Human resource management : a study of two English district health authorities

The thesis is primarily about personnel management in the National Health Service (NHS). It uses managerial strategy theory to examine the arguments about the changing style of personnel management and the emergence of human resource management (HRN). Some scholars have argued that the adoption of HRM results in an increasing role of line managers in the formulation and implementation of personnel issues. It is further argued that HIM results in increased ambiguity in personnel issues, and consequently poses a threat to personnel management. Using a case study qualitative approach involving the analysis of documents and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the thesis examined the implications of the integration of the personnel strategy of quality circles into the organizational strategy of quality assurance in two English district health authorities in the Post-Griffiths period. The research revealed that both quality assurance and quality circles initiatives are responses to the potential deterioration in health service delivery as a result of the cuts in health care expenditure. They are, thus, opportunistic and reactive approaches for managing under financial constraints and as such cannot be considered as HRK The empirical evidence indicates that personnel managers did not play any significant role in the quality initiative programmes; as such both programmes did not pose any major threat to personnel management although they encourage line management involvement in personnel issues. This heightens the ambiguity between line and staff functions and relationships in personnel. This research is significant in showing how higher level managerial decisions, a response to environmental pressures provide a link between organizational policies and the employment practices at the lower levels within an organization. It has shed some light also on the supposed effects of employees commitment programmes on personnel management thus contributing to the debate on the supposed 'transformation' of personnel management into HRM

Skills Training in the Informal Sector: Perspectives from Ghana

Youth unemployment is a major concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Unemployment usually results from the lack of appropriate skills to enter the labour market. In Ghana, many enter the informal sector to train for a vocation, but the problem with acquiring skills in the informal sector is that the training is usually informal and unstructured. This article explores the modes of training in the informal sector to find out how the skills provided aid the employability of these workers. It provides empirical evidence to anchor policies on education and institutional policy prescriptions towards effectively equipping the youth with both employable and entrepreneurial skills that promote economic growth in the country. This research adopts a qualitative approach to explore training in the informal sector, and follows the grounded theory process to collect and analyse data. In all, 26 respondents were sampled using the purposive and convenience methods. The findings indicate that training designed for informal workers is not linked to the development agenda of the state, and the institutions are challenged in the execution of their mandates. Some beneficiaries are unable to implement their learning for lack of start-up capital, and they divert to other entrepreneurial activities as a survival strategy. The government needs to plan for the development of entrepreneurial skills in the informal sector, to extend the coverage of this development and to support the industrialisation agenda

Toward a construct of liability of origin

In this paper, we advance a novel concept of liability of origin to explicate the mechanisms through which location can be become either a liability or an advantage. Our analysis sheds light on how firms’ ability to compete and gain legitimacy can be derailed or enhanced by their geographical location. We illustrate our theoretical analysis using multiple cases in the airline industry in Africa. Four distinct phases that explicate how liability of origin manifests in firms’ legitimacy quest are indicated. Our work highlights how actions and inactions of rival firms can make the geographical origin of a firm “geographicalness” to shift from being a strategic asset to become a liability. We outline a number of implications for practice and fruitful avenues for future research

Why on Earth Should Foreign Banks Invest in Africa's Financial Services Sector? Evidence from Financial Multinationals in Ghana

While sub-Saharan African countries have been able to attract some degree of resource-seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) due to their abundant natural resources, financial FDI inflows have proved to be elusive for the region, in spite of the widespread financial-sector adjustment programs that offer attractive incentive packages for financial multinational corporations (MNCs). Literature surrounding the determinants of FDI inflows has mainly focused on manufacturing and real production activity. We analyzed the root causes of the weak administrative and institutional framework in Africa's banking industry, using Ghana as a case in point. Focusing on two financial MNCs as case studies, this article validates the significance of a thorough qualitative investigation in evaluating the explanations as to why most foreign banks do not invest in sub-Saharan Africa and why the few that do have relatively insignificant operations. The study also reveals that despite the far-reaching reforms, there are several structural constraints and deficiencies placed on financial MNCs that affect the size of the business they can conduct and their future investment decisions. One of the major issues prior to the financial-sector reforms in Africa was disintegration, and the restructuring was not designed to create an attractive location for foreign capital; hence, the low financial FDI inflows to Ghana in particular and Africa in general

