International journal of disaster risk reduction, May 1, 2019
1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply ... more 1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply chain. Surprisingly while the number of disaster incidents, disaster caused disruptions and casualties continue to increase, the capacity to judiciously procure and deploy relief/emergency items in real time dwindles. This paper explores how the over exploitation of public-sector procurement policy can influence strategic national disaster preparedness and response. Specifically, we highlight the interdependent relationships between procurement policy induced behaviours and the capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Results from interviews with individual senior managers of a disaster management organisation, and the derived cognitive maps suggest that: inapposite procurement practices, excessive political intrusion, resource mismanagement, and unclear national disaster management policy (plan), are some of the causes underpinning poor disaster preparedness and response in Ghana. Our research attempts to explain the apparent inverse relationship between the rise in disaster incidents and the decline in capacity to manage disasters. This article could serve as one of the empirical basis that would prompt policy-makers to review Ghana's policy on emergency procurement. The model in this research could provide the needed insight into the underlying structures as well as alert managers elsewhere that their procurement decisions or behaviours can potentially produce unintended consequences that can affect future operations.
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Jun 1, 2022
PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increa... more PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increase in investment and economic activities along with land degradation and biodiversity loss. This study aims to explore Ghana's transition from a low-income to a lower-middle income economy, and the impact of the accompanying rise in extractive activities on the upstream cocoa supply chain (CSC) and its supporting ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted interviews and made critical observations on Ghana's upstream CSC. Grounded theory (GT) and system dynamics (SD) methodologies were employed to extract and analyze themes from the data gathered. Causal loop diagrams were derived from the analyzed data to provide insight into the possible long-term structural behavior of the upstream CSC due to the change in Ghana's economic status.FindingsThe findings suggest that continuous increase in land capture by open-cast mining and logging concessionaires, poor environmental law enforcement and farmer discontentment could cause a decline in cocoa production and biodiversity.Originality/valueThis research could stimulate the identification of a most effective alternative policy (such as agroecological farming) to improve the living standards of upstream CSC partners and reduce biodiversity loss. The models herein could serve as a learning/demonstration tool for researchers, academia and policymakers when brainstorming students, or during stakeholder (community/society) engagement/consultation sessions, to discuss policy decisions and their consequences. The model approach could also be helpful when designing strategic land-use policies. This could improve understanding of the complex interdependent relationships and the consequences of land degradation, loss of biodiversity and rural livelihood from a system thinking perspective.
We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions ... more We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions between Disaster Preparedness, Systemic Physics, and Resilience in response to policy change in maritime logistics setting. It appears that industry stakeholders are not able to anticipate the effects of strategic risk management decisions. Results suggest that frequent policy interventions geared towards disaster reduction have the potential to produce unintended consequences as levels of unacknowledged conditions increase. The research models provide strategic policy makers with real-time decision evaluation tool to justify the choice of a set of alternative risk reduction interventions prior to decision implementation.
To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to th... more To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to the less privileged of any society in the world, especially to the mustard seeds whom, for the lack of support, the perceived "haves" cite them as accursed.
There is mixed feeling and mixed reaction from various quarters in recent times towards the perce... more There is mixed feeling and mixed reaction from various quarters in recent times towards the perception that Ghana is progressively crawling into a developed country status. Generally, one would expect the change in status to rain in foreign companies to build factories and to provide essential services commensurate with economic growth and development. However, industrialisation (particularly of an unplanned economy) could aggravate rural-urban migration, urban congestion, and inevitably escalate disputes relative to labour, society, and environment. We anticipate that the agriculture sector in general, and the cocoa supply chain in particular would be the most hit by the change to a developed country status. Already in recent times, the cocoa industry is threatened with farm abandonment, migration, crop replacement perhaps due to the perceived unsustainability of the cocoa industry, and land capture by mining concessionaires. This research proposes the use of complex interdependen...
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal
PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increa... more PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increase in investment and economic activities along with land degradation and biodiversity loss. This study aims to explore Ghana's transition from a low-income to a lower-middle income economy, and the impact of the accompanying rise in extractive activities on the upstream cocoa supply chain (CSC) and its supporting ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted interviews and made critical observations on Ghana's upstream CSC. Grounded theory (GT) and system dynamics (SD) methodologies were employed to extract and analyze themes from the data gathered. Causal loop diagrams were derived from the analyzed data to provide insight into the possible long-term structural behavior of the upstream CSC due to the change in Ghana's economic status.FindingsThe findings suggest that continuous increase in land capture by open-cast mining and logging concessionaires, poor environ...
A thesis submitted to the Department of Information Systems & Decision Science, Kwame Nkrumah Uni... more A thesis submitted to the Department of Information Systems & Decision Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Business Administration (Logistics and Supply Chain Management), 2008
To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to th... more To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to the less privileged of any society in the world, especially to the mustard seeds whom, for the lack of support, the perceived "haves" cite them as accursed.
