ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
On successful work-family balance: A case of educated Ghanaian women with white collar jobs

The purpose of this research is to explore and understand the factors that enable some career women successfully balance both career and family roles. This research adopted an exploratory research approach into finding the contributing factors through online surveys, questionnaires, and interviews. The research revealed that career women in Ghana balance their work and family roles under four main themes; external help, proper planning, maintaining good relationships with supervisors and subordinates, as well as the flexible schedules of their jobs. It is recommended that organizations should have a friendly environment and policies that encourage good communication between employees, employers. This healthy relationship is believed to enable career women talk about issues they face at home and work to their employees and colleges who give them assistance when needed. From the research findings, most women admitted the concrete support from their husbands was a major factor in balancing work and family roles. Therefore this research recommends a national awareness campaign to sensitize other husbands to equally contribute with the upkeep of the home. Keywords: successful work-family balance, educated Ghanaian woman, white collar job, work-family conflict, satisfaction, roles, career

Source: Ashesi
An operational marketing plan for Munchies: Improving customer satisfaction and service quality

Munchies is a Ghanaian-owned fast-food company, started by Daniel Kwaku Bempah in 2016. The aim of the business was initially to provide Ashesi University students with quality food at wee hours of the night when students are usually hungry, and cannot get food to eat. Since then, the business has evolved into a fully-fledged street-food vendor that provides a variety of sumptuous dishes. A market study, and comprehensive needs assessment revealed that Munchies struggles with efficient and timely order management, and this is evident in the long waiting times that customers face anytime they are buying food. The study also discovered that poor employee retention as well as the employees’ inability to follow stipulated recipes cause inconsistencies in the taste and quality of the food provided. The aim of this project is to improve service quality, thus customer satisfaction by mitigating the above-mentioned issues that have been brought to light within the operations of Munchies. Literature consulted divulged that “Quality and customer satisfaction have long been recognised as playing a crucial role for success and survival in today’s competitive market” (Mansor, Hasanordin, Rashid, & Rashid, 2012). Scholars also agree on the paramount role that service quality has on “customer satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase intentions” (Ghotbabadi et al., 2015). This project proposes a collaboration of recommendations to improve Munchies’ quality of service and customer satisfaction ability, synthesised in a marketing plan using the 7 P’s of the Marketing Mix as a framework for implementation and the Hierarchical Service quality framework as a justification for the suggested strategies. The proposed solution makes use of technology to process information efficiently and uses it as a tool to market Munchies, its business operation and market offerings to its customers.

Source: Ashesi
An operations evaluation and strategy planning model for the Office of Civic Engagement, Ashesi University College

This paper details a business tool that evaluates the Office of Civic Engagement of Ashesi University College, in the capacity of grant-making and grant management. In 2015, the Office partnered with the Ford Foundation to create a fund that provides financial support to students, staff and faculty in pursuing civic engagement projects. This fund ran for two years, culminating in 2017. The Office hopes that this is the first of many such partnerships in the future. Therefore, to enhance the efficiency of the office in grant management, this project evaluated how the operations of the fund were administered. And per the results of that evaluation, as well as to better realign The Office of Civic Engagement’s overarching strategic objectives with actual initiatives and measures, the Balanced Scorecard was recommended as the best tool for remedying its challenges in the first round of grant management, and moving forward, for better streamlining the operations of the organization to guarantee better efficiency. As the Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning and performance measurement tool, the paper recommends that it is permanently assimilated into the administration of the office, so as to ensure continuous self-evaluation.

Source: Ashesi
An optimal road transportation model to facilitate free trade in the ECOWAS sub-region: A case study of Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso

Ecowas, as part of its key policies, promotes free trade among member countries. The benefits devised from this policy, though immense, cannot be fully realized by member countries if there is no free movement of goods and services. Thus, the need for an efficient and cost-effective transportation system. This is what we termed as an optimal road transportation model. The paper therefore, sought to identify the most efficient road transportation routes in terms of shortest distance that could be used to facilitate free trade in the sub region, what are the main challenges facing the road transportation in the ECOWAS sub-region and how these have impacted the free trade among the member states. Therefore, to achieve optimality, the paper employed two algorithms, Simplex method and the Dijkstra’s algorithm. The paper considered road networks in four member countries namely; Ghana, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. These road networks comprised of both inter and intra routes among these countries on which these algorithms were built to come up with an optimal road transportation system. The model and the Dijkstra’s algorithm were able to come up with a network model that could enhance movement from one country to another. For instance, if there were goods being transported from Nigeria to Cote D’Ivoire through Togo and Ghana they would take these routes: Kara - Sokode - Atakpame - Tsevie - Lome - Aflao -Tema - Accra - Capecoast -Takoradi - Elubo - Abidjan - Divo - Yamuousskro - Bouake - Korhogo – Kaouara in Cote D’Ivoire,

