| Content | The impact of insecurity and poverty on sustainable economic development in Nigeria (a study of Kogi state).
Abstract
This work is on the impact of insecurity and poverty on sustainable economic development in Nigeria using Kogi State as a case study. The major objective of this project is to examine to identify the impact of insecurity on sustainable development in Kogi State, to determine the effect of poverty on the sustainable development of Kogi State and to examine the possible solution to insecurity and poverty in Nigeria. The methodology adopted in gathering data was descriptive method, both the primary and secondary methods. The major instrument used to gather data from primary source is the questionnaire. From a population of 4,500,000 sample size of 400 respondents was selected using simple random technique. Findings revealed that insecurity and poverty can lead to family instability, food insecurity and international vulnerability. It can lead to the loss of lives and properties in an organization. Insecurity affects sustainable development negatively in the areas of tourism and foreign investment in Nigeria. In view of the findings, it was recommended that The Federal Government (FG) should formulate and effectively implement policies and programmes capable of addressing the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria–such as Ethno- religious conflict, systemic and political corruption, weak security system and unemployment among others. | CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This research is on the role of the rivers state house of assembly in conflict management, 1999-2011. Sections 4(1) and 4(7) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provide for the law-making function of the legislature at both the Federal and State levels.
Consequently, there is a bi-cameral National Assembly made up of the Senate and House of Representatives at the Federal level, and the 36 unicameral State Houses of Assembly, all legislating for peace, order and good governance of the Federation and States respectively (Egobueze, 2010:4). Since the return to democracy in Nigeria in 1999, four Legislative
Assemblies have been elected at both the Federal and State levels. These are 1999-2003, 2003-2007, 2007-2011 and 2011-2015. In each of these elections, thirty two legislators were elected to the Rivers State House of Assembly. This is in conformity with Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria which states, inter alia:
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of three or four times the number of seats which that State has in the House of Representatives divided in a way to reflect, as far as possible nearly equal population: Provided that a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of not less than twenty-four and not more than forty members (FGN, 1999).
The Rivers State House of Assembly is a unicameral legislature with thirty – two Member. The 1999-2003 Assembly was composed of three political parties viz; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Peoples Party (APP), later All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and Alliance Democracy (AD), while all the others have had only members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) without an opposition party member in the House. The House currently has the following Officers: the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, House Leader, Deputy House Leader, House Whip and Deputy House Whip. Worthy to note is that all other Members of the House are Chairmen of Committees and each of them is a member of not less than four Committees.
The legislature is the yardstick for measuring the views of the people in a democracy. It is also the watch dog of public funds in that it not only appropriates for the State but scrutinizes how the funds so appropriated are spent. Finally, the legislature is constitutionally mandated to direct investigations into the conduct of the affairs of State, institutions, organizations and individuals within the State. In other words, the legislature has the right to summon any public or private organization or individual to appear before it to answer questions based on petitions received and or motions made. The Rivers State House of Assembly as a legislative body upholds these mandates. The tripartite functions of the legislature namely, Representation, Legislation and Oversight are central to this research because they manifest in the intervention of the legislature in conflict management.
It is important to note that the political landscape of Nigeria particularly in the Niger Delta has been characterized by one conflict or the other. Most of these conflicts have either been for economic, political, religious and or other social reasons. Executive, Legislative and Judicial means have been adopted in the resolution of these conflicts. From 1966 when Isaac Adaka Boro formed the Delta Volunteer Force (DVF) to confront the Nigerian State against perceived oppression and marginalization till date, the oil rich Rivers State has witnessed several conflict situations that have to do with oil, economic wealth, politics and the misapplication of the huge resources that come with them. Some of these conflicts were the Ogoni crises which resulted to the death of prominent Ogoni leaders including the environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa in the 1995, the Umuechem crisis; and the Ogbakiri crises. Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, the State has witnessed not less than forty five conflicts that culminated in the loss of many lives and properties. Prominent among these are Emuoha Civil Disturbances 1999, 2001, 2002, 2010; Ogbakiri communal crisis 1999, 2011; Choba-Wilbros crisis 1999; Okrika crisis 2002-2003, 2007; Tombia crisis 2002-2003; Omuma crisis 2003, 2007-2011 among others. The above conflicts in the oil rich State have majorly been between the government forces and some militant elements on one hand and inter or intra communal on the other hand. The conflicts have been mainly attributed to economic and political factors, that is, quest for economic wealth as well as political power. Conflict is not only a threat to human rights, but also a barrier to development. Violent conflicts can reverse decades of development gains. The costs of preventing conflicts are far lower than the costs associated with recovery. Effective and responsive programming in the field of democratic governance can be a major component of work to prevent violent conflict and support post-conflict peace building. Through their everyday work of representing constituents, law-making, oversight of government activities, and the process of political contests, Legislative Houses have a critical role to play in conflict prevention and resolution. Legitimately, elected Houses provide a forum for the concerns of diverse societal groups to be aired and incorporated into processes of dialogue, reconstruction and conflict resolution. The legislature is a natural place for mediation, where competing points of view can be represented. By providing a forum to debate contentious issues peacefully, the House helps prevent violent political conflicts. Such dialogue can help to prevent conflicts by generating an understanding of the challenges facing society, and a consensus on how to address them. In this way, the legislature can mitigate the divisions caused by conflicts by developing an inclusive vision for society, based on commonly held values and goals.
For democratic governance to peacefully manage conflicts, Executive bodies must function efficiently and effectively. This requires Legislative oversight of the Executive‘, a core Legislative function. The Legislature connects citizens with the State and holds governments to account for their actions or inactions on critical issues that have bearing on conflicts. For instance, the Legislature can ensure that government works to resolve a conflict between the University Unions and the Executive by providing in the Appropriation Law, good remuneration for the University workers. Also, in order to check restiveness of youths, it could eradicate the seeds of conflicts by advocating for pro-poor policies, monitoring the implementation of poverty reduction strategies, and by ensuring that the appropriation — and its implementation — respond to popular needs and expectations. The Legislature also promotes dialogue on budgetary issues and communicates the reasons behind the allocation of resources, to ‗manage‘ constituents‘ expectations and minimize conflicts that result from competition for scarce resources.
