ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The role of culture in human resource training and development

This dissertation analyzed the role of culture in Human Resource Training and Development practices through a qualitative study of ProCredit Ghana Ltd. The guiding theory for the work was the 'Model of Culture Fit' developed by Kanungo and Medonca in 1990 which postulates that national culture and industry culture influence human resource management practices through the mediation of organizational culture. Through a survey, interviews, observation, and company policy documents, cultural values based on the cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede and organizational culture dimensions of Edgar Schein, existing in the organization were established. The quantitative and qualitative data were both analyzed to determine if relationships existed between the cultural values on the various levels based on the guiding theory. The organizational cultural values were found to be positively correlated with the national cultural values and the industry values. The analyses showed that the organizational culture had a role in the development and structuring of training and development programs. Another interesting find was the ability of employees to adapt to the environment of the firm although some of the firm's values conflicted with their national values. The study will guide organizations in the development of an organizational structure that will enhance the strategy of the firm and improve all human resource management practices.

Source: Ashesi
The role of Ghana’s new three tier pension scheme and its effectiveness in providing social security for Ghanaians

This paper investigates the role and effectiveness of Ghana's new three pension scheme in providing and ensuring income security for Ghanaians in their old age. It discusses the state of the current three tier pension scheme and how it measures up against other pension schemes such as the SSNIT pension scheme which predated it. This research is motivated by a historical inability of the pension schemes to fully resolve the issues of pension schemes pre-dating them in the literature. To fully appreciate the issues raised this research addressed the following questions. 1. What are the weaknesses inherent in Ghana's different SSNIT pension schemes over time? 2. Can the new pension scheme address these weaknesses identified? 3. Is the current scheme effective and adequate in providing insurance for Ghanaians To answer these questions, information was obtained through interviews of several stakeholders in the Ghanaian pensions industry such as the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and a number of licensed and approved Trustees, Custodians and Pension Fund Managers. Additionally, through questionnaires, this paper was able to measure how Ghanaians currently under the new pension scheme were aware and understood the new scheme. A analysis of the data gleaned from both interviews and questionnaires showed that the new three tier pension scheme is indeed an effective scheme because of it delivers on its promise of higher pension benefits for its current contributors. It was also proven that the scheme is more accountable and transparent than the SSNIT scheme that pre-dated it. Unfortunately, although many Ghanaian workers especially those belonging to the financial sector are aware of the new scheme, they do not understand its current structure, the role of the new players and exactly how high pension benefits under the new scheme can be obtained. It is therefore the duty of the National Pensions Regulatory Body to set up efforts in educating the public on the new pension scheme with particular focus on its new structure, the role of the new stakeholders and its benefits.

Source: Ashesi
The role of state driven capitalism in ensuring economic development in Ghana: a case study on the Asian tigers

In this present age where economic growth in not enough to sustain a country and its inhabitants. There is the need to establish strategies that spur its economy into development, and impact its inhabitants positively in the process. The study relates state-directed capitalism to economic development, while taking lessons from East Asian Tiger countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong), and taking into consideration Ghana’s context and areas where state direction is needed to improve the economy. The methods used in the study include the use of books, internet sources, focus groups, interviews and questionnaires to fully understand the concept of state-capitalism and its relation to economic development. Every country owes it to its citizens to ensure that the standard of living is above average and everyone from the elite to the grass root has their fair share of wealth accumulated from growth. The findings indicate that a combination of free market principles and government intervention make up for the inefficiencies of the market. This could be the key to changing a developing country into a developed one if only the proper institutions are established to ensure the political, economic and even social stability.

Source: Ashesi
The role of the Ghana Commodity Exchange in improving general agricultural sector performance in Ghana

Ghana, in a bid to modernize and create an efficient agricultural market, launched the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX). The exchange is an organized trading hub intended to link agricultural commodity producers and buyers. However, the benefits of commodity exchanges and their impact in developing countries such as Ghana are not well known. This paper therefore explored the role of the Ghana Commodity Exchange in improving the performance of key agriculture sector players particularly farmers. The relevant question asked was, are farmers currently benefiting in some way from the GCX? Primary data in the form of interviews was collected and analyzed to answer the research question. Players in the market including farmers, buyers, middle men, and personnel of the GCX were interviewed. The findings from this research revealed that, price discovery had been achieved, to an extent, and that, farmers were in a better position to bargain because they now had access to price information which they did not have before. The exchange was also successful in centralizing trade and the transactions costs involved in finding a suitable buyer or seller at a suitable price was reduced my means of the exchange. The paper also revealed challenges which include poorly developed infrastructure such as roads and warehouses. Overall, the GCX is making steps in the right direction to create a more efficient agricultural market. The support of the government of Ghana is however needed to improve the exchanges operations and enable them to obtain their objectives.

