Employee Motivation and its Effects on Employee Productivity/ Performance

One of the most important functions of management is to ensure that employee work is more satisfying and to reconcile employee motivation with organizational goals. With the diversity of current jobs, this is a dynamic challenge. What people value and enjoy is influenced by many factors, including the influence of different cultural backgrounds. This research report examines employee motivation and its impact on employee performance. The study examines some common theories of motivation that can be used in an organization to improve employee performance. The study showed that employees have their differences in terms of the concept of motivation. Various forms of theories of motivation in literature have been debated along with their applications and implications. Three questions were examined: What is motivation? What kind of motivation can best be used to increase employee performance? The results of the study show that motivation can increase or decrease employee performance. If the chosen form of motivation meets the needs of the employee, their performance increases. If, on the other hand, the chosen form of motivation does not satisfy the needs of the employee, the benefit decreases. It therefore encourages organizations to understand the motivating need of each employee to improve performance. Keywords: Motivations, Employee, Performance, Productivity DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-16-11 Publication date:August 31st 202

The Nexus Between and Enhancement of Youth’s Involvement in Agriculture: The Case of Eastern Region, Ghana

This paper examines youth’s involvement and the factors hindering youth’s involvement in agriculture. The main objective is to access the engagement of Ghanaian youth in the Eastern Region in agriculture and the figure out factors hindering the youth’s involvement in agriculture. The paper finds answers to the following questions; what really induce the youth to enter into agriculture? What conditions prevents youth from engaging in agriculture? Qualitative research techniques (interviews) were used. The choice model as well as the probit model was used in this paper. It was revealed that most of the youth engaged in agriculture are male as compared to female. Also, most of the youth are not interested in agriculture because of lack of credit facilities, limited startup capital, poor faming technology, use of primitive tools, soil degradation and limited farm lands. It was further revealed the youth migrate to the urban areas to search for job, good industries to work with, good social amenities, good education, and access to loans and enjoy high standard of living in the urban areas. Attention should be given to the factors leading to youth migrating to the urban areas. In addition, the limitations facing the youth in agriculture must be examined. Keywords: Agriculture, Job choice, Migration, Unemployment, Youth. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/9-10-03 Publication date:May 31st 201

The School Counsellor and Students' Career Choice in High School: The Assessor's perspective in a Ghanaian Case.

School counsellors play significant role in the total development of students in respect to career choices. in view of that career development interventions are provide to support the provision of information to guide students make well informed choices in personal, academic and social aspects. This study thus, aimed to examine whether the role of the school counsellor has any influence as well as guide students in their bid to choose career. Using the mixed method approach the study sought answers to; what specific role the school counsellor play to assist SHS students' career choice and also whether there is any significant relationship between the role played by school counsellors and  students' choice of career. Results from the study showed that students strongly agreed that career guidance and counselling, career goal identification, organization of career days and conferences, administration of occupational interest inventory on students were among career intervention roles by the school counsellor influence their choice of career. Further, there was a positive correlation between the role of the counsellor and its influence on students choice of career. it is thus recommended that frequent intervention programmes need to be provided to support students make well informed choices. Keyword: School Counsellor, High School, Occupational Interest, Group Guidance, Career Choice, Vocational Guidanc

Challenges Faced by Teachers in Teaching Integrated Science in Junior High Schools in Aowin Municipality-Ghana

Teachers face considerable challenges when teaching Integrated Science at the various schools. This paper identifies some of the challenges faced by teachers that are possibly hindering them from teaching science effectively and suggests recommendations for school administrators. This study followed a mixed-methods research design. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire. Data for the study were obtained by administering 70 questionnaires to 70 teachers. Six (6) public and one (1) private Junior High School were selected purposively. 10 teachers were sampled randomly from each Junior School making a total of 70. A questionnaire consisted of four-point Likert scale items and qualitative items were developed. 70 questionnaires were fully answered and returned. The data were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The paper recommended that, regular workshops should be organised for all teachers to enable them handle Integrated Science effectively, in- service training should also be an integral part of continuing teacher education and teachers should be supported in order to increase their level of confidence when teaching Integrated Science. Keywords: self-confidence, Science teaching; challenges, teaching and learning, integrated science, secondary schools, subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge

Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Sustainability: The Moderating Role of Top Management Commitment

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of corporate social responsibility on corporate sustainability with the moderating role of top management.  Theoretical Framework:  Even though studies have been done within an emerging market context, there has been calls to explore CSR constraints in other geographical areas. This study explores how lack of top management commitment moderates the relationship between CSR and Corporate Sustainability.  Design/Methodology/Approach: We used non-probability sampling technique by employing convenience sampling for data collection. By employing a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 397 employees of SMEs in Ghana. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 and IBM's Analysis of Moments of Structures (AMOS) version 24 softwares packages were employed as analytical tools in this investigation.  Findings: Board composition, the board size, institutional ownership, and CEO- Chair duality had varying influences on economic, environmental, and social dimensions of corporate social responsibility. The moderating role of top management commitment was confirmed for the relationship between the environmental dimension of corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability.  Research, Practical & Social implications: Future studies can consider other indicators of corporate governance and assess their influence on the various dimensions of CSR as well as their linkage with Corporate Sustainability.  Implications/Originality/Value: It’s concluded that corporate governance systems exhibit varying interactions with corporate social responsibility dimensions which may be due to changes in the national and institutional framework as well as economic conditions and the type of industry

Comparison of Colleges of Education (COE) Integrated Science Curriculum Vis-À-Vis the Basic School Integrated Science Curriculum in Ghana

