Ghanaian Organizations Research Articles

Promoting democracy in Ghana: exploring the democratic roles of donor-sponsored non-governmental organizations

This article examines the democratic roles performed by Ghanaian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Drawing on a comparative case study approach, it explores how the organizational characteristics of five donor-sponsored NGOs relate to their ability to perform different democratic roles. Our analysis reveals that some of the democratic roles require contradicting organizational characteristics, which are therefore difficult to combine within one organization. Furthermore, it demonstrates that these NGOs do not contribute to democracy as predicted by theory. In particular, they are weak at providing channels of communication between state and society, and at directly representing, involving, and being accountable to ordinary citizens. We argue, nevertheless, that they perform these functions in a different way.

Current and Desired Employee Communication Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Evidence on Four Ghanaian Organizations

In this study, the author explores employees' expectations of organizational communication patterns including internal communication behavior in organizations. In-depth interviews of employees and managers were used as data from four Ghanaian organizations. Results show that employees want a change from the current pattern of overcentralized communication system in organizations to a more horizontal interpersonal communication. Findings also show the importance of effective and interpersonal communication as processes that can affect employees' attitude to work. Additionally, results show that aspects of national culture, structures and systems, and management practices influence the pattern of communication in organizations. The results suggest that work organizations would thrive only if both managers and employees work collectively as a team and understand each other through effective communication media institutionalized in the various organizations.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Information Security Governance Practices in Developing Nations

The purpose of this empirical study is to evaluate the extent to which information security governance domain practices: strategic alignment, value delivery, resource management, risk management, and performance measurement relate to information security governance effectiveness. Random sampling technique was employed and data were collected via web survey from Ghanaian organizations. Employing three multiple regression models, the results showed there were statistically significant positive linear relationship between information security governance domain practices and information security governance effectiveness. Overall, the model produced R2 = .505, indicating that 50.5% of the variance in information security governance effectiveness was explained by information security governance domain practices. The results highlighted resource management, performance measurement and risk management practices as the predictors of organizational information security governance effectiveness while strategic alignment contributed only marginally to the models. Therefore, to attain higher information security governance effectiveness, organizations should focus on strategic alignment between the business and information security attributes.

The Impact of Money on Joining, Continuing and Leaving Behaviours of Employees of Selected Ghanaian Organizations

The main objective of the study was to assess the impact of money on non-managerial and managerial employees’ joining, staying and leaving behaviours of selected Ghanaian organizations. The survey research design was used for the study. Primary data was collected using a well structured questionnaire administered on 150 non-managerial and managerial employees of selected organizations in the Greater Accra Metropolis. The ANOVA test of independence, the T-test of independence and correlation were used in testing the hypotheses. The study revealed that employees have different views as to the reasons why they stay in, or leave their organizations. It was revealed that money significantly influence employees staying or leaving organizations. The study showed that money is a motivator at work; both the symbolic and instrumentality meaning of money revealed its influence to motivate, energize and direct employment decision and its important role in an organization’s ability to attract and retain qualified, high-performance workers. A major limitation of the study is that, due to financial constraints, it was conducted in only few organizations in one region. Therefore, the findings may not be described as a reflection of the general state of affairs in other organizations in the country.

How managerial interactions affect employees' work output in Ghanaian organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how managerial interactions with employees affect work output, using Ghanaian organizations as a study.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a survey method, using questionnaires to collect data from 120 workers from four Ghanaian organizations to form the basis of the study.Findings – It was found that regular interactions between managers and employees have a direct positive effect on employee work output. Results emerging from the analysis show that for organizations to make any significant impact on performance, both managers and their subordinates must have a very good climate of social interactions. The involvement of lower level employees in organizational activities and decision making is of crucial importance to organizational performance.Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the four organizations of the sample and the number of respondents.Practical implications – The paper's findings call for some behavioural dire...

Perceptions of the Human Resource Management Function among Professionals: A Ghanaian Study

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of the HR function among professionals in Ghanaian organizations. The study employed a survey methodology using both qualitative and quantitative methods in the analysis of data collected from three hundred (300) respondents. A perception index was developed to measure the respondents’ perceived relevance of the HR function in their organizations. The results from the study revealed that respondents ranked the recruitment of qualified personnel; training and development; and the retention of qualified staff as the most important functions of HRM. It also revealed that the perceived relevance of the HR function is influenced by age, job position, being denied assistance, and being sidelined for recognition. This study offers valuable insights into the perceptions of Ghanaian professionals on the relevance of the HR function and its contribution to organizations.

