Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1.

Background of Study Competition in the global economy has intensified in the past few years, and acc ording to Ho (1999:69), the creation of a global market, the international orient ation of management which sweeps national boundaries, the introduction of new te chnology and shifts toward customer focused strategies, make the competition str onger than ever. Furthermore, the increasing demand and sophistication of custome rs have virtually rewritten the rules of competition and forced organisations to focus on quality (Nosakhare, 2000). Therefore, in order for organisations to s urvive the increased competition, they must introduce new management mechanisms based on the tenets of total quality, and by offering quality product and servic es (Irechukwu, 2010). Total Quality Management (TQM) is a concept that has been associated with managi ng which provides a total management methodology. It is not just limited to maki ng sure that employees, product or services being managed meet acceptable qualit y, but it is rather a holistic management philosophy that encompasses the manage ment of people, services and processes to ensure delivery of complete customer s atisfaction. This implies that TQM must be practiced in all activities, by all p ersonnel and in all levels of organisations (Flores, 2008; Hyde, 1992). Accordin g Olabode (2003), TQM is a management belief and company practice that is target ed at harnessing the human and material resources of an organisation in the most effective way to achieve the organisation objectives. The successful implementation of TQM to a very large extent depends on employee performance, because according to Irechukwu (2010;212) an organisation should tak e into account that before external customers can be satisfied, internal custome rs (employees) should be satisfied with in order to create the condition necessa ry for them to produce and deliver quality. This is paramount because management works in partnership with employees in the implementation of TQM. Without a developed, committed, well trained and motivate d workforce, TQM is bound to fail in any organisation attempting to implement it . To ignore the workforce in the TQM process is to court failure. The oil indust ry has recently been subjected to increased competition resulting in the need to continuously improve product and service delivery to ensure companies survive t he intense competition. It has been acknowledged that oil companies need to prov ide quality assurance across the product and service value chain in order to rem ain competitive. This has resulted in an attempt by oil companies to implement T QM in their organisations. However, only a few oil companies that implemented TQM appear to have actually s ucceeded. Although a lot has been written, discussed and researched about TQM im plementation, the relationship between TQM and employee performance in the oil s ector does not appear to have stimulated much research interest among scholars a nd researcher. Given the potential benefits of TQM on oil companies, this lack o f literature and understanding of the impact of TQM on oil companies need to be researched. 1.2. Statement of the Problem New competitive approach in the oil industry has breached established management policies and rendered the orthodox methods of product and service development o bsolete. TQM is one of the subject that have dominated discussions in the oil i ndustry and academia because of increased competition in the market and the need to continuously improve on the quality of the product and services rendered by the organisation in order to survive. In the same view, empirical studies have b een conducted on the level of TQM application, its associated problems and prosp ect and its impact on corporate survival. However, there is a limited knowledge on the impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Employee Performance. Oil is a highly sensitive resource in Nigeria but it also the main driver and so urce of foreign exchange earnings for the Nigerian economy (Akinyele, 2011), and according to Chuku (Chukwu, 2002), the Nigerian oil industry contributes over 8 0% of Nigerian government revenues. Nigeria currently produces over 30 million b arrels of crude oil per day. This, according to The Guardian (Guardian, 2006), m

akes it Africas number one producer of oil and gas and ranked seventh in the worl d since 2006. The importance and huge production base the oil industry to the N igerian economy and the high technology in the industry requires the employment of highly skilled employees (Baker, 2006). Because of the need and desire to exp and the multiplier effect of the oil industry, the Nigerian government had activ ely embarked on grooming skilled local manpower in order to reduce the dominance of the industry by expatriate workers (Baker, 2006). It is therefore paramount to have an effective management technique to ensure required employee performanc e in order to remain competitive. Quantifying and managing employee performance in the Nigerian oil industry is co mplex. It is not just limited to performance in the production and refinement of petroleum and its products, but it encompasses the broad spectrum of companys ac tivities such as business models and marketing, which is critical to the very co mpetitiveness and survival of companies involved in the Nigeria oil industry (Ma thiason, 2006) (Achumba & Osuagwu, 1994). This makes the Nigerian oil industry a good reference point for the study of the impact of TQM on employee performance in the oil industry. Some oil companies in Nigeria attempt to adopt and apply TQM philosophy without analysing and addressing issues such as motivation, training, working environmen t, job security, labour union, and cultural factors, even though a lack of prope r addressing of the factors that impact TQM can impact employees performance adve rsely (Ho, 1999:20). Although it is accepted that there is a linkage between TQM implementation and employee performance, the way TQM is implemented in oil prod ucing companies and how this impacts employee performance is not well understood and there is limited research on it. Employee performance and performance manag ement is a major concern in the Nigerian oil industry, given the continued incid ents of oil spillages, customer dissatisfaction (especially host communities), i ndustrial accidents and conflict between management and employees. For the suppo rters of total quality management, there is the question that if TQM provides ma nagement and organisational excellence, then why it has not been successfully im plemented in the oil industry, especially in the Nigerian oil industry where it can make a big difference. 