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ABSTRACT
In this case study we examine the raison d'être and implementation of a policy intervention, which was promulgated in 2005 for the purpose of eradicating inefficiency and corruption, and inculcating customer orientation in the Nigerian public sector. The policy goes by the acronym 'SERVICOM' -'service compact with all Nigerians'. We draw on existing information in describing workplace behaviours in the Nigerian public sector that necessitated this policy intervention, the extent of its implementation, and in enumerating related interventions that are being implemented concurrently with SERVICOM. Our findings suggest that the objectives and delivery mechanisms of SERVICOM are appropriate remedies for poor service delivery in the Nigerian public sector. SERVICOM units are being established in government departments, workers are being trained, among other strategies for achieving the aims of the intervention. Other actions, however, must be taken to achieve the desired improvements. For instance, improvements in physical infrastructure must be undertaken, since changed work attitudes cannot substitute for inadequate infrastructure. A properly functioning public service is indispensable to good governance, institutional capacity building, and private sector development. SERVICOM policy must be sustained, alongside other related initiatives, until Nigerian public life is truly transformed. Continued support of the international community will really help.
KEYWORDS: SERVICOM, Nigerian Public Services, Quality.
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INTRODUCTION
In every human society, the production and consumption of goods and services are integral to daily living. Our focus in this paper is on the quality of government services in Nigeria. The public sector is the shopping floor for these services (The SERVICOM Book, 2006). SERVICOM policy is Nigerian government's latest effort at instilling quality into government services. The initiative is best regarded as a policy intervention since it comprises a set of programmes and measures, having the same general goal- improving service delivery in the public sector, whose implementation is unconstrained by a time schedule (Sheikh and Steiber, 2002).
This paper is a case study of the SERVICOM policy, in which we examine descriptively the nature and implementation process of the policy, against a theoretical background depicting the nature of public services, quality and quality improvement, problems in the Nigerian public sector, earlier policy prescriptions for an efficiently functioning service, and an enumeration of...