INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT AND PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
(A CASE STUDY OF ANAMMCO EMENE, ENUGU)
ABSTRACT
The research was an industrial conflict as an impediment to personal management (A case study of ANAMMCO Emene, Enugu). The objectives were meant to determine the extent to which industrial conflict at as impediment to personal management. Secondly, to look into the types of industrial conflict, the effect and industrial conflict resolution techniques. From result gathered industrial conflicts are classified as intra-industrial conflict, inter-group conflict, line-staff conflict, role conflict, conflict of right and interest. It was also revealed that the sources of these conflicts could be as a result of differences in perception, and qualification, political causes, limited resources, communication gap/barriers inter-dependent work activity, role function and the issue of God-fathers. The findings also indicate the effects of conflict as it diverts attention from organization goal attainment and creates resentment and anxiety among organizations   members which makes the organization unviable to function properly. It causes efficiency and coordination which can code and destroys the bases of team work and cooperation among organization members and also a feeding of laicization. A loss of morale and other forms of discontent which can make individual to with draw completely from organization. The significance of these findings was also indicated. In particular it has been urged that so long as there is persistent and recurrent conflict in an organizational goal attainment will be unrealistic and suggest the need for policies designed to accommodate labour and management views. A number of measures were perceived as capable of solving these problems posed. It was suggested that management should Endeavour to have discussions regularly with its workers as this enables them know and understand workers problems and how they feel about their job and work conditions. It was also suggested that boxes be situated where employees/workers can find then and lodge their complaints. Such boxes should be opened regularly and complaints so lodged treated accordingly.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:    INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background of the study-    -
1.2    Statement of problem-    -    -
1.3    Research question-    -   
1.4    Objective of study-    -    -
1.5    Significance of the study-    -
1.6    Scope of the study-    -    -
1.7    Hypothesis-    -    - 
1.8    Research methods    -
1.9    Definition of terms    -    -
CHAPTER TWO:    LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1    Conceptual Frame Work-  
2.2    Theoretical frame work    -
2.3    History of Industry Conflict in Nigeria-    -    -
2.4    Nature and source of industrial conflict in Nigeria    - 
CHAPTER THREE:    RESEARCH METHOD
3.1    Research Design-    -
3.2    Source of Date-    -
3.3    Area of study-    -
3.4    Population of the study-   
3.5    Sample and sampling technique
3.6    Instrument for Data collection-   
3.7    Validity of the instrument    -    -  
3.8    Reliability of the Instrument    -
3.9    Methods of data collection  
3.10    Methods of data analysis   
CHAPTER FOUR:    RESULT, ANALYSIS, FINDING
4.1    Data presentation    -    -    -
4.2    Data analysis    -    -    -    -    -
4.3    Summary of finding    -    -
CHAPTER FIVE:    CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1    Conclusion-    -    -  
5.2    Recommendation    - 
REFERENCE-    -
Appendix 1: Questionnaire Model   
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Conflict is the expression of disagreement over something important to both (or all) sides of a dispute. The first important thing to understand is that it is entirely dependent on the people involved. It depends on their having a particular point of view, which may or may not have independent facts and evidence to support it, and on how they behave when they encounter an opposing point of view.
Further more, conflict is a struggle or contest between people with opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values or goals. Although conflict is inevitable, the results of conflict are not predetermined. Hence, conflict may escalate and lead to nonproductive results; it may also be beneficially resolved and lead to qualitative final product. Thus, conflict is dialectical. It is analytically germane to posit that conflict is endemic with mankind; it is a characteristic of human existence and part of the dynamic of life that drives us into the future.  In fact, Karl Marx once observed that conflict rather than peace is the engine of progress.  
There are various types of conflict ranging from political, ethnic, religious conflicts to industrial conflicts. Although industrial conflict may portend negative signal for economic and political development, it nevertheless could be a necessary catalyst for growth and development especially in the area of improvement in the standard of living of the working class people and their productivity in work place.
Industrial conflict can be regarded as an important feature of capitalist societies, where profit maximization is the central objective of investors and industrial organizations. Industrial conflict usually arises when the expectations or demand made by the workers and employers on each other are in a state of disequilibria. These demands usually relate to the issue of salary and wages and the level of performance of the workers. The lack of satisfaction by any of the parties or both, especially by the workers on wage issues usually leads to conflict. Although conflict is endemic in all societies, industrial conflict is a typical feature of capitalist societies where commercial enterprises are mainly privately owned and operated on the basis of profit maximization.
Meanwhile, because the majority of workers in capitalist economies live at the level of subsistence, their ability to improve their economic and social conditions lies in their unionization (Adebisi, 2004). Evidently, in the capitalist societies, the interest of the industrialist is to maximize profit and exploit the workers while that of the workers is to ensure their wages can provide their basic needs. Since the interest of the industrialists (employers) is antithetical to that of the workers, there is bound to be industrial conflict in every human society.
Based on the foregoing, there needs to always manage conflict to ensure it does not get to unmanageable height or even escalate to violence. Conflict management is the principle that all conflicts cannot necessarily be resolved, but learning how to manage conflicts can decrease the odds of nonproductive escalation. Conflict management involves acquiring skills related to conflict resolution, self-awareness about conflict modes, conflict communication skills, and establishing a structure for management of conflict in your environment to this end, personnel management as emerged as a veritable measure used in the industrial to either mitigate or resolve conflict.
Personal management is therefore a set of organizational activities directed to attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce. The personnel of an organization have to be properly managed for them to make maximum contribution to the organization. Amber (2009) observed that in any organization, there is a system which is responsible to increase the welfare and performance of the employees. This system implements policies which aim to achieve all the objectives regarding personnel of the organization. This system is known as personnel management. The function of personnel management starts with the staffing process, screening and interviewing process and selection process in addition to developing such policies which are beneficial for the employees.  Along with this, the personnel management decides what benefits and perks to give to a certain employee. It establishes operational policies and procedures, employment requirements, discipline procedure etc (Onyishi, Eme and Emeh, 2012).
The Anambra motor Manufacturing Company Limited (ANAMCO) is one of the oldest industries east of the Niger having been incorporated on January 17, 1977. It was hitherto one of the major employers of labour and has experienced various forms of management-employee conflicts especially in recent years.
Based on the foregoing, this study sets out to examine the place of personnel management as a tool for managing industrial conflict using AMAMCO as a case study.
1.2        STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM    
         Conflict is endemic in every human society. Industrial conflict is one major form of conflict in our contemporary capitalist society. This is mainly due to the clash in the interests of the industrial capitalists on the one hand and that of the wage earners. While the exploitative tendencies industrial capitalist would prefer to pay little wages and get maximum productivity from the wage earners, the workers would prefer to get high wage or at least enough wages to provide their basic needs. This accounts for constant conflict in the industries.
              Meanwhile, personnel management has come to be applied as an instrument for conflict management in the industries. Yet conflict remains endemic in the industries despite high level personnel management employed in the industries. The relationship between industrial conflict and personnel management has attracted the attention of many scholars. Adebisi (2004) argue that industrial conflict in Nigeria has been influenced by military dictatorship which has taken industrial conflict resolution mechanism to the realm of persistent state intervention. Some other writers posit that industrial conflict are influenced by factors like wage rate, price expectation and union membership (Ige, Adeyeye & Aina, 2011). Yet, some other scholars like Akinwale (2011) attributed industrial conflict to lack of transparency and institutional capacity needed for reconciling dissenting voices in the work place. It is against the background that this study will constructively look at the following research question.
1.3       RESEARCH QUESTION
1.    Has poor staff welfare package engendered industrial conflict in ANAMCO?
2.    Does industrial conflict undermine employer-employee relations in ANAMCO?
3.    Has industrial conflict been mitigated by personnel management in ANAMCO?


