Exploring Work Ethic in Ghana

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

  •   Ishmael D. Norman

Abstract

This paper explores the philosophical, sociological and historical basis of work-ethic in Ghana, bearing in mind Marx Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic and its effects on largely Christian and capitalistic population of Ghana. It relies on normative ethics, the collective national perception of work and actual productivity in certain industries, the quality of made-in-Ghana goods and services, and the pursuit of professionalism, aided by extensive literature review and content analysis. The author raised the dialectical but main research question as to whether Ghana has a national ethical code beyond the imported Judo-Christian, and other faith-based but incongruent moral dictums on work. The second research question is whether the ethnic groups in Ghana have their unique but positive culturally relative or philosophical takes on work? Third inquiry was whether the myriad cultural values coalesce into a cultural ethical relative value system for Ghana? The key outcome of the exploration revealed, there appears to be disconnect between official rhetoric on productivity and the phenomenon of work in the nation and among the ethnic groups. This is due to the absence of a well-defined national or regional overarching moral basis for work. There is also the lack of the cultural estimation of productivity as a measure of a well-functioning workforce and society like Germany and Japan, or a more laissez faire nation like the United States of America. As novel as this paper is about Ghana’s work ethic, it may not inform policy on national productivity or even help to define the national work ethic, due to the fact that the author is not a politician with power over policy direction in Ghana.

Keywords: Ghana, Normative Ethics, Productivity, Work-Ethic

References

Afrobarometer Institutions and Leadership Survey. (2022). CDD, Accra. Ghana

Akufo-Addo, N. A. D. (2017). May 1st Speech, Independence Square, 2017 Breaking News, Ghana, Africa, Entertainment. Modern Ghana. Retrieved from: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Akufo-Addo-s-full-speech-at-2017-May-Day-celebration-533983.

Addo, O. E. (2017). The Impact of manufacturing Industries on Ghana’s Economy. International Journal of Research Studies in Management, 6(2), 73-94.

Ackah, C., Adjasi, C., Turkson, F. (2016). Industrial Policy in Ghana: Its evolution and Impact. Carol Newman et al. (Ed.). In Manufacturing Transformation: Comparative Studies of Industrial Development in Africa and Emerging Asia.Oxford Academic.

Akuoko, K. O. (2008). Traditional values, socio-cultural factors and Human Resource Management practices in Public Sector Organizations in Ghana. Journal of Science and Technology, 28(3), 58-69.

Anthony, P. D. 1977. The ideology of Work. Great Britain, Tavistock.

Aristotle. (384-322 BCE). Aristotle (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/.

Aristotle. (2009). The Nicomachean Ethics (L. Brown, Ed.; D. Ross, Trans.). Oxford University Press.

Ayee, J. (2013). Public Administrators under Democratic Governance in Ghana. International Journal of Public Administration. 36(6), 440-452.

BBC News Pidgin. (2022). Ghana cedis to dollar: De Ghanaian currency be de worst performing in de world? Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/cpd12vy9mpvo.

Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2001). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (5th Ed.) Oxford; Oxford University Press, pp. 362

Bentham, J. (1789). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, London: T. Payne and Son.

Bentham, J. (1796), Anarchical Fallacies, Excerpt.

Berman, H. J. (1983). Law and Revolution. The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition. Harvard University Press.

Belyh, A., & Belyh, A. (2020, July 28). Work Ethic Definition & Elements of a Strong Work Ethic. Cleverism. Retrieved from: https://www.cleverism.com/work-ethic-definition-elements-strong-work-ethic/.

Boahen, A. (1966). A Short History of Ghana, Heinemann Press, UK.

Bora, L., Padilla, J., & McHale, S. M. (2016). Transmission of Work Ethic in African-American Families and its Links with Adolescent Adjustment. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 45(11), 2278-2291.

Bradley, B. (2009), Well-Being and Death, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Buah, F. K. (1980). A History of Ghana. Macmillan Education Press.

Buchheit, L., Chabert, G., Delong, C., & Zettermeyer, J. (2018). The Sovereign Debt Restructuring Process. Sovereign Debt: A Guide for Economists and Practitioners. Washington, EE. UU: International Monetary Fund.

Castellano Marlene, B. (2004). Ethics of Aboriginal Research. Journal of Aboriginal Health, 1(1), 98-114.

Chesney, R., & Citron, D. K. (2018). Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3213954.

Crane, T. (2001), The Elements of Mind, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Crisp, R. (1997), Mill on Utilitarianism, London: Routledge.

Crisp, R. (2006), Reasons and the Good, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cruft, R. (2010). On the Non-Instrumental Value of Basic Rights. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 7, 441–61.

Cruft, R. (2004) Why is it Disrespectful to Violate Rights? Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 113, 201–24.

Decardi-Nelson, A., Rahman, A., & Mante, E. (2019). Perceptions of Shop Operators on Packaging of Made in Ghana Products. Journal of Applied Packaging Research, 11(1).