APPRAISING THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION ON WORKER SATISFACTION IN ORGANIZATIONAL WORKPLACE

Today, more and more businesses depend on communications for their success since a well-organized communication system is shown to be an important factor in stimulating worker satisfaction in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess organizational communication and its impact on worker satisfaction in organizational workplace. The paper examines three Ghanaian organizations in the formal sector using a quantitative survey of ninety respondents to gain information for the study. The chi-square test was used with cross-tabulation of the independent and dependent variables to test and answer the hypothesis and research questions formulated for the study. Findings show that there is a significant relationship between efficient organizational communication and employee satisfaction. Findings also show that organizational communication has a positive impact on employee performance. Analysis of the findings further reveals that workers prefer good leadership communication behavior because it has positive effects on workers in organizations. The study proposes that organizations in the formal sector will achieve their objectives if they pay proper attention to the communication processes through efficient organizational communication in the workplace. Key words: employee performance, organizational communication, organization, worker satisfaction.

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation Among Ghanaian and African Leaders and Organizations

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation Among Ghanaian and African Leaders and Organizations

Assessing Social Capital for Organisational Performance: Initial Exploratory Insights From Ghana

Social Capital is a concept that describes good quality social relations that can lead to mutual benefit. The fundamental proposition of social capital theory is that networks of relationships grant access to resources, especially information benefits not available to non-members of the network. This study assessed the functions of social capital within Ghanaian organizations, described the patterns and determinants of social capital use within organizations and explored how social capital contributes to firm performance using a sample frame of firms listed in the Ghana Club 100. A questionnaire field survey supplemented by personal interviews was chosen as the most appropriate design for this investigation. Employees were sampled across the organizational hierarchy based on their responsibilities held, positions, type of relationship held with others within the organisation. Data was also collected on the demographic characteristics and organisational dynamics. The results showed that social capital is critical to knowledge sharing in the Ghanaian organization; that it helps to get things done and helps in the attainment of organisational objectives. The findings also suggested that three determinate variables of social capital: reciprocity, trust and institutional ties, have the most significant positive relationship with organisational performance. In view of that, the study recommends that firms take a proactive approach towards promoting, building and maintaining viable social networks within their structures in order to derive maximum benefit from it.

Leadership as engagement, leadership as system development

PurposeThis paper uses data about the challenges and difficulties confronting organisations and leaders to advance a dualized meaning of corporate leadership in the context of a developing country. The purpose is to describe a leadership frame that is locally contextualised, thereby bringing conceptualisation and thought closer to action, reified reality and applicability.Design/methodology/approachThis research was designed as a series of three studies starting from an applied/interventionist standpoint. The first study used data from applied diagnostic interventions, the second used qualitative interviews and the third used open‐ended questionnaires. Data were collected from 25 Ghanaian organisations and 29 corporate executives.FindingsDrawing on a range of everyday issues such as poor attention to customers, pressure from stakeholders (such as political overlords) and leaders' “love” for perks, the paper develops a notion of leadership as “engagement” and as “system development”.Research limitations/implicationsThe data are exploratory and the sample size may be considered small.Originality/valueThe paper discusses implications for leadership research and leader development in a developing country like Ghana.

Organizational politics- A human resource management focus

Organizational politics is largely portrayed negatively. In the pursuit of one's career in organizations one cannot avoid playing by the rules of this game. Its presence in every facet of corporate life demands that we give keen attention to the concept of organizational politics. This paper looks at organizational politics from ethical and unethical perspectives; what is the impact of organizational politics on human relations and performance? How does it generally manifest itself in Ghanaian organizations, both public and private? Human resource management activities like recruitment and selection, training and development as well as career progression are a few of an organization's life that politics as an organizational phenomenon affects. Leadership's role in energizing organizational politics in a positive direction is crucial for harmonizing individual and organizational goals.

Personal leadership: A major factor in organizational longevity in Ghana

Many Ghanaian organisations, public or private, do not last long in the system due to ineffective leadership or management. Lack of personal leadership in the lives of leaders or managers in Ghana has been identified as a major cause of the short “life span” of organisations in Ghana and Africa. Leaders and managers in Ghana lack personal leadership because of flaws in the leadership foundation in Ghana. Flaws in the leadership foundation are traced to the misunderstanding of what leadership or management position is all about. This may be a legacy Ghanaians inherited from the colonial masters, as well as their own cultural orientation. The exercise of self-discipline by current and aspiring leaders and managers is the only way to correct these flaws and get leaders to lead and managers to manage effectively for organisational survival in Ghana.

Employee motivation in Ghana: A factor structure and measurement tool

Purpose: This paper reports research on the factor structure of employee motivation as well as provides a tool for measuring the level of employee motivation in Ghanaian organisations. Methodology: The study was designed as exploratory, comparative and cross-sectional. 260 respondents drawn from across the gender, status and job grade hierarchy of 19 organisations participated. The organisations were matched in terms of tenure (over 5years), number of employees (50 or more) and geographic location (headquartered in Accra). A 41-item questionnaire on the Level of Motivation (LoM); Characteristics of Employee Motivation (CEM); aspects of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB); Managerial Assumptions about employee behaviour (MA); Contextual Institutional Analysis (IAN) and Organisational Leadership Issues (Le) was developed and used. The instrument combined fixed response format on a 3-point scale with open-ended responses. Findings: Exploratory Factor Analyses (Varimax Rotation, converging in 26 iterations) yielded 6 factors, which account for 60% of the variance. Thematic analyses of both interview and open-ended questionnaire data support the emergent factor structure, providing some tentative indication that employee motivation in the Ghanaian (or indeed African) context should be looked at more in an integrated manner rather than in terms of the limiting confines of any one theory of motivation. The 3 items hypothesised to constitute the measure of level of employee motivation loaded neatly onto Factor 6. One-way ANOVA demonstrated no differences in the level of motivation across the organisational samples; this was confirmed by the interview data. Implications/Originality/Value: The implications and value of this research are: that motivation research in Africa does need to focus more on developing an integrated model of employee motivation; also, a simple 3-item but novel tool for measuring the level of employee motivation as well as its underlying dynamics, is tentatively put forward. This, in the Ghanaian context, is a much needed psychometric.

Participation in development activities: attitudinal and social determinants of employee participation in development activities in Ghana

What psychological factors determine Ghanaian employee participation in development activities in organizations? Empirical research has failed to examine psychological factors influencing employee behavior in Ghanaian organizations. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), I examine attitudinal and social determinants of employee participation in development activities. Results of a cross-sectional study of one-hundred and eighty five managers from three organizations show that commitment, job satisfaction, as well as perceptions of peer advancement and family situations influence employee intention and actual participation in development activities. Hence, I conclude that in order for organizations to improve productivity, employees have to develop their competencies by participation in development programs. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 3(1) 2006: 85-101

Project management in Ghana: expectations, realities and barriers to use

This article reports the findings of an empirical study of the problems of developing Project Management (PM) practice in Ghanaian organisations. Based on previous research and survey data, the characteristics of the project life cycle (PLC) are used as a basis to examine the nature, type and severity of the problems encountered by organisations implementing projects. It is also used to determine the extent and relevance of PM usage: concepts, methods and application. It is concluded that although PM is important, legitimate and relevant, its practice in Ghana has been fraught with problems. Some recommendations for overcoming these problems are also made, and it is recommended that further research is required in order to ascertain the nature of PM practice and to gauge the attitudes and opinions of people involved in projects in Ghana.

Project management in Ghana: Expectations, realities and barriers to use

This article reports the findings of an empirical study of the problems of developing Project Management (PM) practice in Ghanaian organisations. Based on previous research and survey data, the characteristics of the project life cycle (PLC) are used as a basis to examine the nature, type and severity of the problems encountered by organisations implementing projects. It is also used to determine the extent and relevance of PM usage: concepts, methods and application. It is concluded that although PM is important, legitimate and relevant, its practice in Ghana has been fraught with problems. Some recommendations for overcoming these problems are also made, and it is recommended that further research is required in order to ascertain the nature of PM practice and to gauge the attitudes and opinions of people involved in projects in Ghana.

Making homes: the Ghanaian diaspora, institutions and development

AbstractThe paper analyses the impact of institutions and organizations on development of home through a case study of Ghanaians in the UK and Ghana. While individual or household level remittances are undoubtedly a key dimension of livelihood strategies we focus on the collective or institutional level. We examine the linkages between Ghanaian organizations in Southern England and various organizations in Ghana, including hometown, welfare, traditional leaders, church, and alumni. We examine the nature of these flows and offer preliminary analyses of their impacts. We address the impact of differing organizational cultures and how the rights and obligations embedded in identities impact on these practices, particularly, the ways in which status and sanctions operate in the networks. © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The History and Functions of Some Ghanaian Organisations Represented in the IDS Library

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