Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Employee empowerment – Ghana – Case studies“

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address current knowledge gaps in off-site sub-element fabrication efficiency factors, by identifying an explicit relationship between productivity and employee empowerment. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on two engineering fabrication-yard case studies that investigate both qualitatively (via analysis of semi-structured interviews that incorporate a five-point Likert scale, with fabrication-product stakeholders), and also quantitatively (via assessment using SPSS statistical analyses to determine significance and trends in the data-set) the relationship between empowerment and productivity. Findings – The results reveal a positive linear relationship in off-site construction between “employee empowerment factors” and, explicitly fabrication-yard “productivity-levels”. An especially strong and significant positive correlation is found to exist in resource development, worker involvement, process improvement, and task recognition as they refer to off-site construction productivity. Practical implications – Most academic studies of off-site construction remain largely anecdotal and lack an empirical objective study; as a result, this (fabrication-yard) case-study research provides a useful approach to measure empirically the link between employee empowerment and productivity of off-site construction. Originality/value – Employee empowerment in the construction industry has long been a focus of analyses; however, there remains a lack of consensus and very few studies into the direct relationship between employee empowerment on the one-hand, and productivity in off-site construction on the other-hand. It is argued here that the on-going new research undertaken in the present study will go beyond subjective opinion towards objective measurement of actual performance in off-site construction.

This study examined the effects of high-performance work practices on turnover intention through the mediating role of employee morale. The study also examined the extent to which psychological capital could moderate the relationship between employee morale and turnover intention. With the aid of questionnaire administration, the study collected 469 valid responses from frontline employees in the hospitality sector of Ghana. Findings from the hierarchical regression analysis showed that training and empowerment had a significant influence on turnover intention. Training and reward also had a significant positive effect on job satisfaction. Empowerment, on the other hand, had a significant positive influence on affective organizational commitment. Both affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction significantly influenced turnover intention. Optimism and resilience moderated the relationship between affective organizational commitment and turnover intention. Also, self-efficacy moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The study offers some implications and suggestions for future studies in the main text.

Abstract-A myriad of research have listed organisational commitment, reduced employee turnover, increased productivity amongst others, as some of the benefits of employee participation in management. Some studies on employee participation, however,indicates that, employees are generally reluctant to use formal avenues created for them to contribute to management. This is especially so because management mostly uses such formal avenues for a top-down information transfer. Also, employees have the fear of being victimised if they raise issuesof concern thatboarders on the use of finance or on something they assume may be offending to management during such meetings. 
 In Ghana, the high annual accident and injury claims made by employees from the manufacturing industry requires urgent action by manufacturing organisations. Legislature on occupational safety and health (OSH) is scattered, with different oversight agencies, inadequate enforcement,and the absence of laws that require the establishment of a health and safety committee which is standard practice in mostdeveloped jurisdictions.In the light of the weak OSH legal and regulatory framework, coupled with the fact that employees feel reluctant to report their safety predicaments during formal meetings, it is important that management and employees create the necessary environment for employees to participate in safety management. Indeed, studies suggest that the existence of such informal avenues in organisations for employee participation in management decision making will enable open discussions on employee safety issues and therefore lead to the prioritisation of OSH in those organisations.
 Nevertheless, research indicates that informal participation has received little research attention especially with regards to Ghana. This study makes a case for the use of informal participation in ensuring safety in manufacturing companies in Ghana.

Total quality management has been a central element in many efforts directed towards organizational change. Theories tend to fall into two extreme camps, which hold either that TQM transforms attitudes and behaviour or that it is nothing but a means to intensify work and tighten managerial control. More recent analysis is more balanced, but lacks quantitative data on employee responses and also neglects the varying contexts in which TQM exists. This study addresses these issues by taking six named organizations from different sectors of the UK economy and by blending qualitative interviewing with a survey of 280 employees. Findings show a wide acceptance of quality principles but (in contrast to the transformation view) little evidence of substantial empowerment of workers. Compared with the intensification view, growing work effort was not widely disliked, and, crucially, favourable views of quality were strongest, not weakest, where the monitoring of workers was most intense. Multivariate analysis supports the 'disciplined worker' thesis, that quality is most accepted where there is a controlled work environment. Case material indicates that the conditions for success in quality programmes are notably high job security and a co-operative relationship with trade unions.

