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Institutional Repository of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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Employees job satisfaction as a motivational tool in public service: a case study of community health Nursing Training College, Jirapa, U/W/R, Ghana.
(KNUST, 2019-05) Suurweh, Sheila Ross
This study was an examination of the effects of motivation on employee performance in Ghana’s public service, using the Jirapa Community Health Nursing Training College as a case. The study adopted a qualitative approach. A sample size of eighty-nine (89) employees were purposively selected and made to answer questionnaires that measure the main variables under consideration: motivation and performance. The findings of the study revealed that a greater number of the employees sampled, representing 47.2%, were not entirely happy on the job. It was also found that a significant number of the employees representing 64% agreed that positive motivation and job satisfaction has an optimistic influence towards members of staff operations. From my research findings, it was recommended that the public sector should organize in-service training for employees to equip them with modern skills in order to improve upon their performance and productivity. Again, deliberate steps should be taken to keep to ensure higher job satisfaction among employees.
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Effect of capital structure on profitability and stock returns of listed firms on the Ghana stock exchange.
(KNUST, 2019-07) Agyekum, Mavis Acquaah
The financial decisions set by management of firms are very important in determining the optimal capital structure of these firms. Notwithstanding, the recent turbulence in the Ghanaian financial sector, the sector has become alarming since almost all firms in one way or the other depend on financial institutions for loans to maintain a suitable capital structure in running their businesses. This is a quantitative study that was conducted on 37 listed companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange with an aim of examining the effect of capital structure on firm profitability and stock returns of firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The primary research was conducted by examining the financial data from 2009 to 2014 (6 years). Secondary data from the Ghana Stock Exchange covering 6-year period from 2009-2014 was used for the study. A total number of forty firms were listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange but thirty-seven had complete financial statements and as such, 37 firms constituting 75% were used for the study. Regression analysis and Chi-square tests were the main tools used for analysis. The findings of the research revealed that short term debt to total assets has positive effect on return on assets of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange. It was also identified that the age of the firm has positive effect on return on assets of listed firms on Ghana Stock Exchange. Again, the study found that sales growth has significant positive effect on return of assets of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange. However, the findings revealed that sales growth has significant positive effect on return of assets of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Finally, the study indicates that capital structure has no effect on stock returns but significant effect on the profitability of listed firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The study recommends to various firms to take into cognizance the amount of leverage incurred since it is a significant determinant of firm's performance.
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L’image de Dieu, de la terre-mere, des dieux et des Ancêtres dans les panegyriques Akan.
(KNUST, 2019-06) Owusu-Darko, Kwabena
This research is therefore a study into the image of God, of the earth goddess, of lesser gods and of ancestors in the Akan eulogy. To achieve this aim we decided to consider how the Akans worship God, the earth goddess, the lesser gods and ancestors. Our research proved that as the Christians praise their God, the muslims praise Allah and the Greeks praise their gods it is also justifiable that the Akans too as a people praise their God, the earth goddess, the gods and the ancestors. They sing praise songs to these deities. Our analysis of the praise songs and appellations given to the deities by the Akans revealed that there is a link between God, the earth goddess, the gods and ancestors because the Supreme God created these deities to assist Him in ruling his creatures. God has given these deities some powers to an extent which makes them efficient in assisting God. We have therefore chosen to analyse some praise songs that are sung to the deities to bring out the image given to them and their effects on the Akans. We discussed the need to return to our source as a people for national development.
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Terrorism in West Africa: the case of Ghana.
(KNUST, 2019-06) Muhammad, Sani Saeed
Terrorism has become the greatest security challenge to the International Community especially in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States of America. There has indeed been rapid spread of terrorist activities in most parts of the globe, particularly in West Africa and the Sahel territories, where groups such AQIM and JNIM have carried out sophisticated and well-coordinated attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. Although Ghana has not experienced any terrorist attack over the past three decades, credible intelligence from the National Security indicates that the country is under threat. Drawing on literature and primary data obtained from security experts and analysts, the study investigated the factors that account for the country’s possible vulnerability to terrorism. The results revealed that poverty, corruption, youth unemployment, porous borders, political vigilantism and the proliferation of violent extremism in the neighboring states are the reason why the country is at risk. At the same time, the study also discovered that democratic governance, relative food security, freedom of religion as well as media freedom are factors that have prevented the outbreak of terrorism in the country so far. The study suggested measures to: minimize the endemic corruption especially among the police and immigration services; deal with the massive youth unemployment; enhance the management of the country’s borders; and deepen the country’s democratic culture, so as to reduce the threats and prevent the outbreak of terrorism in the country.
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Assessment of women smallholder farmers’ climate-smart agricultural strategies to address the effects of climate variability in the Tolon district, Ghana.
(KNUST, 2019-05) Muhammed, Rafatu
Agriculture remains very essential to the livelihoods of most people in the developing worldespecially women and rural dwellers. The situation is not different in Ghana where most of the citizens, especially women, are employed in the sector. Notwithstanding, a major threat to agricultural development is climate variability and change. This has necessitated the need to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices in order to mitigate the harmful effects of climate variability. With women as well as the northern part of Ghana being one of the most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate variability and change, this study investigated the climatesmart agricultural practices of small-holder women farmers as a mechanism to address the effects of climate variability in the Tolon District of Ghana. A mixed method approach and a cross sectional design was utilized. The study purposively selected a sample of 371 women farmers. The study, among others, found that, respondents had good perception and knowledge on climate variability, and saw crop failure or low yield as the main reason for choosing climate-smart agricultural strategies. Besides, most respondents chose irrigation and drought-tolerant crop varieties, as climate-smart strategies among others. Also, majority of the respondents felt that their climate-smart strategies were effective while most of the respondents were found to have chosen a particular climate-smart strategy mainly due to crop failure and/or low yield. In addition, majority of the respondents reported financial constraint as the main challenge to the adaptation of climate-smart agriculture. The study therefore among others strongly recommends the provision of financial assistance to women smallholder farmers by rural banks in order to enhance their adoptation to climate-smart strategies in responses to climate variability.
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Oil price shocks, real exchange rates and real stock returns in Africa.
(KNUST, 2019-05) Nana-Amankwaah, Elizabeth
The study examined the impact of oil price shocks on real exchange rates and stock returns. Using a decomposition analytical framework, oil price shocks was disaggregated into three components – aggregate demand shocks, oil-specific demand shocks and oilsupply shocks. The study then proceeded to investigate the short-run transmission of these components of an oil price shock to real exchange rate and real stock market returns as well as the degree of pass-through effect for oil importing countries. Monthly data covering January 2000 to May 2017 of selected African countries was used for this work. Using several econometric models specified in basic and panel vector autoregressive forms plus the impulse response functions and variance decomposition techniques, the sensitivity of real exchange rate and stock market returns to disaggregated oil price shocks were examined. At the end of the study, it was detected that oil price movements have been mainly associated with shocks to oil demand rather than oil supply. The shortrun results revealed a partial (incomplete) pass-through of oil price shocks to stock market returns and real exchange rate through the real exchange rate channel and real stock returns channel respectively. Furthermore a positive oil price shock leads to depreciation in real exchange rate and an appreciation in real stock market returns in the short-run for oil importing African countries. The robustness tests were consistent withthe main findings (i.e. for countries which were affected by oil price shocks). Giving the findings, it was recommended that policymakers should vote for policies that will cushion the economies against oil price shocks by hedging the purchase of oil against high oil prices.
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The impact of customer care on consumer purchasing behaviour in the bottled water industry in Ghana, the mediating role of packaging.
(KNUST, 2019-10) Nkum, Olivia Diana
In achieving the main aim of this research, a quantitative survey was employed with a well-designed questionnaire as a tool for the collection of data to evaluate how consumers of bottled water in the Kumasi Metropolis view the customer care practices and the packaging concept of bottled water products and whether packaging mediates the relationship between customer care and consumer purchasing behaviour. Two different questionnaires were employed; one for the employees of a top brand bottled Water Company within the Kumasi Metropolis and the other for consumers of bottled water within the Kumasi Metropolis. In all 384 respondents were sampled, constituting 82 employees and 302 of customers. The customers were sampled through multistage sampling and the employees through simple random method. The collected data was processed and fed to the Statistical Software Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS) for the appropriate statistical analyses. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential analytical methods. The study established that competency of the employees positively influenced the purchasing behaviour of the consumers and the credibility of the bottled water companies also positively influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers. As part of the critical findings of the study, competency and courtesy of the employees of the bottled water companies positively influenced the packaging of the products in terms of colour of the wrappers, the wrappers and innovation of the bottled water packages. The colour of the bottled water package and the innovativeness of the packaging were both found to positively influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers of bottled water products. The study further revealed that the relationship between the competency and the purchasing behaviour of the consumers was mediated by the colour of the packaged bottled water. The relationship between the competency and the purchasing behaviour of the consumers was mediated by the innovation of the packaging of the bottled water products. The relationship between the courteous attitude of the employees and the purchasing behaviour of the consumers was mediated by the colour of the wrapper of the bottled water products. The study also further revealed that the relationship between the courtesy of the employees and the purchasing behaviour of the consumers was mediated by the innovation of the bottled water packages.