Journal of Business Research

Do leadership styles matter in microfinance performance? Empirical evidence from Ghana

K.J. Tuffour — 2017-06-20

The study draws on the relevance of the full range leadership proposition by showing the relative ability of leadership styles to influence organisational performance in microfinance sector of Ghana. Ghanaian microfinance sector has been concerned with building vibrant institutions within the financial sector. In this direction, managers of these institutions need to bring their leadership styles to bear on the strategic and operational decisions. The objective of the present study is to examine the effect of leadership styles on organizational performance of microfinance institutions in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The study employed cross sectional survey design using correlation and regression analysis. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 121 institutions in 2014. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure the variables of leadership styles while the business dimension of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Questionnaire was used to measure organizational performance. The present study found that microfinance managers exhibit transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles. However, the dominant identified leadership style is transactional. Analyses of data revealed that transformational leadership style has signif icant positive ef fect on organizational performance of the institutions. The age of the firmis an important factor in performance while tertiary education of leaders do not matter in the context of young microfinance sub-sector in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. It is recommended that transformational leadership style should be encouraged for the management of microfinance institutions.

Keywords: Leadership Styles, Microfinance, Organizational Performance

The relevance of Ghanaian Akan proverbs to explanations of contemporary human resource principles and corporate values

B.C. Agyemang — 2017-06-20

In the Ghanaian Akan tradition, many proverbial sayings and phraseologies are knotty statements which are viewed as vehicle for communicating belief systems, values, prescribed and proscribed attitudes and behaviours of people at personal, groups or societal levels. Proverbs are mostly crafted from human experiences and insights and have been viewed over the years as a repository of social norms and values as well as an embodiment of culture and tradition which are potentially applicable in various settings in society. In the extant literature, however, not much, is known about the extent to which these proverbial sayings are applicable to corporate settings, although these proverbs appear to offer explanations for contemporary corporate human resource concepts, principles and practices. To address this gap, this paper: identifies some Ghanaian Akan proverbs and categorizes them into major themes; draws-out explanations from these proverbs and demonstrate their explanatory power for some key human resource (HR) principles and corporate values such as team work, training and development, retirement planning, organizational ethics and safety. The paper concludes with ardent appeal for the advancement of knowledge especially in Africa through “Academic Domestication”.

Keywords: Ghanaian Akan proverbs, corporate values, human resource principles, academic domestication, Ghana

A study exploring the influence of media consumption on body image and beauty among young corporate Ghanaian women in the Greater Accra Region

T.D. Adjin-Tettey — 2017-06-20

The ubiquitous nature of the media in modern times makes it quite easy f or one to be unhappy with one‟s body as media portray all forms of “ideal” images through platforms such as movies, social media, advertisements, music videos, celebrity/gossip magazines, fashion programmes on TV. Contemporary trends in fashion, such as hairstyles, clothing, makeup and accessories have been popularized through both new and traditional media. It has been estimated that young women now see more images of exceptionally beautiful women in one day than their mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence. Through survey, this study seeks to find out if , among young Ghanaian corporate women, the media had influence on their beauty perceptions, beauty choices and their self -body image. The study gathers that the majority of respondents (88.4%) believed that beauty portrayals in the media are attainable with a lot of them comparing themselves with media ideals and more than half (54%) having attempted to create looks of media icons. Peer comparison was another influential factor, which 46 % of respondents engaged in. It was recommended that media influence should not be overlooked when deciding on media content so as not to project idealised images which may be typical of “foreign” culture

Keywords: Media Consumption, Mediated Beauty, Body image, Media influence, Social comparison, Media Portrayals, Ghanaian women, foreign culture

An examination of the dynamics in the job market in Ghana and the relevance of language to the contemporary business student

B.S. Akrong — 2017-06-20

Currently, in Ghana, the popularity of business courses has dominated the arts; several new universities have been established in Ghana, which provide business programmes. Yet, very little is known if graduates offering business courses are prepared to take up jobs that may require competence in language skills. The study therefore examined the dynamics of job opportunities for business graduates in Ghana and the relevance of language in view of changing trends. The study used quantitative approach and the respondents were business students in one of the public universities in Ghana. The study was based on the theory of human resource development. From the study, 21.6% of the respondents (227) indicated that they were prepared to take up any job that required competence in language skills. Based on this finding, the paper recommends that it is imperative that Ghanaian universities should continue to provide language skills to their students to enhance their employability. Multilingualism is thus advocated as a means of being more marketable in a fast-changing world that is inclining towards business and linguistic competence.

