ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR ENGAGING RETIREES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE BUSINESSES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial competencies required by retires in planning small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community developmen

COVER PAGE

ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR ENGAGING RETIREES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE BUSINESSES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

BY ANGIATING, FELICIA ABIYE

PG/M.Ed/10/57072

DEPARTMENT OF ADULT EDUCATION AND EXTRA-MURAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

DECEMBER, 2016

RESEARCH PROJECT

PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ADULT EDUCATION AND MURAL STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS DEGREE (M.Ed) IN ADULT EDUCATION

EXTRA-ADMINISTRATION

SUPERVISOR: VEN C A ONYECHI

DECEMBER, 2016.

CERTIFICATION

Angiating, Felicia Obiye, a postgraduate student in the Department of AdultEducation and Extra-Mural Studies with Reg No PG/M.Ed/10/57072 hassatisfactorily completed the requirements for the award of Masters Degree (M.Ed)

in Adult Education Administration The work embodied in this thesis is originaland has not been submitted in any university or in this university

iii

This work is dedicated to the Almighty God for His grace towards thesuccess of this work and to my family members

I wish to express my profound gratitude and sincere appreciation to my

supervisor Ven C A Onyechi and all other lecturers in the department for their

guidance and encouragement towards this work

I cannot also quantify my sincere appreciation to my special friend Mrs

Ngozika Ugwoke who tried her best to make sure that this struggle becomes a

success

I also appreciate my friend Mrs E A Anyanwu for her help to the success

of this work Above all, am grateful to the Almighty God for his infinite wisdomand mercy in granting me the good health and opportunity to carry out thisassignment

 Concept of Small and Medium Scale Businesses 41

 Concept of Sustainable Community Development 50

Theoretical Framework 54

Educational Implications 101

Recommendations 102

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on small and medium

scale businesses for retirees’ engagement for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial

competencies required by retires in planning small and medium scale

businesses for sustainable community development in Cross-River

State.

Table 3: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees in personnel management in small

and medium scale businesses for sustainable community development

in Cross-River State.

Table 4: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial

competencies required by retires in inventory stock management

in small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 5: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees in financial resource management in

small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 6: Mean and standard deviation of respondents on entrepreneurial

competencies required by retries in marketing of product and services

in the small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 7: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the small and medium

scale businesses engagement for sustainable community development

Table 8: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees in planning small and medium scale

businesses for sustainable community development in Cross-River

State.

Table 9: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees in personnel management in small

and medium scale businesses for sustainable community development

in Cross-River State

Table 10: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees in inventory/stock management in

small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 11: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees on financial resource management in

small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

Table 12: T-test Statistics of urban and rural retirees on the entrepreneurial

competencies required by retirees on marketing of products and service

in small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community

development in Cross-River State.

87

89

91

94 93

LIST OF FIGURE

Fig 1: Schematic Diagram of Retirees’ Entrepreneurship Competencies and

The purpose of this study was to investigate the entrepreneurial competencies required for engaging retirees in small and medium scale businesses The study adopted descriptive survey research design The population of the study was 11,698 retirees in Cross River State Multistage sampling technique was adopted for the study The sample for the study was 1,169 retirees The instrument for data collection was 61 items structured questionnaire titled ‘entrepreneurial competencies required for engaging retirees in small and medium scale businesses for sustainable community development” Modeled on a 4-points rating scale options of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD), with numerical values of 4, 3, 2, and 1 assigned to the responses The instrument was validated by 3 experts Crobach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency reliability of the instrument and was established at 0.721 The data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation for research questions and t-test statistics was used to analyze the hypotheses at the 0.05 level

of significance with the application of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) The findings include that: some of the small and medium scale businesses and entrepreneurial competencies required for retirees’ engagement are not accepted while some are accepted It is therefore recommended that more small and medium scale businesses should be developed and established with the associated competencies required for the retired entrepreneurs

