| Summary: | This study was designed to determine the requisite competencies for entry to transport management in Nigeria and to briefly contrast it with patterns in the United Kingdom using Boyatzis' (1982) model of effective job performance. To accomplish this, a review of United Kingdom and United States literature on management and research findings was conducted to identify and define broad areas of relevant competencies for effective performance of transport managers. A survey instrument consisting of 38 competencies was designed and validated for this study and was sent to a sample of 130 transport personnel managers in Nigeria and 200 in United Kingdom. Personal interviews were also conducted with 20 top level transport executives in Nigeria and United Kingdom respectively. Through a stepwise process, current and requisite competencies were ranked in order of importance and compared for both study areas. Grouped competencies were compared with each other to determine possible relationships. To answer the five research questions developed to address the objectives of the study, paired t-test, Coefficient of congruence, Factor analysis, and Pearson product moment correlation were some of the test statistics used. The study found firstly, that one of the difficulties with the definition of competence is that the term is used to describe very different things. Secondly, the study revealed that 35 competencies were considered important for efficient operation of a transport industry in Nigeria, while the number was 23 in the United Kingdom. This showed significant differences between Nigeria and the United Kingdom in both current competencies and requisite competencies. Thirdly, the study revealed that culture is a very important dimension of managerial competence and that different cultural values and social characteristics result in different kinds of management behaviour and objectives. Fourthly, it revealed that the political and socio-cultural environment affect organisational effectiveness. Finally, the study concludes with a recommendation that management methods be adapted rather than adopted, and that practical universality of management strategies may be a myth.
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