1.3. Objectives and the Rationale of the Study Total Quality Management (TQM) is perceived as the most modern management philos ophy that can provide customer satisfaction through the performance improvement in all aspects of an organisation. The main objective of this research is a stud y of the impact of TQM on employee performance in the oil industry using the Nig erian oil industry as a case study. The following are the specific research obje ctives. 1. Establish the relationship and impact that the implementation of TQM as a management tool has on the performance improvement for Nigeria oil companies. 2. Identify the various approaches used by oil producing companies in imple menting TQM to impact positively on employee performance, and determine those as pects of TQM that positively impact employee performance and those that negative ly impact performance. 3. Draw conclusion on the impact of TQM on employees performance in the oil industry and provide a set of recommendations which when followed, will lead a s uccessful implementation of TQM with the required performance improvement in all operational activities of oil companies. 1.5 Significance of the Study The research is important and topical and it will provide useful information on the necessity of TQM as a business improvement and survival strategy. Such infor mation will help managers and policy makers in strategy formulation, organisatio nal and employee development of organisations. Furthermore, research findings wi ll contribute to organisational growth as it will highlight the benefit and impa ct of TQM on employee performance and how this relates organisational productivi ty and performance. Finally, the outcome of the research will be useful for stud

ents, researchers and management practitioners. 1.6 Scope and Limitation of Study This research project intends to find out how employee performance in certain oi l companies is influenced by the implementation of TQM. Although there are sever al oil companies operating in Nigeria, this research will be limited to oil prod ucing companies in Rivers State, Nigeria which is a good source of research give n the complexity of the oil industry in that region. Given the time frame of the project and resources available, it is not possible consider all other variable s that influence or may influence employee performance in the oil producing firm s due to the implementation of TQM. The scope of the enquiry is thereby limited by the scope of inquiry given that i t is limited to the oil producing firm in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Oil Industry in Nigeria According to Akinyele (Akinyele, 2011), petroleum is a highly sensitive resource in Nigeria the importance of which has continued to this day. Oil is the main d river and source of foreign exchange earnings for the Nigerian economy and accor ding to Chuku (Chukwu, 2002), the Nigerian petroleum industry contributes over 8 0% of Nigerian government revenues and has been extensively used and beneficial not only to the development of infrastructure in Nigeria, but it also significan tly contributes to the development of other industries in terms of contributing to a multiplier effect of the industry. The Nigeria oil industry has been gradu ally increasing from a mere 5000 barrels per day in 1958 to 2.3 million barrels per day by 1979. Nigeria currently produces over 30 million barrels of crude oil per day (Mathiason, 2006) which makes it Africas number one producer of oil and gas and ranked seventh in the world since 2006 (Guardian, 2006). The huge production base and the importance of the oil industry to the Nigerian economy and the high technology in the industry require the employment of highly skilled employees (Baker, 2006). This is especially important given that employ ee performance is paramount. Baker (Baker, 2006) , however argues that because o f the need and desire to expand the multiplier effect, the Nigerian government h ad actively embarked on grooming skilled local manpower in order to reduce the d ominance of the industry by expatriate workers. This strategy of grooming a loca l workforce further highlights the importance of effective management techniques that ensure the required employee performance. This is vitally important given the increased competition. Enhancing employee performance in the Nigerian oil industry is not just about pe rformance in the production and refinement of petroleum and its products. It enc ompasses the broad spectrum of a companys activities such as business models and marketing. Incidentally, marketing which is an amalgamation of a myriad of many business activities in an organised, planned and targeted way to deliver goods o r services of acceptable quality of service and experience to customers. This ac cording to Achumba and Osuagwu (Achumba, et al., 1994) is critical to the very c ompetitiveness and survival of companies involved in the Nigeria oil industry, a nd (Mathiason, 2006) thinks that there has been an aggressive marketing strategy in the Nigeria oil industry. This is compounded by fact that there had been a lack of competitive edge on the part of the indigenous oil companies in Nigeria due to unacceptable performance levels. The reason for this lack of competitiveness according to Li et al (Li, et al., 2000) is a lack of adequate skills which led to low performance levels.

