University of Nigeria Research Publications
Aut
hor
NWOKOLO, Louis Anayo PG/M.Sc/04/35624
Title
Motivation and Productivity in the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria, PLC (PHCN) Enugu
Facu
lty
Social Sciences
Dep
artm
ent
Public Administration and Local Government
Dat
e
November, 2006
Sign
atur
e
TITLE PAGE
MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE POWERHOLDING COMPANY OF
NIGERIA, PLC (PHCN) ENUGU
NWOKOLO LOUIS ANAYO PG/MSc/04/35624
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER
OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT)
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINlSTRATlON AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
NOVEMBER 2006
DEDICATION
This project is dedicated to my mother, Mrs. Patricia Nwokolo, for her
immense and unreserved commitment to my academic success.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researcher owes a lot to the authorities 'of University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, for accommodating me in this tasking programme.
I cannot forget the inspiration I drew from my supervisor, Prof. F.C.
Okoli, whose relentless efforts, directives, co-operation and untiring attention
brought this work to a successful completion.
I am especially grateful to the head of Department, Prof. N.N. Elekwa,
for his constructive criticism. I am also grateful to the following lecturers: Dr.
C. Ofuebe, Dr. Tony Onyishi, Dr. (Mrs) M. Obi, Dr.(Mrs) R.C. Onah, Dr. Fab b
Onah, Dr.0.U. Nnadozie, Mr. Ebonyi Ozor, and others for their co-operation
and advice. I also express gratitude to many of my friends and colleagues for
their support and encouragement.
Above all, I want to give God Almighty the glory for good health,
strength and wisdom in the progress of this course.
ABSTRACT
'The greatest problem confronting some managers is the question of how
to make employees perlorm better. Performance is achieved through causing
the enlployee or subordinate or the receiver of the order to act. And to cause
the subordinate to act on the orders is achieved through motivation, which is an
important clement in promoting productivity.
This study focuses attention on motivational variables in public sector
organizations in Nigeria using Power Holding Con~pany of Nigeria, PLc
Linugu as case study. It is designed to assess the Performance of workcrs, b
evaluate n~otivational schemes involved in the sector, and to suggest ways of
improving production in the sector. The data collection for these purposes was
from Textbooks, Newspaper, jourrials and periodicals.
The staff of ITKN Plc, Enugu was also interviewed orally. The data
were later tabulated and analyzed using simple percentages. However, the
results revealed some of the various problems facing the organization to
include inefficiency in PI-ICN Plc, Enugu and unified pay structure
(unconditional rcward). 'l'hc study also revealcd that ~nolivation cnhanccs
productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Plc Enugu.
In the course of this research work, the researcher found out that
inefficiency in PHCN and low productivity were caused by diversion of money
meant Tor payment of staff salaries, fringe benefits and other allowances; into
private account by the top management staff.
Another problem confronting PI-ICN Plc, as discovered by the
rcscarchcr was disagrccmcnt bctwceli staff of the organization and the
nianagcment of the organization, which includcs non-involvement oT worker's
union in decision-malting process'? As a solution, the researchcr recolnmcndcd
that in the Nigerian context, PI-ICN workers should have an effective reward
systcn~ both financially and psychologically.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
r 7 . I itle page - - - - - - - i-
Approval page - - - - - -
Iledication - - - - - - -
Aclti~owledgement - - - - - -
Preface - - - - - - -
'Pablc of contents - - - - - -
List of tables - - - - - - -
(I1 IAI'TER ONE: GENERAL INTROIIUCTION
1.1 Background of the study - - - -
1.2 Statement of the problem - - - -
1.3 Ob-jectives of the study - - - -
1.4 Signilicance of the study -- - - -
1.5 Scope and limitations of the study - -
CIIAI'TER TWO:
LITERArI'URE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY
2.1 Motivation and no ti vat ion theories - -
2.1.4 Motivation theories - - - - -
2.1.2 Fredrick Taylor's theo~y - - -
2.1.3 Human relations movement - - -
- vii
2.1.4 A braham Maslow's theory - - - -- 16
2.1.5 Fredrick I-Ierzberg's theory - - - - 20
2.1.6 Victor Vroom's theory - - - - - 21
2.1.7 Douglas Mcgregor's theories - - - - 22
2.1.8 Views against certain motivation prescri~tions- - 25
2.1.9 Variations in the theories and practice of motivation 28
2.1.10 t'roductivity and productivity measureinent - 30
2.1.11 Work attitudc in Power I Iolding Company of
Nigeria PLC - - - - - - 5 1
2.1.12 Synthesis of the review - - - - 5 7
2.1.13 Gaps in the literature - - - - 62
2.4.1 'I'hcorctical lramework - - - - - 7 1
2.4.2 Methods of data collection - - - - - 78
2.5 Mctllods of data presentation and analysis - - 8 3
CIIAPTER 'I'liKEE: THE STUDY AKEAIGENERAL INFORMATION
3.1 13ackground area information - - - - 8 5
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSH
4.1.1 IJniiied pay structures in PEICN - - - - 8 9
4.1.3 Prospect of promotion in PHCN - - - - 94
4.1.4 Iimpirical cvidcncc of thc analysis - - - 98
4.2.1 linvironmental factors in PI-ICN - - - - 113
4.2.2 Inf'or~nation flow in I'I-ICN - - - - 118
4.2.3 Approaches and strategies for productivity in
PI-ICN, Enugu- - - - - - - 130
4.3 Establishing or strengthening an institutional base for
personnel management - - - - - 141
4.3.1 Development managerial competence - - - 142
4.3.2 Monitoring personnel ~iianagenient - - - 145
4.4.0 I~nplications of findings for administrative efficiency- 147
4.5.0 Perso~inel management implications - - - 155
4.5.1 Socio-economic implications - - - - 158
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSlON AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary - - - - - - - 159
5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - 165
5.3 Kccommendations - - - - - - 169 4
Bibliography- - - - - - - - 177
Appeiidiccs - - - - - - - - 183
Table 4.1.1
Table 4.1.2
Table 4.1.3
'Table 4.1.4
'I'able 4.1.5
'I'able 4.1.6
LIST OF TABLES
Does the unified pay structure (unconditional rewards)
Table 4.1.7
Table 4.1.8
Table 4.1.9
in PI-ICN affect you job performance? - -
Does fair and adequate compensation affect
your job performance in PHCN? - - -
To what extent can prospect of promotion
affict your job performance? - - -
Response rate of questionnaire? - - -
Percentile fi-cquency distribution oC respondents
according to sex? - - - - -
Percentile frequency distribution of respondents
according to age? - - - - -
Percentile frequency distribution of respondents
according to marital status? - - -
Percentile frequency distribution of respondents
according to educational attainment? - -
Percentile frequency distribution of respondents
according to length of service?---- - -
Table 4.1.10 Percentile frequency distribution of respondents
according to income annually? - - -
Table 4. I. l 1 Does your job offer you any of the following
(choose one or more as it applies to you)? -
Table 4.2.4
Table 4.2.5
l'able 4.2.6
Table 4.2.7
Table 4.1.12 How satisfied are you with your job? - -
Table 4.1.13 If you are offered a comparable job somewhere
else, how would you feel about it? - -
Table 4.2.1 Does the environment factors displaced in PHCN
affect your job performance - - -
Table 4.2.2 To what extent can lack of infornlation about what
is happening around your workplace (your
recognition) affect your job performance? -
'I'able 4.2.3 Your supervisor often encourages the people
in your work group to think o l better ways of
getting work done, which may never been
thought of before? - - - - -
Your supervisor often compliments the people in
your work group if they do their work well. -
The people in your department often blame
each other when things go wrong in their work.
'Yo what extent do you prefer to work with your
co-worker as a group in PHCN? - - -
What kind of pressure for high productivity
do you have from your co-workers? - -
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through
employees to do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But
this is casicr said than donc. Motivation practice and theory are difl'icult
subjects touching on several disciplines. lnspite of enormous research, pure as
well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more
ol'tcn than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation, one must
u~ldcrstand Il~rman naturc it scll*. And licrc lies Ihc problcn~ I luman nalurc can b
be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of
this is a prerequisite to effective inanagement and leadership.
MOTIVAr1'ION IS THE KEY TO PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
There is an old saying, you can take a horse to the water but you cannot
force it to drink; it will drink, only if it is thirsty, so with people. They will do
what Ihcy want to do or othcrwisc motivated to do whether it is lo excel on thc
workshop floor or in the ivory tower they must be motivatcd or driven to it
either by themselves or through external stimulus. The question is, arc they
born with the self - motivation or drive? Yes and no. Motivation is a skill
which can and must be learnt. 'This is essential for any business to survive and
succeed. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation.
Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training. The
improve~i~ent is a slow and long process. Therefore, motivation techniques can
improve per forn~ance very cluickl y. There are many options and uninitiated
managers may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there are broadly
seven strategies for motivation.
(a) Positive rei~iforceinentll~igh expectation
(b) Effective discipline and punishment
(c) Treating people fairly
(d) Satisfying employees' needs
(e) Setting work related goals
(1) Kcstructuring jobs
(6) Base reward on job performance.
l%sentially, there is a gap between an individual actual state and sonie
desired state, and the manager tries to reduce this gap. Motivation in effect
is a means to reduce and manipulate the gap. It is inducing others in
specific way towards goals, specifically stated by the motivator and general
incrcase in the overall organizational productivity. Naturally, these goals is
also thc nlotivational system wl~ich must conform to the corporate policy of
thc organization .The n~otivational systc~ii must be tailored to the situation
and to the organization.
I . 1 UACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM
'Fhe National Electric power Authority (NEPA), now Power Holding L'
Company of Nigeria (PI-ICN), PLC, was established in 1972 by the Federal
Government to supply clcctrical energy to the whole country for its eflective
and efficient industrialization and economic development. The conipany is
responsible for the generation and supply of electrical energy to the nation and
it is empowered to gerierate revenue for the Federal Government by charging
consumers of electric poww some token fees. Inspite of all the subvention
given to 1'1 ICN by 17edcral Government, 1'1-ICN has perform below b
expectation. In his review of government subsidies "Garba,(1997:4) stated that
the fcderal government released to PHCN # 1 1.2 million, # 10 million and # 1.2
nil lion in 1981, 1990 and 1997 respectively to improve its financial status. 111
1999 the federal government released the sum of #3 nill lion to PI-ICN and the
money was to make sure that PWCN improves effectively and efficiently in its
services to the atio ion. Incidentally, inonies meant for PHCN were diverted by .
unscrupulous officials. For example, the then former Power and Steel
Minister, late chief Bola Tge, in 1999 diverted funds meant for PHCN, to his
private account, to the detriment of the company. Adetokunbo, (1989:7)
stressed further that "the inefficiency ia PHCN became rampant and
widespread in 1984 following the appointment of 111ilitar-y officers into key
positions in the organization. Apart from unsteady power supply, money meant
for payment of PHCN staff salaries, fringe benefits and allowance were
diverted to other things. This resulted to late payment of staff salaries and
allowa~ices, which affected tlie workers inorale to work, and productivity was
greatly and adversely affected. In the field of human resources this means that
management strategies in place during reform processes may be unable to
address problems such as low morale, poor performance and chronic
absenteeism. Depletion of key PIICN workers is a costly loss of expensive
trained human capital that afrects national strategies for development.
Meallwhile, the current fashion seems to blame govern~i~eiit and public
scrvanls Ihr the public sectors poor pcrli~rmance as a powcr providcr. b
Employee's in government employment are labeled as "unproductive poorly
motivated" "inefficient" "client unfriendly", "absent" or even corrupt". Wide
spread deinotivation is said to be due to unfair public salaries which are
presented as tlie de facto justification of inevitable predatory behaviour and
public to private brain drain (Ferinho, 2000). This has eroded the implicit civil
service values of well functioning public organizations in Nigeria. Public
seclor responses fail to acknowledge the need Tor a new style "psychological
a d social contract" that takes into account the individual perspective of the
eii~ployinent relationship (Chomitz, et. a1 1998). A stark contrast exists
between the apparent ease of blaming vandals and the reluctance of official
discourse to race up to the problem in Nigeria. It is a coinnion knowledge that
predatory behaviour by PHCN staffs, such as out side the office transactions,
like negotiation of meters illstallations illegally, sales of PHCN equipnieiits
and materials, collection of bribe before responding to repair calls. (emphasis
mine). Together these practices constitute a set of individual "coping 74
strategies' the I'HCN staffs way of dealing with unsatisfactory living and
working conditions. The prevalence of such practices has increased in recent
years in Nigeria. It has long been considered politically incorrect to raise these
delicate issues of unethical behaviours explicitly (Mcpake et. al: 2000).
Recently however, some attempts of bringing the debate out into the open,
beyond public service rhetoric and ritual condemnation of "unethical
behaviour" have becn made. (Adam, 2000:49- 62). 'I'hese have provided a +
better understanding of how individuals create and use opportunities for
pursing their own interests, an understanding that is the key to developing
adequate strategies to deal with the consequences. With current salary levels in
Nigeria, it is quite surprising that so Inany people actually do remain in public
service, when they could earn much more in private practice. However, money
is clearly only one element; other "motivators" include social responsibility,
self-realization, access to medical service, professional satisfaction and
prcstigc (I'angu:2000). Still, income does remain fundai~lental. Consequently,
individuals generate income topping-up strategies which allow professionals to
achieve a standard of living closer to what they expect.
In any case, the traditional focus of human resources for effective power
developn~ent in Nigeria seems to have been on improving planning, education
and training, not enough attention has been paid to management and the
personal needs of PHCN workers. Improved housing, better worlcing
conditions and greater opportunities for continuing education and career
developlnent can act as powerful incentives and lead to higher productivity.
(Parker et. al: 1994) wrote that higher perrormance in organization is achieved
through causing personnel to act on orders. And to cause the personnel to act
011 orders of management is achieved through motivation, an important
element in pron~oting productivity. The researcher has been worried and
apprcliensive over what might be the cause of this situation (conti~~ued
iilcflicicnt performance) and so decided to investigate why tl~ese negative,
occurrences have continued to occur in PIlCN or that Management does not
motivate the workers towards productivity.
1.2 STATEMENT OF ?'HE PROBLEM
Since the lnanageinent of hun~an resources is an integral part of gcncral
power services management, managerial issues differ significantly from
country to country according to the nature of the prevailing power delivery
system. I lowcver, an analysis of the issues in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria, PLC Enugu, indicates that, the main problems are:
(A) Maldistribution of personnels.
(i) Shortages or surpluses in one or more categories, which lcads to
poor utilization and low productivity.
/an\ X T -.-- A z - r - - A - - . - . - A I . .. 1 - 1 - A
(C) Poor l i v i ~ ~ g ar~d workir~g conditions.
Most of the problems outlined above have existed and persisted in Power
IIoldi~ig Company of Nigcria for many years. The concern of the power
Holding company of Nigeria personnel is to see persoimel management
improved through a systematic application of sound managerial principles and
techniques is not new in Nigeria as manifested in inevitable labour dispute,
moonlighting predatory behaviour, public-to-private brain drain, coping
strategics and conflict of interest as the factor justification. But it seems that
the traclitional focus of human resources for power development in Nigeria has #
heen on improving planning education and training; not enough attention
appears to have been paid to management and the personnel needs of workers.
Improved housing, better working condition and greater opportunities for
continuing education and career developnient can act as powerfil incentives
and lead to higher productivity.
'l'he Federal Government of Nigeria may need to solve ihesc proble~iis
in power Jlolding Company of Nigeria, as more than 70% of the federal
Govern~ncnt power service budgets are earmarked to be spent on personnel
(FGN: 2002). The concern for getting the most out of this expenditure is fully
justified. Current economic trends in Nigeria make it particularly urgent to get
good value for money.
Thus, paradoxically, at the same time that the federal Government is
being forccd by econonlic crisis to reduce expenditure, she is under enormous
pressure to expand the power services and make them both accessible and
affordable. The power service needs in Nigeria seem to have grown faster than ,#
the national economy, as power services expenditure has an increasing greater
proportion of the Gross National Product (FGN: 2002)
This conflicting pressure can be reconciled nlostly by improving the
productivity of PHCN, and attention needed naturally be turned to the most
coniponcnt in the equation in terms of budget expenditure, personnel.
For instance, a 10% rise in personnel productivity, brought about by modifying
skills, inotivation, organization and procedurc would mean that 10 workers of a b
given category could do the work previously done by 11 such workers, thus
"freeing" the extra person for other work. This is equivalent to having an extra
worker without paying any of the usual costs of training, salary, benefits,
allowances and so on. Thus, following this argument, services can actually
expand in the fBce of Shrinking power budgets. Although no systematic study
has been under taken to estimate the extent of the waste of the resources in
PI-ICN, there is some evidence that it is considerable. If even half of the waste
is clue to low productivity of personnel, it would be reasonable to expect a
substantial reduction when there is better personnel management.
Therefore, this study is an attempt to investigate the personnel
motivation at PHCN, Enugu, with the aim of identifying ways of improving the
productivity of the workers.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to evaluate the place of motivation
techniques in actualizing the objectives (productivity) of Power Holding
Company of Nigeria,PI,C.
However, this study has three specific objectives;
i. To evaluate how the unified pay structures, Compensation and prospect
for promotion affect productivity in PHCN, Enugu. . . 11. To evaluate how environmental factors and information flow affect
productivity in PMCN, Enugu and
iii. To propose systematic approaches and appropriate strategies for #
improving productivity in PHCN.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Since tlie workforce is the largest and most important resource of the
I'IICN, it merits the priority attention which is now being given to improving
its ~~ianageinent; particularly in respect of motivation and productivity. Four
major issues inform the necessity for and significance of this study. First, is the
need to identify effective strategies for motivating PHCN personnel. We hope
the approaches will assist tlie PFICN management in Nigeria to ensure that
nmnpower is not only adequately planned for and trained, but also skillfully
i~ianaged, including the improvement of career development and incentive
schenies, to ensure its effective utilization.
Second, the use of the findings of this study is intended to lead to goal
. . . r A ._ 1 . 1 P I I I~ l l I r - r 1
decisions on improving productivity in PHCN. Then, motivation processes and
strategies will thus become less arbitrary and more influenced by objective
consideration. Also, this study could be used to draw attention to productivity
and motivation options available in the power sector which will lead to wide
spread effort for improving supervision of front-line PHCN workers and the
provision of continuing education in powcr supply companies in Nigeria.
f:inally, as no undertdcen study of the migration of electric power personnel in
West Afiican Countries has becn completed (Macq et al, 2000:7). 'This study
might bc uscd to determine the reason for tlie migration and how the problem 1
oi'out migration of key PIICN workers from West African Countries could bc
mitigated.
1.5 SCOPE AND LIMITA'TIONS OF THE STUDY
'The scope of this study is limited to the Power Holding Company or
Nigeria (PHCN), Enugu. Althougl~ there are autonoinous ma~~agement Boards
lor each or the Zonal District, the operation and conclitions of service remain
the same as uniform guidelines and control are centrally derived Srom tlie
Federal Ministry of Power and Steel. Though the motivating factors are not
uniform throughout the federation. Inspite of the cost, it is also important to
note that research in the developn~ent and use of human resources cannot be
expected to provide definitive solutions to problem. Its aim, rather, is to
accu~nulate information and in sights that will elucidate the nature of options
and advantages and disadvantages of different approaches so that decision
maltcrs, at any level can act on the basis of inrormed judgement. Improvement
of efficient power delivery research mal~ageinent can succeed only if it is par1
of a broad process of organizational change. Such a change must be multi-
fixtorial in order to reflect the organization coinplex relationships with the
external environments technical, political and cultural as well as its internal
structure and the resodrces and technology that is employed. Such research will
need several kinds of support, including substantial support from the upper
organizational Icvcls. 'I'hcrc may be cxtcrnal constraints on cl~angc, bul ,
b
external pressures can also be helpful.
Oftcn, very useful rcsearch may be rejected by decision -makers. It may
not fit with their perspective, or they may not appreciate its value or know how
to use it. Managers need to be trained to have positive attitudes to research.
'I'hey need to become intelligent users of research, and of data, to be able to
commission relevant study like this, and to be able to read research report
critically. It is advisable for PHCN management, to have a systematic
arrangcmcnt liw ~ranslorming rcsearch and statistical data into a form and style
that managers and other employees will find comyrel~ensive and usable. PHCN
personnel ~nanagement can organize opportunities for their leaders to discuss
rcscarch data and their application to mal~agei~ient problem solving and
tlccision making. National mechanism are needed to define research policies
on community needs, promote their application, and encourage and monitor the
use of research fillding in PI-ICN decision malting.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
-< \
'I'he literature review is organized, for brevity and clarity, as follows;
1. Motivation and Motivation theories
, . 11. I'roductivity and productivity measurement
iii. Work attitude in PI-ICN
iv. Synthesis of the review
v. Gaps in thc litcrature.
b
2.1 MOTlVATlON AND MOTIVATlON THEORIES
Motivation is described as a process that arouses, channels, sustains and
gives people's behaviour purpose and direction. It is concerned with the 'Why'
of human behaviour; what it is that makes people do things. Or simply, it is the
stimulation of people to action to accomplish desired goals. Motivation is a
complex factor as it concerns individuals and their needs and every individual
is unique. But there are some things that individuals have in common, for
cxample, physical, social, and growth needs, except that the strength of these
needs varies fro111 person to person and from time to time within the same
person. The behavioural scientists states that needs lie behind hun~an behavior,
hence it is necessary to know about them as to know why people do what they
so in any situation of interest. The topic of motivation has attracted the
attention of many other workers. Ifechukwu (1 977:47-52) defines motivation
as tlie driving force that stimulate an individual to action. Aji-jiola (1976)
describes it as a process of stimulating people to action to achieve desired
goals or accomplish desire tasks. Vroorn (1964) gives a more conceptual
delinition. According to him, motivation is a process governing choices made
by a person or lower organism among alternative forms of Voluntary action.
For our purpose, wc d c h c llic process of motivating cmployccs as
influencing subordinates to work for a cause desired by the motivator or leader.
Motivating must therefore be distinguished from making workers happy which
is associated with tlie good disyositioii of an individuals or group, a disposition 4
which need not necessarily result in working for a cause desired by tlie leadcr.
An informal group conversing convivially when the boss is away is happy but
not necessarily motivated.
For the purpose o r clarity, we organizc our review on motivation as
following:
1. Motivation theories
. . 11. Views against certain motivation prescription
, . . 1 1 1 . Variation in thcory and practice oTniotivation
2.1.1 MOTIVATION THEORIES
I-luman beings have co~nglex characteristics hence human needs that
r , condition human behaviour are equally complex with a lot of variations.
Bccause of these, motivation as part of the directing function in organisation is
comglcx for understanding and operation. The result is that motivation has
faced a lot of thought and research as to how it operates in organization. Many
proposals made over time have ranged from tlie work of Fredrick Taylor to tlie
I-iunian Relation Movement, to Abraham Maslow, Fredrick I-Ierzberg, to
1.3xpcctmcy l'licory by Vroom and McGregor's 'I'lieories X and Y. 'l'licy arc b
discussed as follows:
2.1.2 FREIIRICK TAYLOR'S THEORY
We may recall that Fredrick Taylor advanced tlie theory of niotivation
through financial rewards. He said that to motivate workers to perform,
managers, have at their disposal wage incentive. This approach, based on an
assumption which was later brought into focus as theory x by Douglas
McGrcgor, States that workers are lazy and can be motivated only with
financial rewards. Taylor's prescription was criticized as too narrow, that it
emphasised only the economic aspects of workers' needs. But applying this to
the Nigerian situation, Ejioibr (1984) states that where the level of education is
low and where skilled manpower is in short supply, the highest level of
aspiration of many workers remain within the range of satisfying tlie lowcr
needs, wliich niore often than not is economic. So the relevance of the criticism
depends on the situation.
2.1.3 IIUMAN RELATION MOVEMENT
The liunian relation movement attempted to fill the gap in Taylor's
theory by brining up tlie social needs of the worker as a motivating factor to
improve productivity. l'he nlovement proposed that if worlters are treated as
human beings by management and if an environment is created at the work
situation in which worker enjoy a sense of belonging with tlieir mates, b
productivity would improve. We could see that, practically, this could prove
inadequate because of its overeniphasis on nial<ing people happy, which could
not consistently improve productivity. Otherwise, actuation by supply of social
needs and by financial incentives do contribute in motivating worlters if
applied with proper balance. And we could see that both appear in the analysis
of hierarchy of human needs in the motivation continuum by Abraham Maslow
2.1.4 ABRAHAM MASLOW'S THEORY
Abraham Maslow apparently did a good job of bring together these
isolated views of motivation in terms of needs, into a United thought of what
motivates workers. I-Ie identified human needs to be many but interrelated, not
isolated in single needs. Those needs that motivate are known as cognitive or
striving needs, for they move people by a desire to satisfy them. The needs are
said by Maslow to be related in a hierarchical order in the sense that some are
higher in level than others. Those needs which come first must be satisfied, at
least to some extent, before higher, more abstract needs, emerge and become
doln~nani over behaviour (Maslow: 1954)
Maslow's classification of needs in their hierarchical order is
i. Physiological'
. . 11. Security
... n r l . Social
iv. Eslecm
v. SclT actualization or self fulfil l l~mt
1 IIERAI~CIIY OF NEEDS PYRAMID
Fig 1: Maslow's Iiie~.archy of iieeds pyramid
The first level-basic physiological needs, this consist of prinia~y need
for sustaining the human body. They are needs for food, watet, clothing and
shelter. Maslow states that when these basic needs are satisfied to a reasonable
degree, the next higher level assumes importance.