Source: Ashesi
Scaling-up from start-up to big business: a case study of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Daben Cleansing Services Limited

Small businesses form about 92% of businesses in Ghana. There is a lack of understanding as to why most firms stay stagnated in business several years after inception. This paper presents the results of a case study conducted on two waste management companies in Ghana; Daben Cleansing Services Limited and Zoomlion Ghana Limited. The purpose of the case study was to identify and analyse the major challenges that prevent most start-ups in Ghana from scaling-up to large businesses. The research also proposes ideas that can facilitate the up scaling of small businesses to large businesses and finally makes some policy recommendations. The result of the research indicated that the reason why some businesses are unable to scale-up could be attributed to the fact that decisions are often personalised by the owners instead of involving experts to take decisions and run the business in a manner that will be in the best interest of the business. Also, most businesses focus too much on the external challenges and fail to identify the internal challenges that could be worked on to improve the business. Lessons from the case study are that owners of businesses should learn to commit the management of the business to experts, see challenges as opportunities to improve the company, make use of partnerships, must be innovative and invest in research and development. Better implementation of policies by authorities must also be ensured.

Source: Ashesi
Second-generation gender bias in corporate Ghana: A case study of two banks

The aim of this study was to understand women’s experiences with secondgeneration gender bias in the Ghanaian banking sector. Women’s rate of advancement in leadership roles is currently higher than their rate of advancement into executive management roles in the workplace. Second-generation gender biases or implicit biases are one of the poorly addressed factors explaining the low percentages of women’s advancement into executive level management roles. First-generation gender biases are the intentional and visible acts of discrimination against women, but implicit gender bias is more obscure and almost invisible. It occurs when a person consciously rejects gender stereotypes but still unconsciously makes evaluations based on those stereotypes. The aim of this study was achieved using a qualitative approach to compare and contrast women’s experiences in two banks in Accra, Ghana. A thematic analysis using Evetts’ (2000) three-dimensional framework consisting of cultural, structural and action dimensions, was used to analyze in-depth interviews with 12 female employees from the two banks. The results reveal the existence of implicit gender biases in the banks. However, the women did not perceive it as injurious to their career progression as they would have viewed explicit gender biases. This study concludes that if the effects of implicit gender biases on career women are undermined, it is likely to create an environment that tolerates the bias. A tolerant environment for implicit biases will eventually have a detrimental impact on their career progression.

Source: Ashesi
Service marketing plan for China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in East Africa

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) is one of the most renowned schools that offers a competitive Executive MBA program. It has been in existence since 1994 and has spread its knowledge both in China, Europe and now in Africa. Its campus in Africa was started in 2009 and is based in Ghana. CEIBS seeks to have an inclusive environment where all the business leaders from all walks of life will join and acquire the knowledge necessary to take their businesses to the next level. However, from the need assessment, the insights revealed the least participation of people from East Africa. Moreover, from assessing the needs, the insights show that the marketing department invested a lot in promoting the school in West Africa than any other region in Africa. The interviews also stated that CEIBS does not have agents in East Africa who link the school with businesses where the prospective applicants come from. Hence, the need to have a strategic marketing plan for CEIBS in East Africa is necessary. Different related literature revealed that EMBA graduates enjoy better career options. For most non-business employees, an EMBA acts a pivot into business careers such as Finance. Marketing, Operations, Human Resource, International Business and IT (Ivy, 2008). The solution seeks to develop strategic plans that CEIBS can use to enhance its brand awareness and market the institution in East Africa.