Abstract- There is a growing realisation that in the complexity of the post-modern world, it is becoming less and less feasible to concentrate leadership and decision-making solely at the top of the organisation. Hence, one of the reasons for empowering employees is that employees are able to take decisions quickly, without looking for manager’s approval all the time, in a participative decision-making capacity. But, the lack of knowledge about employee empowerment and the absence of a framework for implementation has created problems. 
 Although there is high consensus in the management literature that employee empowerment is necessary for the survival and success of organisations, there are still considerable gaps in our knowledge and understanding of a range of issues concerning employee empowerment, both at the conceptual and practice levels [Conger and Kanungo, 1988; Morrell and Wilkinson, 2002; Huq, 2008; 2010; 2015]. This lack of knowledge is dangerous, as it has serious implications how ‘managers and non-managers conceptualize employee empowerment’ [Hill and Huq, 2004: 1025].
 The aim of this research titled: An Investigation of What Employee Empowerment Means in Theory and in Practice [Huq, 2008] was to investigate the meaning of employee empowerment both at the conceptual and practice levels. An interpretivist approach employing qualitative methods was adopted; it involved conducting two in-depth information-rich case studies, described in this paper as Large Organisation and Small Organisation respectively.
 The knowledge drawn from the management literature review proved unsatisfactory, hence this author felt the need to conduct a multi-disciplinary research review in order to draw knowledge from another discipline, namely social work [Huq 2008; 2015], where empowerment is an important construct. However, it is important to note that due to limited space, this author is unable to go into details of both the literature reviews, management and social work, in this paper.It is sufficient for this paper to report that a number of ‘themes’ of employee empowerment exist, but they are fragmented in the management literature. These ‘themes’ are not found in any one place, which leads to confusion when organisations try to implement employee empowerment. Furthermore, there is a gap with regards to the knowledge of employee empowerment in the management literature and it is important to look at another discipline to get a fuller understanding of ‘empowerment’.
 A multi-disciplinary literature review thus enabled this author to put together themes of empowerment from the management and social work literature that are relevant to employee empowerment. These seven themes of employee empowerment are as follows: power-sharing, participative decision-making, devolution of responsibility, people-oriented leadership style, access to information, collaboration and enablement, described as a ‘kaleidoscope of themes’Huq’s Model C, [Huq, 2015], as illustrated in the ‘Introduction’ section of this paper.
 One of the conclusions of this research is that leaders and managers need to pay attention to the impact of participative decision-making with regards to empowering employees, which has significant implications for human resource management and if implemented properly can lead to a more judicious utilisation of human resources at all levels.

PurposeDrawing on Simons's levers of control (LoC) framework, the primary aim of this study is to advance an understanding of the balance between empowerment and constraint in a non-profit UK organisation. In particular, this study examines the antecedents and manifestations of LoC (im)balance, in relation to employees' level of engagement with the control systems in place.Design/methodology/approachFor this study, 27 semi-structured interviews were conducted with different organisational members, from directors to non-managerial staff, to gain an in-depth appreciation of the main differences between managerial intentions in the design of management control systems (MCS) and employee perceptions regarding the role of such systems.FindingsThis research reveals that suppression of interactive systems and internal inconsistencies between different types of controls hinder the balance between empowerment and constraint. This imbalance is then found to have important consequences for employee buy-in, in some cases, defeating the purposes of control.Research limitations/implicationsThis study enhances our understanding of the gap between the design of control systems and the employee perceptions of it in an unusual organisational setting (non-profit and bringing together clinical and non-clinical staff and operations).Originality/valueThe study of MCS and its role in organisations has long been the focus of both academic and practitioner research. Yet, while extant literature focused on management's perspective on MCS, few studies have explored employees' attitudes and behaviours that accompany the implementation of control. What is more, little is known about the specific uses and behavioural outcomes of MCS in the context of non-profit organisations. Drawing on Simons's LoC framework, this paper addresses these gaps in the literature and investigates the balance between control and empowerment of employees in a UK non-profit organisation with significant clinical remit.

