ABSTRACT
- Workers are the valuable resource that impact in many waysto the daily operations of an organization once they have an appropriate welfare scheme or program laid down by the organization. This study aimed at comparing the welfare administration in public and private universities in Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design. The target population of the study comprises of the staff of the two selected universities. Data for the study were collected using questionnaire which were administered personally by the researcher. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency and simple percentage. The findings of the study revealed that pension, Health, car loan, housing loan, training and development are the welfare scheme available in the two selected university. The study also revealed that staff of the two selected university are moderately satisfied with pension, safety and health scheme and retirement attributes in their institution. The study concludes that the welfare administration in the two selected universities are the same. The study further recommends that: the management of the two selected universities should ensure that proper and adequate staff welfare administration are put in place as this will leads to better productivity. Proper safety and health scheme should in place for staff as this will improve staff productivity. Provision for staff training and development should be part of the institution priority.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
Human beings are happy when their state of well-being is catered for by those they work for and are able to provide for their needs and upkeep. A welfare program can be referred to as a financial aid given to an individuals or groups who cannot support themselves.Odeku and Odeku, (2015). Staff benefits are usually any type of compensation besides direct salaries / wages paid to the staff. This may constitute a major part of any individual’s financial and economic security. Some of these benefits can be considered to mean more than fringe as they may constitute about 40% of the staff compensation, and the plans or policies under which they are provided are very important to the employers. Welfare may be provided to people of any income level, as with social security (and is then often called a social safety net), but it is usually intended to ensure that people can meet their basic human needs such as food and shelter Akinfolarin and Ehinola, (2014).
The effect of globalization on human capital has increased workers probabilities and options of selecting an employer who they know has a greater chance of enhancing and improving their live status, job satisfaction and offers better remunerations Meyer & Peng, (2006). Thus, most organization tend to outweigh each other in terms of the packages they offer during advertisement and recruitment exercise for new staff in order to get the best quality of their services to customers and the general public. Staff welfare benefits packages include pensions, retirement benefits, better pay, subsidized meals, discounts on company products, housing, properties and car allowances, relocation allowances and the likes Aidis, (2005). Such benefits vary in importance to the individuals, hence, an older staff about to retire would value a pension scheme more than a young staff. While subsidized meals would be more appreciated by most employees who are not given either a luncheon vouchers or no meal at all. In addition, all staff would welcome the chance to own a car or be driven in a company’s car thus, saving them the funds for transportation, fuelling their cars and inconveniences of taking public vehicles Cole (2012).
Staff benefits under financial welfare can be classified to include the provision of pension schemes, insurance schemes, property purchase, stock purchase and savings plan such as savings and credit cooperative societies Nzuve (2007). Most people work for money, which is a constant motivating factor and as such they strive to improve their skills and knowledge to get higher positions / training in order to receive better and higher pay or monetary rewards. Every individual wants to be compensated equal to his ability, input or contribution. In this vein, fair and competitive reward system should be in place in any establishment so as to avoid employee conflicts and enhance productivity Charles (2012).
Staff welfare, on the other hand, refers to everything from services, facilities and benefits that are provided or given by an employer for the advantage or comfort of the staff or employee. This is usually undertaken in order to motivate the staff and increase their productivity levels Akinfolarin, (2017).
Workers are a valuable resource that impact in many waysto the daily operations of a company once they have an appropriate welfare scheme or program laid down by the organization. In order to be successful, a company needs employees who act towards the goals of the organization and have a strong desire to remain in the company. It is worthy to note that building a mega organization such as an oil producing companies, food and beverage industries, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, learning institutions etc. is not an easy task and most Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are often too busy or destructed to focus on the people that work for them Luthans, (2012).
Some major manpower problems include: staff retrenchment, demotion, salary reduction, redeployments, culture conflict, and strikes over certain policies and pay rise or pay cut among others. These factors bothers mainly and directly on staff / employee welfare Alaranta and Maarit, (2004). Employees are carriers of culture, so with impaired welfare program, the synergy needed for productivity will be lost. Thus, making the goals the company set to achieve to be a failure. A likely consequence would be distress and hardship with associated adverse effects such as robbery, crime, kidnapping, depression and eventually death. It is therefore important to evaluate the state of employees’ welfare in order to achieve any organization’s set goal and objectives.
