Culture today is a very vital item in the organization management. The impact of national of culture has a significant impact on the organizational culture of a business on how a business responds to various issues. Generally, national culture is considered a representation of social values. Irrespective of the type of business operated, social culture and values cannot be ignored as they largely influence both the internal and external environment of the business (Davidov, Schmidt, & Billiet, 2012). Apart from the basic values of national culture, the framework of business culture can be very largely integrated into various parts which comprise of people, corporate culture, strategy and leadership, information technology, education, and many others. This paper will be reflecting on Nigerian culture and its positive and negative attributes to the business environment.
Nigeria is one of the fastest developing countries in West Africa with a population of about 168.8 million people. Currently, Nigeria is widely renowned as one of the largest oil producing countries in Africa which makes it a unique destination point for many investors. Despite its oil reserves, Nigeria is still characterized as a poor country where over 62.6% of the population is considered to be poor. Due to this also, Nigeria has a significantly large number of cheap labor which offers more attracting factors for investors (Zhao, 2011). With this in mind, the paper will review Nigeria national culture and its relation with the organization (business) culture i.e. in consideration of cultural beliefs and values and economic perspective of the country.
Like most countries in Africa, Nigeria is characterized as a republic state where the president is considered as the chief head of State. Over a long period of time, Nigeria has faced a long history of dictatorship and military rule. In the past two decades, this has come to change where under the new constitution the country has managed to strip away the reckless leadership styles and the misuse of power. However, Nigeria political life is majorly dominated and controlled by the wealthy in the country who have been enabled by the high rate of corruption in the country (Davidov et al., 2012). The history of Nigeria leadership style can be termed as “noble-peasant system of politics” where leaders in both military and politics are renown to use any means of necessary to retain their position thus creating an enormous gap between the wealthy and poor in the country (Eisenbeiß & Brodbeck, 2014). The acceptability of the power distance in the country has been majorly brought about by high percentage rural population which tend to isolate itself from the rest of country politics.
Some of the common challenges in Nigeria as a country and in most urban areas include Poverty and lack of opportunities, ethnic issues, poor health, increased crime rate, and many other issues (Ogbeidi, 2012). On the other hand, with the continuous improvement in Nigeria politics and leadership, the government has been able to make major strides in improving the living standards of the people. A good example of the success Nigeria has been able to achieve is the improvement of infrastructure and public health. Apart from the terrorist issue facing the country, Nigeria has maintained a good political stability which has favored the growth of the country economy (Nurudeen & Usman, 2010). In comparison to Singapore, both countries have a lot in common except that Singapore has also Prime Minister who is the head of the government whereas the president is the head of State.
Nigeria is one of the major countries in Africa which is deeply rooted in cultural ways. Norms and values play a very important role in Nigeria society where the equality and integration of power are perceived to be properly applied through the approach of norms and values. Through this, one of the basic values which have been well nurtured over the years as part of Nigerian culture is an increased collectivism and less of individualism personality. For example, behavior control is considered to be effective when it approached through the social sanctions (McGuigan, 2010). The society sanctions are designed to promote unity and justice in the society through the effective application of spiritual and moral values in human and interpersonal relation, respect for the dignity and work of individuals, promotion of the physical, emotional, and psychological development of the entire society, and the responsibility of society common good.
Also, like in most societies today, Nigeria people don’t entertain extreme behavior types such as killing, stealing, and generally any lack of integrity. The issue of traditional values and norms are one of the continuous topics which tend to provoke major issues between the people where currently most of the values have been condemned as too outdated and/or they have lost their significance in today society (Okpara & Kabongo, 2011). For example, the issue of virginity, especially to women, was one of the strongly upheld values but with the changing times, the tradition has continued to diminish on its significance in today world.
The issue of families in Nigeria is considered is considered as one of the strongest virtues in the country. Despite the democratic reforms and the influence of Western culture, family values are considered as one of the main pillars of society (Agbo, Nzeadibe, & Ajaero, 2012). The general structure of families in Nigeria can be characterized as more of patriarchal where male dominance is still highly embraced. Many families living in urban areas tend to live in a nuclear form where in rural areas extended form is very highly common. The issue of family survival is significantly important where firstborn males have an obligation in maintaining family ‘name’ continuity (Simpson & Yinger, 2013). Also, due to this, the issue of nepotism in the country is very highly practiced making the development of opportunities to the individual to be very hard. On the other hand, the issue of early marriages, especially to girls, is still commonly practiced which reflect on the unfavorable culture of the country (Mordi, Simpson, Singh, & Okafor, 2010).