Legislative oversight of the security sector is a crucial element of the balance of power within a democracy. Legislators have a critical role to play in monitoring the use of the State budget for security sector expenses and in reviewing draft laws on security issues. As citizens‘ representatives, they could relay citizen‘s concerns and priorities to be incorporated into security laws and policies.
It is essential to state that the Executive has always been a dominant player in conflict resolution and creating political stability. However, the role of the Legislature has most often been considered tangential. More studies have been done on the Executive in general and the Legislature at the Federal level than the State, but none of these studies featured the role of the Legislature in conflict management. Okoosi-Simbine (2007:9) avers that a logical study of the Legislature in contemporary Nigeria is the National Assembly, where empirical indications of a malfunctioning Legislature are regularly featured in Nigerian dailies. Some major studies on the Legislature in Nigeria and germane to our research are (Alabi and Egbowole, 2010; Olusanya & Akindele, 1986; Ayodele, 2002:12-24; Ayua, Guobadia and Adekunle, 2000; Bello Imam, 2004:406-426; Dunmoye, Njoku and Aluba, 2007; Egobueze, 2010; Egwu, 2005; Guobadia and Azinge, 2007; Ogwu and Alli, 2007; Mbah, 2007; Nwabueze 2007; Nzeribe, 2004).
It is therefore important to the discipline of political science that more empirical research be produced on the contributions of the Legislature to conflict management and political stability generally. Mishler and Hildreth (1984:26-27) are correct about studies of the Legislature when they note that:…the available research tends to be impressionistic and based on case studies of one or at most a small group of nations having typically similar legislative systems, political cultures, regime types, and levels of economic and political development. Even then, the conclusions are inconsistent and contradictory.
Consequently, we still may not understand whether, to what extent, and under what conditions legislatures contribute to political stability or its breakdown. The question still is, as Wahlke (1971:165) posed it, "how do representative bodies contribute to the generation and maintenance of support? In what respects and for what particular aspects of the task are they superior to non-representative institutions?"
This work attempts to redress this neglect by examining the critical role that the Legislature plays in conflict management focusing on the Rivers State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2011. This covers the period between the reintroduction of democratic rule on 29th May, 1999 to 29th May, 2011 when the 6th Assembly came into being. That is, it covers the 4th, 5th and 6th Assemblies. The period is associated with years of uninterrupted civil rule, based on the presidential system at all tiers of government in Nigeria. In a nutshell, this is a study of the role of the legislature in creating political stability through its role in conflict management in Rivers State.
1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is generally assumed by both political scientists and policy makers that conflict management is principally the role of the Executive and Judicial arms of government. The role of the Legislature in conflict management is assumed to be incidental, often limited to enactment of legislations to give effect to negotiated agreements or curb the proliferation of conflicts. This is assumed to be the case for both international and domestic conflicts. In international conflicts, the executive arm of government takes the lead in foreign policy, especially in treaty making and implementation. Although in some jurisdictions like Nigeria, the Legislature is required to domesticate international treaties before they come into effect, in reality, once treaties have been entered into, their domestication becomes almost a routine exercise. On the other hand, in domestic conflicts, it is assumed that the Executive and Judiciary take the lead. This is so for a number of reasons; first, it is principally in the process of implementing government policies that most domestic conflicts arise and the Executive arm, as the policy implementation arm of government, is at the fore of managing these conflicts. Secondly, as the arm of government which principally incarnates the capacity and authority of the state, the Executive arm has responsibility to manage conflicts and create political order and stability. Thirdly, the Judiciary is central to conflict management because of its role as the interpreter of policies and legislation. Finally, the role of the Legislative arm in conflict resolution is subdued because as a body, it incarnates the diversities of society and it is precisely such diversities that create the fault lines of conflicts in the first place. Some scholars however argue that:
Recognizing the minimal role played by most legislatures in the lawmaking and policy processes, scholars increasingly have attempted to account for the prevalence, persistence, and apparent regenerative capacity of legislative institutions in terms of their putative contributions to political stability. The argument usually advanced is that by providing an institutional forum for the representation of societal diversity and the expression of dissent, legislatures contribute to the integration of society and the legitimation of both government and regime. In so doing, legislatures are credited with reducing levels of political conflict, rendering conflict more manageable, and mitigating the effects of conflict on government and regime (Mishler and Hildreth, 1984:25-26).
In support of the above school of thought, Loewenberg and Patterson (1979, 65-67) are careful to point out that:
Legislatures are not the only or even the most important institutions that perform these functions. They also note that some legislatures perform these functions better than others and that in some circumstances legislatures may even exacerbate political conflict and undermine stability. Nevertheless, they conclude that when political leaders collectively deliberate on political issues in public, that they do so, how they do so, and to what effect they do so have profound consequences for the survival of political system.
