c
c  c

c

Every business must design a strategy for achieving its goals, consisting of a marketing strategy
and a compatible technology strategy and sourcing strategy (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006). A
key strategic thrust represent the key building blocks, strategic interventions or priorities UGBS
must implement to achieve its desired objectives and actualize its mission and vision under the
expected organizational climate and culture. The following strategies can be implemented by the
school in order for it to gain a competitive edge.

The first step towards this strategic plan is to review current academic programs and courses so
as to incorporate more relevant industry-linked or job related offers. This can be achieved by
developing and introducing sandwich programs or short courses during vacations. This will
enable students to be more knowledgeable and well equipped for the job market. The school can
also introduce attachments or internships, field or industrial visits, vacation job placement and so
on. To do this the school must acquire a large-capacity luxury bus for use by staff and students
on their industrial or field visits. When this is done, students will be well acquainted with real
world management practices instead of the everyday classroom teaching and learning techniques.
External lecture or workshop series and other discourse or interactive gatherings that bring
students closer to practitioners can also be introduced. These workshops will inform students
about various job opportunities and also teach them how to excel in their future professions. To
achieve results, apart from the above options there is also the need to reduce class sizes to
promote better faculty-student interaction and class participation.

Additionally, there must be the rehabilitation, modernization and expansion of physical

infrastructure and facilities including furniture. This should include the renovation and
refurbishment of existing classrooms, lecture halls and seminar or tutorial rooms. All faculty
offices should also be renovated and refurbished with air-conditioners, comfortable furniture,
state-of-the-art- ICT facilities, telephones, floor tiles, fridge, etc. In order for the school to
maintain and enhance its enviable reputation and position as the leading business school in
Ghana, it must endeavor to put up new buildings or structure, incorporating additional
classrooms, some offices, ICT facilities, students¶ reading or study rooms, staff or students¶
common rooms, in-house restaurant or cafeteria etc. To maintain the infrastructure and facilities,
there must the institution of a more effective periodic infrastructural facility repair and
maintenance program.

Also, UGBS must enhance information, communication and technology (ICT) facilities and
other machinery and equipment for improved teaching, learning and administrative or support
services. This can be achieved by carrying out detailed facilities and equipment survey
throughout the school to find out their number, quality and physical conditions. This will help
determine facilities and equipment requirements for effective teaching, learning and
administrative or support services. To enhance research, the school must procure additional
computers with improved internet access for the computer laboratory taking into account the
capacities of the expanded or refurbished computer laboratories. Printers should also be provided
in all the computer laboratories to enable students¶ down-load or print information from the
internet for a fee. All out-dated teaching aids must be replaced with state-of-the art equipments
like LCD projectors, laptops, pocket microphones and other audio-visuals in all classrooms or
lecture halls. The school should provide vehicles for academic departments and EMBA
Secretariat, not only to facilitate their activities and enhance their growth and development but
also to promote the departments and their programmes as the vehicles move around town.

Moreover, UGBS should promote and facilitate more academic research consultancy and other
extension services by actively leveraging the school¶s comparative strengths and unique
competencies of its staff to enhance faculty promotion prospects, earn additional or
supplementary income and improve faculty¶s public exposure, image and reputation. This can be
done by strengthening the CMRPD to assume an expanded mandate: training and development,
research and consultancy and other extension/advisory services, independent of the
entrepreneurship development (EDC). A committee to oversee work of the unit should be
established by recruiting full-time, high-caliber experienced business development manager and
other staff for the unit with clearly defined job descriptions and personnel specifications. For the
unit to be effective the school should ensure the availability of the required infrastructure,
equipment and other state-of-the-art-facilities. There must also be an increase in the allocation to
the school¶s research fund to support increased research and conferences budget/grant and the
number of conferences per years of faculty. Faculty members should be encouraged to
participate in ongoing seminar series to broaden their knowledge in their individual field of
specialty. Promotion of commercialized or applied research on critical business issues through
corporate research contracts must be implemented by encouraging joint or collaborative research
and consultancy and other extension service with other private/public institutions/firms. In
addition to this, the school must intensify efforts to develop and implement more skills training
and development programmes or courses for public and private persons.

Furthermore, the school must strive to strengthen human resource management strategies,
policies and programmes for improved staff motivation and morale and enhancement of school¶s
ability to attract and retain staff. This can be achieved by first carrying out a human resource
audit of all academic departments to determine additional academic staff needed, in line with
revised/rationalized programmes and efforts made to fill identified vacancies. Afterwards, a
more comprehensive training needs identification of all faculty and administrative/support staff
should be carried out as part of the annual performance management system and implement
appropriate continuing education, training and development programmes.

aV Institute formal mentoring system for new, inexperienced faculty.

aV Train faculty to produce on-line courses and teaching and learning materials.
aV Drganize seminars/workshops on teaching/training methodologies and techniques for all
faculty members, especially new entrants.

