Exploratory Study of Service Quality, Corporate Image, and Customer Loyalty in Restaurants in Ghana

The aim of the study is to identify the effect of Service Quality and Corporate Image on Customer’s Loyalty .Questionnaires were distributed to collect responses from restaurant users in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data and draw the conclusions. It was revealed that service quality and corporate image have strong positive association with customer’s loyalty .The study suggested that managers of restaurants provide needed logistics to aid frontline staff to avoid delays in meeting customer demands. This will lead to high level of customer retention, loyalty, high market share and profitability

The Impact of Good Corporate Governance Practices on Stakeholder’s Satisfaction in Ghanaian Listed Companies

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of good corporate governance practices on stakeholder’s satisfaction among Ghanaian listed companies. The target population comprised of Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and Directors of listed companies.103 CEO and 97 Directors out of the 400 participants returned their questionnaires. The study adopted purposive sampling technique to select the listed companies whiles convenience sampling techniques were employed to select Chief Executive Officers and Directors.With the aid of SPSS the following statistics were used: descriptive statistics to have clear picture of study variables. Cranach’s alpha to measures the internal consistency of the construct, Kurtosis and Skewness values to check the normality of each variable used and correlation analysis to measure the relationship between the variables and validated by Subject-completed Instruments The findings revealed that all the four construct of good corporate governance namely; transparency, accountability, fairness and responsibility had a significant and positive relationship with stakeholder’s satisfaction.  The research suggests that good corporate governance is not enough by having the right policies and procedures in place; it must be embedded into the culture of the organization from the very top down. Keywords: Stakeholders; Satisfaction; Performance; Governance; Practic

Breakage of drops in two-liquid phase dispersions in mechanically agitated vessels

Measurements of drop size distributions were made for a range of xylene-water and sunflower oil-water dispersions in a 0.15 m diameter unbaffled cylindrical vessel, mechanically agitated with a range of standard Rushton turbine impellers. The effects of dispersed phase concentration, viscosity of the two-phase liquid mixture, impeller speed and diameter on drop size distribution were investigated. All dispersions contained 0.3%w/w of the surfactant. Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) used to minimise the effect of drop coalescence during the experiments. Experimental evidence for xylene-water dispersions showed that as the dispersed phase concentration increased beyond 50% by volume, the physical properties of the dispersion changed, notably the rheological properties of the dispersion deviated from Newtonian behaviour and became shear thinning; the apparent viscosity of the two-phase liquid mixture increased exponentially with dispersed phase concentration. Measurements of the electrical conductivity and visual assessment of the dispersion using a photomicrography technique showed no evidence for the occurrence of global phase inversion during the experiments. The evidence however indicated that the structure of the dispersion changed progressively as the dispersed phase concentration was increased. For xylene phase concentration greater than 50% by volume, the bulk flow in the vessel was non-turbulent (Re < 10000) and the average drop diameter was successfully described using a model developed in this thesis based on shear breakage in the boundary layer flow next to the rotating disk of the impeller. For xylene phase concentration less than 50% by volume, the rheology of the dispersion was primarily determined by the viscosity of the continuous phase (water) and drop size distributions were described well by the established equations based on Kolmogoroff's (1949) theory of isotropic turbulence. The drop size distribution data obtained for sunflower oil-water dispersions were more erratic and less reproducible compared with the xylene-water system, especially for sunflower oil concentrations greater than 50% by volume. However, the general trend in data was similar for both dispersions. The lack of reproducibility and conformity of drop size distribution data for sunflower oil-water dispersions with the model was largely attributed to the flow regime remaining predominantly turbulent and the possible presence of small amounts of contaminants present in the low-grade food oil samples purchased locally for these experiments

Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty on Mobile Network Users

The study investigated the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty on mobile network users in Ghana. Convience sampling was used to select the sample of four and sixty-three from the target population of mobile users between the ages eighteen to sixty. Package for the Social Science’s (SPSS) Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Analysis were done base on the main variables in the study. The result shows that all of the three (3) constructs (service charge, service quality and perceived value) reveal negative significant statistical relationship with customer loyalty. The study recommended that customer satisfaction alone do not guarantee customer loyalty. It is the combination of several factors and elements that work together. 'Moreover being satisfied at the moment is no guarantee of an ongoing relationship. Keywords: Relationship; Service quality; Service charge; perceived value; Competitor

Insights to the European debt crisis using recurrence quantification and network analysis