But there are other reasons such as a lack of adequate capital and the increased intensification of competition in this industry, mainly from foreign companies that provide better management systems and therefore more performance levels. Th is highlights the importance of looking at management techniques such as TQM, wh ich are known to enhance employee performance in other sectors in other countrie s. The Nigerian oil industry, or any oil industry for that matter, can be seen as a providing a service to its customers with the requirement and emphasis on custo mer satisfaction. This is required in order to grab an adequate share of the mar ket to enable competitiveness. This makes it imperative to formulate or implemen t effective management techniques that are not only relevant to the business and environment, but which greatly positively impacts employee performance. This is particularly important for companies that operate in the hostile business envir onment of the Niger Delta. 2.2. Oil Industry in Niger Delta According to Tunde and Odigha (Morakinyo, et al., 2009), the Niger Delta which i s 20, 000 square kilometres is the worlds largest delta with a population of 6 mi llion who mainly are fishermen and nomads. Oil was first produced in the Niger Delta by Shell in 1958 and production levels have since continued to grow over t he decades, especially from the 1960s to the 1990s. Oil was first discovered in Niger delta in 1956 at Oloibiri which was followed b y other discoveries in 1958 (Ntido, 2010). These were small discoveries but all that changed in 1965 when significant oil production in the Niger Delta really t ook off. Although there was a blip in levels of production due to the civil war between 1967 and 1970, production levels have since 1970 consistently increased in quantity and accrued money. In fact, according to (Ntido, 2010) accrued reven ue from oil in 1980 amounted to $24.9 billion in 180 which amounted to 27 percen t of Nigerias Gross Domestic product (GDP), 80% of Government revenues. Most of N igerias estimated 22 billion oil reserves are mainly found in the Niger Delta wit h 159 oilfields in the region with 1, 481 oil wells. There are many oil companie s in the Niger delta. These include many big oil companies such as Chevron, Elf, Shell and Agip. In the Niger delta, companies normally produce the oil and pay dividends to the Government which ultimately own the oil with very little benefit to the local Ni ger Delta community. According to Tunde and Odigha (Morakinyo, et al., 2009), t here exist a corrupt dependence between oil companies and government, to the det riment of Niger Delta, which has resulted in Governments inability to regulate th e industry on which it mainly depends for funds. This has resulted in a harsh bu siness environment and stiff competition. But although the Niger Delta is the ma in source of oil and therefore the goose that lays the golden eggs for Nigerias e conomy, locals in the region accuse the oil companies of destroying their herita ge without any tangible benefits to the communities. This according to Tunde and Odigha (Morakinyo, et al., 2009) has led to the emergence of local and sometime s rival gangs, some of which are funded by politicians, kidnappings, oil bunkeri ng and general violence which has made it a hostile business environment. According to Ntido (Ntido, 2010) the relationship between oil companies and the communities in the Niger Delta has been anything but cordial ever since oil was discovered in Oloibiri of the Niger delta. This has deteriorated to open hostili ties with recent tendencies of people in the Niger delta wanting to take full ow nership of their oil resources. Thus for companies to survive this hostile busines s environment and the increased competition, they need maximise and streamline t heir performance levels. This can mainly be achieved in part by maximising both employee and company performance levels. Hence the need to study the impact of T QM on performance levels in the Niger Delta oil industry. The global financial crises have affected the oil industry in Nigeria which has

resulted in the price and demand for price. This has seriously impacted the Nige rian oil industry with a knock on effect on the Nigerian economy (Balouga, 2009) and it is expected that some oil companies with be hardest hit compared to othe rs. In this climate of financial and harsh business environment, the derivation of maximised employee performance is critical for survival especially in the Nig er Delta. Management techniques as enablers of maximising employee performance assume prom inence and importance in the Nigeria oil industry given the stiff competition, h arsh business environment and the impact and sustained effect of the global fina ncial recession. 2.3. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management (TQM) according to Oakland (Oakland, 2003) is an approac h to improving the effectiveness and flexibility of business as a whole, meeting customer requirements both external and internal to the organisation. It is ess entially a way of organising and involving the whole organisation, every departm ent, every single person at every level. TQM emphasises the integration of operat ions/process management with people management and according to Oakland it place s a lot of emphasis on quality, scientific approach, insistence in involving emp loyees in process review and implementation with five distinct components: manag ement commitment, customer-supplier chain, quality systems, statistical process control (SPC) tools, and teamwork. In fact Garvins (Garvin, 1986) has likened TQMs function as that of total quality control and quality management. Management has long since been recognised as an important process within an orga nisation or company. Management had previously been based on industry structure and on competitiveness. However, according to Powell (Powell, 1995) management h as evolved to encompass internal and specific processes which include strategy, culture, administration, know-how, process and