career of young police in nigeriea

A confluence of credentialing, career experience, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and motivation on the career commitment of young police in Ibadan, Nigeria A. Oyesoji Aremu Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria Abstract Purpose – Despite much research on police organization generally, little or no research exists on career commitment of young police in Nigeria. This study therefore, aims to investigate the predicting effect of credentialing, career experience, self-efficacy emotional intelligence (EI), and motivation on the career commitment of young police in Ibadan, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – A field-based survey approach was adopted to collect a quantitative data through the means of a questionnaire from 200 non-commissioned officers that were randomly sampled from a police command. Findings – Multiple regression statistical analysis employed revealed that the independent variables were good predictors (collectively and independently) of career commitment of young police. Research limitations/implications – These findings were limited to participants from a police command, as well as variables investigated. Thus, efforts should be made in the future to extend the study’s scope to other police commands and across the commission in the police. Originality/value – The findings provide evidence on the need to improve upon the career commitment of Nigerian police. Hence, attention should be paid on the predicting variables investigated in that they provide a significant basis for the current study. These would enrich policing system and culture within the rank and file of Nigeria police. Keywords Career development, Police, Job commitment, Nigeria Paper type Research paper Introduction In recent times, the corporate image of the Nigeria police and career interest of its members have continued to receive some serious attention. During the first phase of the present political administration in Nigeria, the Federal Government established the Nigeria Police Service Commission to take care of members of the police. This is with a view to repositioning the force to meet the current national challenge; and to give members of the force some career leap and get them committed. The aim of this study therefore, is to investigate the career commitment of young police with a view to ascertaining the degree of contribution of some variables (credentialing, career interest, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence (EI), and motivation) to it. This is, however, threatened by the seemingly dearth of literature on all those constructs as they relate to the police (most especially, in Nigeria). Studies that have largely focused on policing as a career in Nigeria are very few (Akinnawo, 1994; Aremu and Adeyoju, 2003). In the same vein, research on police organizational commitment has received only limited research attention (Metcalfe and Dick, 2000; Beck and Wilson, 1997). A research need therefore, is imperative to further investigate into police career commitment for knowledge and advancement of scholarship. Literature review Employee commitment as a research interest has begun to receive some serious attention in the last decade. Efforts have generally been made by researchers to focus on commitment to job of employees in the private sector. This is corroborated by Mowday (1998), Varona (1996) and Mowday et al. (1982) when they assert that employee commitment within the private sector has received significant research focus. Amplifying this in a more dynamic way, Metcalfe and Dick (2001) are of the view that there have been far less research on the job commitment of public sector employees generally or police officers specifically. Varona (1996) is of the opinion that the concepts of commitment have been defined in three different ways. Firstly, it is defined as an outcome resulting from interactions between the employee and the organization. Secondly, it is defined as an attitude. Varona (1996) further amplifies that it comprises three components – identification with the goals and values of the organization, high involvement in its work activities, and a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization. Thirdly, commitment is defined in terms of behavior. In this study, commitment is operationally defined as the behavioral disposition of police to their job. This suggests a behavioral career development. According to McElroy et al. (1999), commitment can be conceptualized as “commitment to one’s work” (the Protestant work), “commitment to one’s career or profession,” “commitment to one’s job” (job involvement) or “commitment to one’s organization” (the most researched area). Beck and Wilson (1997) in their study find that police officers have relatively low levels of commitment. This, according to them is as a result of a culmination of poor experiences they have. Similarly, Harr (1997) stresses that low levels of police commitment are a reflection of their bad experiences, some of which is a function of the type of work they engaged in. Along the same line of thinking, Metcalfe and Dick (2000) suggest that police commitment is significantly affected by their identification and commitment to organizational value. They then submit that management systems and practices affect organizational identification and in turn, the desire of police officers to closely identify themselves with the police service’s goals and values. Beck (1999) asserts that though research has found that police officers have high levels of satisfaction with their work and the people they work with, they are found not to be satisfied with or committed to the goals and values of the organization. Beck (1999) also made a review of a number of studies and reports as follows: . Officers believe the organization does not provide a satisfactory working environment. Specifically, they believe pay and promotional systems, resources for staffing and equipment, management style, and feedback techniques are poor. . . . Officers would leave the organization if they could find better employment options elsewhere. Officers believe there is a lack of trust of respect and of recognition of their experiences and knowledge during decision-making processes. Officers believe the police organization does not demonstrate support for staff as individuals. In