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Institutional Repository of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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The effect of work life balance (WLB) among female workers in Kumasi metropolis.
(KNUST, 2016-06) OWUSU, AGNES
The present century has seen many women employees entering the workplace and competing equal to their opposite gender in every aspect of work. This progress and change in roles played by the women have not freed them from the personal life roles that they have. At such a stage has stemmed the concept of Work Life Balance (WBL). An individual’s work life and personal life may bring in conflicting demands on one another and the demands from both the roles are equally important. Hence Work Life Balance among female workers has gained additional attention from organization. Work- Life balance is a broad concept which includes proper prioritizing between career and ambition on one hand, compared with pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development on the other. It is a key factor which determines employee satisfaction, loyalty and productivity. The study conducted was purely quantitative whereby the researcher asked narrow and specific questions and also collected data for the study. Convenient sampling method was used to gather and collect first-hand information relevant to the study from 250 respondents in order to access the effect of Work Life Balance among female workers in Kumasi Metropolis. The source of materials for the study was both primary and secondary. Primary data was collected by the use of structured questionnaire designed to both the formal and informal sector. The study revealed that there should be always a balance between the hours worked, inflexibility of the work schedule, role conflict, role ambiguity, expectation for secretiveness and objectivity and the number of children, spouse employment, family conflict, low spouse support and expectations for warmth and openness. However, for effective Work Life Balance, female workers should reach consensus with their family especially on how to combine their family work with their formal duties, the husband should assist their spouse in some of the traditional gender roles and also the organizations must develop a work life policy that incorporates programs that ensure a balance between work duties and roles at home.
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Liquidity management in rural banking: a case study of some selected rural banks in Ghana.
(KNUST, 2016-08) OSEI, PATRICK KWADWO
The importance of rural banks as providers of financial services to ensure growth in the predominantly agro-based economy cannot be over emphasized. Rural banks have been established to mobilize rural funds and assist the rural folks with credit facilities mainly in their productive activities. The sheer size and complexity of the modern economy increases the importance of liquidity crises and this is all the more reason it needs to be carefully considered. This study was therefore conducted to assess the liquidity management practices of some selected rural banks in Ghana. The study utilized primary data and secondary data to answer the research questions. Questionnaires and interviews were the main instrument used to gather primary data. Secondary data were obtained from the financial statements and reports of the selected rural banks. The findings showed that the various mechanisms adopted by rural banks in preventing liquidity crises were short term investments, active deposit mobilization, high transaction deposits, interbank liquidity management using the markets risk framework and reducing capital tied up in inventory. The study recommended that a contingency funding plan (CFP) should be instituted that clearly sets out the strategies for addressing liquidity shortfalls in emergency situations. A CFP should outline policies to manage a range of stress environments, establish clear lines of responsibility, include clear invocation and escalation procedures and be regularly tested and updated to ensure that it is operationally robust.
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Assessing the financial control practices among private schools in Kumasi.
(KNUST, 2016-08) OHEMENG, SAMUEL
In recent times, there have been recurrent reports on financial irregularities persisted in a lot of Senior High Schools in Ghana simply because of laxity in controls and disregard of financial rules and regulations. Financial control activities are aimed at achieving desired return on investment. Heads of institutions use financial statements such as budget and other financial tools to exercise financial controls in the form of using policies and procedures established by institutions for managing, documenting and reporting of financial transactions. Current hearings from Public Account Committee indicate that there are challenges in our public institutions. The study was undertaken to ascertain the financial control practices in among private schools in Kumasi. Specifically, it explored the sources and uses of funds in the Senior High School and assessed the effectiveness of financial controls in the institution. Interviews were conducted with the Headmaster and the Bursar. In addition, three sets of questionnaires were designed. One set went to Headmaster and Assistant Headmasters. The second set of the questionnaires went to the Bursar and Accounts Officers; another set went to the teachers. The survey revealed that the sources of funds available to the private schools were the money provided by Director(s) sources and the schools internally generated funds. The study revealed that the schools have put in place effective financial control practices to check embezzlement and misappropriation, expenditure and accounting staffs were performing duties as enshrined in the manuals for headmasters provided by Ghana Education Service. The study also revealed that mode of payment of fees in the private schools is mainly through cash although few people pay their fees through bankers‟ draft/money order and cheque, this however is contrary to what Ghana Education Service requires. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the schools have put in place effective financial control measure. It was recommended that, there should be periodic inservice training for the account personnel since training improves knowledge, skills and abilities. Sub-division of duties of account officers should be strengthened. This will ensure that accounting staff follow proper accounting control practices. Future researchers were recommended to increase the number of school to include public schools and other private schools outside the Ashanti Region to make generation of results very easy.
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An investigation into the relationship between training and development and organisational effectiveness in a public Tertiary Educational Institution in the Central Region of Ghana.