Ekeopara, C. A., & Ogbonnaya, L. U. (2014). Traditional Ethics and the Maintenance of Social Order in the Nigeria Society. European Scientific Journal, 10(29), 34-46.

Engstrom, S. (1992). The concept of the Highest Good in Kant’s Moral Philosophy. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 51(4), 747-80.

Eshbaugh-Soha, M. (2010). The Politics of Presidential Speeches. Congress & The Presidency, 37, 1-21. DOI: 10:1080/07343460903390679.

Fan, Y. (2006). Branding the nation: What is being branded? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766706056633.

Feldman, F. (2001). Hedonism. In L.C. Becker and C.B. Becker (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ethics, London: Routledge.

Feldman, F. (2006). Pleasure and the Good Life, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Fetscherin, M. (2010). The Measurement and Determinants of a Country Brand: The Country Brand Strength Index. International Marketing Review,27(4), 466-479. DOI: 10.1108/02651331011058617.

Flanagan, O. (1992). Consciousness Reconsidered, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Fordyce, M.W. (1972). Happiness, its daily variation in relation to values, Dissertation, US International University. Google Scholar.

Frede (2003). Plato’s Ethics: An Overview. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics/.

Frempong, F., & Deichmann, J. I. (2015). Ghanaian hospitality professionals’ perceptions of international tourism impacts. Geo Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9682-y.

Freire, P. (2001). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy and civic courage. London: Rowman& Littlefield Publishers.

Furnham, A. & Muhiudeen, C. (1984). The Protestant Work Ethic in Britain and Malaysia. The Journal of Social Psychology, 122, 157-161

Furnham, A. (1990). The Protestant Work Ethic in Barbados. The Journal of Social Psychology, 131(1), 29-43.

Furham, A. (2021). The Protestant Work Ethics: Psychology of Work Related Beliefs and Behaviors. (1st ed). Routledge.

Gallarza, M. G., Saura, I. G. and Garcia, H. C. (2002). Destination Image: Towards a Conceptual Framework. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(1), 56-78.

Gray, G. & Malone, S. (2008). Macro-financial risk analysis. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York.

Ghana Statistical Service (2010). The Annual Statistical Survey. Ghana Statistical Service, Ministries, Accra, Ghana.

Global Employment Trend (2014). Risk of Jobless Recovery? Geneva: International Labor Office.

Global Corruption Barometer. (2015). Transparency International. Bonn, Germany. Retrieved from: https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/people_and_corruption_africa_survey_2015.

Greenfield, R. (2011). The Atlantic: Steve Jobs for not being a Philanthropist; Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-you-can-think-less-steve-jobs-not-being-philanthropist/338546.

GSS (2014). Gross Domestic Product 2014. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service.

Hakala, U., Lemmetyinen, A, Satu-paivi, K. (2013). Country Image as a nation-branding Tool. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 31(5), 538-556.

Hart, H.L.A. (1994). The Concept of Law (2nd ed.). In P. Bulloch& J. Raz (eds.), With posthumous postscript, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Heathwood, C. (2007). The reduction of sensory pleasure to desire.Philosophical Studies, 133, 23–44.

Hedahl, M. (2013). The Significance of a Duty’s Direction: Claiming Priority Rather than Prioritizing Claims. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 7, 1-28.

Hill, R. B. & Perry, G. C. (1995). A new look at employability skills: A factor analysis of the occupational work ethic. Journal of Educational Research, 19(1), 71-89.

Hill, R. B. (1996). Historical Context of the Work Ethic. University of Georgia, Georgia, USA.

Hohfeld, W. (1919). Fundamental Legal Conceptions. Yale University Press.

Holland S. (2010). Public Health Ethics. Polity Press.

Hooker, B. (1996). Does Being Virtuous Constitute a Benefit to the Agent? In R. Crisp (ed.), How Should One Live? Oxford: Clarendon.

Hooker, B. (2000). Ideal Code, Real World: A Rule-consequentialist Theory of Morality, Oxford: Clarendon.

Huang Wilson, W. S. Kwag, M., &Streib, G. (1998). Exploring the Relationship between Hotel Characteristics and Crime. Hospitality Review, 16(1).

ILO (2009). Key Indicators of the Labour Market. Geneva: International Labour Organization ILO.

Ishio, Y. (2010). Social Bases of American Patriotism. Current Sociology, 58(1), 67–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392109348546.

Kamm, F. (1992). Non-Consequentialism, the Person as an End-in-itself, and the Significance of Status. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 21, 354-89.

Konfidants (2019). Made in Ghana Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.citinewsroom.com.

Kigongo, J. K. (2009). Ethics, human rights, and development in Africa. In A. T. Dalfovo, J. Kisekka, et al. (Eds.), Ethics, Human Rights, and Development in Africa, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy.

NAFCO. (n.d.) Fresh Tomatoes Import from Burkina Faso. Retrieved from: https://www.nafco.gv.gh>News.

