HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES REQUIRED BY ADMINISTRATORS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA
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Background to the Study
It is the desire of every society to achieve a sustainable level of socio-economic development through quality education at early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education level. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FRN) (2013) viewed tertiary institution as the education provided after secondary education in universities, colleges of education, polytechnics and monotechnics, including those institutions offering correspondence courses. Tertiary institutions provide higher education in the education industry (Adewale, Abolaji & Kolade, 2011). The authors noted that there are several registered and accredited tertiary institutions in Nigeria, such as universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnics and research institutes that are privately-owned by organizational bodies such as religious groups, associations and individuals. Besides, the federal and state governments in Nigeria also own universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnics and research institutes that were established by law, funded and managed or administered by the government. The researcher posited that tertiary education in Nigeria is the education given to students at a higher level with skills and competencies in a variety of disciplines and attitudes for successful careers after completing both primary and secondary education. Tertiary institutions have been regarded as being among the most important institutions in any nation for contributing to national development (Khalid, 2012); countries that promote them not only become more developed as it is with the developed countries, but are able to formulate, implement and manage development. In recognition of the importance of tertiary institutions in the development of any nation, Nigeria has her goals and objectives enshrined in the national policy on education. The goals and objectives of tertiary institutions in Nigeria as contained in the national policy on education include contributing to national development through relevant high level manpower training, developing and inculcating proper values for 1 2 the survival of the individual and society (FRN, 2013). Others are the development of intellectual capability of individuals to understand and appreciate their local and external environments, acquiring both physical and intellectual skills which will enable individuals to be self-reliant and useful members of the society. There are also the goals and objectives of promoting and encouraging scholarship and community service, forging and cementing national unity and promoting national and international understanding and interaction. The goals and objectives of tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been regarded as the provision of high-level manpower need of organizations, whether in the public or private sector of the economy without which organizations cannot achieve their goals of profit maximization or the provision of quality services to enhance the living standard of the people in any given society (Gberevbie, Osibanjo, Adeniji & Oludayo, 2014). The achievement of these goals and objectives cannot be realized without effective management of available human and material resources in the tertiary institutions. Gberevbie et al, therefore, pointed out that as it is in other sectors, the ability of tertiary institutions in Nigeria to achieve their goals and objectives depended largely on being able to attract and manage competent employees irrespective of gender. The word management is derived from the Italian verb maneggiare, meaning to handle a horse (Armstrong, 2012). The author held that management is getting things done through people hence, emphasizing its leadership component. Management is a way of determining the culture of an organization, the productivity of its staff and its ultimate success or failure (Francis, 2007). It is the process of achieving an organizational goal through the co-ordinated performance of five specific functions which are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling (Onah, 2008). Management can also be regarded as the organizational (or institutional) process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets required to achieve set objectives and measuring results (Knowledge Management Terms, 2009). 3 Management is responsible for combining and co-ordinating human and material resources in order to achieve organizational goals. This researcher views management as the process by which those in authority plan, organize and control an organization or institution of higher learning in an effort to make it successful. Management, therefore, is invaluable for organizational or institutional survival; it is not based on the rule of the thumb, rather, it is based on scientific principles and practices. Observations made by this researcher, however, suggest that the bane of the problems of tertiary institutions and organizations in Nigeria could be a function of bad management by the managers or administrators. Administrators used inter-changeably with managers in this study, are responsible for managing the affairs of an organization or tertiary institution (Encarta, 2009). In tertiary institutions, administrators are directors, heads of departments, heads of units, deans of faculties/schools/colleges, principal officers, provosts, rectors, bursars, librarians, vice chancellors and