Organization and Management of Manpower: Supply and Utilization in African Countries

This study was carried out to investigate the organization and management of manpower development, supply and utilization in Africa. Two research questions were drawn to guide the investigation. Data were gathered from 4890 sample subjects through the instrument of questionnaire. The analysis of the data was carried out with simple percentage on two tables which led to the findings that organization and management of manpower and the supply are relevant to development in African societies. The breakdown of educational skills activity has influence on acquired skills and utilization. The findings led to the conclusion that organization and management of educational system had influence on supply and utilization of manpower in Africa countries


Introduction
Education being like other sectors, in every society, is organized and structured along the lines of the predetermined goals and objectives.For over centuries, the goals and objectives of education seem to remain the same.Hence, it is surprising that in most African countries, the three levels of education have not produced any major shift in societal development.
The formal system of education is organized into primary, secondary and tertiary levels.The curricular activities are organized with the intention to achieve development purpose.The development purpose for which education is organized predetermines the management patterns.Thus in determining organization and management of organization, the parameters such as scope, timing, learning processes, certification, fields of training, provision of infrastructures, facilities, equipment, funding, manpower, curricula activities, etc.These are mandatory put into consideration.In structuring organization and management of any educational activities the necessary requirement that could be used in processing the relevant activities great concern to the educational managers and the Government.
The focus of this study was to instigate how the organization and management of education in African countries were for efficient supply and utilization of manpower for pursuance of national development.This was based on observed expressions that there were no proper breakdown of actions and events in the pursuits of manpower supply and utilization in African countries.This fear was in the aspect of leaning activities in the primary level, secondary level, and tertiary level of education.
In many African countries, different changes or modifications have been carried out to pursue better standard.Thus, education managers and governments have reshaped the primary, secondary and tertiary levels with the intent to attain the shade of educational requirements that would suitably produce the required manpower for effective pursuit of national development.An example is the most populous and crude oil rich Nigeria, which had its secondary level of education broken into the junior secondary school and the senior secondary school.This is apart from the technical colleges and other similar institutions, which were not touched by the change exercise.Similarly, the tertiary level is always going through various changes, modifications in courses fields, and faculties.
Some people come readily on hand to defend African leaders on the attestation that governments and society have expressed commitment to develop the citizens and ensure they apply their acquired skills and knowledge to bring about national development.They cite example with universal basic education, free education and other activities connected with change in education to support their claim that African leaders are sensitive to educational desires toward the attainment of the development goals of the societies.
Nevertheless, many experts in the field of education and other citizens in African societies have expressed dissatisfaction with the effort put into the educational system in terms of organization and management towards realizing the goals and objectives.In different occasions, it has been rightly or wrongly expressed that the planners and administrators of education in Africa have not been mindful of the importance of the organization and managerial principles and practices, which could bring about the realization of educational goals and objectives.That hence education has not provided for adequate breakdown of tasks, programs, priorities, needs and requirement, resources utilization, learning procedures, as well as effective tools for assessment and evaluation of the relevant activities.
The critics also observe the ministry of education and education agencies do not consider their relevant areas of operation.Hence, they complain about the seeming duplication in their functions, which often lead to conflict rather than progressive pursuit of the goals of education.They further amplified this complain by stating that such conflicts often lead to misreading and misunderstanding of necessary changes and /or modification which make them give wrong advice to their governments.Such wrong advice, they claim, might be responsible for government educational wrong or poor decisions pursuit of supply skilled manpower in Africa.
Realizing the important roles organization and management plays in the supply of manpower and the force in the critical complains and argument above, the urge to study the identified problem could not be resisted.Hence, to be able to carry out the investigation specific questions were raised to act as a guide as follows: 1. Does educational organization and management have influence on supply and utilization of adequate manpower in African countries?
2. Does the breakdown of educational activities have influence on acquired skills and development in African countries?
For African countries to pursue and attain comparative economic and social development with the development of the world, organization and management of manpower development system must be structured into processes.Along this line, Frei (1970) states that development is a process of increasing the knowledge and the potential skills of increasing the knowledge and the potential skills and of adult learners in order to make them useful in the pursuit of social, economic, cultural, and political development.
Haibison and Myers (1964) believed that strategic as well as principles which are interrelated within the process of educational training of individuals must be considered.Based on this, Schultz (1988) raised the view that success in the pursuit of development is borne out of the level of expansion carried out in the formal educational system.
African countries need critical skills development; hence, the necessary organization and management toward manpower supply and utilization must be given due regard.Thus, Hall (1979) and Conchelos and Kassam (1991) believed that organizations need continues training to ensure improved productivity.The authors stated further in clear terms that manpower are so essential to organization that their job performance improvement becomes necessary to warrant adequate investment on organization and management requirements on the bases of industrial demand that would create distinction from the additional practical research methods.
The acquisition and application of skills from elementary to university including vocational institutions according to Kim et al ( 2004) and Ropka, Scantz, and curb (1999) are to fight poverty, which the authors' state plays major role in matching courses with functions relevant to skills.Relevance being every day affairs is the objective pursued in management and activities.Relevant skilled manpower are required in organizational such as professional associations, government agencies, religious bodies, business organizations, etc.
Certain authorities believe that poverty is a deviation from the norm in terms of efficiency and satisfaction, resources provision and utilization, which they claim could lead to helplessness, despair and powerlessness in the pursuit of social, economic, political and cultural development.Thus, at every point in time, demand for manpower is to be initiated with the supply of goods and services in view through appropriate skilled and knowledgeable people.Hence, education of individuals in African society's demands organized and managed skills that could lead to efficient supply of the needs and desires among Africans in particular and the whole world in general.In this regard, illich (1971) demand for high-level productivity from all the educated citizens in the society whom Gelpi (1999) emphasizes as the development of authentic workers through appropriate training programme.