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study

Small and Medium Scale Businesses (SMBs) occupy a place of pride invirtually every country (Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 2004) Due to thesignificant role of SMBs in the development and growth of various economies,Onogu (2005) stated that SMBs have aptly been referred to as the engine of growthand catalysts for socio-economic transformation of an individual and the country.Olagunju (2000) described small scale business as all ventures set up to providesatisfaction (utility) for a defined market target and with capital and asset base aslow as five thousand naira and as high as one million naira According to theNational Institute of Management (2005) small scale businesses are thosebusinesses employing between 1-35 people, while the medium scale businessesemploy more than 35 but less than 100 people in the business

The National Council of Industry, (2003) described small and medium scalebusinesses (SMBs) as industry with capital based of less than one million and notmore than ten million However, this study will adopt Central Bank of Nigeriadefinition of small and medium scale businesses (SMBs) which views it in relation

to asset base of N1million to N500 million and number of staff employed rangingfrom 11 to 300 employees (CBN, 2004) United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganization (UNIDO) (2005) reported that several Non-Governmentalorganizations such as: Fate Foundation, Support and Training Entrepreneurships

1

Programme (STEP), the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), theIndividual Development Finance Institutions (IDFIs), as well as DevelopmentFinance Institutions (DFIs) have been promoting the growth of small and mediumscale businesses in Nigeria through advocacy and capacity-building initiatives, andhave continued to canvass for better support structures for operators in the smalland medium scale businesses sub-sector Onogu (2005) recognized that all themassive attention and support given to small and medium scale businesses relate tothe widely acclaimed fact that small and medium scale businesses are job andwealth creators Small and medium scale businesses help to aid larger industry bycreating forward and backward linkage to encourage indigenous entrepreneurs inthe country (National Institute of Management, 2005).

An entrepreneur is a person who perceives business opportunities and takesadvantages of the scarce resources to use them (National Institute of Management,2005) An entrepreneur is an individual that creates and builds something of valuefrom practically nothing which is of benefit to the society An entrepreneurexhibits optimism, resourcefulness and persistence in business through experience.Entrepreneurs who have been involved in starting up and managing ventures aremore likely to be successful and effective in entrepreneurship pursuit (Diamanto,2005) Entrepreneurship in the view of Tasbulatova (2000) involves new ways oflooking at opportunities and identifying new approaches towards solving problems

It is understood as a combination of creativity and innovation Beingentrepreneurial involves the consideration of a number of opportunities to enhance

employee performance and business profit (Uduma, 2004) Uduma, (2004) furtherstated that the entrepreneur is expected to apply strategic planning to assess if theopportunities provided for growth are worthwhile and how they could besuccessfully exploited Strategic planning is an essential part to the concept ofentrepreneurial development of an individual, which implies expertise incompetencies to achieve a goal (Diamanto, 2005).

Competency according to Alawa, Abanyam and Okeme (2010) is thesuccessful performance of a task through the use of knowledge, skills, attitude and

judgement The Alawa et al, further viewed competency as the state of being

functionally adequate in performance of one’s duty Competency involves trainingsituation where trainees have to attain a small number of specific and job-relatedcompetencies (Cooper & Graham, 2001) This ensures that participants buildconfidence as they succeed in mastering a particular competency To be competenttherefore, means that individual has acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes whichare required for performing successfully at a specified proficiency level in anygiven work or trade To be successful, the entrepreneurs must be experts inplanning, establishing and managing their businesses, personnel management,inventory/stock management, financial record management and marketing ofproducts and services (Onogu, 2005)

Planning, according to Ezeocha, (2009) is the business of identifying goalsand objectives and working out ways and means of achieving them Ezeocha,(2009) further noted that planning is a process of setting out in advance, any

objective plan for the achievement of meaningful production Therefore, planning

is important to the success of business entity In any business entity, Okechukwu(2009) noted that an entrepreneur require skills in managing both human andmaterial resources of the business which include: locating the businessenvironment, identifying product line, recruiting staff, motivation, leading anddirecting the work force for the effective use of monies acquired, delegate andsupervise responsibilities

