Influence of Leadership Style and Ethical Climate on Attitude to Work of Police Officers: Evidence from Osun State Police Headquarter, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of leadership style and ethical climate of attitude to work of the police officers in Nigeria. Two hypotheses were tested in line with the objectives and research questions of the study. The ex-post facto method, which involved the use of secondary data from the internet, journals, and articles, was employed. For this research work, the quantitative research design was used. The population of the study consists of Officers of The Nigeria Police Force Osun State Headquarter in Nigeria. However, a sample size for this study was determined using Yamane formula. The sample size consists of one hundred and sixty-five (165) Officers of the Nigeria Police Force. The instrument used for this research work is the questionnaire. The instrument passes the test of validity. The data were analyzed using manual and electronic-based methods through the data preparation grid and statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). The utilization of structured grids allows specific responses to be located with relative ease and facilitate the identification of emerging patterns. The linear regression analysis method and ANOVA were employed to test the hypothesis. Other methods of data analysis, which were also used in this study, include parametric and non-parametric measurement such as trend analysis. The research finds out that leadership style and ethical climate have a significant effect on police officers’ attitude to work and also Police officers who are affected by unfavorable ethical climate may result to lackadaisical attitude during official assignments which affect their productivity at work. It was also revealed that Self-Esteem adopted by the Nigeria Police force had an effect on Ethical Behavior of Police officers in Nigeria. The Study recommends that government should provide modern equipment to change outdated one and inculcate the habit of frequent use of technology in the discovery of the crime, curbing the crime as well and also specialized training should be conducted on regular basis to the officers of the force.