Source: Ashesi
Optimising Small and Medium Scale Poultry Farms in Abomey-Calavi, Benin: A Focus on Productivity and Environmental Sustainability

The looming 2024 import ban comes with opportunities and challenges for Benin's poultry farming industry. To ensure a sector that can meet the new demand, this study investigates elements of business models such as distribution systems, marketing channels, and key resources that affect the productivity, and environmental sustainability of Small and Medium Scale (SMS) poultry farms in the country, specifically in Abomey-Calavi. Using a qualitative approach, the study gets in-depth insights into the practices and challenges of Benin’s poultry farmers and identifies elements such as vertical integration, sustainable feeding practices and contract farming with partners among others as the factors that affect the outputs and environmental sustainability of poultry farms. A comparative analysis of the existing Benin’s farms’ practices is done and reveals that existing SMS poultry farms in Abomey-Calavi mostly have proper measures for security, risk management and disease control. However, while one would expect that the poultry sector in Benin is ready for the new demand as the news of the importation ban has been out for more than 3 years, this study found several gaps in the poultry farms business models, in terms of distribution systems diversification, access to financial credits and the use of modern marketing channels. These findings pinpoint strong and weak points for improvement and help to give practical advice to policymakers to improve the sector, and ensure it adapts to the soon changing market conditions.

Source: Ashesi
Organisational restructuring and an enhancement of recruitment and selection procedures at Atala Limited

Managing human resources and organizational structures in every organization is vital in increasing productivity and overall performance. This project was undertaken to aid Atala Limited in managing its administrative tasks as well managing prospective recruits. After a needs assessment conducted via interviews, observation and focus group discussions, and an organizational SWOT analysis, 3 major needs, in order of importance to the organization, were found: Organizational Structure, A Staff Recruitment and Selection Plan and Inventory Management. These results and an extensive literature review led to a proposal of developing an organizational structure for effective management, and a staff recruitment and selection plan to provide the company with standard procedures in recruiting and selecting applicants. In addition to this, sample job descriptions were developed for key managerial positions. It is recommended that Atala Limited adopts the designed organizational structure, develops job descriptions for all positions on the structure and utilize the proposed recruitment plan to aid and enhance its managerial practices, hence secure a competitive position in the market. Key words: Organizational Structure, Needs Assessment, Competitive Position, staff recruitment and selection plan and Atala Limited

Source: Ashesi
Organizational stress: The cost to employers

Organizational stress continues to be a problem in many companies worldwide. This study examined organizational stress and its related costs to employers. Organizational stress was defined as the response from individuals when presented with tasks beyond their ability at work and the cost is that which employers incur in managing stress and as a result of the presence of stress itself. To aid the study, the works of Hoel et al. (2001), Brun (2006) and Tangri (2003) were addressed in the course of the study. Other secondary sources of data such as books, journal articles and research reports were also used in the research. Results obtained were classified both qualitatively and quantitatively; in monetary terms. Employees of two (2) companies filled out the questionnaires and five resource persons were interviewed. Per the findings of the study, it was evident that a positive correlation existed between organizational stress and cost. The health costs identified revealed that a company spent as much as GHC10,800 on stress annually. The qualitative costs were also identified as low productivity, presenteeism, absenteeism and replacement costs. The most dominant causes of stress were additionally identified as work overload and personal factors.

Source: Ashesi
Pan Africanists ideas and the Ghanaian educational system

This study sought to measure the level of priority or focus given to the study of Pan Africanism among undergraduate students. Students selected for this research paper were from the University of Ghana and Ashesi University College. A lecturer was interviewed to find out about the relevance of the study of Pan Africanism in modern Africa. Students from the history department of the University of Ghana were given questionnaires to fill. The questionnaires aimed at finding out if they had all taken courses on Pan Africanism and how their knowledge on the topic affected their thoughts and opinions on Pan Africanism. Students from Ashesi University College were randomly selected to answer the questionnaires set to find out if they had ever taken a course on the topic and how the learning environment affected their thoughts on Pan Africanism. A lot of literature was read to give the study strong credibility and validity. Literature such as the autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah, speech given by Marcus Garvey and others were read to throw more light on the topic. The introduction gives a brief history of why and how the movement started, literature review analysed some articles that focused on the Ghana at fifty celebrations and other articles looked at the different groups and their thoughts on African unity and how Africa should find solutions that best fit the African context. The study was a qualitative study and highly dependent on responses given by the target population. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data received from respondents.

Source: Ashesi
Pan-Africanism, neo-elites and contemporary African transformation: A case study of Ghana

This research sought to find out if there exist in Ghana, a group of people theorized as "neo-elites", and if they did, could they use tenets of Pan Africanism to drive transformational change in Ghana. The respondents selected for this research included, individuals in top and mid-level occupational positions, across various industries; and returnees who have come back home to Ghana, to settle down and live. This research was exploratory and qualitative in nature. In total, 16 people participated in this study, two of which took part in a face-to-face interview. The remaining 14 participants provided data by completing an in-depth mixed questionnaire. In both cases, all respondents provided questions on the themes of Pan-Africanism, the elites of society and neo-colonialism. Relevant and adequate literature was used in this study according to the three themes aforementioned. In analyzing the data gotten from each respondent, thematic analysis was used. The analyzed data were linked to the objectives of the research as well as the literature used to conduct the research. From the analysis, some conclusions were made, which included that, leadership is a major contributing factor to the appalling socio-economic condition of Ghana. Based on this, it was recommended that a leadership reform program should be set up to provide the needed skills and public office training, to the individuals who are to assume public office positions, in service to the nation.

Source: Ashesi
Patronage Prospects of Islamic Banking and Finance in Ghana

This research studied the Ghanaian banking consumers’ awareness of, and willingness to patronize Islamic banking in Ghana. The study sought to find out whether a relationship existed between consumers’ religious and educational backgrounds, and their awareness of, and willingness to patronize Islamic banking. The study also ascertained the level of consumer involvement for Islamic banks in Ghana, and what factors motivated people’s choice for Islamic banks. With the use of questionnaires and quantitative tools for analyses, the study revealed that that the levels of awareness of, and willingness to use Islamic banks is low among Ghanaians. It was also revealed that Muslims were not more willing to use Islamic banks than non-Muslims. On the other hand, people who had had tertiary education were more willing to patronize Islamic banking than consumers who did not have that level of education. In addition, consumer involvement for Islamic banks was also found to be low in Ghana. The research findings show that the biggest motivating factor for the Ghanaian to save with an Islamic bank is because of the Islamic bank’s aim of entrepreneurship promotion, whilst the biggest motive to borrow is because of the bank’s interest-free nature. It is therefore recommended that Islamic banks who aim to set up in Ghana do so with people who have attained tertiary education as their target market. They should also focus on their interest-free nature and entrepreneurship promotion features as their differentiating factors.

Source: Ashesi
Peer bullying culture in an all-male senior high school in Cape Coast: Impacts on business leadership in Ghana

The study sought to investigate whether the peer bullying culture in an all-male senior high school in Cape Coast is related to business leadership and job performance of these students post high school. Specifically, the study explored the various ways in which the bullying-like behaviors in Adisadel College influenced the likelihood of students to transform into successful business leaders after completing high school. The main question adopted for the study was: are there any relationships (positive or negative) between the peer bullying culture in high school, job performance and successful business leadership operations in Ghana? An exploratory research was adopted in answering the question of the study. Through this, a sample of one hundred and thirty (130) old students of Adisadel College who constituted those in active employment and those schooling at the tertiary level were used for the phase one of the study. Interviews, which constituted the second phase of the study, was conducted with twenty (20) business leaders from the same school, to answer the research question. Findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between the experience of the bullying-like behaviors as a tradition in Adisadel College and its influence on successful leadership operations in Ghana. However, the exhibition of bullying-like behaviors should be understood in the context of the environment in which it operates, as it could have severe detrimental effects in some other instances. Keywords: peer bullying culture, business leadership, business environment, all-male senior high school, Ghana, productivity, job performance

