ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Wood Carving In Aburi: Its Growth and Sources of Inspiration

In the 1940’s experimental workshop centers began in Africa as a means to creating a new synthesis of African modern art. Aburi Wood Carving centre which is the spotlight for this research however began in the early 1980s. Whereas the experimental workshops were established mostly by European expatriates, in the 1940s, that of Aburi Wood Carving Center was not, though it bore similarities with the workshops created by the Europeans, where primary schools leavers and local illiterate youth were those found there. Even though Aburi Wood Carving centre has been established for some decades now, it has still not attracted the needed attention it deserves. The researcher has unveiled the early beginnings of the center and its growth, tried to deal with techniques employed and influences the carvers have through other cultures in producing their works. The study investigated the growth and sources of inspiration influencing the industry linking it with their culture in terms of their religion, politics as well as their social structure. The study adopted the qualitative research methodology to collect and synthesize the data. With the methods and procedures adopted the researcher was able to trace a detailed history of Wood Carving in Aburi and its development through the last two decades. The findings revealed that returnees from Nigeria took to carving for tourists resulting into the growth of the industry, with other groups coming from the Volta and the Northern Regions to increase the productions there. The researcher recommended that stakeholders and policy makers should get involved in developing the centre to attract the needed popularity it deserves in order to contribute to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Work and family life balance of women in the informal sector: a case study of market women at the Kumasi central market.

Work and family life balance has gained growing prominence in research, organisations and government policies because of its significant impact on the worker and the organisation. It is critically important to informal sector women, who perform the roles of a worker, mother and or wife simultaneously. This study sought to understand work and family life balance from the perspective of the market women, the dynamics in their family structure and work related experiences and their choice of strategies to achieve work and family life balance. By using qualitative research tool of interview, this study found that work and family life balance were two different entities with unique demands that required different approaches to manage each of them. The financial strength of the women was also crucial to their ability to achieve work and family life balance. It was also identified that the need for balance between work and family depended on their life course and changes in their family structure. Finally, social support from family and institutions, personal plans of experience, planning and management and the autonomy and flexibility of their work were the informal approaches market women employed in achieving work and family life balance. Based on the findings, the study recommends that economic empowerment of women should be undertaken in addition to the social protection and welfare policies to ensure the holistic empowerment of the woman. Again, considering the benefits (both micro and macro levels) derived from the informal sector, this study recommends that attention should be paid to the informal sector women by improving the environment within which they work to ensure that they also enjoy quality of life. Finally, this study recommends that the study should be replicated in other parts of the country especially in patrilineal societies to identify similarities and differences in findings, which would ultimately add to existing body of knowledge on work and family life balance.

Source: KNUST
The Word of God : A Lamp to Our Feet - Vol. 2

Words are very important. They say a lot about a person when they are uttered. Words can build up a person or a nation. On the other hand, it can destroy or annihilate a person’s dignity or a whole community. St. James says it all when he notes, The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity. It stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature and is itself set on fire by hell. – James 3:5b – 6. Right at the beginning of creation, we see the effectiveness of the word of God. The bible tells us that, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light and there was light – Gen. 1:1-3. The importance of the word of God cannot be over emphasised. It is very powerful and gives life. Jesus also adds his voice to the importance of the word of God when he says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished – Matt.5:17-18. It is against this back drop that the authors have taken upon themselves to share these reflections on the word of God. The Word of God: A lamp to our feet is collections of reflections on Sunday readings and solemnities and feasts from cycle or year A. This book is volume II, to The Word of God: A Guide to our spiritual Journey towards Eternal Life I Heaven It is the prayer of the authors that this book will be useful for priests/pastors, seminarians, Sunday school teachers, all who are engaged in Evangelisation and individual Christians especially in this year of Faith.

Source: KNUST
Work life balance and employee performance in selected institutions in the Ashanti Region.

