EFFECTS OF WASTEFUL ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES ON THE SURVIVAL OF GOVERNMENT FIRMS IN NIGERIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Approval                                  –       –       –       –       –       ii     

Certification                             –       –       –       –       –       iii

Dedication                               –       –       –       –       –       iv

Acknowledgments                    –       –       –       –       –       v

List of Tables                           –       –       –       –       –       ix

Abstract                                   –       –       –       –       –       xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION  

1.1   Background of the Study         –       –       –       –       1

1.2   Statement of the Problem                –       –       –       –       5

1.3   Objectives of the Study            –       –       –       –       5

1.4   Research Questions                 –       –       –       –       6

1. Research Hypotheses               –       –       –       –       7

1.6   Significance of the Study                 –       –       –       –       9

1.7   Scope of the Study                   –       –       –       –       10

1.8   Limitations of the Study          –       –       –       –       10

1.9   Definition of Terms                          –       –       –       –       11

References

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

2.0   Introduction                             –       –       –       –       14

2.1   Conceptual Framework            –       –       –       –       15

2.2   Theoretical Framework            –       –       –       –       15

2.3   Empirical Review                     –       –       –       –       17

2.4     Delay of Decisions as Wasteful

Organizational Practice                   –       –       –       –       18

2.5    Hoarding Authority as Wasteful

Organization Practice          –       –       –       –       19

2.6   Spreading Accountability as a Wasteful

Organizational Practice            –       –       –       –       22

2.7   Avoidance of Responsibility as Wasteful

Organizational Practice            –       –       –       –       23

2.8   Some Attributes of Bureaucracy as Wasteful

Organizational Practices                  –       –       –       –       27   

2.9   Poor Delegation of Authority as Wasteful

Organizational practice            –       –       –       –       32

2.10 Reasons for Wasteful Organizational Practices –       35   

2.11  Reducing and Controlling Wasteful

Organizational Practices          –       –       –       –       42

2.12  Summary of the Review of Related Literature   –       45   

References

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1   The Research Design               –       –       –       –       49

• Area of the Study                     –       –       –       –       49
• Population of the Study           –       –       –       –       50

3.4   Sample Size                             –       –       –       –       50

3.5   Sampling Procedure                         –       –       –       –       53

3.6   Instrument for Data Collection –      –       –       –       54

• Test of Reliability And Validity of Research

Instrument                               –       –       –       –       54

3.8   Method of Data Collection       –       –       –       –       55

3.9   Method of Data Analysis          –       –       –       –       55

References

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

4.0  Introduction                             –       –       –       –       57

• Return of Questionnaire          –       –       –       –       57

4.2   Presentation of Data from Questionnaire        

and Interview                           –       –       –       –       58

4.3   Chi-Square (X²) Formula          –       –       –       –       73   

4.4   Test of Hypothesis One            –       –       –       –       73

4.5   Test of Hypothesis Two            –       –       –       –       76

• Test of Hypothesis Three          –       –       –       –       80

4.7   Test of Hypothesis Four           –       –       –       –       83

4.8   Test of Hypothesis Five            –       –       –       –       85

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1   Summary of Findings              –       –       –       –       89

5.2   Conclusion                              –       –       –       –       90

• Recommendations                   –       –       –       –       91

5.4   Area of Further Studies            –       –       –       –       91

Bibliography

Appendices

Questionnaire 

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.3.1:      Return of Questionnaire          –       –       57

Table 4.2.i:       Age of Respondents                 –       –       58

Table 4.2.ii:      Academic Qualifications of Respondents 59

Table 4.2.iii:     Grade Level of Respondents     –       –       59   

Table 4.2.iv:     Sex of Respondents                 –       –       61   

Table 4.2.v:      Ministry of Respondents          –       –       61

Table 4.2.vi:     Years of Service of Respondents      –       62   

Table 4.2.vii:    Frequency of wasteful organizational

practices in work place.           –       –       63

Table 4.2.viii:   Root causes of wasteful organizational practices                                            –       –       64   