In countries divided by conflicts, and where the management of conflicts by the executive and judicial branches of government have been ineffective, there is an urgent need for reconciliation to enable all communities to work together towards a common vision of a peaceful future. The Legislature can exercise a leadership role in a broad reconciliation process by building relationships across party lines and by bringing to bear its oversight functions. Also, they can use their legislative role to promote reconciliation, for example by drafting laws that address grievances in representation (e.g. electoral or constitutional reforms), human rights legislation or minority rights legislation that lessens animosities between communities. By participating in the legislative process in a spirit of co-operation to produce such laws – and by strengthening judicial independence to support their implementation – parliaments can play a key role in supporting conflict prevention. In all, the role of the legislature in conflict management could be linked to the concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
This research examines the role of the Legislature in conflict management in a conflict prone emerging democracy like Nigeria. It seeks to explain the rising role of the legislature in conflict management in Nigeria. Dominant paradigms frozen in the assumption that the Legislature only makes laws completely ignore the dynamic and changing role of that organ of government, particularly in situations where traditional institutions of conflict management are either underdeveloped or ineffective. The legislature as the creator of institutional rules and the collective democratic will of the people increasingly plays a role in conflict management in such contexts. In fact as Meny (1993:186) suggests, the role or state of the legislature is a crucial indicator of the state of health of democratic government.
The nature and dynamics of conflict and the processes of conflict management differ from one institution to the other and from sector to sector in a society. However, the driving forces for conflictual relationships remain largely the same. Nieuwmeijer and Cloete (2001:4) opine that:
The driving forces for conflictual relationship consist of the perceptions by one or more individuals or groups of conflicting or diverging values, aspirations, needs or interests in society, that hamper the full realization or fulfilment of one‘s own values, aspirations, needs or interests. If these perceptions are intense enough, they are transformed into actions to redress the perceived problem by mobilizing resources to promote one‘s own interests at the cost of others, resulting in an escalation of tension among the parties concerned.
The specific issues around which conflict revolves, the manifestations of the conflict and the conflict management strategies and processes, however, are different in the social, cultural, organizational, economic, technological and political sectors of society. It is instructive to state that the management of conflicts falls basically with the responsibilities traditional to the executive and the judiciary. However, it is sad to note that these institutions have not been able to adequately stem conflicts. Instead, conflicts have deepened in Nigeria and indeed Rivers State. As a result of this perceived inefficiency, Legislative bodies as the broadest representatives of the people have been inundated with petitions from the public about conflicts. The implication of this is that there is the growing trust and confidence by the people in the ability of the Legislature to resolve conflicts. Therefore, the relevant question is not whether Legislatures contribute to political stability or change: some undoubtedly facilitate stability; others promote change; still others have little effect on either; and all are susceptible to reciprocal influences from their environments, that is, the political system.
Nonetheless, the important question, rather, is under what conditions are Legislatures likely to contribute to stability as measured by conflict management and to what extent is this feasible? What combination of legislative structures and procedures is most conducive to political stability, under what circumstances, in what social, economic, and political settings are citizens more likely to trust the Legislature with conflict management than they would with the Executive and the Judiciary? To this end therefore, this research seeks to answer the following questions:
- Does the direct interest of members of the Legislature in conflicts lead to increased involvement of the Legislature in conflict management?
- Does the failure of the Executive and Judiciary to reduce conflicts increase the involvement of the legislature in conflict management?
- Does the involvement of the Legislature in conflict management enhance political stability?
1.3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to explain the rising role of the Legislature in conflict management and, therefore, in creating political stability in emerging democracies like Nigeria. More specifically, this study seeks to:
- Investigate whether the direct interest of the members of the Legislature in a conflict would lead to the increased involvement of the Legislature in conflict management.
- Ascertain whether the failure of the Executive and Judiciary to reduce conflicts would increase the involvement of the legislature in conflict management.
- Determine whether the successful management of conflict by the Legislature would enhance political stability in Rivers State
- Make recommendations that would engender peace and stability capable of stemming conflicts and promoting good governance in the State.
1.4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The empirical significance of this study is that it treats a current and socially relevant subject. It is important to state that the Legislature not only represents the masses, but also enacts laws and conducts oversight especially on the Executive branch of government, which implements the laws made. Through its power of the purse, motions/resolutions as well as bills, the legislature could stem the tide of bad governance and redirect the focus of government to be transparent and very accountable to the people, this the World Bank argues, is relevant in modern democracy.
There is dearth of empirical theoretical knowledge on the Legislature in Nigeria‘s politics, because of the long period of military rule, which invariably was characterized by the sack of the Legislature and its replacement with military (decrees) making structures with different nomenclatures at different times in our political history. These antidemocratic forces were features of governance in Nigeria till the rebirth of democracy in May, 29, 1999, when all democratic institutions were restored with Chief Obasanjo as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Most literature dwelled essentially on the Executive which had fully evolved ignoring the position of the Legislature, study on the Legislature is currently agitating the mind of scholars and provoking discourse in social science. Furthermore, the major theoretical significance of the studies lie essentially in filling a major theoretical gap on the rising role of the Legislature in conflict management. | CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This research work is on The effects bureaucracy on productivity and efficiency in the service delivery of the Ministry of education, Oyo state, Nigeria. The purpose of a Bureaucracy is to successfully implement the actions of an organization of any size (but often associated with large initiatives such as government corporation and non-governmental organizations), in achieving its purpose and mission, the bureaucracy is tasked to determine how it can achieve its purpose and mission with the greatest possible efficiency and at the least cost of any resources. The principle of social organization which characterizes the twentieth century industrial society is ?rational coordination? otherwise known as ?Bureaucracy?. Under this form of organization, people are brought together in formal and complex settings run by professionals and experts. The professionals are called ?Bureaucrats? while the organizations they run are known as "Bureaucracies". The nineteenth century produced a number of brilliantly descriptive and literacy accounts of modern bureaucracies. Many writers call attention to the increasing bureaucratization of human activity but Max Wcber a German Sociologist historian and economist is credited with having made the most thorough analysis of bureaucracy (Mullins 1999). The main contention in the writings of those scholars is that more and more spheres of life are being dominated