(KNUST, 2017-10) NABRE, JOSHUA EJOLIN
Despite the variations in the educational systems of various countries, the educational sector plays a very critical role in the socioeconomic development of every society. Tertiary education in particular contributes to the growth of the economy through the adoption of combination of research and training which allows for an important flow of knowledge and practice. Hence, there is the need for tertiary educational institution to be effective in the delivery of their various mandates. Training and development are such factors that contribute to the effectiveness with which tertiary institutions perform their roles. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of training and development on organizational effectiveness by using evidence from the Cape Coast Polytechnic, a public tertiary educational institution in the central region of Ghana. The study therefore reviewed literature on the concepts of training and developments. Employing quantitative methods of analysis, the study conveniently sampled 114 staff of the Cape Coast Polytechnic by the use of a structured questionnaire as the main research instrument. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyze the data quantitatively. The study found that the Cape Coast Polytechnic uses both on-the-job and offthe-job training methods in training and developing its employees. These training activities were found to be effective and positively affected the effectiveness of the institution by improving employees’ skills and competence; improving staff relation and improving the quality of services delivered. However, there were certain challenges such as inadequate resources in the form of funds and training materials to effectively train and develop the staff of the Polytechnic as expected. It is recommended that management of the Cape Coast Polytechnic should plan for future training and development by developing a training policy to guide in the training and development of its staff. Also, training and development should be seen as an instrument for establishing and signaling when and how work practices should change
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The effect of customisation on consumer purchasing behaviour in banking: The mediating role of customer service.
(KNUST, 2016) Fuseini,Mohammed Abdul-Basit
The study sought to assess the effects of customisation on the purchasing behaviour of consumers of Stanbic Bank’s services: the mediating role of customer service. In the current volatile environment of increased competition with corresponding increase in market entry of new banking services formats and concepts with a corresponding challenge of understanding the complex relationship between the kind of customised services to offer Customers to gain competitive advantage over the other banks. This study sought to assess the effects of customisation on consumer purchasing behaviour, determine the effects of customisation on customer service, evaluate the effects of customer service on consumer purchasing behaviour and finally determine the mediating effects of customer service on the relationship between customisation and consumer purchasing behaviour. Customers of Stanbic bank were considered for this study with a sample size of three hundred and ninety customers (390). Quantitative study with simple random sampling technique was employed with questionnaire as the main tool for the collection of data. The study revealed that, most of the customers were not consulted before the introduction of customised services, it was further established that, consumer purchasing behaviour of the bank’s depended heavily on the type of tailored services. Furthermore, the time saved on customised services had a much stronger relationship with how customers rated how their perceptions affects their purchasing behaviour on customised services with the level of service quality as a mediator than directly. The study concluded a significant relationship between some of the customisation variables, customer service variables and consumer purchasing behaviour of banking services. The following recommendation were made to address the issues emanating from the study; companies considering this competitive tool to stay focus in delivering more satisfactory service, training customers on the best way to deliver made to fit services and Customer involvement considered seriously when it comes to tailor made services. Other related services industry were suggested for further study to fully appreciate the importance of customisation.
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The effects of materials management on turnaround time of construction projects
(KNUST, 2019-11) Keating, William Jeff
Material management is important in promoting the survival of organisations particularly those in the construction industry. Organisations involved in the delivery of construction projects (especially on contracts basis) are often limited by clients with respect to the time for the delivery of such projects. The study asserted that, effective material management could serve as a recipe for meeting the time constraints often imposed by clients. From this background the study investigated the effects of material management practices on the turnaround time of construction projects in the Consar Construction Limited (CCL). The study adopted the quantitative approach in which the survey design was used as the framework for the conducting the study. Consequently, questionnaires (with close-ended questions) were used to solicit for responses from 41 employees of the CCL sampled using the Yumane Sample Size formulae. After a through analyses of the data collected, it was identified that, the most implemented material management practices were the assigning of roles and responsibilities, forecasting and budgeting, and an established policy for acquisition, grouping and disposal of material inventory. The study further found out that, the implementation of material management practices plays a crucial role in promoting the quality and reliability of construction inventory, promote emergency supply of inventory and reduces the access lead time to inventory acquisition. Notwithstanding the observed effect of material management, the CCL was challenged by the lack of training of material management employees and the bureaucratic processes in procuring inventory. The study recommends that, the implementation of regular training programmes for staff and the use electronic record systems would streamline the management of materials in the CCL.
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Assessment of the challenges for project closure practices in Ghana: a case study of the shopping malls in Ghana
(KNUST, 2019-11) Segbedzi, Walter
The study sought to investigate the effectiveness of the project closure practices used in the Ghanaian construction industry. To achieve the aim, the study set out three objectives: to examine construction project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry; to evaluate challenges associated with project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry; and to establish strategies to mitigate the outlined challenges of project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry. The study employed the quantitative method of research. Questionnaires were developed and distributed among fifty-nine (59) respondents comprising of construction project professionals from the construction of four of shopping malls in Ghana namely the Accra Mall, the West Hills Mall, the Kumasi City Mall and the Takoradi Mall. Fourteen (14) belonged to the employee of owner/client, twenty (20) were employees of contractor while the remaining twenty-five (25) belonged to employee of consultant of construction projects. Data collected were analyzed by means of Relative Importance Index (RII) and the mean-score. The study revealed that the general practice of closing the project consisted of contractual and administrative closure practices. Majority of eighty percent (80%) practiced the contractual closure practices. Further, the study identified eleven (11) factors of challenges related to the construction project closure practices which “contractor related activities” was ranked as the highest challenge hampering the effectiveness of construction project closure practice. It was also revealed by the study that, effective communication and co-ordination should be exercised during construction by all stakeholders as that was ranked as the highest strategy to foster effective construction project closure practice. The study recommends that administrative closure practices should also be practiced frequently by the construction project managers just as they practice the contractual closure practice. Also, provision of “certificate of beneficial occupancy to the owner to use the facility” must be encouraged to be done for all construction project closures. Lastly, the study recommends the importance of a close out schedule, that, it is agreed to by all stakeholders so that everyone’s requirements can be met. There is the need to circulate this early (efficient communication) so each one can work towards this and ease the handing over process at the end.