Nigeria, a recent score card of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) shows that police now enjoy a better career prospects. For instance, between 2002 and 2003, 98, 553 police personnel between the ranks of constable (being the least rank) and Assistant Inspector General were promoted (Tell Magazine, 2004). This figure of promotions is more than what 20 IGP did from 1930 to 2002, a period of 72 years of policing in Nigeria. (See Table I for breakdown). Similarly, the IGP’s score card (Tell Magazine, 2004) shows that between March 2002 and December 2003, over 100,000 officers and rank-and-file had enjoyed one training program or the other, both at home and abroad. These accounts would no doubt spur an average police in Nigeria to be more committed. Aremu and Adeyoju (2003) amplify this when they stress that if police are properly motivated through regular payment of salaries, promotion, and payment of enhanced allowances, among other things, their morale would improve, and this would lead to their further commitment to police organization. In this study, credentialing is one of the variables investigated. Credentialing is a relatively new concept in literature. It is the process of reviewing, verifying, and evaluating a practitioner’s credentials (i.e. academic qualification, training, and other professional qualifications). Lysaght et al. (2000) contend that it is to ensure that professionals have an acceptable level of knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgment consistent with standards established by their registrable body or equivalent organization. This is taken as a variable of interest in this study with a view to predicting its effect on the career commitment of young police. Self-efficacy construct was also investigated in the study. According to Bandura (1986), self-efficacy is concerned with the people’s judgement of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated type of performance. S/No Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2002 2003 Total 28 96 196 451 885 2,078 3,666 9,469 13,313 23,546 44,825 98,553 Commissioner of police to assistant inspector general 21 7 Deputy commissioner of police to commissioner of police 68 28 Assistant commissioner of police to deputy commissioner of police 146 50 Chief superintendent of police to assistant commissioner of police 306 149 Superintendent of police to chief superintendent of police 671 214 Deputy superintendent of police to superintendent of police 1,408 670 Assistant superintendent of police to deputy superintendent of police 1,930 1,736 Inspector to assistant superintendent of police 5,124 4,345 Sergeant to inspector 4,753 8,560 Corporal to sergeant 18,346 5,200 Police constable to corporal 38,475 6,350 Total 71,248 29,312 Source: Tell Magazine (2004) Table I. Statistics of promotions in the Nigeria Police between 2002 and 2003 Findings have demonstrated the essence of self-efficacy on job and career (Eden and Zuk, 1995; Gist and Michel, 1992). Rotberg et al. (1985) investigated self-efficacy of college students; Hannah and Khan (1989) conducted a study on the self-efficacy of twelfth grade students; Taylor and Popma (1990) discovered that higher self-efficacy is associated with less career indecision; and Adeyemo (1996) reported the significance of self-efficacy on secondary school students’ career decision-making. In a somewhat related study, Aremu and Oluwole (2000) report that police, irrespective of gender and marital status, have a low self-esteem. Although, as earlier observed, these reviews may not have a direct impact on the current investigation, at least they provide some reasonable premise upon which the present study could be predicated and inferences drawn with a view to advancing frontiers of knowledge. Another construct examined in this study is EI. This construct has received increasing attention in a variety of literature in the last two decades (Goleman, 1995; Greenspan, 1989; Mayer and Salovey, 1997; Payne, 1986; Salovey and Mayer, 1990). EI is the ability to process emotional information as it pertains to the perception, assimilation, expression, regulation, and management of emotion (Mayer and Cobb, 2000; Mayer et al., 2000). According to Goleman (1995), EI is referred to as emotional literacy. Individuals with EI are therefore, able to relate to others with compassion and empathy, have well-developed social skills, and use this emotional awareness to direct their acts and behaviors. EI is very important in the workplace. Ciarrochi et al. (2001) stress that being able to understand, perceive and express emotions in an appropriate way can determine whether an individual is successful or not as an employee in a career. In respect of police, therefore, the presence of high levels of EI and its antecedents (e.g. empathy, social skills, perception) may be very crucial to their career commitment. The importance of EI, therefore, cannot be over-emphasized in the police profession. Hence, the need to investigate this construct along side others. The last construct examined in this study is motivation. Maslow (1982) pioneers motivation as a construct of interest. He defines motivation as the eagerness to satisfy needs. Similarly, Mathis and Jackson (1988) say that the word motive means a human emotion or need that makes him take action. For whatever it is, motivation is reflected on three fields: it induces a particular human behavior, it directs and canalizes that behavior, and it explains how certain forms of behavior can be maintained or preserved (Sherman et al., 1988). Densten (2003) advances the concept of inspirational motivation as a common predictor of leadership effectiveness for executives and superintendents, chief inspectors and senior sergeants but not inspectors. It is reported that leaders of individuals at the above ranks use inspirational motivation to activate the process of impression management and image building (Bass, 1990; House, 1977). Zaccaro (2001) says that such actions could increase follower trust and confidence in their leader, which enhances the perception of leader expertise and competence and increases the recognition of leader effectiveness. Moore and Barga (2003) observe that the absence of some relevant measurement systems based on response times, clearance rates, and numbers of arrests could make police executives experience difficulty motivating their