by large organizations and increasing number of people are becoming employees of complex organization. As a matter of fact, quite a few aspect of medium society can be studied without reference to bureaucracy. Most obviously in the business world and in modern establishments, the coordination of specialization in accordance with impersonal rule is highly developed and adopted. The same trend has also been observed to be the pattern in every other areas of the society. Wilmot (1785) and Applebaum and Chamblis (1995) argued that bureaucracy starts from birth (health bureaucracy) to family upbringing (social welfare), to school (educational) to work (civil service, military, commercial, industrial) to worship and death (religion): man is increasingly dominated by bureaucracy. Every sphere of modern life has thus become very bureaucratic as people are born into bureaucracies; grow in it, live with it and even die in it. It is bureaucracy all the way and all the time. Right from the unset of this world, man has co-operatively organized as a group to work towards a directed goal in a directive manner. Indeed the prevalence of complex bureaucracies is believed to be the structural frame work in our recent organizations. No less important to mention is the fact these complex organizations are established not only to find solution to given human problems but to do efficiently. It is not surprising therefore that in the new turn era; the central concern of several classical society analyses was the issues of how man is going to organize human society in general and more specifically his productive activities in the most efficient way to achieve maximum benefits. It is at this basis that bureaucratic organization are guided and pirated in man?s bid to perfect and actualize him through socio-economic development that any impediment to their efficient operation should be incised seriously. Indeed, the fact that Nigerians fought a civil war six years after independence, followed immediately by another six years of unprecedented oil boom in which extreme materialism took over the control of Nigerians mind and total soul, led to the enthronement of indiscipline, corruption and a lot contempt for order honors and excellence within the whole society including the bureaucratic public. In the light of this, one sees bureaucracy as a formal- rational organized social structure with clearly defined pattern of activities in which every series of action is fundamentally related. The study therefore centers on ministry of education, Oyo state in order to determine the extent to which bureaucracy contributed towards the Civil service delivery.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the recent times, the Nigerian economy has witnessed a steady and rapid decrease service delivery in almost all the areas of the economy. The preliminary investigations carried out by this research shows that the civil service also experienced similar problems of the steady and rapid decrease in productivity which was due to lack or inadequate motivation and bureaucratic efficiency following this, the researcher has decided to find out whether the problem arose because of bureaucratic inefficiency, if so, what could be done to ensure efficiency and enhance service delivery and productivity. In doing this, an attempt will be made to expose the bureaucratic system already being employed by the management of Civil service. The reactions of the workers to these techniques and whether they were understood as expected.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To examine the relationship between bureaucracy and service delivery in the Civil service.
2. To show the bureaucratic pattern employed by the management of Civil service aimed at inducing over reaction for the enhancement of service.
3. Probe and find out what may be the likely management problem with bureaucracy in the Civil service.
4. Show the effects bureaucracy has on productivity and efficiency in the service delivery of the Ministry of education, Oyo state.
5. Proffer solution to identified management deficiencies in the management of bureaucracy.
6. Finally, document the findings for interested researchers in the future.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Is there any relationship between bureaucracy and service delivery in the Civil service?
2. To what extent do you think that bureaucracy determine the service delivery of Civil service?
3. Does bureaucratic process prevent Civil service from formulating and implementing effective policies?
4. How do you think the ministry of education, Oyo state can best apply the process of bureaucracy?
5. Should the principles of bureaucracy be abolished in our Civil service?
6. Has bureaucracy no significant impact in Nigeria Civil service?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is expected to be of immense importance in management decision making in ministry of education, Oyo state as well as other top researchers and consequently to the nation in general. The study will specifically be beneficial in the following ways:
i. It will make the management of ministry of education, Oyo state to appreciate fully the principles of bureaucracy. ii. It will enable managers to identify the causes of how productivity is in relation to principles of bureaucracy.
iii. The result will help in the enhancement of efficiency and consequently productivity at the ministry of education, Oyo state when properly addressed. iv. It will be of immense guide to future researchers who intend to explore and understand further concepts of bureaucracy especially in service organization like.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
For the purpose of clarity, the subject of this researcher work focuses on the impact of bureaucracy in the service delivery of the Nigeria civil service. This study intends to cover the activities of ministry of education, Oyo state.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
1. Network interconnectivity to enhance elaborate research.
2. High level of illiteracy.
3. Organization operational huddles.
4. Time and cost constraints due to cause of scarcity in gasoline to go about the research. | CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This research work is on Impact of conflict management on organizational efficiency, a case study of first bank plc. Conflict is a regular feature of formal organizations which results from divergences in interests of individual workers and management. Because individuals differ in their values, attitudes and goals, conflict among them becomes unavoidable. Conflict occurs at both individual and collective levels, personality and other structural factors coming into play. Obisi (2005:47) observes that there is intra-management conflict just as conflict situations do occur between and among groups of workers and their organizations as well as between individuals.
Two types of conflicts at work have been distinguished. These are organized and unorganized conflicts. Otobo (2005:125) expresses that organized conflict forms part of a conscious strategy to change the situation which is identified as source of discontent. This type of conflict is thus a group activity, involving deliberate decisions taken at a mass meeting or by selected representatives of affected staff. In unorganized conflict, the worker responds to the situation in the only way open to him as an individual, that is, by withdrawing from the source of discontent, or in reaction engaging in sabotage and rudeness Agwu (2006: 12) argues that such reaction rarely derives from any real calculative strategy. Indeed, unorganized expression of conflict are often, not regarded as conflict by the persons in the situation. This is why most people may not ordinarily associate acts of rudeness with being in a state of conflict. Quite often such rude behavior may be attributed to “bad mood” and similar psychological states of mind. Conflicts in organizations, whether organized or unorganized individual or group, need to be managed effectively because of their effects on the organization.
Conflict situations affect the overall effectiveness of co-operate organizations in the sense that they cause disharmony among organizational participants impacting negatively on organizational performance. This is because useful time and resources are wasted during conflicts in organizations. Nevertheless, we have to bear in mind than on organization is immune to conflict within itself since every organization is made up of different individuals with diverse interests, goals, ideas and temperaments and it is very difficult to harmonize these divergences. As a corollary, interests and goals usually conflict between the individuals and the management team as well as within the management team members.