Investigation methodology Sampling
A sample of 4980 was drawn by dividing the continent into five zones: 1.The North, 2. The South, 3. The Central, 4. The West, and 5.The East.Four countries were selected from each of these zones through random sampling technique and from each zone; equal number of 250 samples was selected through random sampling technique.

Instrument of study
Survey method was adopted to gather relevant data from the sample subject.The subjects included school graduates, heads of educational institutions, officials of ministry of labour, education of statistics, employers of labour.The administration of the instrument was carried out by the researcher and research assistants who were employed and deployed for this purpose in the various countries.Communications were kept afloat between the researcher and the assistants during the several months between the questionnaire administration and the retrieveral.The mortality rate was infinitesimal owing to the aid of phone calls and easy access to internet services.The data, which were collected, were subjected to necessary treatment by sorting and application of percentage statistic to work out the results as follows: Question I: Does educational organization and management have influence on Supply and utilization of adequate manpower in African countries?

Finding and discussion
The findings and the result of this study are revealed on table I and II.Table I revealed that organization and management have influence on supply and utilization of adequate manpower in African society and table II revealed that the breakdown of educational skills activity has influence on the acquired skills and national development.
In support of the findings of this study, Habison and Myers (1964) asserted that interrelated strategic principles in the process of educational training of individuals should be put into consideration.Gelpi (1999) also affirmed the outcome by asserting that there is necessity for authentic training strategy of workers through appropriate training programmes.Hall (1979), andCohelos andKassam (1991) also approved the findings by stating that organization and management are necessary to ensure improved job performance of employees.

Conclusion and recommendation
Based on the results attained, we arrived at the conclusion that organization and management of educational system have influence on supply and utilization of manpower in African countries.It was also part of our conclusion that breakdown of educational skills activities had influence on individual skills and economic development in African countries.
In the circumstance, it was a suggested that the managers of manpower skills development and utilization in African countries should continue to improve on their strategies of organization and management practices to enable them use the power of education to take African countries into the developed community of the world in the foreseeable future.

Table I :
Influence of educational organizations and management on supply and utilization of adequate manpower.

Table II :
Influence of breakdown of educational activities on acquired skills and development.