1957, Ghana and South Korea, we are told by the economist, were almost at par in terms of per capita income. Today, South Korea is several multiples ahead of Ghana. Similarly, we are told, Malaysia is doing well, from derived benefits of palm trees. Malaysia took the palm tree from Ghana. They sent people here to learn how to cultivate the palm tree, and even took some Ghanaians along to teach them and supervise their cultivation.

A Ghanaian travelled to East Africa, and visited one of the countries where boats are built. The Ghanaian was impressed with the zeal, enthusiasm and craftsmanship, with which workers worked. The workers were punctual to work, were prepared to give of their best, and stayed on, when necessary to accomplish a task. There was the team spirit, and team cohesion.

The Ghanaian began asking questions, with the aim of soliciting and eliciting some form of answers and technical support to help establish boatyards in Ghana. At a certain point, the manager of the boatyard was puzzled, and quizzed the Ghanaian, “Are you not from Ghana?” he responded, ‘I am’. Well, why are you asking so many questions? Your people came here to teach us to build boats.

A common complaint you hear from businessmen/women and expatriates working in Ghana, is that Ghanaian workers are lazy. Are they? Is that what explains Ghana’s fall behind South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Studies have shown that, in most developed countries, and in Japan in particular, discipline and dedication to work has made them what they are now.

Low remuneration, and other incentive packages account for low performance by workers. Sometimes, company’s hire new employees for higher level post without considering the potential internal candidates. The newly hired employees are placed with higher packages than that of existing employees in the same rank. There are also, disrespect for rules and regulations; inadequate training apart from what some workers already had before they were employed or their qualification.

Questions:

(a) What suitable title will you give to the case, and justify the title.

(b) What lessons do you draw from the case in your own words? Give all the possible solutions available for the case along with advantages and disadvantages for each solution.

(c) As a human resource consultant, prepare a 45 minutes presentation outlining the best practice on employee compensation policy to enhance performance.