Robert Hinson, Raymond Atuguba, Dan Ofori and Julius Fobih
To contribute to the internet use literature with particular respect to lawyers. This current study seeks to investigate qualitatively, the impact of the internet on the work of…
Abstract
Purpose
To contribute to the internet use literature with particular respect to lawyers. This current study seeks to investigate qualitatively, the impact of the internet on the work of lawyers in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Following several other empirical studies in the general information systems arena, a qualitative design was adopted for this study. A second motivation for adoption of this design was the fact that this research was exploratory in nature and it was the opinion of the researchers that this case study will provide rich insights into the formulations of research propositions for a larger study on internet use and legal practice in Ghana. Interviews were conducted with lawyers who had been called to the bar for before 2003 (we needed to be sure that these lawyers had been practicing for at least two years). Lawyers employed in law chambers, private sector institutions, international organizations, law consultancies, public sector institutions and the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana were contacted as potential respondents for this qualitative study. The first five lawyers in each category who accepted to do the interviews were used as respondents for the study. In all 25 lawyers were interviewed and their views on internet use in respect of the legal profession in Ghana formed the basis of the empirical discussions in this paper.
Findings
Seventy‐eight per cent of the lawyers interviewed agree that the internet improves their productivity. Eighty‐eight per cent of respondents indicated that the internet is useful as a communication tool, whilst 76 per cent of the respondents considered the internet to be very important for getting information. In respect of generating business contacts, it seems the internet (online technologies) is just as important as brick – and – mortar strategies for attracting and retaining clients.
Research limitations/implications
Study has proved invaluable in hypothesis formulation for a larger study on internet use amongst Ghanaian lawyers in 2006. Ultimately, it could give indications for the conduct of e‐business adoption studies amongst lawyers in Ghana.
Originality/value
One of the few studies that focuses on internet adoption by lawyers in a developing country context.
Albert Puni and Alex Anlesinya
This study aims to examine the link between power distance culture and whistleblowing intention or propensity in the African context.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the link between power distance culture and whistleblowing intention or propensity in the African context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study achieves its aim by reviewing literature on power distance culture and whistleblowing, and it draws on the outcomes of relevant previous studies. It then reflects on some cultural practices in Africa in relation to the topic and uses examples from Ghana to exemplify the discussions.
Findings
It is considered unacceptable and disrespectful for subordinates to challenge or question their superior’s actions and decisions in high power distance societies. High power distance culture increases the perception of the negative consequences of whistleblowing, as whistle-blowers are regarded as traitors instead of civic heroes. These issues consequently provide major disincentives to subordinates engaging in whistleblowing, leading to low whistleblowing propensity in high power distance societies and implications for the increasing rate of corruption in Africa.
Practical/implications
The study findings imply that high power distance culture creates a “culture of silence”, which in turn provides fertile grounds for corporate crimes and unethical conducts. Authorities in high power distance societies should therefore institute adequate incentive schemes and shields to encourage and safeguard the safety of whistle-blowers.
Originality/value
In this era, where corporate scandals have become the order of the day and indeed a global canker, this study brings to the fore the destructive and limiting roles of culture, specifically power distance culture on the global war against unethical corporate practices and scandals.
Details
Keywords
Jennifer Hauck and Eva Youkhana
To counteract low water productivity in many developing countries, international donors promote community-based management. This practice was meant to replace top-down…
Abstract
To counteract low water productivity in many developing countries, international donors promote community-based management. This practice was meant to replace top-down governmental approaches. In Ghana, the water sector came under review in the 1990s. Institutions have been decentralized, and management tasks transferred to communities, associations, and private-sector entities. While assigning ownership and responsibilities to communities is feasible for rural water management, the chapter shows that policy makers and practitioners tend to ignore the historical background of existing structures and antagonisms of traditional and present management systems. Implementation strategies are therefore prone to failure. The chapter analyzes the administrative history of water governance in Ghana and related problems to date. The case study on fisheries management has its setting in the Upper East Region of Ghana, where people use reservoirs to improve their livelihoods through irrigation, cattle watering, and fisheries. In the course of rehabilitation projects, rights and responsibilities of management have been handed over to user groups or associations and village committees. Clashing traditional, governmental, and participatory management strategies overtax communities to cope with responsibilities. Conflicts, mistrust, and overexploitation are some of the consequences.