their deputies who are men and women. These administrators belong to different fields of study or discipline, including vocational business education. Educational institutions‟ administrators are concerned with mobilizing people‟s efforts for the achievement of the educational objectives. In order to ensure the best institutional results in Nigerian education system, the human resources must be properly managed by the administrators. Human resource is an unusual, exceptional or natural ability to do something creatively well, developed through effective training. The report of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) (2014) revealed that human resources consisted of employee attributes that can contribute to organizational performance. Human resources, in the view of Onipede (2013), are individuals who are responsible for decision-making and planning of activities in any programme. Human resources as conceived by the researcher are organizational or higher institution employees with all their competencies, knowledge, abilities and orientations. When given the right atmosphere and motivation, human resources can turn organizational fortunes around; they act like the rudder that turns the wheel of the ship. Most importantly, too, human 4 resources are fundamental components of an organization or higher institution that need to be effectively managed to ensure the achievement of organizational or institutional goals and objectives (Dessler, 2008). The management of human resources can be regarded as the science of using strategic human resource planning to improve business value and to make it possible for companies and organizations to reach their goals. Supporting this view, Ernst and Young (2009) argued that human resource management is a deliberate and ongoing process that systematically identifies, assesses, develops and retains human resources to meet current and future organizational needs and objectives. Sharing a more holistic view, Armstrong (2012) described human resource management as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization‟s or institution‟s most valuable assets, that is, the people working there that individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Human resource management can be summarized as the manipulation of the workforce to get the best performance from employees in order to achieve organizational goals and/or objectives (Asaju, Thomas & Silas (2013). The observations of the researcher tend to suggest that the management of human resources in tertiary institutions may not be what it ought to be. There appears to be the problems associated with policy formulation and implementation which tend to change quickly as well as lack of training or inadequate training on the part of tertiary institutions‟ administrators. This can be seen in issues relating to promotion where guidelines are alleged to be changed regularly to the detriment of employees. This researcher also observed that when it comes to the subject of gender, there seems to be some reservations which sidetrack and discriminate the female gender during recruitment, promotion and appointment into various offices. This was echoed by the former Vice Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Obayan, who lamented in Gberevbie et al. (2014) that: 5 discrimination against women in leadership positions in the Nigerian universities seem(ed) to be an age-long phenomenon because ... out of the total number of one hundred universities in Nigeria owned by the Federal and State governments, missions and individuals, the number of female vice-chancellors in these universities are four (page 103). Furthermore, this researcher observed that discrimination against the female gender with regard to appointment into high positions in tertiary institutions in South-South, Nigeria is pronounced because female appointment is rare in comparison to their male counterparts. The appointment of Professor Grace Alele-Williams as the Vice-Chancellor of University of Benin (UNIBEN) during the military regime of General Ibrahim B. Babangida (rtd) is the only female to achieve that feat in the zone in the 1980s until recently when another female vice chancellor was appointed for the Federal University of Marine Technology, Okra, Bayelsa State. Appointment of women as chief executives of colleges of education, polytechnics and even universities in the zone is not a common phenomenon. This researcher‟s observations are antithetic with the goals and objectives of tertiary institutions which require the appointment of individuals based on merit and not on gender. In a competitive job environment, human resource management is a primary driver for institutional/organizational success. The primary goal of human resource management is the implementation of integrated strategies or systems designed to increase workplace productivity by developing improved processes for attracting, developing, retaining and utilizing people with the required skills and aptitude to meet current and future needs of the organization (Armstrong, 2012). Human resource management provides an organization or tertiary institution with the human capital that is needed to conceptualize, operationalize and realize the desired future strategic position of the organization. Achieving this goal requires several human resource management competencies. Competency is the ability of an individual to successfully perform a task; competency can also be referred to as the state of being functionally adequate in performance of one's duty 6 (Alawa, Abanyam & Okeme (2010). Competency connotes knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgement generally required for the successful performance of a task (Ugo, 2015). Competency as perceived by this researcher, means that an individual has acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes which are required for performing successfully at a specified proficiency level in any given work or trade. Competency ensures that workers build confidence as they succeed in mastering a particular competency. Administrators in tertiary institutions, therefore, can build confidence as they succeed in mastering competencies in human resource management for the effectiveness and efficiency of the employees. These include recruitment and selection, training and development of personnel, performance appraisal, compensation, employee discipline and conflict resolution (Agbulu, 2015). This study focused on these six competencies and they are discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. The recruitment and selection of staff in any organization (be it public or private) sector is of paramount importance to the organization (Omisore & Okofu, 2014). The reason for this is not far-fetched – the employees are the ones that can turn the vision and mission of an organization into reality. Effective organizational or institutional productivity can be a product of effective recruitment and selection and that an effective recruitment and selection process can ensure that the right candidates stand the chance of being hired for a particular job or role (Catano, Wiesner, Hackett & Methot, 2010). Recruitment can be described as the process of generating a pool of qualified candidates for a particular job, while selection can be regarded as the process of making “hire” or “no hire” decision regarding each applicant for a job. The process involves determining the characteristics required for effective performance and then measuring applicants on those characteristics. It may not be enough to recruit the qualified staff. It is also necessary to ensure that the personnel are given the necessary training according to their job specifications. Research evidence, however, has shown repeatedly that officers responsible for recruitment and selection in organizations and tertiary institutions in particular, do not follow 7 existing policies and guidelines for carrying out the arduous task in the appropriate manner (Aswathappa, 2007). What results when policies and guidelines are not followed by the officers responsible for recruitment and selection exercises is high labour turnover, high staff absenteeism, high job reworks, high training expenses, high labour unrest and low productivity (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal & Roodt, 2009). Recruitment and selection as conceived by this researcher makes it possible for organizations including tertiary institutions, to bring into the organization new employees or what has been described as “new blood”. It follows a process without which it may not be possible to achieve the desired objectives. The process which covers several activities requires some competencies to be exhibited by the individual(s) responsible for the exercise and management support. This researcher notes that the exercise can be affected by some factors detrimental to a successful outcome such as undue pressures like pressures to recruit certain persons without regard to merit, pressures based on political, religious and ethnic sentiments and pressures from above like pressures from the owners of the institution or organization as pointed out by Omisore and Okofu (2014). Pressure also exists under the concept of federal character which tends to sacrifice merit in recruitment and selection into government positions as observed by Omisore and Okofu. With rapid job changes in today‟s dynamic organizations or tertiary institutions, it requires employees‟ skills to be transformed and updated regularly through employee training and development. Training and development of personnel in an organization is the process of developing qualities in human resources to be more productive and thus, contribute more to an organization‟s goals and objectives. Training is aimed at equipping individuals with the necessary skills and competencies to enable recipients find employment, gain promotion and have reasonable expectation of redeployment in the event of being made redundant. Training is an exercise for developing employees‟ affective, cognitive and psychomotor skills; training 8 also assists organizations to have a crucial method of developing the employees towards enhancing productivity (Ezeani & Oladele, 2013). The mutual inclusiveness of the term: “training and development” has been identified and recognized for usage by Hassan (2016). This researcher aligns with Hassan because training and development leads to the same direction – employee and organizational/institutional productivity. Training is the use of systematic and planned instruction activities aimed at promoting learning (Armstrong, 2012). This approach, in the author‟s view, can be summarized as learner-based training which organizations/institutions take to promote learning. Development, on the other hand, is the form of learning activities that prepare people to exercise wider or increased responsibilities (Armstrong, 2012). This researcher sees training and development as management tools and programmes; when utilized judiciously and following the right process and implemented by the right personnel possessing appropriate competencies, the result is improved employee attitude, competencies and productivity