The second level-security needs; this need is concerned with assuring
the individual that satisfaction of his basic needs will be continued. In other
words, man needs protection against changes, economic disaster and the like.
Hence, workers and their unions makes demands on management for job
security and expanded hinge benefits. b
The third level-social needs; this is the need that centers on the
individual's desire lor affection and association with others. It relates to giving
and receiving love and affection.
'Ihe fourth level-Esteeni needs; this concern recognition by others of
one's importance. Such recognition leads to a feeling of self-confidence and
prestige.
The fifth level-Self actualization needs; this need is the uhiiiiate in
Maslow's ranking. It is the need to realize one's capabilities and potentialilics
by achieving some stated goals. Criticism of the Maslow'sTheory, Kreitner
states that beliavioural scientists have attempted to test Maslow's Theory in
real life and claim that it has some deficiencies, that practical evidence shows a
two level hierarchy rather than a five-level one. They accept the physiological
and safety needs to be in hierarchy. Rut beyond these needs, any of the other
needs may emerge as the single most important one depending on the
particular individual. What we said earlier about motivation being a complex
factor is elaborated by Stoner.
Stoner (1978) state that motivation is a complicated concept. First because
needs differ considerably among individuals. Secondly, the ways in which
needs are eventually translated into actions also valy considerably between
individuals. Thirdly; individuals are not consistent in the ways in wliicli they
act on their needs that motivated their action at any given time. Hence the
content of ncclls and thcir driving n;~ture arc only nonc aspcct of thc niotivatiu~l b
function. Above all, it is the cultural background or the standard of the
community and society in which the employees live that greatly influence thcir
perception of their needs (Sutermaister: 1963).
Although. Maslow's theory has not stood well under actual testing, still
it has called the attention of nmiagers 10 the existence of.tliese needs and
teaches them that a fiulfillnient need does not motivate an individual. And all
ncw theorics build on the acccptance that it is the expected satisfaction of
needs basic, social and psychological that sti~nulates people to perform.
(Vroom, 1970: 129-134).
2.1.5 FREDERICK HERZBERG'S THEORY
llerzberg and associates in their two factor theory necessarily accept the
place of human needs in motivation but think that there are two significant
different classes of factors about motivation. The two classes are the work
enviromnetlt and the actual motivating factors. These two classes. I-Ierzberg
named "dissatisfies" or "hygiene factors" and "satisfies" or "n~otivators". The
dissatisfiers or hygiene factors when not present or are not properly managed
operate primarily to dissatisfy employees in their work. But when present, they
do not by themselves build strong motivation, but only serve to down 4
dissatisljction. The important dissatisfier, according to Herzberg, are in
company policies, technical supervision, interpersonal relations and working
conditions. Looking at these dissatisfiers, along side Maslow's need hierarchy
they would seem to fall in with the lower needs, physiological, security and
social. The second class of factors by I-lerzberg's theory is the satisfiers or
motivators, which when present on the job, operate to build strong level of
motivation and spur people to superior performance. They fall in with
Maslow's higher nccds ol'estee~n and self actualization.
A comparison of the two classes of factors shows that the satisfiers or
motivators are the job itself is the source of motivation. On the other hand, the
dissatisfiers or hygiene factors are associated with the context of the work.
'I'heir presence serves to clean-up the environment and prevent dissatisfaction.
'I'l~us motivation at work by I lcrzberg's theory comes from the degree of
personal accomplislimcl~t achieved, Sin111 the degree of challenge at work and not
li.om tlic working cor~tlit io~~s i l l the working c~ iv i ro~ imc~~t . I lerzbcrz there ilpon
PI-oposcd tliat to assist employees in 1 4 i z i n g their fi~lfillment and achievement-
Motivatio~~ ~ieetls, there is ~icctl to incrcasc the challenging content 01' the
\c.o~.l~cr's ioh in, what is tcrn~ctl vertical job cnriclimcnt. 'l'his will ciiablc the
worker grow in skill and in kclings of accomplisliment ( l l e~zbe~~g , 1060:251-
I<csearchcs on Iler~bcrg's tllcory are reportedly not co~iclusive bccause #
not all tlic Ii~idings conSo~m with I-lerzberg's two factor concept of motivation
ant1 hygicnc Sactors. But it seems that the theory lias practical application SCN
managcmcnt relevant to unitctl states cultl~rc ('l'liierauf et all 1977: 103)
1 x 1 LIS 11iovc on to look at Vroom's and McGgregro's theories before we
can assess wliat tlicse n~otivation tlicorics can ofkr to the manager in liis concern
Sor acliicving Iiigli PI-oductivity by himself and by his subordinates.
2.1.6 VlC"l'Oi< VROOM'S Ti-I 15ORY
An agri~me~it against maslow's 11ecd theory that tries to i d u c e a new
tl~cory is by 1I.V. Vroo~~ i (1964:86-94), who states that tliere is more to
motivation t11n11 necds; that a ~ieccl will not motivate an individual unless lie lias
a strong preScrcnce h r the outcome of liis action (valence) and unless lie believes
tliat the oiltcome will satisfy his need (expectalicy). The argument states that it is
the strength o f one's prclkrcncc for a certain outcome alid o~ie 's expectation of
cxpccta~icy theory holcls that a person will work towards smile thing, such as
organizational objectives, when he cxpccts that the conseque~~ces of doing that
witl~out positive cxpcctation 01' its satishction is really a 11eecl or a clcsire, or a
clay-tlrca~n? I lowcvcr, I<rcitllcr ( 1080:230-3-33) steps in again here to state Illat
+ (1 984: 12 1 ) argues thal V~.oom's theory, though realistic a d consiste~~t with the
~lieory ofMI30, may be complex and difiicdt not only to rescarch but also to put
r 7 inlo p ~ x t i c c . I he conlplexities arises because Vroom's thcory tries lo b~.ing to
Socus the complex i~ltliviclual clifSe~.c~~ces in ~lceds and motivation ('l'hieraul'ct al,
1977: 1 13).
satislying ol' h ~ m a n needs clepcnds on the personality factor and the \vo~k
situation. Wc shall sec later that i t depends on the environment and the culture of
tlic situation.
2.1.7 IIOUGLAS MCG REGOII'S TI-IEOIIIES
McG~.cgor's theory, tllough basically a motivation theory, also spans
scvcral arcas of management li~nctions. I t spans the area of planning and
. . organlnng i n what is called management by objectives, and the area of
organizing il again touches on participalion by subordinates in decision making
wliicli is in llic arca o f sharing 01' aulliorily. Finally, i t toiiches the arca of
tllat \$lien i l is applied lo motivalion, i l is Iialdly noliced that the question o f
' jpP - . 6.. I!+, organi~ing lias also been involved. 'l'lie tlicories are thus discussed.
'I'licory X; Ihuglas MeGregor in ~ m p o ~ ~ r i d i n g his tlicory lias observed that
organimtiun. 'I'liat the classical ~ i ia i~genlcnt approach greatly inllue~iccd by
'I'ay lor arid I'ayol, cnipliasi~ccl llic ~iccd Ihr clcarly clclincd jobs a n d Iixcd 4
struclurcs, policics alitl ~mcticcs 01' lllcsc o~ga~iizalions rcllcctetl a basic palter11
of' undcrly ing assumption which he ter~iiecl tlieory X. 'I'lie main point in theory X
arc that tlic avcragc p c ~ ~ s o ~ l clislikcs \vorl< and lias to bc coercccl, controlled,
Jlc~icc Inallagcrs at tc~i~pt to control in details the work behaviour 01' tlie
McGsegos ( 1900: 143- 147) vicwecl tlicse assulnption as sell' clefeating because of
tlie atmosplicrc are olicn l a ~ y indil'rerent. uncooperative ancl not creative but lie
asscrtetl that they Icarn tlicse Ixliavioi~r as a rcsponsc to efforts of managers to
cxerl co~ltrol over llic~ii undur tlie assumption of theory X.
Stoticr ( 1078:4 15) co~isidc~xxl o w 01' the ways that managers try to control
wo~kcrs by these assuniptio~is. I t is by clicclting wol-lter's quest for social
theory X. Ilc tlicn limiiulatcd tlicory Y, co~isidered to ollkr an altcrnalive +
solution to many of the problc~~is facing ~na~iagerne~i t over workers. 'l'heory Y
assumptions are that average person likes work, will exercise self direction and
scll'co~it~.ol in the service ol'objcctivcs to wliicli he is committed. I le learns iincler
proper consiclcration not only to accept but to seek responsibility because pcople
arc wiclely endowed with i~nagi~lation, ingenuity and creativity in tllc solulioli of
organization problc~iis (McGrcgor, 1950:203-305)
'111 ierau I' ct al ( 1977: 1 14) have v iewcd the silhiiission of' McGregor as an
altcmpt to bring the cun.c~it finding of bcliavi~ural scientists to managcmcnt
awarelicss, a~itl to nialtc rescarcli informatioll about human beliaviour meaning
fi~ll to management. O n the applicalion of the tlieorics in work situation, or in
sumn~ari~ir ig 1 he phi losopliy behind theory Y, 'I'rewartlia and Newport
(10762 10) said that i t is a management responsibility lo establisli p~actice that
i I-lu~iian growth and development; and
. . I I Kesjmnsible and cooperative employees.
This means that if workers are lazy and indifferent, the blame rests on
managcrial methods of organizing, directing and controlling not 011 11~1rnan
resou~~ccs. It is rnanagcmcnt ~.esponsibility lo I'ormr~late policies and practices that
will gcnerate employee commitment, self direction and motivation to achieve
organization goals ~lnder managerial leaderships another factor in the directing
lilnction of ma~iagcment. Managerial motivation would thereSol-e be the
application oi' managerial judgement and art in guiding the direction at work 4
towards organizational ob-jectives.
MO'I'IV A'f lON VlEWS AGAINST CERTAIN
PRESCR1I'TlONS
Let us see what Thomas, 1-1. Fitzgerald, who hi l~~sel f and first line
supwvisor before he became a Director of Employee Research and Training
Activities at thc Chevrolet Motor Division of general Motors corporation has, in
I lavarcl 13usincss Review, July A L I ~ U S ~ , 107 1 . 1 le expressed skepticism over some
of the above perceptions to managers in their motivation of employees for
2 . I .SA ON-JOB ENLARGEMENT, his view is that although there is
some empirical validation of the value of job enlargement, its applicability in a
variety oS work situations, and more importantly over a longer period of time, is
doubtrul. This c o ~ ~ l d bc true in organizations of the role culture cha~.acte~-istics
which aim at efiiciency, Predictability and order (I-Iandy, 1978:29) y
2.1.8B ON PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT, he doubts that
participation can correct pervasive apalhy and indifference, let alone provide an
unqualified good. IIis doubts arise because participation is more than giving #
accurate information to worlters, answering their questions, seeking their advice
or ratification. I t coultl mean interactions with groups of employees as well as
one-over-one relationship. The subjects o r participation can go wider than those
few niatters-that n~anagenient considers to be of direct, personal interest to
employees or to those plans and decisions whicli will benefit from employee's
advice. Fitzgerald's opinion is that neitlier of these positions can be maintained
without being recognized by employees as manipulation of worlters, otherwise a
start of participation will lead to expectation for wider and more significant
involvement. But it is equally true that participation and all out involvement can
come in the type of operation and in the organization type which Handy
classified to be of the task cu1t~u.e or ilie existential culture (I-landy, 1978:38)
'I'liese points of slteptisni may have wide acltnowledgn~ent by some otlier
thinlters on the problenis of motivation. The real difficulty about these theories is
not just that they are developed in the advanced Western countries with a
different cultural back ground, and are not applicable to the Nigerian situation.
Rut, that we are not well informed about what moQivation involves, the contents
so to say, but we are also not so clear on how to use the motivation contents, that
is, the managerial strategies Sor subordinates. 'I'he reason being that a good part
of the proposals on how to motivate tend to mix up, as we have earlier indicated
motivation and comm~inication factors with factors related to the organizing
fi~nction. I t is important to distinguish organizing factors about the individual, his
ability to perform and his awareness of the role and behaviour he displays at 4
work, all coming from training and proper placement in the managerial li~nction
of organizi~ig. Thc individual characteristics, which relate to the individ~ral
interest, attitudes and needs, his aspiration, beliefs and social inclinations are
factors which come squarely within the focus o r the directing f~rnction. They
derive fro111 c~11t~u-e and in the same way as they are expressed in differences in
the individual personal characteristics, so can they be expressed in differences
betwee11 communities and in wider societies. The effectiveness of a motivation
system is the S~rnction of the managcmcnt philosopl~y. This is the points
Nigerians need to seriously recognize in looking for factors conditioning the
crrectiveness of managerial motivation of PIICN workers. And we also need to
appreciate that, whether in the advanced countries or in Nigeria, managerial
action to motivate is a question of art of management applied continently.
2.1.9 VARIATION IN THE THEORIES AND PRACTICE OF
MOTIVATION
Perhaps, it could be the kind of mix-up between organizing and motivation
hctors which we saw above that encouraged Fitzgerald state that the major tenets
of motivation theory offered solutions that are not quite relevant to what was
going on in the work place. He expressed this opinion on the application of the
theories in advanced countries where they were made out. The situation might
even be worse in the developing countries. A variety of reasons are given for this
variation between theory and practice. Fitzgerald (197 1 :3 1) himself attributed the
variation to employees being "thought of as objects to be manipulated by this or
that theoretical approach"
Kushel (1994:122) wrote that a comprehensive review and analysis of
research, several thousands of articles and books regarding factors relating to job
attitudes and the effect of job attitude on work performance made by Herzberg,
Mausner, peterson and capwell, indicated much disagreement and confusion in the
field. An apparent explanation for this is the unstable nature of the sub-jective data
on which the studies in the field have been based.
Ejiofor (1984:96-98) gave a rather practical explanation for the variation.
He was of the opinion that it came from the separation and differences in
orientatiol
practicing
answer to
between the academic theorists who propounded the theories and the
managers who applied them. But Fitzgerald (1971:42-44) gave an
he problem which seemed to be very f'indamental and which related
to what we have said was the core of the problem against management
effectiveness in Nigerian parastatals. We stated that i~~anagement should strive to
effect f~~ndamental value oriented changes in the struct~~re of rationalized work
system in a manner that is intrinsically ~notivating. This would seem basic for
I~elping to give motivation and leadership the right perspectives for ~nanagement.
2.1.9A The iinpli'cation of the above expression against motivation theories
is that even in the advanced countries, where these theories were developed,
stablc 1.undarncntal value li)r st~mcti~ring rationalized work systcms might not #
have been clearly devised for generally effective motivation and leadership
systems. I3ut from what we know so far, Japan seems to have identified the
f~indanlental value, which conclitic
includes;
i Empl~asis on a ilow of inform,
med her managerial approach. These va
ation h 1 1 the bottom up.
i i Making to management the facilitators o r decision-malting rather than
the issucs of edicts
i i i using middle management as the impetus for and shaper of solutions to
problcms;
iv stressing consensus as the way of making decision and
v paying close attention to the personal well being of employees (Yoshims,
1979: 495-503)
r . I lic Iirst of thcse Japanese values or philosophies of management closely
resembles what Amaecha (1984:47-54) said was prirnaiy among the needs of
Nigerian worl<ers, namely the flow of insormation on a two way communication
basis. 'The next three relate to an organizing system in which the design of up
ward and downward conim~~nication system are together intrinsically ~iiotivating
to subordinates. But Nigeria Iias not yet got a clear, and rational organizational
base for coniniunicatio~i, no ti vat ion and leadership.
The management problem in Nigeria is therefore a matter that requires a
really dedicated research effort. The research into the themes and principles #
needs to be done in an integrated mamer and not in isolated bits and places since
motivation operates within the organizing framework. We shall appreciate this
from the I'IHCIN experience.
2.1.10 I'RODUCTIVITY AND I'KODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT
Coniunu~iication in the Shction of directing is the forerunner to actuation.
Put in another way it moves with motivation to stimulates productivity ill
organizations. But the orders, instructions or directives have to be carried out as
conimunicated before the directing Sunctioil can be effective. I'roductivity
thereSore is achieved through causing the e~iiployees or subordinates or the
receiver of order of act. 'To cause the s~ibordinate to act on the order is achieved
through ~iiotivation, an important element i n proii~oting productivity (Albert
lW'4:32 1).
Productivity is defined as out put per unit of input, it is the ratio of
valuable output to input, ie the efficiency and effectiveness with which
resource like personnel, machines, material, facilities, capital, time are utilized
to produce a valuable output (Maasen, 1973: 1 18- 120). The job of a manager in
the workplace is to achieve productivity. To do this, the manager should be
able to motivate employees. (Oloko, 1977: 1 8-24). But that is easier said than
done. Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several
disciplines. lrlspite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject
of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly #
practiced. To understand motivation, one must understand human nature itself.
And there has the problem. Human nature can be very simple, yet very
complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to
effective employee motivation in the work place and therefore good
performance. Productivity is therefore considered to be a function of ability
and motivation. Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training,
and its i~nprovement is a slow and long process. But on the other hand,
motivation can be improved quickly through positive reinforcement, effective
discipline and punishment, treating people fairly, satisfying employee needs,
setting work related goals, restructuring jobs, base rewards on job
performance, etc. (Kushel, 1994: 1 14- 12 1)
We organized our productivity review as follows;
I . I'roductivity in Business
. . I . I'roductivity in Academia
... 111. Productivity in Hospital
iv. 1,abour and I'roductivity.
2.l.IOA I~RODUCTIVll'Y IN BUSINESS
Prod~~clivity is defined as the ratio of valuable output to input, ie the
cfl3ciency and effectiveness with wllich resources; Personnel, ll~achines,
materials, facilities, capital, time are utilized to produce a valuable output. In +
classic economic terms. productivity rises or falls with the number of hours it
taltcs a worltcr lo turn O L I ~ a fixed vo lu~ l~c of widgets. I t means to produces more
with the same amount of human effort. I t is h e rate at which goods and services
are created (I-laasen, 1073: 1 18- 130).
Sutermeiser (196327-36) suggested the following process as a means of
measuring business productivity.
I. Deljne and manage expectation
. . 11. IJnderstand the conceplual framework for management, planning and
control, which take place at three different level: the control level (on a
daily, wceltly or monthly basis); the lactical level (Covering a one -to -
two year period); and the strategic level (covering a five year period or
longer).
' I l e productivity nieasurement process should serve all three of these
Icvels. At each one, it should provide the information tliat allows managers to
quicltly and el'liciently lind out whether the organization is executing its plans
a n d reaching its ob-iectives.
111 his own, Argyris (1993:69-74) opined ihat the objectives of a
procluctiviiy measurenient process should include;
Z'erforniance; Comparative perl'ormance should be measured in business
terms against some planned activity, level, event or standard.
Quantitative; objcctivc cri tcria should be discrek and measurable. +
Accountability; Specific individuals or groups responsible for tlie performance
sliodd not only be identified and charged with tliat responsibility but also given
the resources and authority to affect tlie performance
Audibility, I'he reporting system to support the process should be consistent and
supported by detailed information.
Simplicity; All good ideas can be presented on a single sheet of paper.
Comprehcnsivc, The nlanagement reporting proccss sliould be complete in scope
and rctlects tlie organizations actual activities. This effort begins with the
establishment of a comprehensive productivity reporting system ihat focuses on
agreed-upon metrics. Such a system essentially manages expectation and
perceptions. According to Ilaascn (1973: 130), the following process is necessary
when we want to improve productivity in business.
I. Establish an information systems vision of improving prod~~ctivity.
. . 11. Define the product or item that your inTormation system group produces
... 111. Get a productivity Tormula such as the Value-added approach.
iv. Do it, and begin a productivity meas~~rement program. Set goals and
instit~~te progran~s to achicve these goals.
2.1.10B PKODUCTIVlrI'Y IN ACADEMlA
According to Sutermeister (1 96329-32), there is no consistent definition
of productivity in higher education, and there has not been and particular way to
measure it. 13-oductivity is meaningless unless you know what your goal is. A 4
college is an institution that exist to produce learning. This shift from the
traditional way of instruction (instruction paradigm) changes everything.
Traditionally productivity is defined as cost per hour of instruction per student. In
this view, thc very quality oT teaching and learning is threatened by any increase
in the student -to-Taculty ratio. But under the new approach (Learning paradigm),
productivity is redeiined as the cost per unit of learning per student. Under this
new definition, however, it is possible to increase outcomes without increasing
costs (I-laascn, 19732 10-2 17) Given the learning paradigm's definition increases
in productivity pose no threat to the quality oT education. Under the learning
paradigm, wc need no define "unit or learning" and find a way to measure it.
Productivity is student learning and not the amount of instruction given to them -
the "Value-added" over the course of student's experience at the college. Student
knowledge and skill wo~lld be measured upon entrance and again upon
graduation, and at intermediate stage sucli as the beginning and completion of
major programs. (Sutcrmeister, 1963: 34-36)
According to Do~mclly (l971:147-194). I'rotluctivily is the ratio of output lo
input, which reflects the efficiency can improve work processes, either by
i~icreasing thcir capacity and enhance their output capability or reducing the
amount of resources required. 'lhe great gain are made when both actions occur
sim~~ltaneously. Definitional i s s ~ ~ e is strongly linked to measurement of a quality
education.
Csilts Ze~~tmihaly, (1990:29-36) suggested some qualitative factors to be b
used when measuring productivity in Academia. Cost per student, s~naller classes
(or class size); the ratio of pupils to teachers (not quite the same thing as class
size, but presumably related); ratio of pupils to total staf'fi Cost contain~nent,
Expe~~cliture per student, Expenditure; t h r o ~ ~ g l ~ secondary schools, expenditure;
higlier eclucalion, students per teacher, students per stalf member, products
research, number of degrees.
In his own, Alberts (1974:l 1 1 ) noted some qualitative factors that are
relevant for ~neasuring productivity in Academic. Me said that students learning
should be assessed by measuring the student experience and outcomes through;
standardized testing, rigorous comprehe~~sive alumni surveys, percentage of total
budget spent on informal evaluation, and averaze number of hours spent on
administrator evaluatio~i per year.
In tlie contribution of Kess (1 997: 126-149), he pointed out some obvious
obstacles on impsoving productivity in higher education as follows. "Valuing" of
faculty l o r their own sake (more student require more faculty, requires more
institutioiial commitment to research and service): reluctance to Icnow what
programs and scrvices actually cost, support staff that expand ancl become more
professionally detacliecl fiom tlie student to be served; reclundant leal-ning;
excessive drift and aimless scliedules too often geared less learning objectives
than to ~xssonal convcnieucc; excessive n o n learning time because of lengthy
vacation a d , poor usc of tlic full Icai-ning day; insufficient use of self-paced b
learning, wllich inight allow some studcilts to process mucll more quicltly toward
tlicir learning ob.jectives; insufficient realization of the potential of collegiate
lcvcl learning during the high school year. All of these points leads to excessive
time to degree, which of course prolong tlie expense of the college education,
both to tax payer and to the student and family.
Ilarris (1996: 49-52) suggested that to improve productivity in highel-
educatio~l, the following stcps should be taken; audit your work process. Wlicre
is work-in-progress stacked up; 1ind out the aim of the system or psocesses; given
that aim. fincl out what can be done to relieve to tightness tliat is causing the
bottleneck; lc~iow how you can go along others in the process, work to spot new
bottleneclcs as they appear and then sought them out: and note tliat dropping low
enrollment courses increase productivity. Some productivity initiatives are
proposecl by thc 0' connell (1 990: 104- 143) 011 learning productivity as follows;
continuing ir~stitutional process of critical self examination that rocuses on the
institution's contribution to the student's intellectual and personal clevelop~iient;
P' use an approad1 based on specific curricular goals and ob-jectives, ancl integrate it
into the pedagogy of the classroo111 (Alvcrno college); use incentive fund to
spo~isor demonstration projects in the areas of mastery learning; bring greater use
of' teclinology in instruction; review of general education course requirement to
better integrate courses in thc ma-jor and reduce time to graduation; ~iiaxiniize
learning per unit of instructional resource (mainly teaching time) Minimize or
Icssen thc wrrcnt cxtensivc down time in s tude~~t learning (long sumlncr b
vacation); reclucc the aimless curricular cxploration and excessive drift; lessen
the lost learning in the transition between high school; minimizing curricular
reclundancy ancl maximizing the potential of collegiate level learning during the
high school years; better individualize the pace of student Icarning; and
acl<nowledge the competency learned i n each course even wl~eii not passing a
class, by giving partial credit.
2.1.10C PRODUCTIVITY IN HOSPITAL
In hospital, productivity is defined as out put per unit of input. Input
includes both f ~ ~ l l time equivalent e~iiployees and part time worker output is
ac!justed occupied beds, where the adjustments include the out patient activity
ancl impatient census. Productivity model can be defined in such profitability
terms wlicrc: profitability = productivity x price recovery (Kusliel, 1994: 4 1-47).
According to Risher ( 1995:220-247), there
indicators to measure hospital prAodqctivity. r.
has been measured in terms of epk)de Jc f
is a trend to use population based
Traditionally, hospital procluctivity
patient services such as days of
admissions. I Iospital labour stage 11%. been hieasured by productivity indicators
such as tlic amoi~nt or labour rccluired to provide a uni t of episodic patient
scrvice. These indicators include hll tiing equivalent (FTEs) per admission and
time per procedure. A'dmission can be acijusted patient volume, FTEs can be
adjusted by personnel mix.