organisational structure. Powel a rgues that it is no coincidence that TQM has been widely used and implemented gi ven the all encompassing nature of management. As far back as 1993, Benson (Ben son, 1993: 48) wrote that in 10 short years, TQM has become as pervasive a part of business thinking as quarterly financial results, and a 1992 study showed that 93% of Americas top 500 firms had adopted TQM as their management philosophy (Li ttle, 1992). Grayson et al (Grayson, et al., 1988) and Imai (Imai, 1986) both a ccredit Japans economic success to TQM and it is also credited by Americas economi c competitiveness in the early 1990s (Juran, 1993). The importance therefore of TQM cannot be overemphasised. Total Quality Manageme nt (TQM) is an amalgamation or integration of management philosophises and pract ices that are targeted at the permanent and continuous improvement, involvement of employees and performance enhancement, gauging results and performance levels and on a close relationship with customers (Ross, 1993). Walton (Walton, 1986) argues that the application of TQM has no restrictions in terms of organisation or company type, and that its benefits are all encompassing and range from impro ved service delivery at a reduced cost with a resultant improvement in financial performance which all leads to increased competitiveness. Although this optimistic view or assessment of TQM makes it very attractive for use in the oil industry of Niger Delta, there are critics of TQM who are not so sure about all the virtues of TQM. These criticisms have tended to be based on t he significant cost and obstacles to its implementation. The costs that have bee n cited are the training, increased paperwork and some critics such as Naj ( (Na j, 1993); (Fucshberg, 1993); (Fucshberg, 1993); (Schaffer, et al., 1992)) have a ll argued that TQM promotes procedure over results and that it does not meet the needs of small companies. As an example, the critics claim that there is not en ough evidence to show that companies that use TQM are better off than if they ha ve not used it (Powell, 1995). Notwithstanding some of the criticisms of TQM, it has continued to be used and h as become embedded in firms and companies globally. Its impact is pervasive and all encompassing which makes it difficult to gauge its performance. Perhaps the impact of TQM can best be gauged with a targeted outcome such as on employee per formance. This is a reason why it is imperative to study TQM performance in term

s of employee performance in the oil industry of Nigeria. 2.3.1. Overview of TQM Total quality management according to (Powell, 1995)was developed by a union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUST) whose objective was improving productiv ity (Walton, 1986). TQM was used comprehensively in many domains in Japan. But w ith TQMs pervasive use, it quickly became evident that there are limitations of T QM ( (Ishikawa, 1985); (Akao, 1991)). American firms became interested in TQM wh en they were surpassed performance-wise by Japanese firms by 1980 (Hayes, et al. , 1980) and by 1992 most if not all of the big firms in America had begun to use TQM as a management tool (Little, 1992). But although it has undoubtedly been u sed extensively especially in Japan and USA, its value has been hotly debated as it has led to spectacular success and also to some bankruptcies (Powell, 1995). The question that this research work set out to ask therefore is this what im pact, positive or otherwise, does TQM has on employee performance in the oil ind ustry of Nigeria? This is paramount given the mixed successes that one sees in t he literature in the implementation of TQM. Powell (Powell, 1995) claims that al though most studies have concluded that TQM is beneficial, most of these studies were biased as they were sanctioned by companies who would like to view TQM in a good light. It is therefore important to provide anecdotal if not empirical ev idence of the impact of TQM as is the main objective of this work. Table 1 gives the 12 factors of TQM. Table 1: The 12 TQM factors Committed Leadership Increased Training Adoption and communication of TQM Employee Empowerment Closer Customer relationships Zero-defect mentality Closer supplier relationships Flexible manufacturing Benchmarking Process improvement Open Organisation Measurement (Source (Powell, 1995)) Soltani et al (Soltani, et al., 2008) argue that TQM has historically faced prob lems of acceptance and justifying its usage and justifying whether it provides i ncreased performance levels and an added competitive advantage ( (Hackman, et al ., 1995); (Redman, et al., 1999)), which view was also echoed by Sheppard (Shepp ard, 1998). It is generally accepted that TQM provides value and enhances the ef fectiveness and (Soltani, et al., 2008) argues that several reasons have been gi ven why it has failed to live up to expectations which are not necessarily a pro blem of TQM but rather of implementation in nature. Some of these include a lack of commitment failure ( (Wilkinson, 1992); (Dean, et al., 1994); (Waldman, et a l., 1998); (Snape, et al., 1995); (Walker, 1992); (Holpp, 1989)), economic clima te ( (McCabe, et al., 1998); (Jones, 1997); (Malloch, 1997)) and poor implementa tion ( (Numeroff, 1994); (Becker, 1993); (Taylor, 1997); (Doyle, 1992); (Ghobadi an, et al., 1996); (Sitkin, et al., 1994); (Cole, 1993)). The merits or otherwis e of using TQM are therefore inconclusive and would require a proper study of TQ M in context of where it is to be used. This actually highlights the importance of this study in the context of TQM and its value to the oil industry of Nigeria . The aim of this research is therefore to investigate and provide empirical e vidence and gauge the benefit of TQM to firms in the oil industry in Nigeria. Th ese firms have peculiar business and social environments to those on which the e ffectiveness of TQM was investigated and studied on the main in the West. 2.4. TQM Process and the Role of Management Total Quality Management is a customer focussed management system that involves employees in the decision making process with a focus on continuous improvement in performance of the organisation. It is a management philosophy which integrat es and changes the culture of an organisation by way of using strategy, data and effective communication mechanisms to inculcate a culture of quality. To the many supporters of TQM, its management philosophy cannot be more convinci ng given that the gains that can be achieved by implementing TQM are anything bu t pervasive. These benefits include but are not limited to quality of service en hancement, better internal communication, improved employee performance and sati sfaction, improved productivity and improved financial performance (Juran, 1988)