South African MNCs' HRM Systems and Practices at the Subsidiary Level: Insights From Subsidiaries in Ghana

Despite the extensive literature on the human resource management (HRM) systems and practices of multinational companies (MNCs) from developed countries, there are serious gaps in our understanding of emerging countries multinationals HRM practices and systems at both home and host countries. This study empirically examines the similarities and differences of South African (SA) MNCs' HRM systems and practices at both the headquarters in SA and at the subsidiaries operating in Ghana. The study reveals that with the exception of compensation and industrial relation practices which are localised, EMNCs HR systems and practices are mainly transferred to subsidiaries with minimal adaptation to contextual realities. Further research and practical implications are discussed

Business and government interdependence in emerging economies: Insights from hotels in Ghana

Although social science research is replete with scholarly works on capacity building, relatively few studies have focused on how government can induce capacity building among privately owned enterprises in emerging economies. We seek to fill the lacuna in our understanding by examining how a government can induce capacity building among privately owned enterprises. The study adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with hotel owners, employees, and managers, as well as government officials in Ghana to examine the issue. We identified three unique stages through which such capacity-building initiatives unfold encompassing diagnosing, renewal, and customer centricity. The study revealed that capacity building through collaborative partnership was partly motivated by desire to overcome societal resistance to services seen as “tainted.” The concluding section outlines a number of theoretical and practical implications

Diaspora Entrepreneurs’ Push and Pull Institutional Factors for Investing in Africa: Insights from African Returnees from the United Kingdom

Applying the institution-based views, this article conceptualises how diaspora entrepreneurs take stimuli from the push and pull institutional factors to develop business enterprises in their countries of origin. Using cases of African diaspora entrepreneurs in the UK and the grounded theory methodological approach, our conceptualised model demonstrates that the diasporas use the new knowledge, skills and wealth they have gained in the UK in tandem with support from trusted family, kinship and business ties at home to develop enterprises. It further demonstrates that diaspora entrepreneurs foster resilience to withstand weak formal institutions in their countries of origin and the discriminatory obstacles in the UK. We also found that institutional barriers which served as push factors that encouraged or forced migrants to leave their home countries to seek greener pastures abroad may later become pull factors that enable them to engage in diaspora entrepreneurship which is often characterised by paradoxes. Particularly, the informal institutions that constrain foreign investors can become assets for African diaspora entrepreneurs and help them set up new businesses and exploit market opportunities in Africa. The implications of the study for diaspora entrepreneurship literature are outlined

Wolbachia endobacteria depletion by doxycycline as antifilarial therapy has macrofilaricidal activity in onchocerciasis: a randomized placebo-controlled study

In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Ghana, 67 onchocerciasis patients received 200-mg/day doxycycline for 4–6 weeks, followed by ivermectin (IVM) after 6 months. After 6–27 months, efficacy was evaluated by onchocercoma histology, PCR and microfilariae determination. Administration of doxycycline resulted in endobacteria depletion and female worm sterilization. The 6-week treatment was macrofilaricidal, with >60% of the female worms found dead, despite the presence of new, Wolbachia-containing worms acquired after the administration of doxycycline. Doxycycline may be developed as second-line drug for onchocerciasis, to be administered in areas without transmission, in foci with IVM resistance and in areas with Loa co-infections

The potential for technology and knowledge transfers between foreign and local firms: a study of the construction industry in Ghana

Multinational corporations (MNCs) and other foreign firms can be conduits for technology and knowledge (T&K) transfer to host countries in the developing world. Most of the existing research focuses on T&K transfers through FDI and are drawn from Asia not Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although SSA is increasingly receiving foreign investment. There is a paucity of research that gives insights into project-level T&K transfer issues in SSA countries. Using the Ghanaian construction industry as an empirical focus, this article explores T&K transfer potential. The findings reveal significant weaknesses in T&K transfer across industry subsectors and between foreign and local firms. This arises from the potentially complementary but dissimilar resource and knowledge bases. The weaknesses are compounded by the absence of coherent government T&K development policie