Conflict management is an important aspect of corporate management. Ugbaja (2002:111) notes that the aim of conflict management is not to create an ideal corporate situation since that is not attainable given the divergences in the individuals goals, etc. However, conflict management systematically uses the available conflict resolution strategies to build an effective mechanism for conflict management in corporate organizations. Although there may be existing mechanism and procedures already in place to deal with conflicts whenever they occur, some organizations with reactive managers rise to the situation when it occurs. Dunlop (2002:321) expresses that the virtues of organizational harmony underscores effective conflict management which is indisputable to effective organizations performance. For this reason every corporate organization strives to ensure good work environment in which relationships among workers on the one hand, and workers and management on the other are cordial and appreciated by all the organizations participants. The banking industry is one such sector where conflict management is not only essential but should be effective given the institutions‟ vulnerability to huge financial losses whenever there is conflict. Against this background, therefore, this study is set to examine conflict management in the United Bank for Africa, Plc with a view to determining its impact on its performance.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Conflicts in organizations have destabilizing effects on the overall performance of the organization. It leads to under performance since valuable time and resources (human and material) are used in controlling and managing conflicts rather than in enhancing output and productivity. Conflicts also lead to interpersonal disharmony in the organization which makes attainment of organizational goals difficult. Attaining organizational goals is possible if efforts are always made to reduce the overall level of conflict within the organization. Consequently, it is very imperative that efforts are made towards finding ways of effectively managing conflict so as to achieve organizational objectives. The problem of poor conflict management in corporate organizations with particular emphasis on UBA and First Bank of Nigeria, Plc is the focus of this study.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study are;
- To identify the causes of conflicts in corporate organizations.
- To examine the different strategies of conflict management in organizations.
- To determine the extent to which these strategies are effective.
- To determine the impact of conflict on workers productivity.
- To determine the impact of effective conflict management on organizational performance.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following questions will be addressed in this study; i. What are the causes of conflicts in corporate organizations? ii. What are the different strategies for conflict management in organizations? iii. To what extent are the strategies effective? iv. What is the impact of conflicts on workers‟ productivity? v. What is the impact of effective conflict management on organizational performance?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses are postulated for this study;
- Ø Ho: Organizational conflict does not arise from poor superior-subordinate relationship.
H1: Organizational conflict arises from poor superior-subordinate relationship
- Ø Ho: Organizational conflict does not hamper workers‟
H1: Organizational conflict hampers workers‟ productivity.
- Ø Ho: Effective conflict management does not enhance organizational performance
H1: Effective conflict management enhances organizational performance.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is very important in several respects. Firstly, it will be beneficial to management in all corporate organizations. This is because conflict has become a regular and frequent feature of corporate organizations. By investigating the causes of organizational conflicts the study will be able to find out how the conflicts will be minimized since they cannot be completely avoided. Besides, in examining the causes of conflicts, the study will be able to determine why they re-occur.
Furthermore, by examining how conflicts are managed, the study will be able to find out the limitation of the strategies. All these will provide the basis on which recommendations will be made for the benefit of management.
Secondly the government will also benefit from the study. As conflicts occur at organizational level so do they occur in the public sector level. The findings of this study will be very useful to the government in formulating effective strategies for managing conflicts in the public sector.
Thirdly, employees in both the private and public sector organizations will also benefit from this study. This is because it will show how their intra and inter-relationships bring about conflict and how they can accommodate one another or what approach to adoption order to avoid conflicts.
Fourthly, union leaders will also benefit from the study. This is because the findings will show how they can use their positions in helping to ensure sustained harmony in corporate organizations. Finally, the study will be useful for academic purpose. This is because students who will carryout related studies will use this project report as a reference material.
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study focuses on Impact of conflict management on organizational efficiency. No doubt, it will be practically difficult to cover all organizations in this study. Hence, the scope of the study is restricted to first bank of Nigeria Plc, Enugu. The following are the limitations of the study;
- Uncooperative attitude of some of the staff of First Bank, Plc who refused to complete the questionnaires given to them or to be interviewed for fear of official reprisal. Their refusal to cooperate adversely affected the amount of data collected through primary sources.
- Financial Constraint: The study could have been very extensive if more organizations were included. But the researcher could not afford the cost involved. Thus, the study is restricted to only one corporate organization.
- Time Constraint: The researcher could not complete the study within a record time because of the pressure of other academic works on her.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Conflict: This refers to a situation of disharmony and grievance.
Organization: This refers to a combination or group of people who work together to achieve a goal.
Idiosyncrasy: This refers to a set of attitudes, behaviors and values which characterize an individual.
Goal: This refers to a set objective.
Goal congruency: This is a situation of overlapping personal interests.
Strategy: This is an approach or measure adopted in order to achieve a goal.
Corporate Organization: This refers to a business entity.
Disharmony: This refers to a situation of absence of togetherness.
Management: This refers to the art of planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It also refers to decision-makers in a corporate organization.
| CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This is a research study conducted on the topic Record Management System and effective registry procedure with particular reference to Obudu local government area of Cross River State.
A record is any written data made possible in future use. By records management, we mean the making, use, control and disposition of records so that the systems work effectively and economically.
Modern society depends much upon records, business organizations, government ministries, educational institutions and social institution depends upon records for their existence. In the modern business office in Nigeria, contract, letters, memoranda, invoices, chaques, vouchers, price list, catalogues, cost analysis statements, personal reports etc. constitute records that have to be preserved for future reference.
Educational institutions keep records of their students names, addresses and even results of examinations taken either passed or failed. Librarians keep records of all books including those on loan and when such books should be returned.
