J.B. Abugre

How managerial interactions affect employees' work output in Ghanaian organizations

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how managerial interactions with employees affect work output, using Ghanaian organizations as a study. Design/methodology/approach - The paper adopts a survey method, using questionnaires to collect data from 120 workers from four Ghanaian organizations to form the basis of the study. Findings - It was found that regular interactions between managers and employees have a direct positive effect on employee work output. Results emerging from the analysis show that for organizations to make any significant impact on performance, both managers and their subordinates must have a very good climate of social interactions. The involvement of lower level employees in organizational activities and decision making is of crucial importance to organizational performance. Research limitations/implications - The study is limited to the four organizations of the sample and the number of respondents. Practical implications - The papers findings call for some behavioural directions for managers in organizations to pay serious attention to the total involvement of workers through effective communication in the running of the organizations. Originality/value - The paper discusses organizational communication by focusing on managerial interaction with employees, and how it can affect organizational work output. The consequences of lack of effective managerial interaction with employees would result in an increased tendency for individuals to leave the organization due to a lower level of satisfaction with their managers.

Organizations' commitment to and communication of CSR activities: insights from Ghana

– The purpose of this paper is to examine organizations’ commitment and communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developing country’s context. , – The study employed an empirical quantitative approach by surveying 193 managers from multiple organizations in Ghana, and used independent sample t-test as well as descriptive statistics to examine the phenomenon. , – The study established that firms operating in Ghana know about CSR and are committed to it. But the level of understanding of the concept as evidenced by their practices is limited to philanthropic activities. The study further revealed that firms operating in Ghana communicate their CSR activities to stakeholders in many forms. Additionally, organizations employ equally varied channels in communicating their CSR initiatives. , – The study contributes the Ghanaian perspective of CSR to the Sub-Sahara African literature, and by that it enhances our present understanding of the commitment and communication channels of CSR activities by companies operating in Ghana. , – Empirical Literature on CSR communication in developing countries is limited. The paucity of academic enquiry on the issue has stimulated this research, based on the perceptions of managers of firms operating in Ghana about their principles of CSR, their way to disclose these activities and the kind of CSR activities done. Further research directions are also articulated.

Job Satisfaction of Public Sector Employees in Sub-Saharan Africa: Testing the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire in Ghana

Public sector administration in sub-Saharan Africa experiences a myriad of problems of the logical perception between worker dissatisfaction and demotivation of job standards. This study tested the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) in a typical public sector organization in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 100 usable surveys were analyzed with SPSS. A very low level of job satisfaction was indicated, and more than 83% of respondents indicated dissatisfaction in their pay and the amount of work they do. Significant differences in job satisfaction scores were also found in the educational level of staff, and between genders. The study outcome highlights the roles of employees and organizational weak spots of human resource management (HRM) practices in a typical sub-Saharan African country, and provides an alternative pathway in employee satisfaction and performance outcome.

An examination of training and development of middle level managers in emerging economies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the training and development (T & D) of middle-level managers in the financial institutions of a sub-Saharan African country make any difference in the performances of the managers and the institutions in general. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis of managers’ opinions based on a quantitative survey of 140 middle-level managers from four banking institutions in Ghana is conducted. Findings – Findings showed that there is a significant relationship between T & D of middle-level managers and their performance and, consequently, performance of the banks. The findings also showed that managers become savvier in personal initiatives and responsive to customer care leading to enhanced service delivery. The paper proposes that T & D should focus on the significant relationship between the outcomes and programme objectives of organisations in emerging economies if these organisations want to be counted in this competitive global world. Pr...

Political Communication and Public Relations in the Ghanaian Media: Building an Emotional Environment with Propaganda

Politician and managers of all types need to be able to communicate with their constituents successfully. Increasingly, they must communicate in both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ media using political communication and public relations to persuade their target audience. Political communication and public relations management describes the overall planning and execution of a political party’s communication strategy to its external and internal publics in order to achieve its goals. This chapter discusses how political parties in Ghana use publicity in the media to reach their political audience other than direct customer centred campaigns. Through a content analysis of the two major newspapers aligned to the two major political parties (NDC and NPP) in Ghana, this chapter defines and presents a multi-discourse perspective of political propaganda instead of political persuasions in political communication and public relations delivery. The study applied content analysis in its data analysis of the two major newspapers aligned to the philosophies of the two major parties in Ghana, National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party.

