People Management

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ABSTRACT

Imammadu (IM) is an Igbo word, meaning ‘adequate knowledge of someone,’ but connotes negative and positive schools of thought. The study examined the IM recruitment model and CEOs’ performance in selected organizations in South-East Nigeria, to find the school of thought, CEOs belong to, using ex-post facto research design. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. A multistage, purposive, accidental, and snowballing sampling technique was adopted to select 128 CEOs.  Structured questionnaire and In-dept Interview Schedule served in data collection. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviation, and ANCOVA to test hypotheses. Interview data was qualitatively analyzed. Results show that CEOs who belong to the positive school of thought, perceive the model as; Very useful and cost-effective. They apply the model using snowballing and temporary appointments, pending normal interviews. IM model is very effective in promoting the Emotional Intelligence of CEOs. The greatest advantage is that it saves time and funds. The greatest disadvantages are that it presents CEOs as corrupt and biased and is exclusive- limiting the chances of many others. The study concludes that the model is very useful to CEOs’ performance and recommends that it be encouraged in times of economic hardship, while CEOs should make it more inclusive.

Key Words; Imammadu (IM); Recruitment; Model; Chief Executive Officers (CEOs); Performance.

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study:

Imammadu (IM) is an Igbo word, which means ‘adequate knowledge of someone’.  The concept of IM is portrayed by two schools of thought- the positive school of thought and the negative school of thought. The positive school of thought perceives IM as making good use of the person you know very well.  It implies that the person is honest and trustworthy, such that you can assign important assignments or sensitive jobs to the person. The negative school of thought distinguishes IM as ‘having a connection with someone influential or through influence’. To them, it connotes corruption and nepotism. In this case, the person may not be trustworthy or effective but depends solely on the ‘power’ or influence that connected him or her.

The recruitment of employees is usually one of the functions of the chief executive officers (CEOs) in organizations. Economists managers and entrepreneurs agree that the employees are the most important factor of production. This is because employees are indispensable resources that help in converting strategies into actionable goals (Jincheng and Shanshuiwenyuan 2020). Consequently, recruitment has become paramount in every organizational process as it ensures an adequate and reliable supply of qualified personnel for the achievement of organizational goals (Hamza, 2021). Due to the contemporary changes including globalization and massification as well as mobility in organizations, recruitment has become a significant issue for CEOs. That is probably why organizations pay much attention to selecting the right persons and utilizing their capacities to competitive advantage (Worku and Tariku, 2020). As simple as it may seem, hiring the appropriate persons for a job is not an easy task. Not only is it a costly venture, but it is also a difficult task. To advertise in a national daily newspaper costs much and it is expected that at least three national newspapers should be used for the advert. In a survey conducted at Harvard University, it was found that of 33,000 employers from 23 countries, 40% of them had problems in finding and hiring the desired talents (Manpower Inc. 2006). Also, 90% of 7000 managers indicated that talent acquisition and retention were becoming more difficult (Axelrod, Handfield-Jones, and Welsh 2001). This implies that talent is rare and valuable but difficult to imitate and substitute (Ployhart, 2006). So, the war on talent is very real and is currently raging among organizations.

 In this study, recruitment means adequate selection and placement of employees appropriately for the achievement of organizational goals as well as the Vision and mission of the CEO. (Milos and Raihan 2013:1), Observed that ‘organizations recruit using arbitrary procedures and criteria of their own that interest those involved in the process’. This implies that there may be various means or methods of recruitment depending on the organization. Many organizations especially government-owned ones and big conglomerates have specific criteria for recruitment. However, there are no clear and comprehensive guidelines that guide CEOS and HR officers in recruitment as recruitment procedures and/or criteria are not consistent among organizations as they ‘change from time to time within institutions depending on the interest of individuals involved in the process; (Worku and Tariku 2020:1), so the search for the best recruitment model continues. This is the essence of this study. Despite the importance of recruitment in organizations there seems to be a dearth of studies in this area Nevertheless most studies happen to be from international sources leaving gaps in local and national fronts, but the main issue is that no one has carried out a study on the IM model of recruitment. This therefore happens to be the first of its kind in the search for the best recruitment model in organizations. This is a very important lacuna to be filled by this study.