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2019
1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply ... more 1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply chain. Surprisingly while the number of disaster incidents, disaster caused disruptions and casualties continue to increase, the capacity to judiciously procure and deploy relief/emergency items in real time dwindles. This paper explores how the over exploitation of public-sector procurement policy can influence strategic national disaster preparedness and response. Specifically, we highlight the interdependent relationships between procurement policy induced behaviours and the capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Results from interviews with individual senior managers of a disaster management organisation, and the derived cognitive maps suggest that: inapposite procurement practices, excessive political intrusion, resource mismanagement, and unclear national disaster management policy (plan), are some of the causes underpinning poor disaster preparedness and response in Ghana. Our research attempts to explain the apparent inverse relationship between the rise in disaster incidents and the decline in capacity to manage disasters. This article could serve as one of the empirical basis that would prompt policy-makers to review Ghana's policy on emergency procurement. The model in this research could provide the needed insight into the underlying structures as well as alert managers elsewhere that their procurement decisions or behaviours can potentially produce unintended consequences that can affect future operations.
Systems Dynamic (SD) modelling is used to investigate the impacts of policy interventions on indu... more Systems Dynamic (SD) modelling is used to investigate the impacts of policy interventions on industry actors' preparedness to mitigate risks and to recover from disruptions along the maritime logistics network. The model suggests a bi-directional relation between regulation and maritime industry actors' behaviour towards Disaster Preparedness (DP) in maritime logistics networks. The model also showed that the level of DP is highly contingent on technology change, attitude to forecast accuracy, risk prevention, port activities, and port environment.
We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions ... more We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions between Disaster Preparedness, Systemic Physics, and Resilience in response to policy change in maritime logistics setting. It appears that industry stakeholders are not able to anticipate the effects of strategic risk management decisions. Results suggest that frequent policy interventions geared towards disaster reduction have the potential to produce unintended consequences as levels of unacknowledged conditions increase. The research models provide strategic policy makers with real-time decision evaluation tool to justify the choice of a set of alternative risk reduction interventions prior to decision implementation.
International journal of disaster risk reduction, May 1, 2019
1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply ... more 1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply chain. Surprisingly while the number of disaster incidents, disaster caused disruptions and casualties continue to increase, the capacity to judiciously procure and deploy relief/emergency items in real time dwindles. This paper explores how the over exploitation of public-sector procurement policy can influence strategic national disaster preparedness and response. Specifically, we highlight the interdependent relationships between procurement policy induced behaviours and the capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Results from interviews with individual senior managers of a disaster management organisation, and the derived cognitive maps suggest that: inapposite procurement practices, excessive political intrusion, resource mismanagement, and unclear national disaster management policy (plan), are some of the causes underpinning poor disaster preparedness and response in Ghana. Our research attempts to explain the apparent inverse relationship between the rise in disaster incidents and the decline in capacity to manage disasters. This article could serve as one of the empirical basis that would prompt policy-makers to review Ghana's policy on emergency procurement. The model in this research could provide the needed insight into the underlying structures as well as alert managers elsewhere that their procurement decisions or behaviours can potentially produce unintended consequences that can affect future operations.
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Jun 1, 2022
PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increa... more PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increase in investment and economic activities along with land degradation and biodiversity loss. This study aims to explore Ghana's transition from a low-income to a lower-middle income economy, and the impact of the accompanying rise in extractive activities on the upstream cocoa supply chain (CSC) and its supporting ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted interviews and made critical observations on Ghana's upstream CSC. Grounded theory (GT) and system dynamics (SD) methodologies were employed to extract and analyze themes from the data gathered. Causal loop diagrams were derived from the analyzed data to provide insight into the possible long-term structural behavior of the upstream CSC due to the change in Ghana's economic status.FindingsThe findings suggest that continuous increase in land capture by open-cast mining and logging concessionaires, poor environmental law enforcement and farmer discontentment could cause a decline in cocoa production and biodiversity.Originality/valueThis research could stimulate the identification of a most effective alternative policy (such as agroecological farming) to improve the living standards of upstream CSC partners and reduce biodiversity loss. The models herein could serve as a learning/demonstration tool for researchers, academia and policymakers when brainstorming students, or during stakeholder (community/society) engagement/consultation sessions, to discuss policy decisions and their consequences. The model approach could also be helpful when designing strategic land-use policies. This could improve understanding of the complex interdependent relationships and the consequences of land degradation, loss of biodiversity and rural livelihood from a system thinking perspective.