Nigeria is one of the most diverse and most populated nations in Africa with a population of about 191 million. The population is made of approximately 250 ethnic tribes with over 520 spoken languages thus making it one of the most complicated countries in the entire world. However, there are three major ethnic groups in Nigeria which comprise of Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo. Over the years since independence Nigeria has continued to face an ethnic crisis as one of its major challenges which have led to the death of millions (Antai, 2011). The main cause of this challenge has been the issue of religion where 50.4% of Nigerians are considered to practice Islam while the rest of the population which constitute 48.2% are considered to Christians. Only a small percentage of about 1.4% are considered to practice traditional religion (Salawu, 2010). Due to this, Nigeria has been split into two i.e. the north where the majority are Islam and the south where Christians are the majority.
Nigeria economy can be majorly characterized as monocultural economy due to its high dependence on oil and gas industry. Oil and gas are considered as the main export which contributes to about 96% of the total export revenue. Despite its abundant resources, Nigeria still struggles with poverty issues where the majority of the population still live below one dollar a day (Ebegbulem, Ekpe, & Adejumo, 2013). However, Nigeria has continued to make efforts in minimizing the corruption rate in the country and promoting effective development in the country. Nigeria has also been named as one of the fastest growing countries in Africa with abundant capability and resources to support new investments. The economic strength in support of new businesses and industries has also been contributed by the availability of cheap labor and energy which are very essential to new industries and businesses (Ihugba, Odii, & Njoku, 2014).
As stated earlier, the political and leadership system of Nigeria portrays a very huge gap in the power distance among individuals in the country. The major cause of the gap has been attributed by the resistance to remain in power even after completion of serving time. The leadership system of the country can, therefore, be characterized as a hierarchy where some families seem to inherit and dominate the control of Nigeria politics and important sectors such as the oil industry (Okolie & Okoye, 2012). On the other hand, power distance in Singapore is considered to be of much less influence despite still the issue of some noble families impacting on the country politics and economy. Investors should consider the involvement of noble families such as the Dantata-Dangote Family, the Briggs Family, and others who have enormous control of resources and support from the local people (Kuye & Sulaimon, 2011).
Generally, Nigerians believe that effective administration and continuous development can be mainly achieved through the collective involvement of the entire society. This can be mainly perceived in society administration level where this is considered a source of people empowerment (Shi & Wang, 2011). Singapore also has leveled society control where both individualism and collectivism are highly emphasized in the approach to promote increased involvement in the society. In the issue of industrialization and/or business investment should consider promoting both collectivism and individualism in all major business operations thus to boost innovation and production outcome.
The role of men in Nigerian culture is considered to be very important. As part of social values, people are trained to respect men authority in cultural and family leadership. Despite a few strides taken by the government to empower women, still, women face a lot of difficulties and unfavorable challenges which are contributed by the perception of the society (Alesina, Brioschi, & Ferrara, 2016). In the case of Singapore, the issue of male dominance in most sectors has been more revolutionized where rigid gender rules have been put in place to safeguard the girl child. Investors aiming to start a business in Nigeria should approach the mode of empowering women by exposing them to equal opportunities as men while at the same time focusing on guiding principles which protect social values and cultures.
In relation to the adaptability to change, Nigeria does not have a very good perception to ambiguity and uncertainty. According to Nigerian culture characteristics, people are often sensitive to any risk factors where the issue of rules and procedures are highly upheld to avoid unnecessary outcomes. Trust issues are commonly perceived where people who are not related by blood or any other form tend to avoid uncertain relations (Mangan, 2013). On the other hand, is not the same case in Singapore where people are often characterized as risk takers with much less insecurity. Nigeria long-term and short-term orientation are considered to be significantly very low people are described to be more of normative rather than pragmatic. The culture of Nigerians is more focused in maintain respect for tradition with a very little emphasis in saving for future (Minkov, 2013).
Conclusion
In summary, Nigeria is culture can be characterized as one of the most diverse cultures in the world with the significant potential for different kinds. Despite the huge power distance, Nigeria political stability has continuously improved over the years where ethnic clashes have also significantly dropped in the past decade. The issue of ethnic clashes is one of the major issues which have led to the uprise of one of the deadliest terrorist groups, i.e. Boko Haram, which has led to a significant damage in country reputation and economy (Ihugba et al., 2014). The economy of Nigeria has significant resources capable to support the development of new industries where due to the large percentage of the country population there is also high readily available cheap labor (Mordi, et al., 2010). The culture of Nigeria can be termed as very “welcoming” where foreign investors can easily adapt to the environment. One of the basic issues investors should consider include the corruption and ethnic issues which are one of the highly sensitive topics which tend to provoke a mixed reaction to the public.
References
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