Source: Ashesi
Perceptions on housing affordability among the working class in Accra

Housing provision in the country has seen a number of interventions by the Government of Ghana to improve the housing situation through the construction of affordable housing units in the country. Nonetheless, this has not been enough to curb the housing deficit in the country. Housing provided by the private sector tend to be above the means of low and middle-income earners in the country. This paper aims at finding the perceptions of people within the working class on housing affordability in Accra. A quantitative approach was adopted for this study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in undertaking this study. A sample size of 205 was used for this study. Responses were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and PSPP. Findings from the study revealed that age happens to be a moderator for home ownership among high-income earners; mortgages rates are considered not affordable; and housing perceived as not affordable within the selected study areas.

Source: Ashesi
Performance of the Ghana Stock Exchange and economic growth

Stock markets in developing countries have been likened to “casinos” as a result of the general perception that they do not contribute to economic growth. Very few studies have tried to specifically examine the situation in Ghana with varying results. Most studies employing OLS have found a positive relationship between the variables whiles those that have employed ADRL or VEC, have often found a negative stock market and growth nexus in Ghana. Research, however, shows that, OLS regression analysis involving economic and financial data could suffer spurious regression due to presence of unit root in most of these variables. Therefore, to examine the effect of stock market performance on economic growth in Ghana, the study employed VECM and Granger causality test, using market capitalisation ratio as stock market indicator, and GDP as economic growth indicator. Results from the VECM regression analysis showed that, the Stock Market contributes positively to economic growth only in the short-run. In the long-run, the Exchange does not affect economic growth in Ghana. The Granger causality test, on the other hand, revealed a unidirectional causal link between market capitalisation ratio and GDP, running from development in the size of the Stock Market to economic growth. The study also found the service sector to be the only sector benefiting from the Exchange’s performance with agriculture and industry being unaffected.

Source: Ashesi
Popular religious music as a tool for religious mediation

Over the course of history, religion has proven its importance and pervasiveness in human interaction with their environment. This has led to people striving to understand this phenomenon by studying it. However, the study of religion has been dominated by one approach, which is the mentalistic approach. This approach stipulates that religion is a personal affair between an individual and the transcendental, which is devoid of all outer forms and material. An emerging field has started to propagate the need for viewing religion from different lenses and perspectives. The new field consist of a new approach to the study of Religion tagged as the materialistic approach to the study of religion. Several scholars have done various researches on religion using this approach to show the importance of using outer forms or materials in the expression of faith or religiosity. However, little research has been done on music as a material tool for religious mediation. This thesis seeks to feel that research gap by exploring the use of popular religious music as a tool for religious mediation. Through in-depth interviews with 8 participants, this research was able to establish popular religious music as sensational form; tangible or outward "things" that serves as a medium or means to connect to the transcendent, which is limited to the be the accepted belief of the religion.

Source: Ashesi
Profitability of water points through micro financing

Developing countries generally have a major problem in making potable and clean water accessible to their people in both the urban and rural communities. There is the need for individuals, groups, institutions and the government to find ways to curb this situation which is affecting rural and urban communities in Ghana. Micro financing is the 'provision of small size loan and other financial services to low income household.' (Montgomery & Weiss, 2006,). It is important to note that the provision of micro credit through water points will help increase the confidence level of the poor by having small businesses of their own. It will also reduce poverty by bringing a significant improvement of their material lives. This study will attempt to show how micro finance can help individuals, groups and organizations make water accessible to the majority of the urban population. This study also examines the profitability of water points to the urban population through micro financing. To be able address these problems, the project will address the financial and management of water V points in other to increase profits and also enhance sustainability of water points business. The data analysis reveals that water points through micro financing are very profitable and sustainable to individuals, groups and financial institutions who will want to go into water business. The research also reveals that water can be more profitable when water is sold between 10 and 20 pessewas per standard unit. It also revealed that water points can be sustainable when effective and efficient management controls are put in place. The importance of privatization in the water sector is that it will help everyone have access to potable water. It will also reduce water borne diseases such as river blindness and guinea worm, since water will be treated. It will also help meet the seventh Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015. This in the long run will ensure more than half the population in the urban centers has access to safe drinking water.

Source: Ashesi