HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE NIGERIA PUBLIC SECTOR

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Introduction

1.1 Background Of Study

The development of any nation depends to a very large extent on the calibre, organization and motivation of its human resources. In the specific case of Nigeria where diversity exerts tremendous influence on politics and administration, the capacity to increase the benefits and reduce the costs of this diversity constitutes a human resource management challenge of epic proportion in its public sector organizations. Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training. Human Resource Management is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment. Effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives. Human Resource Management is moving away from traditional personnel, administration, and transactional roles, which are increasingly outsourced. HRM is now expected to add value to the strategic utilization of employees and that employee programs impact the business in measurable ways. The new role of HRM involves strategic direction and HRM metrics and measurements to demonstrate.

HRM covers a wide range of activities. The main area of study we will focus on will be incentives and work organization. Incentives include remuneration systems (e.g. individuals or group incentive/contingent pay) and also the system of appraisal, promotion and career advancement. By work organization we mean the distribution of decision rights (autonomy/decentralization) between managers and workers, job design (e.g. flexibility of working, job rotation), team-working (e.g. who works with whom) and information provision.

Civil servants have a reputation for being lazy. However, people’s personal experiences with civil servants frequently run counter to this stereotype. We develop a model of an economy in which workers differ in laziness and in public service motivation, and characterise optimal incentive contracts for public sector workers under different informational assumptions. When civil servants. Effort is invariable, lazy workers and working in the public sector highly attractive and may crowd out dedicated workers. When effort is variable, the government optimally attracts dedicated workers as well as the economy’s laziest workers by offering separating contracts, which are both distorted. Even though contract distortions reduce aggregate welfare, a majority of society may be better off as public goods come at a lower cost. Where we depart from several of the existing surveys in the field is to put HRM more broadly in the context of the economics of management. To do this we also look in detail at the literature on productivity dispersion.

Human resource management encompasses the traditional personnel functions of recruitment, selection, training, motivation, compensation, evaluation, discipline, and termination of employees. Each of those tasks demands particular skills. Increasingly, human resource management is being recognized for its strategic importance to organizations and jurisdictions, and is moving beyond its traditional position as a monitor of compliance. This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the evolution of human resource management policies and practices, and how changes over time reflect shifting societal values and environmental circumstances. Our emphasis is on improving understanding of the historical context and current conditions of public sector HRM and developing basic skills necessary to be an effectively manage human resources.

Within the public sector, many of the most visible and interesting controversies, such as affirmative action, employee ethics, sexual harassment, drug testing, and labour-management relations, are part of human resource management. Human resources also account for the largest percentage of the operating budget for most public agencies, and public administrators must have both an appreciation for the costs of personnel decisions and the ability to project those costs. In addition, constitutional, statutory and regulatory requirements often constrain personnel decisions and actions in the public sector, and public administrators must have a working knowledge of these legal guidelines. Public administrators must recognize the political aspect of human resource management. Human resource management policies and techniques are developed, implemented and evaluated in a public context. Public sector HRM practices effect the selection and experiences of government employees which, in turn, affects public policy. In order to make and implement effective human resource management policies, administrators need an appreciation of the political and historical context in which the policies have developed to date.

In the current environment, a professional public administrator must be prepared to advocate for the strategic importance of human resources, find ways to be flexible and responsive to change, adapt to changing patterns of employment and intersectoral relations, utilize technology to more effectively communicate with prospective and existing employees, and develop more sophisticated and effective methods of measuring and rewarding performance

(Ingraham and Rubaii-Barrett, 2007).

Management must work with people. The proper use of people in an enterprise undoubtedly has a direct and significant bearing on the productive efficiency of the enterprise. As a result of the importance that managers assign to people who must work with them, terms such as “human resources” “human capital” are used to demonstrate the difference people make in the performance of a manager and consequently the enterprise.

The issues in personnel management are major factors of the human problems affecting organization. These issues include:

1. Recruitment and Selection Process,
2. Organization structure of personnel departments.

The recruitment and selection processes are to ensure the engagement of reliable, competent and qualified workers. Fatiregun (1992:131) defines recruitment as the process of accessing a job, announcing vacancy, arousing interest and stimulating people to apply while selection is the process of choosing, for excellence, through process of rejection or matching the applicants.

These processes of recruitment and selection have been corrupted by the Nigeria environmental factors (Nnadi, 2009) as shown below:

1. Political Pressure,
2. Theory and practice of “Ima Mmadu” or “Who you knew”,
3. Federal character principle of representation,
4. Common state of origin among staff in the same department.

