CIVIL SERVANTS’ ATTITUDE TO WORK AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY BY POLITICAL LEADERS IN SELECTED MDAs IN LAGOS STATE (2010-2014)
ABSTRACT
At independence in 1960, Britain bequeathed to Nigeria its own system of governance. The system is run on the active participation of the civil servants in daily administration. In the current democratic dispensation civil servants have become very important in the process of assessing the performance of the government. They are vital in assisting government in policy formulation and are also critical in the eventual execution of such policy decisions. To perform optimally therefore, civil servants should be of their best by having positive attitude to work to ensure effective service delivery. The study therefore investigates the attitude to work of civil servants in Lagos state vis-à-vis the effectiveness of their service delivery.
The study adopted the descriptive and explanatory survey design. The population of study was all the 25 Ministries and 86 Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state. Both stratified and purposive sampling techniques were adopted in selecting the seven MDAs that formed the sample of the study being those whose service delivery can easily be physically identified. The research instrument was a validated questionnaire. A total of 379 copies of the instrument were administered with 93% response rate. The data collected were analysed using frequency Table and percentages while the formulated hypotheses were tested using correlation analysis with the aid of SPSS.
The study found a relationship between the attitude to work and the effectiveness of service delivery of the civil servants. It found that their attitude to work also bore a relationship to their job satisfaction. The analysis revealed that job satisfaction on the part of these civil servants had effect on their service delivery. It was also found out that these civil servants were committed to their respective employer-organisations. Finally, it found that their organizational commitment had a significant effect on their service delivery.
The study concluded that considering their unique role in assisting government to deliver quality service to its citizens, these employees should be adequately motivated to cultivate positive attitude to work. It therefore recommended the creation of an enabling working environment, a well-defined and motivating staff welfare and compensation package for them. It also recommended that staff training and re-training should be emphasized by the state government with a view to inculcating the requisite positive attitude to work in this valuable crop of personnel.
Keywords: Attitude to work, Civil servants, Organizational commitment, Job satisfaction, Service delivery.