Statement of the problem:

The CEO is the highest executive in a company. Dey, (2022) and Adam (2024), described the chief executive officer as the highest-ranking executive in a company. Usually, big companies have the chair and the board to whom the CEO reports but in smaller companies, the CEO may be the owner of the company or even the chairman of the board. The CEO is saddled with a lot of strategic responsibilities, which varies by company depending on its size, culture, and corporate structure, with the primary responsibilities being the chief financial officer (CFO) or the chief operating officer (COO) for small organizations, making major corporate decisions, driving the workforce and resources of a company toward strategic goals, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and corporate operations (Adam 2024). These roles have been described as very high-level strategic decisions towards inspiring, cultivating, and motivating the management team for the overall growth and development of the company. These roles are pivotal in molding the corporate culture, directing expansion, and upholding the company’s standing and performance (Jaggia & Thosar, 2021). Studies suggest that the CEO influences 45% of the companies’ performances, which affects 15% of the variance in the profitability of the companies (Adam 2024). This suggests that CEOs need a special crop of employees to help in performing these strategic roles to achieve organizational goals. In other words, for the CEO to succeed there is a need for a special recruitment model that will ensure that the right type of personnel is engaged.

South-East Nigeria is made up of Igbo indigenes who have suffered from the devastating effects of the civil war in Nigeria.  During the war, they lost almost everything, especially their businesses. Since the war, they have been striving to meet with their colleagues in other parts of the country. Consequently, they are always interested in any effort that can boost their businesses, including recruitment models that can ensure the selection of the type of employees that will assist CEOs in performing beyond expectation. Therefore, this study that explores the Imammadu (IM) recruitment model and CEOs’ performance in selected organizations in South-East Nigeria, comes on mark.Precisely, the study is designed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Determine the CEO’s perception of IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria.

• Examine how the CEOs apply the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria.

• Ascertain the effectiveness of the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria.

• Explore the advantages and disadvantages of the IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model in organizations in SE Nigeria.

Research Questions: The following research questions guided the study;

1. How do the CEOs perceive IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria?

• How do the CEOs apply the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria?

• How effective is the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria?

•  What are the advantages and disadvantages of the IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model?

Hypotheses: The following hypotheses were tested at a 0.5 level of probability to guide the study.

HO₁: There is no significant difference among males, females, highly educated, and less educated CEOs regarding their perception of the IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model in organizations in SE Nigeria.

HO₂: There is no significant difference among males, females, highly educated, and less educated CEOs regarding how they apply the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model in organizations in SE Nigeria.

HO₃: There is no significant difference among, males, females, highly educated, and less educated CEOs about the effectiveness of the IMAMMADU (IM)employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria.

HO₄: There is no significant difference among males, females, highly educated, and less educated CEOs regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the IMAMMADU (IM) employee recruitment model in organizations in SE Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY:

Design of the Study: This study adopted a descriptive non-experimental research design research design carried out ex-post facto or retrospectively, ‘looking backward. The non-experimental, ‘Ex post facto’ research design implies ‘after the fact’ because according to (Nwankwo and Emunemu 2015:147),

 Like all designs, non-experimental research design does not attempt to control

 or manipulate any variable. It is focused on one single event (i.e., a single case

 design) and the researcher’s interest or objective is to investigate and report

what has happened.

This design was deemed appropriate for this study as it investigated what had already occurred as it attempted to investigate the Imammadu (IM) recruitment model and CEOs’ performance in selected organizations in the Southeast and simply reported what had already happened.

Area of the Study: The area of the Study is South-East Nigeria made up of Five states, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. These are the core Igbo-speaking in Nigeria who are trying to gain a competitive advantage in their businesses after losing almost everything during the Nigerian Civil War years back. Igbos are well-known for their business acumen. Thus, the high performance of the CEO in the companies is a welcome idea as they need to perform better to meet up with or possibly surpass their business counterparts in other parts of Nigeria.

Population of the Study: The population consists of all registered companies in the SE of Nigeria that have operated for over five years. This is to ensure that the CEOs must have operated for over three years in the organization. This is because studies have shown that a CEO’s performance can be observed only after three years of his recital (Dey, 2022). Earlier studies indicate that CEOs experience a significant increase in productivity after appointment, but this emerges gradually over time, taking three years for a new CEO to make a difference. Bandier, Prat, Hansen & Sadun. (2019).

