Communication skills as predictors of conflict management style of road transport union leaders in Lagos State

The study examined the joint and relative influence of communication skills (literacy, verbal skill and active listening skill) on conflict management style of road transport union leaders in Lagos State. Survey research design was adopted and a sample of 610 respondents was selected using purposive sampling procedure. A modified and well simplified questionnaire on communication skills (r=0.78) and conflict management style(r=0.86) were used. Two research questions were answered using multiple regressions. The three independent variables jointly predicted the conflict management style of the respondents(R=0.464). Specifically, the predictors contributed 21.1%(adjusted R2=0.211) to the variance of the dependent measure. This contribution is shown to be significant (F (3,606) =55.448; p<0.05). Also, each of the independent variables significantly (p<0.05) predicted the dependent variable, with literacy having the greatest relative contribution (β=0.318). Therefore, it is recommended among other things that government and other stakeholders in the road transportation sector could organize non-formal literacy education programme at motor parks. Qualified facilitators who understand what adult literacy is all about should be put in charge. Also, reading and writing materials could be provided at subsidized rate to encourage members of the NURTW acquire basic literacy skills. By so doing, the communication skills of the union leaders could be enhanced and their conflict management skills improved.