The Behavioural Implications of theCurrentReward System for Academic Staff in Nigerian Universities

Organisations are formed to realise goals. Consequently, efforts of organisation members are intended to be directed at achieving organisational goals. However, the extent to which organisation members will contribute efforts to organisational goal realisation is contingent, to a very degree, on the rewards attached to goal-directed efforts or behaviour. Research has shown that behaviour that is rewarded is the behaviour that is more likely to be repeated. Thus, in organisations, the extent to which rewards are linked to goal achievement will have implications for the display of goal-directed behaviours. This study attempts to ascertain the behavioural implications of the current reward system for academics in Nigerian universities. The study reveals that a majority of Nigerian academics believe that teaching is the primary purpose for establishing a university, but that the reward system is linked more to research and publications rather than teaching. They then submitted that they would rather spend more of their time doing research than teaching, a trend which is capable of jeopardising effectiveness in Nigerian universities.