Managerial Competence in Nigerian Firms: An Empirical and Comparative Analysis
通过比较尼日利亚和英国运输公司的人员经理对管理能力的看法，发现当前与未来管理实践认知存在差异，为外部投资者评估非洲企业管理能力提供参考。
The economies of many African countries continue to struggle to attract external private investment capital. Part of the problem is that external investors do not perceive African companies to be as competent as their western counterparts. This study analyzes the issue of managerial competence in a multinational and multicultural environment. Data is gathered from personnel managers to compare. How managerial competence is perceived in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. The results indicate that both British and Nigerian managers perceive current competent management practice in a different light than future competent management practice. The implications of the results are discussed. Most African economies are starved of private investment capital (Cleeve 2001). Equity capital is especially important for the development of small and medium-sized businesses that form the core of a developing and developed economy (Ndu et al 2001). Many potential investors are concerned about a number of business risks, including absence of commercial codes of law and corruption (Adams 1994). However, a major and significant investor concern is the competence of African managers, especially when compared to the competence of equivalent managers elsewhere. Until African managers can demonstrate they are competent custodians of investor capital, they will struggle to receive private investment funds, which will, in turn, inhibit company growth and the growth of African economies. A study evaluating the relative competence of African managers would be of considerable benefit to both African companies and to external investors. However, competence is a contested term with multiple meanings(Burgoyne, 1989). Before such a study can be made, first there must be an agreed 'definition' of competence. The following paper reports the results of a study designed to address the issue of managerial competence of African managers compared to that of western managers. The study focuses on the largest market in Africa (Nigeria), and uses empirical data from transportation companies in Nigeria and similar companies in Great Britain to evaluate the 'components' of competence. The paper has three sections. The first reviews the literature focussing on managerial competence and identifies the specific dimensions that are measured. The second describes the methodology used in the study and presents the results of the data analysis. The final section draws conclusions from the study and examines the implications for practitioners and academics. LITERATURE REVIEW Nordhaug et al (1994) noted that the concept of competence has different meanings, and it remains one of the most diffuse terms in the organizational and occupational literature. Chappel (1996) suggests that competence is a contested concept, the meaning of which is shaped by those who use it. This is particularly problematic in a multi-cultural or multinational context, because multiple meanings will make empirical analysis almost impossible. In order to compare the competence of African managers to that of western managers, a stable platform of measurable concepts and variables has to be established. Competence Defined For some researchers, competence appears to be an internal personality trait residing within the individual (Bass 2000; Pascarella 1999, Goodstein et al 1998). That is, someone has a set of traits that make them more likely to be 'competent' than someone who does not possess these traits. From this perspective, it could be claimed that someone is born with specific characteristics that make them more likely to be 'competent'. Based on this approach, the key to an organization's efficiency and effectiveness is to determine who within the organization has these traits and who does not. Under the perspective of competence as a personality characteristic, a company would expect someone to be competent from the moment they joined the organization. …