Socio-Cultural Dimension of Motivation and Management in Nigeria

This paper is an attempt to bring into limelight the socio-cultural dimensions of motivation and management in Nigeria. It commences with an attempt to correct, criticize and reconceptualize the epistemological basis of traditionally accepted knowledge, that is, the classical schools of management, which failed to take into consideration the impact of the socio-cultural environment on workers behaviour and performance. Following a comprehensive review of the uniqueness of the Nigerian socio-cultural environment, this paper took a radical look at the existing theories of motivation and management and challenged some of the asic assumptions of the classical models. Sociological and Anthropological findings have shown that the world all over is characterized by cultureal variations and that these cultural differences provide the explanations for variations in behavioural traits at work. Arising from the above, the paper concludes that the strategies for motivating and managing workers is a complex and multidimensional criterion as it cannot be derived from the basic universal principles of management and that the strategies and principles that will work in any setting depend largely on the socio-cultural environment itsdelf. Therefore the peculiarity and uniqueness of each socio-cultural settings must be acknowledged and well taken care of in the formulation of management principles and strategies.