(Schmidt, et al., 1992) (Spechler, 1991). It is precisely because of these adva ntages that companies and firms want to see replicated in their own companies wi th the implementation of TQM. Although there have been many attempts at explaining and identifying the constit uents of TQM, these have not been able to provide a global definition of TQM, ra ther, these have tended to agree on the critical components that are needed in o rder to successfully implement TQM (Black and Porter, 1996). The common elements critical to TQM implementation are strong management, strong leadership, commi tment, a strong customer focus, continuous improvement in quality and services, enhancing and encouraging a strong relation with suppliers, and importantly, ens uring quality throughout the companys processes (Shin, et.al, 1998). There are generally four processes to TQM which are sometimes referred to as PDC A which stands for, Plan, Do, Check and Act. The highlight of TQM was in the 198 0s with its philosophy being that quality management should involve everyone and all activities in a company, very strict adherence to quality, the notion that quality has to be managed and that quality should be managed. In essence, TQM re presents a participatory way of management that has at its core, a total commitm ent to providing customer satisfaction. In essence, it can be likened to a perpe tual process improvement. And at the core of TQM are the anchor principles of qu ality quantification and management, setting goals based on requirements rather than on negotiation, satisfaction of everyone involved in the company, from supp liers to customers, involving everyone in quality management and the emphasis on continuous improvements. TQM is a process that relies on methodologies and tools to achieve the required outcome. Specifically, a TQM process is reliant on solving problems as a group and quality measurement or appraisal, gathering data which is analysed to identi fy any root cause of problems, and resolving problems with an overall objective of continuous improvement. Essentially, and according to Anwar ( (Anwar, 2000) T QM is a process that is focussed on quality and the prevention of problems occur ring in the first place. It places emphasis on the cooperation between the compa ny and its suppliers with the objective of providing acceptable quality of servi ce to customers at all times. It also places emphasis on meeting the customer ne eds with any wastage in terms of resources and steps involved in the delivery of services/goods to the customers. According to (Anwar, 2000) TQM places employee s at the heart of the quality delivery system in terms of ensuring that employee s are empowered and satisfied to ensure the best possible performance is derived from the employees. Critically too, emphasis should be on problem prevention an d solution and the sticking to all decisions being backed up by evidence which i s obtainable from direct measurement of processes. A number of processes or stages would need to be completed in order for TQM to b e successfully implemented. The core of these are educating the entire employees and suppliers, the identification of the outputs that are required or wanted by customers, the definition of services or activities that add value, the identif ication of avenues or opportunities that can provide continuous improvement in t he quality of service delivered to customers, the development of measures that w ill ensure the delivery of the required quality, the assessment of delivered qua lity and finally, implementation and validation of the TQM processes. When imple mented correctly, TQM can reduce operational costs, increase overall quality of service delivery and thereby increase customer satisfaction, improve the morale within the company, lead to a continuous improvement and critically, it enhances employee performance. TQM is a very effective tool for management which encompasses a varied managemen t tools to achieve the required output. Firstly, TQM recognises the importance o f customers to any organisation and therefore places customer satisfaction as a key and TQM is therefore completely customer focussed. Secondly, because TQM als o recognises the importance of employees in delivering customer satisfaction, it insures a total employee involvement in the management system, and thirdly, it is process focussed enabling process thinking. Fourthly, TQM like ISO9000 insists on an integrated system of management where many process work in unison to achie ve the required outcome. TQM is evidence based where by the performance is gauge

