MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYEE EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL FIRMS IN NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Abstract Management development is a process that creates effective managers, which enable managers to acquire skills and learn to recognize behaviours, builds confident and effectiveness. This study investigated management development and employee effectiveness of Oil Firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study focus on the impact of: learning-through-work on employee effectiveness; impact of formal training on employee effectiveness; impact of feedback on employee effectiveness; of Oil Firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria.  Five (5) research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. related literature were reviewed. The study was anchored on learning theory, social exchange theory and resource-based theories which provide a theoretical background to the study. The study adopted survey design with a population of 410 employees and a sample size of 201. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Descriptive (percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (multiple regressions) statistics were used to analyze collected data. The findings of the study revealed that: there is a significant impact of learning-through-work on employee effectiveness (0.000); there is a significant impact of formal training on employee effectiveness (0.001) and there is a significant impact of feedback on employee effectiveness (0.005) on employee effectiveness of Oil Firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria. It was concluded that management development enhances communications skill; adaptability, flexibility, builds strong culture, gives high moral and ability to adapt to change. It was recommended among others that organisations should create environment where learning is as instinctive as breathing, to unlock the full potential of a workforce. Keywords: Management development, Employee effectiveness, Learning-through-work, Formal training, Feedback