Records making on the other hand means records creation. Records created must be distributed, maintained, preserved and finally disposed when no longer needed.
Records management is aimed of preparing, arranging and keeping the record in the most convenient manner so that they can easily be located when required. Other aspects of records management have been taken care of namely methods of filing, file classification, indexing, file design, fellow up action on files, record retention or destruction and file transit recording.
Therefore, records that any officer can refer to at any time may not be kept in a secret registry or inside the office of the executive. It is the user that will determine where to keep the records to ensure that they are handled. Because of this proper records management system and effective registry procedure, the researcher decided to carryout a research work in Obudu local government area as a study.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The emerging field of computers in the 21st century has added to the glamour of record administration or management. The role of computer in the processing of information such as letters, reports and storage of it, has made it attractive medium of records management. In short, the electronic medium and above all, its accessibility, make it an important role of information management and dissemination. Today, it is very difficult to talk of information management without mentioning the ICT, which stands for information and communication technology. This technology involves acquiring, storage, processing and distributing information by electronic means including radio, television, telephone, computers etc.
This ICT can be grouped into three classes of technologies, namely; information technology, which deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and securely retrieve information when desired, while situation, person or event.
a. Telecommunication technologies, best known as the internet, but which has extended to mobile phones technology G.S.M, vice over internet protocol i satellite communication and other forms of communication that are still incubation. These technologies have become the central focus of modern society. When ever one is engaged in at a given time, answering telephone calls, sending emails, bank transactions using library, watching TV programme, working in an office, booking for seat in an air line, applying for university, polytechnics admissions etc. among others involve the use of ICT.
b. Micro filling microfilling is a process of developing for bulk coping of records, drawings, extracts from books for filling purposes. In other words, microfilling is a photographic means of filling documents for preservation for future use and also saves spaces in the office.
1.1 HISTORICA L BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Obudu Local Government Areas is in the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River state, its headquarters is Obudu the home of the foremost tourist centre in Nigerian, the Obudu Cattle Rancher. the tern wards in obudu local government t areas are as follows:
FALEGE/UBANG
ANGIABA/BESIAKA
BEGIANDING
IPONG
OBUDU URBAN I
OBUDU URBAN II
UKPE
UTUGWANG CENTRAL
UTUGWANG NORTH
UTUGWANG SOUTH
Since the inception of the present democratic dispensation in obudu local government area under the distinguished leadership of honorable walter ugbe John Uke as Executive chairman, the administration has consistently dept fate with the public given the three cardinal point vision canvasses throughout the electioneering campaign which borough this government to power. This to many observers is reasonable panacea for the measure of success of any administration. The three point programme area;
Human Resources Development
Integrated Rural Development
Road Construction and rehabilitation
The Three Cardinal programmes
On assumption of office, the administration discovered the necessity to spread the three point programme throughout the three year tenure in office as provided in the local government law of Cross River state. The Obudu local government took decision step in implementing the human resource development programme.
This coincided with the fact that the size and nature of the existing administration structure did not favour the democratic system that was to be enthroned. More manpower was needed to support the functionality of democracy in this ties of government.
After due consultation with all department and affiliate department of the local government, two hundred and fifty six persons were employed into the council in fulfillment of its programe. in the same vein 320 other person were employed on approval by the executive chairman for the local government education Authority LSGEA to uplift the standards of primary education in the area. All these were achievable with the lean resources available to council.
Currently, the chairmans wife has completed designing an Aid and development progamme of the disabled children chest unit leper fcolony in Obudu local government area. It is also in the light of human resources development that this administration plays a supportive role to UNDP in the programme.
On infrastructural development, many projects have been imitated, contracts have been duly considered and awarded. some of these projects have been completed and work is at advance stage in others. The completed project include;
Extension of chairmans office
Construction of legislative chambers
Landscaping and surface dressing of council premises with granite.
Building of a main block to accommodate works and Agric Department of council construction of a four class room block at RCM Ohong
Construction of a health centre at Bayobri Ukpe Obudu.
Renovation of Administration block at council secretariat.
Because of the lean resources available to council most of its project have not been completed though at advance stages. These projects are;
The ultra modern civil centre in Obudu town. This pet project is near completion and it is the hoped of council that it will be commissioned shortly.
Work is at advanced stage for the construction of a perimeter fence, gatehouse, and generator house and landscaping of the surroundings of the civil centre. security of lives and properity became threatened when in less than a month two lives were lost to robbers and several vehicles were stolen.
Boundary problems also escalated between Benue state and Cross River State in the Obudu frontier. To check this, council decided to build city gates at strategic locations, that of Obuidu/Vandeikya border is near completions while plans are under way to commence work on those at Obudu / Obanliku and Obuku / Bekwara Borders. On health, council has awarded contracts for the construction of a cottage hospital at Ohorg, which has reached advanced stages of completion the health centre at Ukpe has been completed and is waiting commissioning. In an effort to improve on primary education in the area and in accordance with the federal government policy on Education council is currently embarking on the construction of structures to accommodate to accommodate of structures to accommodate pupils in schools. The building of a primary school block at Kutia is near completion. similarly, council has made substantial support to the building of secondary school Okorongung and the construction of six class room block at Model primary school Ohong which is at roofing level.
On integrated rural development. council has played supportive roles to communities embarking on developmental project by giving aid in kind and cash. In a bid to enhancing living conditions and to avoid health hazards. Council embarks on disposal of refuse at sanitary dumps cited at strategic locations in Obudu Urban.
Government Agencies within Obudu are not left out of the scheme of things in this administration council has awarded contracts for the renovation of the divisional police office and judges quarters which have been hitherto inhabitable communication gadgets such as telephone lines, high frequency Radio and intercom Radio are already being installed within the council headquarters.
