1. STRATEGIC AUDIT WORKSHEET ANALYSIS

A.1 Corporate Performance Evaluation

i. Select the organization of a group member in the class, and use the Balanced scorecard tool to evaluate its performance. The KPIs must be correct, but the supporting performance data used may not be the real facts.

ii. Conduct a comprehensive environmental scanning, using the SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s five forces model, and any other relevant tool to assess the external and internal environment of the organization evaluated in (i).

iii. Use the information gathered in (i) and (ii), present your result for analysis using the EFAS, IFAS, SFAS, and the TOWS matrix.  

A.2 Individual Home Work.

A.1 Project-related Assignment.

1. Explain the concept of the Balanced Scorecard as a tool for:
2. Organizational performance evaluation
3. Organizational strategy implementation
4. Why should an organization have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? How diverse should these KPIs be?
5. Identify and explain the key evaluation tools or models used in class to scan and analyze the external and internal environments of an organization conducting a strategic audit.
6. Why should an organization conduct periodic comprehensive strategic audits?
7. How relevant is strategic auditing for strategic planning?
8. Explain the relevance of an organization’s Strategic Posture or Direction to the attainment of its performance targets.
9. Does governance matter in meeting the performance targets? Explain why.
10. LEGAL STUDIES (Individual work)

B.1 Arbitration and Mediation

At the Abebrese Institution for Medical Supplies Company, two team members, Senior Administrative Officers, Mr. Thomas Asemasa and Ms. Efua Awaryedew, (subordinate) were experiencing difficulties and despite the best efforts of another colleague, Mr. Kofi Dzinpa, they could not find a resolution to the difficulties.

These two employees had been working together for five years but Mr. Abebrese had worked for seven years. They were in the same department and both ultimately reported to the same departmental manager. Ms. Awaryedew immediate boss is Mr. Asemasa. Ms. Awaryedew had felt under pressure from Mr. Asemasa since she joined the company. She raised the issue with her departmental manager; however, she feels that nothing had changed. This was affecting productivity and they both had resorted to blame game when deadlines were not being met by the two.

Mr. Asemasa at a point reported the matter to Mr. Goodwill, the Managing Director singularly & sort for assistance. Consequently, both parties when contacted reluctantly agreed to mediation and they were both accusing the other either of laziness, bullying and harassment. Mr. Asemasa had a no-nonsense approach and feels that some aspects of Ms. Awaryedew’s work needed improvement. He had asked for these changes in ways that she felt had been clear and fair. Ms. Awareyedew kept going to management with the allegation of bullying by Mr. Asemasa.

Ms. Awaryedew feels that her work performance had been made subject to very public comments even at office meetings and she felt embarrassed and singled out. She is presented as a staff who could do no right, she was good for nothing as far as Mr. Asemasa was concerned. She likes her job but the pressure was increasing increasingly.  Her Office too was close to her home so she was able to take her children to school and pick them up on her way home.

Ms. Awaryedew after a while, started contemplating leaving the company for another company close by. Later both parties starting thinking about leaving if the situation could not be worked out. (Both parties neither initially wanted to change jobs.)

1. What would you do as Mr. Goodwill, to Mediate or not or to ask for Arbitration and why?
2. What will you do in the first instance, to act or not to act, and why?
3. Outline the steps in mediation.
4. To mediate successfully what should guide you.
5. What could be the possible interest(s) of the parties?
6. What will you do if one party fails to agree to mediation.

B.2 Constitutional Law

1. Discuss the Sources of the Constitutional Law of Ghana?
2. Carl Stephens works as an Accounts Officer with City Bank Ltd. He goes about his duties with utmost professionalism and as a result, there is always little complaints about him. City Bank has lots of customers among which is Mr. Raphael Bartels the well-known billionaire in the Metropolis.

Carl Stephens was instructed by the Management of the bank to act as the Accounts Officer on Mr. Bartels’ Account (a dollar account with over three hundred million dollars in savings) simply because of how affluent he is.

One time, Mr. Bartels let loose his checkbooks. One of his employees (Amos) got hold of them. He took one leaflet which had already been signed by Mr. Bartels to withdraw a sum of USD$100,000.00.  Amos presented the cheque to the City Bank Ltd and the same was honoured. Amos then absconded with the money.

Mr. Bartels immediately received a debit note of the transaction on his cell-phone. He quickly called the Bank Manager and lodged a complaint of not having withdrawn or caused to be withdrawn any such amount. He threatened to stop being a customer of the Bank. Immediately, the Bank Manager called Carl Stephens and informed him that he has been dismissed for having misappropriated funds belonging to Mr. Bartels

Carl Stephens feels, that his fundamental human rights have been violated and wants an immediate redress. He is however, bereft of the law and does not know where to start. He informed his wife, that despite his feeling, he thinks that because he is the Accounts Officer on Mr. Bartels’ Account, any issue on it must be blamed on him. He should perhaps forget about the whole case.  He therefore stated, that he is no longer interested. His wife seriously thinks that her husband has been unfairly treated and his human rights violated. His wife therefore wants to go to the Courts and Enforce the rights of her husband on his behalf.

She recently heard, that you have taken a course in constitutional law and you are well versed in the enforcement of fundamental human rights. What advice will you give her? Specifically, your focus should be on determining whether Carl has any good case and if so against whom? Where can his rights if any be enforced? Can his wife enforce the right on his behalf ? Assume, that all the persons and companies mentioned are Ghanaians and in Ghana. The laws governing them are also the laws of Ghana.

B.3 Public Procurement, the Law and the Administration

What are the challenges in the implementation of the Public Procurement Law (Act 663) which called for its amendment by Act. 914? 

B.4 Financial Appraisal

Netsearch Company Limited is a Ghanaian food-processing company formed on in 1981. The company got listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 2005. The nature of business is food – processing of vegetable oil. Specifically, they process vegetable fats and oils, Cooking oils, Palm kernels, Soya beans, and Cakes. The company was adjudged the best agro-based company in Ghana in 2004 and 2005. It recorded its good performance during this period and subsequently got listed on the exchange in 2005. However, it plunged into financial difficulties reflecting in the falling equity prices on the market. Table 1 presents an extract from Netsearch’s Financial Statements.

Table 1: Extracts from Netsearch’s Financial Statements (2004-2013)

NB: DER = Debt-to-equity Ratio; TRV= Turnover; PAT = Profit-after-tax; CA=Current Assets; CL= Current Liabilities; MV= Market Value, EPS = Earnings per share; NCL = Non-Current Liabilities; NCA=Noncurrent Assets etc.

There is the need to investigate into this continuous poor financial and market performance. Management has you to constitute an Adhoc Committee to investigate into this performance problem. The terms of reference within which the Committee worked included finding the cause(s) of the problem and making recommendations for change within the short, medium, and long term.

B.5 Labour Law and the Administrator in Decision Making

In the hiring of employees, must there be a written employment contract? If yes, what essential terms are required to be evidenced in writing?