managers and line-level officers to change their approach towards policing. Given the above background to this study, it behooves the researcher to aggregate the variables reviewed in form of research questions. Thus, in this study, efforts would be made to provide answers to these two research questions: RQ1. What is the combined effect of the predicting variables (credentialing, career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation) on the career commitment of young police? RQ2. What is the relative contribution of each of the predicting variables (credentialing, career commitment, career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation) on the career commitment of young police? In sum, the objective of this study is to investigate the combined and independent effect(s) of credentialing, career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation on career commitment of young police. Methodology Design The study adopted a field survey approach in which the manifestation of the variables had occurred prior to the investigation. These variables were indeed, beyond the control of the researcher. Population and sampling process The study surveyed 200 young police personnel in Ibadan, the Oyo State Police command that has about a total force of 5,538. Out of this number, the young police operationally designated by age (age 23-40) and rank (constable to sergeant) accounted for about 4,583 uniformed police representing about 82.8 percent of the police population in the Oyo State Police command. In Ibadan metropolis, about 2,500 of this estimated population of police personnel are located. All participants (200) were volunteers who were recruited for the study through convenience sampling. The participants’ career experience ranged between 2 and 15 years. Instrumentation The instrument was in two parts. Part 1 was all about the demographic information of the respondents. These include: rank, gender, career tenure, and age. Part 2 of the instrument had five sections. Section A contained seven-item statement on credentialing. An a reliability co-efficient estimate of 0.76 was obtained using split-half method. Two examples of statements in the section are: my inability to get exposed to further training, hampers my efficiency; continuing education/training be made a condition for promotion in the force. Section B of the instrument was on self-efficacy. It consisted of seven-item statements. Its a co-efficient value was 0.71 using split-half reliability method. The following are examples in the section: I am strong enough to overcome life’s struggle as a police officer; I often feel that there is nothing I can do well as a police officer. Section C is on EI. The section contained an eight item-statement. In this study, an estimated a co-efficient value of 0.81 was recorded using split-half method. Two examples of the section are: I expect I will do well on most things I try; I can recognize how my feelings affect my policing duty. Section D is on motivation. The section contained ten items adapted from Inventory two of Aremu and Hammed’s (2002) Ibadan multi-dynamic inventories of achievement motivation. An estimated co-efficient value of 0.69 was obtained using split-half method. The following are two examples in the section: I sometime over price my worth as a police; as a police, I think ahead of what to do. While Section E had ten items on career commitment which is the study’s dependent variable. The section had a 0.77 a co-efficient value using a split-half method. The following are examples in the section: my career is everything to me; my job performance beats the imagination of my superior officer. All items in the instrument were structured on a four-point Likert format ranging from strongly agree (4) to strongly disagree (1). The aggregation of the Cronbach’s co-efficients of the entire instrument was found to be 0.71. This is an indication of strong reliability. The instrument’s scores were calculated by summing the participants’ responses on each section of the Part 2 of the instrument. Scores on Sections A-D were then regressed against the scores on Section E. Analysis The predicting effect of the predictors on the dependent (career commitment) variable as well as the relative contributions of the predictors to the criterion (career commitment) were investigated using multiple regression, standardized bs (b) and t-test statistics. All analyses were determined at a significance level of 0.01. Results Table II shows the results of the multiple regression and analysis of variance conducted to answer the first research question. The regression analysis had R 2 of 0.368 and adjusted R 2 of 0.352, which is statistically translated to mean 35 percent contribution of the total variance to career commitment of the participants. The analysis of variance on the combined effect of the predictors (credentialing career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation) yielded F of 5.865 at 0.01 significant level. Table III also shows the results of the relative contribution of the predictors to the career commitment of young police. The predicting statistical values were different for all variables. The standardized bs and t-test of the predictors are as follows: Source Regression Residual Total Sum of square 1025.910 9822.570 10848.480 df 7 192 199 Mean square 146.559 51.159 F-ratio 5.865 Significance 0.01 Table II. Regression analysis and ANOVA Notes: R ¼ 0.608; R 2 ¼ 0.368; adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.352 (35 percent); SE ¼ 9.153 Variable Table III. Table showing relative contributions of the predictors to career commitment of participants Constant Credentialing Career experience Self-efficacy EI Motivation Unstandardised co-efficient B Standard error 2217.886 43.397 36.140 51.183 59.674 53.466 2.144 1.015 1.164 1.408 1.735 1.511 b 0.317 0.223 0.290 0.298 0.284 Standardized co-efficient t Significance 101.043 42.8 31.06 36.4 34.4 35.4 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 Credentialing was a significant positive predictor of career commitment for young police (b ¼ 0.32, t ¼ 42.8, p . 0.05). This suggests that through on the job training and exposure to further education, young police could show more commitment to their job. Self-efficacy was also a significant positive predictor of career commitment for young police (b ¼ 0.29, t ¼ 36.4, p . 