Private and public institution are governed by the school governing council headed by the Vice Chancellor (VC). The external members of the governing council in public is appointed by the Federal Government while the internal members are elected by both the Senate and congregation. In private institution, the proprietor or owner of the institution appoints her own governing council, which is the highest ruling or decision making body in the institution. The Senate is the next body, although regulated by council while directors of units or centres as well as the Heads of Department (HODs) reports to the Vice Chancellor (Starr, 2002). Welfare of staff is a key component in any administration. It tend to sharpen the lives of staff and the institution. Staff that benefits from such welfare schemes are happy and better disposed to do their jobs, deliver task / job on time and increase productivity. In this study, the staff welfare administration in two university communities (Public – Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE), Delta State and a private institution - (Babcock University, Ogun State) was evaluated.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Staff welfare has become a major concern in many work places. Staff welfare is particularly strong because of its consequences for the organization and its functionality and productivity Sell & Shipley (2009). It has a way of motivating personnel and has been found to have an effect on the mental, social, emotional and physical health of the employee. Welfare programs are an essential component in administration and to all the employees and in this situation tertiary institution bothering on Government and private. However, Lack of staff welfare can affect staff development and productivity and this could lead to breakdown of law and order including crime and other social vices Patro (2012). This is likely to impact of the student they teach and colleagues they interact with on a daily basis. An unhappy man is an angry man and could be demoralized or depressed at work. Once a person is not being care for in a work environment it could lead to different ailment and be prone to diseases. In recent years, some tertiary school management do not concentrate on employee welfare problems such as competitive packages, health and safety at workplace, lack of training and career development opportunities Ernst and Young, 2014; Eaton (2007). The lack of such welfare benefits not only de-motivated employees but also resulted in high rate of employee turnover, low workplace productivity and affected the overall efficiency and performance of the institutions. Some employers have a policy on staff welfare and have recommended that employees should be well compensated as an indicator for management’s appreciations of employee’s contribution and abilities, however, these policies are not or never implemented. The situation is a serious challenge and there is the need to maintain crisis-free system, which would provide the motivation for teaching, research and learning in higher institutions. These reasons and more are the problems this research intends to address bothering on staff welfare administration in Federal and private universities.This study seeks to bridge this gap by conducting a study on the comparative analysis of staff welfare administration in a Federal University – Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State and a private university - Babcock University, Ogun State.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The main objectives of the study is to interrogate staffs in order to find out on how well staff welfare services takes care of employees in both federal and private institutions. This study will specifically seek to:
- examine the factors affecting staff welfare administration on academic performance of staff in Nigerian Federal and private Universities.
- evaluate the impact of staff welfare administration in staff development, training and job performance in the universities.
- determine sources of funding for staff welfare in the universities.
- Compare staff welfare administration in Nigerian universities.
1.4 Research questions
The research aim is to answer the following question
- what are the factors affecting staff welfare administration on academic performance of staff in Nigerian Federal and private Universities
- what is the impact of staff welfare administration in staff development, training and job performance in the universities.
- what are the sources of funding for staff welfare in the universities.
- what are the similarities and differences staff welfare administration in Nigerian universities.
1.5 Significance of the Study
One major significant of staff welfare administration is that the information from this study would assist the Government and private sector employers alike in formulating policies and methods of executing staff welfare to impact staff performance and job satisfaction.
This study is important in providing data and information to the Government and Private sector employers on how to administer staff welfare to enhance productivity and growth in the tertiary institution. This study would provide data and information for the first time on staff welfare administration in the Federal and Private university. The study would be significant toGovernment and Private sector employers on welfare packages to administer to staff at different levels / stages in their career and employment lives.
Thus, this study would contribute to knowledge on the concept to adopt in administering staff welfare. This would assist in reducing conflicts and crisis between staff and their employers. Another significance of this study is providing data for establishing standards for assessing staff welfare in the Federal and private universities. The data would also suggest implementation tools and criteria for assessing staff welfare administration. Staff welfare administration is significant in providing unique information on the ways to encourage and enhance staff growth and development. The study would also significantly impact on staff to make a choice on the type of establishment to work with. This would depend on the system (Federal or private) that have a better welfare package. Staff welfare administration information gathered from this appraisal would help staff to better plan for their future and the lives of the families even after the demise of a particular staff.
Among other things, this study seeks to fill an apparent gap in the literature in order to add to the extant knowledge on the subject matter.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study will be focused on the staff welfare administration of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun and Babcock University, Ogun state, Babcock University is situated in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun state, also has a mini campus in the following location(s): Iperu-Remo. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the National Universities Commission, Nigeria. Federal University of petroleum and resources, Effurun is located in Delta. Samples will be drawn from staffs in both educational institutions. Other information on the study area is provided in the methodology section. However, the study would cover the period of 2019 to 2020.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Staff welfare: The efforts to make life worth living for staffs.
Administration: The arrangement and tasks needed to control operations of a plan or organization.
Staff: Someone employed by a particular organization.
Welfare: The state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity must look out for your own welfare.
1.8 Structure of the Study
This study is organized into five chapters;
CHAPTER ONE: This is the chapter which contains the background of study and where objectives are created, research questions will be made in order to help build a solid research.
CHAPTER TWO: This chapter contains the history, types and benefits of staff welfare. It goes further to discuss the challenges as well. Then the similarities and differences of staff welfare will be stated. The literature review, theoretical framework and the impact of poor welfare on universities staff effectiveness will be discussed in this chapter.
CHAPTER THREE: This chapter will discuss the study area and the historical background of both areas, the research methodology, this chapter describe the type of research that was carried out and the analysis of the questionnaire distributed, then the research instrument used will be indicated as well.
CHAPTER FOUR: Results and data analysis on both Babcock university and Federal university of petroleum and resources, EFfurun will be discussed in this chapter.
CHAPTER FIVE: This chapter is made up of conclusions and recommendations.