Pangu (2000:30) suggested tliat to improve productivity, 11,ealth personnel t b
managemcnt has to work smarter; define the task; discard the unnecessary. And
tlie salient question would be: what is the task and why do it. In his own, l'arker
( 1994: 109) opined tliat the improved productivity can result Trom min im izing
rework improving work flow; being ilexible when scl~eduling employees:
specializi~ig in f'ewcr product line.
According to Gliosh (1 995: 1 1 - 13), a smooth running organization with
productive employees is nii~cli ICSS costly than an organization with unhappy
eniployccs lacking incentives to improvc. I lc said that poor quality also can be
very expensive ancl excess cliversification appears to exhibit the most rapid
deceives in profitability. Carver (1996:108) i11 his own contribution said that to
increase procli~ctivity in knowledge and service jobs, the hospital management
has to cleciclc just where quality and quaintly fit in tlie desired end products, and
also determine what needs to be analyzed, improved and cliangecl.
Scliwalbacl~ (1 C)94:25-2C)) noted that hospital are said to be fi~nction
inefficiently whenever excessivc resources arc used to treat a patient. He said that
procluctivity or efficiency relates to whether hospitals produce targeted health
outcome with the least costly inputs. The fi~nctions which lie mentioned as more
productive are the hospital where the stal'i' are work the as a team, instead of in
segmented departments; unnecessary ~~ieetings and interdependent redundancies
are eliminated multiple responsibilities and the expansion of cluties also enhance
staff perfol-111ance clerical duties are also greatly retluced: duplicatio~~ of
information is elimil~ated, and dual pessonnel for similar tasks is recluced. I-le said
8
that the most prominent enemy of productivity is redundancy.
CarcSoot ( 1 994: 128) im~ilrlted that in a Ilospital, factors such as facility
bed s i x , occupancy rates, and the types oS food services offered miglit have
influencecl variability in labour yroctuctivity values. He further said that the three
components of labour productivity are quantitative; qualitative; and employer
satisfaction. Otoo (1998:295) in his own said that quantitative productivity was
measured using a ratio of meals served per work hour, and qualitative
productivity was measured usilig trained observers who ctesig~ied a score based
upon: Food, appearance ,lio~~selteeping and sanitation.
In his Contribi~tion, Ray (1989:44) said that in a hospital, employee
satisfaction was determined using absenteeism, turnover interviews and attitude
surveys. I-le finally concluded by saying that productivity improvement in laboul-
resources could be offset by a productivity decline i n supplies and materials.
-4 2.1.10D LABOUR AND PRODUCTIVI'TY
According to Aiuniobi (2003:4-7), labour is normally broken down into
two major categosies: direct and indirect. Direct labour employees are those who
perform functions which becomes an integral part of the goods produced and
which can bc identified and measured with the product. For example asse~iiblers,
mechanists and painters can bc listccl. I n c l i ~ w t labour employees ase those
employees who perforni functions not directly assignable to each product b
manuf'acturecl and therefore do not directly become a part of standard cost. Such
c~nployces woulcl, include materials Iianclle~.~, cleaners, tool room employees and
nailing department einployees. Most Power workers fall within the direct labour,
which can be measured with these three labour productivity measureme~its in
current usc: Iltilization, efficiency and effectively.
Uzonla (1982:19-24), said that utilization is a measure of how n2ucli a
productive employees time is spent performing the n o r ~ ~ ~ a l operations needed to
produce a psocluct for sale and tliat spent on various non-productive operations.
C)n their own, Gosh et al (1995:16- 18) said that utilization measures how
effectively the production. Supervisor is able to use his direct labour employees
to perform wosk available to support adequately the available direct labour
employees assigned to productive Si~nction. They stated tliat utilization
; measureii~ent could be expressed as:
U = (procluct D/L Dollar)/(Total D/L Dollar)
Where
U = Utilization .
D\L, =direct labour
Uzoma (198225) said that the amount of labour utilization percentage is , '
an indicator of what budget productivity will be. As the labour utilization
percentage increases and less of the labour cost is being charged to expenses, the
budget productivity will iliiprove. Nwacl~ultwu (1 978: 17) Stated that if the
facility is operating at capacity either because of space and equipment limitation b
or inability to acquire the main power needed to meet product requirement and
sales are being lost when production cannot be made, each improvenient in
utilization will result in an increase in output and therefore greater profit fro111 the
increased customers sales. On the other hand, if the facility is operating against a
fixed production schedule with li~nited production required an increased in
utilization will result in a decrease in the number of employees needed to get that
product ion. l'liis reduction in employees eliminates the labour costs plus the
si~pport and operating cost associated with that worl<er; these include items such
as fringe benefits, overtime, suppliers and safety equipment.
The next category or labour measurement is efficiency. The term
efficiency is used differently in day-work versils incentive environment (Chew,
1990: 1004- 1005). According to Odia (1975: 16-1 8), in a day-work environment,
efficiency is synonynlous with variance fiom standards. The actual reported time
or a c t ~ ~ a l payroll cost is cony~ared to the standard and the different between the
actual and standard is tcr~ned variance. In an incentive e~~vironment, the term
efficiency is nornlally ys,ed to express the average level of productivity against
standards cstablisheci l'as payroll putpose. 'l'l~is efficiency pcrcentagc is not
normally comparable between operatiqn beca~ise of the different labour contract a"
provisions involved. As an emp10yee'~~productivity against standard varies, so do 1
this earning.
Chcw (I 990: 1006- 1008), noted that elliciency measures how effectively
the PI-ICN worlter is able to perform the productive work reported in the allotted +
time i l l accordance wit11 the prescribed methods. It also measures the level of
interference being encountered in the operation to determine when corrective
action is needed. Gosh et al (1995: 19) said that this efficiency measurement can
be states as
E = (S/L Dollar earned)/ (product D/L Dollar)
Where E = erficiency
S/L = Standard labour
D/L = Direct L a b o ~ ~ r
P r o d ~ ~ c t direct labour dollar also means standard labour dollar plus variance.
Chew (1990:1012) stated that efsectively relates the factors of utilization
and efficiency together to determine of productivity is act~lally improving or if in
eflicicpcy are bcing shihed Fro111 one category to another. According to Gosh et
al (1995:22-24), thc basic formular Sol- thc tlcvelop~nent of effectivity is bascd on
equations given for utilization qnd efficiency. He said that effectivity
measurement can be stated as:
Iii'i'cctivity = (SIL, Dollar earned) /Total DII, Dollar).
He noted that calculation of efficiency and effectivity are lnacle 011 a dollar basic
ratlicr than on an hour basis to eliminate the distortion that will arise in incentive
operations where nor~iial efficiency for payroll purpose is in excess of 100
percent. In such location, earned IIOLII-s would be inflated and would distort tlie
calculation. For this reason, cost efficiency or effectivity would differ from
cmployce c&icncy, which is calculated using earned hours in an incentive #
operation.
2.1.1OE DlRECT LABOUR VARIANCES; I
According to ~ a r e ~ o o t l ( 1994: 14-1 7) measurement of labour provides
undefiled results to nianagen~ent. l'lie use of labour variances will provide
sui'ficient details i'or in~plenienting a good control system. Altliough there are
several classification of labour variances in tlie literature, two broad division into
wage ratc and labour cf'ficiency variance will be disciissed (WI-10, l992:36-46).
Direct wage rate variances is caused by the payment of 1110re or less than the rate
specified in the standard. Direct labour efficiency variance arises when the work
takes more or less hours than are specified in tlie standard for the product. Wages
rate variance usually occurs in some organisation because a grade of labour
different from that expected for the job is used. Where this happens the actual
wage paid relating to each cost center may be compared with the sum of the
actual hours worked multiplied by tlie standard hourly rate for each of the various
grades of labour. Alternatively, he standard cost can be cleclucted fro111 the actual
cost and the balance is the wage rate variance. Such method according to Gosh et
al ( 1995:36) can be expressed as:
Direct wage rate variance = A c t d rate per hour - standard rate per hour x
hours worked.
I-le noted that proper accounting demands that the wage rate variance include in
any wages accrued be reported, it is not sufficient of state only the variance on b
the wage paid. The cause of variance should be analyzed and corrective measures
taken by the riiaiiage~nent. Where necessary the wage rate variance may be
analyzed i n orcler to show separately tlie effect of:
!.
. . 11.
... 111
iv.
v.
vi .
Using skilled workers to perform unsltilled operations where there is a
shortage of skilled work;
Using unsldled workers to perform skilled work;
Service i~~creliient paid to long-service employees, which result in
variations in the rate for the same skill of operation.
Wage awards in excess of those provided for in the standard.
Overtime otherwise than as provided for in the standard.
Cl~ange efficiency levels upon the incentive payments scheme or changes
there i l l system will depend upon the circu~izsta~~ces.
(WHO, 1988:29-34)
The degree of analysis provided for in the because it is not necessarily
profitable to anqlyze wege rate variance in full details. According to
Nwachuliwu (1978:33) as wage rate varignce corresponds to the materials price
variance, so also does direct labour efficiency variance correspond to materials
usage variance. This is normally a supervisor controllable variance and is a
reflection of actual operator efficiency, industrial enginecring rates and
equipment maintenance. According to Gosh el a1 (1995:28-29) labour
efficiency variance is computed by applying the formula;
Direct labour crficiency variance - Actual hours worked standard hours #
expected x standard rate per hour. He noted that efficiency variance may be
computcd either by jobs, departments or processes. Whatever method is used it
is only necessary to compare the standard wages for the job operation, etc. with
those for the actual time spent at the standard wage rate per hours. This
comparison gives excellent cost control, as it pinpoints the inefficient worker
or operation, but it involves on excessive amount of clerical effort and
therefore on economic grounds many organisations use summary operating
statements for the main division and department.
2.1.10F INDIRECT LABOUR; According to Uzoma (1 %2:9) no discussion
of labour measurement would be complete without a discussion of indirect
labour. This is the area most often neglected because control of indirect labour
through finely defined measurement has normally not proven practical. There
are, howcver, usefi11 methods available for measuring indirect labour
productivity.
First, you can measure the ratio of total standard laboitr to total liourly
labour cost. 'This identilied tlie amount oi' total hourly labour cost that actually
I becomes a direct part of product cost and by passes the distortion that can exist
due to tlie improper classification of direct and indirect eiiiployees. Secondly you
can establish an indirect-to-direct employee ratio which measures tlie number of
indirect labour employees neeclecl to support a given level of direct employees.
Lastly, you can use salary and indirect Iiourly manning tables to provide a formal
system for authorizing salary and indirect 11oi11~ly manpower by department an
position I'nr various volume levcls. I3asically, such 111anning tables would assist #
in tlie orderly addition or removal of employees in line with changes in '.
procluction volunie and provide basis for the manpower required in planning for
expansion or diversification (Parker et al, l994:'ll) '
2.1.10G OVERTIME AND ABSENTEEISM; A~corcling to I'arlter
(1994:l lo), no labour measurement and control system is complete unless it
incli~cles proceclures for con trolling overtime and provides an accurate
measurement of absenteeism. Large amount of overtime are frequently used to
level departmental worltloads or to handle unusual lion-recurring situations. This
is a normal use of ovel-time and is often desirable. In some other cases, overtime
is used as an alternative to adcling shifts 01- purchasing additional capital
ecluipnicnt. This approach should not only be used as teinporary measures. I f one
consistetitly schedule his office so that lie must rely on overtime to make up for
111ose problems and unusual, occurrences that inevitable occur in a manufacturing
environment, in thq longrun IIC will have great difficulty in consistently malting
his productive scliedulc.
I'a~icr ( 1094: 109), note that ~ I I C use OS overtime to handle short-term
situation requiring an immediate &ill in production or outputs plans will
sonleti~iles resi~lt i n increased v o l i ~ n ~ e and 1iigIie1- profit. I n evaluating whether to
work ovcrtime in a given month to illcrease output, each location should evaluate
the sliort-tcrm marltet potentials or productive constraints on its products. 'This
evaluation is necessary to maximize productivity. Since this cost increase is only b
j i d ficd if il results i n increased i~icremental procluc~ivity. However alternative
situation might arise.
Chew (1090:1014) notcd that in case oS limited output, tliat is, when tlic
anticipated IN-oduct output for a given period, say one year or one quarter, are
limited to a specific quantity, then the prod~~ctivity potential from those output is
limilcd to the contribution from that quantity only. Reducing as muc11 as possible
the costs associated with tlie production of that limited quantity can maxi~nize
productivity. Where there is a constraint on production, excessive costs of
procluction -such as overtin~e sl~ould bc minimized3'in order to maximize profit.
I le statcd that on thc other hand, in the case ol'an unlimited shipments, that is,
when an unlimited short term marltet exists for products, and everything that can
be built in the near Suture can be achieved, then productivity can be niaximized
;"
by maximizing output. B~i t only provided the productivity contrib~ition from that
additional output exceeds the addit'ional costs incuyed in its production.
1)- I
Parker ( 1 994:l 1 O), reiiiarlted that. when evaluating the overtime situation
at a location or organization, we should try to determink the true causes and
eva l~~a te the ways available to reduce or elimihate .it. In maiiy cases, overtin~e is h
used to conipcnsate [or problcms in labour v;uiance, late stock and absenteeism.
Every location or organization must regularly measure its productivity in these
areas.
$
2.1.1011 REIIUCING OVERTIME COST: According to Oloko (197720)
the use of overtime entails high costs because payment for overtime involves
payment of normal rate plus a premium (mostly 50 percent) and any fringe
benefits attached to that premium. With these high cost one is forced to seek for
alternatives available to increase output and red~lce overtime. There are some.
other possibilities of achieving this goal.
First, i~nprovement in utilization and efficiency, that is in~proveliient in the
level of manufacturing productivity will substat~tially reduce the need for
additional man power overtime. Secondly, improvement in luacliine utilization
can lead to increase in output at a lower cost. The usual myth in the
manufacturing environment, that once a standard for operation is set, the I
supervisor no longer need concern hiniself with supervision and control of his , .
employees because the labour measurement and control. System will monitor
9 1
their effectiveness, should be disregarded. In the first place, it has bcen proved
that Manpower Utilization and equipment utilizatio~~ are not synonymous. Ololto
( 1 9772 1) noted that productivity of macl~ine depends on the number of hours the
human labour operates the engine. ~urthermore, substantial reduction in overtime
can also be accomplished by reviewing methods and procedures in bottleneck
areas; and by balancing production from one line to another or from one machine
to another to get mare effective utilization of existing equipment.
In his own, Ray (1989:43) remarked that for' sustained higher production , ';
over a long pcriod 01' time, t h ~ w rnontlis or more, added personnel might be b
considerecl instead of overtinie. Normally, these added employees will result in
increased fringe benefit cost equal up to 30 to 45 percent costs may be mini~iized
some what by using decision dates for the addition or reduction of~nanpower that
reflect the labour contracts provisions covering eligibility for holidays. casual
leave and vacations.
2.1.101 CONTROL OR REDUCTION OF ABSENTEEISM;
Parlter et a1 ( 1 994: 1 13) said that rising levels of absenteeisin mean that
the rcquired number o r employees needed to meet the daily quota of production
is not availablc. If the same level of out put is to be maintained, additional
manpower 11111st be added or overtime worked to inalte up for the production lost
due to excessive absenteeism. Whether excessive absenteeism causes overtime or
excessive overtime causes absenteeism, no one can answer, but what can be said
is that where one exist you will usually find the other. For that reason, control is
necessary to achieve productivity.
k Labour productivity measurement and control are good steps to higher
personnel productivity in ~ b w e r Holding Company of Nigeria, Plc. However, the
measurement and control have to be done with the understanding of the workers.
As usual with the developing countries the @-ICN management should
~rnderstand peculiaritiZes of environment and government. Though it might be
expensivc initially, orientation into the system of such organization s110~11d be
made whenever new en~ployees are hired. In addition, educated and well-trained b
PHCN workers may provk more helpful to achieving productivity. Aqcording to
Ray (1989:46-47) increas~d training proglmmes set,up by the goveri~ments and b
on-the - job training by the PHCN ~nanagelnent will solve the upgrading of
PI-ICN workers. At long last, if measure and control of labour are effective in
PI-ICN. Maiiagement \will have the ability to measure productivity against the
plan, determine where deviations from the plan are occurring and take corrective
action. Proper use of labour measurement and control system will assist the
PHCN managers i n meeting the goals and objectives of their operations
2.I . l IA. Historical factors: According to Aniobi (2003:21) Nigerians
traditionally value is hard work. I-Te said that a young man, for instance, could be
qualified as a bridegroom if he was hardworking. The traditional work system in
niaiiy parts of Nigeria was based on the dignity of: labour, it was effective ,
because workers were conimitted and had their objectives well defined. For
example a young man showed how good his wife was by taking other young men
with him to work for his pal-cnt-in-law. IIe also worked hard for a colleague in
anticipation of a reciprocal deal when it was his turn. People were convinced that b
they were working for theinselves and their own welfire. It was also effective
beca~~se of the fairness that surrounded it, the promptness of rewards and the
clircct relationship between work and rewards. According to Arnobi (2003-22-
24), the experience of the civil war in Nigeria shook traditional morality to its
very foundation. In addition, inflation soon wiped off wages. Public employees
started thinlting that they sl~ould retrive their status by comportilig with private
businessmen in economic and fi~iancial ~natters. Some attempted this through
kaud and inefficient performances. In his own, Abdulahi (2003: 14-1 5) added that
the mass retirement of the public workers i n public enterprises by the previous
goyernment in Nigeria, generated a sense of insecurity and suspicion among
PHCN worlters and shattered the myth of their security of tenure. Today, many
years after the national purge," the workers in power Holding company of
Nigeria. Plc, have not yet recovered f;.om the shock waves of the mass
retirement. The bad attitude towards worlt only worsened. We therefore
ree~nphasized that the problem of attitude in PHCN does not necessarily lie in
associating the worlt with white man's work". Rather, it is in associating it with
inequity in reward distribution, as epitomized i n the popular saying. "monkey de
worlt baboon de chop".
2.1.1 1 I3 Socio-cultural Bclor: ~ c c o n l i b ~ to Adediji (2002: 1 13- 19), socio-
cultural factors affect work atti t~~des in many ways in PHCN. To begin with, he
said that our cxtended family system is such that the PI-ICN employee always b
sees himsclf as worlting for the members of his extended family rather than his
own nuclear family. The worker is induced to look for other ways of
supplementing his income so as to meet the ever, increasing pressures 011 him
1
li-om his 'relatives and friends.
I n Jiis own, Oluwasanmi (2003:28-30) mentioned that another socio-
cultural factor affecting worlc attitude in PI-ICN is favourtism. According to him,
tllis manifest itself in local and ethnic loyalty, nepotism, bribery, corruption.
officc sex relations, and other undue influences. While ~ L I S L I ~ L I (2000: 17-2 I ) ,
added that gel-ontocracy is another factor which affects work attitudes in PIJCN.
According to him. In the traditional system, age confers extra recognition and
authority. Nowadays age is only accorded a negligible role. This affects authority
relationships in PI-TCN. He also said that the value system, within the society also
affects the worlter's attitude where hard worlc results in social recognition, as was
the case in the traditional system people strive to excel through hard work. In
Nigeria, generally, societal values have shifted from acquiring a good reputqtion
h and malting an honest contribution to accumulating money and property, thus
generating an unwholesome, attitude towards work in power Holding company
2.1.11C Economic factors; According to Onalterhoraye (2002; 7-1 1 )
economic factors can affect work attitudes positively when worlter sees his jab as
the man instrument tliro~~gli whicli he achicvcs his personal objectives. I-lowever,
societal pressures with emphasis on economic achievement seem to outweigh
b
other considerations. He said that the call to meet these societal pressures and
demands frustrates the worlter and makes him feel that he has made a wrong
decision by choosing the electric power work 2s a career
In his own, Ajuogu (2002:42) said that in the past, the PHCN work in the
federal service was attractive because of the status, power, authority and income
e~i.joyed by workers. Since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970, the position
has changecl. The worlters no longer cormand the erstwhile respect and preistige
because lie now receives a relatively low i~icon~e. His colleagues who were not
reabsorbed after the civil war or who has retired by the previous government in
Nigeria and his classmates who had been his intellectual inferiors but who went
into business on their own or joined private organizations now command more
respect than himself: So niuch is the disillusionment that when we asked the
question, looking back to your years in the service, do you know feel happy that
you joiiiecl the Power Holding Coiiipany of Nigeria Plc?", a slioclting ma-jority of
the workers who responded stated that they are unhappy that* they had jointed the
I'owcr I lolcling Company 01' Nigeria I'lc. Moncy, then, scems to bc the grcatcst
factor that has adversely influenced tlie PHCN worker's attitbde.
Accordii~g to Awokoya (2003:4-6) there is no doubt that the worker is
labouring under serious economic pressures. He pays all kinds of levies for liis
family: village and town union, for the educational, health, water and other
i~~fras t r~~cture needs of liis community. The ilnquartered worlter also pays a rent
of up to one-third of liis income. Besides many worlters retire without any
b
tolerable residence. Bills from educational institutions in the for111 of' equipment
and Parent -Teachers Association clues keep mounting Many PI-ICN workers are
thus tempted to use unorthodox methods to meet these pressing needs.
For instance, Olugbemi (2001:24-26) stated that when they asltecl their
respondents where worlters who are absent usually went, about 20% indicated
that they went into private practice to supplement their income. When they were
asked to name three chahges they would like to see in the service to make the
future brighter, the most important single factor mentioned (by 27% of 946
responses..) was a good salary and promotion at least once in every two years.
'flit: next was housing loan (16%). All these show that ecoiioi~iic factors affect
work attitudes greatIy in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. Olusanya
(2003:22), remarked that inaddition, the government's fiscal and income polices
and the general eco~io i~~ic situation in Nigeria aggravate tlie worlters
unfavourable econolnic position. He emphasjzed that the hi h rate of inflq{i~fl 6 persistently decreases his effective purchasing power and the tax burden falls
4 > more 011 the civil servant than on most of the affluent menlbers of the society.
The salary adjvstment system is slow a d rigid. There has been constant
net effect of all these is that the PI-lCN has difficulty recruiting and retaining
qualified workers. I-l'onest PI-ICN workers do dodge social gathering where naira
talks. 'lliose who dare attend, soon find that they are square pegs in round I~oles.
+ 2.1.1 1D Political fiictors; According to Olaniyi (1 998: 16), Ordinarily the
spirit of nationalisl~i motivates the PI-ICN, workers, This spirit enables him to
execute his function fbr his nation even when other inceniives are inadequate.
Today, the lack of the spirit of nationalis~n is one of the worst evils afflicting the
PI-ICN. In place of nationalism, there are ethnocentripm, Stateism, sectionalism t
and self-centerness. Because of this, self interest rises above national interest,
especially so as the gap between the rich and the poor widens. Olaniyi (1995:19)
f~lrtlier statcd the amount of self interest existing in the Power I-Iolding Company
of Nigeria PIC .is directly related to the social vices (hoarding, greed, bribery,
truancy and lack of devotion to duty) prevalent in the country at any t i m . Also,
as the economic gap increases, the dksire for money increases-~ience the
propensity to acquire it heightens, and this means that more dubious and subtle
means of acquiring money developed. The tendency, therefore, is that more
people are now looting the Power sector, while very few are seriously building it.
'Those who can neither loot nor grab grumble and sliirl< their responsibilities.
d, 2.1.11E I~~frastructnral Factors; According to Aribiali (2003: 14-27), good
infrastructural fhcilities in the form or good co~~imunication networlt. Transport
facilities, adequate supply of electricity and water lead to high moral and I
productivity. He said that when these facilities are not available, the worker is
affected in two ways-physical incapacity and psycliological inhibition. A PI-ICN
who has no other place to go but his home (i.e. who suffers from pl~ysical
incapacity) spends one hour or more (instead or five minutes or ten going to the
b
toilet. I-Ience there is the constant excuse of leaving the office to look for basic
amenities like toilet, and going to the bank, the post office or to one ministry or
tlie other is followed by tlie subordinate, who, naturally cannot be clieclted by the
boss who is also guilty. Allison (2003:9-13), noted that when a worker perceives
tliat noting worlts around liis work-place and lio~qe, he easily justifies liis
unwillingness to perform efficiently with the argument tliat after all, "I alone
cannot save this company". This is psychological inhibition.
2.1.12 SYNTHESIS OF THE REVIEW
Human resources management, defined as the "mobilization, motivation,
development and rulfillment of human beings in and tlirough work", has recently
received attention as an important and challenging concept in Iiuman resources
development. The critical importance of nianagernent is now acknowledge, and
ways of improving it a d its effect on productivity have been studied extensively
(Rotem et al, 1987: 15- 17).
4J Personnel management is the actidties that mobilizes and motivate people
and that allow them to develup and reach li~lf?llment in and through work aimed i
at the achievement of company stated goals. 'flierefore development of PHCN
personnel is encouraged by activities that' help staff to maintain and enhance
skills and competence.