d and the data used to drive a continuous improvement in performance. It also pl aces vital importance on communications and it integrates quality as a core comp onent of the management system (Beer, 2003). TQM has been implemented successfully in such companies such as Xerox, Motorolla , Ford and Hewitt-Packard (Grant, et al., 1994). They all fully implement TQM by changing their management philosophy and aligned it to TQM which ultimately enh anced quality and performance of their respective companies. These are exception s and other companies have tried to implement TQM with little or no success. Acc ording to Grant (Grant, et al., 1994) these companies did not implement TQM comp letely and as a result some of the TQM processes were not implemented which impa cted performance. A typical example of this type of scenario is Kodack which emb arked on the implementation of TQM way back in 1983/1984. Although it registered improvement in operational and competitive performance, it did not do that well financially. McDonnell also faced similar problems with their implementation of TQM in 1991 and 1992 which led Grant (Grant, et al., 1994) to postulate that TQ M is totally different to Western management systems and in order for TQM to be successfully implemented would require the transformation of the conventional ma nagement systems and allow TQM to take hold. In the oil industry, TQM has been implemented in the oil industry of Libya with mixed results (Najeh, et al., 2006). In the Nigerian oil industry, TQM has been implemented by Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. With great success (Gbadeyan, et al., 2008 ), and according to Gbadeyan, this implementation has been so successful that a study that they conduct suggests that ... contribution to business organization in a downturn economy such as Nigeria and recommends for its use not only in an oil marketing company but any business organization either government owned or p rivately owned. However, according to Joseph Osa Nosakhare (Nosakhare, 2000) although TQM is ver y much discussed in the Nigerian oil industry and with many top oil executives a ware of it and its potential impact, its implementation has been rather low and those companies that implemented TQM successfully in Nigerian oil industry have had to hire the services of external experts. He believes that although TQM when implemented successfully can help companies in the Nigerian oil industry positi on themselves to counter future problems, it seems that most Nigerian firms in t he oil industry seem to be only paying lip service to the implementation of TQM. T his is why it is important for a study such as this one to look at the implement ation of TQM in the Nigerian oil industry and it is hoped that this study will a nswer the question of why the implementation of TQM given that many top executiv es know, talk about it and know what improvement it can bring to their companies . The rest of this literature review will look at precisely what the benefits of TQM are and how it can improve performance. 2.5. The Concept of Employee Performance It is imperative for organisations that aspire to become more competitive in the global market to adopt effective management and leadership approaches that prov ide an enabling environment and climate for the enhancement of overall performan ce in general and employee performance in general. This is particularly importan t because, as argued by Johnson (Johnson, 1995) companies have seen a dramatic c hange in leadership and management style towards one that favours inclusiveness in management and leadership. According to Adam et al (Adam, et al., 1992) (Nwan ko, et al., 2001), the general poor performance of African parastatals and the i ncreased competition, especially in the oil companies in Nigeria, highlights the need of effective management and employee performance in this sector. In fact, companies that are based on management and leadership philosophies that emphasises employee performance are the ones that ultimately lead to an enhance ment in employee performance. The fact that the type management methodology impl emented in an organisation greatly impacts its performance levels has never been in doubt (Maritz, 1995) (Bass, et al., 1997) (Charlton, 2000). It is important to note that that the cumulative employee performance of an organisation is inst rumental in meeting the aims of that organisation and it is paramount to choose

management styles that enhances individual as well as overall employee performan ce (Cummings, et al., 1973) (Hellriegel, et al., 2004). Martiz (Maritz, 1995) ( Bass, et al., 1997) argues that given the ever increasing competitiveness of the business makes it paramount that the best management and leadership systems tha t enhance employee performance be put in place. Performance and TQM have increasingly become important in the Nigerian oil indus try especially in the Niger Delta given the competitive nature of the oil indust ry in Nigeria in which both local companies compete with multinationals in a hos tile business environment. In fact, the well publicised strife and political dim ension of the oil industry in the Niger Delta makes the issue of performance and management even more pertinent. However, in order for employee performance to b e enhanced requires that it be understood and quantifiable. Otherwise, employee performance would not be enhanced. According to Hellriegel, Jackson and Slocum (Hellriegel, et al., 1999), performa nce is the level of an individuals work achievement after having exerted effort. Cu mmings and Schwab (Cummings, et al., 1973) and Whetten and Cameron (Whetten, et al., 1998) further enhances that definition of performance as performance is ulti mately an individual phenomenon with environmental variables influencing perform ance primarily through their effect on the individual determinants of performanc e ability and motivation. It therefore logically follows that performance is lin ked to the individual and external factors such as their working environment whi ch impact their performance level. The link between employee performance and ma nagement/leadership methodology has been investigated and Behling and McFillen ( Behling, et al., 1996)found out that effective management and leadership methodo logies leads an improvement in an organisations performance (Maritz, 1995) (Risto w, et al., 1999). In effect, the management and leadership of an organisation di rectly impacts employee performance and overall performance which improves the c hances of an organisation meeting its target objectives (Maritz, 1995) (Ristow, et al., 1999). There are a number of management techniques (such as TQM and ISO 9000) that aim to enhance performance, and organisations are invariably judged by their perform ance