KNUSTSpace

Institutional Repository of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

On this portal we showcase the intellectual output of the university..

 

Communities in DSpace

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 5 of 7

Recent Submissions

No Thumbnail Available
Item
Assessing the sources of finance to the Liberia water and sewer corporation.
(KNUST, 2016-08) Hiah, Benjamin Julu
The sources of finance utilized by the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation were explored in this study. The study employed a single case study approach where the Managing Director served as the sole participant for the study. Through a structured interview guide, the study was able to ascertain both the internal and external sources of finance available to the Corporation as well as the challenges encountered in assessing finance for the Corporation. According to the findings of the study, the internal sources of finance utilized by the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation included connection charges and tariffs. On the other hand, external sources of finance utilized by the Corporation included subsidy, donations, grants and loans from International Donor Agencies. The challenges encountered in accessing internally generated funds include water theft, inadequate metering and billing as well as leakages and delay in the payment of bills. However, the challenges encountered in accessing funds from external sources included donor conditionality and bureaucracy. The study further found that, as a result of these challenges, the Corporation is unable to expand its services to new customers. The study therefore recommended that, since illegal activities is a prominent challenge to generating internal funds for the Corporation, there is the need to set up a team solely responsible for monitoring illegal connections and executing various forms of punishment to perpetrators in order to serve as a deterrent to others. The study also recommended for effective partnerships with International donors and also good management of funds received from such donors.
No Thumbnail Available
Item
Effectiveness of strategic planning in the public sector: evidence from metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in Ashanti region.
(KNUST, 2016-08) Nsiah, Baafi
The public sector is increasingly turning to strategic planning which has been a private sector tool for improved performance. The purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between strategic planning effectiveness and strategic planning and the underlying factors of the dimensions of strategic planning that are associated with the relationship. Data was collected from five Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in the Ashanti Region using questionnaires with each item measured using the five point Likert scale. The obtained data was quantified and analysed using SPSS and STATA. Analysis of data shows a mixed relationship between strategic planning effectiveness and strategic planning dimensions with the involvement of top management in strategic planning having a significant positive relationship. The study concludes that strategic planning cannot be effective in the public sector without the involvement of top management. This requires that top managers must participate fully in the strategic planning process, unit mangers performance must be evaluated based on the achievement of the objectives of the plan, unit managers and top managers must work together and top management must create the climate in the organization that support the development of strategic planning. The recommendations of the study therefore were that top management must create climate in the public sector that support strategic planning, and top management must be cognizant of the fact that their involvement and allocation of resources were what was needed to ensure strategic planning effectiveness.
No Thumbnail Available
Item
The effects of organizational culture on organizational performance: a case study of Adehyeman savings and loans limited.
(KNUST, 2016-08) Gyebi, Akua Dankwa
The general objective of the study is to assess the effect of organizational culture on organizational performance at Adehyeman Savings and Loans Kumasi. A sample size of 100 respondents which comprised of junior and senior staff of Adehyeman Savings and Loans Limited. Both primary and secondary data were gathered for the study. The study adopted descriptive and quantitative research approaches. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The field survey were analysed with SPSS and Microsoft excel. The study discovered that the dimensions of organizational culture at ASL included managers regularly recognizing and acknowledging the quality of employees work; also the effects of organizational culture on performance were ensuring employees work towards the achievement of organizational goals; Organizational culture of ASL could be used to channel out behaviours of employees towards the behaviours the organization desired and could be used to enhance employee effectiveness and increase their productivity. Some performance measures talked about included Profitability, Value creation, Customer satisfaction and competitiveness. Some of the challenges identified were lack of motivation and authoritarian management style which poses threat to organizational performance. The study recommends that Employee motivation, Delegation of authority, Acceptance of criticism Democratic management can enhance performance.
No Thumbnail Available
Item
The state of textiles education in senior high schools in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana
(KNUST, 2015-08) Okai-Mensah, Christiana K.
ABSTRACT The SHS Textiles programme in Ghana has been designed to provide Textiles students with adequate basic knowledge and skills for further education in Textiles as well as self-employment or apprenticeship for those who might terminate their education at the Senior High School level. It is known that some SHS Textiles graduates are unable to acquire and practise the basic skills taught in the SHS Textiles syllabus. This has resulted in a number of them unable to establish for themselves any serious Textiles business at the end of the course. Textiles education is gradually collapsing at the SHS level. The objective of the study however, sought to examine the scope of content of the Textiles syllabus to understand its teaching and learning processes, in order to suggest strategic ways to make Textiles education at the SHS more interactive for students to engage in. The study used mixed methods research approach. The data were collected using convenience and judgemental sampling of 186 students, 12 teachers, three lecturers, three WAEC officials and two CRDD coordinators, in the Greater Accra Region. Data collection instruments were interviews, observations and questionnaires. The descriptive research method was used to report the findings. The study revealed that equipment and tools available in the sampled schools were either damaged or inadequate for effective practical work and demonstration. This makes the teachers to simply describe the tools and equipment that are needed for lessons without the students getting the opportunity to see or use them in class. Teachers are also not able to complete the Textiles syllabus within the stipulated three year-period due to the reduction of the teaching periods from 21 to18 per week even though many more topics have been added to the 2008 Textiles syllabus that was previously in use. These factors have negative effects on Textiles education in the SHS, hence the poor performance of the Textiles students in the WASSCE and ultimately, their inability to engage in entrepreneurship development in Textiles and employment after they graduate from SHS. It is recommended that Ghana Education Service should make provision for schools which offer Visual Arts and Textiles in particular to have the relevant textbooks, permanent studios, tools, materials and other equipment such as looms, padded and development tables for practical work in the schools that offer Textiles. GES should also organise periodic in-service trainings and field trips to enhance the teaching/learning methods used by Textile teachers and to introduce them to new topics that have been included in the Textiles syllabus.
No Thumbnail Available
Item
Drums and drum languages as cultural artifacts of three Asafo companies of Oguaa traditional area of Ghana
(KNUST, 2014-06) Sam, Johannes Atta
ABSTRACT Drums and drum languages, as cultural artifacts, are very pivotal in the Asafo system as far as their activities in the various communities are concerned. However, much documentation has not been done on Asafo drums and their drum languages. Therefore, it is imperative to document the types of drums used by the Asafo groups as well as their aesthetic aspects hence the title “Drums and Drum Languages as Cultural Artifacts of Three Asafo Companies of Oguaa Traditional Area of Ghana”. Interviews, direct observation, recording (audio and video) and description techniques were used to obtain all relevant data as well as accessing the knowledge and understanding of the drum languages from the prospective respondents. The research revealed that Asafo drums are a set of four but only one, that is the Asafokyin (tuaakwan), is used to perform all drum languages. Again, members of the various selected Asafo communities and even some members of the Asafo groups do have foreknowledge about Asafo drum languages but cannot interpret or comprehend some of the drum languages. The decline in the natural role of the Asafo activities due to modern governance system, western religion, elitism and so on has greatly affected the use and performance of the drums and drum languages respectively. A documentation and translation of the drums and drum languages by the respective Asafo are highly recommended. Institutions like schools, radio and television stations and IT companies have been encouraged to use digitized drum languages as part of their system to enhance the fore knowledge and understanding of Asafo drum languages as well as the drum as a cultural artifact. This is an eighty-nine page thesis by Johannes Atta Sam (BA IRAI) and supervised by Dr. Stephen Kquofi (PhD. African Art and Culture).
No Thumbnail Available
Item
Succession planning as a tool for addressing unexpected exits at Trades Union Congress (TUC) Headquarters, Accra
(KNUST, 2016-11) Aidoo, Charles Collins Mbeah
Filling of top management positions in labour organizations in Ghana as a result of unexpected exits has in most cases, been chaotic due to the lack of effective succession planning. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how effective succession planning can be used to resolve employees’ unexpected exits at the headquarters of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC). Data was collected from 30 out of 64 full time employees of the case study organization, using questionnaires and interviews, through a non-probability convenient and purposive sampling approach. The data was carefully analyzed with both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The study revealed that even though the TUC effectively employs job rotation, internal promotions and buying-in talents from outside the organization as interim measures to fill unexpected vacancies, effective replacement planning was on the decline. The study further revealed that some managers and talented employees of the TUC leave the organization to other firms for greener pastures and better working conditions. It was again discovered that leadership of the TUC fail to implement succession planning policy in order to hang around for contract after retirement. The study also revealed that complications in the implementation of effective succession planning at the TUC are threat to the organization’s succession planning strategy. The study has therefore recommended that the management of TUC should adopt an effective succession planning model that will deal with unexpected exits in the organization. It was again suggested that management of the TUC must make succession planning policy framework simple and make conscious efforts to implement it. The study also recommended that the management of TUC must take replacement planning very seriously to enable the organization withstand shock as and when it occurs
No Thumbnail Available
Item
Gender ideology, career aspirations and leadership styles: a comparative analysis of male and female managers in selected financial institutions.
(KNUST, 2016-09) Nti Barbara
The comparison of leadership styles between male and female has played a critical role in the development of leadership theory and practice over the years. Even though empirical studies have investigated leadership styles between male and female, much attention has not been given to the antecedents and intervening mechanisms that result in the choice of leadership styles between male and female managers in Ghana. This is why this study sought to examine the effects of gender ideology on the career aspirations and leadership styles between male and female managers in some selected banking institutions in Kumasi Metropolis. The quantitative approach was adopted and the purpose of the study was explanatory as the study sought to explain the relationships between the key variables of the study. The population for the study consisted of all management staff of the four selected banks, namely, Odotobri Rural Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans Limited. Using purposive sampling, 150 staff were selected from these banks’ branches in Kumasi Metropolis. A structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20) was used in the data analysis to generate frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation, t-test, moderation and mediation analysis. The study revealed male leaders to be more aggressive than female leaders. Female leaders on the other hand, were more helpful and understanding than male leaders. Female leaders were more interested in work-life balance than male leaders. Female leaders were found to exhibit more democratic leadership, laissez-faire leadership, and transactional leadership styles as compared to male leaders. There was however no statistically significant difference between male and female leaders on authoritarian and transformational leadership styles. Career aspiration did not mediate nor moderate the relationship between gender ideology and leadership style of male and female managers. But rather, both gender ideology and career aspiration had direct effects on the leadership styles of managers. The selected demographic variables of managers did not also have any moderating effect on the relationship between gender ideology and career aspiration of management members in the financial sector of Ghana. Based on the findings, it is recommended that both male and female leaders be trained to blend some of the male and female oriented leadership styles to enhance their effectiveness.