Motivation determines the extent to which a staff me~nber is committed to
the ob-jectivc of the organization and unwifling to devote time and energy to their
+ accomplisl~ment. Many influences bear upon' ~~~otivat ion, such as pay ideological
co~nmitment and commitment to doing what is right. 1 Motivation is for effecting productivity. The problem is that, when all
these notions about motivation are considered, one is uncertain how to set out 5
applyins tlicni to achicvc pod~~ctivi ty. For example. !laasen, Aclolf and Shea
havc done something more or less indicative of how,to apply these motivation
notions. The authors sum~i~arized the output of the various theories of motivation
1'1-om the traditional through to the I Iuman Rclation and to thc Modern IIuman
liesources Model by Maslow, Vroom, McGregor, etc. They articulated the
assumption of each tnodel with the management of the various groups of
tl~eorics.(l-laasen et al. 1997: 1 19).
'I'hc summary gives the dit'lerent points of view froin which the manager
or the interested party observes the individi~al to be motivated. It gives the
observer fi~ndamental basc for clirection towards the worker in getting him to
perform. But it tencls to side track the motivating factors themselves and does not
give clear to actuate tlie worker. So, the suniniary has not been so Iielprul to
uiianagers as to how they get about m o v i ~ ~ g subordinates to perform. Hence, other
thinkers set out what they regard as universal model of motivation (Altpala,
Some theorist like Massie and Douglas fry to synthesis tlie various theories
because, seeing them in their individual forms, they are sometime contradictory
and confusing and may not give help to practicing managers to easily perceive
+ what they arc actually doing lo motivate their subordinate for appropriate
organizational productivity and for the subordinates ownsatisfaction. Such
writers (Massie and Douglas) believe that q universal theory of motivation will
be more practical and understandable for meaningful use by managers to improve
productivity (Ainoa, 1985: 14). '6
Basically, tlie efforts at synthesis .take the theories by Maslow and
McGregos as the core of motivation theories to form the Maslow McGregor
modcls (Massie et al, 1973:50-5 I), some other like stoner and Davqr try to tie
these togetlier with Vrooni's and other related theories. Otherwise, there is
nothing significant that is added. But, Iiowever, one tries to synthesize or
universalize the theories, the fact remains that the area of motivation theories is
as yet not a11 explicit one (inassie et al, 1973:80). Take for example what stoner
and Davar proposed. They state that motivation is not the only influence on a
person's productivity level, and that there are other factors influencing
productivity level. These are the individual ability to perform, which may be
acquired tllrough training fhr skill and Itnowledge acquisition; the worker's
perception or under standing of his role, that is why behaviour are neqessary in
order to achieve high productivity and then motivation tlie workers. If any one of
the three has a low value, productivity is liltely to below, even if tlie other two are
high (stoner, 1978:98- 1 12).
But the point is that the first two of the three factors are related to and
belong to the managerial f~~nction oforganizing. F h e manager does not use the
b knowledge about them in staffing and plac&ent, he is not effective in the
organizing fi~nctions so the two factors are not in directing but are in the
organizing [actor. But according to stoner, some factorism organizing affect
motivation in the directing filnction (stones, 1978: 14 1 - 159).
Handy (1 978: 1 1 1-1 14) came u p with'what is called the systems approach
to motivation. His proposal contains three main variables in organization that
affect motivation. As in stoner's approach it is the relationship between the three
that is said dtimately to determine the degree of motivation that the employees
will feel. The three variables are firstly, the itidividual personal characteristics
which relate to his i~idiviclual interest, attitudes and needs, in other words, his
needs and aspiration, beliefs and his social iticlii~ation (I-landy, 1978: 120- 126).
The second is job characteristics and the third is work situation characteristics,
which could seem to convey the same idea as Charles Handy's conception of
organizational design types. But what gives the difference in the motivation of
the individual rests 011 the varying persona I individual characteristics (Handy,
Put simply, the systems approach would seem to be suggesting that the
manager will make motivation efl'ective irlie takes cognizance of the individual's
characteristics in terms of his needs, create jobs that are challenging to the
incliviclual according to the abilities all to provide job satisfaction to the
employees. To make jobs more challenging, managers should continually seek
ways o f generating motivation through job design (job enrichment) and make job b
to:
I . Have a clear meaning and purpose in relation to the objectives of the
organization
. . 11. I3e as sell-confailid as possible, so that employees will be doing a
complete job;
. . . I . Provide opportunities for purposeful two way coiiimunication for possible
participation in decision which affect his work and target (for example in
deciding the methods for doing work). In this respect, a decentralization of
f authority through the organization is likely to encourage employee
motivation, and
iv. Provide a regular Ceedback of information to the employee about his
perfor~i~ance (Massie and Douglas, 1973: 122- 129).
In all these, the factor that belongs to motivation is the call on managers in
both PI-ICN and other institutions to make cognizance of the individual's
1). characteristics in terms of his needs.
We can sec that the confusion faced by managers 011 the question of
motivation is the mix-up by the bel~avioural scientists of managerial organizing
factors with those of motivation. I t is this that seems to create $he difficulty for
PHCN nIanagers in clearly determining what to do in their i l~~tivation efforts. i
Pcrhaps, i t is Ihe inexplicit of all these that seem to c a k e PMCN worlters to
thinlts that tllcorics clcvclopcd in tlic Westcrn woiki arc not applicable to Nigcria, *
whereas personnel is in power companies iii the Western worlds are not
themselves clearly guided by theories.
Extensive research has been carried out especially in-the industrialized
countries, on dirferent aspects of 11un1an resources development. Although much
of it is poorly designed or of limited relevance beyond national borders, some of
$he results have wide applicability. For example, an analysis of the issues in
different countries indicates that, overall, the n~ain problems of PHCN personnel
management could be grouped as follows.
2.1.13A Wastage of Human l<esou~*ces: 'I'his may begin of generous
admissio~i policies and stringent educational processes can lead to high dropout
ratcs in ~nedical, and other cclucational programmes. In these countries, over
production o[ personnel results in under-or-unemployment; while in other, the
public sector loses at large psoportion of its workers to tlie private sector, often to
occupations totally unrelated to their former job, because of better pay, career
prospect and living ancl working co~iditions. On a global scale, such differences
are a spur to emigration; illany developing countries already short of qualified
b
~~wsonnels have thus lost highly trained staff to the richer countries (Roemer,
2.1.131-3 lr~effective rise of personnel; This may result f?om poor pla~uiing
of human resources, defective organization design, unsuitable person~iel
deployment policies and practices, or political interference in administration. It
may be manifested as maldistribution as an imbalance between rural ancl urban
areas, for instance, or between federal ~nanagement and state iiianage~iient.
Alternatively, it may show up in tlie use of highly skilled personnel for tasks that
require less sophisticated orLthifierent skills, e.g (engineers as technicians,
bweaucrats as clerical officers, tecluiicians as typists) living request for staff
transfers, owing to lack of a transfer policy or interference by politicians, or in
resolving conflict between staff steii~ming from role ambiguity, pay differences,
conflicting instructions froni liiglier levels of management, or vagueness about
the chain of command (Naltajima, 198924)
2.1 .13C Low Motivation; this is a crucial issue since motivation is the core
ol'managemcnt. 'l'lie theories of niotivation, though evolved essentially to explain
t lie dil'fercnccs in per formancc of personnel in business, are equally applicable in
PI ICN. Traditional1y;tlie practitioners ofsircli profession have been motivated by
thcir inner scnsc ol'professional conimitment. In today's materialistic world, such
commitment has become rather rare. Molivation must thereforc be soi~ght
I clsew11e1.c. I<cscarcli evidence pinpoints certain factors as 'dissat~sfies'
(conditions that lead to poor perfor~nance or even 'sabotage) and others as
'satisfiers' (conditions that prompt high performance). The dissatisfiers include,
inter alia, low salaries, poor wodt and living conditions, lack of continuing
education and non-responsive higlicr management. Among the "satisfiers" arc
participative decision-making, recognition of personal responsibility, and
adequate opportunities for professional growtli and carecr development (pangu,
2000:29)
2.1.13D Low 1'1-otlnctivity; this is often not recognized as a problem in
developing cou~$ries because the productivity of the work force is rarely /.
measured. In developed countries 1iowever7 where there is greater scrutiny <
because of mounting ~uaintenance costs, low productivity causes more concern.
Low prod~~ctivity may result from inel'lective use of personnel, wrong work ,
methods, failure to delegate autl~ority, low motivation, deficient managerial or
-4 supervisory support, bottleneclts in the support services, inadequate skills and
low morale, s tcmmins fro111 a low opinion of the PHCN services among the
people served (Scliwarbach, 1994: 1 1 - 15)
The literatures reviewed have indicated that there is little published
information 011 personnel management from developing countries. And an
impressionistic picture from the rcview has shown that information on the
motivation of sltillcd professional in West African sub-Region is laclting as no
b
detailed studies of the effect on productivity. have been completed: I t is this
compelling need at isolation of motivation and productivity of personnels in
West African countries that have prompted the researcher to embark on this
study, predicating i t on the power Holding company of Nigeria, PIC Enugu
District. In addition this study will be usel'ul in filling the gap by helping to
determine the likely reasons for the migration of PI-ICN workers to other sectors
and identify how the problem of out-migration of key PHCN personnel (worlters)
from West African sub-Region could be mitigated.
2.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Considering the problem statement, the following research questions
were drawn to guide the study.
I. Does the unified pay structure, compensation and prospect for
promotion affect productivity in PHCN Enugu District?
. . 11. Does environmental factors and information flow affect productivity in
PHCN Enugu District?
. . . 111. What approaches and strategies can be proposed for improving
productivity in Power Holding Coinpaqy of Nigeria PLC?
2.3 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS +
The concepts used in this study are defined as follows;
Productivity: This is the efficiency valuable output to input, i.e. the
efficiency and effectiveness with which resources: personnel, machines,
materials, facilities, capital and time are utilized to produce a valuable output.
In classic economic terms, productivity rises or falls with the number of hours
it takes a worker to turn out a fixed volume of widgets. Productivity means to
produce more with the same amount of human effort. It is the rate at which
goods and services are created (Haasen, 1973 : 1 1 8- 120)
Mobilization means that the organization has the right numbers and types
t5 01' sta17' are provided wlierc they are tilost tieecled. Mpbilizing staff involves the
managerial processes concerned with ~wxuitrnent alid event~lal teimination, job
security, carccr prospcots, and policcs rcgakiing fairness and equity (Ferrinho
'l'liis is a slate ol'mind i n which a pe~-sotl clerivcs salisl'action li.0111 the
0
intrinsic n a t u t ~ of the worl<. Altlio~~gh there are. Other factors that contribute to
1.~11 lillmclit, \YOI.I< satisl;lction is a major component (l7l*eu~~d, 1986:875)
2.3.3 I I IIMAN I<T?SOIlliC'Il=S
This rerers lo all persons, with or without So~mal related training who
contribute in a substantial way to the promotion, protection and restoration o f
power. 'I'liey may work in tlie public or private sector and may or may not be
p i c 1 Sor their services. Most workers will have received training to work in a n
organi~cd system, and will be reimburse liw their services, bill tlie abovc
ticfinitioli also includcs volunteer community power workers with little or no
Ihrnial trainitig. I 1urna11 I-csources for 1'1 IC'N must not be consiclerecl in isolation
from tlic purpose elley serve, improved and uninterrupted power supply. (Gourlay
et al, l988:X)
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES (MBO)
l'lic dchi t ion of management by objective ranges all the way from a
. b simple budgeting process to an overall pliilosopliy of nianagement. We define
ME30 as a nietliod of management, whereby the superior and subordinate
managers o f an organization agrees on its broad goals, translate these goals in to
a chain o r specific short-term goals, define each individual's major areas of
responsi bi lity in terms of goals, define each individual's major areas of
responsibility in terms of results expected, continually review the
accomplish~iient of the subordinate and the goal acco~nplishinent as the sole basis #
of assessing and rewarding him (Ejiofor, 1984120-32)
2.3.5 STAFF DEVELOPMENT
7 7 1 his is the systematic attempt to improve an organization's f~~nctioning by
improving tlie perlormancc of its stal'f. I1 is in [lie best interest of the
organizations, as well as of the staff, that sustained efforts are made to raise
perforniance standards to the highest level consistent with tlie organization
g . requirements. With tlie passing I
knowledge and sl<ills, especially
can be filled only by updating or
of time, a [rained person tends to forget both
whei1 they are not used. This creales a gap that
revising and reinforcing what was once learned.
Continuing education can likewise bring staff' up to data or advances and changes
in their particular fields of knowledge and technology. In addition to the
provision of continuing education, a kamework of policy and principle is needed
10 guide staf-f development, not only at the national level but also at the periphery
where most of the oper-ational inanagemen t is done. The other components of
. h J
staff development are career development and performances appraisal and 1
couiiseling, the two being closely linked.
2.3.6 PERFORMANCE AI'PIIAISAL SYSTEM
This is intended to increase tlie effectivenkss of the organization by
comparing the planned objectives of a job with the objectives actually achieved
by the s M ' n~cmbcr. A discrepancy may indicate tlie necd for counseling, f'or
+ better supervision, for continuing education, or for other measures such as an
ii~provenienl in working condiQons. Performance appraisal, unless tied to a
career development scheme or a reward structure, often degenerates into
I \ paperwork to wliich little significance is attached. (ASCON, 2000:39-43)
*
2.3.7 MANAGEMENT /STAFF RELATIONS
This is a crucial factor for achieving and iiiaintaining high staff morale.
1 ligli can be deiincd as a generally positive attitude among staff based upon their
faith ill the fairness of the employer's policies and behaviour, and a general
assumption that organization will recognise and reward competence. Although
there are always at least two parties to a relationship, tlie prinia~y responsibility
for the quality of manage~nent/staff relations belongs to personnel managers,
since the working atmosphere is largely determined by their attitudes and
bel~avioirr (Otoo, 1998: 1 13).
Employment practices begins with setting and controlling of the staff
establishment, i.e determining and monitoring the numbers and types of post
need: Management of the recruitment process, from job analysis through
selections to staff induction, and supervision of the health and sarety of staff
1,eadership in inanagenient is aimed to secure the willing support of
\ people in the achievement of the organization's goals. Successf~d managers gain
the commitment of their staff by involving then1 constructively in the
organization's work. To be successlill, the manager thus requires not only a basic
ability to achieve ob-jectives through setting and monitoring the tasks of other
people but in addition the capacity to motivate them and instill in them the
en t l i~~~ ia sm to work as a teain towards in which they too believe (Ken.,
2.4 METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the process, techniques or approaches employed in
). solution of a problem in research. The strategies adopted or developed
the
for
accomplishing the problein, the aims and objectives and tests of hypothesis of
a research project constitute its methodology.(Meekyas, 199 1 : 13)
Furthermore, it can be said to be a system that analyzes the principles
and procedures that' should guide inquiry in a particular field. This can be
achieved through the collection and processing of data. Data are the raw
materials collected in both figures and words for the purposes of making a
b finding or solving a problem. Data can only be meaningful if collected,
processed and analysed with a particular emphasis on the research problem.
2.4.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Modern theories of motivation are lbased on the researches of such
foreign writers as Douglas McGregor, Abraham Maslow, Herzberg, Katz, and
Vroom. Nearer home, the researches of Olatunde Oloko are a landmark in the
field of motivation theory in Nigeria.
Douglas McGregor, describes the assumption made by managers
practicing two opposing leadership styles. The assumptions presumed to be
made by the autocratic manager are set out in his theory x. For example, he
states that most people must be coerced, controlled, threatened with
punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of
organisational objectives. On the other hand, the assumptions presumed to be
made by the permissive, group centered or democratic manager are grouped
* into his theoiy Y. ;" .-,,
Abraham Maslow, major contributikn is in identifying and manging
those needs of the individual, which adequately satisfied at the right time and
place will motivate the individual to produce. He identified five such needs,
which he arranged in a hierarchy from lower needs, to higher needs as Social,
for love and a sense of belonging, esteem, needs for' achievement and
recognition, and self-actualization needs. For it has been shown that a
"Satisfied" need does not appear completely nor is it crowded out by' the
unsatisfied ones. Rather it exists, and acts as a springboard from which the
other needs emanates. For instance, no man has ever permanently satisfied the
physiological needs for eating and drinking; though these are supposed to be
far down the need hierarchy.
Herzberg, (1960) 'dual factor' motivator - hygiene, satisfies -
dissatisfies theory of motivation has completely Shaken common place
motivation assumptions to their foundation. He classified all "Motivation"
instrument into two, namely: (i) the hygiene or extrinsic factor which
exist outside the work itself. These include the physical environment inter-
personal relationship, salary, supervision, job security, company policy and
administration. According to him the existence or augmentation of these hygiene
factors does not motivate the worker to produce more, but their absence or
$ reduction causes dissatisfaction. He therefore calls them dissatisfies. (ii) His
Motivator or intrinsic factors exist within the work itself. 'There include
opportunity for advancement recognition for achievement, responsibility, the
work itself and growth or aclvanccmcnt. According to him, the more any or these
factors are provided the greater the motivation.
Ilnfortunately, pel-son~iel managers in PI-ICN have a rather shallow view
of' the problc~ii ol' motivation. I:or thc~ii the paralysis analysis" ol' inotivation
b theorists are dummy variables not worthy of any consideration in tlie practical
problem of motivating employees to increase their productivity. They see the task
of employee motivation as a simple process of first providing workers with more
and more of the good things in life, fatter pay packets, accelerated promotion,
better offices and more education. They ratio~ialize that when more of any thing,
which is desirable or less of anything undesirable, is given to the workers, the
worker is motivated.
But this logic collapses when viewed in the light of tlie experience in this
country. Why did the mass wage award not lead to better motivation of workers
in PHCN? Has frequent promotion improved the worlters productivity ? Has the
threat of dismissals and retirements changed the worker's work styles in PHCN?
Have the provision of more fringe benefits, rent and car allowances, housing and
Iiousing loans and subsidized medical care really change the worlcer attitude to
work in PHCN? 'This study argues that they have not.
A link is missing in the motivation efforts of the PHCN. The result is that
while tliey are el~joying a lot of good things any ~iiodern organization can offer,
many workers are still not motivated to produce. 111 discussing this missing link
in motivation effort in PHCN, we will be drawing heavily from Vroo~n's
13xpectancy Theory: The theory states that productivity can be thought of as a
multiplicative function of motivation and ability, i.e P = F (M x A). Motivation in
turn varies with the valence (V) or attractiveness of outcomes upon the
+ performance of that task, and the instsumentality ( I ) of performance for attaining
the outcome. '1'lie ma-ior outcomes lie identifies are money (salary), fringe
benefits, promotion. supportiveness behaviour (the leadership style of the
supervisor or boss - fairness, honest, conscientio~~sness, etc) group acceptance
(the attitude of other people towards I~ardwork) and the joy derived in doing the
work itself (internalized motivation). His model is as follows:
V = Ve + Vlnlpm +Vflpf +Vplpp +Vslp + Vglpg
Where
V = Valence
Ve = Valence clue to ego involvement
Vm = Valence of money (salary)
Vf = Valence of fringe benefits
Vp = Valence of promotion
Vs = Valence ol' Supportiveness behaviour .,
Vg = Valence of group acceptance.
And Ip, m, F, P, S, g are respectively perceived instrumentality (IP) of 4 ' I
money, fringe benefits, pro~votio~i, support,iveness behaviour and group
acceptance.
The equation loolts fol-midable. But we consider it very informative, for in
the equation we find the answer to the much talked about bad attitude to work,
and the ill-motivation of the \. orltel-s, in I'IHCN. Vroom is simply saying in Y precise ~nathematical language that motivation depends not just on the outcome
b clesirecl by thc worlter, but also on tlic instrumentality of eflort, that is, the
relationship perceived by the worlter between his and others' previous effort
(hard work, honesty, loyalty, putting one's self last), and the desired outco~iies
(I'romotion, Praise, medals, Salary, increments, and recognition in the
community).
~uildi 'ng on the Vroom Model, we now identify four critical variables in
worltcr motivation. These are:
(i) The ability ofthe worker (Ability)
(ii) The attractiveness of the rewards of working (valences);
(iii) The casual relationship between effort and rewards (il~strulnentality) and
(iv) The existence of infrastructural Support (tools).
We shall use the mnemonic, AVIT, to stand for these critical variables.
Thus motivation ( M ) = F (A,V,I,T).
Regarding the effects of these variables on motivating. We first or all
observe that each of them has a direct relationship with motivation. Holding
, , h
other things constant, the greater the ability of the worker, the higher his
motivation. In addition, the more attractive the rewards or working, the more
intimate thc casual relationship bctwcen clfort and rewards, and adequate
in r ras t r~~ct~ra l s~~ppor t , the higher the motivation of the PI-ICN worker.
Secondly, we emphasize that all four variables niust be working positively
iS the worker is to be ~notivated. In other words, great ability must be goaded on
by attractive rewarcls, an intimate causal relationship between eflort and rewards
b
and backed up by adequate infrastruct~~ral support if the workei- is to be
motivated.
On the other hand, an able PI-ICN worlte~ will not bc motivated if does not
perceive that there is an inti~nale relationship between his effort and his reward,
and/or if he does not desire the reward emanating fiom the effort and/or there is
inadequate inSrastructura1 support. It is however, the cardinal finding of this
study that the major cause o l the low motivation of the worker in PHCN is that
the worlter does not perceive his work effort to be decisively instn~inental in the
attainment o l the rewards of work. Instrumentality is therefore the missing link in
the motivational e h r t in PI-ICN.
Take the reward of promotion for example. On its own, an intense desire
for promotion (a very important reward) will not motivate any worlcer to greater
effort. The major determinant of his motivation is generalized experience. He
will ask questions like, "Did hard work earn me pro~notio~i in the past?, "Is it
likely to earn me promotion in the future,?", Have I been hearing fi-om those who
are working that hard work earns people advancement?". If tlie answer is yes, he
will tend to be motivated. If no, he will not. In motivation, as in many other
aspects of life, experience is the best teacher. As Ski~iner propounded in his
theory of operant conditioning, behaviour that is rewarded tends to be repeated
while those that are not te~id to bc exting~~ished.
A cornerstone of tlie Vroo~n model is that performance is a multiplicative
S~11iction 01' motivatio~i and ability. Motivation in turn varies with the <
vq
b attractiveness of the outcome, valcnce. and the @;ceived instrumentality of effort
towards tlie achievement of outco~iies. Given .adequate employee ability and
inf'rastructural S L I P P O ~ ~ , i t Sollows that for the effort to call forth the desired
rewards the following Sour conditions must be met:
(i) Tlie PI ICN must grant rewards desired by the worker;
(ii) 'I'he worker must perceive that tlie desirecl reward can be obtained only
through tlie exertion of greater effort on his part;>
(iii) Tlie rewarcl niust be achievable, and as immediately as possible; and
(iv) Thc worker must bc mentally and physically able to strive for the rewards
'I'he I?rst, third and Soi~rtli conditions are met by Power llolding Company
oS Nigeria Plc. The second condition is con trove^-sial. Does the PI-lCN worker
perceive that lie can only attain tlie desired outco~ne through tlie exertion of
grcatcr cffort in PIHCN Enugu llistrict'? 'T'he answer to this question is decisive.
2.4.2 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Two major sources were employed in the quest to gather information for
this study. These were the secondary and primary sources.
*I
SECONDARY SOURCES
Data from secondaiy sources were obtained from libraries, the internet,
text books, joui~als, govermnent gazettes, management journals, PHCN
records and reports, Magazines, newspapers, unpublished papers, etc. The
PHCN Management information and planning unit was very helpful in making
# some of these official documents available to the researcher.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Two approaches were employed under the primary sources, Thus, the I
face to- face interview and questionnaire methods were used to source for
primary data. Interestingly, the face -to -face interview enabled us to gamer
non-verbal information, while observing the respondent's facial expressions.
On the other hand, the questionnaire enabled us to get uniform information
from one situation to another since the questions contain standardized wording,
order of questions and instructions for recording responses.
INTERVIEW
Face - to -face discussion was employed to sample opinion of PHCN
.4 management staff. We interviewed twelve out of the thirty-one Heads of
Depaments in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria PLC, Enugu. The
information generated from the interview was very helpful in the analysis of
data.
QUESTIONNAIRE
The population of study is the staff of the Power Holding Company of
Nigeria Plc, Enugu. The staff disposition of the Company is two thousand one
hundred and forty- two (2142) personnel, as at March 15, 2006, (PHCN,
2006: 17).
It Table 2.1: Population study
I Professional group I Population I No of allocated I O h of Allocate /
Managenlent committee k k 6 ~dministrative/Accountant
Senior workers
Source ofpopulation: PHCN 2006
questionnaire 4
Junior workers
Questionnaire 0.3%
488
654
994
11 1
11 1
22.7%
31%
111 46%
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
In order to get a representation of the population that is free from
f systematic bias, the Yaro Yamani formula for sampling size determination was
used. According to Yaro Yamani (1964), to determine a sample from a
population. thus:
Where
n = Sample Size
N = Population Size
E = error limit
Therefore
N = 2142
E = (0.05) or (.0025)
Due to the heterogeneous nature of our population, stratified sampling
method was used to choose the 337 respondents out of the 2142 staff
disposition of PHCN Enugu. We first divided the entire population into
homogenous groups called strata. Then by applying the simple random
sampling, we selected items from each stratum. Our, method was aimed at
ensuring that all professional groups in PHCN, Enugu (shades of opinions) that
offer cost effective services, and have opportunities to interact consistently
with customers and numbers of the public at all levels of electric power service
delivery system are represented in the study.
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
In an attempt to determine the content validity of the questions, the P
researcher administered the questionnaires it@ selected 10 personnel in Mtel
PIC, Enugu. These respondents were not included in the population and sample
of, study, but the aim was to find out whether the questions would mean the
same thing to all respondents. It was also intended to fifid out whether the
questions would easily be understood. And to improve the validity of data
b
gathering instrument, the questions contained standardized wordings and
instructions for recording responses, in order to reduce error.
