Participative Management in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

This paper discusses the need for meaningful research into Nigerian worker attitudes and behaviours in general, and into the prospects and problems of participative management in Nigeria. The conceptual and practical difficulties that this type of research will encounter are also examined. In particular, the paper reviews an analytical framework the concept of participation, assesses the relevance and contributions of existing literature in this and related fields of study, and offers an explanation for the paucity of studies in an area overflowing with reviews of the experiences of different countries as well as extensive comparative studies of the operation of workers' participation. It also analyses the usefulness of this type of research not only for policy but also for finding theoretical explanations of certain phenomena which hitherto have been partial and relatively unconvincing, and certain characteristics of the Nigerian social system and the pattern of labour relations and work environments that bear directly on the issue of participation. It is finally concerned with statistical problems of scope, methodology, and general design of possible projects of research on participative management in Nigeria. CR - Copyright © 1978 Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources