Business Process Reengineering (BPR) In the Financial Services Sector: A Case Study of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) Limited

With more and more banks entering the Ghanaian financial sector due to the stable political and macroeconomic environment there has been the need for banks and other financial institutions in the financial services sector to come up with new products, services and processes in order to stay afloat. Increased competition and sophistication of customers require that banks rethink and design processes, procedures, products and services that are cost efficient and effective with the aid of technology to remain competitive and profitable. Employing a descriptive research design methodology with the use of structured questionnaires one hundred and eighty (180) staffs of Ghana Commercial Bank Limited were sampled. Out of this number 48% were females and 52% being males to find out the impact of Information Technology and Human resources in a reengineering process. The study found out that the bank had increased investment in IT which lead to increased operating incomes. However the bank did not fully realize the benefits desired, as staff were not fully involved due to communication barriers even though management (leadership) was fully committed to the BPR process. Keywords: Reengineering, Information Technology, Human Resourc

E-Commerce, Exports and Imports Growth: Casual Relations Between Us and China

The main aim of this paper is to do empirical analysis of the causal links between growth in e-commerce, exports and imports in US and China.  The decision to select these countries is based on their performance of E-commerce and International Trade over the decade in the world. The case whereby the causal links between the e-commerce, exports and imports sector of a nation can be discovered and analyzed. The causality concept used in this research is VAR Granger causality/Block Exogeneity Wald Test. There exists solid indication of Granger causality, bidirectional association between E-commerce, Exports and Imports growth for US in our sample. There is a weaker evidence of existence of causality between the variables in the case of China.  The phenomenon of e-commerce entails important opportunities for improving the international integration and therefore all countries can also profit from policies that promote strategic sectors of their markets. Keywords: E-Commerce, Exports, Imports, Causal Relation

Production practices of Local pig farmers in Ghana

Local pig production is of economic, nutritional and socio-cultural importance to livelihoods in Ghana. Data was collected from 176 local pig farmers in four regions of Ghana using pretested structured questionnaire. Majority of the farmers interviewed were males over 30 years and kept crossbred pigs (64%) with income (95%) as their main motivation. In terms of housing for the pigs, most farmers use sheds (39%), about a third had permanent structures (34%), whilst the rest (22%) use stalls with a few keeping their animals in their yards (2%) or having no housing facility (2%) at all. Growth rate of pigs was the most important trait (49%) for the farmers compared to aesthetic traits like coat colour or ear orientation. Majority of the farmers (90%) acquired their breeding stock from family, friends and the open market with only 10% acquiring breeding stock from government breeding stations. Local pig production in the study area was characterised as semi-intensive with huge opportunities for stakeholders to make interventions in provision of improved breeds, housing, feeding and veterinary care to boost local pig production

Origin and phylogenetic status of the local Ashanti Dwarf pig (ADP) of Ghana based on genetic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Ashanti Dwarf Pig (ADP) of Ghana is an endangered pig breed with hardy and disease resistant traits. Characterisation of animal genetic resources provides relevant data for their conservation and sustainable use for food security and economic development. We investigated the origin and phylogenetic status of the local ADP of Ghana and their crosses with modern commercial breeds based on mtDNA, MC1R, Y-chromosome sequence polymorphisms, and genome-wide SNP genotyping. RESULTS: The study involved 164 local pigs sampled from the three agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Analyses of the mitochondrial D-loop region and Y-chromosome sequences revealed both European and Asian genetic signatures, with differences between the geographical zones. Black coat colour is the most predominant within the breed, with black MC1R alleles of both Asian and European origin. European alleles for spotting are present at a low frequency in the sample set, and may account for the occurrence of spotted piglets in some APD litters. PCA analysis of SNP data revealed a strong location and breed effect on clustering of local Ghanaian pigs. On a global level, Ghanaian local pigs cluster closely with European pigs of commercial origin, but we identified intervals via FST analyses that may elucidate loci for ADP specific traits. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of both European and Asian contributions, with differences between geographical zones probably reflects trading and colonial influences. Understanding the effects of admixture on important adaptive and economic traits of the ADP and other local breeds in Africa is critical for developing sustainable conservation programmes to prevent the decline of these genetic resources.The authors are grateful to Cambridge in Africa Research Excellence (CAPREx) for the award of Post-doctoral Fellowship to ROA, and the Alborada Trust for supporting the Research. G.L is supported by the European Research Council (337574-UNDEAD), and BMS is supported by BBSRC grant number BB/N000129/1. CAS is funded by the Department of Pathology and Hughes Hall, Cambridge