Source: Ashesi
A services marketing plan for Azures International School (pre-school)

Azures Pre-school aims to prepare its students to excel as young leaders of tomorrow by combining an exclusive collegiate-based curriculum tailored specifically for children with enhanced, first class child care services. Unlike their competitors, they offer advanced technology programs, after-school tutoring, and activities such as arts and crafts, dance, theatre and gymnastics, all in one location. This is a services marketing plan for Azures Pre-school. Their target customers are dual-income families, high and middle-class families, foreign families, working parents and any parent who values the quality of education and child care that is provided for their children, ages 0 months to 5 years. Their value proposition is Premium pricing for Quality Education. The school has opened for business starting with an initial enrolment of 15 students. They project healthy revenues by the end of the first year, and expect to nearly triple that by the end of Year 3. Their biggest operating expense comes from the high cost of paying highly-qualified teachers. The school would like to grow into an international school with primary and junior high school, eventually; but growth is planned conservatively, to be financed from existing cash flow as it grows. They anticipate a net profit beginning in the second year.

Source: Ashesi
Showbusiness: The problem of finding sponsorship within the Ghanaian theatre industry

They say there is “no business like show business”, but is that true for Ghana? To be exact, can corporate sponsorship help the Ghanaian theatre industry continue to grow? The purpose of this dissertation is to answer that question through interviewing key organisations in the industry as well as companies that have, had or still have sponsored theatre organisations. This paper also aims to understand what companies look for in theatre organisations when looking to sponsor them as well as vice versa. Do theatre organisations meet their sponsorship objectives, and if so, will companies be willing to sponsor them? In order to understand Ghanaian theatre industry today, this paper looks back at the history of theatre in Ghana, with an insight into the concert party. This paper also looks at sponsorship and the various forms it takes once given out. Finally, this dissertation takes a look at South Africa’s theatre industry in order to gain any lessons from them. The information will be ascertained through the qualitative method of semi-structured interviews.

Source: Ashesi
The small firm effect: The case of Ghana Stock Exchange

The small firm effect is a stock market anomaly which shows that firms with smaller market capitalization earn higher returns than firms with larger market capitalization. The objective of this study was to test whether the small firm effect exists on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The study adopted an explanatory research design. The study used 30 listed firms that had traded consistently from 2009 to 2016 as sample. The study created quartile portfolios in ascending order for the stocks based on market capitalization. The first and fourth portfolios were used as small and large firm portfolios. The study also calculated monthly returns for the stocks for the study period. The study then used secondary data from the GSE, Bank of Ghana, Ghana Statistical Services and Annual Reports Ghana to conduct a regression analysis. The OLS regression analysis was used to test for the relationship between size and returns on the GSE. The regression results showed that there was a statistically insignificant and weak positive relationship between stock market returns on the GSE and small firm returns. On the contrary, large firms on the GSE showed a statistically significant and strong positive relationship between stock market returns on the GSE and small firm returns. Thus, the study concluded that small firm effect was not present on the GSE since large firms showed higher returns than small firms. The study then recommended that the Securities and Exchange Commission formulate policy to reduce the impact large firm size has on stock returns. Keywords: Small firm effect, small firm returns, market anomalies

Source: Ashesi
Small scale businesses: A case study of stagnation amongst street food vendors in Accra

Street food vendors make a significant contribution to the lives of the impoverished in the society and the economy at large. However, it seems the sector has become stagnant in growth and expansion. A large number of street food vendors have been operating in the same place for numerous years with no concrete progress. This reason influenced the choice of my thesis topic so that the problem can be investigated and appropriate measures taken to help boost the sector. The research studies the stagnation in the growth and expansion of street food vendors. Using a purposive sampling method, a more qualitative than quantitative questionnaire was developed for a sample size of 72 street food vendors. This questionnaire is intended to help examine the reasons for the street food vendor's choice of venture, characteristics of these vendors, expansion ideas, years of existence and their financial information during their past years of existence. Answers to these questions will clarify what hinders the expansion of their businesses. Finally, the findings from the research indicate that the stagnation of the street food sector is in part attributed to religious beliefs, family dependency, small capital outlay, harsh attitudes from government officials but predominantly caused by the lack of access to credit and managerial skills, and refusal in building appropriate markets for these vulnerable individuals who operate from the street.