In today‘s competitive business environment, the state of employment in the country is considerably important. In this 21st century, the unstable Ghanaian economy has increasingly resulted to increase in work demands which have encroached on family and other personal life activities at a faster pace. The aim of the employer is to increase shareholders wealth whiles employee also wants to work hard to achieve something for a living. That is the trend today businesses are heading to. Thus, the employer has therefore used the economic recession situation to achieve its shareholders wealth by increasingly set targets for its employees. For the employers to achieve this, they have now acknowledged the need of work life balance programs that will facilitate employee to maintain a healthy balance between the conflicting demands of their work and personal life. This study uses interviews and questionnaire to address work life balance and employee performance in six selected organizations in the Ashanti region. The main objective of the study was to analyze the effect of work-life balance policies on employee performance in the Ashanti region. Specifically the study sought to analyze as to what extend does work life balance affects employee‘s performance. 120 standardized questionnaires were administered to six institutions that provided data for analyzing two hypotheses set. From the regression analyses, it was found out that there is a positive relationship between work life balance policies and employee performance. It was further revealed that there is an association between work life balance and employee performance, with respect to gender of the respondents. From the interview, it was revealed that, the respondents have challenges to balance their work and personal life. It was also revealed by majority of the respondents that, the employer have policies and practice in place which have been added to the culture of the organization to assist employee to balance their work and personal life. It is therefore recommended that, the employer must communicate effectively any policies and practices on work life balance to its employees to have a fair idea on concept which will at the end benefit both employer and the employee. It is further recommended that, there should be fairness and consistency in how the employer implements work life balance policies and practice. Also, it is recommended that, the employer must consider the implications for work-life balance in relation to workloads and work outside conventional hours.

Source: KNUST
Worker Characteristics and Compliance to Occupational Health and Safety: A Study of Naja David Wood Industry Limited in Kumasi Metropolis.

Several studies have been conducted on occupational health and safety in the wood processing industries in Ghana and elsewhere. The reports of these studies indicate that wood workers are exposed to various types and degrees of occupational hazards ranging from bacterial, viral and chemical infections to physical injury and accidents. In Ghana, it is a known fact that there is no comprehensive national policy on occupational health and safety except Act 651of the Labour Act 2003 which enjoins employers not to expose their employees to conditions that would lead them to work related injuries or illnesses. Employees are also required by this Act to exhibit their duty of care in ensuring that they work as per the employers’ standard operating procedures which must incorporate safety and health requirements. Notwithstanding the Act and efforts made by companies especially in the Ghanaian wood industry at ensuring that employees work in safe and healthy conditions, wood workers suffer or sustain a lot of hazards at work. These hazards have been chronicled in earlier studies but the questions which remained unanswered were: what health and safety mechanisms or specific policies are in place to regulate the activities of workers such that they do not fall victim to disasters? What characteristics of workers may lead them to violate company codes on occupational health and safety? These questions and many several others formed the bases for which a survey questionnaire administered among 150 respondents in the Naja David Group of Companies to find out the role of sex, age, education and experience on compliance or no-compliance to occupational health and safety. The results revealed that age, education and experience play significant role in ensuring compliance whereas sex does not play significant role in ensuring compliance to occupational health and safety. The results further indicated that unavailability and low usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) increase the risk of getting involved in accidents. The study thus, recommends constant provision and replacement of PPE for workers to use at work. Immediate supervisors should also be officially empowered to enforce usage of PPE and punish violators as way of preventing accidents at work. Wood processing companies are also encouraged to print policies on safety and health in black and white and circulate it among workers for their education and information.

Source: KNUST
Worker’s Transit Accommodation, Tamale

With the current decentralization process going on in Ghana, there has been the urgent need to send trained personnel into the districts to mann affairs in the new offices that are being set up in these 110 districts. It has been realised that these workers usually return back to their former places with the excuse that there were no accommodation available for them at these newly set up districts and hence the need to return. There is therefore the urgent need to provide a temporary accommodation to house such workers that are transferred to these districts at least for a period of time before finally settled by the particular organisation. From studies of the allowances paid to such workers when they are on transfer it really proves that they would not be in a position to stay in hotels and other privately owned guest houses for long periods of at least three months and more before they are given permanent accommodation. This thesis has researched into the feasibility of establishing a workers’ Transit Accommodation in Tamale in addition to the existing guest houses that certain organisations have which at the moment cannot accommodate all the workers who are transferred per annum and with the idea that there would be an increase in future.