thus, leading to enhanced organizational or institutional performance. It is also important to state that training and development mitigate obsolescence in an era of constant change brought about by technology. Training opportunities for employees, therefore, should not be limited to improving employees‟ performance on their current jobs but should also prepare employees for the future together with enhanced compensation. For effectiveness, organizational management or tertiary institutions‟ administrators should imbibe the culture of training and developing staff together with appropriate policies. However, observations made by this researcher suggest that in Nigeria‟s tertiary institutions, training and development of employees may not be getting the required attention. Thus, it appears that training and development responsibilities are placed at the shoulders of employees. The researcher also observed that in the midst of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), tertiary institutions‟ employees attend conferences, exhibitions, workshops, 9 symposia and seminars by bearing the cost in some if not in most cases. The need to appraise employees at least once a year cannot be overemphasised because it will contribute to increased employee efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and high morale (Akinyele, 2010). Performance appraisal is used as the basis for a decision about employees‟ work conditions, including promotions, termination and compensation or rewards. Performance appraisal means evaluating an employee‟s current and/or past performance relative to the performance standard (Dessler, 2007). Performance appraisal is a process involving deliberate stock taking of the success which an individual or organization has achieved in performing assigned tasks or meeting set goals over a period of time. It calls for serious approach to knowing how the individual is doing in performing assigned tasks for organizational success (Obisi, 2011). The researcher regards performance appraisal as providing opportunity for the appraisal of employees regarding performance and the expectation by appraisees that promotion or salary increase would follow. Where the exercise ends on a sound note, performance appraisal exercise could be said to be successful and where otherwise, it is unsuccessful. The researcher observed that in tertiary institutions in South-South, Nigeria, however, there tends to be acrimony at the end of performance appraisal exercise; for example, there has been the allegation that some employees are stagnated or stepped down from promotion or from holding a higher office or position for one reason or the other. Besides, the researcher noted that performance appraisal in tertiary institutions could be manipulated by appraisers at all levels. This state of affairs, no doubt, requires competency in performance appraisal exercise. The attraction and retention of talented employees that are dedicated to their responsibilities could be said to largely depend on the compensation packages offered by an employer (administrator) (Pitts, Marvel & Fernandez, 2011). Compensation of human resources is a useful instrument in management. It motivates the human resource to contribute to organizational effectiveness and can impact positively on 10 the behaviour and productivity of employees (Greene, 2014). The components of compensation referred to are financial returns and other forms of benefits that employees receive as part of an employee‟s relationship with an employer. Compensation, also referred to as reward by some theorists, is used to reciprocate employees for performing organizational or institutional work through pay, incentives and benefits (Akafo & Boateng, 2015). Compensation can be extrinsic and intrinsic; extrinsic components are tangible, taking monetary and non-monetary forms, and intrinsic components include praise for successful performance. The authors argued that compensation could also be tangible taking a direct form or an indirect form. When it is a direct form, the employer exchanges monetary reward for work done and when it is indirect, compensation is given to all employees for being an organizational or institutional member. Employees regard compensation as transcending economic issues to include trust, work-relationships and ethics, and even though compensation makes it possible for employees to exchange their labour for economic befits, it nevertheless plays the vital social and symbolic functions in any organizational or tertiary institutional setting (Ami, Boaten & Yamoah, 2015). The researcher regards compensation as everything that employees receive in return for contributing to organizational or institutional performance. Furthermore, the researcher holds the view that the provision of an equitable, just, reasonable and timely compensation to workers no matter the form of compensation enables workers to meet various needs thus, contributing to employee motivation as theorized by Abraham Maslow (1954). Compensation is a morale booster for workers. It would appear however, that organizations or tertiary institutions tend to treat the subject in a manner that regards employees as not deserving whatever is due through compensation in all its forms. The way workers‟ salaries, salary arrears and pension payment are delayed, for example, seem to support this assumption. In as much as the administrators have a duty to compensate the employees in order to maximize 11 productivity, they should not lose sight of maintaining discipline in the institutions to control the behaviour of workers. Employee discipline