Keywords: business job market, business graduates, multilingualism, employment

Perception of performance management and rewards in selected public sector organisations in Ghana: a test of the systems theory

E Amoako-Asiedu — 2017-06-20

In the new public administration, performance management is expected to provide the necessary information that makes the behaviour of governments more results-oriented and responsive to conditions affecting governments goal attainment. Performance management focuses on achieving results which is expressed in useful products and services for customers inside and outside the organization. The purpose of the study was to investigate staff perception of the level of performance management effectiveness and also establish a relationship between staff perception of performance management and rewards in the public sector in the theoretical context of the systems. A total of 100 employees from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Ghana were selected using convenience sampling. The results showed that Quality, one of the performance indicators, was the only variable that was associated with rewards. The findings provide valuable insight into the key performance criterion and how it relates to rewards in the public sector of Ghana.

Keywords: Performance management, Rewards, Systems Theory, Public sector organisations

Predictive relationship between motivation and perceived career choice among undergraduate students in Ghana

A Puni — 2017-06-20

The study investigated the predictive relationship between motivation and perceived career choice among undergraduate, professional, and Diploma students from the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Descriptive correlational research design was used to investigate the relationships among motivation (e.g., intrinsic and extrinsic) and perceived career choice. Using reliable questionnaire, data were collected from 170 respondents. The hypothesized relationships were tested using Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression test. The result showed that motivation significantly and positively predicted perceived career choice, and accounted for 8.9 percent of the variance in perceived career choice. In addition, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation significantly and positively predicted perceived career choice with intrinsic motivation accounting for more variance in perceived career choice (6.5%) than extrinsic motivation (1.9%). The findings were consistent with Herzberg Two-Factor and expectancy theories of motivation. The implications and limitations of the study have been discussed.

Keywords: motivation, perceived career choice, students, Ghana

Relationship between expansion strategy and growth of charismatic churches in Ghana

G Alabi — 2017-06-20

This paper examines the relationship between expansion strategy and growth of charismatic churches in Ghana using 100 churches through a survey questionnaire administration. The study used an exploratory, relational and descriptive approach with a cross sectional and a quantitative design that relied on both primary and secondary sources of data. Evidence of growth of the charismatic churches was highlighted by increase in the number of church branches, number of members, total monthly tithes, total work force and value of assets. Church strategies were found to be positively correlated to church growth with the most vital strategy being prayer. Other important growth strategies were: evangelism, type of sermon, membership welfare and service structure. The Franchise/ Business model was found to yield better church growth than the Episcopal model.

Keywords: Franchise, Business model, Episcopal model, charismatic churches

An evaluation of the contributions of the wood industry to Ghana’s economic development

F Quansah — 2017-06-20

The wood industry in Ghana has over the years contributed immensely to the GDP of Ghana. The industry has been one of the main sources of foreign exchange for Ghana. Furthermore, it has over the years been a source of employment to many Ghanaians. However, some recent studies and report seem to suggest that the sector's contribution to Ghana's GDP is declining. Consequently, this study seeks to evaluate the contribution of the wood industry to the GDP of Ghana. This study relied on annual reports from the wood industry and some existing studies for the evaluation. The findings show that there has been a consistent decline in performance of the wood industry to the GDP of Ghana. The implications of the findings and recommendations have been provided at the end of the paper.

Keywords: Wood Industry, Wood Export, Export Earnings, GDP