The research goal is to figure out the role of the Al-Mawaddah Islamic Girl Boarding School or Kiswah against economic empowerment employee of boarding school. The research method used is descriptive qualitative approach with case studies. Data collected by interviews and observations directly to the informant that is in charge of the cooperative and the community surrounding the village of Coper Jetis Ponorogo and secondary data collection is derived from the journal, text books and other literature.Results from this study is a Kiswah role in the economic empowerment of the employees but still less perfect or less than optimal. The employees economic empowerment conducted by the Cooperative Al-Mawaddah Islamic Girl Boarding School or Kiswah by making Kiswah as employment and to increase their income. Going forward, Kiswah will change the shape of this cooperative that previously was business cooperatives into credit unions or other forms of cooperatives.

Purpose: Employee participation is considered a fundamental pillar to implement continuous improvement. Based on this consideration, this article presents an action research case study in a large food manufacturer where employee participation is implemented. The experience has a two-fold objective: improve performance of the production system and make the participative philosophy deep-rooted among workers.Design/methodology/approach: The authors implement a structured participation system, establishing an approach of empowerment and focusing on the creation of suitable organizational structures. Under those premises, improvement teams were created on each of the firm’s production lines. Once the participation of the workers is finished, they were given a questionnaire to assess how deep-rooted the participative culture had become.Findings: The results show a remarkable improvement in the efficiency of manufacturing processes, as well as the consolidation of a participative philosophy. However, there are notable differences in the results obtained for each improvement team.Research limitations/implications: The differences obtained in the results highlight certain issues that future research must tackle. These include the way in which the staff should be rewarded for their participation or what the influence of the organizational context is when setting improvement objectives.Practical implications: The positive results obtained support the methodology proposed by the authors for structuring participation. Organizations can set up projects of this type to improve their competitiveness while at the same time strengthening the commitment of their personnel.Originality/value: This is one of the first studies in the field of employee participation that jointly assess the economic area and the cultural and organizational plane.

Prior to colonial rule, governance in Africa rested on chiefs. However, colonialism and other currents of social change reduced the powers and functions of chiefs. Critics tagged the chieftaincy institution as anachronistic and even predicted its demise during the struggle for independence. However, chieftaincy has persisted after several years of Ghana’s independence. The paper specifically seeks to answer two fundamental questions: Is chieftaincy anachronistic? And, how relevant is chieftaincy in Ghana’s democratic dispensation. The paper is a desk review examining the instrumentality of the chieftaincy institution in the midst of a web of reputational challenges in contemporary Ghana. The study unearthed that the anachronistic label is pivoted on the undemocratic nature of chieftaincy institution and, chieftaincy and land disputes. Despite the above label, it was also found that chiefs are instrumental in conflict resolution, governance and administration, promotion of education and economic empowerment and performance of representational and diplomatic roles. Though people continue to perceive the chieftaincy institution as undemocratic, the institution has critical roles to play in contemporary Ghana. This paper recommends that studies should be conducted on how chiefs can be integrated into modern governance structures for them to contribute to national development.
 Keywords: Chieftaincy, Anachronistic, Democratic, Social change, Traditionalism, Conservatism

The real estate industry is one of the most important industries for the development and economy of a nation and therefore important that adequate measures are put in place to ensure quality in the sector. Most of the studies reviewed locally provide no conclusive evidence on whether TQM is linked to performance in the real estate industry in Kenya. This study sought to determine the effect of adoption of TQM practices on performance of firms within the real estate industry in Kenya .The specific objectives of the study were: to assess the extent to which customer orientation, top management commitment to quality, employees’ empowerment and continuous improvement focus effect on performance of real estate firms in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for this study was senior management and customer service officers within real estate property developers companies in Nairobi County, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to select 20 firms from the published list of Kenya Private Developers Association (KPDA). Questionnaires were employed as the instrument of data collection whereby both closed and open-ended questions were asked. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to examine the effects of TQM practices on performance. Data was presented in tables and interpretation was made based on research objectives. The organizational performance of the Real Estate Companies involved in the study was generally great. The extent to which customer orientation, top management commitment to quality, employees’ empowerment and continuous improvement has influenced the organizational performance of the Real Estate Companies was great. Pearson correlation coefficient showed there was a strong association between the organizational performance and customer orientation, top management commitment, employee empowerment and continuous improvement. Regression model established that 73.7% of the variation in organizational performance in real estate industry is explained by customer orientation, employee empowerment, top management commitment and continuous improvement leaving 26.3% unexplained. The study further recommended that the top management should ensure effective customer orientation process is carried out so as to ensure customers are satisfied with the products and services they receive. Top management should show more commitment to ensuring quality by channeling more resources on processes or activities focused towards ensuring delivery of high quality products and services. The management should empower their employees through frequent trainings on matters pertaining to quality as this will improve on their skills in ensuring delivery of quality products and services to customers. Organizations should always encourage efforts from their employees aimed at improving their products, services or processes.

<p>COURSE: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15ECTS</p><p>AUTHOURS:Peters Silvia Chigozirim. Elham Mazdarani.</p><p>Flugsnappargatan 6, 3tr. Nybohovsbacken 99, 9tr.</p><p>72472, Västerås. 11764, Stockholm</p><p>0737225113. 0709391923</p><p>SUPERVISOR: LEIF SANNER</p><p>TOPIC: The impact of employee empowerment on service quality and customer satisfaction: a case study of Länsförsäkringar AB.</p><p>BACKGROUND: Considering the nature of service delivery and particularly intangible-dominant services, employee empowerment becomes a very important issue to organizations producing services. In that, the customers and the employees are, engaged simultaneously in the production of the service. This inseparability is what is considered by the organization in choosing how best to serve its customers, either by the traditional method or through the empowerment approach.</p><p>The inability of the management to control the service encounter makes the employees responsible for the quality of service delivered to the customers. In order for the management to trust that the employees are successful in dealing with their customers, the management has to give the employees the authority and necessary support to succeed at it, which is referred to as employee empowerment. The practice of which can directly affect the quality of services delivered, and customer satisfaction.</p><p>PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to ascertain the extent to which Länsförsäkringar Bank AB practices employee empowerment in their organization and how it impacts on service quality and customer satisfaction.</p><p>RESEARCH METHOD: This research is based on a qualitative study. The authors’ have used both primary and secondary data to make a qualitative analysis, since this is a single-case study to enable them to fulfill the purpose of the research.</p><p>CONCLUSION: Based on this research, the authors have found out that employee empowerment practices at LFB enable the employees to influence customers’ perception of service quality positively, due to their control over the service delivery process, which leads to customers’ satisfaction.</p><p>Moreover, LFB extensively practices employee empowerment through the actions and practices of human resource management and top management. The nature of the organizational structure also influence the character of the services delivered through their employees regarding the free flow of information all around the bank.</p>

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (pages 134-137).<br>A joint collaboration by Ayna Verella and Nneka Sobers, this thesis will explore the development of our start-up, ALL PPL. ALL PPL's aim is to develop a Peer-to- Peer (P2P) decentralized risk exchange platform that leverages blockchain technology to facilitate access to capital through local exchange and community empowerment. Capitalizing on how people informally lend each other resources and money, ALL PPL automates a trust network catered to increasing access to capital for underbanked users through two options; small crowdsourced loans and jobs through community projects. As part of our joint thesis, we have created and collected a shared database of quantitative and qualitative data for our initial market study in Accra, Ghana. Focused on marginalized communities as our targeted pilot group, we were interested in the community of Ayawaso East. Socially and economically excluded from the rest of Metropolitan Accra, Ghana, the municipality of Ayawaso East has become increasingly vulnerable. As access to mobile money increases and the quality of life decreases, residents are finding alternative resources to improve their communities. Inspired by the passion of Ayawaso East's residents, ALL PPL has developed a unique product and business model to help the residents of Ayawaso East and similar communities across the world.<br>by Nneka Deandra Sobers and Ayna Délivrans Verella.<br>M.C.P.<br>M.C.P. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction among hotel employees as well as the relationship between employee empowerment and contextual performance behaviours.</p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Most managers and scholars emphasize that an organization’s most important tool for gaining a competitive advantage is its people and; in order for the firm to attain success employees must be involved and active. It has been argued that success within the hotel industry lies with customer satisfaction, of which is the result of overall job satisfaction of the employee. Most hotels strive to empower their employees in order to deliver better quality service. In addition, contextual performance behaviours are also common practice in such places where employees have a broad range of duties and tasks. Both empowerment and contextual performance behaviours are thus seen to provide overall job satisfaction.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The research approach used was that of a single case study, using a survey instrument to collect data on facets empowerment and contextual performance behaviours. The Scandic Hotels of Jonkoping were used for this purpose. The data collected were then analysed by way of factor analysis and multiple regression methods to validate the hypotheses formed in the theoretical framework.</p><p><strong>Findings and</strong></p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Based on the results of the analysis, the majority of the hypotheses were supported.  Training and rewards showed a significant relationship with overall job satisfaction. Job dedication behaviours also showed similar results. In addition, information sharing and trust and training and rewards proved to have interrelationships as facets of empowerment.  Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication behaviours were also proved to be distinct behaviours within contextual performance.</p>

