A Professor of Management in the Rivers State University,Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Isaac Zeb-Obipi, has called on Nigerian leaders to put in place structures and sustainable institutions that would improve on the living standard of the people and impact positively on their well-being .
Zeb-Obipi made this call while presenting his lecture at the 79th Inaugural Lecture series of the university  titled: ‘People Management Tripod And Worker Productivity: The Solute; Solvent And Solution’; held last Wednesday at the university’s auditorium in  Port Harcourt.
The erudite professor of  Management Sciences opined  that putting such structures in place would go a long way  to solve problems of organisational society, thereby leading to growth and national development.
“In trying to solve organisational problems in our society, leaders in positions of power must design systems that would better the lives of many people in the society. We should explore disciplines that deal with managing people, if you do so, you are likely to solve society problems.”
He demanded that a new department be created in the Faculty of Management that would be dedicated to the management of people, studies that deal with management, such as Industrial Relations (IR), Human Resource Management (HRM), Organisational Behaviour (OB), pointing out that these are disciplines that deal with how to get the best out of people in an organisation.
The professor added that the department, if created would be called, ‘Human Resource Management And Industrial Relations,’ remarking that presently, this department is in a larger department thereby making concentration on research and application in this area, difficult.
He emphasised that for there to be higher productivity, Nigerian leaders must imbibe the culture of respect, love, and care towards their subordinates if they want to be successful in their businesses and live happily in life.
“Worker productivity is often low than satisfactory levels due to unaligned ability-job fit, negative work attitude and toxic work environment, but a solvable problem if man learn to show love towards he/her subordinates in their place of work (the solute),” remarking that there were external and internal factors impeding the business environment.
He maintained that a successful leader is one who respects, values, cares and empowers his subordinates to succeed, noting that such a leader would have the ability to exert influence on the subordinates and would succeed in all he puts his hands into.
“The solution lies in the better management of people using the people management tripod disciplines of OB, HRM; and IR (the solvents),” stressing that “if they apply an appropriate OB technique, behavioural modification or HRM technique or IR technique, which are worker productivity, they would have a solvent in their hands to dissolve the solute, then the result is solution.”
Zeb-Obipi emphasised further that leaders should play their required roles to oversee the work of others, be the people manager, so as to develop the society, thereby giving the people of Nigeria a better standard of living noting that they must understand as well as accept workers as human beings.

By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana