Quality In Nigeria Research Articles

Perceptions of Service Quality: An Empirical Assessment of Modified SERVQUAL Model among Domestic Airline Carriers in Nigeria

Abstract Literature is replete with a large number of theories related to service quality measurement and dimensions in an airline context. To date, there is no consensus of opinion on the generic model and of the number of dimensions most appropriate to evaluate service quality in airline industry. This study investigates service quality dimensions in the Nigerian airline industry. The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. Convenience sampling was used to select 800 respondents among departing air travellers in Lagos State. A structured questionnaire containing 28 items was developed to evaluate the perceived service quality of domestic airlines. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and one-sample t-test. The dimensionality of perceived service quality in Nigeria’s airline industry was explored using exploratory factor analysis. From the analysis carried out, it was established that the modified SERVQUAL model provided a satisfactory level of overall reliability in Nigeria’s airline context, which implies that all the items were cohesive in forming the SERVQUAL dimensions. According to the findings of this study, all service quality dimensions are positively and significantly interrelated. The perceived service quality of domestic airlines across these dimensions was found to be poor. The most dissatisfied dimensions in order of ranking were: flight pattern, reliability, facilities, assurance, responsiveness, employee, and customization. On the basis of the aforementioned findings, this study concludes that airline operators should redefine their service standards to one that is customer-focused by identifying the dimension of service quality most preferred by the passengers and continuously strive to improve service delivery. The study recommends that airline operators should recognize the changing needs and expectations of air travellers and customize their range of services by identifying unique service requirements of the individual customers.

Farmers perception of the quality and accessibility of agrochemicals in Kaduna and Ondo States of Nigeria: Implications for policy

This study analyzed the quality and accessibility of agrochemicals as perceived by crop farmers in Kaduna and Ondo States of Nigeria. A total of 260 crop farmers were selected for the study using multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were collected using pre-tested, structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that the majority (62.7%) of the crop farmers perceived the quality of agrochemical to be poor or just average. Similarly, many (43.5%) perceived agrochemical as accessible. Farmers’ perception of quality of agrochemical was strongly influenced by level of education (0.059, P<0.01) and experience (0.015, P<0.05) among others. On the other hand, perception of accessibility of agrochemical is influenced by education (0.064, P<0.01) and income (0.012, P<0.01) among others. Major constraints to accessing quality agrochemicals were inadequate enforcement of pesticide regulations, high cost, and porous borders. This study therefore, recommends that government should device policy and special financial incentive (subsidy) geared towards boosting local production of agrochemical. It is also advocated that government should review pesticide laws to facilitate the effective supervision of pesticide quality in Nigeria. .

Access and Quality in Nigeria’s Higher Education: Need for a Pragmatic Approach for Sustainable Transformation

Access and quality of higher education are among the major criteria for assessing the product of any institution of higher learning. This paper discusses access and quality in Nigeria’s higher education; need for a pragmatic approach for sustainable transformation’. It discusses problems of access in the areas of carrying capacity of universities, process of admission, poverty, location and corruption. The problems of quality were traced to poor recruitment procedure, inadequate infrastructure, poor funding, corruption and lack of adequate practical experience. The problems of quality also extended to poor research development and underutilization of research findings. Pragmatic approach to solving each of these problems was discussed which include abolishing policies that have not benefited the education system like quota system. The paper advocates for merit at this crucial stage of national development, at least seventy percent of admissions into tertiary institutions should be based on pure merit. Recruitment of academic and non-academic staff should be purely on merit. Funds should be made available for the provision of adequate infrastructure. Research findings and recommendations should be urgently appraised and utilized. Keywords: Higher Education, Access, Quality, Pragmatic, Transformation