PRE-TEST
In this study, a test or trial survey was carried out on small scale before
the main inquiry. The pilot survey was a miniature of the main survey in
which all the operations we intended to use in the main survey were tested to
see how they would work and what modifications were needed to make them
work even better.
Fifty copies of the questionnaire were used for the test run. For this
purpose, we choose Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company Limited, Einene ,
(ANAMCO). The choice was on the basis of convenience and richness of
personnel and infrastructure in the company. Our administering procedure for
the questionnaire was used. The selection of the qespondents was done in line 1
with our sampling procedures. This helped to ensure that our respondents did
share the same social characteristics that could be associated with I .
professionalism. The response we get from pre - test shows that the
respondents did not find the questions hard to understand.
The pilot survey provided us the opportunity for testing the decision on
the final version. The pilot survey enabled the investigator to estimate the cost
components of the main survey for example, as a result of the conduct of the
pilot survey, the investigator was able to estimate the likely rate of non
responses to expected.
2.5 METHODS OF DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
The response rate was calculated: and the unusable questionnaires were
identified, and the researcher proffered reasons for their rejections. To compute
the response rate, the sample size and the humber of properly completed and t
returned questionnaires were deterrnhed. The total number of questionnaire
9 s$t out and multiplied by loo divided the numbers of properly completed and
rcturned questionnaire. The forinula was thus.
Number of properly completed and retbrned questio&aire x 100 Response rate = I
Number of questionnaire Sent out by the researcher 1
After we have calculated the response rate, our next step was the
presentation of the frequency distribution of the variables of study in relation to
one another and in a single variable statistics for example, the key variables of
the study were identified as follows: leadership attitudes (behaviour of
managers) and leadership practices (procedure) were the independent
variables. While the employee perception of the work environment were
identified as follows: employees' satisfaction with work, Salaiy, work group,
coinmunication networks, under standing from the mgnagers, good working
condition, clear instruction, cheerful manager, amiable leader, challenging and
complex work, good interpersonal relationships, job security, adequate welfare
package, proper promotion plan etc. were dependent variables. This was to i
enable the researcher examine one variable at a time. The classification of the
statistical data made the important feature of the study easily grasped and
I interpreted.
DATA ANALYSIS
We employed the services of the computer in the analysis of our data.
The analysis tables provided the hypothetical information. The preliminary
analysis did not aim at answering the main research questions. Rather, it was a
methodological analysis aimed at providing asquantitative basis for evaluating I
the validity aspects of the research methodology and inferences drawn from the
research data. It involved restatement of the objectives of the research and the
research questions. The method in the frequency distributions used $0 collect
the data was also summarized to give a general view of what the researcher has
done. Frequency counts and cross tabulations was taken. The frequency count
gave us percentages, while the cross-tabulation helped us discover whether the
demographic data of the respondents influenced their responses. The tabular
nletlzod we used involved a systematic arrangement of facts and figures in
series of boxes made up of rows and column. This made our table easy to read
and facilitated quick comparison. Our analysis table was made up of the title,
the caption or box head, the stub and the source. The title gave a brief
description of the subject matter of the table. It was placed above the table. The
captions or box head.provided the classification of the items along the columns
while the stub gave the classification of items along the rows. The source
explained from where the information contained in the table was obtained.
#
CHAPTER THREE
THE STUDY AREAIGENERAL INFORMATION
T i Historical Background: The development of the Nigerian Electric
Power sector began in 1896 with the construction of a 20MW power station at
Ijora, Lagos. In 1925, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Company (NESCO)
commenced operation as an electric utility company with the construction of a
2 MW hydro plant at Kui-ra falls in Jos, Plateau State. The Electricity
Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was established in 1950 to Oversee, the
electricity sector. As a result of the rapid urbanization and the increasing
8
demand for electric power, the Niger Dam Authority (NDA) was established to
build and manage dams. Consequently, between 1960 and 1975 the following
power stations were built:
Kainji Power Station in Niger State (installed capacity 578MW)
Afam Power Station in Rivers State (installed capacity 972MW)
Delta Power Station Delta State (installed capacity 600MW)
In addition, between 1975 and 1990 these power stations were also built:
Jebba Power Station in Niger State (installed capacity 578MW)
Egbin Power Station in Lagos State (installed capacity 1,320MW)
Shiroro Power Station in Niger State (installed capacity 600MW)
Sapele Power Station in Delta State (installed capacity 720MW)
The first 132kv line was built between Lagos and Ibadan in 1962, while
a 330kv line was constructed to transmit power from Kainji Power Station to
Lagos. In 1972, the Federal Government of Nigeria approved the merger of the
ECN and the NDA to form the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA).
4 NEPA was then a state-owned vertically integrated power utility responsible
for electricity generation ,transmission and distribution.
For effective distribution of power supply to the general public, the
Fedyal Government approved the establishment of one district in each state of I
the $ederation. PI-ICN, Enugu District took off as a result of this developn~ent.
'The workforce capacity is about Two thousand, one hundred and forty two
personnels. 'The organizational chart is shown:
U U L J U L J
1
Senior Manager
_I
U L J U U U
Source: PHCN Diary,2005: 15
Fig 2: PHCN Organization Chart
Service Engineer
I
Supervisor '
I Artisans
I Mate learners n
Figure 2 shows the
apex is the Management
organization chart of PHCN Enugu District. At the
Committee made up of the General Manager, and i
Assistant General Managers on ~istribution, Marketing, Auditing, Finance and
Administration. Below is the Administrative Cadre made up of District
Manager and Senior Managers on Distribution, Marketing. Auditing, Finances
and Administration. The Service Engineer and Supervisors are the Senior
Staffs while the junior staffs are the Artisans and Mate Learners. ,
However, because of the age long epileptic power supply services of
PHCN to the general public, the Federal Government has made it imperative to #
reform the sector by restructuring the key areas of ownership, structure,
management and regulation. In order to 'increase efficiency and productivity,
NEPA was privatized with a new name "Power Holding Company of Nigeria
PLC" (PHCN).
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the work is presented, analyzed and data discussed
under the following subheadings:
(i) IJniJicd pay structures, compensation, and prospect of
promotion and productivity in PHCN, Enugu.
(ii) Environmental factors, and information flow, and
productivity in PHCN, Enugu.
(iii) Approaches and strategies for efficiency and productivity
in PHCN, Enugu.
4.1 UNIFIED PAY STRUCTURES, COMPENSATION AND
PROSPECTS OF PROMOTION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN
PHCN, ENUGU
4.1.1 UNIFIED PAY STRUCTURES IN PHCN
Table 4.1.1 Does the unified pay structure (unconditional rewards) in PIICN affect you job performance?
Job performance
measurement
Analysis of table 4.1.1 shows that the unified pay structure
(unconditional rewards) in PHCN negatively affects job performance of
.nS personnel. Vroom's Expectancy Theory (1964:3 1-36) states that performance
can be thought of as a multiplicative function of motivation and Ability, i.e.
P=F (M x A). Motivation in turn varies with the valences or attractiveness of
outcomes upon the performance of that task, and the instrumentality of
performance for attaining the outcome. The major outcomes he identifies are
money (salary), fringe benefits, promotion, supportiveness behaviour (the
leadership style of the supervisor or boss-fairness, honesty, conscientiousness,
!I b
etc), group acceptance (the attitude of ot er people towards hard work) and the
joy derived in doing the work itself (internalized motivation). Vroom is simply
saying that motivation depends not just on the outcome derived by the worker,
I but also on the instrumentality of effort, that is, the relationship perceived by
the worker between his and other previous efforts (hard work, honesty, loyalty,
putting one's self last), and the desired outcomes (promotion, praise, medal,
salary, increment, and recognition in the community).
Regardbg the effects of these variables on motiva~on, we first of all
observe that each of them has a direct relationship with motivation. Holding
other things qonstant, the greater the ability of the worker, the higher his
motivation. In addition, the more attractive the rewards of working, the more
intimate the casual relationship between effort and rewards; and the more
adequate the infrastructural support, the higher the motivation of the worker.
This means that all the variables must be goaded on by attractive rewards, an
intimate casual relationship between effort and rewards and backed up by
adequate Infrastructural support if the worker is to be motivated.
On the other hand, an able worker will not be motivated if he ddes not
perceive that there is an intimate relationship between his effort and his
reward, and if he does not desire the reward emanating from the effort, and if
there is inadequate lnfrastructural support. It is however, the cardinal theme of
this table 4.1.1 analysis that the major cause of any low motivation of the
personnel in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc could be that, the worker
does not perceive his work effort to be decisively instrume~tal in [he
attainment of the reward of work. Take the reward of promotion for example.
On its own, an intense desire for promotion (a very important reward) will not
motivate any worker to greater effort. The Major determinant of his motivation
is his generalized experience. He will ask questions like, "Did hard work earn
me promotion in the past?, "Is it likely to earn me promotion in the future?",
"Have I been hearing from those who are working that hard work earns people
advancement?', If the answer is yes, he will tend to be motivated. If no, he will
not. In motivation, as in many other aspects of life, experience is the best
teacher. As Skinner propounded in his Theory of operant conditioning,
behaviour that is rewarded tends to be repeated while those that are not, tend to
be extinguished (Csikszentmihalyi, l990:79-8 1)
4.1.2 COMPENSATION IN PEICN
Table 4.1.2 Does fair and adequate compensation affect your job
I performance T I To a great extent
To somewhat extent I I- 'To a little extent k-1
Number of resp,ondents I Percentage
Source: Field work, 2006
Analysis of table 4.1.2 shows that fair and adequate compensation can
affect job performance of personnel in PHCN to a great extent. Unainka
(1 978: 17-24) attributes the manpower problem being Nigeria to the Country's
wage policy and advpcates a restructuring of the wage system in order to
utilize manpower effectively. Ubeku (1978:4&56) said that the relative fall in ,
productivity rate cannot be fully attributed to the Country's wages policy.
While we agree that wages and incentive system are fundamental in boosting
workers morale, we at the same time posit that uncontrolled development in
the several arms of the economy could render any programme of wages
restructuring, a weak policy instrument especially where work habit has not
been substantially cultivated.
Whatever the necessity for and the difficulties of performance
evaluation, the effort to encourage and reward takes precedence over every
other human resources development effort. Rewards granted candidates who
exhibit interest and activity in development should be appropriate when
compared with benefits granted those candidates who do not exhibit these
qualities. The human relation's movement has advanced convincing evidence
about the influence of non-monetary and financial incentives on executive
motivation. A sound executive compensation strategy requires the
determination of an appropriate compensation and incentive mix which will
b
depend on the labour force characteristics and also, on the economic
circumstances in different environments (Vroom, 1970:20-36). t
It is fallacious to assume that quality of performance is the only
yardstick for executive compensation. Many other factors must be taken into
account. The job itself has certain characteristics that help to determine the pay
schedules. An executive commendation must have some logical relationship to
rewards paid to others in the same organization. That is, the compensation
system must reflect in some way a man's position in the hierarchy. Besides
these Factors, still another set of influences this time coming from the external
part of the environment, affects the level of executive compensation. Included
here are regional differences in the cost of living, increments allowed for
special assignments, the market price of giving qualifications and experience,
the level of local taxation and the influence of high business salaries on other
----- -- -
professions. In short, multiple criteria are appropriate in all matters of
executive compensation. The organization, which says it pays only for results,
does not know what it is doing. The motivation and incentive systems strategy
must take these diverse elements into account. Migration from rural to urban
areas and out-of-country migration, often due to poor salaries and working
conditions, have left critical gaps and vacancies and posts filled by less-
qualified persons in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. The people who
suffer most from this loss of large sections of the professional workforce in this
country are the poorest and most vulnerable members of the population 4
4.1.3 PROSPECT OF PROMOTION IN PHCN
Table 4.1.3 To what extent can prospect for promotion affect your job performance in PHCN?
Job performance measurement
To a great extent
To somewhat extent
Undecided
To a little extent
Not at all
Number of respondents Percentage
Source: Field work, 2006
Table 4.1.3 shows that prospect for promotion can affect job
performance of personnel in PHCN. According to Amaechi (1984:28) if a
e4 worker sees high productivity as a path leading to the attainment of one or
' b
inore of his personal goals, he will tend to be a higher producer; conversely, if
he sees low productivity as a path to the achievement of his goal, he will tend
to be low producer. This then follows that the Nigerian worker would have a
bad attitude towards work. He will be ill motivated. To be otherwise is to be
irrational. This means that on its own, an intense desire for promotion (a very
important reward) will not motivate any worker to greater effort. The inajor
determinant of his motivation is high generalized experience. Did hard 'work
earn me promotion in the past? Is it likely to earn me promotion in the future in
this company? Have I been hearing from those who are working in this
company that hard work earns people advancement? If the prospect is yes, he
will tend to be motivated. But previous research has,shown that the Nigerian
sees fate and favouritism as paths to success (Ejiofor, 1984:214-215). So,
instead of working very hard, he follows the rational path, the road which he
believ,es led otl~ers to their gold mines - he assuages fate and the gods by
offering sacrifices, wearing success charms, joining secret societies and social
clubs. He hovers around his boss, and attempts to work under his "townsman".
The time meant for work is spent in lobbying and hob-nobbing for favours.
What we have been saying all this while from analysis of table 4.1.3 is
that for workers in PHCN to have a good attitude towards work, they must be
properly motivated. And one vital condition for motivating workers is to make
effortloffences instrumental to their rewardslpunishments. The ideal is for
effortloffences perfectly instrumental to rewards/punishmepts. In practice, ,<
perfect instrumentality is an unattainable goal in modern complex
organizations. However, any significant deviation from this ideal causes low
motivation or bad attitude towards work in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria plc.
The findings of this study submit that the worker in PHCN does not
perceive that his advancement depends much on how hard he works. Table
#
4.1.1 shows that 89.66% of the 300 workers responded that the unified pay
structure (Unconditional rewards) in PHCN negatively affect their job
performance, while 10.33% said that the unified pay structure affect their job
performance positively. Table 4.1.1 paints a more disheartening picture for
motivation. It clearly indicates that environmental factor like bitter political
differences, Ethnicity, Stateism and Favouritism often display in PHCN,
negatively affect job performance of workers. These findings shows that
workers are not satisfied with the unified pay structure otherwise termed
unconditional rewards that compensate every worker along the same lines
whether he is competent or ,incompetent at work. Also the workers perceived f
that the PHCN make workers promotion not to be based on objective
evaluation of workers' abilities and merit but on favouritism and nepotism.
Since the findings of this study is representative of the opinions of most
workers in PI-ICN, then the future of motivation in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria is bleak, for the findings are unequivocal on the point that the worker
simply does not believe that reward emanates from work effort. If this belief is 1
fed into Georgopolous' Path Goal Theory of motivation which states that, "if a
worker sees high productivity as a path l~ading to the attainment of one or
inore of his personal goals he will tend to be a high producer, conversely if he
sees low productivity as a path to the achievement of his goal, he will tend to
be a lower producer", then it follows that the worker in PHCN would have a
bad attitude towards work. He would be ill - motivated. To be otherwise i6 to
be irrational.
It is important to note here that whpn the Power Holding Company of
Nigeria PIC rewards are over - sensitive to effort, motivation is again adversely
affected. This may come about when wwkers get appointed into posts for
which they are not qualified. This leads to complacency and incompetence
both having adverse effect on motivation. 1 n the other hand, when rewards are
under - scnsitive to effort, workers exper nce frustration, and so tend to cut
down output. The ideal is for effortloffences to be perfectly instrumental to
rewards/punishments. In practice, perfect instrumentality is an unattainable
goal in modern conlplex organizations. However, any significant deviation
from this ideal courses low motivation or bad attitude towards work. *
4.1.4 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF THE ANALYSIS
Table 4.1.4 Response Rate of Questionnaire
- Professional group
committee
AdminlAccoun tan ts
Senior workers
Junior workers
Total
Source: Field wo
Number of properly completed and returned questionnaire 4
Population of study
Response rate
Number of questionnaire sent out by the research
Analysis of table 4.1.4 show that the over all exercise achieved 77%
Response Rate, which is a tolerable representation of the many that were not
sampled. 23% of the sent out questionnaire were considered unusable be cause
of improper completion, and therefore rejected.
Table 4.1.5 Percentile frequency distribution of respondents according to sex
Sex group
Female
Male
Total
n m. 7 1 I
Number of
respondents
133
167
300
? n n /
Percentage
44.33%
55.67%
100
The above hypothetical table presents the information of respondents
sex distribution in frequency and percentage. From the analysis, it is evident
that male participant Out-numbered their female counterp& by 11.34%. in
emphdsizing the important of sexual classification in such an important study,
Schwalbach (1994:32), remarked that gender is a key aspect of workforce
planning. An important part of equitable human resource development is
achieving genderT equality in the workforce, especially with regard to
recruitment, promotion and compensation. Achieving greater gender balance in
workforce planning requires continued integrationlrecruitment and retention of
an increasing promotion of female into the workforce, particularly at'levels
where they are underrepresented, and moving them closer to economic parity
with men with respect to compensation and prospect for promotions.
Workforce analysis and strategies need to be continuously aligned with
organization-wide or sector-wide human resource recruitment, remuneration I
and incentive policies and practices. Power Service planning and decision-
making processes should include analysis af alternative approaches to utilizing
scarce skills and assessment of interventions and incentives, such as career
development structures and professional development systems. This can lead to
significantly improved recruitment, retention and motivation of workers.
The point from this analysis is not that the power company's should
abide by a strict ratio of males to female workers, but that they should carry out
careful analysis of the population's needs, and the roles of workers. According
to Otoo (1998:290), female workers are often very cost-effective provider of
service, and tend to have a higher retention rate than male workers in public
companies. Therefore, the provision of high-quality services could be
strengthened by maximizing the use of all sex categories of workers, rather
than by focusing only on the inale workers.
Table 4.1.6 Percentile Frequency Distribution of Respondents According to Age .
Under 2 1 I 24 I 8% I Age Bracket , Number of Respondents
31 -40
- . --
41 -50
5 1 and above
I Source: Field work, 2006
Percentage
I I
This table gives information about. the age composition of the
93
96
2 5
Total
respondents. We use the information to compare the ages of the respondents in
v
31%
32%
8%
top management cadre. We also used this to analyze the attitude of top
300
management group in relation to the respondents in middle management.
10O0/i
Pointing out the place of age in the power system planning, Israr (2000:292)
remarked that aging will affect staffing in the Sub-Region's systems, as many
older workers will reach retirement age in the relatively near future. While the
number of young qualified workers entering the workforce may be insufficient
to meet these new demands. Strategic workforce planning and management,
and service delivery are of paramount importance at a time like this in Nigeria
when major demographic, epidemiological, economic and social changes are
already taking place. The country's need of young personnel is clearly evident
in the analysis of table 4.1.6. Attention should be paid to strengthening analysis
of policies and programmes, which promote equity and provide cost-effective
services to the young people, disadvantaged and other vulnerable groups.
Depletion of young workers is a costly loss of expensively trained human
capital that affects national strategies for resource planning and development.
#
Migration of young workers from rural to urban areas and out-of-country
migration, often due to poor salaries and working conditions, may leave critical
gaps and vacancies or posts filled by aging or less-qualified persons. The
people who suffer most from this loss of large sections of the young
professional workforce are the poorest and most vulnerable members of the
popuiation. .I+& ,
Table 4.1.7 Percentile frequency distribution of respondents according to marital status
r Marital status I I
Number of Respondents
Single
Married
Divorce
Total
Percentage
, 155
Source: Field work, 2006
179
6
300
38%
60%
2%
100%
Due to the nature of the study, the researcher also got interested in the
family background of the respondents, as to know whether it influenced their
responses. Analysis of table 4.1.7 shows that 59.66% of the respondents are
married, 38.33% are single, and only 2% are divorce. The cross-tabulation in
the analysis of the results of the questionnaire in similar studies has helped us
to discover that high number of divorce in a single study could influence
responses. This analysis will help us to appreciate that management takes place
within a context of interdependent social influences. The social influences
emanate from the various collectivities to which people belong. Therefore 1
managing within a given society demands an awareness of the significance of
these collectivities and their interactions.
Table 4.1.8 Percentile frequency distribution of respondents according to educational attainment
/Educatioaal Attainment I Number of Respondents
Equivalent
~ S X Y Degree or
OND
198
. 1 Equivalent
( Primary education l 15
I GCE, or Equivalent
equivalent
22
I Total I 300
Percentage
Analysis of table 4.5 shows a remarkable improvement in the
educational attainment of personnel in PHCN, especially, when compared with
what it was in 1979 (PHCN, 1979: 14-16). Segall(2000:27) said that one of the
best ways to resolve the potential crises in staffing of services is through
education and training, together with human resource management policies and
incentives. Yet many countries lack the financial resources to meet their
national training needs and requirements. He said that many countries have no
suitable training institutions and adequate technical expertise, particularly in
tpe advanced and specialized technical field. This means that staff often must
b
go abroad, sometimes as fellows, to attain advanced training and expertise.
Even when there are in-country professional training institutions, faculties
often have little or no formal preparation in educational methodologies. Many
students struggle and do not complete their programr$es of study because their f
prior education is based on note-learning, without k t s , and provides them
with an insufficient foundatioq in Science, Mathematics and writing skills
1 (NANM, 2002:24-26). Curricular review network should be encouraged, as not
only can they strengthen li s betweeq educators of professionals and
institutions, they can also contribute towards a Sub-Regional consensus on
educational standards and professional competencies, including open learning
in West Africa. Networking among educational institutions significantly
improved in the Sub-Region of West Africa, helped by links with the foreign
and technical support to countries (Israr, 2000:290). Training institutions in
PI-ICN have been linked with counter parts in countries with more resources.
These partnerships, particularly if they are developed further, should provide
.)\. longer-term, inore sustainable mechanisms for sharing information and
resources, including professional expertise, contributing to improved quality of
education and increased capacities of teachers in PHCN.
Ejiofor (1981:31) stressed the need for skilled manpower in the
development of African economies and noted that such trained manpower is in
short supply. He went on to say that the effective utilization of a county's
labour force depends on part upon the development of small but strategic group
of persons who have essential skills and special capabilities to guide the dork
of others. Although African nations, he further mentioned, have made
spectacular progress in educating and training the high level manpower
required for the development of the modern sectors of their economies,
imbalances and deficiencies exist in their education and training systems. The
validity of Ejiofor's contribution is evident in the increasingly large numbers
of high level manpower in PHCN, but with accompanying fall in the relatively
rate of increase in output over the same period. What actually constitute the
right type of education, training and work motivation and the problems and
possibilities of achieving this underscore every manpower development effort
in PI-ICN. However, there is insufficient information about what they are and
how they can be achieved.
Table 4.1.9 Percentile frequency distribution of respondents according to length of service
Length of service
p d above T l9
t
t
The researcher was also interested in the participant's length of service
Number of respondents
6%
5-10 --
Under 5
T o t a l
in PHCN. Analysis of table 4.1.9 shows that 33% of the participating personnel
Percentage
have served in the company for 5 - 10 years and 30% for 11 - 15 years.
Source: Field work, 2006 4
99
46
-
300
Important information in this distribution is what appears like personnel
33%
15%
IOOO/O
interest for long service in PHCN. It is true that improved approaches to the
provision of technical support for workforce planning have facilitated-
increased opportunities to develop the confidence and self-reliance of
personnel managers. According to Adams (2000), Workforce management
analysis and planning, linked with analysis of national goals and worker
performance expectations, has ensured the identification of gaps in service
provision or in essential skills of workers. Migration from rural to urban
areas and out-of-country migration, often due to poor salaries. and working
qualified persons in PHCN. Young engineers are given personnel management
responsibilities shortly after they graduate, often including the leadership of a
power service delivery team serving a large population. Developing their
managerial competence is a key step in ensuring that power personnel in
PHCN work both efficiently and effectively.
Table 4.1.10 Percentile frequency distribytion of respondents according to income annually
Income bracket Number of respondent
N90 1,000 .OO and above 54
N 10 1,000.00 - N300,000.00
- Less than N 100,000.00
Total 1300
Percentage
Sozlrce: Field worb, 2006
Analysis of table 4.1.10 reveals poor income remuneration of personnel
in PHCN. According to Damasceno et a1 (2000), prohibiting power personnel
from complimenting their income is equally unlikely to meet with success,
certainly if the salary scales remain blatantly insufficient. He said that in
situations where it is difficult to keep staff performing adequately for want of
decent salaries and working conditions, those who are supposed to enforce
such prohibition are usually in the same situation as those who have to be
A i c ~ i n l i n o A A c ; c n l ~ t o A m n ~ c ~ w o c v o c t v i ~ t i x r o l o m i c l ~ t ~ n n x x r h n n nnt h l ~ t o n t l x r
ignored only drives the practice underground and makes it difficult to avoid or
correct negative effects.
Lea (2000:209), said that openly naming and attempting to solve the
problem of moonlighting and btain, 'op the other hand, may contain and t 1
I
discourage those income-generating activities that represent a conflict of
interest in favour of safety valves with less potential for negative impact on the
functioning of the services. Besides minimizing conflicts interest, open
discussion can diminish the feeling of unfairness among colleagues. It then
bkcomes possible to organize things in a more transparent and predictable way. +
The indications are that professionals of the newer generation have more
modest expectations and are realistic enough to see that the market for
developing coping strategies is finite and, to a large extent, occupied by their
elders. This gives scope for the introduction of systems of incentives that are 1
coherent with the organization's social goals. For example, where financial
compensation for work in deprived areas is introduced in a context that
provides a clear sense of purpose and the necessary recognition, it may help to
reinstate lost public personnel rules.