Science is taught as integrated science in colleges of education, Junior High School (JHS), Upper Primary (Basic 4-6) and Natural Science in Lower Primary (Basic 1-3). Analysis of the colleges of education integrated science curriculum vis-à-vis the basic school syllabus reveals how the subject is structured to prepare teachers to teach it at the basic level. A doctrinal research method design was used for the study. The study revealed that both colleges of education and basic schools Integrated Science curriculum integrate Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry and Physics which aims at giving holistic training to teacher trainees in terms of pedagogical content knowledge, whilst the basic school curriculum aims at achieving scientific and technological literacy.  Analysis of both curriculum reveals that some concepts which are very important in contemporary Ghanaian society is left out. It was recommended that there must be a national curriculum review policy on integrated science to merit the needs of society. Keywords: Curriculum, comparison, Syllabus, Integrated Science, Curriculum implementatio

The Role of Institutional Policies in Promoting Agribusiness Development in Rural China

Sustainable agricultural growth has become an area of interest for many researchers in the quest to increase food production in the midst of an escalating population. However, the evidence remains largely scanty, isolated and devoid of an in-depth analysis of how some economic policies promote agribusiness development in mainland China. Using time series data from 1990 to 2013, this paper adopts semi-parametric quantile regression to study the complex relationship between institutional policies in rural areas and agribusiness development. The study revealed the role of family household in promoting agribusiness development at the higher quantiles of the distribution. Moreover, government investment in rural health and education contributed significantly across the quantile distribution. The impact of research and development on agribusiness development is positively significant across the quantile points of the distribution within the study period. The result from the quantile graph clearly shows the disparities between OLS and quantile regression coefficients

Avocado Pear as a Source of Inspiration for the Design of a Model Truck as a Desk Organiser

This publication seeks to explore and design a model truck with a concept idea development that will serve as a desk organizer. The automobile selected is a semi-truck that has a sleeper. The sleeper is what serves as a resting place for drivers during long journeys. This truck is best suited for the concept because of the sleeper to convey all necessary compartments to accommodate office supplies. Observation of most desk organizers found on the desk of some general offices are containers that have simple shapes like cylinders, boxes where items are placed. These organizers do not add any aesthetic appeal to the office since it's very simple and the items placed in them are not singled out thereby making accessing them inconvenient. There is also no distinct design that will make them stand out and also welcome the visitor. This research explores various design ideas of combining the truck concept into a desk organizer. The descriptive research and studio-based methods based on the qualitative research approach were employed. The researchers rather employed the use of an inanimate object being Avocado or Pear fruit as the design inspiration that guided all design experiments. The Latin word for Pear is 'Pirum', which means to 'bear fruit'. Every nation's income is partly dependent on the money generated from the movement of goods and services. Therefore, for a nation to bear fruit economically, the import and export of goods and services must be very effective. Trucks are very instrumental in conveying these goods and services across the country. The design is meant to serve as a wheel of academia where all necessary items needed at offices are well organized and conveyed for knowledge acquisition. To explore and produce further unique objects of product design that can serve a completely different purpose aside its original purpose or its aesthetic appearance and value was recommended. It was also recommended that there should be a form of collaboration with other departments to produce interesting results. There should be a collaboration between the Metal Product Design Section and the Engineering Section to produce works of art where the engineers introduce their technological concepts into the design ideas and concepts of the Metal Product Designer. Keywords: model, truck, sentinel, desk organizer, avocado pear DOI: 10.7176/ADS/86-05 Publication date:October 31st 202

Corporate Fraud: Causes, Effects, and Deterrence on Financial Institutions in Ghana

This paper focuses on finding the causes, effects, and deterrence and prevention of corporate fraud in the financial institution of Ghana. In particular, we examine the effects of fraud on a firm’s financial performance. A cross sectional model was used to find the effects of financial institutions fraud on financial performance. It was revealed that fraud has a significant negative effects on financial performance i.e. Return on Assets of financial institutions in Ghana. However, structured questionnaires were also used to find out the perception of Accountants, Auditors, and management on the main causes of banking fraud and deterrence and prevention methods in curbing the menace. It was revealed that weaker internal control, inadequate training and fraud policies, failed documents, and proper remuneration are the strong arsenal that causes fraud in financial institutions of Ghana. Moreover, organizational use of password protection, good remuneration, employee’s background checks, and adequate fraud training were perceived as the most deterrence and prevention method in fighting fraud in financial institutions. Our results have practical implication for management, accountants, auditors, and all stakeholders in financial institutions on the effects of fraud on firms financial performance and in mounting fool proof methods in curbing this canker and reducing it to its bearest minimum. The study contributes deterrence and prevention methods aimed at improving its effectiveness in reducing fraud in Ghana and West Africa

Antecedents of marketing climate change adaption construction materials: Evidence from Ghana

Purpose: Climate Change affects all countries in the world. It impacts negatively on the living conditions of humankind, especially livelihood, temperature change, rainfall regime, and rise in tidal waves. Design/Methodology/Approach: The population in the real estate industry. A descriptive design was used, including questionnaires, to gather data. Since the study sought to examine the willingness to purchase accordingly, a logit regression model was used to predict the likelihood that the dependent variable willingness to pay (WTP) equals 1 (rather than 0). Findings: Income level, price of the products, respondent’s age, gender, and availability of policies concerning eco-friendly products and identified associated health risks positively influence respondents’ WTP. The study reveals that in the real estate sector of the Ghanaian economy, there is a positive WTP eco-friendly roofing product; hence, entrepreneurs and investors should take advantage of the urgency to reduce the impact of climate change in Ghana by investing in eco-friendly products for both the real estate and construction sectors of the economy. Recommendations: The results show that any eco-friendly roof material must raise consumer awareness about the effects of climate change and shape consumer perceptions