Ethical Leadership and Administrative Competence: A Study of Ethiope East and Ethiope West Local Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/nfcjjh78Keywords:
Ethics, Leadership, Administrative Competence, Trust, Development performanceAbstract
Unethical and administrative corrupt practices have emerged as part of the criticisms
leveled against local governments in Nigeria. Perhaps, the problem of employees’ apathy and
lack of effort to perform the core functions of a modern state is not simply a matter of laziness;
rather, there are often healthy reactions by normal people to an unhealthy environment created
by unethical leadership. This underscores the importance of ethical leadership in influencing
administrative competence. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the relationship
between ethical leadership and administrative competence in Ethiope Easst and Ethiope West
Local Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey research design was
adopted and data was collected via a survey of 177 respondents randomly selected from a
population of 317 employees of the Ethiope East and Ethiope West Local Governments. Data
collected were analyzed using correlation and linear regression analysis with the aid of
Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23. The results of the study revealed that
there is a significant relationship between ethical leadership and administrative competence of
employees. The study also showed that ethical leadership exerts a positive and statistically
significant effect on administrative competence in Ethiope East and Ethiope West Local
Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria. Based on these findings, the study concludes that
ethical leadership has significant influence on administrative competence. The study therefore
recommendes among others that local government leadership should rewards ethical conduct
and discipline unethical conduct by exhibiting ethical behaviour that promote administrative
competent.
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Reseick, C. J., Martin, G. S. Keating, M. A., Dickson, M. W., Kwan, H. K., & Deng, C. (2011).
What ethical leadership means to me: Asian, American and European perspectives.
Journal of Business Ethics, 101(3), 435-457.
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examination of the endorsement of ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(4),
345-359.
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Saeed, R., Shakeel, M., &Lodhi, R. N. (2013). Ethical behaviour and employees job
performance in education sector of Pakistan. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research,
18(4), 524- 529.
Shafigue, I. Kalyar, M. N., & Ahmad, B. (2018). The nexus of ethical leadership, job
performance, and turnover intention: The mediating role of job satisfaction.
Interdisciplinary Description of Complex System, 16(1), 71-87.
Stacey, D. R. (2003). Strategic management and organizational dynamics. London: PrenticeHall.
Tanner, C. Brugger, A., Schie, S., Van, T., % Lebherz, C. (2010). Actions speak louder than
words. Journal of Psychology, 218(4) 225-233.
Torr, S. &Ofori, G. (2009). Ethical leadership: Examining the relationships with full range
leadership model, employee outcomes and organizational culture. Journal of Business
Ethics, 90, 533-547.
Trevino, L. K., Brown, M. E., & Hartman, L. P. (2003). A qualitative investigation of perceived
executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite.
Human Relations, 56(1), 5-37.
Ugwu, S. C. (2003). Issues in Local government and urban administration in Nigeria. Enugu:
Academic Printing Press.
World Bank (2004). Making services work for poor people. Nigeria: Word Bank Development
Report.
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