On sports, this administration has brought the standards of the hilltop football club to enviable state by providing them with enough kits and recruiting more serious footballers into the team. A new management has also been constituted for the club to improve its performance. Council recently provided free medical services for the sick within the local government area in conjunction with Cross River state government, greater Washington society of Anesthesiology, prohealth international eye Africa and other collaborating Agencies. A total of about 5,000 patients were treated during the exercise.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
1. Miss Management of records management and registry procedures caused delay in retrieval document in an organization.
2. Lack of proper records management system and registry procedures causes ineffective and inefficiency management in Obudu local government.
3. Lack/without numbering each file with its number accordingly, arranged, caused delay, whenever there is need to retrieval of intimation, in Obudu local government.
4. Electronic system of filling management is a problem in under developing country like Nigeria.
5. Lack of expertise in electronic files management is problem in most of organizations.
6. problem of lacking the space while opening the drawere in the office, is a problem
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Des missmanagement of records system and registry procedures, causes delay in the retrieval of document in Obudu local government
Does improper records management system and registry procedures caused ineffective and inefficiently management in the central office management
The files that number can be used as reference or a pointer to the file
Does electronic system of files management problem in developing country like Nigeria
Does lack of spaces, for accommodation a problem, while opening the drawers in an organization
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
This research work has the primary objectives of fulfilling the requirement for the ward of national diploma ND as specified by National Board for Technical education NBTE.
It is also to highlight secretaries and managers in both public and private sector, that records management system and registry procedures is the best. that is to say effective and efficiency provide the goal of organization finally, the study is also to enable young academicians especially those in public administration management department, Fidei Polytechnic Gboko.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It serve as a sources of references material to young academician, that they will be coming at back. further more, it will serve as a prerequisite for the award of National Diploma.
And also helpful to academic work in general and the area/field of discipline.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study focuses mainly on Obudu local government where the researcher tries to identify the effective and efficiency ways of management of records. The researcher also discovered inefficiency of management in Obudu local government because, it is serves the researcher did not covered the whole area he only covered centre office only. and there was lack of money facing the researcher.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Record: means only written data made for possible future use.
Technology: means uses modern equipment in storing information
Management: means the act of running and controlling a business, e.g. how files is manage in the organization
Preserve: means keeping something to be sue in future time
Memoranda: means an official note from one person to another in the same organization; to writer/sent circular
Correspondence: means letters an organization receives and sent/going out of the organization.
Effective: means producing that which is invented correctly.
Efficiency: mean the quality of doing some thing well with no waste time and money.
Geographical: mean location or zoning of something according to its area. | CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
This project is on Effect of government ownership on enterprise Efficiency (Case study: Anambra broadcasting service). Mass media are very important tools of communication, through which information is passed to even the farthest end of the society. They enable us to communicate with each other by helping us to overcome the barriers of time and space. They perform both primary and secondary functions for the society.
The media of mass communication are divided into the electronic (broadcast) and print media. The print media involves mainly magazine and newspaper; they are informers which provide retrievable, researched, in-depth and interpretative news stories of events.
The broadcast media comprise of the radio and television, it has not been as enterprising as it should be. This is due to the majority ownership and control of the broadcast media by the government.
Concisely put, broadcast is a society wide type of message dissemination, which involves the transmission of ideas, words, sounds, pictures and values in the form of signals through the airwaves to a target audience. Broadcasting is an activity of a branch of the media of mass communication called the electronic media that use transmitters and airwaves in the transmission of news and information to their heterogeneous audience.
Ownership is a critical factor for the content of any medium. This implies that there is a connection between ownership and the content and nature of a medium. The nature of ownership itself is determined by the character of the owner, his interests and the vision he has for the medium. Character here indicates whether ownership is private or public, private oriented or non-profit oriented. Interest refers to the economic (business) concerns and political persuasion of the owner. And vision here, means the idea of the owner about what a medium should be or do and his understanding of the practices and goals of journalism.
All these go a long way to determine the interest of the medium and its coverage of certain issues. McQuail (2012) contends that the belief that ownership ultimately determines the nature of media is not just a Marxist theory but virtually a common sense axiom summed up in Alttschull's (1984) “Second law of journalism: the contents of the media always reflects in interests of those who finance them.
The disposition of an owner is to his interests and vision for the medium would also, to an extent determine his view of the theory of social responsibility which sees “media ownership as a form of public trust or stewardship, rather than as an unlimited private franchise” McQuail (2012).
Agba, a communication expert presents further analysis of third world system as a system were ownership and control of the media is typical of communist or socialist countries in which the media are owned publicly and controlled by the dominant political party and also a centralized control, privately owned system.
He explains that media are owned by private organizations and individuals but are firmly controlled by government. This system is operated in Nigeria and many African countries.
In Nigeria, government control can be direct or indirect. There is strict control of the mass media through police and military intervention and harassment. In most countries of the third world, broadcast media are owned by government and consequently easy to control.
The media system that exists in a society is directly related to the political system prevalent in the society. The political system determines the exact relationship between the media and the government. The political system in place also determines the relationship between the media and the people. It also affects the flow of information in the country in which it operates.
This can be traced to the political experience of the western region of Nigeria in the first republic, where; during the 1962 – 1965 political crisis in the western region, broadcasting was employed freely by the government of the day as an instrument for waging an offensive opposition.
Following the activities of major political actors, the government saw its powerful ability then decided to only trust broadcasting media into the care of its loyal. it therefore toyed with the idea of tying the radio and television to what why Edochie of ABS called “its apron.”
The government’s insistence on moving and controlling the electronic media is in contravention of the universal declaration of human rights article 19 of the UNO. The article
28 stipulates that; Everyone has the right to freedom of opinioned expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and seek, receive and impact information and idea through any media.