levels. But there is no straightforward explanation of performance (Corvell ec, 1995). Although it is paramount to get the accurate understanding of perform ance, it has sometimes been confusingly equated with effectiveness and efficienc y (Neely, et al., 1995), which according to Corvellec, is understandable because performance is not absolute but has to be measured against a reference point an d on how it generates future results (Corvellec, 1995) Due to increased competition due to globalisation, companies have had to closely examine their performance levels and streamline their operations. The importanc e of employee performance and how this can be enhanced to for advancing a compet itive edge of organisations is well understood and researched with empirical res ults (Brewster, et al., 2003). This has led to an increased valuation of an orga nisations human resources and with a focussed approach to performance management as a tool to achieve competitiveness (Bartlett, et al., 1995). Human resource an d performance management is anything but a simple process. It is a multifaceted and multivariable problem solution employed by organisations to measure and impr oves performance levels including employee performance. Performance management has become embedded in human resource strategy and manage ment and according to Hellriegel it strives to improve the employees individual pe rformance and his contribution to the organisations wider objectives (Hellriegel, et al., 2004). However, effective managers are those that are able to look beyon d the individual to a broader picture in order to achieve overall performance ob jectives. Additionally, a balanced and effective performance management system m ust not only reward personal achievement and development, it must be seen to rew ard individual performance attainment (Hendrey, 1995). According to Baird A good

performance management system motivates employees to better their own performan ce, promotes self-motivation, and builds and strengthens relationships via open communication between employees and managers. This is what TQM aims to do and ach ieve and why it is imperative that its effectiveness in the competitive and host ile business environment of the Niger Delta oil industry be studies to determine and possibly obtain empirical proof that it does. 2.6. TQM and Employee Performance With the globalisation of oil industry in general and the peculiarities of the o il industry in Niger Delta of Nigeria, oil firms/companies in the Niger delta ar e faced with a very complex, fluid and changing business environment in which co mpetition has steadily increased. In this environment local companies have to co mpete with well established multinationals that have far superior processes and management techniques. These companies compete in the domestic as well as in th e international markets. They accordingly seek to implement management technique s and practices that have been successfully implemented elsewhere and which they hope will enable them identify changes in their processes that will enable them to positively adapt to their business environment and to remain competitive. One of those management techniques is TQM that tend to generate a lot of discuss ion in the Nigeria oil industry and beyond (Salaheldin, 2009) ( (Fassoula, 2006) . Although there is a lot on the literature written on the application of TQM a nd its impact, these tend to be on operational performance ( (Choi, et al., 1998 ) with little on its effect on organisational and employee performance (Broetzma nn, et al., 1995). In fact most of the study of the impact of TQM on performance was investigated on Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, USA and the fa r East (Rahman, 2001); (Petroni, 2002); (Seth, et al., 2005); (Demirbag, et al., 2006); (Sila, 2007)) with little focus on those in developing countries such as Nigeria (Koh, et al., 2007). Performance, according to Slack is is defined as the degree to which an operation fulfils the performance objectives primary measures in order to meet the needs of the customers secondary measures (Slack, et al., 2001). Understanding performa nce and having the ability to measure it is a necessary first step in performanc e improvement given that in order to gauge the impact of TQM requires an underst anding and ability to measure performance ( (Demirbag, et al., 2006); (Koh, et a l., 2007)). Although there have been several studies to gauge the impact of TQM on performan ce levels, these has not focussed on employee performance levels (Salaheldin, 20 09). Rather, these studies have tended to focus on organizational performance an d organizational performance (Sterman, et al., 1997). This lack of adequate stud y of the impact of TQM on employee performance makes this study very necessary. Performance management is a holistic process that enables the determination of o verall performance of an organisation from departments to employee performance l evels (Shah, et al., 2009). According to (Shah, et al., 2009), employee performa nce determination and management should be a complete process which gauges emplo yee fulfilment of organisational objectives. There is however a general confusion between employee performance appraisal and performance management and although there has been a lot research on employee performance appraisal they d id not yield meaningful results Thomas B. Wilson, (Wlson, 1994). In fact, in som e cases, performance appraisal has led to a decline in overall performance of em ployees which is why it has been suggested by Glendinning, (Glendinning, 2002) t o use employee performance management instead. In Nigeria, TQM has been used in the oil industry since Mobil Nigeria Plc as far back as late 1980s in response to problems with quality and to improve producti vity and reduce the number of rejects (Gbadeyan, et al., 2008). And by according to (Gbadeyan, et al., 2008) these new and continuous quality management systems brought in the required quality culture which resulted in improved relationship with the companys suppliers and customers, and a drastically enhanced company im age which enabled the company to assume leadership in the oil industry. This all

