WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE OF SUPERVISOR FOR A PRINTING PRESS – MAN OR WOMAN? HOW HAS THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY AFFECTED YOUR DAILY OPERATIONS AND OUTPUT?

One of the top determinants in choosing who to employ in a printing press is the gender. While stakeholders differ on which genre qualifies academically, managerially and emotionally, WHERE To Print also gathered that state-of-mind of employer and co-workers’ perception as well as experience in the industry also determines which gender is most suitable to lead a print business. In our character, WHERE To Print VOX POP Team went to town to chat with print operators on which gender they are most inclined to work with and why? We also sought to know their opinion about the impact of the economic situation of Nigeria on print business. Enjoy their response in below excerpt:

AMOS NATHANIEL (LARGE FORMAT ENGINEER AT TODAYS PRESS, IDIMU.)

1. “I will prefer a Man because I like to do things with a man, a man is more understanding than a woman. I’m not saying a woman is not understanding, it’s just that it takes a long process. A man is also more approachable than a woman.”
2. “Yes it has affected the patronage here. Customers Complain of money even when we have not reviewed our price, we still charge the same amount even before the hike in print consumables. Some even go as far as saying it is only when you are well fed that the idea of ‘I need to print’ will pop in your head.”

OJO MICHAEL (GRAPHICS DESIGNER AT OPENSPRING PRESS, IKOTUN)

1. “I will prefer a woman because she being a female, I will want to respect her opinion. As a female, she will naturally have this customer relation and people will get more attracted to her and also respect her. With this, the work will flow well.”
2. “It has really affected because our customers are also from this country, when we name our price they will tell us they can’t pay us that amount at once and thus we have to pity them and this in some way is bouncing back on us which is actually reducing our level of income.”

1. FEMI (SENIOR MACHINE OPERATOR AT CIRKULUS PRODUCTION PRESS, IDIMU)
2. “Anybody can be my Supervisor but if I’m to choose one, it will definitely be a man. He will understand better, if I discuss with him as a married man he will understand much better. I’m not saying a woman won’t understand but don’t let me thread that path (laughs) but what I want is a man.”
3. “It has affected us 100%. There is a Yoruba adage that says “Eniyan to ba jeun Kanu lo maan damonran ayeye” (it is only a well fed man that thinks of throwing a party). Same goes with printing these days; it is only a comfortable man that thinks of doing printing jobs. For instance, is it a couple who wants to wed, struggling to get money to buy their wedding wears, prepare food for their invitee that will think of printing calendar, jotter or invitation card?”

AWA TANKO MOSES (GRAPHICS DESIGNER AT PASSION PRESS LTD, OJO ALABA.)

1. “I’d go for a female supervisor because they are matured beings and I like women (laughs loud), they are flexible and I also feel more comfortable working with them.
2. “Of course it has affected the production here, a lot of things went wrong in this country but there is this self believe I have that the current government is going to put all that went wrong in place and Nigeria will be good for us all”.

DONALD FELIX (PRESS OWNER – PROFILE RESOURCE PRINT, OJO)

1. “As a press owner my Manager preference will be a man who understands printing very well. Even if I have a woman who understands printing at same level as the man, I will still go for the Man. My basic reason is because I will need a man that can move around more than a woman. A woman will be more or less effective in the office, she can manage and monitor affairs of the office but a man on the other hand can also manage the office, attend to customers outside the office terrain swiftly and can also do some other things all for the company no matter the risk but for the woman there is a restriction whether single or married.”
2. “Yes it has, considering the present challenges basically in Nigeria, the cost of printing materials has increased and it has affected the business of printing. Most customers are dropping their demand because of the sky-rocketed cost of printing. At least, if we can’t get 100% we should be able to get 50%”, and at the end you who own a printing press will have to cut down the cost of production in the area of production materials. Subsequently quality will also be affected because you will want to make profit from the production you make.

1. AINA OLAMILEKAN (LITHOGRAPHER AT AJ GRAPHICS, OTTA)
2. “I will prefer a female supervisor because I believe I can handle a woman than I will a man; I will understand her better. Most people believe a man is more approachable but to me a woman is much easier to approach.”
3. “It has affected our patronage level to a large extent, customers don’t make plates like before anymore, even those who make plates from us don’t pay on time and this has affected our operations and sales.”

MISS. COMFORT ELUFIDIYA (PRESS MANAGER AT EVERLAST DIGITAL PRINT, SANGO)

1. “As a press manager, if I am to appoint a supervisor, it will be a man because a man can handle so many activities in the press. As a woman, the truth is I can’t handle everything in the press but a man will be preferable. Probable most woman won’t admit to this but a man is more capable to supervise press functions, he can adequately command respect than a woman.”
2. “The current economic situation has an adverse effect on our operations and patronage as most clients complains that they are not getting print jobs, even the small ones they bring to us they still lament on how hard it was to get it approved as their own clients complains of not having money to eat not to talk of printing. Business is not the same like before.”

1. ISREAL (CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT HEYGATE PRESS, OGBA)

1. “Creativity will be at its peak when you work in an atmosphere where you feel comfortable. I feel comfortable working for a male boss. Understanding the print industry better is well achieved when you work under a male manager, I’m not saying there are no exceptional female managers but a man is capable of working extra hours than a woman. The print industry tends to work overtime and with a woman there can be series of excuses.”
2. “Definitely, it has affected a whole lot. Customers find it hard to pay the new rates we charge even the jobs are not coming in and this has affected our sales daily.”

 ADEOYE OLUWASEYI (HEAD OF OPERATIONS AT KARRIEGANNIE VENTURES)

1. “If I am to choose a choice of boss, it will definitely be a man. A man does take his job seriously than a woman and he also dedicates more time to his business. Yes, a few percentage of the female folk are also dedicated to their businesses but just a small fraction to me. I feel more comfortable working with a man. A man listens more attentively to his staff than a woman.”
2. “The economic state in the country has affected a whole lot of businesses. It has affected ours too in some aspect that I can’t go public about. Generally, we all know what’s going on in the country, I wouldn’t want to call it economic meltdown but we thank God we are managing though.  
3.     OCHUKO EMMANUEL (PRESS OWNER – OCHUKO LARGE FORMAT PRINTING PRESS IKEJA)

1. “I can appoint any gender as a manager in my press but if there is to be a preferred choice, I will prefer a woman because a woman attract customers in any organization and her competency, skill too will be an added advantage.”
2. “It has affected production and patronage in the aspect of transport, printing materials/ consumables, and also the production cost is high which results in low sales.”

1. STEVE LACHECHE (PRESS OWNER – LACHECHE WEB DESIGNER AND CO, IDIMU)
2. “My choice depends largely on their Intelligence Quotient (IQ) but if I am to make a selection, it will be a woman because I have experienced a man doing this job and I will like to give the lady a chance to prove her expertise. If I am to have a supervisor on the other hand, I will still prefer a female supervisor because they are… (laughs) not that I’m a womanizer but because her own experience will be different from mine.”
3. “It has affected my business seriously because the amount we charge now is more than the amount we do charge, it has increased with over 10% but we don’t have choice and our customers will just have to reduce their demands which is actually making sales low.”
4.           AYODELE (MANAGING DIRECTOR – ROMA PRODUCTIONS, AGEGE)

-“As a Managing Director, there is no discriminations as long as both genders are competent but if I am to make a preferred choice, a man will be better. The long stretch of working hours associated with the print industry will be the first point of consideration. You can ask a male manager or supervisor to work on night shift when it is necessary without objection but a woman has to think twice because of other responsibilities she has at home especially when she is married.”

-“It has affected us a great deal. All our print consumables/materials are imported and most of our customers don’t want to understand the increase in the foreign exchange rate. It has affected our daily operations.”

MRS. OLABANJI (PRESS MANAGER AT AJIB PRINT SOLUTIONS, SANGO)

-“If I am to a pick a choice of supervisor to supervise other staff, I will choose a man without hesitating because some male workers tend to look down on a woman and sees her as being inferior to them but if it is a man, they will acknowledge his authority and the action inherent in him. Even some customers look down on a woman and thus a man will be my preferred choice.”

-“The current situation of the Nigerian Economy has affected in so many ways, before we have so many clients and our sales was high but now they complain that they don’t get jobs anymore, no money and some of their own customers too have reduced their print jobs and this has gone a long way to affect our sales here.”

1. SUNDAY AKINOLA (CEO – REAL CONCEPT, AGEGE)

-“I will prefer a female Manager. A woman is soft minded to handle this business men are cunning and can divert your customers and unlike a man, a woman is not stone-hearted and they can run your company effectively for you without you having to suspect their every move.”

-“It has affected our business; when customers come and you name your price, they just go away as they can’t afford the new print rate which is as a result of the high increase in print consumables and materials.”

1. MIKE OSHO (CEO – COLOUR MART, OGBA)

-“Appointing a manager does not necessarily have to come down to the gender but the ability to deliver and having the right attitude to work. If I am to have a preferred choice, it will be a man. A man can turn around your time to meet jobs and work pressures, a man will be preferred.”

-“Yes it has – because the cost of materials are high; customers want everything at low prices and it is challenging to come down, so people are scaling down their level of production.”

1. EMMANUEL DADA (MANAGING DIRECTOR – MASS COMM. PRESS, AGEGE)

-“My choice is based on appointing someone who can go out to meet clients and represent me well where I cannot be. I prefer a man because you can communicate effectively with each other but if it is a woman, if you talk too much people might read meaning to it (laughs). A man can also represent his organization well when meeting clients and also overcome some obstacles like time constraint. I need someone that is agile and a man possesses that quality.”

-“Definitely it has, with some of the customers you have, when you want to print for them now you have to charge them higher because of the exorbitant price of print materials and they complain. The best option for them is to reduce the volume of their print to cut down cost and this has affected our own sales.”

1. MUFTAU HAMZAT (PRESS OWNER – MURPHY ADVERTISING, AGEGE)

-“Ah! I will prefer a man. Well, I’m not condemning the female gender but a man is more effective for a managerial post. People believe a female manager can give maximum performance but I doubt that, all you can get is maximum profit. People make use of beautiful women to market their organization and get contracts but when we talk about performance a man caps that, yes there are some exceptional women but just a small percentage. The way a man will command respect will be different from that of a woman.”

-“Well it has because most of the materials we are buying have all increased in prices and some of our customers are not ready to pay more. So, we have to devise means to convince them of the situation but I believe there will be changes in the near future.”

1. OMOBONI OLADAPO (PRESS OWNER – DAPSON PRINTING PRESS, AGEGE)

“Normally, I will appoint a Male Manager because women are not totally free, either way they have responsibilities that are way beyond them and freedom matters in the Print Industry. To me if I was to appoint a Female Manager, I will appoint a single lady but I still prefer to appoint a man as manager.”

“Yes it has, electricity is one of the major problems and the price of consumables is so high that it is almost difficult to print. There is no printer that will tell you things are the same but we are hoping for the best.”

1. REMI ATANDA (MANAGING DIRECTOR – ATAREX VENTURES LIMITED, AGEGE)

-“To me, it could be either of the two but to a certain extent. I will prefer a Man because he can give you result to a particular level but a woman can go extra mile to get you result. Women for who they are can choose to work without the incentive of money driving them but men calculate; ‘if I make a million for this person; how much I’m I going to get from it?’ (Laughs). In no time, you will see that same Manager of yours open his own firm close to yours and starts diverting some of your customers but women always try to prove a point that they can get the job done. The only problem with appointing a female manager is the other responsibilities attached to her gender, at the beginning you get about 80% performance but in the long run her performance tends to reduce especially when she is married. However, I will prefer a man only that I make sure he is properly monitored (Laughs).”

-“Seriously, the economic situation in the country has affected print business. Now we have to cut cost in every section in the company. As you can see, we relocated because we realized we don’t need that much space especially now that the economy is not so friendly. Whereas, when the business was booming we saw no need to, that is one of the effects of the current economic situation in the country. We are optimistic though since the only thing constant is change; things will get better.”

LASISI .F. OMOSHEKE (ACCOUNTANT AT TEEDIGITAL PROD. LTD, SHOMOLU)

-“I will prefer a female manager or supervisor because a woman knows and monitors operations well and has a good customer relations, she can handle customers complaints and if there is an issue in the office she can collaborates with the boss and ensures that the press runs smoothly.”

-“Yes, Customers always negotiate the price rate and they mostly reduce their productions for example a customer might want to make 50 plates initially but when he hears the price he tends to cut it down to maybe 40 and this affects our own operations and sales. Some customers who can afford it stay while others go and these have – to a large extent – affected our patronage and production.”

PRINCE KELLY OKORO (CEO – MENGA PRINTS, SHOMOLU)

-“If I am to pick out of the two genders, I will go for a man. I prefer a male manager or supervisor because men know more about printing than women especially in the operational aspect of the machines and quality control. Yes, there are exceptional women that understands print too but a man still always come on top.”

-“Yes, materials used for printing have all skyrocketed in price, the hike in fuel to power the generator, printing paper, ink. These consumables have all increased as much as 75% and this also affects our production and patronage as customers negotiates the new price which some can’t afford but what are we to do?”