Vol 11 & 10 January – June 2017 ISSN 0855-9163
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Articles in this Issue
A Contextual Model Towards Understanding Information Technology Governance: Principles, Structures & Mechanisms
Winfred Yoakumah
Abstract
Boards of directors and top executives depend on information technology (IT) to achieve strategic and operational goals and to meet legal and regulatory compliance requirements. However, IT governance is often not well understood by these board of directors and top executive management. The intent of this paper is to provide guidelines and understanding of the context of IT governance to organizational leaders. The study employs a qualitative examination of peer-reviewed journals, published documents, and IT practitioner sources containing IT standards and frameworks to (1) identify, classify and discuss the high-level view of the inter-related components of IT governance, and (2) develop a contextual model of IT governance. The contextual model integrates corporate governance theories, IT governance mechanisms, and IT governance domains. The strength of this model is its simplicity, which is devoid of complexities that normally confound the boards of directors and top executives when implementing IT governance. Therefore, the model provides guidance to the top executives and IT leaders the choices to initiate IT governance according to governance principles, IT governance mechanisms, statutory and regulatory compliance and standard IT governance practices. The study recommends that the Government of Ghana should set up an IT governing board to guide the various arms of government as well as organizations and institutions that aim to strengthen their IT governance.
Drivers of Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry in Ghana: The Role of Personality, Staff Service Quality, and Physical Environment
Elizabeth Oppong & Augustine Antwi Boasiako
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the extent at which personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), staff service quality, and physical environment (room and outside facilities) influence customer satisfaction in the hotel industry in Ghana. It further sought to identify which of these factors is the most influential in keeping customers satisfied with hotel services in Ghana. The study was a cross-sectional survey and employed quantitative research approach. The population of the study comprised of hotel guests in Accra. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were used to select four (4) registered hotels rated between 1 to 4 star in Accra. Convenience sampling technique was used to sample 351 respondents. Data was analysed using Partial Least Squares Modeling. Findings from the study revealed that among the three personality factors assessed, neuroticism was the only personality factor found to be positive and significant to customer satisfaction in the hotel industry in Ghana. The study found significant relationship between staff service quality and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, staff service quality was found to be the key determinate of customer satisfaction in the hotel sector. Room quality was found to have strong influence on customer satisfaction in the hotel setting than the outside facilities. The study therefore recommended that hotel management should re-examine and re-programme their customer database system to capture guest personality traits in order to deliver the right services and to keep them delighted.
The Effect of Supply Chain Management on Firm Performance: The Case of Selected Commercial Banks in Ghana
Ernest Ofori-Nyarko
Abstract
This study examined the effect of supply chain practices in firm performance. The population of this study was supply chain professionals in selected commercial banks in Ghana. A quantitative research technique was employed. The simple random sampling method was used to select 178 respondents from four (4) commercial banks. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Pearson’s correlation test and linear regression analysis were used to analyse data. Findings indicated that supply chain practices significantly influence firm performance, with supply chain practices accounting for 67.7% of the total variation in firm performance. Moreover, supply chain practices significantly influence each dimension of firm performance. Thus, it accounts for 89% of the total variation on market performance, while it accounts for 30.1% and 9.2% of the total variation on operational performance and financial performance respectively. It is therefore concluded that firm performance would improve when supply chain practices in the banks are enhanced. Generally, supply chain practices positively influence firm performance among the banks. This means that improved practices of supply chain would enhance firm performance among the banks.
Orality in Ghanaian Newspaper Narratives: An Analysis of Yankah’s Woes of a Kwatriot
Nathaniel Glover-Meni
Abstract
The study explores the influence of orality on Ghanaian prose by explicating the verbal art strategies utilized by Yankah (1990) in his newspaper writing, Woes of a Kwatriot, and, by so doing, illustrating how the interaction between literature and journalism help in bringing about a vector of expression that reveals indigenous literary values. Yankah foregrounds tensions in the Ghanaian society using the medium of orality in a newspaper format, showcasing how indigenous literary modes can facilitate and enhance the quality of the journalism prose. In other words, Yankah saw the emergence of experimental writing as crucial in bringing Ghana, at the margin, to the centre of not only literary production but to the global arena where the writer can play a big role in shaping the fortunes of the people. Yankah is making the case that the African writer should not only mimic what he obtains from the established Western canons. Rather, he or she must consciously facilitate the creation of new forms, an example being combining African elements with the Western long form such as lodging orality in journalism prose in a bid to mediate other forces of modernity