Unamka (1 978: 17-24) attributes the manpower problem facing Nigeria
to the country's wages policy, and advocates a restructuring of the wage
system in order to utilize manpower effectively. Ubeku (1978: 48-56), said that
the relative fall in productivity rate cannot be fully ,attributed to the country's . wage policy. While we agree that wages and incentive systems are
fundamentals in boasting worker's morale, we at the same time posit that
uncontrolled dw$opments in the several arms ~f the economy could render
any programme of wages restructurbg a weak policy instrument especially
where work habit has not been substantially cultivated. If a'worker is trained
on his job, supplemented with short-term co&es and his environment is
improved in terms of providing facilities and incentives, he naturally feels a
sense of being catered for and in return becomes devoted to his job.
Table 4.1.11 Uoes your job offer you any of the following (Choose o more as it applies to you)? 1" Or
Job satisfaction measurement
Opportunity for personal
Number of respondents
growth
of self-fulfillment
Percentage
37
Opportunity for independent
thought
Opportunity for creativity
I I I I
Source: Field work 2006
12%
53
None of the above
Total
Table 4.1 .I 1 reveals that more than 66% of the respondents are not satisfied
18%
4
7
with their jobs in PHCN. According to Kushel, the service conditions under
1%
3%
199
300
which an employee finds himself influences his productivity to an appreciable
66%
100%
the establishment will probably be short. The moment he realizes &at he is a
bird of passage, his productivity starts declining. Employees are concerned
mostly with wages and job satisfaction. Then comes job security, moving
along Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The bid for high wages may affect security
of the firm itself but often the employees are oblivious of this fact. The aspect
of job satisfaction is also complex to place. Job satisfaction may be in self-
actualization - as generally defined - all these are dependent on employee's
level of awareness. One of the factors that influence a person's level of
awareness is his cultural background and education, which has a great I
influence on organizational structure and management strategy.
While the educational influences stem from the society's formal and
informal educational systems, the cultural influences reflect people's collective
way of thinking, including the meanings they attached to various aspects of
life, their way of looking at the world and their role in it, and their values and
beliefs. Culture, although basically patterns of thought, becomes crystallized in
the institutions and the tangible products of society. Management within a
society is deeply influenced by its culture, since the actions of people cannot be
coordinated without a true understanding of their values and beliefs.
Management and management skills are thus culture-specific: a management
technique or philosophy that suits one culture does not necessarily suit another
(Ifechukwu, 1977:48). This specifically explains for failure of attempts to
transfer management skills from one cultural context to another.
Table 4.1.12 How satisfied are you wit11 your job?
[ J o b s t i o n measurement / Number of respondents I Percentage .
Very much satisfied
Satisfied
-- --
Unsatisfied
Dissatisfied
12
32
tvery much dissatisfied I I I
Source: Field work, 2006 4
Analysis of table 4.1.12 indicates that majority of the participants
4%
11%
16
168
72
Total
personnel are not satisfied with their job. Just as we said before, that the
5%
56%
24%
service conditions under which an employee finds himself, influences his
productivity to an appreciable level. But unfortunately, most of the workers in
the public sector are not satisfied with both their salary and service conditions
(Uzoma, 1982). Assuming that some of these anomalies are rectified over time,
300
is there any guarantee that the productivity of the public and private sectors
100%
would increase? Service conditions here include salary, promotion and fringe
benefits such as car, basic allowances, advances, leave allowance and free
housing and medical schemes. Improved service conditions and benefits are
just one side of the issue, while the willingness, the zeal and the ethics of hard
work are another. This consideration arises by virtue of the fact that many
studies have shown that there is no positive correlation between salary and
productivity. In his own contribution, Herzberg et a1 (1959:66-67) has
described money as a factor which serves as a potential dissatisfier if not
present in appropriate amgunts, but not serving as a potential satisfer or
positive motivator.
According to Ferrinho et a1 (2000:36), workers in public company often
suffer from geographical as well as social and professional isolation. He
suggested that the following approachks can be used to improve their living
and working conditions.
Improve communications (telephone, two-way radio, transport) to allow *
move frequent contact;
Provide housing, water supply, electricity, etc to the workers resident in
the community;
Allow staff flexible working hours to suit local conditions and
requirements;
Be aware of worker's family or social situation so that their needs may
be anticipated and an opportunity provided for discussing concerns with
supervisors; and
Grant promotions, assign further training and pay allowances for
services in public company.
Table 4.1.13 If you are offered a comparable job somewhere else, how would you feel about it?
Job satisfaction measurement
I would strongly prefer to stay
where I am
Number of respondents
14
I would somewhat prefer 2 9 to stay
I would somewhat prefer to change I 169 I 56%
Percentage
10%
where I am
I would have a hard time to decide
I would strongly prefer to accept a
I)
15
job somewhere else
Analysis of table 4.1.1.3 is a check to other analysis on job satisfaction.
Total
The analysis confirm that najority of the participants are not satisfied with
their job in PHCN, and woulp prefer to accept a comparable offer somewhere
Source: Field work, 2006
300
else. The service condition under which an employee finds himself influences
his productivity to an appreciable level. If he is not satisfied with the
100%
conditions and fringe benefits, his stay in the establishment will probably be
short. The moment he realizes that he is a bird of passage, his productivity
starts declining. Research in Nigeria indicates that the most important factors
influencing inter-firm mobility among managers are, in order of importance,
esteem etc (Ej iofor, 1 984: 1 73). These factors along with a favourable
perception of the organization as a fair employer enable the personnel to expert
a rewarding career over a long period of time. It is only where these conditions
exist that the personnel is encouraged to develop and nurture the skills and
attitudes required for satisfactory performance. Therefore, to attract and retain
personnel requires the provision of competitive rewards, definitions of career
paths by which the personal goals of the individual may be attained within the
organization, significant and meaningful work experiences and enhancement of
the employee's perception of the organization as a stable and fair employer. b ,
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, INFORMATION FLOW
AND PRODUCTIVITY i~ PHCN, ENUGU
4.2.1 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN PHCN
Table 4.2.4.1 indicates that an environmental factor which may be
divided into bitter political differences, ethnicity, stateism, and favouritism is
another important barrier against the satisfaction of the needs of workers in
PMCN, Enugu. It was discovered during this research that often, promotions of
workers in PHCN are not to be based on objective evaluation of the workers
ability and merit (again a denial of opportunity for recognition and self-
actualization). But these could be traced to the main problem in PHCN,
namely, poor organizational design with its attendant absence of objectives and
rationalized responsibility and authority relation's because they are not based
on principles for order and predictability (PHCN, 2002:34).
The research further shows that the personnel see fate and favouristisin
as the paths to success in PHCN (PHCN, 2001 :44). So instead of working very
hard, they follow the rational path, the road which they believes led others to
their gold mines. They assuage fate and the gods by offering sacrifices,
wearing success charms, and joining secret societies and social clubs. Some
hover around their boss, and attempt to work under their "townsman". The r
time meant for work is spent in lobbying and hob-nobbing for favours (PHCN,
4.2.1.1 PATTERN OF RECRUITMENT IN PHCN
This is considered as one of the environmental factors that impedes
productivity and lowers efficiency of the workers in the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc. The recruitment pattern in PHCN shows that many
workers in management positions in the hospital have within the set-up, their
immediate relatives (wives, sons-in-law etc) in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria Plc (PHCN, 2003: 41-46). Assuming that the relatives of these office'rs
are qualified, is it not possible that to enforce discipline- would be very difficult
in PHCN because of "connection"? indiscipline lowers productivity in PHCN
and as long as officer cannot discipline his subordinate, productivity of tha
junior workers will continue to suffer in the company. After all, the senior
officer who works with a subordinate who has "powerful connections" would
not like to lose his job or be unduly victimized .
4.2.1.2 STATEISM IN PHCN
Stateism in this context means a situation where an officer in PHCN pay
loyalty only to their state of origin. This has the undesirable effect of officers
in PHCN employing only people from their state of origin, whether they are
qualified or not (PHCN 2001 : 140). Again, some officers would rather employ
non-Nigerians on higher salaries and much, better conditions of service in
#
some offices, than employing fellow workers from other states. This creates a
situation where various categories of workers are more from some states while
other states are not represented enough in the company (PHCN, 2003:66). Our
research shows that the placement of an officer in a job he is not well qualified
for not only reduced his productivity but erodes his confidence and this may
affect his personality in the company. This state of affair had affected the
subordinate officers productivity in PI-ICN as Risher et a1 (1995:42-44) has
conclusively shown that there is a positive correlation between a supervisor's
ability and knowledge of his job and the subordinate's productivity.
4.2.1.3 SITUATIONAL FACTOR IN PHCN
It was also discovered in the study that {he worker in PHCN is very fond
7- of leaving his office any time after loam to attend to personal problems such as
bank transactions, collecting children from school, taking relations to, a clinic
etc (PHCN, 200351). There is a subsequent loss of man-hours and consequent
loss in productivity in the conipany. These circumsta~ce~ are not created by the
worker but induced by the environment and set-up in which the personnel find
themselves in PHCN, Enugu (PHCN, 200 1 : 17).
b 4.2.1.4 BITTER POLITICAL DIFFERENCES IN PHCN
It was also found that the environment in wliicl~ EWCN operates is
highly heterogeneous. Heterogeneity implies that workers formed groups to
lobby for their special interests in PI-ICN. Therefore, interest groups as part of
the political environment had represented obstacles to changes and
productivity in PHCN, Eilugu (PHCN, 2003:41). They had also acted as a
catalyst for change when such change would benefit the group. Thus it had
been concluded that concentration of political differences, relative group and
predilection towards the company interest and value had hampered innovation
and productivity in PHCN, Enugu (PHCN, 2004:29). In addition to the
foregoing, other factors in the political environment acted as obstacles to
innovation and productivity in PHCN. These include lack of resources, risk
involved in the innovation etc .
4.2.1.5 FAVOURITISM IN PHCN
The findings of our study also show that the incentive disciplinary
?F systems are intimately influenced by favouritism in PHCN, Enugu. The
favoyred worker becomes incompetenr and lazy while the WCN, pays him
nluch more than is justified. To worsen the situation, the IqN 'Cinderallas" + automatically had perceived dissemination, and so the incentive system
affecting them is perceived not real, thus causing resentment in the company.
Recognizing that favouritisin and dissemination has adversely affected
motivation in the company, and in an effort to reinove these evils fro111 their +
fold, PMCN fall into an equally dangerous "deep sea" of not closely relating
reward/punishment to effort/offences. They have been known to implemeiit
policies such as: "promote all workers irrespective of ability after three years",
"place all graduates irrespective of their value on the same level", give all
workers increments annually", let the impatient but capable worker wait for his
colleagues", "ignore employee short comings until a probe is set up to handle
it". With these, the PHCN operate a horizontal instrumentality system as we
have said before, and motivation and productivity suffers. Thus, by not being
willing to appraise performance and reward on merit basis, by operating an
employment and advancement system saturated with favouritism and
discrimination, by attempting to be "fair" to all workers by teaching the
productive and unproductive alike, or by not punishing offending workers, the
PHCN, has induced the much decried bad attitude of their workers toward
work in the power holding.
INFORMATION FLOW IN PHCN
Table 4.2.2 suggests that one of the most important needs of workers in
PHCN, was information about what was happening around their workplace. To
be well informed they believed, helped in cultivating and in maintaining
mutually satisfactory relationship between the manager and workers in the
company, and it cultured workers' loyalty to the company. We can see that +
there may be something serious about this. Perhaps, it is the inadequate
information flow downwards and upwards in PHCN work systems that nui-sed
up the Oyibo work attitude among the workers (PHCN, 2002:34). Yes, the
need for information flow may be important in culture, but in a theoretical
analysis, where would one place this need for information in the need
structure? The need of "recognition" that comes under Maslow's theory could
have the same implication as our identified need for information, because
recognition could be expressed in giving the worker information about what is
happening in PHCN.
It is in this study that we are able to discover that workers in PHCN are
not involved in the planning of the specific actions needed in the company. The
staff do not know the priorities, goals, objectives and strategies of the
company. The personnel do not participate in the process of problem
identification and problem definition in their work setting in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc (PIICN, 2003:46). These, as a result limit the "level of
awareness" of workers on their understanding of the environment and
interpretation of management actions. This condition made the researcher to
wonder how management of PIICN wants the workers to know about the
organization besides the information from the grapevine - which usually does
more harm than good in the company. The PHCN management need to
develop and sustain the commitment of workers in the company by inducing a
management - by - objectives approach that will ensure that the objectives
+ guide the activities of the company as well as serve as the pardstick for
measuring the productivity of the workers. In other words, the process of
interpreting objectives and determining the means by which they are to be
achieved could serve as a farm of communication consultation and training in
PHCN .
,* EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF THE ANALYSIS
Table 4.2.1: Does the environmental factors displayed in PHCN affect your job performance?
/ Job performance measurement I Number of respondent 1 Percentage 1 Negatively
Positively
I I I I Source: Field work, 2006
288
Total
96%
12 4%
300 100 I
Analysis of table 4.2.1 indicates that the environmental factor like bitter
political differences, tribalism, stateism and favouritism often display in +
7 % PHCN, negatively affect job performance of personnel. Stateisin in this context
means a situation where individuals pay loyalty only to their state of origin.
This has the undesirable effect of public functionaries employing and
promoting only people from their state of origin, whether they are qualified,
due or not. For example, many top government executives would rather
employ non-Nigerians on higher salaries and much better conditions of service
than employ fellow Nigerians from other States. This
various categories of trained manpower abound in
states may have problems of filling their quota.
creates a situation where
b
some states while other
The implication of this is that the placement of an officer in a job he is
not well qualified for not only reduces his productivity but erodes his
confidence and this may affect his personality. This state of affairs is bound to
affect the subordinate officer's productivity as Risher et a1 (1995:42-44) has
conclusively shown that there is a positive correlation between a supervisor's
ability and knowledge of his job and the subordinate's productivity. Pattern of
recruitment is a factor that hampers productivity and lowers efficiency even in
the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PIC. The recruitment pattern in the
Country today shows that many people in management positions in the federal
service have within the set-up, the immediate relatives - wives, sons-in-law etc
(Adebayo, 1980: 17- 19). Assuming that the relatives of these officers are
qualified, is it not possible that to enforce discipline would be very difficult
because of connection? Indiscipline lowers productivity and as' long as an
officer cannot discipline his subordinate, productivity of the junior worker is
bound to suffer. After all, the Senior Officer who works with a subordinate that i
has "powerful connections" would not like to loss his job or be unduly
victimized.
Another environmental factor that affects productivity in PHCN could
be the Nigerian worker who is very fond of leavinl his office any time after Y
loam to attend to personal problems such as b transactions, collecting T #
children from school, taking a relation to a mpany etc. There is a subsequent
loss of man-hours and consequent loss in oductivity. These circumstances
are not created by the public servant byt induced by the environment and set-
up in which the workers find them.
Tnble 4.2.2: To what cxte~lls can lack of information about what is happening around your work place (your recognition) affect your job performance?
I Job performance measurement I Number of respondents / Percentage I I To a great extent I 173 I 58% I
I . I To somewhat extent
Undecided
To a little extent
I I -- Total ~ 1 0 0 ~ 0 %
42
11
I I
I I I I Source: Field work, 2006
14%
4%
36
Not at all
13%
35 11%
Analysis of table 4.2.2 shows that more than half of the participant job
performance can be affected to a great extent by the information about what is
happening around their work. To develop and sustain the commitment of
workers to achieving the goals and objectives of the system, managers need to
get them involved in planning the specific action needed. Sharing a strategic
vision of an organization's mission, and setting up a process for its translation
into concrete plans; is a critically important leadership role at all levels.
According to Harris (1996:21), a vision should be clear and sufficient to
inspire employees to action. He said that to capture the hearts of employees, it
#
is essential that we tell them what we stand for and where we are going. Our
vision must be compelling, understandable, and focused. Haasen et a1
(1973:44) remarked that for employees to work together towards a common
goal, they need to share mutual mission. This means that they have an r
understanding of the organization as a whole, how the parts fit together, and
where they fit in the structure. Management should open up communications
and provide organization-wide information on financial and other topics.
Decisions should be made in the open, away from secretive practices of the
executive boardroom. This will help to establish a climate of trust, loyalty and
productivity. Dissemination of information about the company priorities, goals,
objectives and strategies, to ensure that staff at all level knows them is very
important. Company managers should also encourage the participation of
personnel in the process of problem identification and problem definition in
their work setting. Also there is need to allow the participation of personnel in
the development of the specific objectives of the system at their level of
operation. In practice, this involvement requires frequent meetings for joint
planfling and evaluation, brain storming sessions for problem identification and
problem solving, and training approaches that emphasize active participatory
learning.
Table 4.2.3: Your su.pervisor often encourages the people in your work group to think of better ways of getting work done, which may never been thought of before?
Likert scale ( Number of respondents 1 Percentage
I measurement
I Disagree I 119 I 40%
Strongly agree
Undecided
49
2 3
25
/ Strongly disagree
Source: Field work, 2006
16%
8%
8%
Total
We used Likert scale of measurement to determine the styles of
84
management in PHCN. Management is increasingly being recognized as a
28%
300
critical element of economic development in Power Holding Company of I
100%
Nigeria, capable of integrating human and material resources into minimum
waste of maximum productivity output configurations. But it is necessary to
point out however, that the effectiveness of organizations does not depend only
on the technique of management in use. This means that other extra-managerial
7'. factors influence effectiveness.
Analysis of table 4.2.3 indicates that Supervisors in PHCN does not
often encourage the workers to develop their initiatives in getting work done. It
is difficult to say that one has now identified PHCN management philosophy.
We have seen that management philosophy is the frame within which an
appropriate management theory develops. Ajida (1977:62) said that if
management theory must be appropr,iate to its environmqnt, management
t philosophy which shapes management theory must idapt to the culture within
which it operates. f
Table 4.2.4: Your supervisor o,ften compliments the people in your work group if they do theil"; work well?
Source: Field work, 2006
Likert scale
measurement
Strongly agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Total
Number of respondents
42
26
2 3
128
8 1
300
Percentage
14%
9%
7%
43%
27%
100%
Analysis of table 4.2.4 shows that supervisor in PHCN does not often
complements the workers when they acconlplish assignment given to them.
Akpala (19?0:209) said that Nigerian workers have similar needs as the
European and American workers, and all the needs as outlined by Maslow and !
the later thinkers, but with slight changes in combination of these needs
according to levels of workers and the situation. Among the most important of
these needs to Nigerians is the need for communication, and recognition.
Abake (2003: 16) touched on leadership, and state that Nigerians are best led by
autocratic leadership style, or better, by paternalistic autocracy. But the b
question still remains as to the management philosophy on which these authors
9, make such assertions. In other words, what is the core traditional authority
system in Nigeria on which an organization system and the directing function
can effectively be built. We have earlier mentioned that the core based on
which the management fundamentals and the management philosophy in
Britain and the Western Countries were developed is the contract of
employment. It is the master - and servant relationship in English Common
Law, which became the recognized predecessor of authority concepts in British
and American Institutions (0' Connell, 1 999: 126). a
Table 4.2.5: The people in your department often blame each other when things go wrong in their work?
Measurement I I Strongly agree I 88 I 30%
Percentage Relational Attributes Number of respondents
Agree
Undecided
Strongly disagree I 19 I 6%
Disagree
156
12
We used this relational attribute to measure ways in which persbnne~
relate to one another in PHCN. Analysis of table 4.2.5. shows that more than
52%
4%
25
Total
half of the participants agreed those personnel of different departments in
PI-ICN, often blame one another when things are not properly done. This
suggests that workers do not relate well in the organization. Odia (1 975: 1 1-1 6)
8%
said that the sharetout of functiops between the ministries, departments and
key officials in the Civil Service causes duplication, while specific executive
positions do not have clearly defined functions to justify their salaries. He said
that cu~rent job positions and duplicated responsibilities either in the control of
staff or in the actual performance of executive functions create areas of what
can be simply called "no man's land" - and administratid lapse that is
particularly counter-productive to good organization. Nitayarumphong
(2000:59) said that if personnel management is to be in improved, personnel
Source: Field work, 2006
300 100%
organization's objectives. They must ensure that suitable candidates are
selected for post and that staffs are deployed correctly. They must see to it that
all personnel understand clearly what is expected of them, have appropriate
I living and working conditions, and are rewarded in ways that enhance their
motivation and commitment. They are also responsible for encouraging staff to
be adaptable by learning from experience and cope with change.
Table 4.2.6: To what extent do you prefer to work with your co-workers as a group in PMCN
Relational attributes
measurement
I To a great extent
Number of respondents
I To somewhat extent I I
Percentage
46
51
Undecided
Total 1 300 1 100%
15%
17%
To a little extent
Not at all
I I
Source: Field work, 2044
42
Analysis of table 4.2.6 shows that the spirit of teamwork is lacking in
PHCN. Teamwork encourages innovation, which has been a hallmark of
development (Otoo, 1998:294). According to Fakhro (1990:52) frequently
combined with empowerment in the workplace is the use of team shares
responsibility and autonomy and usually carry out a series of interconnected
14%
142
19
48%
6%
iasKs in ways that yield improved effectiveness and speed. Parris (1996:47)
said that motivational structure of a group task strongly influences the group's
productivity. By motivatioilal structure, we mean a team's ability to carry out a
meaningful task requiring multiple skills, different roles for team members,
and collective responsibility for the outcome. A team-based organizational
structure makes it possible to assign responsibility for a meaningful process
segment, even an entire work area, to a team. The broader and more important
responsibilities create a different and more satisfactory experience for all team
members. Gross training and flexibility within the team make the work more
b
diverse and enjoyable (Haasen, et a1 1973:47).
Table 4.2.7: What kiid of pressure for high productivity do you have from your co-workers? - Relational attributes
measurement
Unreasonably hard
pressure
-- Reasonably hard pressure
Undecided
Somewhat pressure
-- No pressure at all
Total
Source: Field work,
Number of respondents
4
11 .
26
198
- 61
300
2006
Percentage I
1%
- 4%
9%
66%
20%
1 OD%
This result highlight the critical role pressure for high productivity from
co-workers can play in PHCN. We cannot end our analysis without
highlighting the dangers posed when existing manpower is not well utilized. In
Nigeria where unemployment looms very high, manpower under-utilization
gives rise to a situation where labour productivity is lower than real wages.
Where this happens, acceleration of the rate of economic development will be
slow. The position worsens if the population is increasing. It is well known that
investment, productivity and employment have direct effects on the growth and
magnitude of national income. A labour surplus can thus arise and this
t aggravates the problem of rural-urban drift and its attendant social
consequences (Nushel, l994:2 1 2-2 1 7).
Since very few people would disagree that the most important element <
in the social and economic development of any Country is the availability of
trained manpower, the need to use effectively the available human resources
becomes all the more crucial., The productivity of human resources can be
improved by training and retraining, provision of amenities that enhance hard
work and a sense of patriotism and devotion necessary for the success of
1 PHCN. The resuk~of our analysis ipdi~atqs ithat'prodpctivity $f personnel in
PHCN is generally low, although it varies gfeatly be.$ween units and
4 department of the company. Produ vity is particularly maintenance ' I
department of PYCN. One factor has been the lack of career opportunities, and
the total divor e of career opportunities from performance assessments. f
Workers without career prospect tend to have low motivation and hence low
productivity (PHCN, 2003 : 17-25)
4.2.3 APPROACHES, AND STRATEGIES FOR
PRODUCTIVITY IN PHCN, ENUGU
With current salary levels in PHCN, Enugu (PHCN, 2003:4), it is quite
surprising that so many workers actually do remain in public service, when
they could earn much more in private practice. Money is clearly one element;
other "motivators" include social responsibility, self-realization, access to
medical technology, professional satisfaction and prestige ( ~ d a d s ,
2000:26029). Still income does remain fundamental. Individual income
topping - up strategies allow professionals to achieve a standard of living
closer to what they expect. In this study, such strategies more than doubled the I
median income of managers, increasing it from 20% to 42% of that an
individuals in full-time private practice (PHCN, 2003 : 14- 19). The upside is 1
that income topping - up helps to retain valuable expertise in public service
(PHCN, 2002: 1 9 , but there is also a downside.
The predatory behaviour of individual maintainers in PHCN, Enugu,
constitutes in many cases, a de facto financial barrier to access to power supply
(PIICN, 200d:6). More importantly, in the long run, such behaviour
delegitimizes the public's expectations about public service delivery and
jeopardizes the necessary trust between user and provider. Other (non-
predatory) coping strategies also affect access to power, but through
conlpetition for time. In PHCN, Enugu, staffs employed as civil servants are
only nominally available to fulfil full-time tasks (PHCN, 2003:34).
Moonlighting in private practice or training sessions attended for the per diem
obviously eat into their availability, and thus limit access to care. This also
results in a net flow of resources out of the public sector. In PHCN, Enugu,
therefore, low salaries paradoxically lead to high costs per unit of output.
Competition for time does not only affect access to power supply. Managers
who participate in other activities of development agencies, or provide
4 expertise for them, are less available to run services and programmes in the
company (PHCN, 2000:42). Many agencies are aware of this, and, in theory at
least, try to emphasize task-specific and short - term reliance on national staff
(PHCN, 2001: 17). In actual practice, however, concerns for short-term
effectiveness often outweigh considerations of long-term sustainability
(PHCN, 2002:24).