 Sample and Sampling Techniques: A multistage, purposive, accidental, and snowballing sampling technique was adopted in selecting the participants used for this study. Following Chiaha’s (2023) determination of sample size from a given population, all five states in SE Nigeria were selected for the study. Secondly from the registered companies 340 CEOs were selected from the states. Thirdly, a purposive sample of the CEOs that have stayed in the organization for five years and above were selected, using accidental and snowballing sampling techniques. Finally, 128 CEOs were used for the study.

Instrument for Data Collection: Two instruments, a structured questionnaire titled ‘Imammadu (IM) Employee Recruitment Model and Chief Executive Officers’ Performance Questionnaire (IM-ERMCeoPQ) and an In-dept Interview Schedule titled, ‘Imammadu (IM) Employee Recruitment Model and Chief Executive Officers’ Performance Indebt (IM-ERMCeoPIS). The IM-ERMCeoPQ has two sections, A and B for collecting respondents’ demographics and items for answering the research questions respectively. The 35-item Questionnaire items were structured on five clusters in line with the research questions and on a 4-point Likert-type rating scale of, Strongly Agree (SA); Agree (A); Disagree (D); and Strongly Disagree (SD), and Very Large Extent (VLE); Large Extent (LE); Small Extent (SE); and Very Small Extent (VSE), weighted 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The IM-ERMCeoPIS) was constructed by the researchers in line with the three research questions.       

 The instruments were subjected to face validation by three experts, two in Business Management from the Learn to Live Business School and one in Measurement and Evaluation, from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. The three experts were requested to ascertain the appropriateness and clarity of the items of the instrument to ascertain if it would measure what it purported to measure. Their comments, suggestions, and observations were taken into consideration in the production of the final draft of the instruments. The instruments were trial tested using 20 CEOs from Benue state, which is outside the study area. The internal consistency of the instruments was computed using the Cronbach Alpha method that yielded 0.85 and 0.77respectively for the two instruments.  The instrument was therefore regarded as reliable enough for the study.

Method of Data Collection: The researchers, with three other well-instructed research assistants on methods of data collection, administered the instruments to the respondents, while the researchers alone conducted the interview with the CEOs at the same time. A 96% return rate was recorded.

Method of Data Analysis: The data generated for the study were analyzed using means and standard deviation to answer the research questions. A criterion mean score of 2.50 was employed to arrive at decisions on researching the questions. This implies that any means below 2.50 was taken to mean NOT Accepted, while any means of 2.50 and above were accepted for the same reason. For the Extent of effectiveness, the decision was reached following Real Limits of Numbers as follows; Means between 0.00 to 1.49 imply a Very Large Extent (VLE):; Means between 1.50 to 2.49 imply a Large Extent  (LE); Means between 2.50 to 3.49 implies  Small Extent  (SE); and; Means between 3.50 to 4.00 implies Very Small Extent  (VSE)

           The hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Co-variance ANCOVA statistics at 0.05 level of probability. The significant level will be determined at a table value of 0.96. This implies that when the calculated value is below the table or critical value, it is declared Not Significant. Thus, the Null Hypotheses was ACCEPTED.  On the other hand, when the calculated value is higher than the table or critical value, it was declared Significant, thus the Null Hypotheses were NOT ACCEPTED.

Scope of the Study: The geographical scope is limited to organizations that have operated for over five years in SE of Nigeria. Those below five years were delimited. The content scope was limited to the CEOs’ perception of the IM employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria; How the CEOs apply the IMemployee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria; the Effectiveness of the IM employee recruitment model, in organizations in SE Nigeria and Advantages and Disadvantages of IM employee recruitment model in organizations in SE Nigeria.

 Significance of the Study:  The findings of this study will be of tremendous benefit to organizations, CEOs, employers, and the State and federal governments of Nigeria, especially those of SE Nigeria and researchers. To the organizations, especially those in SE Nigeria, this study will serve as an illuminative evaluation of the CEO’s performance.  In the war on talent, the various government, organizations, other employers, and their CEOs will become aware of the implications of the IM recruitment model in their organizations and how best to apply it. Likewise, it will provide researchers with relevant literature for studies of this nature. It is a stepping stone to the development of a theory of recruitment that will further help employers and employees, as well as business managers in promoting the CEOs’ performance in organizations.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS:

Results: The analysis is based on 128 copies of the questionnaire successfully retrieved after completion out of 135 copies distributed. This represents a 94.81 percent return rate.

 The study’s results are presented below in Tables 1 to 8, based on the research questions and null hypotheses that guided the study.