Impact of Conflict Management on Employee Performance in Nigerian Revenue Service (Published)
Conflict is an inevitable feature of large-scale, rule-intensive administrative environments such as tax authorities, where multiple organizational units must navigate complex regulatory frameworks under stringent accountability and sanctioning regimes. Within the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), ineffective management of intra-organizational disagreements has been shown to prolong case processing cycles, escalate operational rework, and diminish overall system throughput. This study investigates the relationship between three distinct conflict management strategies—negotiation, collaboration—and employee efficiency, conceptualized through metrics including turnaround time, rework frequency, throughput volume, and adherence to statutory deadlines. Grounded in contingency theory and organizational information-processing perspectives, and enriched by constructs such as psychological safety, team learning, hierarchical dynamics, and cultural tightness–looseness, the research employs a cross-sectional survey of 371 FIRS personnel. Data were collected using five-point Likert scales and analyzed via multiple regression, with efficiency as the dependent variable. Findings indicate that all three strategies significantly predict efficiency, with collaboration demonstrating the strongest positive association (β = .41, p < .001), followed by negotiation (β = .28, p < .001. The model accounted for approximately 42% of the variance in efficiency and satisfied standard diagnostic criteria. The study delineates the contextual conditions under which each strategy is most effective within the tightly coupled, high-ambiguity, and time-pressured environment of tax administration. Furthermore, it translates regression coefficients into practical implications for operational indicators such as case cycle time and rework rates. It is recommended that FIRS prioritize collaborative problem-solving and integrative negotiation in leadership development programs and implement systematic monitoring of efficiency metrics alongside observed conflict-handling behaviors to inform training, process redesign, and performance management systems.
Keywords: Collaboration, Negotiation., Nigerian public sector, conflict management strategies, employee efficiency, federal inland revenue service, tax administration
DEFINING THE REAL NEEDS OF WOMEN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN VIETNAM: THE IMPORTANCE OF GRASSROOTS PARTICIPATION AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION (Published)
In response to gender gap and hardship due to heavy production and domestic tasks of women smallholder farmers in developing countries, this study was conducted under the auspices of the Gates Foundation with an original goal of formulating labour saving strategies and innovations for the rural women in Vietnam. The first five steps of a systems-based Evolutionary Learning Laboratory (ELLab) framework together with other management tools were employed in the first phase of the project during April 2013 to April 2014. The project has identified actual challenges and needs of the target group using appropriate systems approaches, including a flexible use of stakeholder analysis and engagement, and a log-frame approach for evaluation. Interestingly, saving labour was not identified as the highest priority for the women and was ranked second after the need for increasing their income. The outcomes of the study served as feedback and a rationale for reframing the project goal and objectives to address the ‘real issues’, ‘real needs’ and thus appropriate intervention strategies to address the identified challenges of the women farmers in the research area. Process steps of issue identification, rethinking and reframing of the project approach, goals and objectives are discussed and analyzed to prove the value and validity of the unique ELLab processes as an appropriate framework to deal with complex problems in the context of interconnected economic, environmental, social and cultural factors. The findings have not only brought about practical solutions for the women, but also formulated context-based recommendations for funding agencies and local governments.
Keywords: Collaboration, Decision processes, Labour, Participation, Stakeholders, Women smallholder farmers.