An Evaluation Of Hindrance And Prospects Of Manpower Development (Case Study Of Kebbi Furniture Limited)

Project and Seminar Material for Business Administration and Management BAM

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the hindrance and prospects of manpower development using a case study of Kebbi Furniture Limited. The study was based on both quantitative and qualitative research methodology. The survey research was adopted in arriving at conclusion which is aimed at determining the extent to which manpower process and utilization plays a significant role in organizations, with reference to Kebbi Furniture Limited. The population of the study are both male and female working in the study area because of the fact that the concerned with manpower development. This research will use the following instruments of data collection; interview and questionnaire. Relevant data collected in this research will be analyzed using descriptive statistics the column-table of various frequency and percentage. The research has identified six major factors that are associated with manpower development effort within the organization. The first problem identified is in the area of faulty recruitment of new employees where investigation revealed that job applicants were usually recruited on the basis of nepotism and corruption instead of merit. Other problems identified induce: inadequate training opportunities for staff which is capable of stalling the development of human, resources that is necessary for nation building. The other identified area also was the lack of staff welfare, ineffective manpower development policies, lack of adequate funds, and neglect of human resources development. The research findings shows that many departments within the study area do not pay great attention to manpower development which is very necessary for nation building, and which its neglect constitutes a serious problem to Kebbi Furniture Limited. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that personnel management department of any organization should always recruit well qualified Job applicants who capable of facing the challenges of the modern day job.

Table of Content

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Question
1.5 Research Hypothesis
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Scope of Study
1.8 Limitation of the Study
1.9 Definition of Terms
1.10 Organisation of the Study

Chapter Two

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.2 Justification for Manpower Development
2.3 Manpower Development And Training
2.4 Constraints to Effective Training And Development
2.5 Hindrances to Effective Utilization Of Trained Manpower
2.6 Contributions of Efficient Development
2.7 Options for Effective Manpower Development
2.8 Theoretical Framework

Chapter Three

3.0 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection
3.5 Validity of the Instrument
3.6 Reliability of the Instrument
3.7 Method of Data Collection
3.8 Data Analysis

Chapter Four

4.0 Results and Discussion

4.1 Result
4.2 Discussion

Chapter Five

5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendation
References
Appendix

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Manpower development according to Branch (2000) is educational and development activities conducted by an enterprises to improve the lives of their workers. The activities have definite relationship to employment in human capital formation as a process which enable organization to acquire and increase their manpower stock, through the process of planning, recruitment, and training. Employer develop their staff and mobilize them in the attainment of organizational goals. Training is therefore an integral element in manpower development.

Cole (2001) viewed manpower development as being concerned with increasing knowledge and skills in doing a particular job. He went further to say that training is an attempt to improve the performance of employees through learning which is done by increasing their skills and knowledge.

According to Ekpo (2002) manpower development programmes are designed to educate employees beyond the requirement of their present job position so that they can be prepared for promotion and be able to face future challenges.

The importance of manpower development has long been recognized not only by individual and groups but also organizations and nations throughout the world. As a result, international organizations particularly the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agency notable “UNESCO” and the World Bank continue to mount the crusade for manpower development not only in developing countries but also in advanced countries. This is because manpower development in its wide context has been recognized as the basis for the wealth of nations. The wealth and vitality of any nation rests ultimately on capital and natural resources and always passive ingredient without human resources”.

The development of indigenous manpower to serve as the propelling force for national growth and development is no doubt a key to Nigeria’s socio-economic and political development (Ake, 1909). This is quite indispensable considering the argument of the concept of transfer of technology as a propelling force for the development of the developing countries of which Nigeria is one (Ake, 2001).

However, it is important to state that the lack of adequate emphasis on manpower development as tool for development in Nigeria on the part of government as well as the organized private sector could not be far fetched. From the lack of understanding of both the concept and methods for manpower development in a post-colonial Nigerian State, in which due process of human resource development for national growth was distorted by colonialism with the attendant negative orientation that was injected into political leadership (Ekpo, 1989). Thus manpower development became an elitist design that was geared to favour capitalist mode of production in which labour was relegated to the background, one could therefore argue that there were distortions in both the concept and method of manpower development in the Nigerian state as it was oriented towards serving capitalist interest.