Thesis (MPA (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.<br>ENGLISCH ABSTRACT: Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in Namibia is viewed as an essential poverty reduction strategy in the fight against black disempowerment. However, the concept and practice of BEE in Namibia, prevails in the absence of a national BEE policy. Nonetheless, the government has encouraged the public and private sector to develop their own empowerment initiatives, in accordance with the draft BEE guidelines. The practice of BEE in Namibia has become controversial amongst the presently disadvantaged Namibians with regard to its implementation. Criticisms on the implementation of BEE are based on the assumption that BEE has resulted in the selfenrichment of a small black elite as opposed to empowering the poor. Breaking the cycle of underdevelopment and marginalization requires a commitment towards Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and broad-based ownership. The ultimate objectives of BBBEE are to achieve significant decreases in poverty, income inequality and unemployment. The primary objective of the research was to analyze the implementation of BBBEE within two companies in Namibia, namely; Namibia Mineworkers Investment Company Financial Services (Nam-MIC FS) and the National Housing Enterprise (NHE). The purpose was to determine whether the poor are benefiting from their respective BBBEE strategies and to what extent. A descriptive case study approach was used to understand the empowerment process within the identified institutions. Two data collection methods were used, namely; open-ended questionnaires and standardized open-ended interviewing with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the respective institutions. The findings reveal that Nam-MIC FS is promoting broad-based ownership in that union members are able to access affordable financial services and products. However, Nam- MIC FS has failed to effectively implement BBBEE, since key areas of empowerment, such as the implementation of a broad-based skills development programme for employees, Small Medium Enterprise (SME) development for union members and community initiatives have been overlooked. The conclusion is that Nam-MIC FS is promoting a minimalist approach to empowerment, since its main focus is on the provision of affordable financial services and products, which is a short-term and unsustainable approach to reducing income inequalities and poverty. The main recommendations include the need to formulate and implement internal policies in respect of the transformational guidelines and implementing a monitoring and evaluation system. The findings on NHE reveal that whilst a BBBEE model has been implemented, a shortcoming is the failure to implement a skills development programme for black SME contractors. Moreover, of concern is the failure by NHE to promote broad-based ownership in the provision of housing, since the poor and very poor are directly and indirectly excluded from housing opportunities. The conclusion is that NHE is not promoting the broader participation, capacity building and economic improvement of the poor and very poor, which exacerbates the housing backlog through the emergence of informal settlements. The main recommendations pertain to the need to directly or indirectly include the poor and very poor in the provision of housing opportunities and a need to implement a skills development programme for black SME contractors, in addition to implementing a monitoring and evaluation system.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Swart Ekomiese Bemagtiging (SEB) in Namibië word as ‘n noodsaaklike strategie vir die verligting van armoede in die stryd teen swart verontmagtiging beskou. Die SEB-konsep en die beoefening daarvan staan egter sonder ‘n ondersteunende nasionale SEB-beleid. Desnieteenstaande moedig die regering die private en die besigheidsektors aan om self bemagtigingsinisiatiewe in ooreenstemming met SEB-konsepriglyne te ontwikkel. Vir minderbevoorregtes in Namibië is die beoefening van SEB egter omstrede vanweë die implementering daarvan. Kritiek oor die implementering van SEB word gebaseer op die aanname dat SEB die selfverryking van ‘n klein groep swart elite instede van die bemagtiging van armes behels. Verbreking van die siklus van onderontwikkeling en marginalisering vereis verbondenheid tot Breë Basis Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging (BBSEB) en breë basis eienaarskap. Die uiteindelike oogmerke van BBSEB is betekenisvolle vermindering van armoede, ongelyke inkomste en werkloosheid. Die primêre doelwit van hierdie navorsing was om die implementering van BBSEB in twee maatskappye in Namibië, die Namibia Mineworkers Investment Company Financial Services (Nam-MIC FS) en die National Housing Enterprise (NHE), te ontleed. Die doel was om te bepaal of die armes enige voordeel uit die onderskeie BBSEB-strategieë trek en in hoeverre dit gebeur. Die navorsing is met behulp van beskrywende gevallestudies benader om die bemagtigingsproses in die betrokke instansies te kan verstaan. Twee insamelingsmetodes is vir die verkryging van data gebruik: ope-vraag vraelyste en gestandaardiseerde ope-vraag onderhoude met bedryfshoofde van die onderskeie instansies. Die bevindings toon dat Nam-MIC FS breë basis eienaarskap bevorder deur vakbondlede in staat te stel om toegang tot bekostigbare finansiële dienste en produkte te bekom, maar nie daarin geslaag het om BBSEB effektief te implementeer nie, aangesien sleutelareas van bemagtiging, soos implementering van breë basis vaardigheidsontwikkelingsprogramme vir werknemers en ontwikkeling van vaardighede vir Klein en Medium Ondernemings vir vakbondlede, sowel as gemeenskapsinisiatiewe, oor die hoof gesien is. Die gevolgtrekking is dat Nam-MIC FS ‘n minimalistiese benadering tot bemagtiging bevorder – hulle is hoofsaaklik op die verskaffing van bekostigbare finansiële dienste en produkte gerig, wat as ‘n korttermyn en onvolhoubare benadering tot die vermindering van inkomste-ongelykheid, en tot armoede, beskou word. Die vernaamste aanbevelings betrek die behoefte om ‘n interne beleid ten opsigte van transformatiewe riglyne te formuleer en ‘n stelsel vir die monitering en evaluering daarvan te implementeer. Bevindings oor die NHE toon dat ‘n BBSEB model geïmplementeer is, maar die firma tekortskiet aangesien hulle nie ’n vaardigheidsontwikkelingsprogram vir swart KMOkontrakteurs kon instel nie. Verder is dit sorgwekkend dat die NHE nie geslaag het om breë-basis eienaarskap deur voorsiening van behuising te bevorder nie, aangesien die armes uiters arm is en direk sowel as indirek uitgesluit word wanneer geleenthede vir behuising ter sprake is. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die NHE nie breër deelname, die ontwikkeling van kapasiteit, en ekonomiese verbetering van armes en uiters armes bevorder nie, waardeur die behuisingsagterstand vererger, en informele nedersettings ontstaan. Die vernaamste aanbevelings betrek die behoefte aan direkte of indirekte insluiting van armes en uiters armes by die voorsiening van behuisingsgeleenthede en die behoefte om vaardigheidsontwikkelingsprogramme vir swart KMO-kontrakteurs, tesame met ‘n monitering- en evalueringstelsel, te implementeer.