We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions ... more We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions between Disaster Preparedness, Systemic Physics, and Resilience in response to policy change in maritime logistics setting. It appears that industry stakeholders are not able to anticipate the effects of strategic risk management decisions. Results suggest that frequent policy interventions geared towards disaster reduction have the potential to produce unintended consequences as levels of unacknowledged conditions increase. The research models provide strategic policy makers with real-time decision evaluation tool to justify the choice of a set of alternative risk reduction interventions prior to decision implementation.
To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to th... more To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to the less privileged of any society in the world, especially to the mustard seeds whom, for the lack of support, the perceived "haves" cite them as accursed.
There is mixed feeling and mixed reaction from various quarters in recent times towards the perce... more There is mixed feeling and mixed reaction from various quarters in recent times towards the perception that Ghana is progressively crawling into a developed country status. Generally, one would expect the change in status to rain in foreign companies to build factories and to provide essential services commensurate with economic growth and development. However, industrialisation (particularly of an unplanned economy) could aggravate rural-urban migration, urban congestion, and inevitably escalate disputes relative to labour, society, and environment. We anticipate that the agriculture sector in general, and the cocoa supply chain in particular would be the most hit by the change to a developed country status. Already in recent times, the cocoa industry is threatened with farm abandonment, migration, crop replacement perhaps due to the perceived unsustainability of the cocoa industry, and land capture by mining concessionaires. This research proposes the use of complex interdependen...
Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal
PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increa... more PurposeChange in the economic status of a low-income country is accompanied by an expected increase in investment and economic activities along with land degradation and biodiversity loss. This study aims to explore Ghana's transition from a low-income to a lower-middle income economy, and the impact of the accompanying rise in extractive activities on the upstream cocoa supply chain (CSC) and its supporting ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted interviews and made critical observations on Ghana's upstream CSC. Grounded theory (GT) and system dynamics (SD) methodologies were employed to extract and analyze themes from the data gathered. Causal loop diagrams were derived from the analyzed data to provide insight into the possible long-term structural behavior of the upstream CSC due to the change in Ghana's economic status.FindingsThe findings suggest that continuous increase in land capture by open-cast mining and logging concessionaires, poor environ...
A thesis submitted to the Department of Information Systems & Decision Science, Kwame Nkrumah Uni... more A thesis submitted to the Department of Information Systems & Decision Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Business Administration (Logistics and Supply Chain Management), 2008
To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to th... more To my son Robin Yaw Buor Koranteng for the enormous sacrifice he has made. Dedications also to the less privileged of any society in the world, especially to the mustard seeds whom, for the lack of support, the perceived "haves" cite them as accursed.
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2019
1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply ... more 1. Disasters of any can be disruptive to smooth flow of resources even in the most robust supply chain. Surprisingly while the number of disaster incidents, disaster caused disruptions and casualties continue to increase, the capacity to judiciously procure and deploy relief/emergency items in real time dwindles. This paper explores how the over exploitation of public-sector procurement policy can influence strategic national disaster preparedness and response. Specifically, we highlight the interdependent relationships between procurement policy induced behaviours and the capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Results from interviews with individual senior managers of a disaster management organisation, and the derived cognitive maps suggest that: inapposite procurement practices, excessive political intrusion, resource mismanagement, and unclear national disaster management policy (plan), are some of the causes underpinning poor disaster preparedness and response in Ghana. Our research attempts to explain the apparent inverse relationship between the rise in disaster incidents and the decline in capacity to manage disasters. This article could serve as one of the empirical basis that would prompt policy-makers to review Ghana's policy on emergency procurement. The model in this research could provide the needed insight into the underlying structures as well as alert managers elsewhere that their procurement decisions or behaviours can potentially produce unintended consequences that can affect future operations.
Systems Dynamic (SD) modelling is used to investigate the impacts of policy interventions on indu... more Systems Dynamic (SD) modelling is used to investigate the impacts of policy interventions on industry actors' preparedness to mitigate risks and to recover from disruptions along the maritime logistics network. The model suggests a bi-directional relation between regulation and maritime industry actors' behaviour towards Disaster Preparedness (DP) in maritime logistics networks. The model also showed that the level of DP is highly contingent on technology change, attitude to forecast accuracy, risk prevention, port activities, and port environment.
We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions ... more We employ System Dynamics (SD) modelling to analyse the structural behaviour of the interactions between Disaster Preparedness, Systemic Physics, and Resilience in response to policy change in maritime logistics setting. It appears that industry stakeholders are not able to anticipate the effects of strategic risk management decisions. Results suggest that frequent policy interventions geared towards disaster reduction have the potential to produce unintended consequences as levels of unacknowledged conditions increase. The research models provide strategic policy makers with real-time decision evaluation tool to justify the choice of a set of alternative risk reduction interventions prior to decision implementation.
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