Nagashima, A. (1970). A comparison of Japanese and US attitudes toward foreign products. Journal of Marketing, 34(1), 68-74.

Nietzsche, F. (1889). Twilight of the Idols.In W.Kaufmann (Ed.), The Portable Nietzsche. New York: Viking Press.

Nkrumah-Boateng, R. (2007). Ghanaian Mentality: Why are we the way we are? Retrieved from: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Ghanaian-Mentality-Why-are-we-the-way-we-are-130785.

Norman, I. D. & Norman, B. M. A. (2016). Juxtaposition of Hohfeldian Rights, Principle-Based Ethics, Functionings, and the Health-Seeking Behavior of Sub-Saharan Africa. Advances in Applied Sociology, 6, 344-362. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2016.610026.

Norman, I. D. (2017). Democracy and Choice: Do these mean anything to the average Ghanaian? Advances in Applied Sociology, 7, 115-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/associ.2017.73007.

Norman, I. D., Aviisah, M. A., M. Awiah, B. M., Kweku, M., Binka, F. N. (2016). The Middle Class Is Synonymous with Corruption in Sub-Sahara Africa. Advances in Applied Sociology, 6, 179-198.

Norman, I. (2022a). Setting Thomas Kuhn's Paradigm Shift Against Dunning-Kruger Effect, To whom should the Paradigm Shift in a Corruption Endemic Nation as Ghana? IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 27(8).

Norman, I. (2022b). The Axis of Hate: Identitarianism, Afroxenophobia and Vigilantism. European Journal of Development, 2(5), DOI:10.24018/ejdevelop.2022.2.5.16.

Norman, I. D. (2023). Identity Politics in Ghana. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS),28(1), 53-70.

NDPC (2015). 2015 Ghana Millennium Development Goals Report. September. Accra: National Development Planning Commission.

Mill, J.S. (1863). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son and Bourn.

Mills, J. S. (1977). On Liberty, in Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Vol. 18. Toronto University Press.

Ocholla-Ayayo, A. B. C. (1976). Traditional Ideology and Ethics among the Southern Luo. The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala.

Ollenu, N. A. (1966). A study of contemporary Ghana. George Allen and Urwin Limited, London, pp. 71-74

Onunna, U. R. (2008). Contemporary Themes in African Religion and Culture, Pittsburgh; Red Lead.

Osei-Hwedie, K. (1997). Southern African Regional Approaches to Indigenising Social Work Education and Practice: The case of Botswana. In: D. De Kock, T Hall T, et al. (Eds.). Indigenisation in Social and Community Work Education. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, pp. 41-58.

Peck, M. S. (1978). The Road Less Travelled. Arrow Books.

Quaye, M. (2019). Personal Communications, Speaker of Parliament, Ghana Parliament House, 12/6/2019, Accra, Ghana.

Rachels, J. (2003). Elements of Moral Philosophy, (4th Ed.). McGraw Hill.

Rand, A. (1957). Atlas Shrugged. Random House.

Sartre, J. P. (1957). Existentialism and Human Emotions. The Wisdom Library.

Sorta, E., Kurniawan, H., &Hamuddin, B. (2018). Language and Power in Presidential Speech Campaign Discourse: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Sciences, 175(2018), 012082. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/175/1/012082.

Sivalingam, N. (2011). Medical Paternalism and Patient Autonomy; the dualism doctors contend with. Medical Journal of Malaysia; 66(5), 421-422.

The Economist. (2022). Ghana has struck a preliminary IMF deal and halted debt payments. Retrieved from: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/12/20/ghana-has-struck-a-preliminary-imf-deal-and-halted-debt-payments.

The History Editors. (2021) The Mayflower. HISTORY. Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower.

Tilgher, A. (1930). Homo Faber, Work Through the Ages. University of Georgia.

UN. (2016). United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report.

Veenhoven, R. (2003). Hedonism and Happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies. 4(4), 437-457.

Vyas, L. (2016). Contract Management from the Perspective of Bureaucrats and Contractors: A case Study of Hong Kong. International Journal of Public Administration,39(9), 744-757.

Weber, M. (1904), (1905). Die protestantische ethic und der geist des kapitalismus. Archiv fur sozialwissenchaft. 20-21. Translated by T. Parsons. The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Webster’s New World College Dictionary. (2010). Wiley Publishing Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.

World Bank (1985). Ghana: Towards Structural Adjustment. Report No. 5854-GH, Washington D.C.

World Bank/Bank of Ghana Report: Landscape of Jobs in Ghana. 2016

Yamson, I. (2017). Middle Managers trained overseas are better than those from Ghana. Personal communication on Peace FM Radio Station.

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##

How to Cite
Norman, I. D. (2023). Exploring Work Ethic in Ghana. European Journal of Development Studies, 3(2), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejdevelop.2023.3.2.232