STAFF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AS A MEANS OF ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ( A CASE STUDY OF IHIALA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Acquiring and retaining high quality and talented workers is to an organization's success. As the job market becomes increasingly competitive and the available skills grow more and  more diverse, employers need to be more rational in their choices of capable man-power, as wrong recruiting decisions can produce long term negative effects.

Recruitment and selection are one of the key functions of personnel management in an organization, flow they are recruited and finally selected will ultimately determine the nature and capability of these personnel and finally the attainment of the organ National goal.

What is staff recruitment and selection? According to Cole G. A. (2002: 104), while recruitment comes first, selection comes next. Recruitment is the process of attracting suitable employees into an organization by urging them to apply.

Selection therefore involves the process of interviewing,   selecting and placement of those found eligible to be employed in an organization.

Some of the benefits of a well-planned recruitment and selection processes are;

a. Determine the present and future recruitment needs of the organization in conjunction with the human resources planning activity and the job analysis activity.

b. Increase the poor of job applicants with minimum costs.

c. Help increase the success rate of the selection process by reducing the number of obviously unqualified or overqualified job applicant.

d. Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the organization after a short period of time.

e. Meet the organization's responsibility for affirmative action programmes and other legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce.

f. Start identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will he appropriate candidates.

g. Increas organizational and individual effectiveness in the short and long terms; and

h. Emulate   the   effectiveness   of various   techniques   and   locations  of recruiting for all types of job applicants.

In spite of the attendant benefit of recruitment and selection, many organizations, especially my case study, Ihiala South Local Government Area of Anambra State, seemed not to be doing enough in this respect hence this research study "Staff Recruitment and Selection and Local Government Performance."

As expained earlier, staff recruitment and selection is very critical and important to local governments. However, it has been observed that in most cases, the procedures laid down for such practice are not followed. Thus, this research study is being carried out to answer the following questions:

a) Can Ihiala South Local Government Council achieve its developmental goal with wrong approach to recruitment and selection process?

b) Can Ihiala South Loal Government Council attract qualified manpower, capable of delivering the goals of Local Government with poor selection process?

c) Can Ihiala South Local Government Council compete favourably with other councils with ill selection manpower?

d) Above all, to find out whether Ihiala South Local Government council can promote and sustain developmental projects with poor recruitment and selected manpower.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following five research questions were formulated for the purpose of this study, thus;

a) Is recruitment and selection necessary for Local    Government performance?

b) Can the process of recruitment and selection be politicized in Local Government?

c) Is external advert necessary where there are already qualified internal employees in the Local Government?

d) Does poor recruitment/selection lead to poor performance?

e) Does management participation in recruitment lead to good will towards achieving goals?

This study is designed to find out the following:

a) To obtain enough knowledge about the candidate to determine whether he is suitable for employment in the organization and for the job under consideration;

b) To obtain sufficient information about the organization, the jobs and the people such that the applicant is able to make an intelligent decision on acceptance or rejection of the job if it should be offered to him;

c) To deal with the candidate in such a manner as to maintain and create good will towards the company and its management;

d) To improve the recruitment of employees for better output.

This research would be meaningful and of immense benefits to the under listed in the following ways: 

a) To personnel managers, Local Government chairmen, etc.

b) Others are students and researchers in personnel management, etc.

Considering the time limit and the importance of recruitment, the researcher have therefore applied it to Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. Topics discussed includes; meaning of recruitment and selection, sources of recruitment, etc. The period covered is 2008 -2010.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Recruitment:- The set of activities and process used to legally obtain a sufficient member of the right people at the right place and time so mat the place and the organization can select each other in the best interest.

Productivity:- The total result of goods and services produced by workers at a particular time.

Labour Management:- The determination of relationship between employees and employers.

Objectives:- That thing an individual wants to achieve at the end of a work or task,

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research study covers only five chapters. It began with chapter one as the introduction. Topics under this introduction include background of the research study, statement of the problems, research questions, objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope and delimitation of the study, organization of the study, definition of terms and brief history of Ihiala South Local Government.

Chapter two was reserved for the treatment of the review of the related literatures which serves as the theoretical framework of the study. Other topics treated includes:

a)     Review of related literature

b)     The process of recruitment

c)     Sources of recruitment

d)     Terminology of internal sources of recruitment

e)     Job posting

f)      Seniority

g)     Seniority right

h)    Associated seniority problems

i)     Test for promotion

j)     Demotion

k)    Transfer

1)     Separations

m)   External sources

n)    Major external source of job candidates

o)    Unions.

Chapter three deals with methodology and research design and topics discussed include:

a)     Research design

b)     Population of the study

c)     Sample size and sampling techniques

d)     Sources and method of data collection

e)     Methods of data analysis

f)     Content validity of the research instrument

g)    Administration of research instrument-Chapter lour focused on the presentation and analysis of data, while chapter five was    reserved    for    summary    of   findings,    conclusion,    limitation    and recommendations.

1.9 BRIEF HISTORY OF IHIALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Ihiala South Local Government was created in 1991 after the creation of stale by the Federal Government. The local government was established in Oka town, other towns surrounding Oka are as follows: Ukla Anioma, Okaforbil, Ishagu, Nsukwa and Ejeme. Before the creation of state it was formally Nnewi, but now it has changed its name to Ihiala South and North Local Government. One of the aims of Ihiala South Local Government was effective running and supervision of the local government. The objectives Is to collect taxes and other revenue, place staff in their areas of jurisdiction, established schemes for staff development, consult and advise (he chairman upon matters connected with local government policy.

The local government was situated very close to the police station in Oka. The staff strength of Ihiala Local Government Area as at 2011 was as follows: 

Top Management            -         3

Senior Staff                    -        37

Junior Staff                    -        40

Total                              =        80