Phylogenetically diverse Bradyrhizobium genospecies nodulate Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) and soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) in the northern savanna zones of Ghana

A total of 102 bacterial strains isolated from nodules of three Bambara groundnut and one soybean cultivars grown in nineteen soil samples collected from northern Ghana were characterized using multilocus gene sequence analysis. Based on a concatenated sequence analysis (glnII-rpoB-recA-gyrB-atpD-dnaK), 54 representative strains were distributed in 12 distinct lineages, many of which were placed mainly in the Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Bradyrhizobium elkanii supergroups. Twenty-four of the 54 representative strains belonged to seven putative novel species, while 30 were conspecific with four recognized Bradyrhizobium species. The nodA phylogeny placed all the representative strains in the cosmopolitan nodA clade III. The strains were further separated in seven nodA subclusters with reference strains mainly of African origin. The nifH phylogeny was somewhat congruent with the nodA phylogeny, but both symbiotic genes were mostly incongruent with the core housekeeping gene phylogeny indicating that the strains acquired their symbiotic genes horizontally from distantly related Bradyrhizobium species. Using redundancy analysis, the distribution of genospecies was found to be influenced by the edaphic factors of the respective sampling sites. In general, these results mainly underscore the high genetic diversity of Bambara groundnut-nodulating bradyrhizobia in Ghanaian soils and suggest a possible vast resource of adapted inoculant strains. In the northern savanna zones of Ghana, Bambara groundnut-nodulating Bradyrhizobium species are taxonomically diverse.Peer reviewe

Customer Complaints Management Practices on Service Performance of the Public Sector in Ghana. The Case of Ghana Water Company Limited.

This study examines the impact of customer complaints management practices on satisfaction with service performance. Majority of the customers in the urban areas with direct access to pipe borne water from Ghana water company limited (GWCL) are concerned with the reliability and quality of the water supply. The inability of GWCL management to manage these concerns led to the reduction of revenue mobilization at GWCL. A survey was conducted and in all, four hundred and three (403) respondents were surveyed through questionnaires and interviewed for the study. The sample was selected by random sampling technique and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using frequencies and percentages with the use of SPSS 16.0.The study revealed that GWCL has a customer complaints managements practices stipulated by Public Utility Regulation Commission (PURC), of which the management staff of GWCL was oblivious of these standard set by PURC, led to many lapses in the management of customer complaints.Again, the inability of PURC and GWCL to collaborate resulted in many services gaps namely knowledge, communication and delivery gaps. Efficient and effective communication system should prevail between PURC and GWCL and the need for GWCL to ensure continuous improvements of knowledge and skills, training of staff and provision of operational equipment‘s to enhance performance

Toward smallholder bamboo-integrated agro-silvopastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa: assessing the impact of bamboo leaves on consumption pattern, growth performance and manure characteristics of West African dwarf goats

IntroductionThe selection of appropriate plant species, particularly those tailored to supplement ruminants raised under agrosilvopastoral systems, remains a persistent challenge.ObjectiveIn a 30-day study, the feed intake, growth performance, and manure characteristics of West African dwarf (WAD) goats fed bamboo leaf supplement were evaluated. Materials and methodsA total of 30 animals with an average weight of 9.9 ± 0.21 kg were divided into a control group, and four bamboo-supplemented groups, following a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement within a completely randomized design. Each group had six animal replicates and received the following dietary treatments: T1 (control) – 400g of basal diet composed of 60% Megathyrsus maximus and 40% Bridelia ferruginea leaves per day; T2—basal diet composed of the T1 diet supplemented with 400 g of Oxytenanthera abyssinica (A. Rich.) Munro leaves per day; T3—basal diet composed of the T1 diet supplemented with 400 g of Bambusa balcooa (Beema) leaves per day; T4—basal diet composed of the T1 diet supplemented with 600 g of O. abyssinica (A. Rich.) leaves per day; and T5—basal diet composed of the T1 diet supplemented with 600 g of B. balcooa leaves per day. The data were analyzed using generalized linear model procedures in Minitab Statistical Software at a 5% significance level. ResultsThe results showed varied (p < 0.05) dry matter compositions spanning from 894.3 to 910 g/kg with the highest contents of crude protein (194 g/kg), nitrogen (31 g/kg), crude fibre (302 g/kg), ash (156 g/kg), acid detergent fibre (429 g/kg), and acid detergent lignin (3.6 g/kg) recorded for B. ferruginea. The leaves of Bambusa balcooa contained the highest neutral detergent fibre (481 g/kg) while M. maximus had the highest organic matter content (911 g/kg). Significant interaction effect (p < 0.05) was observed between the supplement type and the supplementation level, impacting various parameters including feed intake ranging from 398 g (T1) to 469 g (T3) per day, weight gain from 27 g (T1) to 72 g (T2) per day, feed conversion efficiency from 6% (T1) to 15% (T2), manure output from 241 g (T2) to 260 g (T5) per day, carbon- nitrogen (C: N) ratio from 9 (T2) to 20 (T5), faecal acidity levels from 4 (T1) to 5 (T4). Comparatively, higher daily dry matter intake was recorded for the animal groups fed the B. balcooa supplement than their counterparts fed the O. abyssinica supplement. However, the O. abyssinica supplemented groups were more efficient in converting feed to body weight, with feed conversion efficiency approximately 9% higher than the B. balcooa-supplemented groups. Furthermore, in general, the animal groups that received a daily supplement of 400 g gave higher feed efficiency, with performance approximately 3.2% higher compared to the groups receiving 600 g. Likewise, these groups displayed higher faecal N output while concurrently achieving a reduced C: N ratio, indicative of enhanced nutrient utilization and potential environmental benefits. ConclusionTo conclude, integrating 400 grams of bamboo leaves into animal diet can enhance basal diet consumption, accelerate animal growth, and yield manure akin to chemical fertilizers, making it a valuable strategy for bamboo-integrated agro-silvopastoral systems practitioners