0.05). This is an indication that the perception of the worth of young police would go a long way to determine their career commitment. Motivation was also found to be a significant positive predictor of career commitment in the young police (b ¼ 0.28, t ¼ 35.4, p . 0.05). This suggests that young police could be made to be more committed to their profession if necessary motivation is provided. EI was as well found to be a significant positive predictor of young police’s career commitment. This implies that young police would show more commitment if their superiors relate very well with them in an unannoying way. Career experience that shows least contribution to career commitment of young police (b ¼ 0.23, t ¼ 31.06, p . 0.05) also revealed a significant positive predictor to career commitment of the participants. This suggests that with much experience, young police could be more committed to their job. Discussion The current study to the best of the researcher’s knowledge happens to be the first that would investigate the significant effect of credentialing career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation on young police career commitment in Nigeria. This therefore, places on the study some limitations in linking up the current findings with some established studies locally or internationally. This not withstanding, a strong effort is made to draw some logical inferences from the findings and link the same with some related but independent studies. Given the outcome of the first research question, it is found that the predictors (credentialing, career experience, self-efficacy, EI, and motivation) could have a determinate effect on career commitment of the participants. Contingent upon this finding, it is crystal clear that young police career commitment could be improved upon if the five investigated predictors are real in their career progression. This assertion made consequent to this finding is in consonance with the view of Aremu (2003) that police organizational commitment would increase if they are regularly paid and promoted among other things. The second research question investigated the independent determinance of the five predictors to career commitment of the participants. Findings from the study indicated that all the five predictors independently had significant contributions to career commitment of young police studied, although in varied forms. Of these predictors, credentialing had the most contributing value of t ¼ 42.78 to the career commitment of the participants. This is followed by self-efficacy (t ¼ 36.4), motivation (t ¼ 35.4), and EI (t ¼ 34.5). Career experience had the least contribution to career commitment of the participants. While this appears to be very interesting, it is assumed that police could after all not be satisfied with their job. Although these findings are not wholly supported by any studies, the fundamental fact is that the investigated variables could independently predict the career commitment of the participants. This significantly attests to the effect of the variables on young police’s career commitment. Implications for policing and limitations This study has implications for policing career, especially given the importance of the profession in maintaining law and order in the society. People in the profession, therefore, ought to be wholly committed to the challenges of the profession. This study has revealed that young police career commitment could be influenced by a number of factors; this then implies that police organization should do everything possible to provide a healthy psychological environment to make policing an interesting career. As good and challenging as these implications are, the study is not, however, without some limitations. First, the search for related literature was grossly limited. This affected the robustness of the discussion on the findings of the study. It is hoped, however, with further and unrelenting research in this area, that this limitation would soon be overcome. Second, the sample of the study was from the non-commissioned cadre of the police force. Also, a sample of 200 respondents was delimited only to a state police command out of 37 police commands (including Abuja). This was a serious limitation to the study and therefore, it calls for a serious caution generalizing the findings of the study to other state police commands. These limitations notwithstanding, the study has significantly contributed to the field of knowledge in police. References Adeyemo, D.A. (1996), “Evaluating the relationship between secondary school students’ career decision-making, self-efficacy and vocational maturity: career counselling implications and future directions”, Nigerian Journal of Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 161-70. Akinnawo, E.O. (1994), “Determinants of job and life satisfaction of Nigeria police officers”, Ife Psychologia: An International Journal, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 275-84. Aremu, A.O. (2003), “Influence of emotional intelligence on Nigerian police organisational commitment”, unpublished manuscript, Department of Guidance & Counselling, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Aremu, A.O. and Adeyoju, C.A. (2003), “Job commitment, job satisfaction and gender as predictors of mentoring in the Nigeria police policing”, An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 377-85. Aremu, O. and Hammed, A. (2002), Ibadan Multi-Dynamic Inventories of Achievement Motivation, Stirling-Horden Nig. Ltd., Ibadan. Aremu, A.O. and Oluwole, D.A. (2000), “The socio-psychological dimension of self-esteem on Nigerian police interpersonal relationships”, Ife Journal of Behavioural Research, Vol. 2 Nos 1/2, pp. 30-6. Bandura, A. (1986), Social Foundation of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive View, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Bass, B.M. (1990), Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership, Free Press, New York, NY. Beck, K. (1999), “Optimizing the organizational commitment of police officers”, Background and Summary of the Research and Guidelines for Management, National Police Research Unit, Payneham, SA. Beck, K. and Wilson, C. (1997), “Police officers’ views on cultivating organizational commitment: implications for police managers”, Policing: International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 175-95.