A Theory of Efficiency for Managing the Marketing Executives in Nigerian Banks

Abstract

Bank customers in Nigeria are almost unanimous in decrying inefficiency and most have at some time or the other wished the Nigerian banks at least a little less of it. The concern for efficiency in managing the marketing executives in Nigerian banks prompted this study. The study was examined in the light of Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) and Efficiency Theory. A sample of 303 marketing executives from selected banks in Nigeria was determined using the finite multiplier. The hypothesis test results gave significant values of Wald Ch-Square for the intercept and individual response categories of research questions (p < 0.05) with the exception of the response of generally agree (p>0.05) and definitely agree (no computed Wald Chi-Square result), which indicated the significance of the results. Hence management is responsible for setting the context within efficiency improvements can take place, and bear prime responsibility for identifying and implementing efficiency of the marketing executives in Nigerian banks. Granted that the bank as a whole would benefit less with inefficiency, and that the task of reducing inefficiency in managing the marketing executives is uphill, a programme of reducing inefficiency should be based on three major premises, namely:` (i) that some are inefficient because they do not know what to do in given situations (structural inefficiency); (ii) that knowing what to do, some are inefficient because they do not want to do the right thing in given situations (primary or voluntary inefficiency); and (iii) that knowing what to do and wanting to do it, some are still inefficient because they cannot do the  right thing in given situation (secondary or induced inefficiency). This is the inefficiency brought about when the bank manager himself is inefficient, gives a bad example, stifles initiatives and is unwilling to control the marketing executives. The fact that it is recommended for top bank management to be exposed to training suggests that bank managers can and do induce inefficiency. For efficiency drive in managing the marketing executives in Nigerian banks, it is recommended the adoption of a 3H grand strategy to work on the Head (H1), the Heart (H2) and the Hand (H3) of management and the marketing executive, that is, respectively, their knowledge, their attitudes, and the tools with which they work. It is therefore essential for a bank management introducing an efficiency drive to identify factors that provide the critical inputs to his organization, and pass them through the 3H transformation process first. These critical factors are referred to as the crossroads. For just as traffic on a highway cannot flow freely unless the crossroads are cleared, no bank can function efficiently unless its critical inputs are functioning very efficiently. The crossroad (top management) in Nigerian banks must be transformed first through the 3H grand strategy if any efficiency drive for managing the marketing executives is to yield good results.

Keywords:Efficiency Drive, Voluntary Inefficiency, Kaizen Principle, Nigerian Banks, Marketing Executives, Wald Chi-Square, 3H Grand Strategy.