Efektivitas Pembelajaran dengan Memanfaatkan Video yang Dikemas dalam Bentuk Cd Interaktif pada Mata Kuliah Inovasi Pembelajaran Matematika

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pembelajaran matematika dengan memanfaatkan video yang dikemas dalam bentuk CD Interaktif pada mata kuliah inovasi pembelajaran matematika pada mahasiswa dapat mencapai tuntas dan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pembelajaran matematika dengan memanfaatkan video yang dikemas dalam bentuk CD Interaktif pada mata kuliah inovasi pembelajaran matematika terhadap hasil belajar mahasiswa. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian Quasy Experimental. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa semester III jurusan pendidikan matematika IKIP PGRI Semarang yang terdiri dari sembilan kelas. Dengan teknik purposive sampling dipilih dua kelas, kelas 3D sebagai kelas eksperimen dan kelas 3C sebagai kelas kontrol. Variabel penelitian dalam penelitian ini yaitu kreativitas mahasiswa (X) sebagai variabel bebas dan hasil belajar (Y) sebagai variabel terikat. Cara pengambilan data dengan observasi dan tes hasil belajar. Olah data dengan uji banding dan uji pengaruh. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa uji ketuntasan dengan rata-rata 73,25 artinya telah mencapai ketuntasan dan terjadi perbedaan prestasi antara kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol yang ditunjukkan dengan rata-rata 73,25 pada kelas eksperimen dan 68,30 pada kelas kontrol serta diperoleh variabel kreativitas mahasiswa berpengaruh positif terhadap prestasi belajar dengan persamaan regresi ?é?ádan pengaruhnya sebesar 12 %. Hal tersebut menunjukkan pembelajaran kelas eksperimen mencapai efektif. ?é?

Alternative Feed Resource for Growing African Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus phoenicis) Larvae in Commercial Production

A six (6)-week long experiment was undertaken to develop an alternative feed resource for the production of African palm weevil (Rhynchophorus phoenicis) larvae and to evaluate the performance of the larvae raised on the different diets. After two weeks, four-hundred (400) young larvae (hatchlings) which weighed between 0.6 – 1.6 g were selected and randomly grouped into 40 sets, each group comprising ten (10) larvae of similar weights and then randomly allocated to four (4) dietary treatments, using a completely randomized design (CRD) with ten (10) replications of 10 larvae. The four treatments designated as T1, T2, T3 and T4 had varying inclusion levels of oil palm yolk at 100%, 50%, 50% and 25% respectively with various combinations of agro-waste materials including fruit waste of banana and pineapple and millet waste. Three (3) kilograms of each diet was formulated and fed every two weeks of the four weeks feeding trial period; with feed being provided ad libitum. Results of the feeding trial revealed that parameters such as total feed intake and mean total feed intake per larva, feed conversion efficiency, pH of larvae and feed cost per kilogram showed significant (p<0.05) differences among treatments. Results of the proximate analysis of diets used revealed significant (p<0.05) differences among the various treatment diets. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that diets did not have any adverse effects on growth performance of larvae, whiles a relatively improved performance was observed at the least inclusion level of oil palm yolk, OPY (25 %). The agro-waste materials exploited actually proved to be potential alternative feed resources for raising the larvae and the diets used served as nutritionally suitable growth media for production of palm weevil larvae