owed the company to delivery perceptual and actual customer satisfaction with a resultant employee satisfaction and morale (Communications, 2004). But although TQM brought about overall company improvements as witnessed by an increase in re venue from N37.l billion in 2002 to N31.5 billion in 2003 representing an of 18% , there is no empirical evidence of the impact of TQM on employee performance. H owever, one can perhaps deduce from the positive impact of TQM on employee satis faction and morale that TQM also positively impact employee performance. And des pite Gbadeyan et al (Gbadeyan, et al., 2008)providing evidence that TQM contribu ted in the overall performance levels and to achieving its objectives (Reports, 2004), the impact of TQM on overall employee performance is but subjective deduc tion, and proper study as this study has done, is the proper and only scientific way to provide empirical evidence of the impact of TQM on employee performance. 2.7. TQM: A S.W.O.T Analysis SWOT analysis is a very effective tool for effective planning for the evaluation of the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to an organisation, proc ess or tool. It looks at both the internal and external factors that impact the stated objective. The internal are generally considered as the strength and the weaknesses whilst the external are generally seen as either opportunities to be exploited or weaknesses that would need to be managed. Table 2 provide a SWOT an alysis of TQM. 2.8. HR and Communications Aspects of Implementing TQM HR and communications are significant factors that determine the effectiveness a nd successful implementation of TQM, and the manner in which management deals wi th and communicate with employees reactions and perceptions of changes that are b rought about or perceived to be brought about due to the TQM process directly im pacts the stress and anxiety levels of employees. These anxieties such as fears of redundancies should be effectively in order to allay fears and thereby enhanc e employee performance which can improve performance levels and thereby greatly improve performance levels and the success (Ivancevich, et al., 1987). TQM implementations are times of great uncertainty for employees. It has been sh own that it is during these times of uncertainty that employees pay much more at tention to communication detail and they are bound to resort to other means of g etting information which are often times inaccurate when there is not enough or accurate communications forthcoming from HR and management. In fact it has been shown that a proper and adequate communication channel between employees and HR is vital as it gives the notion that the company cares that much about the emplo yees and it enables the employees to trust that the company has their interests at heart and will do everything possible to ensure a continuity of job security and that anyone who loses their jobs as a result of the merger will be properly compensated and taken care of. The increased communication between management and the employees during the hig hest uncertainty period shows management concern for the employees which is in t urn reciprocated ( (Schweiger, et al., 1991). In fact, a study by (Napier, et al ., 1989) showed conclusively that not only is increased and effective communicat ions mandatory, but that communications is never adequate and should be continuo us and that for it to be effective it has to be hierarchical in that there shoul d be targeted information for different tiers of employees in the company (Napie r et al. (1989) to ensure effectiveness. The concept of human resources that ensures that employees welfare is taken care of is as old as the term human resource management itself (Mabey, et al., 2001)T he effective management of people of which communications plays a huge part has been the subject of the search of effective management techniques and the emerge nce of management gurus. TQM play a vital role as strategic tools in dealing wit h particular business changes based on various motives such as being used for gr owth, technology improvement, customer base enlargement and satisfaction. Howev er, irrespective of whether it is widely a accepted strategic option to solve bu siness problem, it has become evident that the majority of the TQM implementatio

ns do not succeed. According to Very (2004) more than half of the TQM implementation failed to real ise their primary objective due to a lack of due diligence in terms of limited H R communication issues. The reason of for the failure in achieving their target goal was a result of managerial approach involved. This leads to implementation failures irrespective of the good and sound strategy and professionalism involv ed in the process. The human capital also needs to be considered in order to com pliment and support financial and human capital, which are major success factors for M&. 2.9. The Role of Due Diligence It is paramount that there is a thorough consideration of issues relating to TQM in order for a successful implementation. It is important that factors that inf luence the success or otherwise of TQM implementation be investigated and examin ed with due diligence (Bertoncelj and Kovac, 2007) to ensure success (Okafor 200 5). The importance of corporate culture in any merger TQM implementation is crit ical given that every company or firm has its own different corporate culture an d strategy which guides the operation of the company. Additionally, it is import ant to clearly map out areas for examination and analysis to make sure that the vital areas are covered in order to guarantee a successful implementation (Carey , 2000). These include the analysis of the strength and weaknesses of the top ma nagement as well as the nature of their operations (Jensen, 1982), in addition t o all financial aspects of firms, the corporate culture, key talents and the pro blems (Carey, 2000).