Source: Ashesi
SME financing: Crowdfunding vs microfinance

The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether crowdfunding could replace microfinance as a better funding alternative for SMEs (Small to Medium Scale Enterprises) in Ghana. It also serves as a guide for potential crowdfunding institutions that would be interested in knowing the motivations SMEs have for choosing their financing methods. The key words that were where investigated and guided the entire study were SMEs, Crowdfunding and Microfinance The study then compares financing preferences of SMEs with the structures available in microfinance institutions and crowdfunding institutions. The study used Pearson’s Chi Square test to test significance of relationships of variables in the questionnaires that were posted, and used factor analysis to drive to conclusions from themes generated by the factors. It was concluded that SME incentives did coincide with what crowdfunding offered but failed in guaranteeing speed of funding which was dependent on those willing to fund you. That would be a limiting factor in a country like Ghana where speedy access to capital is a requirement. It was also concluded that due to the volatility of the financial services industry in Ghana, SMEs were not looking for a specific structure but rather a financing method that was quick and cheap. Finally it was recommended that a larger data set is necessary to increase the reliability of results.

Source: Ashesi
SME financing: Investigating why the Ghana Alternative Stock Market (GAX) has not attracted listings

Ghana Alternative Exchange (GAX) is an equity finance program established to help SMEs and start-up businesses with the potential of growing to raise capital at a lower cost from the public. The managing director of the Ghana Stock Exchange in an interview with XYZ Business said that he expected the first and second companies that have shown interest in the GAX to list by the end of the first quarter of 2014. However, there has not been a single listing onto the market eleven months after the program was launched. The purpose of this study was to investigate why the Ghana Alternative Stock Market (GAX) has not attracted listings after its launch on 13th May, 2013. The study used content analysis to understand the purpose for which the GAX was established after interviewing two officials of the GAX. Questionnaires were also administered to SME owners and operators to discover their willingness to list on the market for a successful running of the GAX. The evidence suggests that SME operators are unwilling to go public and share ownership of their business with 20 other people. Secondly, they are not motivated and have low confidence in the market. As a result they are not ready to incur the risks that come with gong public and listing on the market. To motivate and attract SMEs to list on the GAX, GAX officials should reach the SMEs through the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI). They should also employ the use of billboard and TV adverts to reach large number of their target market and also to make the spread of information faster and easier.

Source: Ashesi
Social media advertising for micro and small enterprises in Ghana: A case study on the advertising strategies of April Rust & Mina Evans; brands in the Ghanaian fashion industry

Micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) have been identified as promoters of economic growth in the country. However, most managers of these MSMEs are unwilling to commit necessary resources towards market oriented activities because they have insufficient funds. Individual internet usage in Ghana has also increased from 5.44% in 2009 to 17.11% in 2012 and Facebook was the most visited website in Africa. The paper identifies the extent to which social media is a beneficial advertising tool over traditional advertising for micro and small firms in Ghana. This case study was exploratory in nature. Two micro and small enterprises in the Ghanaian fashion industry; Mina Evans and April Rust, were selected using convenience sampling. 60 respondents; 18 years and above were selected via random sampling for the second half of the study. Primary data was collected via one-on-one interviews and structured online questionnaires. Data was analyzed using content and descriptive analysis. Mina Evans and April Rust are solely on social media and prefer it to traditional advertising because of the reach and its interactive nature among many other reasons. Monitoring key performance indicators has made this advertising strategy effective as this helps them identify the needs of their target market. Ultimately, social media advertising has proven to be a successful advertising approach for both brands for various yet similar reasons. This paper seeks to inform other micro and small firms of the benefits of this advertising tool.

Source: Ashesi
Social media in Ghana's legacy media industry: Collecting "likes" or building a new revenue source?

Today, Ghana has over fourteen percent of its population using the internet. Social Media is one of the main platforms that these users interact with online. This has presented an opportunity for companies to gain business benefits by reaching their clients online. For others, it has provided a means to reach new audience. Social media has greatly affected the legacy media industry, especially regarding content delivery and creation. This has caused legacy media companies to look into the feedback and interactions of audience on the social media sites of their brands, in order to gain insights to improve their core business. This thesis presents a study into how legacy media brands in Ghana are harnessing social data from social media and how these actions can be improved to achieve performance goals.

Source: Ashesi
Special needs children's educational experience in Ghana: Investigating key factors in their academic success at the primary school level

This research paper was conducted with the aim of investigating the different ways teachers; school administrators and parents contribute to a special needs child's experience and success at school. This paper provides an insight as to the various roles each stakeholder (teachers, parents and school administrators) play. A quantitative design was used to gather data, through the use of a combination of structured, ope-ended questionnaires and interviews. The research sought to determine the key factors that influence the special needs child's experience and success at school, whilst establishing that factors proposed by the study's cognitive map were of some influence.

Source: Ashesi