Various governments in post-independent Ghana have attempted to alleviate poverty among the citizenry. In furtherance of this, several poverty reduction strategies have been employed with different results. Even though the rate of poverty has fallen over the years, it is still high at 21,4% (Molini and Paci, 2015) with women unfortunately bearing most of the brunt of this (National Development Planning Commission, 2012). This dissertation looks at filling the gap in information by exploring the role women can play in poverty reduction, using Ghana as a case study. In doing that, the study analyses poverty and the underlying reasons for endemic poverty among Ghanaians. The objective of this study was to contextualize and make a dimension of poverty broadly in Africa and Ghana in particular. It also sought to critique the current policy alleviation policies and programmes, in relation to various factors contributing to endemic poverty among Ghanaian women, with the aim of identifying the roles that women can play in poverty reduction and making recommendations. In this regard, a descriptive research design coupled with qualitative research methodological technique was employed, where relevant publications in the form of government reports, journals, textbooks and internet were used to collect data. Inferences were extracted based on the requirements of the research topic. The study found that women play an important role in food production, trade, and business. It also emerged from the study that there are numerous factors inimical to the reduction of poverty among women in Ghana. They included their inability to negotiate labour matters; a lack of, or limited education; patriarchal culture or customs; and economic sabotage. In addressing the aforementioned factors, the study recommended that in its pre-assessment of NGOs, government tailor their intervention to synchronize with the development strategies to alleviate poverty among women. It also advised educational awareness and public-public partnerships in the establishment of schools targeted most especially at women for empowerment purposes. Finally, there was an emphasis on advocacy for the reservation of land exclusively for women through land reforms.<br>Public Administration and Management<br>M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Abstract in English with Afrikaans and SeSotho translations<br>Employee engagement is a phenomenon that has gained increasingly more attention in organisational communication studies and also in the postmodern organisational context. In the postmodern organisational environment, employee engagement focuses more on building relationships with employees than on individual performance. However, the value of internal communication practices to enhance employee engagement within a postmodern organisation has still not fully been explored. The study thus investigated, in accordance with what the literature suggests, a single case to test which internal communication practices are perceived as strengthening employee engagement within a postmodern organisation. Consequently, the study adopted a mixed method research approach utilising three research methods, namely a survey, a focus group and semi-structured interviews, to establish which internal communication practices the management of the organisation must adopt to strengthen employee engagement. The worldview adopted for this study was both the positivist and interpretivist research paradigms. Findings indicate that because the organisation’s employees’ views are heard, responded to and even form part of the solution, employees become more engaged. In addition, having too many internal communication tools and implementing them without a strategy in place can lead to employees becoming less engaged. Overall, the findings indicate that having a supportive management style, meeting employees’ needs and providing enough opportunities for employees to participate in problem-solving are deemed important for employee engagement. Interestingly, the findings show no correlation between the importance of establishing a good organisational culture and enhancing employee engagement in the organisation. Although the findings cannot be generalised to the larger population, the insight gained could serve as a heuristic for similar organisations to strengthen their employee engagement.