Table 4.2.ix:     Effects of wasteful organizational practices

on firm’s goals and objectives   –      –       65   

Table 4.2.x:      Extent to which poor service delivery

manifest in firms.                    –       –       66   

Table 4.2.xi:     Ways through which government funds

are lost in government owned firms.        –       67   

Table 4.2.xii:    Level of motivation of staff       –       –       68   

Table 4.2.xiii:   Degree of loss of confidence on civil

servants as a result of wasteful

organizational practices.          –       –       69   

Table 4.2.xiv:   Competition to improve performance in

service delivery                        –       –       70

Table 4.2.xv:    Degree of effect of bureaucracy on

decision making process          –       –       71   

Table 4.2.xvi:   Reasons for unable to meet expected

productivity in firms.               –       –       72   

Table 4.4.1:      Observed and Expected Frequencies of

Sample Results:                       –       –       74   

Table 4.5.1:      Observed and Expected Frequencies of

Sample Results                                –       –       77

Table 4.7.1       Observed and Expected Frequency of

Sample Result                         –       –       83   

Table 4.8.1       Observed and expected frequencies of

sample results                         –       –       86   

ABSTRACT

        Wasteful organizational practices have adverse effects on the survival of government firms in Nigeria. As a cog in the wheel of success of government firms, wasteful organizational practices one responsible for the abysmal productivity of such firms and this is made possible through poor service delivery, bureaucratic sabotage, wastage of government funds via wastage of government funds contract inflation and ghost worker syndrome and avoidance of responsibility by many inefficient civil servants. Five hypotheses were formed from five research questions and five objectives and were all tested in chapter four with Chi-Square (X²). Findings from this study revealed that poor motivation of staff, poor implemental of government policies and programmes and loss of confidence on Nigerian Civil Services and agents of development are responsible for wasteful organization practices in government firms. Conclusively, management of government firms in Nigeria should adopt integrated payroll personnel information system (IPPIS) to prevent loss of government funds and duplication of work and subordinate multiplication should be discourage in any firm. Recommendation made include the need for Nigerian government to develop a functional feedback mechanism through which her workers’ service delivery should be closely monitored and constantly evaluated.

CHAPTER ONE

                                   INTRODUCTION                   

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

        This project examines effects of wasteful organizational practices on the survival of government firms in Nigeria. Hick and Gullet (1988:589), opine that an organizational practice is wasteful if it fails to help accomplish organizational objectives. Wasteful practices may occur slowly, silently, without warning and are often extremely difficult to recognize, hence they may be difficult to control. However, Agbo et al (2003:213), stress that a basic cause of wasteful practices in an organization is that individuals may pursue their own personal objectives without, at the same time contributing to objectives of the organization. This tendency to work toward individual objectives without adequate reference to organizational objectives is a cankerworm that erodes organizational progress, and this disease becomes potentially serious when organizations are large, complex and impersonal.

        Other causes of wasteful organizational practices include the fact that government officials want to increase the number of their subordinates rather than create rival organization and this is called the law of multiplication of subordinates by Professor Parkinson. In addition, workers of government owned firms in Nigeria make work for each other on daily basis and this is called the law of multiplication of work by Professor Parkinson. Other dysfunctional practices in government firms in Nigeria that are considered wasteful include avoidance of responsibility, spreading accountability, hoarding authority, delay of decisions, formalism and ritualism, bureaucratic sabotage, stalemate and interdepartmental warfare.

        However, the above wasteful organizational practices adversely affect the survival of government firms in Nigeria in terms of service delivery to citizens and achievement of government policies and objectives efficiently and effectively. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his address on service delivery (servicom), on 19th to 21st March, 2004, stressed that public offices are the shopping floor for government business. Regrettably, Nigerians have for too long been feeling short-changed by the quality of public service delivery by which decisions are not made without undue outside influence, and files do not move without being pushed with inducements. According to President Obasanjo, our public offices have for too long been showcases for the combined evils of inefficiency and corruption, whilst being impediments to effective implementation of government policies. Worse still, in government firms in Nigeria especially Federal and State Ministries, few customers apply for services without budgeting time and money to follow their applications from desk to desk, while bracing themselves for the phenomenon of the ‘missing’ file that would re-appear after settling someone. In some government owned firms including Federal and State Ministries, many unscrupulous civil servants wait for file owners who applied for one official thing or the other to come and grease their palms before they could be attended to irrespective of the urgency that may be attached to such application or work as the case may be. Some dishonest civil servants connive with contractors to defraud the government. Ghost workers are used in government firms to unduly increase government wage bills without commensurate work being done for the government. Many Chief Executives of government firms and ministries have converted government vehicles to personal and private uses without regard to government laid down rules and regulations regarding the uses to such vehicles. All these wasteful organizational practices hamper the survival of government firms in Nigeria.

        Three Federal Ministries namely Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Ministry of Lands, and Housing and Federal Ministry of Labour and productivity are used by the researcher as government owned firms. Each of the above three ministries is located at Federal Secretariat complex, independence layout Enugu. Therefore, the researcher examined the effects of wasteful organizational practices on the survival of the above named government firms.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM