Impact of TMT and MI on Organization Performance

The research works is to examine the impact of top management team and market information in manufacturing industries (A Case Study of Nestle Nig. Plc.). For the purpose of this study, the researchers has identified the problem formulated the research questions and hypothesis, research design through the use of structured questionnaires. In order to answer the research question and achieve the objective of the study, the following hypotheses are stipulated:There is no cordial relationship between top management team and market information on firm performance in Nestle Nig. Plc, There is cordial relationship between top management team and market information on firm performance in Nestle Nig. Plc.1. Findings revealed that top management team and market information has significant relationship on firm performance in Nestle Nig Plc. In other words, top management team and market information positively related to firm performance in Nestle Nig Plc.

Background of the Study

In Nigeria, the role played by the top management team (TMT) of any manufac-turing or any producing industry cannot be over-emphasized because they seesto the activities being run in an organization. Therefore many scholars gives out so many meanings of what management could be refers to such as, Philip Kotler,Gary –Armstrong, KellimKeller. Kotler (2006) stresses that management as a concept can be defined as the act of planning, organizing, recruiting, directing, staffing, controlling, coordinating and budgeting of the organizational activities as to achieve the stated objectives of the organization. It however include the accusation and deployment of resources of the firm to meet the long term objectives of the firm for survival, development, growth, risk minimization and profitmaximization. Management as an organizational process includes strategic planning, setting, objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results. Management means different thingto different people and therefore view it in different perspective this explains why some refers to it as the process of recording and storing facts and information for later use or for others within the organization setup. Its functions are not limited to managers and supervisors alone, every member of the organization has some responsibility and reporting function as part of their job. This is what brought about the issue of Top Management Team (TMT) in every organization and manufacturing industries.Since effective management requires an integrated fully-functioning Top Team, therefore top managers are thus often expected to be exposed only to the final outcome of the market research. According to Markus Menz (2012) affirmed that TMT is the highest ranking executives with titles such as chairman, chief executives officer (CEO), managing director, president, etc., are responsible forthe entire enterprise. The TMT are the key executives that provide guidelines and direction for critical strategic decisions; they are viewed as the driving force behind the firm’s behavior and performance (Auh and Menguc, 2005; Hambrick and Mason, 2005). The influence of top managers on firm performance remains one of the most widely studied relationships in management (Certo et al, 2006; Hambrick, 2007).Although these streams of research have enriched our understanding of market information processing in organization, they have yet to fully examine the issuesthat are associated with information collection indeed, information collection is the most important element of market information processing because withoutit there is no opportunity for the firm to keep abreast of its customer and competitor environment (Sinkular, Baker, and Noordewier, 2007).According to Newman (2009), TMT can be said to be overall determination of1

policies, setting of major objectives, the identification of general purposes and laying down of broad programs and projects, it refers to the activities of the higher level. It lays down basic principles of the enterprises. He explains further that TMT serves as the guidance, leadership and control of the efforts of the groups towards some common goals. The goals of an organization cannot befully achieved if the Top Management Team did not make use of what is called“MARKET INFORMATION”.Market information provides the basis for shared values and beliefs in market-oriented firms, determines norms of behaviors, and helps employees better understand their environment and their organization. In turn, these behaviors and processes contribute to the firm’s ability to create customer values, out perform the competition and achieve superior market outcomes (Jarwoski and kohli, 1993; Kirca, Jayachandran, and Bearden, 2005). Philip Kotler, et al, KelvinLane (2006) define it more broadly as “people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyzed evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision maker so as to improve on their planning, control and implementation of marketing objectives. A formal marketing information can be of great benefit to any organization whether profit or nonprofit making, no matter what its size or the level of managerial finesse. Jobber (2007) defines market information as a system and distributed to managers in accordance with their informational needs on a regular basis.Business dictionary also defines it as a set of procedures and practices employed in gathering, analyzing and assessing information about a firm’s market environment (External and Internal) comprised of competitors, customers, suppliers, distribution intermediaries, and sales personnel. Timely market information provides basis for monitoring and estimating market trends also called market intelligence system. Market information is often at the heart of decision making (Collins and Clark, 2003). Prior research suggests that firms concentrating on the external environment, as opposed to their internal organization, attain greater market success (Day and Nedungadi, 1994; Yadav et al, 2007).Top Management Team involve in performing strategic role in market information. The marketing role in strategic planning for the organization means identifying the optimal long-term position that will ensure customers satisfaction and support. These optimal positions are determined largely by fundamentalchanges in political, economic, social, technology (PEST) factors (Anderson,1992). Thus, strategic positioning is more likely to be guided by long term demographic and socio-economic research than by surveys of consumer attitudes, the hallmark of the markets-driven organization. Manager have an extensive data to information in the market place and the happenings in their environment through different means examples include inventory, balance sheet, sales record and so on. Good results and growing sales may be due to the organization being in the right place at the right time rather than having effective management.In contrast, this study suggest that inconsistency among TMT performance relationships shown in prior work may point to the possibility that important moderating have been overlooked, and such omissions create opportunity for further research