URL des Documents de travail : http://centredeconomiesorbonne.univ-paris1.fr/documents-de-travail/Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 2015.35 - ISSN : 1955-611XThe turmoil in the sovereign debt markets in Europe has raised concerns on the usefulness of sovereign credit default swaps and government bond yields in periods of distress. In addressing this issue, we introduce a novel nonlinear approach for the analysis of non-stationary multivariate data based on complex networks and recurrence analysis. We show the relevance of the approach in studying joint risk connections, extracting hidden spatial information, time dependence, detection of regime changes and providing early warning indicators. The feasibility and relevance of the approach in studying systemic risk is discussed. Finally, we share more light on possible extensions and applications of the approach to systemic risk.Les turbulences sur les marchés de la dette souveraine en Europe ont suscité les intérêts sur l'utilité des contrats d'échange sur risque de crédits (CDS) et des rendements sur les obligations d'État dans les périodes de crise. En examinant cette question, nous introduisons une nouvelle approche non linéaire pour l'analyse des données à variables multiples non-stationnaires, basée sur les réseaux complexes et l'analyse de récurrence. Nous montrons la pertinence de l'approche en étudiant les risques communs, en extrayant les informations spatiales cachées et la dépendance par rapport au temps, en détectant des changements de régime et en fournissant des indicateurs d'alerte précoce. La faisabilité et la pertinence de l'approche dans l'étude du risque systémique est discutée. Enfin, la lumière est faite sur d'éventuelles extensions et applications de l'approche du risque systémique

E-marketing and Perceived Brand Image of Hotels in Ghana

This study examined the role of e-marketing in promoting perceived brand image of hotels in Ghana. The study used a quantitative approach. The correlational research design was employed. Using the random sampling technique, 420 hotel visitors were included in the study. Structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Statistical tools of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data collected. Results revealed that website contributed to building a positive brand image of hotels in Ghana. Furthermore, Facebook contributed to the construction of a positive brand image of hotels. Additionally, a positive relationship was found between the use of SMS and perceived brand image of hotels. Finally, it was revealed that the use of emails was positively associated with perceived brand image of hotels. It was recommended that management of hotels in Ghana enhance their websites and integrate Facebook features to make them easy for visitors to easily toggle between the main sites and Facebook pages. Keywords: E-marketing, perceived brand image, hotels, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/64-03 Publication date: April 30th 202

Performance Implications of Supply Chain Management Practices among Manufacturing Firms in Ghana

The purpose of this study was to assess the causal relationship between five dimensions of supply chain management (strategic supplier relationship, quality of information sharing, level of information sharing, customer service relationship and postponement) and the performance of manufacturing firms in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Data was collected using questionnaires responded to by 87 manufacturing firms in Kumasi. The relationships were modelled into a framework and hypothesised. A 7-point Likert Scale was used to measure the constructs. Pearson’s Correlations and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) Regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed that SSR and Post did not have any positive influence on OP. However, the result suggested that CR, IS, and IQ positively influence OP of manufacturing firms in Kumasi. The results also found only two hypotheses (H2 and H3) were supported, with the remaining three not supported. The finding that strategic supplier relationships have no positive effect on OP is suggestive that managers should invest significant resources to build a strong relationship with their suppliers. Connected to this path is to ensure that the quality of information shared with their trading partners is equally improved to enhance collaboration. While postponement has its attendant benefits for the organisation, it is also apparent from the study that managers must determine optimal postponement by examining the associated costs within various supply chain configurations according to the market needs. This study has provided evidence to show the impact of supply chain management practices on the performance of firms in an emerging manufacturing industry. This study may be one of the key supply chain related research projects conducted on the manufacturing industry in the Kumasi metropolis. The outcomes of this research have far-reaching implications for manufacturing companies in other regions of the country in an era where Ghana is attempting to use industrialisation as a major driver for economic development. Keywords: Supply Chain Management Practices, Supply Chain, Organizational Performance, Manufacturing Firm, Firm Performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-18-06 Publication date:September 30th 202

Sales Force Targets and Its Psychological Effect on Job Satisfaction of Supply Chain Employees through Pressure and Stress in Indonesian Automobile Industry

Objective of this study is to examine the psychological effect of sales force targets on job satisfaction of supply chain employees. Number of studies available in the literature examining the role of target among various companies, however, the sale force targets was not examined in the automobile industry. Especially, the psychological effect of sale force targets is not examined on job satisfaction. Thus, this study examined the valuable relationship between psychological effect of sale force targets, pressure, stress and job satisfaction. Population of this study is based on the automobile companies of Indonesia. The reason to select automobile companies is that; these companies are facing numerous issues related to the employees and previous studies did not consider the psychological role of sale force targets on employees. A survey was carried out and total 271 questionnaires were returned and used in the data analysis. Results of the study highlighted that psychological effect of sale force targets has significant role in employee job satisfaction of supply chain employees. Psychological effect of sale force targets has increased the pressure on employee and increases the stress which lead to the decrease in job satisfaction. Increase in employee pressure and employee stress finally decreases the job satisfaction

Weather /Climate Manual for Agriculture

Agriculture is an economic activity that produce food necessary for human livelihood and it is highly dependent upon weather and climate; however, agriculture is also likely to be very vulnerable to climate variability and change. Climate variability and climate change are the main causes of stress on food production and availability