1.4      OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of the study is to examine the nature of relationship between industrial conflict and personnel management can be used to mitigate industrial conflict. However, the study has the following three specific objectives:
1.    To examine whether poor staff welfare package engenders industrial conflict in
ANAMCO;
2.    To investigate whether industrial conflict undermines employer-employee relationship
in ANAMCO
3.    To ascertain industrial conflict has been mitigated by personnel management in
ANAMCO
1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
           The study has both theoretical and practical significance. At the theoretical level, it aims to explore how personnel management can be engender industrial conflict and it can also be used as a tool to mitigate industrial conflict. The study shows that conflict is endemic with every human society and is aggravated under the contemporary capitalist society where the employers of labour exploit the wage labourers and the wage labourers continue to seek means of enhancing their wages so as to provide their basic needs.  The study therefore seeks to bridge the gap in knowledge on the relationship between industrial conflict and personnel management.
             At the practical level, the study is an indispensable tool for organizational managers, policy makers and experts in the field of personnel management. It enables industry leaders to redress the observed lapses between management and the employers and therefore employ personnel management style that would reduce conflict in the industries. In the light of the above, this study is therefore a desideratum

1.6   SCOPE OF THE STUDY
            Obasi (1991; 99) defines a good research as involving delimiting to a manageable scope, the following; the issues, the period and the geographical area covered as well as the subject matter. To this end the research will interview civil servant of the ANAMCO, so as to given a proper direction to the researcher’s problem study. Therefore, the scope of this study shall be guided by data gathered through the administration of questionnaire to staff of ANAMCO. This is with view of assimilating the crisis/ problem encountered by the ANAMCO administration.   
1.7         HYPOTHESES
His research work is based on the following hypotheses:
1.    Poor staff welfare package tends to engender industrial conflict in ANAMCO
2.    Industrial conflicts undermines employer-employee relations in ANAMCO
3.    Industrial conflicts has been mitigated by personnel management in ANAMCO

1.8.        RESEARCH METHOD
    Generally, this study adopts structured and unstructured interview method which involved interview with both senior and junior civil servant of AMAMCO. The major instruments used to obtain both the qualitative and quantitative data are interview, questionnaire, textbook, internet material, official document and so on. Method of data collection is both qualitative and quantitative methods.

1.9         DEFINITION OF TERMS
Rabsons (2002; 11) observed that definition of terms are brief explanation of terms used in a research study in order to guide against or avoid any ambiguity. For better understanding of the research work, the following terms are defined.
-    Conflict; conflict is the expression of disagreement over something important or the struggle or contest between people with opposing needs, ideas, belief, value or goals.
-     Industrial Conflict; Fajana(2000) sees industrial conflict as the inability of these parties either between employers and employees or within their group to reach agreement connected with the object of employer – employees interaction.
-    Personal Management; Ezeani (2002) defined personnel management as the responsibility of all those who manage people as well as being a description of the work of those who are employee as specialist.