The Relevance of Porter's Management and Leadership Theory in a Nigerian Emerging Market Context

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The African economy in general and Nigeria economy in particular is growing at a rapid pace and continues to raise expectations of the world economy by virtue of its growth potential which is also partly due to its huge domestic potential. The Nigerian economy (developing country) however poses a peculiar challenge to organizations world wide in terms to managing the business which is far different from the way organizations operate in the developed world. Each of the countries in Africa have their own unique ways of conducting their business but have some common thread spread across which is very much a developing economy problem. Nigeria provides an organization with a wide variety of challenges in running a business enterprise in a developing economy. The challenges are from all angles are part and parcel of running a business in Nigeria perhaps across developing economies (Kremer, 1993 Cited in Ayyagiri et al. 2011). The author would go one step further to the above argument made by Kremer and suggest it is not only about following the best practices in a particular industry. As such there is no guarantee that following the best practices of a particular industry from the western world will yield the same results in the same industry in a county like Nigeria. It is also about not following the right practices which are localized to suit the local environment. The dissertation proposal of the author is based on the premise that even the best practices of the developed world should be questioned before blindly implementing the same in developing countries.

This needs to be far more concise and written in half the space. I take it you are alluding to different environmental factors which may be faced in Nigeria compared to Western countries and you question the validity of given models as applied to Nigeria. Fine but you need to specify which models you mean and you still need to select an industry or segment for research.

The Aim of dissertation

The critical analysis of Porter's management and leadership theories will form the basis of this dissertation.

Research questions

What are the major success factors that affect performance of organizations in Nigeria?

What are the major success factors that affect performance of organizations in Nigeria?

How are these factors different from that of organizations in the developed economies?

How the implications of Porter's leadership and management theories differ in developed and developing countries?

What are the attributes which are requirements for successful leadership in a developing economy like Nigeria?

Research Objectives

To ascertain the nature of leadership and management factors affecting organizational performance in Nigeria

To compare Porter's of the first world countries with Nigeria

The requirements or attributes for successful leadership in developing countries like Nigeria

Feasibility of the Study

The author has lived in Nigeria and has several business associates in the country which makes access to information relatively easy. The researcher has an intuitive feeling for the nature ...