Also important in the success of any business is the financial resourcesmanagement skills Olatunbosun (2006) described financial resource managementactivities as that which is concerned with the planning and controlling of financialresources of an enterprise Apart from financial resource management, themarketing of the products of the entrepreneur is also very important Marketing,according to Okpan (2006) include all the activities that deal with: ability tocapture and retain the attention of customers; establish and maintain contact withcustomer, determine consumer needs, promote and sell the organization products,analyze demand and supply situations, effective market and information research.The identified areas of entrepreneurial competencies are important for aprospective entrepreneur for success and sustainability (Nigerian Institute ofManagement, 2005) In the context of this study, entrepreneurial competency refers

to identified knowledge and skills required for engaging retirees in managing smalland medium scale businesses in Cross River State

Engaging retirees in SMBs is a collective action and generate solutions tocommon problems in their community (United Nations Development Group,2014) Engaging retiree is a broad term given to the practices of civic leaders,activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspect of retiredpersonnels, typically aiming to build stronger and more resilient local communitiesafter disengagement from service (Uwaleme, 2013) According to Sung, (2014)engaging retirees seek to empower individuals and groups of people with the skillsthey need to effect change within their livelihood and lives Engaging retirees dealwith identifying and harnessing local community resources and opportunities andstimulating sustainable economic and employment activity

Sustainability is broadly described as meeting the needs of the presentgeneration without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirown needs (Clough, Chameau & Carmichael, 2006) Sustainability is the ability orcapacity of something to be maintained It is about taking what we need to livenow, without jeopardizing the potential for people in the future to meet their needs

(Clough, et al, 2006) According to Land-Learn, (2015) if an economic activity is

said to be sustainable, it should be able to continue forever The termsustainability, when applied to small and medium scale businesses is thedevelopment of a business or management system that helps to create a vibranteconomy and community development while respecting the need to sustain theresources and protect the business interest of entrepreneurs such as retireesbecause of the role they play in economic sector (Pearson, 2007)

Retirees are very significant in the growth and development of any society(Olagunju, 2004) According to Supprakit (2014), retirees contribute significantly

to economic life of Nigerian society For instance, Central Bank of Nigeria (2010)estimated that rural retirees in Nigeria are responsible for at least 70% of foodproduction and processing and are greatly involved in marketing and distributiveactivities Retirees’ participation in the labour force has increased greatly since theturn of the 20th century (Ajayi, 2013) and the percentage of retirees engaged in thepaid labour force is increasing rapidly (Onyeonoru, 2005) Hence, effort must bemade to ensure that entrepreneurial competencies required for engaging retirees inSMBs are identified

Retirement is disengagement from work force due to age or years of service

of the employees Retirees, according to Asogwa, Isiwa, and Obetta (2013) areadults who have been disengaged from the initial employment after long servicesbut are still willing and able to continue their existence in a desirable but lessstrenuous occupation with affordable investment Jerry (2009) stated thatengagement of the retirees in a sustainable occupation requires some retirementplans to help provide a liveable income when an individual stops working Some ofthe plans according to Jerry include: government-sponsored social security system,private-employer sponsored retirement plan and individual savings plan

In Nigeria, Akpe, (2002) noted that retirees suffer psychological pressurelike boredom, frustration, unwillingness to try new methods, fear of failure,depression arising from loss of incomes, loss of statues and authority in trying to

strike a compromise between an ideal and real departure from their regular job toretirement Some retirees suffer serious ailment like hypertension, stroke that mostsometimes lead to death, loss of authority and will power and humiliation due toinsufficient incomes to meet their family demands due to lack of job (Atchley,2007) Retirees in Nigeria face disheartening situations after several years ofserving their fatherland, the case of retirees in Cross Rivers State is not anexception (Alao & Obasoro, 2006) Taking into cognizance, the important rolesretirees played in their respective families and society at large, efforts must bemade for engagement of the retirees in economic activities for sustainable living onretirement In light of the above development, it is pertinent to identifyentrepreneurship competencies required for engaging retirees in small and mediumscale businesses for sustainability in Cross River State of Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

During the period of retirement the retirees’ monthly pension becomes smalland irregular Some of the retirees have no other source of income while a few rely

on meager and inconsistent income paid as pension Meanwhile, the gap betweentheir former and present income on retirement constitute an economic andemotional insecurity that often results in frustration and lots of ailment such asinsomnia (sleeplessness), high blood pressure and death Evidences are clear that inthe area of study, many of the retirees have died as a result of frustration due topoor financial status to maintain themselves and inability to meet other family

needs such as feeding, paying children schools fees, paying house rent, medical,power and other essential bills

