A university don, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi has charged employers of labour and management staff who oversee activities in workplaces to take cognizance of the interest of their employees or subordinates, in the course of developing work schedules and corporate governance mechanisms.

Prof. Zeb-Obipi, who is of the Department of Management, Faculty of Management Sciences at the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, gave this charge on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at the 79th Inaugural Lecture of the University in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with the theme: “People Management Tripod and Worker Productivity. The Solute, Solvent and Solution”.

Delivering the 79th Inaugural Lecture of the institution, which was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nlerum Okogbule, and had in attendance the institution’s management staff, traditional rulers, captains of industry, the academia, and the student community, amongst others, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, dedicated the day to his benefactor and mentor, Late Emeritus Professor Augustine Ahiaizu.

He advised those in charge of running the affairs of organizations to be people-oriented, recognize and capture workplace diversity and mainstream inclusivity, noting that these would engender greater commitment and dedication to work and thus ensure optimum productivity.

“It is important for superior officers to understand and accept workers as persons with different and unique needs, wants, aspirations and backgrounds and they can only put in their best when motivated and appreciated by those who superintend over them.”

The Okrika born academic, who is also a traditional ruler and current Director of RSU’s Information and Communication Technology Centre (ICTC), maintained that managers should be intentional about “creating and allocating satisfaction to their subordinates”, asserting that “people often follow a leader who while in pursuit of the group’s objectives, ensures that their individual interests are properly aligned and achieved”.

“Be transparent, accountable, and intentional, in terms of being open and sincere in all their doings, taking responsibility over what they do or should do, how and when, where one should do it in a way that leaves no confusion as to where a point of decision or action lies.”

Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, who is the immediate past Dean of Student Affairs (DSA), former Head of both Management and Office and Information Management Departments, while shedding light on who should be given a managerial position in an organization, equally postulated that managers should be “well trained in the sciences and logic of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations; one with cognate understanding of the needs of staff members and ready to manage and understand the emotions of different people”.

He ended his lecture with a proposal for the creation of a Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations Department, a request which was immediately granted by the Vice Chancellor during his review of the lecture, saying the University was already up and about towards bringing the new department to reality.

Highpoint of the event was the conferment and donning of a customized gold medal by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nlerum Okogule, on the 79th Inaugural Lecturer, Professor Isaac Zeb-obipi in recognition of his sterling contributions to the body of knowledge.