Divisional Performance Evaluation Tools Employed by Indigenous Ghanaian Banks

Few studies have been undertaken on performance measures in service institutions, especially in developing countries like Ghana.  There exists no empirical research on how local Ghanaian banks evaluate the performance of their branches and of the branch managers.  The purpose of this study is to identify the performances measures used by local Ghanaian banks to measure the performance of their branches. Financial and non-financial statistics were collected from indigenous Ghanaian banks.  Statistical tools such as mean, variances and standard deviations, tables and graphs are used to analyze responses obtained in arriving at the study’s findings.  Ranking techniques were also employed in accessing the relative importance of the various financial and non-financial performance measures.  The research findings indicated that local Ghanaian banks are employing both financial and non-financial performance measures in accessing performance.  However, most of them considered the financial performance measures as more important than non-financial performance measures when evaluating the performance of their branches. Keywords: Division, performance measurement, Ghana, Banks

The Relationship Between Capital Structure Practices and Financial Distress in West Africa

Many scholars have concluded that the relationship between capital structure in a business and its financial health is not clearly defined. When making decisions, managers may lack understanding of the relationship between the capital structure practice and financial distress. The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between capital structure practice and financial distress in West African companies. The capital irrelevance theory, pecking order theory, and the trade-off theory guided the research question to ascertain the relationship between capital structure practice and financial distress. The study design was a quantitative correlational design. The population was all public nonfinancial firms in Ghana and Nigeria and stratified sampling was adopted. Data for the study were from 85 sampled firms\u27 published financial statements. A total of 425 firm-years were analyzed. Regression and correlation were the analytical tools employed in answering the research question. The results suggested that firms in West Africa follow the pecking order theory. Increases in debts lead to improvements in businesses\u27 financial health. Increases in the leverage ratio and asset tangibility lead to a deterioration of the business\u27s financial health. Governments should develop the capital markets to help firms access debt and equity capital quickly to improve their businesses\u27 financial health. This study may lead to positive social change in employees\u27 socioeconomic lives, as financially healthy firms can pay their employees on time. As such, employees will experience job security and the likelihood of increased salary as the business\u27s financial health improves

The Controllability Principle as Applied by Indigenous Ghanaian Banks in Branch Managerial Performance Measurement

The increasing expansion and decentralization of most organizations around the world has brought to the fore issues with regards to measuring the economic performance of the branch and the managerial performance. Following this pattern, Ghanaian banks have seen a dramatic increase in branch expansion. The literature on performance measurement requires that branch economic performance is distinguished from branch managerial performance.  As such branch managerial performance should include only factors that are within the control of the branch managers.  The study used the survey method in examining if Ghanaian banks are employing the controllability principle in evaluating the performance of the branch heads.  Statistical tools such as mean, variances and standard deviations, ranks, tables and graphs are used to analyze responses obtained in arriving at the study’s findings.  The study findings suggest the wide spread disregard for the controllability principle when evaluating the performance of the branch heads.  Some banks though minority allocate to branches corporate head office overhead cost for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the branch manager.  Branch heads have very little influence on the performance targets imposed on them. Keywords: Division, controllability principle, performance measurement, Ghanaian Banks

Influence of Community Financing Health Insurance Schemes On In-Patient Care In Ghana: The Case Of Nkoranza Scheme

With the introduction of “cash and carry” system in the health sector in Ghana in 1985, it became difficult for many people to afford orthodox health care.  In Nkoranza district, this problem manifested itself in low attendance of in-patient care (admissions) at St. Theresa’s Hospital (the only hospital in the district, a Catholic hospital).  In addition, some of the patients who were hospitalised absconded after treatment because they could not afford to pay their medical bills.  Consequently, in 1989, at Catholic Diocesan Health Committee (DHC) meeting at Sunyani, it was suggested that a community financing health insurance scheme be established in the district in order to reduce the hardship of the people in seeking in-patient treatment.  The scheme was launched and became operational in 1992.  The objectives of this study was to examine the impact of the scheme on in-patient healthcare services at the health facility in the district.  It became evident from the study that insured in-patient attendance at St. Theresa’s Hospital from 1992 to 1998 increased with the scheme, constituting 52% of total admissions within the period. Keywords: cash and carry system, community financing health insurance, patronage, impact, in-patient

The Theoretical and Socio –Cultural Dimensions of Kpando Women’s Pottery

Pottery plays a very important role in the indigenous culture of the various ethnic groups in Ghana. At Kpando in the Volta Region, the art of pottery making, the meaning and uses of the artefacts are enshrined in some deep philosophies that permeate the socio-cultural life of the people. However, the rich theoretical and cultural components of the art have not been fully documented, and are not well understood and appreciated. This knowledge gap has rendered this cultural landmark almost invisible in cultural anthropology and native art. This study therefore provides an intellectual review of indigenous pottery production at Kpando with the view to unearth their role in the social sustainability of the indigenous people. The paper takes a critical look at the ontology of the art, clay winning process, pottery production, their usage and associated taboos. The descriptive method of qualitative research was employed for the study. The findings of the study show that traditional pottery production in Kpando is principally women’s art and the artefacts have both theoretical and cultural undertones. Keywords: Pottery production, native art, theoretical undertone, Kpando wome

The Relationship between Bank Deposits and Macroeconomic Variables in Ghana: A Co-Integration Approach

This study examined the linkages between macroeconomic variables and how those relationships affect the total deposits of Ghanaian banks. The macroeconomic variables included in this study were Inflation (I), Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Gross International Reserve (GIR), Public Debt (PD), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GSE All share Index (GASI), Rate of change in Total Money Supply (M2+), deposits in the banking sector (TD). The study employed monthly data over the period (2015–2020); obtained from the Bank of Ghana monthly time series database. The data were analyzed using Gretl. The cointegration technique was employed in this study to gauge the long-term and short-term responsiveness of the connections. The ADF results indicated that the study variables were non-stationary. The econometric analysis suggested that the study variables, inflation (I), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Public Debt level (PD), and Total Deposits (TD) in banks operating in Ghana, exhibited a significant positive long-run cointegration relationship. This suggested that the identified variables play a crucial role in explaining the fluctuations in total deposit levels within the Ghanaian banking industry. Bank deposit is strongly exogenous and moves to restore equilibrium through several short-run partial adjustments in the short-run. Also, in the short-run, only the GSE All-share index (GASI) significantly influenced bank deposits, but not in the long-run. In the long run, the relationship was still positive but insignificant

The Nexus between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial self-competencies: a social enterprise perspective

The purpose of the study was to examine the mediation roles of student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in the nexus between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial self-competencies within a social enterprise context. The study used a cross-sectional survey design, with a sampled population of 185 business students from three universities (Accra Technical University, Cape Coast Technical University and the University of Ghana) in Ghana. A PLS-SEM approach was used to examine the relationships among the independent–dependent constructs in the study. Entrepreneurial education had positive and significant relationships to student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, but it showed an insignificant relationship to entrepreneurial self-competencies. Student satisfaction was also found to relate positively and significantly to entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial self-competencies. Furthermore, both student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy were found to fully mediate the nexus between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial self-competencies. The study highlights the crucial roles of student satisfaction and self-efficacy in the implementation of entrepreneurial education in higher education institutions. In a discipline that is characterised by paucity, this study provides a unique and original assessment of the important roles of student satisfaction and student self-confidence in building entrepreneurial competencies among students

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century