<br>Werknemerbetrokkenheid is ’n verskynsel wat al hoe meer aandag kry in organisatoriese kommunikasiestudies en ook in die postmoderne organisatoriese konteks. In laasgenoemde konteks word daar meer met werknemerbetrokkenheid gefokus op die bou van verhoudings met werknemers as op individuele prestasie. Die waarde van interne kommunikasiepraktyke om werknemerbetrokkenheid binne ’n postmoderne organisasie te bevorder, is nog steeds nie ten volle ondersoek nie. Daar is dus in die studie, in ooreenstemming met wat die literatuur suggereer, ’n enkele gevallestudie ondersoek om te bepaal watter interne kommunikasiepraktyke beskou word as praktyke wat werknemerbetrokkenheid binne ’n postmoderne organisasie bevorder. Gevolglik is daar in die studie ’n gemengdemetode-navorsingsbenadering aangeneem wat drie navorsingsmetodes insluit, naamlik ’n opname, fokusgroep en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, met die doel om vas te stel watter interne kommunikasiepraktyke die bestuur van die organisasie moet aanneem om werknemerbetrokkenheid te bevorder. Die wêreldbeskouing wat vir hierdie studie aangeneem is, is sowel die positivistiese as vertolkende navorsingsparadigmas. Bevindinge dui daarop dat omrede die werknemers van die organisasie se sienings aangehoor word, daarop gereageer word en dit selfs deel van die oplossing uitmaak, werknemers meer betrokke raak. Daarbenewens kan te veel interne kommunikasie-middels en die implementering daarvan sonder ’n strategie daartoe lei dat werknemers minder betrokke raak. Oor die algemeen dui die bevindinge daarop dat ’n ondersteunende bestuurstyl, voldoening aan werknemers se behoeftes en die verskaffing van genoegsame geleenthede vir werknemers om aan probleemoplossing deel te neem, as belangrik geag word vir werknemerbetrokkenheid. Interessant genoeg wys die bevindinge geen korrelasie tussen die belangrikheid daarvan om ’n goeie organisatoriese kultuur te vestig en om werknemerbetrokkenheid in die organisasie te bevorder nie. Hoewel die bevindinge nie veralgemeen kan word om die groter bevolking in te sluit nie, kan die insig wat verkry word as ’n leerproses gebruik word vir soorgelyke organisasies om hulle werknemerbetrokkenheid te bevorder.<br>Bonkakarolo ba basebetsi ke ntho e hapileng tlhokomelo e eketsehileng dithutong tsa puisano tsa mekgatlo hape le maemong a morao-rao a mekgatlo. Tikolohong ya morao-rao ya mekgatlo, onkakarolo ba basebetsi bo shebana haholo le ho haha dikamano le basebetsi ho fapana le tshebetso ya motho ka mong. Leha ho le jwalo, boleng ba ditlwaelo tsa puisano tsa kahare ba ho ntlafatsa bonkakarolo ba basebetsi kahara mekgatlo ya morao-rao ha bo so ka bo hlahlojwa ka botlalo. Kahoo, phuputso e fupuditse ho latela seo dingodilweng di se supang, tlhahlobisiso e le nngwe ya ho lekola hore na ke mekgwa efe ya puisano ya kahare e nkuwang e matlafatsa bonkakarolo ba asebetsi kahara mokgatlo wa kamora nako ya morao-rao. Ka lebaka leo, phuputso e ile ya sebedisa mokgwa o tswakilweng wa dipatlisiso o sebedisang mekgwa e meraro ya dipatlisiso, e leng phuputso, sehlopha seo ho shebanweng le sona le dipuisano tse batlang di hlophisitswe hantle, ho sheba hore na ke mekgwa efe ya puisano ya kahare eo tsamaiso e lokelang ho e amohela ho matlafatsa bonkakarolo ba asebetsi. Maikutlo a lefatshe a amohetsweng phuputsong ena e ne e le a dipatlisiso a bontshang hore tlhokomelo le lebaka ke mekgwa ya kutlwisiso ya boitshwaro ba batho le a dipatlisiso tsa botoloki. Diphumano di bontsha hore hobane maikutlo a basebetsi ba mokgatlo a utluwa, a arabelwa ebile a etsa karolo ya tharollo, basebetsi ba kakgela ka setotswana le hofeta. Ntle le moo, ho ba le disebediswa tse ngata haholo tsa puisano tsa kahare le ho di kenya tshebetsong ntle le leano ho ka etsa hore basebetsi ba se ke ba sebetsa hantle. Ka kakaretso, diphumano di bontsha hore ho ba le mokgwa wa botsamaisi o tshehetsang, ho fihlela ditlhoko tsa basebetsi le ho fana ka menyetla e lekaneng ho basebetsi ya ho nka karolo tharollong ya mathata ho nkuwa ho le bohlokwa bakeng sa ho nka karolo ha basebetsi. Ho kgahlisang ke hore diphumano ha di bontshe kamano dipakeng tsa bohlokwa ba ho theha setso se hantle sa mokgatlo le ho matlafatsa bonkakarolo ba basebetsi mokgatlong. Leha diphumano e ke ke ya ba tse akaretsang ho batho ba bangata, temohisiso e fumanweng e ka sebetsa e le leano la mekgatlo e tshwanang ho matlafatsa bonkakarolo ba basebetsi ba yona. Mantswe a sehlooho: bonkakarolo ba basebetsi, puisano ya kahare, mekgwa ya puisano ya kahare, puisano ya mokgatlo, tshebediso e nang le sepheo ya puisano<br>Communication Science<br>M.A. (Communication Science)