Nevertheless, Nigerians are increasingly, decrying government ownership and control of radio and television stations because the stations are increasingly losing its credibility.
Ugo (2010) attributed the fear of the government as; Factor underlying the restlessness of government of free radio and television from its contribution is nothing but fear. But government has defense against this; it claims that the private ownership would lay volatile Nigerian publics open to selfish manipulation. Hence, it can only trust such big responsibilities into the hands of its loyal.
Due to the government control of the electronic media, they lack credibility and objectivity. This can be accounted in the caliber of workers they parade. Poorly educated editor and reporters who are easy target for manipulation by the government and its agents.
Media ownership pattern has become central to the discussion on mass media and society because Edeani (2011) printed out that; The nature of ownership of any press system determines to a great extent whether that press is dynamic, vigorous and responsive press; or an emasculated, timid, spineless, ineffectual or irresponsible press.
However, we have three main categories of media ownership namely;
- Government ownership
- Private ownership
- Mixed ownership.
But the researcher will be constrained to government ownership of media.
Government ownership implies that the medium is completely financed by the government e.g. Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS radio), Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS), Radio Nigeria, etc. In government ownership, the government not only finances the media house, but also lay down policies for the media and helps in implementing them. The government previews the news content and news programmes to see if they agree with their policies and what they (the government) want. Also, any news that the government does not want to be made known to the public and is in the news content, the government will erase out of the news content.
Also, the government further controls the media by their decision to invest or not to invest.
The government's interest will be reflected in their appointment of competent staff.
There is a common saying with regards to mass media control in Nigeria and elsewhere which has become a cliché that “he who pays the piper dictates the tune.” This means that owners of mass media organize, channel, and control what the media broadcast and how they broadcast it.
It is obviously true that mass media owners exert a threatening control over the press, whether the mass media is managed by a board of director's appointment, by private owner, or by public corporation established by the government. The media have policies set down by the board. The short term and long term operations.
Because of this influences the ownership, the media has become a mere vociferous tool, propaganda and as well as indispensable instrument used by the government to make or mark their relationship with the masses.
1.2 Statement of Research Problem
Whatever the practice of ABS (radio) the influence of leadership and control on gate-keeping are still present and if it is not handled well, it may greatly impair the success of any program, so this is what the researcher is aimed at finding.
Right programming decision can lead to success for the radio station. In ownership, government exercise total control of the medium or media information. It has the right to appoint the chairman, the editors and members of the board of directors of the body.
I countries with less degree of free press, government has manipulated the masses using broadcasting media. Broadcasting is volatile and its potentials are unending satisfaction.
Since ABS radio is one of the state governments owned broadcasting media stations, it could be involved in state government propaganda machinery like others.
This researcher has been monitoring the quality of news and programs coming out on ABS radio and is disturbed by the level of sycophantic (praise singing) on the government that negates objective reporting. It is on this note therefore that this researcher is set out to know whether such non-objective reporting is as a result of government o the journalist or if there are other factors responsible on such unethical reportage.
Government did not own and exert control of broadcast media for its sake but for a definite purpose of using it as a medium or tool of telling its own story the way it suits them.
Most state owned media organizations are hand locked with credibility and objective questions for the way they have handled information dissemination for the government at the expense of the opposition and indeed the people. For this reason, media audience is today known to take state owned media messages with a pinch of salt. And because ABS radio is a culprit in this issue, the researcher has chosen it for her study.
1.3 Objective of the Study
Based on this seemingly observation, the objective of this study includes:
- To find out how objective the ABS (radio) discharges its duty in the light of government ownership and control.
- To determine whether ABS (radio) is involved in sycophantic reporting. as speculated .
- To find out how government influence on the station affect people’s patronage.
- To determine the pattern of recruitment of journalist into the government enterprise.
1.4 Research Questions
A number of questions have been raised and answers to such questions definitely shall provide solution to the problem of government misuse of ABS (radio). The belief of the researcher is that the following research questions will provide focus and direct her attention to major issues in the identified problems and they are:
- To what level has government ownership and control influence affected objective reporting on ABS (radio)?
- How does ABS (radio) practice sycophantic reporting?
- How true is it that government influences on the station affect people’s patronage?
- To what extent does journalist’s recruitment into the ABS (radio) station comply with the standard principles?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
From the above mentioned research questions, some hypotheses shall be tested in this study. They are as follows:
H1: Government ownership and control influence affects objective reporting on ABS (radio).
H0: Government ownership and control influence do not affect objective reporting on ABS (radio).
H2: ABS (radio) is involved in sycophantic reporting.
H0: ABS (radio) is not involved in sycophantic reporting.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is limited to only accessing the effect of government ownership of Anambra State radio service and understanding how it affects the efficient journslist reportage of events to the public. It does not cover other areas of the states broadcast media organization or states print media. It only discusses radio, taking an aspect of negative reporting which audience is alleging that emanates due to control influence. And that is what this study wants to investigate.
1.7 Significance of the Study
The benefits of this study are numerous. The effect of government ownership and efficiency of Anambra Broadcasting Service (radio) demands serious empirical investigation because of its significance as follows:
- The study result will confirm whether state government use ABS (radio) as propaganda machinery.
- b. The study will expose the level of government involvement in the management and staff recruitment in the station.
- c. The study will expose the level of sycophantic practice in the government owned broadcast s
- d. The result of the study serves as reference material for further studies in management, government and mass communication
- e. Both government and management of ABS (radio) will find the study useful in many aspects.
1.8 Operational Definition of Significant Terms
In order to avoid the researchers misinterpretation of certain words or terms contained in the title of this work, the researcher defined the term operationally, such words and terms are:
- Government: the body that controls and directs the affairs or welfare of the state.
- Impact: is a change in a particular situation of something either positively or negatively.
- Objective reporting: is the situation in news coverage where facts are reported without bias.
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