This no doubt account for the discrepancies in the educational system, a mechanism designed for manpower development meant to serve national interest. Conversely, the focus of this paper is not geared towards unfolding the distortion of colonialism on manpower development in Nigeria rather it is geared at understanding the operational concepts by looking at the divergence and compatibility between the concept of manpower development and development of manpower, the common methodological perspectives for manpower development in organizations with implication on the aggregate economy as well as unfolding the relevance and problems of manpower development in Nigeria.

Due to innovations and competitiveness associated with Automobile industry training and development is very important for almost all the employees to keep them abreast with developments and changes in the industry. Since independence, there has been increasing interest by many organizations in training and development. The automobile industry will not be an exception in the performance of its many activities.

Many organizations have developed good manpower training and development programmes, but this has not always been easy to attain due to certain factors that impede the achievement of diverse objectives.

All organizations, be it political, religious or business have predetermined goals and objectives which they intend to achieve and these are ends towards which the organizational activities are geared. And all organizations strive to achieve their respective goals and purposes since this is the yardstick standard for accessing its success or failure.

The major determinant for any organization is the presence of capable men and women with the right skill and knowledge to combine organizational goals and objectives. The manager and his subordinate must be properly equipped in order to carry out this assignment and this skill can only be imported through training and development of employees.

In Nigeria, there is a shortage of skilled manpower as well as a surplus of semi-skilled labour and the major challenge facing the Nigerian manager is to help develop the skills of the nation’s existing manpower and at the same time device means and ways of utilizing the surplus manpower.

The job of a good manager is to look into the future and plan towards it. One important way to do this is to develop subordinates so that they can cope with future challenges and demands. They have the responsibility of providing development opportunity for their subordinates so as to enable them exercise their full potentials.

Both the private and public sectors of the economy are besieged by the problem of inefficiency, low capacity utilization and other symptoms of poor job performance. These problems can be avoided and slowed by early identification of adequate training techniques and programmes for different levels of managers, supervisors and operatives.

Since the technology in automobile is foreign a lot of money will be required for sponsoring various training programmes both locally and overseas as well as providing training and development facilities for the organization.
Records show that many organisations are not making enough effort to train and develop their employees. Some informed authorities blame this lack of interest in manpower development on the fact that some of the beneficiaries do not always work towards increasing their productivity. Another school of thought blames it on poor funding for planning and executing development programme for staff.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

For many years, personnel management and specialists have recognized the need to have the right people at the right job in order to improve productivity. Personnel experts believe that the manpower needs of an organization can only be fulfilled by having qualified skilled and experienced employees. This can only be achieved through appropriate procedures of manpower problems and prospects. Experts observes that most organization suffered from organizational inefficiency and ineffectiveness as a result of improper manpower problems and prospects. Manpower problems and prospects had been relegated to the background level of organization most especially in the public sector. The research therefore, intends to investigate the above problem and offer possible solution with particular reference.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the hindrance and prospects of manpower development using a case study of Kebbi Furniture Limited.

Specifically, the objectives of the study include to;

To examine the problems of manpower development in Kebbi Furniture Limited
To examine the prospects for effective manpower development in Kebbi Furniture Limited
To suggest ways of improving manpower development for sustainable development in Kebbi Furniture Limited

1.4 Research Question

The following research questions are formulated to guide this research:

What are the problems of manpower development in Kebbi Furniture Limited?
What are the prospects for effective manpower development in Kebbi Furniture Limited?
What are the possible ways of improving manpower development for sustainable development in Kebbi Furniture Limited?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

HO1 Manpower development leads to increased productivity in Kebbi Furniture Limited
HA1 Manpower development does not lead to increased productivity in Kebbi Furniture Limited

1.6 Significance of the Study

The challenges the managers face in Nigeria today demand that managers should no longer sit and watch but must act to ensure that the wind of change does not blow away their organization. This study is aimed at encouraging management to venture into training and development programme. The study would help management to reduce and appreciate the need for having a well trained workforce in order to achieve organizational objectives. It would help to improve the efficiency of the managerial employee and ensure their personal confidence on the job. The research enhance the company’s interest and make the company to intensify its effort in developing more of its staff.