Political Management and Human Resources Practices of Political Parties in Ghana

Despite an increasing awareness of the need for a well-coordinated and functional human resource practices to enhance organizational bureaucracies, political parties in Ghana have still not appreciated the role of HRM in improving their operational functions. This chapter therefore attempted to examine the HR practices used by political parties in Ghana. Using a qualitative in-depth interviews of personnel working in the two major political parties in Ghana (NDC and NPP) and document anlaysis, results showed that the main political parties do not apply HRM policies to the day-to-day administration of their work. The findings also revealed that basic HR functions like recruitment of personnel, rewarding workers in the various party offices and appraising their jobs did not follow laid down procedures.

Relations at workplace, cynicism and intention to leave: a proposed conceptual framework for organisations

Although employee relations are recognised as important mechanisms for initiating organisational competitiveness and output, existing research has focused primarily on how these relations embed employees’ job and performance, rather than on the declining outcomes from such relations. This paper aims to integrate research on co-worker relations at workplace and cynicism with social exchange as a theoretical grounding to propose a process model that focuses on how employees’ positive relationship at workplace impacts negatively on their cynical behaviours in organisation leading to their intention to stay rather than their intention to leave.,This study offers a conceptual analysis and a review of the literature to explain employees’ behavioural intentions which may lead to their psychological threat or psychological safety in work organisations.,This work positions cynicism as psychological threat that moderates and predicts the likelihood that negative relations at workplace will actively engage employees’ intention to leave the organisation. Similarly, the model positions job satisfaction and commitment as psychological safety that predicts the likelihood that positive relations at workplace will engage employees’ intention to stay. The outcome of this study is the creation of a model which provides a comprehensive methodological framework for conducting behavioural research.,This is a conceptual paper.,This study has major implications for managing and communicating with workers, as well as organisational socialisations and practices related to co-worker relations for effective human resource management practices from both managerial and practitioner perspective.,This work has been able to create a theoretical framework that provides an understanding for management to learn from its end-state competencies and contributions. By this, the model created would enable research to examine the empirical relationship between co-worker relations, cynicism and intention to leave. Thus, the contribution of this paper identifies the roles that management and organisational leadership can play in the practice of employee behavioural intentions.

A phenomenological study of time concept and management and productivity in a sub–Saharan African context

The purpose of this article was to investigate the concept of time and its management in relation to productivity. Consequently, this work employed phenomenological psychology to unearth the experiences of employees on the concept of time management and its impact on productivity using Ghana as a study. Participants involved both local and expatriate workers sharing their experiences on the subject matter in a conversational style. Results indicated that clock time is considered a flexible resource in both social and professional settings. Findings also revealed that time management drives productivity, and its orientation is consequential to the cultural behaviors of local employees in both public and private organizations based on the quality of their corporate cultures. Hence, rigid timelines can turn around public organizations in sub-Saharan Africa and the world as a whole.

Caretakers or HR Managers: The Role of HR Managers in Facilitating the Acquisition of Public Enterprises of Developing Countries by MNCs

Do human resources (HR) managers in developing countries have the clout to make strategic decisions during mergers and acquisitions (M&As)? This study aims at establishing the major roles played by HR managers in M&As of public sector companies in Ghana. The research examined the M&As of 10 Ghanaian companies where 10 HR managers gave detailed narratives of their roles and the part they played in the M&A processes. The qualitative method used to solicit the narratives of the HR managers resulted in the following findings: that HR managers in Ghana have a limited role in the planning process of the M&A; that indigenous HR managers perform several tasks in the course of the M&A to get employees stable before and after the M&A processes; nevertheless, they are not part of the policy formulators. The article makes a modest input of the significance of indigenous HR role in international M&As as a panacea to solving the global crises by advocating the empowerment of HR managers in developing context to be partners in the initial commencement of M&As.