More insidious than predation or competition for time in PHCN, is the
problem of conflicts of interest. When officials set up a business to improve
their living conditions - or merely to make ends meet - this may not interfere
with their work as civil servants (although it is likely to compete for time and
to reinforce rural - to - urban migration). Our finding shows that when
officials in PHCN take up an extra teaching job, this may actually be beneficial
to the public agenda, because it reinforces the contact of trainees with the
professional and social prestige: leaving civil service turns into a sure sign of
success (PHCN, 2002:8). Most public responses to individual coping strategies
in PHCN, fail to acknowledge the obvious, that individual employees are
reacting individually to the failures of the organizations in which they work
and that these de facto choices and decisions becomes part of what the
organization is pretending that the problem does not exist - or that it is a mere
question of individual ethics - does not make it go away. At the center of the
reliance on individual coping of strategies in PI-ICN, is a very strong motor -
the gap between the professional's financial (but also social and professional)
b
expectations and what public service can offer. Closing the salary gap by
raising public sector salaries to "fair" levels is unlikely to be enough to break
the vicious circle. The first reason for this is that it is not a realistic option. In
PHCN, salaries would have to be multiplied by at least a factor of five to bring
the company to the level of income from small private practices (PHCN,
2003:21). Doing this for all workers in PHCN is not imaginable; doing it only
for selected groups is politically difficult. The second reason is that a mere
increase in salary in PHCN would not automatically restore the sense of
purpose that is required to make workers perform. As such it would not be
enough to make moonlighting disappear spontaneously in PHCN, Enugu.
Downsizing central bureaucracies and de-linking service delivery from
+ civil service would make it possible to divide the salary mass among a smaller
workforce, leaving a better individual income for those who remain.
Experience in PHCN, shows, however, that such initiatives often generate so
much resistance among workers that they never reach a stage of
im lementation (PHCN, 2001:23). Where retrenchment becomes a reality, it is P rarely followed by substantial sala~y increases, so the problem remains and the
company is even less capable of assuming its mission (PHCN, 2001:6).
Prohibiting workers itl PHCN, Enugu from complementing their income is
equally unlikely to meet with success, certainly if the salary scales remain
blatantly insufficient. In situations where it is difficult to keep workers
performing adequately for want of decent salaries and working conditions,
those who are supposed to enforce such prohibition are usually in the sahe
situation as those who have to bc disciplined. As an isolated measure,
restrictive legislation - when not blatantly ignored - only drives the practice
underground and makes it difficult to avoid .or correct negative effects (PHCN,
Openly naming and attempting to solve the problem of moonlighting
and brain drain in PHCN Enugu. On the other hand, may contain and
discourage those income - generating activities that represent a conflict of
interest in favour of safety valves with less potential for negative impact on the
functioning of the services. Besides minimizing conflicts of interest, open
discussion can diminish the feeling of unfairness among colleagues (PHCN,
2003:3 1). It then becomes possible to organize things in a more transparent and
predictable way. The indications are that professionals of the newer generation
have more modest expectations and are realistic enough to see that the market
for developing coping strategies is finite and, is a large extent, occupied by
'their elders. This gives scope for the introduction of systems of incentives that
are coherent with the organization's social goals (PHCN, 2000:ll). For
example, where financial compensation for work in deprived areas in PHCN, is
introduced in a context that provides a clear sense of purpose and the necessary
recognition, it may help to reinstate lost service values (PHCN, 1999: 6-8).
It is not reasonable to expect workers in PHCN, Enugu to perform well
in circumstances where the minimal working instruments and resources are
b
blatantly deficient. Improvement of working conditions, however, is more than
a combination of adequate salaiy and the decent equipment. It also means
developing career prospects and providing perspectives for training (PHCN,
2003:41). Perhaps most importantly, it requires a social environment that I
reinforces professional behaviour free from the clienteles and arbitrariness
prevalent in the public sectors in Nigeria. Piecemeal approaches may work to
correct the situation, at least partially or temporarily. What is obvious, though,
is that legislation and regulation are not enough. However ill-defined they may
be, the value systems of the professionals are a major determinant in the
difference between providing good or bad service to the public. It would be
naive to think that this could be achieved merely through bureaucratic
regulation by government or donor agencies. Without building up pressure
from peers as well as from users, dis-investment by workers is more likely to
increase than to diminish. One way to increase pressure would be to include a
formal "human resources impact assessment" as a condition for the approval of
projects or components of sector wide approaches. This could force the federal
government of Nigeria to tackle the problems caused by individual coping
strategies and brain drain before they become part o f the PHCN culture. It
would not guarantee that these problems would be solved, but it would help
limit the damage in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc.
This study has been revealing that the improvement of personnel
management in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc can succeed only if it
8
is part of a broad process of organizational change. Such a change must be
multifactorial in order to reflect the organization's complex relationships with
the external environment - technical, political and cultural - as well as its
internal structure and the resources and technology it employs (PHCN,
2003:25). Major changes will need several kinds of support, including
substantial support from the upper organizational levels. There may be external
constraints on change - civil service regulations may stand in the way or
changes in personnel policies, for instance - but external pressures can also be
helpfbl. For example, the decentraization of the system in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc may provided the needed impetus for improving
management. Decision - makers who can tolerate a gradual change process
may liberate significant human resources for change. Planned change processes
that involve people are sometimes difficult to control. They tend to require a
great deal of discussion and information - sharing. When the problems are
complex, decision - making is likely to be incremental and prolonged. The
r. decisions produced may not be predictable but the process of arriving at them
may unleash unexpected energies and skills.
4.2.3.1 OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
To ensure the necessary political support for improved workforce
management in Power. Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, it is vital to place the
subject high on the political agenda. The first step is to create an awareness
that the country's system will not function fully in the absence of well
# developed policies for the management of human resources. Given the Power
Holding Company of Nigeria Plc autonomy in key management areas (PHCN,
2003:38) and its responsibility for intersectoral coordination on officials need
to take the initiative in looking to other ministries and agencies for the
necessary collaboration and support. The importance of better personnel
management can be brought home during formal meetings. For example,
conferences of educational leaders, administrators, personnel, and
representatives of professional associations, can be convened to explore human
resources which might be better managed so as to ensure satisfactory power
supply . Another tactic is to ask each Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc
to state publicly its policy on personnel management, e.g. its expenditure on
the living and working conditions of staff and the expected economic benefits
therefrom.
Publicity may be used even more directly to make others aware of the
importance of good workforce management. publicizing examples of strong
and weak management can attract keen political interest. An effective tactic is
for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc to conduct small - scale
projects in power generation, transmission and distribution where human
resource m a n a g e m ~ t can be successfully and demonstrably improved. A well
- designed campaip to publicize the methods used and the results achieved
could sensitize decision - makers to the usefulness of better personnel
management and strengthen the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc hand
4 in requesting the necessary latitude and resources for making further
improvements of t h s kind. The first step, then, is to attract the political support
i needed to encourage efforts at improving personnel management in Power
Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. The second step is to determine where in the
system there is likely to be resistance to change from rested interests and
natural inertia. Plans can then be made for overcoming the resistance through
one or more or the following approaches:
4.2.3.2 EDUCATIONAL
The educational approach to overcoming resistance takes advantage of
as many opportunities as necessary or possible (e.g. courses, conferences,
seminars, colloquia) to explain the nature and advantages of better
management, and to enable students and managers acquire, or update and
improve, their management skills.
4.2.3.3 POLITICAL
The political approach is based on the idea of bringing together people
L
who are committed to improving personnel management in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc, so that they can form a "critical mass". with a
momentum of its own. To start things off, it is essential to have a few people
who are willing to take risks. They first convene a meeting of like-minded
people to support their ideas and their commitment. The latter are then
encouraged to bring new people along to the next such meetings, or to organize
their own meetings. Apart from the goal of creating a critical mass, these 4
meetings could serve as a forum for exploring the principles of human resource
management and for discussing where, when, and how they could be applied.
4.2.3.4 ECONOMIC AND OTHER INCENTIVES
Tables 4.2.2; 4.1.1 2, and 4.1.13 shows that the power of reward can be
used to induce changes in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. Rewards
need not be financial; they can take the form of recognition, approval and
praise, opportunities for study or travel abroad, improved living and working
conditions, etc. An essential aspect of this approach is to publicize the rewards
given so that others are encouraged to emulate the recipients. A variant would
be to advance cost benefit arguments for undertaking change, eg. the Power
Holding Company of Nigeria Plc could save substantial amount if it invest in
improving workforce management.
4.2.3.5 STRUCTURAL
Our data analysis of table 4.1.1 1 shows that the unified pay structure
(unconditional rewards) in Power Holding Company of Nigeria PIC negatively
affect job performance of performance. Therefore, the approach here is to
create an organizational structure. An example would be a personnel
development unit in every Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, such a unit
highly placed within the company could spearhead human resource planning,
the monitoring of personnel performance, and human resource research. It
could play an advisory and consultative role within the power holding and to
other institutions outside the ministry. Another possibility is the creation bf
networks of individual who are committed to managerial improvement in their
different institutions and who meet to share their experiences and perhaps
Y report to higher authority on their achievements.
4.2.3.6 COMBINATION OF APPROACHES
In all probability, all these approaches will be need to overcome inertia
and other forms of resistance to improving productiyity in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria. Clearly, action needs to be carefully aimed at the groups
who are most likely to resist change. These ?an range, for example, from
elements of the engineering profession to politicians and administrators of
Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. Whatever the target group, the
approach must be tailored to its specific reasons for resistance. All such action
needs to be carefully managed; an individual or unit should be made
responsible for securing the commitment of significant groups to managerial I
ESTABLISHING OR STRENGTHENING AN
INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
For the sake of permanence, managerial changes need an institutional
basis within the personnel management system in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria Plc. Such a system represents a logical grouping of the component! of
personnel nianagement in relation to the environment and the external world.
Thus personnel management system will examine the problem of attracting
workers to Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, diagnose its causes,
evaluate various remedies and their possible results, and implement and
monitor the intervention chosen. In other words, a system looks at personnel
management problems systematically and continuously in the light of the
changing environment, and does not undertake ad hoc remedial action without
considering its effects on other parts of the system in the company.
The institutional base of a manpower management system could not be a
department or unit of personnel development in the Power Holding Company,
a semi-autonomous arm of the company, a department within an educational
institution, or a research and development office. It would have among its
functions the strengthening of policies and practices of personnel management
in the power Holding Company. Even if launched on a trial basis, such a unit
could prove its worth by working with diversity of groups - public, private and
professional - and by showing the concrete results of managerial improvement.
4.3.1 DEVELOPING MANAGERIAL COMPETENCE
In Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, young people are given
personnel management responsibilities shortly after they graduate, often
including the leadership of a team serving a large population. Similarly, an b
assistants may function as middle - level managers attached to units with
responsibility for supervising community workers in Power holding company
of Nigeria company. Developing their managerial competence is a key step in
L ensuring that power holding personnel work both efficiently and effectively.
Asking someone to manage a group of power holding workers without being
managerially competent is like asking an administrator to perform installation.
All workers who are responsible for supervising the work of others in
power holding company thus need to be developed managerial, no matter how
competent they may be in their own technical field. The nature and content of
the development process varies with the knowledge and skills of the individual
and the managerial demands that the job will place on him or her. For those
A who are new to management, specific training programs in supervisory skills
must be provided. As managers continue in their careers, the demands on them
will change, and fresh training opportunities - such as seminars and short
courses - will be needed to equip them with the necessary knowledge and
d skills. When managers find that virtually all their time is spent managing the
office and little or more on "technical" work, they are ready for longer and
carefully designed development programs that concentrate on corporate or
general management.
Development programmes can be designed that lead to a qualification
either from a university ,or business school or from a professional organization
devoted to developing power holding managers. Such qualifications may be at
the undergraduate or postgraduate level. Policies should be established that
indicate exactly how power-holding managers in the power holding company
of Nigeria are to be developed, and that specify which institutions are
accredited to provide the necessary education and skill development. Policies
should also specifj the amount of money and other resources that will be
invested in management development in Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Apart from formal training programs, the significant valve of on the -
job training must not be over looked. Learning of this kind, based on
experience, is known by many different names - action learning, action
research, activity - base learning, etc. It achieves its objectives by encouraging
the learner, in this case the power holding manager, to ask relevant questions
and to make decisions about the real or simulated managerial situation being
confronted. It is exploring answers to these questions, and implementing the
solutions eventually decided upon, that the power holding managers learns.
This approach encourages locally appropriate managerial skills, thus
overcoming the problem of cultural specific. A group of power holding
managers may form an action - learning group and meet regularly to help and
learn fiom one another with the help of and adviser. Learning in a group
enhances teamwork, leadership, productivity a ~ d interpersonal and social
skills.
The range of educational resources upon which a Power Holding
Company of Nigeria can draw for the management training of its personnel can
# be very wide, and an important task of the power holding manager, therefore,
is to be well informed about available and potential training resources in the
country.
As a rule, a school or its equivalent is the principle resource, but
depending on the educational needs, it may be appropriate to call upon
management institutes, government bodies of various kinds, universities, and
various power holding professional faculties or schools in the countiy. In
general, the emphasis should be on active learning that relies on simulation
based on real experiences, case studies and problem - solving: purely
theoretical courses should be avoided.
4.3.2 MONITORING PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
The monitoring of personnel systems in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria should be generally viewed as a means of ensuring the availability of
the necessary personnel for greater productivity. The statistics are,
consequently, largely confined to the numbers and types of power personnel
which are needed, currently available and potentially available with training. In
other words, monitoring in practice deals mainly wi@ the flow of human
resources. However, the effectiveness of personnel management depends not
only on how staff are recruited, trained, appraised, developed and promoted
4 within the power holding (ie, the personnel flow system) but also on how they
are rewarded both financially and psychologically (the reward system). It also
depends on how the work is designed and the managerial style used with staff
(the work system), as well as the extent to which employees are able to exert
their influence on the conditions in which they work (the employee influence
system). All these systems have to be congruent with one another. Monitoring
must, therefore encompass all four.
For example, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria PIC reward staff
more than non-staff personnel. This can lead to a high ratio or cause rapid
turnover among staff, to the detriment of the quality of supply (PHCN,
2002:46). Also, when work processes change and both staff and non-staff have
to start working as a team, it is necessary to assess whether the reward system
is designed to foster the needed teamwork and whether the staff are properly
~ ~ d l l l t ; U m a orlented to function effectively under the changed work conditions.
The same question arises when a person is suddenly called on to serve multiple
functions. Many such balancing acts are necessary to cope with changes in
resources, in technology or in personnel availability, and it is therefore
essential to monitor the corresponding reward system.
Among the many items needed to be monitored are thus personnel costs,
difference between the lowest and the highest levels of pay, workforce balance
(eg. engineer-supervisor ratio), wastage rates or turnover of staff, absenteeism,
accidents at work, productivity, expenditure on training, number of "industrial"
* disputes, match between training and tasks, job satisfaction, living and
working conditions of staff. A major difficulty in carrying out routine
personnel monitoring is the poor quality of data in the majority of the Power
Holding Company of Nigeria PIC (PHCN, 2001:22). In most cases personnel ,
data are very poorly organized as well as being inaccurate, incomplete and
difficult to receive. Since information is treated as confidential, personnel files
are not available for scrutiny. Two consequences of this practice are that, first,
much information of great public utility (the age of staff, qualifications, etc)
remains buried in personnel files, and, second, the data become prone to
manipulation or considerably improve the quality not ly of the data but also T of decisions related to personnel practices. In the past, the inadequacy of
information technology - i.e., the difficulty of manually entering data,
comparing files updating information, etc - was often blamed for this state of
trained and oriented to function effectively under the changed work conditions.
The same question arises when a person is suddenly called on to serve inultiple
functions. Many such balancing acts are necessary to cope with changes in
resources, in teclmology or in personnel availability, and it is therefore
essential to monitor the corresponding reward system.
Among the many items needed to be monitored are thus personnel costs,
difference between the lowest and the highest levels of pay, workforce balance
(eg. engineer-supervisor ratio), wastage rates or turnover of staff, absenteeism,
accidents at work, productivity, expenditure on training, number of "industrial" #
disputes, match between training and tasks, job satisfaction, living and
working conditions of staff. A major difficulty in carrying out routine
personnel monitoring is the poor quality of data in the majority of the Power
Holding Company of Nigeria PIC (PHCN, 2001:22). In most cases personnel
data are very poorly organized as well as being inaccurate, incomplete and
difficult to receive. Since information is treated as confidential, personnel files
are not available for scrutiny. Two consequences of this practice are that, first,
much information of great public utility (the age of staff, qualifications, etc)
remains buried in personnel files, and, second, the data become prone to
manipulation or considerably improve the quality not only of the data but also
of decisions related to personnel practices. In the past, the inadequacy of
information technology - i.e., the difficulty of manually entering data, ,
comparing files updating information, etc - was often blamed for this state of
aflect work a'ltitudes positively in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. In
addition. the unified pay structure otherwise termed unconditional reward
L. operating in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is a barrier against the
satisfaction of a worker when he does not see his reward emanating from his
effort (a denial of opportunities for self actualization). It was also found that
environmental factors like bitter political difference, tribalism, stateism, and
favouritism have broken the link between effort and reward to the detriment of
productivity in power Holding company of Nigerian Plc (again a denial of
opportunity for recognition and self-actualization).I-Iaving reviewed the
# findings of this study, let us open the discussion on the implications as follows:
4.4.2 IMPLICATIONS OF STATEISM PRACTICES IN PHCN
Stateisin in this context means a situation where individuals pay loyalty
only to their state of origin. This has the undesirable effect of company
workers in Power Holding Company of Nigerian Plc employing only people
from their state of origin, whether they are qualified or not. Again, some
pcrsonncl would rather employ non-Nigerians on higher salaries and much
better condition of service than employ fellow Nigerians from other states in
their unit. This creates a situation where various categories of trained
manpower abound in Nigeria may have problems. The implication of this
problem is that the placement of an employee in a job he is not well qualified
for, not only reduces his productivity but erodes his self confidence and this
- - - .. ,.,- L L L ~ ~ L U U ~ a pusmvely In Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. In
addition. the unified pay structure otherwise termed unconditional reward
Y operating in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is a barrier against the
satisfaction of a worker when he does not see his reward emanating from his
effort (a denial of opportunities for self actualization). It was also found that
environmental factors like bitter political difference, tribalism, stateism, and
favouritism have broken the link between effort and reward to the detriment of
productivity in power Holding company of Nigerian Plc (again a denial of
opportunity for recognition and self-actualization).Having reviewed the
findings of this study, let us open the discussion on the implications as follows:
4.4.2 IMPLICATIONS OF STATEISM PRACTICES IN PHCN $
Stateism in this context means a situation where individuals pay loyalty
only to their state of origin. This has the undesirable effect of company
workers in Power Holding Company of Nigerian Plc employing only people
from their state of origin, whether they are qualified or not. Again, some
personnel would rather employ non-Nigerians on higher salaries and much
better condition of servige than employ fellow Nigerians from other states in
their unit. This creates a situation where various categories of trained
manpower abound in Nigeria may have problems. The in~plication of this
problem is that the placement of an employee in a job he is not well qualified
for, not only reduces his productivity but erodes his self confidence and this
4.4.4 IMPLICATIONS OF UNFAIR AND INADEQUATE
COMPENSATION IN PHCN
The study shows also that the workers in the Power Holding Company
of Nigerian Plc calls for fair and adequate compensation because money is and
instrument for gaining desired out-comes and it is an anxiety reducer. A way of
supplementing this is to provide good fringe benefits, safety measures and
other factors that would give the workers feeling that the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc is a good place to work. The implication of this
finding is that the service condition under which a worker finds himself
#
influences his productivity to an appreciable level. If he is not satisfied with the
conditions and fringe benefits, his stay in the Power Holding Company of
I
Nigeria Plc will probably be short - a labour turnover problem. The moment he
realizes that he is a bird of passage, his productivity starts declining.
Service conditions here in~lude salary, promotion and fringe benefits
such as car, basic allowances, advances, leaves allowance and free housing and
schemes. Unfortunately, most of the workers in the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria Plc are not satisfied with both their salary and service condition
(PHCN, 2002:41 - 46). Assuming that some of these anomalies are rectified
over time, is there any guarantee that the productivity of the Pgwer Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc would increase? Improved service conditions and
benefits are just one side of the issue while the willingness, the zeal and the
ethics or hard-work are another. This consideration arises by virtue of the fact
4.4.4 IMPLICATIONS OF UNFAIR AND INADEQUATE
COMPENSATION IN PHCN
The study shows also that the workers in the Power Holding Company
ofNigerian PIC calls for fair and adequate compensation because money is and
instrument for gaining desired out-comes and it is an anxiety reducer. A way of
supplementing this is to provide good fringe benefits, safety measures and
other factors that would give the workers feeling that the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria PIC is a good place to work. The implication of this
finding is that the service condition under which a worker finds himself t
4
influences his productivity to an appreciable level. If he is not satisfied with the
conditions and fringe benefits, his stay in the Power Holding Company af
Nigeria Plc will probably be short - a labour turnover problem. The moment he
realizes that he is a bird of passage, his productivity starts declining.
Service conditions here include salary, promotion and fringe benefits
such as car, basic allowances, advances, leaves allowance and free housing and
schemes. Unfortunately, most of the workers in the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria PIc are not satisfied with both their salary and service condition
(PHCN, 2002:41 - 46). Assuming that some of these anomalies are rectified
over time, is there any guarantee that the productivity of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria PIC would increase? Improved service conditions and
benefits are just one side of the issue while the willingness, the zeal and the
ethics or hard-work are another. This consideration arises by lirtue of the fact
that previous studies have shown that there is no positive correction betwep
salary and productivity. In his own contribution Herzberg et a1 (1959: 112) has
described money as a "factor, which serves as potential dissatifier if not
present in appropriate amounts, but not serving as a poteptial satisfier or
positive motivator".
IMPLICATIONS OF UNIFIED PAY STRUCTURES IN
This is shown as one of the important barrier against the satisfaction of I
the needs of workers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. The unified
pay structure otherwise termed unconditional reward, is a job-related factor,
demand to be generally frustrating to workers in the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria Plc. It cofnpensates every worker along the same lines, whether he
is competent at work (a denial of opportunities for self-actualization). The
implication of this problem is that an able worker will not be motivated if he
does not perceive that there is an intimate relationship between his effort and
his reward, andlor if he does not desire the reward emanating from the effort. It
is, however, the cardinal discovery of this study that the major cause of the low
motivation of the workers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, is that
the worker does not perceive his work effort to be decisively instrumental in
the attainmept of the rewards of work. Instrumentality is therefore the missing A
link in the motivational effort in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc.
In other words, the worker must perceive that the desired rewards can be
obtained only through the exertion of greater effort on his part.
4.4.6 IMPLICATIONS OF UNCERTAIN PROMOTIONS IN
'This study shows the need of prospect for promotion in Power Holding L
Company of Nigeria Plc. This is the first of the two higher psychological needs
my Maslow's theory, or Herzberg's motivation factors. In effect, workers in
Power I-lolding Company of Nigeria PIC have similar needs as workers in ,
b
western countries except that the information need is overriding (Aribiah,
2003:36 - 38). Take the reward of promotion for example. On its own, as
iptense desire for promotion (a very important reward) will w t motivate any
worker to greater effort. The major determinant of his motivation is his
generalized experience in PHCN. He will ask question like, "Did hard work
earn me promotion in the past?" "Is it likely to earn me promotion in the
fiiture?", Have I been hearing from those who are working that hard work
earns workers advancement in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc.
The implication of this finding is that if the answer to the above questions is
yes, the worker will tend to be motivated. If no, he will not. In motivation, as
in many other aspects of life, experience is the best teacher. As skinner
propounded in his theory of operant conditioning, behaviour that is rewarded b
tend to be repeated while those that are not tend to be extinguished.
IMPLICATIONS OF INADEQUATE INFORMATION
FLOW IN PBCN
The findings of this study shows that one of the most important needs of
workers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is information about what
is happening around their workplace. To be well informed they believed,
helped in cultivating and in maintaining mutually satisfactory relationship
between the management and the workers and it culture worker's loyalty to the
Power holding company. There may be something serious about this. Perhaps,
it is the inadequate information flow downwards and upwards in the colonial
#
work systems that up the oyibo work attitude among the Nigerian workers. The
implication of this findings is that the clearer the idea a subordinate has of what
is to be accomplished, the greater the probability it will be accomplished. In
addition, progress can be ineasured only in terms of what one is trying to move
toward. To develop and sustain the commitment of workers to achieving the
goals and objectives of the system, managers need to get them involved in
planning the specific action needed. Sharing a strategic vision of the Power
Holding Company mission, and setting up a process for its transaction into
concrete plans, is a critically important leadership role at all levels. The
processes should involve the dissemination of information about national
priorities, goals, objectives and strategies, to ensure that they are known to
staff at all levels. Also is the need for the participation of personnel in the
process of problem identification and problem definition in their work settings.
Again is the need for the participation of personnel in the development of the
specific objectives of the system at their level of operation. It is necessary also
C to introduce a Management by objective approach to ensure that the objectives,
guide the activities as well as serve as the yardstick for evaluating progress (the
process of interpreting objectives and determining the means by which they'are
to be achieved serves as a form of communication, consultation and training).