1.7 Scope of Study

It is believed that the success of any organization is determined by the interplay of its materials and human resources. In this case, the research is only confined to the hindrance and prospects of manpower development using a case study of Kebbi Furniture Limited. In the course of this, the areas to be examined include the following: recruitment, training, discipline, transfer and promotion of the state employees. The research is limited to Kebbi Furniture Limited.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

These are the challenges that the researcher encountered during data collection. The anticipated challenges of data collection were: Due to the nature of the quantitative and qualitative research emphasized here the study was not exempted to limitations in the homogeneity of the sample population and representation. The study was only limited to Kebbi Furniture Limited, Kebbi state and staff and employees of the organization. Therefore, this cannot be extrapolate representational to additional academic institutions. Again there was unwillingness of respondents to fill the questionnaires. Some of the copies questionnaires were also reported missing and it was severally replaced and this affected the researcher negatively finance wise.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Manpower:

Is the number of people working or available for work or service.

Development:

According to Walter Rodney; Development is about increase skills and capacity it is about better freedoms creativity responsibility and material well-being of people.

Manpower Development:

Manpower development, now commonly referred to as human resource development, is an ongoing process that analyzes, forecast and projects an organization’s future manpower requirements. Manpower development is a process that seeks to optimize an organization’s usage of its human resources.

Hindrance:

Is something that is difficult to deal with or to understand.

Prospects:

This simply means a wide view before the mind or in the imagination. It also means the possibility that will happen.

1.10 Organisation of the Study

This study is organized into five chapters. Chapter one included the background of the study, research problem, research objectives and questions as well as limitation of the study. Chapter two contains the literature review. Chapter three includes the methodology and study area. Chapter Four contains the results and discussion of key findings of the study. Chapter Five finally looks at the summary, conclusions, and recommendations based on the findings.

Chapter Five

5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Summary

Basically this project comprises of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the general introduction of the research. This chapter further examined the importance of manpower development to nation building. In this chapter thus, include aims and objectives, hypothesis, methodology scope and limitation, definition of concepts, theoretical framework, significance of the study and finally chapter scheme.

Chapter two covers the review of related literature and scholarly perspectives on manpower development. Chapter three deals with the historical background of Kebbi Furniture Limited as a unique entity. Chapter four analyzed the imperial chapter which are related to the problems and prospects of manpower development in Niger state. Chapter five serves as the last chapter, thus it presents the summary, conclusion and, recommendations

5.2 Conclusion

Based on the research, it is important to appreciate the need to identify the major problems militating against manpower development in Kebbi Furniture Limited. The research has identified six major factors that are associated with manpower development effort within the organization. The first problem identified is in the area of faulty recruitment of new employees where investigation revealed that job applicants were usually recruited on the basis of nepotism and corruption instead of merit. Other problems identified induce: inadequate training opportunities for staff which is capable of stalling the development of human, resources that is necessary for nation building. The other identified area also was the lack of staff welfare, ineffective manpower development policies, lack of adequate funds, and neglect of human resources development. The research findings shows that many departments within the study area do not pay great attention to manpower development which is very necessary for nation building, and which its neglect constitutes a serious problem to Kebbi Furniture Limited.

5.3 Recommendation

Based on the findings of this study, the following are recommended;

That personnel management department of any organization should always recruit well qualified Job applicants who capable of facing the challenges of the modern day job.
Secondly, the phenomenon of nepotism, corruption and favouritism should be avoided in the area of recruitment.
There should also be adequate and effective training opportunities to employees at all levels in any organization whether private or governmental organization.
Staff welfare is also one of the major consideration in any organization, because it helps in boosting the morals of employees. Basically it serves as the first and the most motivating force of any employee therefore, it should be given high priority
Finally the government should give high priority to the development of scientific and technical know-how to both higher and lower level employees since we are in the era of scientific and technological development.

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