AN APPRAISAL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT IN THE YORUBA TRADITIONAL KINGDOM SYSTEM: PHILOSOPHIES, THEORIES & PRACTICES

Abstract

This study examined the core values and practices of the Yoruba traditional kingdom system that can be liken to modern management theories and approaches. Documented Western management concepts have dominated the thinking of academics and practitioners in Africa and Nigeria in particular for a long-time. However, communities like the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria for several decades had their unique ways and distinct cultures which for years had been managed subsistently. This study used qualitative research design and secondary sources to collect data from structured survey articles and texts published from 1961 to 2023 (Sixty-two years). The study argued that the Yoruba traditional kingdom system co-ordinated its affairs effectively in a similar approach to the Administrative school of thought, though it was not documented. The study revealed that many of the important features of the Administrative school of thought, especially the 14 principles of management, can be found applicable to the Yoruba traditional kingdom system of governance, hence portraying a managerial style that showed a high similarity to the aadministrative school of thought