Source: KNUST
Working capital management and financial performance of listed non-financial firms in ghana

The study examines the effect of working capital management on the financial performance of non-financial firms listed in Ghana. The research adopts a quantitative research methodology, specifically a causal research design guided by the positivist paradigm. The study utilizes secondary data from the financial statements and annual reports of 22 non-financial firms listed on the GSE between 2001 and 2021. The Generalized Method of Moments model was employed for data analysis, considering the interdependence of variables and potential endogeneity issues. The study reveals important relationships between working capital management and financial performance indicators. A longer collection period is associated with improved financial performance but a lower market value, while a longer payment period to suppliers is linked to higher profitability but a lower market value. Cash conversion efficiency has mixed relationships, with a positive but statistically insignificant correlation with financial performance and a negative correlation with market value. Additionally, a shorter cash conversion cycle is associated with higher profitability and market value (Tobin's q). Based on the findings, the study recommendations for non financial firms in Ghana include optimizing days sales outstanding, managing days payment outstanding strategically, enhancing cash conversion efficiency, shortening the cash conversion cycle, considering the trade-off between liquidity and financial performance, and establishing a system for continual monitoring and analysis.

Source: KNUST
Working capital management and financial performance of financial institutions listed on the ghana stock exchange

A company's stability and existence depend heavily on its working capital. When a bank fails, it automatically means that its working capital has failed as well. This failure might be quite infectious and result in a bank run on the struggling. This is one of the factors contributing to the performance of the banking industry being so highly dependent on effective working capital management. In particular, this study looks at the impact of working capital management (WCM) on the financial performance of financial institutions in Ghana from 2011 to 2020. The study tasted Six (6) out of the nine (9) listed financial institution in Ghana as at 31st December, 2020. The information was obtained from the banks' annual reports (GSE). The Pearson Correlation Analysis was used to find out the link between working capital management characteristics and firms' profitability. Furthermore, Ordinary Least Squares regression was performed to investigate how working capital management affects the profitability of financial firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Using two profit indicators; return on Asset and Return on Equity, the study found that, cash ratio and current ratio has a significant impact on the Return on Asset variable of the banks under study. Loan ratio however had no significant effect on return on assets. The findings of this study led to the conclusion that, WCM has some effects in determining the profitability of financial firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. This was evidenced by cash ratio and current ratios are the variables that have significant effect on return of asset. To make this possible, bank management must guarantee that there is always enough liquidity to satisfy consumer demand.

Source: KNUST
Working capital manageemnt and performance of gse listed oil firms; the moderating role of earnings management

Working capital accounts for more than 50% of total assets under management in most companies. Due to inefficient working capital and earning management, many oil and gas companies lose billions every year. Thus, this study seeks to examine the effect of working capital on the profitability of listed companies in Ghana, ascertain the effect of earnings management on the profitability of listed companies in Ghana, and determine whether earnings management moderates the relationship between working capital and profitability and listed companies in Ghana. The agency, stakeholder and stewardship theories were applied in achieving the stated objectives. The case study approach with quantitative method is applied in the study. In order to determine which elements were deemed necessary to obtain accurate data required to achieve the research objectives, the researcher applied a reasonable selection method to select all oil and gas companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. These companies are Ghana Oil, Total. The study concludes that it is not only good working capital management that increases efficiency, but also good interest income management. The estimated outcomes indicate that depending on the elements of working capital management, the cash conversion cycle and the average number of days to collect have a statistically significant negative impact on the financial performance of the companies. Discretionary accruals were also found to have a negative impact on profitability. It can be concluded that not only do current asset items have an impact on financial performance, but also profit management can have a negative impact on profitability. The study confirms a significant link between firm size and equity returns. This indicates that management must adopt and pursue appropriate policies that will ensure an improvement in the sales or asset base of the firm, which can be done through innovative products and extensive marketing.