The increased case of economic hardship and frustration to retirees in thestate is worrisome This could be possibly linked with their lack ofentrepreneurship competencies in small and medium scale business The painfulexperience of these retirees queuing up almost hopelessly for their pensions andsometimes fainting and dying in the process has become recurring features amongNigerian and Cross River State pensioners

Most of the retirees in Cross River State are still interested in contributingtheir own quota to the development of their immediate families and thecommunities To enable them do this, they require some entrepreneurialcompetencies for engagement in small and medium scale businesses for incomeearning This is because, small and medium scale businesses represent veritablevehicles for the achievement of national economic objectives of employmentgeneration and poverty reduction in our society This prompted the researcher tosee what could be done to engage the teaming retirees in small and medium scaleeconomic activities immediately after retirement in Cross River State It is based

on this benchmark that this study was carried out to identify entrepreneurshipcompetencies required for engaging retirees in small and medium scale businessesfor sustainability after retirement in Cross River State, Nigeria

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study is to ascertain entrepreneurshipcompetencies required for engaging retirees in small and medium scale businesses

in Cross River State Specifically, the study identified:

1 Small and medium scale businesses for retirees’ engagement in Cross RiverState

2 Entrepreneurial planning competencies required for retirees engagement insmall and medium scale businesses in Cross River State

3 Entrepreneurial personnel management competencies required for retireesengagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River State

4 Entrepreneurial inventory/stock management competencies required forretirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross RiverState

5 Entrepreneurial financial resource management competencies required forretirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross RiverState

6 Entrepreneurial marketing of products and services competencies requiredfor retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in CrossRiver State

Significance of the Study

Theoretically, the findings of this study will revalidate the theory ofentrepreneurship theory and sociological theory of entrepreneurship that illustratethe relevance of economic development of individual entrepreneurs to the overalleconomic development of the society

Practically, the findings of this study will be of immense benefit to retirees,adult educators, students curriculum planners, the government and researchers withinterest in entrepreneurship competencies required for economic development inthe society

The findings of this study will improve the knowledge and competencies ofthe retirees in Cross River State and Nigeria in general as the study will focus onthe identification of the entrepreneurship competencies required by retirees forsuccess in small and medium scale businesses in the state The practical knowledge

of small and medium scale businesses will enhance the income of these retirees

Adult educators on the other hand will greatly benefit from the findings ofthe study in that it will serve as a reference material to know the areas of deficiency

of the adult educators in small and medium scale businesses The knowledge of theprocedures for planning, establishing, managing personnel, managing financialrecord and marketing will assist adult educators to effectively impart theentrepreneurship competencies on the learners This knowledge will help toimprove their course content, method of teaching, consistent curriculum review

and planning for the production of experts in entrepreneurial studies Also, adulteducators who are not grounded in entrepreneurship skills and competencies willuse the findings of this study to update their knowledge.

The students of adult education in tertiary institutions will also benefit fromthe findings of the study as their entrepreneurship knowledge, skills andcompetencies will be significantly improved in planning, establishing andsuccessfully managing small and medium scale businesses on graduation Thestudents will be equipped on the practical skills in small and medium scalebusinesses in their locality

The findings of the study will be of great benefit to curriculum plannersbecause it will create awareness and serve as relevant materials for curriculumreview and update in line with the present societal demand for entrepreneurshipcompetencies for increased employment creation and national economicdevelopment The findings of the study if integrated into the curriculum ofgovernment owned skill acquisition centre where the retirees can be trained willproduce the needed information to the policy makers and public authorities incharge of retirees in Cross River State and the country

The findings of the study will be beneficial to the Cross River State and theFederal Government in their efforts to improve the quality of life of the retireesafter active service at work This is because, if the findings of the study arepackaged and made available for training the retirees, it will empower them with

competencies to enhance their income thereby reducing their emotional andeconomic insecurity The findings of the study will be of immense benefits tofuture researchers with keen interest in entrepreneurship empowerment programmefor vulnerable groups such as youths, adults, and retirees in Nigerian society Thefindings of this study will serve as good references materials that will help tosharpen their focus on entrepreneurship its indispensable contributions to theindividuals improved living standard and that of their society in general.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1 What are the small and medium scale businesses for retirees’ engagement inCross River State?