is the process of either administering an unpleasant stimulus such as a warning letter, a suspension or withholding a reward like not granting a scheduled pay increase because of an employee‟s job deficiencies (Dessler, 2007). Employee discipline can be regarded as the ability to control the behaviour of workers in the workplace for effectiveness on the job (Emechebe, 2009). Disciplinary action against employees introduces learning that promotes self-control, dedication and orderly conduct in the workplace. Some of the reasons for employee discipline are to avoid conflict, and when conflict arises, resolution is necessary for the benefit of individuals and organizations. The researcher regards employee discipline as management action to correct the wrong doing of an employee in terms of infringing the contract of employment in whatever form. The discipline under consideration could cover the period of the employment relationship and even from previous employment especially if it was found that an employee was dismissed in the previous employment. Employee discipline should follow a systematic process that should be religiously adhered to failing which charges of unfairness could be alleged. The discipline given to employees for wrong-doing should be just, fair, equitable and timely and conforming to the conditions of employment in order to avoid lawsuit. The researcher observed that the disciplinary process and procedure in tertiary institutions at times do not seem to pass the litmus test hence, staff promotion and appointment to a higher office, among others, is alleged to be stagnated or stepped down for a long time because of alleged acts of indiscipline until, perhaps, another administration comes in as revealed during interactions with a cross section of employees. It has also been alleged, as observed by the researcher, that because certain disciplinary measures meted against an employee do not follow due process, litigation becomes the order of the day with the employee concerned coming out successful with court verdict. These could be attributed to 12 competency problem(s) on the part of tertiary institutions‟ administrators. With various unions existing in the tertiary institutions, conflicts abound or inevitably occur between these unions and the management (administrators). The workplace has been described as characterized by industrial disputes irrespective of whether unionized or non-unionized as a result of disagreements between the employer and employees (Badekale, Ngige & HammanJoda, 2016), over incompatible goals and objectives (Dahida & Adekeye, 2013). What follows is conflict requiring solution. Tertiary institutions as a part of the educational system and environment are not immune from industrial relations problems and conflicts (Badekale et al.). Conflict itself is a natural condition existing in any multiparty and heterogeneous system and also an inevitable element in any labour– management system requiring resolution (Abolo & Oguntoye, 2016). Conflict resolution involves attempts by tertiary institutions‟ administrators to find solution to organizational or tertiary institutions‟ conflicts through considering and utilizing collective bargaining strategy to resolve conflict (Abolo & Oguntoye). This researcher defines conflicts or industrial disputes as conflicts/disputes occurring in the workplace for many reasons and conflict resolution is efforts put in place to resolve conflict internally, that is, between management and workers or externally through the involvement of third parties whenever conflict occurs at the end of which parties in conflict return to the status quo. The researcher observed that there seems to be regular incidents of conflicts/industrial disputes in tertiary institutions just as it is in other organizations. The reasons for these tend to be that appropriate strategies may not have been put in place to avert conflicts/industrial disputes or that officers responsible for conflict resolution have not grasped the fundamentals of conflict resolution, through training. For the administrators of tertiary institutions irrespective of gender to effectively manage the available human resources in the areas of employee recruitment and selection, employee training and development, employee performance appraisal, employee 13 compensation, employee discipline and employee conflict resolution in the workplace, they require appropriate competencies. Due to the perceived increasing negligence of human resource management, administrators of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, South-South, Nigeria inclusive, appear to be lagging behind in recent times, especially in paying due attention to effective management of human resources leading to regular face off between management and labour that could be attributable to incompetency and inadequate training in human resource management. The researcher, having observed the current human resource management practices by tertiary institutions‟ administrators, wondered whether these administrators acquired the appropriate competencies needed for the achievement of institutional growth and development. Thus, the researcher was motivated to carry out this study on the extent human resource management competencies in employee recruitment and selection, employee training and development, employee performance appraisal, employee compensation, employee discipline and employee conflict resolution are required by administrators for the effective management of tertiary institutions in South-South, Nigeria.
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