Site-based management (SBM) is recent restructuring initiative in schools. The study is carried out with the aim of investigating the extent to which teachers participate in site-based management in schools. The researcher assumes that teachers are sidelined in site-based management in schools. An extensive literature review provides a theoretical foundation of the study and exposes the nature of site-based management. The qualitative approach is used in the case study. Data are collected through interviews that were conducted between July and September 2004. The interpretive paradigm is used in data collection, analysis and interpretation. The collected data are analysed through inductive analysis. The major research finding is that teachers are marginalised in site-based management in schools and that school-based decision making is still largely in the hands of school principals. It is recommended that principals and SMT's improve their management and leadership styles in order to allow for real participation of teachers in decision-making to take place.<br>Educational Studies<br>M.Ed (Education Management)

The factors that lead to business process re-engineering (BPR) success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not clearly understood. This article reviews the main contributing factors to BPR success using a framework that considers culture, structure, technology and resource. Eight Taiwanese case studies are used to explore issues contributing to, or impeding, successful process re-engineering in small firms. The analysis shows that BPR success is empowered by innovation, employee empowerment, top management commitment and strategic direction and is dependent upon customer relations, IS involvement and financial resources.

The factors that lead to business process re-engineering (BPR) success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not clearly understood. This article reviews the main contributing factors to BPR success using a framework that considers culture, structure, technology and resource. Eight Taiwanese case studies are used to explore issues contributing to, or impeding, successful process re-engineering in small firms. The analysis shows that BPR success is empowered by innovation, employee empowerment, top management commitment and strategic direction and is dependent upon customer relations, IS involvement and financial resources.