Organization structure of personnel departments shows clearly the operational contacts and co-ordination in the organization chart, including the hierarchies of the officers, functions and authorities. Human factors or participants will be engaged to fit into this abstract framework for the purpose of accomplishing predetermined results. The structure is a fundamental design for the effective performance of people who work together in groups to achieve their purpose. The working party (1977:16) warns that if the structure is wrong or inadequate, not even the ingenuity and cleverness of those who operate it will give it the desired correctness or satisfactory function.

Human relation at work can be a factor of human resource problems in an organization, which according to Fillopo (1971:57) is a formal relationship that exists among personnel and employees in working place. The timely and positive effort in handling human problems at the executive level will make for good human relations or reconciliation of the organizational and employee goals. Poor communication network, abuse of the principles of line and staff relation, blind recruitment and selection process, incompetent employees and personnel, and indifference attitudes to work are major human problems in managing human relation at work in an organization.

The result of this poor attitude to work in the public sector organization is the reason for constant dwindling of management in public sector organization (Onodugo, 2008). It is sad to note that the typical work attitude of an average Nigerian worker is largely anything near what will turn around the public sector organization.

Research findings Nwachukwu (1985), Korman (1977) have shown that the productivity of an employee is determined by three major factors:

1. The ability of the employee
2. The will to work, and 3) situational factors.

The public sector organization is a government sector responsible for providing the public with essential services. The public sector is referred to the government sector, whether Federal, State, or Local Government. Public sector organizations are organizations which emerged as a result of government acting in the capacity of an entrepreneur (Obikeze and Anthony 2004:248).

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1.2 Statement Of Problem

Public sector organizations in Nigeria faced problems which often hampers the attainment of set goals. The productivity of any public organization sector depends largely on the performance of its people (i.e. The management and subordinates) for this success to be achieved, the human resource management in the organization needs to be addressed and managed.

To that effect, this research is being proposed to address the following issues;

1. Work motivation and compensation
2. Ethics and Values
3. Work Attitude
4. Recruitment and Selection Process

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1.3 Objectives Of Study

Deplorably however, most of these objectives listed above have not been achieved due to human problems facing the sector.

Therefore the objective of this study includes;

1. To determine the effects of work motivation and compensation on the productivity of public sector organization.
2. To determine the effects of Ethics and Values on the productivity of public sector.
3. To examine the effects of work attitude of workers on the productivity of public sector organizations.
4. To examine the effects of recruitment and selection process of workers on productivity of public sector organization

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1.4 Research Hypotheses

The researcher uses hypotheses HO which is a test of no difference

HO1: There is evidence to prove that work motivation and compensation contributes to the productivity of public sector.

HO2: There is evidence to prove that Ethics and Values contribute to poor productivity of public sector.

HO3: There is a significant relationship to show that work attitude of workers by workers affects the productivity of public sector.

HO4: There is evidence to show recruitment and selection process of workers affects the productivity of public sector organization

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1.5 Significance Of Study

Human Resource Management is the backbone of any economy production of any nation. HRM plays a vital role in the productivity of the Nigeria public sector organizations. It is therefore important to identify the significances of the research work which are subdivided as:

1. The findings of this research will serve as a guide in the productivity of other public sector through their human resource.
2. The findings of this study will enable for proper management of human resource which will lead to effective customer value and productivity in public sector organization management.
3. It will also enhance government, private sector and general public participation contribution in addressing these human resource management in public sector organization.
4. The study will enable me to contribute my own views and ideas on managing human resource and productivity in the public sector organization of Nigeria.
5. The study will be of immense help to other people and students who might wish to carry out other researches in the field.

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1.6 Scope Of The Study

The work is on HRM and Productivity and public sector in Nigeria, with PHCN as a case. It will cover the concept of Public Sector; examine Human Resource Management in Public Sector, the impact of HRM on Productivity in Public Sector and also the challenges of Human Resource Management in Public Sector.

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1.7 Limitations Of The Study

In carrying out this research many factors served as constraints:

1. The limitation of the research title as just HRM and Productivity in the Nigeria public sector.
2. Financial Limitation.
3. Inadequate Time: time factor constitutes the major limitation of this research study. It relates to the fact that the time for research work was short because it was combined with lectures, studies and examination.
4. Negative attitude of respondent: the problem facing the researcher with regards to the respondents relates to the non-cooperation and uncompromising attitude some respondents in giving out relevant information or facts.