ATTITUDE TO WORK IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Workers play an important in the realization of the goals of an organization. Before a worker can be have positively or negatively towards improving his/ her attitude to work there must be some from of stimuli 

The stimuli in this context are those motivating factors available to a worker in his place of work. These human element depending on it’s application will make a worker respond either positively or negatively. (ISIWU 1989). The attitude into follows these responses, therefore, as a result of a stimulus is the very one that make a lot of difference in the civil service. All these can be tied to effective management techniques because it is the manager, who plans, direct organize his work force in order to make them productive. Scholar like Fredrik took interest in management techniques as a way of improving human activity and came up with the idea of scientific management. His major ideas which will help stimulate workers improve efficiency could be summed up as fellows:-workers should be given responsibility with authority, selection of worker should be on merit, and this will increase the productivity, people should do work according to rules and regulations.

Over the years, management techniques are lacking and this lead to the lack of interest and poor performance of workers with particular reference to that of Oredo Local Government Council Civil Servants. Many other scholars like Robert Owen, Adams Smith, Kad Marx and Fredrik Engel came up with a lot of ideas during the period of industrial revolution of workers on the way of improving workers attitude

The civil service is the main instrument through which the government carries out its business. The civil servants are exposed to render loyal service and professional advice to tenure. (MUMUJA 1992).   The role of the civil service has been influence by the   social economic and political dynamics in Nigeria. Before independence the civil service are concerned with the maintenance of law and order and fostering social and economic development, but after independence, the Nigeria civil service was faced with the issues of adjustment and consolidation. Also during this period was the change that was going on in the regional administration

It was the military that changed the traditional role of the civil service from what it used to be. After the civil war, the emphasis was shifted to preserving national unity, reconciliation. The oil, boom year witnessed the civil service even facing more challenge in there development of infrastructure and the provision of social service. Today the civil service is not what it used to be; there have been reduced performance of the service over the years due to some factors recognized by Ayida Panels review of the 1995 civil service reform as follows:

(1)             Political instability

(2)             Interference with the work of civil servant and the non-observance of the laid down rules.

(3)             Inadequate provision of financial and material resources

(4)              Politicization of civil service

(5)             Poor remuneration

(6)             Slow response to technological changes.

(7)             Insecurity of tenure

(8)             Corruption

          It is in recognition of that the Udoji reform of 1975, which among other things advocated adequate recommendation and pay for workers.

          The public service in Nigeria was greatly battered and bruised by the military as it was seen to be too powerful and therefore has to be tamed. This was the cause of the general purge in the civil service by the murals regime. Both the good and bad were thrown out those left were told that their main task was to carry out orders given to them with this civil service became paralyzed and impotent with the result that their role in policy making is destroyed. Those also generate a lot of fear in the workers that they too will be thrown out one day. There were general feelings of depression, anxiety and apprehension and this affected their attitude to work (Adejamb 1982).

1.1               STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Federal government through its various agencies such as the local government service commission is making effort to solve the problem of indolence, dedication of staff to work, indiscipline among the civil service, which brings about low productivity particularly the local government. The civil servants see government work as belonging to nobody therefore whether they work or not they are sure of their monthly salaries.  They insist that when government will suffers nobody is harmed. The civil servants consider government as foreign and therefore anybody who attempts to work harder is seen as doing “afamaco” work.

 It is against this background that the researcher investigates the attitude of an average Nigeria civil servants in general and Oredo local government council staff in particular.

1.2               OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To examine the attitude to work in the civil services particularly in Oredo local government council.

To find out the factors that are responsible for the poor attitude to work in the civil service.

To suggest the motivational factors that could influence and induce workers to develop a more positive attitude towards their jobs.

1.3               HYPOTHESIS

In view of the nature of the problem, the following hypothesis will be tested.

i.             Irregular premonition and remuneration of workers can lead to frustration and lack of interest in the job or poor attitude to work.

ii.            Lack of training of workers will make them redundant, reduce their skill and techniques which will have enabled them perform at there best there by giving them satisfaction in their job.

iii.           Premature retirement or retrenchment of workers will have adverse effect on their moral and attitude to work.  

1.4                SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The attitude and interest of workers will improve greatly if proper and management principles including good pay, promotion and adequate remuneration are applied.

It is also the researchers believe that if workers are provided with opportunities for them to achieve their personal goals and aspirations provide for them good conditions of service, they will develop better attitude to work and improve their moral and thus organizational goals will be best achieved.

1.5               DEFINITION OF TERMS

The concepts employed in the research work are given precise definition. They include:

Attitude: Ones way of behaving or thinking. It is also a way of feeling or ones disposition towards something or somebody.

Management: This is the process of planning, organizing, directing and also controlling or activities of an organisation to achieve certain objectives.

Organisation: This is an open social system in which group of people combine knowledge, techniques, skills and resources to accomplish a good oriented task by integrating their structural activities.

Motivation: It is what induces one to initiate an activity or 5to move. It also means to stimulate some ones interest into doing something.

Incentive: The term is used to describe wage payment plans which ties wage directly to productivity standards.

Leadership: A pattern of behaviour designed to integrate organisation by gearing people to action in pursuit of certain objectives.