Microbiological evaluation of cosmetics products sourced in Aba city, Nigeria

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Background:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt; Cosmetics are external preparations normally applied to human body parts mainly for beautifying, cleansing and protecting. These products are basically non-sterile but must be completely free of high-virulence microbial pathogens. Production of stable cosmetics products require integrated quality management system which consists of quality raw material, proper product formulation, hygienic design of production facilities, good production hygiene process, packaging containers and a validated preservative system. Inadequately preserved products can provide conducive environments for microorganisms especially in the tropical region. The objective of this study is to assess the microbial quality of some selected brands of cosmetics produced in the country and sold within the commercial city of Aba, Abia state of Nigeria thus to note the health hazards consumers are exposed to.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Methods:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Twenty brands of commercially available Cosmetic products manufactured in Nigeria were evaluated for their microbial quality using standard procedures.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Results:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt; There was no viable bacterial growth in 40% of the samples tested and no yeast growth in 65% of the samples tested. 35% of the products indicated &amp;lt; 300 CFU /g of samples tested. The predominant bacterial isolates were &lt;em&gt;Pseudomonas aeruginosa&lt;/em&gt; and S&lt;em&gt;taphylococci aureus&lt;/em&gt;. Preservative efficacy tests carried out on the products using &lt;em&gt;Pseudomonas aeruginosa&lt;/em&gt; ATCC 9027 showed only 30% of the products tested were adequately preserved.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The poor microbiological quality of the preparations investigated can be attributed to either the formulation of these brands or environmental conditions during the manufacturing process. It is hoped that the training of the personnel that handle these processes will improve cosmetic products quality in Nigeria.&lt;/p&gt;

International financial reporting standards and financial reporting quality in Nigeria

The study examines the impact of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the quality of financial reporting in Nigeria. The study utilises a period based approach to analyse changes in the degree of financial reporting quality (FRQ) that hinges on three proxies: Value Relevance, Earnings Quality and Earnings Management. Three models were developed to capture each proxy, and the models were analysed using regression analysis to evaluate the R 2 statistics; which captured the direction of change in the reporting quality. The results showed that financial reporting quality increased after the adoption of the IFRS for all the relevant proxies. The study concludes that the adoption of IFRS to enhance financial reporting quality while reducing the probability of earnings management practices could be beneficial in the long run to the Nigerian financial landscape. Keywords : Reporting Standards, Value, Relevance, Earnings, Management

The link between trade openness and deforestation for environmental quality in Nigeria

This paper examines the effect of trade openness on deforestation for environmental quality in Nigeria. Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach to cointegration was used to achieved the long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. Economic growth, energy consumption and population were used as control variable. The long-run result shows that the coefficients of trade openness and economic growth are significant and inversely related to deforestation. This suggests that trade openness and growth reduce deforestation and improves environmental quality. Conversely, the long-run coefficient of population is significant and positively related to deforestation, meaning that population increases deforestation and environmental degradation. However, the long-run result for energy consumption did not produce statistical significance. Furthermore, all the short-run results were consistent with their long-run result.

Unethical Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Nigeria

This study examined unethical accounting practice and financial reporting quality in Nigeria. Behaving ethically is an essential and expected trait for professional accountants. The society places high premium of trust and expectation from the professional accountants and auditors as such people need to have confidence in the financial reports being prepared/audited by them in making an informed decision. It’s imperative therefore, that the information being provided by accountants and auditors should be meaningfully efficient, reliable, and realistic and are unbiased. An explanatory case study approach was used for the study complemented by archival data, newspaper reports and regulatory report. One of the key issues in our findings is that extended audit tenure could impair auditor’s independence and ability to employ professional skepticism on matters at their disposal. Non adherence to the spirit and letter of corporate governance was also responsible for the corporate scandals. We recommend therefore that the composition of the board of Directors and audit committee members should be made up of people of proven integrity and corporate experience. Also the tenure of external auditors should have a terminal frame and not be too long to as to affect their ethical conduct.

Fighting the Scourge of Audit Failures in Nigeria- the Search for Audit Quality

The objective of this conceptual study is to draw attention to the scourge of audit failures in Nigeria, its consequences for the capital market and suggest what is to be done to ameliorate the situation and enhance audit quality. Our literature search reveals that audit failure is a serious problem in Nigeria with dire consequences for the capital market and the auditing profession in Nigeria. We chronicle some of the suggestions made at various fora to tackle this problem. We recommend, among others, immediate mandatory introduction of Forensic audits for say every 5 years for public interest entities in Nigeria, strengthening of corporate governance institutions for more effectiveness, introduction of joint audits and tackling headlong cultural factors militating against audit quality in Nigeria.

Cultural Factors and Audit Quality. Evidence from Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to find out the perception of professional accountants in Nigeria on how some cultural factors affect audit quality. A survey research design was adopted for the study. A questionnaire survey of 108 professional accountants was undertaken. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the 50 usable responses received. The one sample t-test was used to confirm the significance of the responses. Findings include the fact that some Nigerian accountants receive bribes in the course of duty thus compromising audit quality. Also low litigation culture, slow and tardy judicial process and corruption in the wider Nigerian Society affected adversely audit quality. Our findings have implication for the regulatory authorities as they strive to rein in the monster of audit failures and thus improve audit quality in Nigeria.

Critical factors affecting construction quality in Nigeria: evidence from industry professionals

The overall aim of this study is to improve construction quality in Nigeria through the identification of pertinent factors affecting the process. Relevant factors were identified from the literature and studied by means of questionnaire survey sent to construction industry professionals that include architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and builders. The importance of each factor was computed for all the professionals via the severity and frequency responses of the factors. Data analysis includes ranking comparison among the professionals using severity, frequency and importance indexes. Percentage rank agreement factor (PRAF) was used to measure agreement of the importance ranking among construction professionals and one sample t-test was conducted to determine the significance of each factor. Finally, correlation analysis was used to measure the degree of correlation among all professionals.The results shows that the five most important factors are ‘poor quality of materials delivered to site’, ‘low level of skill and labour experience’, ‘poor inspection and testing’, ‘poor site installation procedure’, and ‘lack of quality assurance’. The one sample t-test shows that 79% of the factors are important in affecting construction quality in Nigeria. There was strong agreement between the architects and the engineers (.71), the architects and the builders (.73), and the engineers and the builders (.75), while the level of agreement between the architects and the quantity surveyors (.43), the engineers and the quantity surveyors (.36), and the builders and the quantity surveyors (.38) is low. Determining the construction industry professionals' viewpoints on factors affecting construction quality is therefore an essential first step towards establishing methods and processes for real improvement of quality in Nigeria and probably most other African countries that are similar in nature.

Factors Affecting Audit Committee Quality in Nigeria

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that affect audit committee quality in Nigeria. A hand administered questionnaire survey of 52 accounting professionals was undertaken. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the most common factors. Independent t-tests were used to determine whether there were any significant differences in the perceptions of the factors according to gender, job type and experience. The questionnaire findings, which include some factors peculiar to Nigeria, suggest that many factors affect audit committee quality. These include financial literacy of members of the committee, ability of members to ask relevant questions, provision of remuneration to members of the committee, committees willingness to periodically evaluate itself, tenure of members to be pegged at a minimum of 3 years and provision of regular training for members. The findings uphold the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission recommendation that an audit committee should have at least one financial expert in the team. The findings of this study are of particular relevance to the Nigerian regulatory authorities especially the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as it is set to fashion out a new mandatory corporate governance code for establishments under its purview.

Audit Committee Financial Expertise: Antidote for Financial Reporting Quality in Nigeria?

Audit committee financial expertise is vital to the quality of financial reporting. This study empirically investigates the impact of audit committee financial expertise on the quality of financial reporting. The financial reporting quality was measured by reliability (total accrual quality) and relevance (audit report lag). Fifteen money deposit banks were selected and data was collected for the period (2003-2012). Analyses were carried out using Correlation, Ordinary Least Square and Panel Lest Square. The study found, after controlling for firm size, audit type, age of firm, audit committee meeting and audit committee size, that, audit committee financial expertise showed a negative coefficient for total accrual quality and audit report lag. This means financial expertise has a positive significant impact on financial reporting quality in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that more attention should be given to the financial expertise of directors being recommended to the audit committee. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1p136

Examining Pre and Post-Liberalization Effect of Cocoa Production and Quality in Nigeria

Examining Pre and Post-Liberalization Effect of Cocoa Production and Quality in Nigeria

Fuel Subsidy Reform and Environmental Quality in Nigeria

The study examines the existence of a long run effect of fuel subsidy reforms on environmental quality in Nigeria for the period 1970 to 2012 using the Johansen and the Engle-Granger two step co-integration procedure techniques. Findings from the study supported evidence of a long run sustainable equilibrium model. The study developed a three case scenarios including i) a case of subsidy payment, ii) a case of effective subsidy and, iii) a case of no subsidy payment. Our estimation results showed that the first and the last case scenario do not significantly influence environment quality while an interaction of sound regulatory framework with subsidy payment (the case of effective subsidy) significantly exerts a responsive influence on environmental quality.

Audit Committee Multiple Directorships and Financial Reporting Quality in Nigeria: An Evaluation of the Interconnectedness using Empirical Evidence

The audit committee plays an oversight role in overseeing financial reporting. It is not uncommon to see directors sit on the audit committee of more than three public companies. In Nigeria, because of the small pool of directors available to the market, it is quite common for directors to serve on many boards. Against the backdrop that there are arguments for and against multiple directorships in the light of the quality of financial reports, opinion is split on the matter. The study seeks to examine the interconnectedness between audit committee multiple directorship and financial reporting quality in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research, using questionnaire as the research instrument to harvest the views of stakeholders of publicly quoted companies on the subject. Data was analysed using percentage analysis, weighted mean, and the Z-test statistics at 5% significance level. It was observed that audit committee multiple directorship impacts the quality of corporate financial reporting. Also, financial literacy of audit committee members enhances the effective overseeing of corporation’s financial controls and the quality of financial reporting. The study therefore supports the need for a high degree of financial literacy on the part of audit committee members to enhance effectiveness. It is recommended that regulatory agencies in Nigeria should also institute legislation similar to the Sarbanes Oxley act of the United States of America in order to curb the menace of earnings management and other unethical financial reporting practices DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p628

Corruption, Institutional Quality and Economic Performance in an Emerging Economy: Lessons from Nigeria

The need to promote and sustain a virile economy has continued to be a major concern of most governments worldwide, including Nigeria. The reason for this is not farfetched. For instance, a developed economy offers prospects for increased employment, greater efficiency and improved balance of payments and increased standard of living. But in Nigeria, improved economic performance has over the years been marred by social vices such as institutionalized corruption which hinders the capacity of institutions to efficiently deliver services necessary to grow the economy. This paper descriptively and quantitatively examines how corruption and institutional quality in Nigeria have impacted on economic performance. In the light of the above, it was found that corruption and institutional quality (measured by contract intensive money) have statistically significant effect on economic performance in Nigeria. Thus, it is recommended that aggressive reorientation and education of the masses and other key decision makers on the need to desist from rent-seeking activities is necessary. Once the scourge of corruption is successfully tackled, institutional quality will be strengthened and the much desired people centered economic growth will be achieved.

Audit Firm Characteristics and Audit Quality in Nigeria

This study examines the impact of audit firms’ characteristics on audit quality. We proxy the dependent variable (audit quality) using the usual dichotomous variable of 1 if big 4 audit firm and 0 if otherwise. Data for the study were sourced from the financial statements of 18 food and beverage companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange market within the period studied (2007-2012). The multivariate regression technique with emphasis on Logit and Probit method was used to estimate our model for the study. The choice of this approach was basically influenced by the dichotomous nature of our dependent variable and the fact that our data is both time series and cross-sectional. The findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between firm size, board independence and audit quality whereas there is a negative relationship between auditor’s independence, audit firm size, audit tenure and audit quality. The study suggests the need for the Nigerian Financial Reporting Council and other regulatory bodies in line with best practices to look critically into the three years professional requirements for auditors.

Post Flooding Effect on Soil Quality in Nigeria: The Asaba, Onitsha Experience

This study focuses on the post effect of flooding on soil quality parameters in agricultural farmlands in Nigeria. Soil samples were collected from farmland in Alihame Agbor, Ika South local government area of Delta state, Okwei in Asaba, Oshimil South local government area of Delta state and fegge in Onitsha South local government area of Anambra state. Farmlands in Asaba and Onitsha were used for the post flooding study, while farmland in Agbor served as control since it was not affected by flooding. Soil physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, total organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, moisture content and metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Mn, Ni and K) which were used as index for assessing the effect of flooding on soil quality were analyzed using standard methods. Significant effect of flooding was observed on soil properties on the flood affected farmlands when compared to the control farmland, which was statistically justified at 95% confidence limit (p ≤ 0.05). There were considerable decreases ranging from 4% to 53% at p ≤ 0.05 in the values of pH, total organic carbon, total organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and cation exchange capacity on the flood affected farmlands when compared to the control farmland; except for electrical conductivity where an increase of 54% and 92% at the flood affected farmlands in Asaba and Onitsha respectively was observed when compared to the control. Higher moisture contents were also recorded of up to about 17% and 45% at the flood affected farmlands in Asaba and Onitsha respectively, when compared to the control. Reduced concentrations ranging from 25% to 49% of essential micronutrients such as Mn, Ni and K were observed on the flood affected farmlands, reflecting the negative impact of the flood. Undesirable effect of the flood was also observed in the flood affected farmlands when compared to the control farmland as increased concentrations ranging from 18% to 114% of Cd, Pb, and Cu, were recorded. The findings of this study revealed significant impacts of the resulting flood on soil quality of the affected farmlands with major attendant effect of the flood felt on farmland in Asaba. As a consequence, measures should be put in place by government and concerned agencies to avoid future flooding of farmlands so as not to further expose the natural quality of these farmlands to the degradative and devastating effect of such flooding.

Audit Tenure: An Assessment of its Effects on Audit Quality in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the tenure of auditor and audit quality in Nigeria. The Binary Logit Model estimation technique was use to analyze the relationship between the tenure of an auditor and audit quality. Further research should consider other vital variables that affect audit quality such as non-audit services. Findings reveal that there is a negative relationship between auditor tenure and audit quality though the variable was not significant. The recommendation is that there is the need for the financial reporting council and other regulatory bodies in line with best practices to look critically into the issue of auditor tenure and its impact on audit quality in Nigeria.

Customer Relationship Management and Hospital Service Quality in Nigeria

Health care delivery has become one of the fundamental issues being given attention by governments of most developing countries. The Objective of this study therefore is to examine how Customer Relationship Management can be employed to bring about improve health service quality in Nigeria. The data for the study was collected through questionnaire instrument administered to 200 health workers at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Ilorin, Nigeria. Thus the study adopted a case study approach method. Exploratory test was conducted to determine the mean age of the Sample distribution, while Chi-square, Kolmogorov Smirnov test and Factor Analysis were Statistical techniques employed to further perform data analysis on the study. Findings reveal that the mean age was not significantly different from the hypothesized value, Customer Relationship Management (C.R.M.) has significant effects on the quality of Hospital Services in Nigeria ( χ2 =0.000, d.f=2 and P ≤ 0.05) and three factors namely: Interactive Management, Personalisation, and Relations with Patients are relevant factors in the implementation of Customer Relationship Management in Nigerian Hospitals. The study recommends pre- planning and understanding expectation of Stakeholders for CRM successful implementation.Key Words: Customer Relationship Management, Hospital Services,Patient’s Satisfaction, Isolation Ward and Interactive Management