It is important to develop and use operational work plans that specify activities, 1
targets, and the time frame within which they have to be fulfilled, as well as
assigning responsibilities to teams and individual workers. Also is the need to
improving managerial styles in Power
facilitate a free flow of information in al
+ Holding Company of Nigeria Plc to
I directions.
In practice, such involvement requires frequent meetings for joint
planning and evaluation, brainstorming sessions for problem identification an4
problem solving, and training approaches that emphasize active participatory
learning. In many other institutions, managers look on such participative
sessions as a waste of time. This study submit that, far from being a waste,
such meetings are critically important for the continued commitment on
personnel to achieving the objectives or the Power Holding Company.
4.5.0 PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
We have stressed that a worker will not be motivated to work hard
unless he perceive that hard-work in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria
PIC is instrumental to his reward, and that workers in Power Holding Company
of Nigeria PIC do not perceive that advancement in their work depends much
on their hard-work. The problem with rewarding hard work in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria PIC is not necessary that of measurement as is often
claimed. It is rather the cost of parting with the illicit gains of operating a
system not based on rairness. Nepotism, grced and corruption have thus broken 4
the link between effort and reward to the detriment of motivation and
productivity. The implications are far - reading. In the first place, a most
important prerequisite of motivating workers in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria PIC is fair. Any management practice like nepotism and bribery that
negates fairness must be abandoned if workers ar,e to be adequately motivated ?
to produce. !
It follows that managers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria PIC who
are nepotic and corrupt are the major causes of the bad work attitude of
A workforce. Leadership is closely related to motivation. Eachv'constitutes one
R
! side of the same coin. Good leadership is the engine, motivatibn the trailer. A
work group in Power Holding Company of Nigeria PIC cannot be truly
motivated unless there is good leadership. One of the most important results of
good leadership is therefore adequate motivation of the members. This
relationship is often missed by soap-box cr$ic$ of the young generation of
workers. If the workers are badly motivated, then their leaders are no good.
The assumption usually made as a matter of course by leaders,
management consultqnts and teachers in Power Holding Company of Plc that
all managers have an ardent desire to improve their management styles is
unrealistic. One striking irony in organizational reward distribution pattern is
that given the right ci~cumstances, inefficiency confers power on, and enriches, i
well-placed inefficient officials, i.e., that an action which penalizes a system
may be beneficial to its subsystem. Sooner or later, these officials discover that #
it is in their best interest to institutionalize an "efficient inefficiency" in their
organizations. Such bosses find themselves unwilling to reward the efforts of
their subordinates. And when there is indiscipline, they cannot bring the errant
subordinate back to the path of rectitude because of the following reasons: the
boss himself is also guilty and is benefiting from the inefficiency; being guilty,
he is more sympathetic towards the guilty; he fears to act lets his secrets are
revealed; the boss does not have confidence in the disciplinary process; the
errant subordinate may be front-man of the boss; and the boss is aware that the
society has almost settled for lower standard performance. Officials should
therefore not pretend that they are motivating their subordinates by giving pep
talks only. Setting a good example is pivoted to motivation. Officials who are
searching for ways of motivating workers in Power Holding Company of
Nigeria PIC while presiding over corruption and favouritism are searching for a
principle of managemeot that does not exist. These practices are simply 9
antitheses of good personnel management.
We have argued that when worker's ability, attractiveness of the reward
and infrastructural support is constant, only an incentiveldisciplinary system
based strictly on perfect instrumentality can keep worker motivated at the
optimum. Since worker motivation is not at the optimum in PHCN, Enugu, it
follows that either theory is false or issues held constant are indeed active
variables, or effortloffences is not perfectly instrumental to
rewardslpunisl~n~ent. This study submits that perfect instrumentality is the link.
In I'IICN, thc incentiveldisciplinary systems are intimately influenced by
favouritism. The favoured worker becomes incompetent and lax while the
company pays him much more than justified. To worsen the situation, the
company "Cinderalla's" automatically perceive discrimination, and so the
incentive system affecting them is causing resentment. On the disciplinary
system, the favoured worker tends to commit more offences. This scandalizes
the less favoured workers who then ride on the back of the favoured workers
and commit more offences. Recognizing that favouritism and discrimination
adversely affect motivation, and in an effort to remove these evils from their
folds, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, Enugu, fall into an equally
dangerous "deep sea" of not closely relating rewardlpunishment to
efforuoffences. They have been known to implement policies such as:
"promote all workers irrespective of ability after three years", "place all
graauates ~rrespective of their value on the same level", "give all workers
increment annually", "let the impatient but capable worker wait for his
colleagues", "ignore workers short comings until a probe is set up after a
change in Company Management Board. Thus, by not being willing to
appraise performance and reward on that basis, by operating an employment
and advancement system saturated with favouritism and discrimination, by
attempting to be "fair" to all workers by treating the productive and the
uqroductive alike, or by not punishing offending workers, the Power Holding
Cqmpany of Nigeria Plc, Enugu is inducing the much decried bad attitude of
personnel towards work. I
4-51 1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
After considering the administrative implications of our findings, it is
appropriate to highlight the dangers posed when existing manpower is not well f
4
utilized. In Nigeria where unemployment looms very high, manpower under
utilization gives rise to a situation where labour productivity is lower than real
wages. While this happens, acceleration of the rate of economic development
is lowered, as the rate of investment is been slow - down. The position
worsens as the population of this country is increasing. It is well known that
inpestment, productivity and employment have direct effects on the growth and r
magnitude of the national income. A labour surplus can thus arise and will
aggravate the problem of rural-urban drift and its attendant social
consequences (Kushel 1 W4:2 12-21 7).
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter is organized as follows:
(i) Summary
(ii) Conclusion
(iii) Recommendation
(iv) Further research needs
5.1.0 SUMMARY :
? #
; We have attempted to investigate the motivation and productivity in
Power kolding Company of Nigeria Plc, (a case of Enugu District) with the
aim of identifying ways of improving the productivity of the service workers in
the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. The investigation concentrated on the
following specific area:
(i) Analysis of how the unified pay structure, compensation and N
prospect of promotion affects productivity in PIICN, Enugu;
(ii) Examination of the relationship between environmental factors -
bitter political differences, ethnicity, stateism and favouritism -
and information flow and productivity in PHCN, Enugu;
(iii) The proposition of systematic approaches , and appropriate
strategies for improving productivity in Power Holding Company
of Nigeria Plc.
..__-----. ---- --,,,,,,.J L V A uuu ~ ~ b u ~ l ~ u u f l w u U I L1113 d
study. First was the need to identify effective strategies for motivating sector
personnel which will assist the company management in Nigeria to ensure that
manpower is nat only adequately planned for and trained, but also skillfully
managed, including the improvement of career development and incentive
schemes, to ensyre its effective utilization. Also, the use qf the findings of this
study was intended to lead to goal attainment for all through better informed
decisions on improving productivity in institutions in Nigeria. The motivation
process and strategies will thus become less 'arbitrary and more influenced by
objective considerations. In addition, this study could be used to draw attention
to productivity and motivation options available in the system that will lead the
widesprcad effort for improving supervision of front - line workers and the
provision of continuing education in public institutions in Nigeria. Finally, as
no undertaken study of the migration of personnel in West African Countries
has been completed (Macq et al, 2000:7), this study might be used to determine
the reasons for the migration, and how the problem of out-migration of key
workers froin West African Countries could be mitigated.
We started off with three research questions in this study. These were
(i) Hm does the unified pay structures, compensation and prospect
for promotion affect productivity in PHCN?
(ii) To what extent does environmental factors and information flow
affect productivity in PNCN?
(iii) What approaches and strategies can be proposed for improving
productivity in Power Holding Company of ~ i ~ e r i a Plc?
Primary and secondary sources were employed in the quest to gather
information for this study. Face - to - face interview and questionnaire
methods were used to source for primary data. In order to get a representation
of the parent population that is free from systematic bias, the Yaro Yamani
(1964:76 - 93) formula for sampling size determination was used. Due to the
heterogeneous nature of the population, stratified sampling method was used to
choose the 337 respondents out of the 2142 staff disposition of the company. i
b
We first divided the entire population into honlogenous group (strata). Then,
by applying the simple random sampling, we selected items from each stratum.
Our method aimed at ensuring that all professional groups that offer cost -
effective services in PHCN, Enugu, are represented in the study. Our
multivariate analysis tables provided the hypothetical information.
The findings of this study show that:
(i) Fair and adequate compensation do affect work attitudes
positively in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc,
especially when a worker sees his job as the main instrument
through which he achieves his personal objectives.
(ii) A worker is motivated to greater productivity when he perceives
that there is an intimate relationship between his efforts and
promotion in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc.
(111) 'The dissemination of information about the company priorities, *
goals, objectives and strategies to staff at all levels do affect work
attitudes positively in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria
(iv) The unified pay structure otherwise termed unconditional rewards
operating in the Power Holding Coinpany of Nigeria Plc is a
barrier against the satisfaction of a worker when he does not see
his reward emanating from his effort (a denial of opportunities for
self actualization). 1
(v) The environmental factors like bitter political differences,
L - ethnicity, stateism, and favouritism have broken tht lidc between
effort andireward to the detriment of productivity in the Power I
Holding C$ompany of Nigeria PIC (again a denial of opportunity I
for recognition and self-actualizatiori).
While considering the administrative implications of these findings we
stressed that a worker &ill not be motivated to work hard in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc, unless he perceives that hardwork in the company is
instrumental to his reward. We also pointed out that workers in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria I'lc do not perceive that advancement in their work
depends much on their hardwork. The problem with rewarding hardwork in
Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is not necessarily that of measurement
as is often claimid. It is rather the cost of parting with the illitit gains of
V ~ C I ~ U ~ I ~ a system not based on fairness. Nepotism, greed and corruption have
thus broken the link between effort and reward to the detriment of motivation
and productivity. The implications are far - reaching. In the first place, a m
important prerequisite of motivating workers is fairness. Any management
practice, like nepotism and bribery, ihat negates fairness must be abandoned if
worker; in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc are to be adequately
motivated to produce.
It follows that leadershanagement of Power Holding Company of
Nigeria who are nepotic and corrupt are the major causes of the bad work
b
attitude of the workforce. Leadership is closely related to motivation. Each
constitutes one side of the same coin. Good leadership is the engine,
motivation the trailer. A worker cannot be truly motivated unless there is good
leadership. One of the most important results of good leadership is therefore
adequate motivation of the members. This relationship is often missed by
soapbox critics of the young generation of workers. If the workers are badly
motivated, then their leaders are no good. The assumption usually made as a
matter of cause by leaders, management consultants and teachers in Power
Holding Company of Nigeria that all managers have an ardent desire to
improve their management styles is unrealistic (PHCN, 2003: 42 - 44). One
striking irony in Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc reward distribution
pattern is that given the right circumstances, inefficiency ~,onfers power on,
and enriches, well - placed inefficient officials, i.e. that an action, which .
penalizes a system, may be beneficial to its subsystem. Sooner or later, these
officials discover that it is in t eir best interest to institutionalize an "efficient Z inefficiency" in Power old in^ Company of Nigeria Plc.
It became appropriate for us to highlight the dangers posed when b
existing manpower is not well utilized. In Nigeria where unemployment looms
very high, manpower under utilization gives rise to a situation where labour
productivity is lower than real wages. While this happens, acceleration of the
[ate of economic development is lowered, as the rate of investment is been
slow-down. The position worsens as the population of this count@ is
# increasing. It is well known that investment, productivity and uneinploymei-~t
have direct effect on the growth and magnitude of national income. A labour 1 I
surplus can thus arise and will aggravate the problem of rural-urban drift and
its attendant social consequences in Nigeria.
We submit in this'study that it is not realistic to expect workers in the
Power I-Iolding Company of Nigeria Plc to perform well in circumstances
where the minimal working instruments and resources are blatantly deficient.
Iinproveinent of working conditions, however, is more than a combination of
adequpte salary and the decent equipment. It also means developing a career
prospect and providing perspectives for training. Perhaps most importantly, it
requires a social environmental that reinforces professional behaviour free
form the clienteles and arbitrariness prevalent in the Power Holding Company
!f of Nigeria Plc. The workers must be properly motivated; and one vital
condition for motivating them is to make their effortloffences instrumental to
their rewardslpunishments. The ideal is for effortloffences to be perfectly
6 .
instrumental to rewardslpunishments. Any significant deviation form this ideal
I'
causes low motivation or bad attitude towards work in Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc.
5.2.0 CONCLUSION
Five issues stand out form this study. These are as follows:
i. Fair and adequate compensation do affect work attitudes positively
in the Power Holding Con~pany of Nigeria Plc, especially wheh a
worker sees his job as the main instrument through which he
achieves his personal objectives. This could be because money is an
instrument for gaining desired outcomes and it is an anxiety reducer.
A way of supplementing this is to provide good fringe benefits,
safety measures and other factors that would give the workers the
feeling that Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is a good place
to work in. all these are within the embrace of Herzberg's hygiene
factors (Herzberg et al, 1959: 69 - 72).
. . 11. A worker is motivated to greater productivity in the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc when he perceives that there is an intimate
relationship between his efforts and promotion. This factor is the first
of the two higher psychological needs by Maslow's theory, or
Herzberg motivation factor (Maslow, 1954: 128- 13 1 ; Herzberg et as
1959: 92-96). In effect workers in the Power Holding Company of
Nigeria PIC, have similar needs as workers in western countries. In'
other words, a worker will not be motivated if he does not perceive
that there is an intimate relationship between his effort and his
reward, and/or if he does not desire the reward emamting from the
effort. It is, however, the cardinal discovely of this study that the
major causes of the low motivation of the health workers in the
Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc is that the worker does not
#
perceive his work effort to be decisively instrumental in the
attainment of the rewards of work. Instrumentality is therefore the
missing link in the inotivational effort in the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria Plc. On its own, an intense desire for promotion
(a very important reward) will not motivate any worker to greater
effort. The major determinant of his motivation is his generalized
experience. In motivation, as in many other aspects of life,
experience is the best teacher. As skinner propounded in his theory
of operant conditioning, behavour that is rewarded tends to be
repeated while those that are not tending to be extinguished.
... 111. The dissemination of information about the priorities, goals,
objectives and strategies to staff at all levels do affect work attitudes
positively in the Power Molding Company of Nigeria Plc. To be well
workers, and il c~rliutci worker's loyalty to the I)ocverp holding
company. 'l'lic~~cli~~*c. to develop and sustain the commitmclit of
workers to x h i ~ v i l l g 1 1 1 ~ ORI IS and objectives of the system,
managers r~cccls lo get t llerrl involved in platu~iug the specific action
meant fbr work is spent i n lobbying and hob-[lobbing for favou~.s.
l>isscm i r ~ ; r t i c r I; i' i ~ l f i ) ~ maliol~ about natioid priorities, goals,
okjcrt ivcs a ~ v l s l ~ ategics, .., 10 CIISUIT t l ~ t they arc ktww1.1 to staff at
all Icilclc;
I%trtic ipati:,~~ ~I 'pcrso~i~lc l in the process of prul)lcn~ identification
a~ ld lwoljlcrlli tlclir~itio~~ i l l tlleir work sctti~lgs;
Pnrticipatirm of persotlrnel in t l~e developmei~t of' the speci f i ~
objectives of i l l y s y s l e ~ n at their level of operation;
For1111ilatio11 ol'coll1lrally policies a l~d plans in col1al)oration wit1.n
all lcvels of' I W S ~ N L ~ I G I : *
Int ronl l~~io~) o 1' :1 l1\anagei1w.:llt - l)y - ol~jectives approach to
enslllc that 1l)c cd).jcctives guitlc tlic activities as well as serve as
thc yaltlsticl: lbr evn1u:iting progress (the yi30ccss of interpreting
objec,lives ; I I I [ ! c lckr rn i~~i~~g tlle trle:lrls by which tl~ey arc to be
achievctl st-;.l ires as a l'w m of co~t)~iiwicatioi~, co~iiultaIion and
trailri~lg).
IIev~lo11111~~1~ i 1 ~ 1 1 I ~ S C of' o p ~ r a t i o ~ ~ d work plans that specify
activities, Inij4cts. and thc lime Sianle withir~ wllicll they have to
be fiiltillcrl, :I:: \veil. :IS rlssigui~lg ~espo~~sibilitics l o tciuns ar~d
i ~ u l i v i d ~ ~ d wet kc1 ::;
p i : : c stylcs to lkcilitics a liw flow c ~ f
iuVot 111alio11 ill 2111 di~cctio11,
(ii)
abroad, irllpr ovtd hi1 inp atrd wrwkii~g cor~tlitio~is, elc. An esseiltial
aspect of tllis pj~l ) r iw! 'h i s t:) publi~ize tic i~:.~v;~stls given so that others
arc encol1ri1gu.l to c . r ~ ~ ~ l l w t r : tlic I ccjpit:nt s. 'I'llcle is need also to provide
staf'S with a r;olli..r~ :~rtdlor siia~lc loo171 as well as allowing deceilt
canteens to e:i is1 orlnd llic olfic.es. Wlicse possible banks ruld uiubile
post offices 601dd bc ~'~fddislied 271 c ~ i ~ v m i e l ~ t p!aces. 'T'hese hcilitics, i f
provided, havtl 1hc ntlvar ~tagc of tnir~i~nizing time wasted I rlaking the
worlters feel rc~~~lfwlnl~le in tl~ejr placcs of nark ~vhile at the sallle time
bringing thr: best out of Illeln by providing the goo(! Sranie of mind
essential f iw iw c a d out put.
Conventio~l:d pe~~solit~cl t~ian;~ge~ncnt in t h : Power Ilolding Colnpally of
Nigeria Plc ~~eecls r(j I w ~*cvitalizrtl a td infused with fresh idcas and
procedures. P l ~ c l i~~~c tk~n i l i g of rouiilie pcrsrm~lcl adminisiration should
he reviewed. S lq~ : : sl~ouM bt: taken to strraniline Ihe systems and
procedures Tot. t l i c :;;uu.lh~i~~g of j)r~sitiol\s. disseminatiou of vacancy
infornlation, it sclcctiou, deyloylncnt a~ ld transfer.
Improvc~nc~~ts ;ir c nls!) ~ I C C ~ C ~ I W ~ I C H i t ( : O I ~ ~ C S 10 sal;uy slruct~~rc,
managerial sit ills t l l r ough couti~luillg education, linked wilh supportive
their managerial capacitirs. Perlbnna~ice - orienied training in ~~ersolmel
managenlent also t ~ c t t s 10 lw introduced i l l l~otlt basic and postgraduate
curricula of prof'cssiorlalr;. Ilcrc again, il.ait~iiq bascd oil simulated or
-- specific case studies liv w: in all :,ucll c:lrrrir ular. With many other
. . . 111. Social, c!t:lnoglapl~ic, per*scd, mga~~izationd and educational
how to use it. Matlaget s r I~YY! to hc trai~rcd 10 Iiave positive attiludes to
research. 'I'hey need to bcwwlc il~klligcl~t users 01' r c s c a ~ d ~ , and of data, to be
and their application to ~lr:rri;lgerial piohlelll solviug and decisilmmalting. A
serious deficiency iu I ' O \ - ~ ~ Y lloldirig Cotupany of Nigeria PIC is that
Published Books ,
Ikthel, I,. et a1 (1071 ), I l l t l ~ c ~ ~ i t r l Or~c~r7imtinr? m7d Mn~mgeiti~nf. 'Tokyo: McGraw-J Iill Ilook:; ( '0. I I I C .
Cannic, J. et a1 (1991), Kwpirig Clrstoirzeis Jor. I,i{k. New York: American Management A ssocial im.
Ensor, 'T. et a1 (2002), ('lorwy~tio17 ( I S CI ( ' I ~ d 1 ~ ~ 1 i ~ e to 15ffectiw . . Regulatior~ ir~ Henltlz Sector. 1% il;rclclyhia: Ope11 U~liversity P1.css.
Herr, S. (1997), Ul~iwafe Jie~vtrrd~: lY11nt Ikwlly Motivates People to Achieve. Boston: Elaj-varrl J ~ u s i ~ ~ c s s Sr:hoo1.
Kushel, (3. ( 1994), Renchirij; the Pcdc Pei:/biw~mice Zone: IJolt? to A4otivate Yowself m d Otlltxs to ISxcel. New Y ork : Aiuerican \/Ianageinent
# Association. Maslow, A.1-1. (19-54). A 1lir.or.y . of . Moti~~7fiorr. New York: Harper and
I3rothet-s.
Yaro, Y. (1964), Strrtistic~, , Ir7 Intruthcfory .111nl~~,ri,o. New York: Harper and Row Publislm s.
,Journal Articles
Ajijola, L?. (197G), "How tlo yo11 klotivate the Nigerian Workerr?" A4aricxgernerat in Nigeria. Vo1. 3: 1 6 - 20.
Ayida, E. (1977), '"l'lle Cormlry's Mou~ltail~ of Power I'roblem", Alai~ugerrlent in Nigericr. Vol. 13, Plo. I : 30 -- 36.
Chew, I). (1 !NO), "111tcr rial Adjustr~lcr lls to 17dlilg Civil Service Salaries: I
IJnivcrsity of Nigeria Nsukka Lkpa~tnleut of public administration and local govermient (PAIS) n4a1 cjl 13.200fi
3. Where does workers usl~nlly go wlleli Iliey 2t-r 1101 on seat in YMCN,
Enugu?
(a) For essential p c r s o ~ ~ l set-viccs ( b a l k , post of%ice, vehicle maintl:nance).
(1)) Break arid Luiich
(c) To see other oflicre~ s rln~c. lo lack of oflice teleplwne a11d messengers.
(e) Other purposes.
(c) Nepotism
((1) Bribery
(e) Other under influctices
5. How do you expect OII Ish~dit lg perfbrmance by workel s to be recogaized
in PHCN, Enugu'?
(a) Merit A wards11 1or~~11.s .
(b) Bonuses
(c) Salary increases
(dl) Pro~i~otioi~s
(e) Other Ineans
6. Name lhree changes you like 1 0 see ill PIJ[:l\l Ihtgu'?
(a) Good salary and f i i ~ ~ g c bericlitr,
(b) Promotion at least rwce ill cvc~ y 1 w o y cam
(c) Information flowing wlinl is Il;lppcr~ittg in llre ccjll1palty.
(d) Good infrastructul~al r;lc:ilities
(e) Prospect Tor trahiiip, ar lcl c-:lt-er.n. clcvr:lopnic~it
7. Loolting back to ywr :; ill flrc s( ~vicct; at 1'1 ICN h i g u , do you i~ow feel
happy that you joined tllc Ihvcr I Ioldi~lg Co~i~parly or Nigeria'?
(a) To a great exteut
(b) To somewhat extc n l
(c) Undecitled
(d) To little extent
(e) Not at all
Thank you
LOUIS ANAYO N\Vq )KO1 A). PG/MSc/O4/35624
10.Mow satisfied are yo!^ with your job?
a. Vety tnuch sat is l icr i
-I b. Satisfied *
c. Uutiecicied
d. Dissatisfied
e. Very much dissalis l i f-(1
about it?
a. I would strongly p~cScr to s lay wliere 1 am { ) #
b. I would somewl~:it 1wcl"er to stay where 1 am { }
c. I would have a 1,at.d t i ~ ~ l e to decide ( }
d. I would somewlint ~,t.c:lkr Iv cl~or-ge { )
e. 1 would stl-or~gly plclkr. to :~cc:ept a job sowewhere else { }
12.How does tl-rc I Jni l ied pay stnrcture (u~lconditional rewards) in PHCN
affect your job pel [ i l l tnalrcc?
a. Positively { }
b. Negatively { )
13. I-Iow does the envir cmnental f'nctor lil: e liitcr political difTewws, tribalistu
stateism and favol i t is111~ often display in IJkll)N, Enr~gu aI'rect your job
performance?
a. Positively ( )
b. Negatively { 1
14 To what extent can i t l f i ) l nzaiiorl about what is happening around your work
in P IKN, Enugu (Your I ccogt~ilion) nf'fcct your job perro~.mance?
a. to a great cxtellt { 1
b. to somewhat extcnl ( 1
c. undecided { }
d. to a little extent {
e. iiol at all (
15. To what extellt cat1 fhir :IIICI adequate co~npeusaiio~l affect yo~rr job
perfor~rlance in PI 1( :I\[, I[; ! ~ r g ~ ' ?
a. To a great extent ( ).
b. To somewhat extctlt ( }
c. Undecided ( ]
d. To a little exteill }
e. Not at all ( ]
1' I-ICN, lkugu ?
a. To a great extent { 1
b. 'To sotnewhat exteirl { }
c. IJndecided { }
d. To a little extent ( 1
e. Not a t all { }
17. Your supervisor often rwouragcs the people in your work group 10 think of
better ways 01 getting woik dew. wllich rllay lmvc never been thought or
Z before?
a. Strongly agree a. ( 1
b. agree ( )
c. UndecicSed { }
d. disagree { ]
strongly disagree { }
18. Your supervisor o l h l ~ ,or~ l j ) l r ln r~ i t s t l~e pcople i l l your work group if they
b do their work well'?
a. Strongly agree a. {
b. Agree ( }
c. IJndecided ( }
d. Disagree { ]
e. Strongly disagree ( }
19. The people in you1 depai tnlo~t ol'te~l I~lamc each other when Ihillgs go
wrong?
a. Strongly agree a. { 3
b. Agree { }
c. Undecided { }
d. Disagree { }
e. Strongly disagree { ]