Source: KNUST
Working capital management and firm performance in Ghana

Within the global corporate world, firms’ ability to maintain steady liquidity is a major indication of fiscal well-being and a sign of efficient management, more so in emerging economies characterized by irregular shocks from the macro economy. In keeping in line with the fiscal well-being and maintenance of efficiency, firms take on various systems and procedures. Working capital management as an approach provides a firm the ability to bring into harmony the amount of cash locked up in debtors and stocks with payments to creditors. In the last two decades, literatures within financial management have sought to investigate the relation between working capital management and performance. Within the context of Ghana, the moderating role of macroeconomic indicators on the relation between working capital management and performance has received less attention. The study sought to fill this gap in literature by extending the study to other developing countries – Ghana- as well as adding another macroeconomic variable (exchange rate). The objectives of the study were to; examine the relationship between cash conversion cycle and firm performance of listed firms; assess the relation evident in macroeconomic indicators and performance of listed firms in Ghana; as well as to investigate how macroeconomic indicators moderate the relation that cash conversion cycle has on performance. Panel Regression Method was used for the estimation. Purposive sampling was used to select 18 firms with data from 2009 to 2018. The study found out that CCC is positively correlated with ROA. The study also found significant effects of inflation, GDP and exchange rates on ROA. The study recommends that managers monitor closely the changes to economic conditions as the economic conditions such as GDP has significant effect on firm performance.

Source: KNUST
Working Capital Management at Kuapa Kokoo Limited 1996-2005

The profitability, growth and survival of a firm is influenced by many factors including socio-political , managerial and organizational. Some companies are inherently better placed than others and requirements and factors that affect their profitability ,growth and survival vary. Currently, not only are businesses expected to encounter the challenges of the world economic order of globalization and thus, competition but also they must be proactive in corporate resource allocation and management which play a significant role in corporate profitability and survival. The research is focused on the extent to which the management of the components of Kuapa's working capital is related to the profitability and survival of the company from 1996 to 2005. Secondary data including annual reports and audited accounts of Kuapa Kokoo for the years were the main sources of data for the study. Scheduled in-depth interviews were also used to collect primary information on the strategies employed by the company in managing its working capital The primary data collected were used in explaining the secondary data and were analysed quantitatively by examining the trends and relationships of the components of working capital and profitability aided by the use of SPSS computer software. The study revealed that there is a strong relationship between working capital management represented by the cash conversion cycle (CCC) and profitability of Kuapa Kokoo and that the longer stocks are kept , debts remain uncollected; the lower the profitability of the company, and also decreasing the CCC by delaying payments to creditors increases profitability. Though, the company had formal working capital management strategies including cash budgeting, it had persistently faced liquidity problems for the last seven years of the ten year study period.. Also, there is the need for improvement in the financial planning and control devices of the company as well as restructuring the existing overdraft and short term loan facilities into medium and long term loans.

Source: KNUST
Working capital management in the private small-scale manufacturing business in the Kumasi Metropolis area

This topic was chosen because of the numerous benefits that will accrue to a nation from proper working capital management of small scale manufacturing businesses. Presently many small-scale manufacturing businesses have either collapsed or are barely surviving. This study has therefore sought to find out the effectiveness of working capital management in the small scale manufacturing businesses. To achieve these goals, three categories of small manufacturing businesses have been chosen as the case study. The practice of working capital management has been assessed in these businesses, owners and staffs were interviewed to find how effectively they were practicing working capital management and the constraints they face. A survey was therefore conducted to assess the effectiveness of working capital management. The result of the study was that there was no effective working capital management practices in the small-scale manufacturing business in the target area. It has been recommended that working capital management should be given prior attention in the small- scale manufacturing industries. The National Board for small-scale industries should organize seminars and workshops to enlighten the operators of small-scale manufacturing businesses to know the benefit of iv working capital management as a means of increasing working capital fund. Qualified accountants who have adequate knowledge of working capital management should be employed in the small-scale manufacturing businesses to help build working capital fund for expansion and growth of these businesses

Source: KNUST