 Factors Affecting Management of Public
Enterprises in Nigeria - - - - - 64
2.1.5 Gap in the Existing Literature - - - - 69
2.2 Hypotheses - - - - - - - 70
 viii

2.3 Operationalization of the Key Concepts - - - 71

2.4 Methodology - - - - - - - 72
2.5 Theoretical Framework - - - - - 76

CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Background information on NTA Awka - - - 81

CHAPTER FOUR: data presentation, Analysis and finding

4.1 Lack of good Knowledge of Management and Operational
Efficiency of NTA, Awka - - - - - 93

4.2 Government Interference, Conflicting Objectives,

bureaucratic Corruption, Lack of Motivation and
Lack of Training and Development are the Management
Problems of NTA, Awka - - - - - 104

4.3 Management Inefficiency and Poor Performance are the

effects of Management Problems on the Operational
Efficiency of NTA, Awka. - - - - - 113

CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Summary - - - - - - - 125

5.2 Conclusions - - - - - - - 126
5.3 Recommendations - - - - - - 127

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.

 16

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 memo-

writing (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 Personal Accounts Production

Department Department Department Department

Marketing/Commercial
Department
General Personnel Accounts & Production
Administrati Department Finance Packaging Ware- General, Sales
on Public Recruitment Revenue Housing Units Promotion of Sales
Relations staff Collection and Advertisement
Security Disposition Accounting
Transport Development Disbursement
(units) Reconciliation
(units)

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. economic arguments

ii. argument about management and efficiency: and

iii. Ideological conceptions of what the role of government should be.

i. 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.

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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”.

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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.

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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
 82

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.
 83

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

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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 Finance Engineering Marketing News Programme

ve manager manager manager manager manager manager

Asst. As. Finance Asst. Asst. Asst. News Asst. Programme

Administrative manager Engineering Marketing manager manager
manager manager manager

Prin. Admin. Principal Principal Principal Principal Prin. Program

Officer Accountant Engineer Marketing Editor officer
Officer

Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior

Admin. Accountant Engineer Marketer Editor pgoramme
Officer officer

Admin. Accountant Engineer 1 Marketing Editor 1 Programme

Officer 1 1 Officer 1 Officer 1

Admin Accountant Engineer 2 Marketer 2 Editor 2 Programmer 2

Officer 2 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 following-

personnel 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
 97

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.

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(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.

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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 decision-

making 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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.
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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 sub-

regional 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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sponsored by the un agency for international development
Washington D.C. 17-19 February.

Olum, Y. (2004) Modern Management Theories and Practices. A Paper

Presented at the 15th East African Central Banking Course, 12th July
2004 at Kenya School of Monetary Studies.

NEWS PAPERS
Ogundipe, V. (1986) “The Inevitability of Privatization” the Guardian:
January 7. Lagos, p.7.

Okigbo, P. (1998) “A Layman’s Guide to Privatization” The Guardian,

August 19.

INTERNET MATERIALS
Economic Commission for Africa (2004) Public Sector Management
Reforms in Africa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. http://www.uneca.org.

Wu, Y. (2004) Rethinking the Taiwanese Development state the china

Quarterly 177.