Budget practices and the Nigerian Civil Service: new insights from an organisational culture perspective.

Abstract

Low budgetary implementation in Nigeria suggests a need for better understanding of the Nigerian Civil Service. This study aimed at determining the nature of the Nigerian Civil Service from an organisational culture perspective. Additionally, the study focused on exploring views and experiences of Nigerian civil servants in relation to budgeting and budget practices.

Following the relevant ethics and governance approvals, a mixed methods approach was used to collect data from Nigerian civil servants. In the first phase, a questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 144 randomly sampled respondents across 6 ministries. The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) was used to identify the dominant culture in the Nigerian civil service while descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and multiple regression analysis were used to explore attitudes to various budget practices. In the second phase 5 participants that were selected using convenience sampling were interviewed.  A qualitative approach was used to analyse the data with a view to validate findings from the quantitative phase.

The study revealed that the Nigerian civil service is underpinned by a model where the hierarchical culture is dominant but with undertones of the clan culture. Key factors that can improve budget processes in Nigeria include better communication, increased participation and the establishment of monitoring processes.  These new insights can help contribute to managing an improvement process as well as developing the service.

Keywords: Budget; Civil Service; Nigeria; Organisational Culture; Policy