2 What are the entrepreneurial planning competencies required for retirees’engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River State?

3 What are the entrepreneurial personnel management competencies requiredfor retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in CrossRiver State?

4 What are the entrepreneurial inventory/stock management competenciesrequired for retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses inCross River State?

5 What are the entrepreneurial financial resource management competenciesrequired for retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses inCross River State?

6 What are the entrepreneurial marketing of products and servicescompetencies required for retirees’ engagement in small and medium scalebusinesses in Cross River State?

H 02: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of urban and ruralretirees on the entrepreneurial planning competencies required for retirees’

engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River State

H 03: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of urban and ruralretirees on the entrepreneurial personnel management competencies requiredfor retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River

State

H 04: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of retirees on theentrepreneurial inventory/stock management competencies required for

retirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River

State

H 05: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of retirees on theentrepreneurial financial resource management competencies required forretirees engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross River

State

H 06: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of retirees on theentrepreneurial marketing of products and services competencies required forretirees’ engagement in small and medium scale businesses in Cross RiverState

Scope of the Study

Geographically, the study is delimited to Cross River State of Nigeria Thisstudy also was restricted to identification of entrepreneurship competenciesrequired for engaging retirees in small and medium scale businesses in Cross RiverState The study identified small and medium scale businesses where the retireescan be employed for sustainable living In addition, the identification of theentrepreneurship competencies was made to cover competencies in planning smalland medium scale businesses, personnel management, inventory/stockmanagement, financial resource management and marketing products and services.The study was also restricted to the use of questionnaire for gathering data fromretirees who constituted the respondents for the study

CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The literature for this study was reviewed under the following headings:Conceptual framework, theoretical framework, review of related empirical studiesand summary of literature review as follow:

Conceptual Framework

 Concept of Entrepreneurship

 Concept of Competency

 Concept of Retirees

 Concept of Small and Medium Scale Businesses

 Concept of Sustainable Community Development

Theoretical Framework

 Economic Theory of Entrepreneurship

 Management Entrepreneurship Theory

 Sociological Theory of Entrepreneurship

Review of Related Empirical Studies

Summary of Literature Review

15

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs are significant because they are the dynamic force thatdisturbs the economic equilibrium through innovation by creating anentrepreneurial process (Irevisan, Grundling & De Jager in Kurger, 2004) Theentrepreneurs as innovators, are people who create new combinations of the factorsand then present them to the market for consumption by consumers Theentrepreneur exists in a state of tension between actual and possible The tension ismanifested in three dimensions that is the financial, the personal and the social(Kurger, 2004) The entrepreneur as key person in the process seeks suitablebusiness opportunity and develops a framework for the commercialization of theproduct or service The entrepreneur is usually understood with reference toindividual business According to Atuenyi, (2011) an entrepreneur has rightly beenidentified as those whose success depends upon imagination, vision,innovativeness and risk taking

The success of any developing economy depends to a greater extent on thelevel of growth and development of entrepreneurs within the businessenvironment An entrepreneur according to Osuala, (2008) is an individual whopossess qualities of risk-taking, leadership, motivation, and the ability to resolvecrises Kurger, (2004), described entrepreneur as an individual who undertakeuncertain aversion An entrepreneur as viewed by Abdulkair, (2011) is an anchor,innovator, or a developer of technology Aminu, (2009) noted that entrepreneur is a

critical factor in economic development and an integral part of the socio-economictransformation Its risk taking activity and challenging task, needs utmost devotion,total commitment and greater sincerity with fullest involvement for his personalgrowth and personality Ezeh, (2011) highlighted the characteristics of anentrepreneur as:

i a person who develops and owns his own enterprise

ii a moderate risk taker and works under uncertainty for achieving the goaliii innovative

iv peruses the deviant pursuits

v reflects strong urge to be independent

vi persistently tries to do something better

vii dissatisfied with routine activities

viii prepared to withstand the hard life, and other

The entrepreneurs form the major actors in entrepreneurship pursuit of aneconomy Abdulkair, (2011) stated that entrepreneurship is a key driver of anyeconomy in the sense that majority of jobs by small scale business started byentrepreneurial minded individuals who later created big business.Entrepreneurship, according to Rosenberg, (2003) is the process of identifying andstarting a new business venture, sourcing and organizing the required resourceswhile taking both the risks and rewards associated with the venture In the opinion

of Hak Choi, (2008) entrepreneurship is the willingness and ability of individuals

to seek out investment opportunities Gartner, William and Nancy, (2003) statedthat entrepreneurship constitutes a process by which individual combine humanand material resources in order to provide goods and services desired by man.According to Petrin, (2004) entrepreneurship primarily means innovation and risktaking, as well as a market stabilizing force It also means starting owning andmanaging a small scale business Dollinger, (1995) described four factors thatserve as impetus for entrepreneurship as follows:

i Negative displacement, that is, marginalization of individuals/groups fromthe core of society;

ii Being between things for instance, being between student life and a career;iii Positive push for example, a career path that offers entrepreneurialopportunities or an education that gives that individual the appropriateknowledge and opportunity’; and

iv Positive pull-mentors and partners encouraging the individuals

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economic growth anddevelopment of a nation (Aminu, 2009) Its purposeful activity include: initiation,promotion and distribution of wealth and service The entrepreneurship motivation

is one of the most important factors which accelerate the pace of economicdevelopment by bringing people to undertake risk bearing activities Due to itsoverwhelming advantages, entrepreneurship as national economic strategy should

be encouraged among the taming population most especially among retirees whoare willing to engage in productive activities through acquisition ofentrepreneurship competencies for sustainable living in Nigerian society Throughthese strategies, the achievement of quality living for the retirees and sustainablecommunity development can be assured

Retirees’ entrepreneurs are merely entrepreneurs who are pensioners orofficially not working again due to age or year of services They are retirees thatparticipate in total entrepreneurial activities, who take risks involved in combiningresources together in a unique way so as to take advantage of the identifiedopportunity in their immediate environment to produce goods and services thatsatisfy human wants Retirees’ entrepreneurs contribute to high economic growth,

as they owned about 25-30 percent of registered businesses (Central Bank ofNigeria, 2003) The major difference between entrepreneurs is the problem ofmultiple responsibilities and inadequate support retirees’ face in participating inincome yielding activities which prevent full maximization of their potential andproductivity National economic growth is always more robust and sustainablewhen retirees participate fully in the labour and production market

Consequently, retirees are today very prominent in both the public andprivate sectors of the economy They contribute significantly to economic life ofNigerian society (Supprakit, 2014) Retirees both in rural and urban communitiescontribute greatly to raising the standard of living of their families This laudableeffort can further be promoted through investment practices among retirees as

entrepreneurs in: sachet water business, cloth weaving, bakery, production of fastfood, rental services, commercial agriculture, transportation, matches making,photography, food processing, food storage, handicrafts, production of basic

consumer articles, catering, running tourist establishments among many others.

Entrepreneurship of any of this category requires certain level of competencies

Concept of Competency

Competency is indivisible body of knowledge, skills and attitudes that areintegrated and connected to tasks that are required for achieving developmentprocesses that are interrelated (Poell, Mulder and Wesselink, 2004) Competency

in the opinion of Cooper and Graham, (2001) involves training situation wheretrainees have to attain a small number of specific and job-related skills Thisensures that participants build confidence as they succeed in mastering a particularcompetency Competency in a given occupation is a state that facilitatesachievement of a task Ely, (1989) view competency as essential knowledge andskills obtainable in a profession and those which the professionals in the field mustpossess in order to demonstrate at optimal level of acquisition and functioning.Competency is a motivated pattern of knowledge, skills and abilities deployed toundertake a valued activity

Shipman, Sung and David, (2002) defined competency as ‘what’ to do ofthe job and how the job tasks should be performed successfully It is the ability to

do something well, measured against a standard especially ability required through

experience or training Olaitan, (2003) stated that to be competent means that theindividual has acquired attitude and judgments which is required to perform a tasksuccessfully at a specified proficiency level in any given work InternationalLabour Organization Report (ILO) states that competency is the knowledge, skilland behavior which someone exhibits in doing his job which are factors inachieving the pertinent results Relating to entrepreneurship in small and mediumscale businesses, competencies can be viewed specifically as those knowledge,skills and attitudes that are acquired through training for successful management ofsmall and medium scale business by retirees for sustainable communitydevelopment The entrepreneurship competencies required for effective operation

of small and medium scale businesses by retirees in this study are reviewed underthe following sub-headings: Planning, financial resource management,inventory/stock management, personnel management and marketing of productsand services

Planning

Planning is a management function which is essentially for the survival ofany business It is the process of determining the future direction of anorganization, the formulation and implementation of strategy that will enhance itsoverall competitiveness Enzine, (2004) describes planning as “a blue print ofbusiness growth and a road map that tells the world how a company expects toachieve its stated objectives” According to Welsh and Huizinga, (2001) planning

is the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a

desired goal It involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such aspsychological aspects that require conceptual skills As such, planning is afundamental property of intelligent behavior In the view of Owen, (1997) planninginvolves deciding on what the objective of an organization will be, bothquantitatively and qualitatively, while keeping in view the resources available tothe organization Simply put, planning involves setting up goals and objectives to

be achieved It also involves the selection from alternative courses of action andavailable resources that best option suitable for the achievement of theseobjectives Planning is regarded as a vital step in business without which successcannot be achieved It enables a firm to decide on how to balance resources, supplyand demand Planning reduces the likelihood of a venture collapsing, and essential

to the success of any venture

In organization, Welsh and Huizinga, (2001) described planning as amanagement process, concerned with defining goals for company’s future directionand determining on the resources to achieve the goals To meet the goals, managersmay develop plans such as a business plan or a marketing plan Planning alwayshas a purpose The purpose may be achievement of certain goals or targets.According to Shallice, (2002) the main characteristics of planning in organizationsare: (i) planning increases the efficiency of an organization, (ii) it reduces the risksinvolved in modern business activities and (iii) it facilitates the use of time andresources Welsh and Huizinga, further stated that the concept of planning is toidentify what the organization wants to do by using the four questions which are

“where are we today in terms of our business or strategy planning”? Where are wegoing? Where do we want to go? How are we going to get there?

Planning can be short term or long term or both Salman & Amusa, (2010)states that a business plans can be “long, range, intermediate range and short rangepolicies carefully formulated to ensure that an organization succeeds in the face ofstiff competition It ensures that an organization is constantly looking ahead, help

to avoid mistakes and in recognizing hidden opportunities Salman & Amusafurther stated that, planning requires a high level of inauguration ability to analyze,create and having the capacity to choose and be committed to a course of action.Planning is not done off-hand; it is a result of careful and extensive research.Planning is pervasive and encompassing at all management level This means thatall other levels/units within the organization are involved in planning its ownactivities in line with the goals and objectives of the organization and the objective

of each unit Ezine, (2004) considers a business plan as an internal document that

is considered as useful tool in business

It is important to determine the purpose of any business in order to have aclear reason for its existence Without a clear knowledge of its purpose, a businesswill destabilize, falter and may eventually fail Planning helps managers to clarifyfocus of their business or project development and prospect It equally provides alogical framework within which a business can develop and it helps to determinethe business focus and strategy over the next few years (Salman and Amusa, 2010).There are different levels of planning and strategy in decision making in business

The levels according to Ezine, (2004) are: strategic level, business level,operational level, and functional level These levels also constitute models forplanning Planning is a comprehensive document that clearly describes how theentrepreneur intends to operate its business It comprises the following: (a) adetailed outline of resources needed to realize the developmental objectives of thebusiness, (b) sources of resources, (c) how resources are to be utilized, and (d)method of periodic evaluation of the plan (Ezine, 2004) Similarly, Owen, (1997)outlined a three-step result-oriented process for planning a business whichincludes: choosing a business, evaluating alternative businesses, and deciding thespecific course of your plan on the business Based on the aforementionedimportance of planning in economic success of an entrepreneur, it is important tostate that the acquisition and possession of entrepreneurial planning competencies

by retirees will help to assure their success in economic activities in Cross-RiverState

Personnel Management

Personnel are employees that are employed by a company or organization toperform some kind of work According to Ndiomu, (1992) the personnel of anorganization comprises of men and retirees , young and old who engage in theproduction of goods and services and who are the greatest assets of theorganization as observed Onyishi, (2012) observed that the ability of any businessorganization to achieve its goals depends, to a large extent, on the caliber,organization and motivation of its personnel or human resources

Personnel can vary from unskilled labourers hired to do daily contract work

to highly skilled professionals such as doctors who staff a hospital (Encyclopedia,2009) The critical processes of determining goals, making investment choices,directing work effort on a day-to-day basis, maintaining and servicing equipmentand so on, fall squarely on the personnel of an organization It therefore followsthat people are the main instruments for the realization of organizationalobjectives In observing the role of personnel in the attainment of organizationalgoals, Ofoegbu, (1985) stated that a firm can mobilize all its capital inputs and still

be out of production that the decision to start capital mobilization start withpersonnel management The personnel or human resources of an organization have

to be properly managed for them to make maximum contribution to theorganization (Onyishi, 2012) In affirmative, Ezine, (2002) stated that of all thetasks of management, managing the human components is central and mostimportant task because the success of any organization depends on how wellpersonnel management is done

Sharing a similar view, Amber (2009) noted that, in any organization there

is a system which is responsible to increase the welfare and performance of theemployees This system implements policies which aim to achieve all theobjectives regarding the personnel of the organization This system according toAmber is known as personnel management The function of personnelmanagement starts with the staffing process, screening and interviewing processand selection process In addition, personnel management also develops such

policies which are beneficial for the employees Harry, (2009) reported thatpersonnel management is basically a form of human resources management; thatthis area of management is concerned with everything about the staff ad workers ofthe organization It is fundamentally responsible for the hiring and staffing ofemployee in an organization It also suggests the job description as well as theskills required for a particular job (Onyishi, 2012) Once a person is on job, thepersonnel management function looks after appropriate training and development

of the individual Along with this, the personnel management decides what benefitsand bonus to give to a certain employee

Personnel management is an extension of general management promptingand stimulating every employee to make his fullest contribution to the purpose ofthe business According to Ikeanyibe, (2009) human resource managementencompasses those activities designed to provide for and coordinate the humanresources of an organization Organizational success depends largely on the people

or personnel In the contribution of Griffin, (1997) human resources management

is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing andmaintaining an effective workforce In the view of Stone, (1998) Human ResourceManagement (HRM) is on managing people within the employer-employeerelationship Specifically, it involves the productive use of people in achieving theorganization’s strategies business objectives and the satisfaction of individualemployee needs Since personnel seek to strategically integrate interests of anorganization and its employees, it is much more than a set of activities relating to

the coordination of an organization’s human resources Personnel can be a majorcontributor to the success of a business because is in a key position to affectcustomers, business results and ultimately shareholder value Likewise, ineffectivepersonnel is thus either a part of the problem or part of the solution in gaining theproductive contribution of people (Stone, 1998).

According to Decenzo and Robbins, (1999) personnel management issimply the part of the organization or institution that is concerned with the

“people” dimension Personnel management can be viewed in two ways First,human resources management is a support function in the organization, its role is

to provide assistance in human resources management matters or those directlyinvolved in producing the organization’s goods and services Secondly, managinghuman resources is a function of every manger’s job, whether or not one works in aformal” human resources management department; the fact remains that toeffectively manage employees requires all managers to be able to show masteryover all human resources activities Every organization is comprised of people,acquiring their services, developing their activities, motivating them to high level

of performance, and ensuring that they continue to maintain to achievingorganizational objectives Getting and keeping good people is critical to thesuccess of every organization

In a similar view, Onah, (2003) described personnel management as thedesign of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficientuse of human talent to accomplish organizational goals Dessler, (2005) observed