  

Review/rationalized current academic programmes and courses, incorporating more relevant

industry-linked/job-related offers including additional specialization options.

aV Conclude the on-going process of reviewing all existing academic programmes and
courses taking into account the need to introduce new and more relevant and industry-
linked programmes and courses.
aV Develop and introduce sandwich programmes / short courses during vacations.
aV Introduce attachments/internships, field/industrial visits, vacation job placement etc. to
acquaint students with real-world management practices.
 aV Introduce more external lecture/seminar/workshop series and other discourses or
interactive gatherings that bring students closer to practitioners.
aV Consider varying, over time, the composition of graduate and undergraduate students to
achieve a target of a 50-50 split.
aV Reduce class sizes to promote better faculty-student interaction and class participation.
aV Acquire a large-capacity luxury bus for use by staff and students on industrial/field visits.

 !" # 

Rehabilitate$ modernize and expand physical infrastructure and facilities including furniture.

aV Renovate and refurbish existing classrooms, lecture halls and seminar/tutorial rooms.
aV Renovate, refurbish and re-equip all faculty offices: air-conditioners, comfortable
furniture, state-of-the-art- IC facilities, telephones, floor tiles, fridge, etc.
aV Expand and refurbish the entire physical environment of the computer laboratories.
aV Put up new building/structure, incorporating additional classrooms, some offices, ICT
facilities, students¶ reading/study rooms, staff/students¶ common rooms, in-house
restaurant/cafeteria, etc.
aV Institute more effective periodic infrastructural facility repair and maintenance program,
including painting.¶
aV Expand school geographically by opening other branches/campuses outside Accra, e.g.
Kumasi.

%&' $c !"())

Enhance information, communication and technology (ICT) facilities and other machinery and
equipment for improved teaching, learning and administrative/support services:

aV Carry out detailed facilities and equipment survey throughout the school to determine
their number, quality and physical conditions.
aV Determine facilities and equipment requirements for effective teaching, learning and
administrative/support services.
aV Procure additional computers for the computer laboratory taking into account the
capacities of the expanded/refurbished computer laboratories.
aV Replace all out-dated teaching aids with state-of-the-art ones in all classrooms/lecture
halls: LCD projectors, laptops, packet microphones and other audio-visual equipment.
aV Provide improved internet access.
aV Complete process of creating schools own website.
aV Provide printers in the computer laboratories to enable students¶ down-load/print
information from internet for a fee.
aV Institute more effective periodic machinery and equipment repair and maintenance policy
and programme.
aV Provide vehicles for academic departments and EMBA Secretariat, not only to facilitate
their activities and enhance their growth and development but also to promote the
departments and their programmes as the vehicles move around town.

*c+)#,-"

Carry out extensive modernization and expansion of the library.

aV Establish a library committee.

aV Expand reading areas/seating capacity.
aV Refurbish and convert into a research library the section of the school currently occupied
by LECIA when the latter vacates premises.
aV Make lists of recommended journals, professional magazines and other periodicals and
core textbooks (Departments).
 aV Prepare composite list of journals, professional magazines and other periodicals and core
textbooks recommended by Departments.
aV Complete process of requisitioning/ordering core textbooks, renewal of journal
subscriptions and ordering new ones to stock the library.
aV Acquire 50 additional computers for library.
aV Provide printers for students to down-load and print data and information from the
internet for a fee.
aV Provide heavy-duty photocopiers to provide service for staff and students for a fee.
aV Set up Digital library with subscriptions for on-line books, journals, professional
magazines and other periodicals.
aV Liaise with university bookshop to ensure that recommended textbooks are ordered in
good time and made available by beginning of academic year/semester for purchase by
students.

.#
 !+  

Promote and facilitate more academic research consultancy and other extension services by
actively leveraging the school¶s comparative strengths and unique competencies of its staff to
enhance faculty promotion prospects, earn additional/supplementary income and improve
faculty¶s public exposure, image and reputation.

aV Strengthen the CMRPD to assume an expanded mandate: training and development,

research and consultancy and other extension/advisory services, independent of the
entrepreneurship development (EDC).
aV Establish committee to oversee work of the unit.
aV Recruit full-time, high-caliber experienced business development manager and other
staff for the unit with clearly defined job descriptions and personnel specifications.
aV Ensure availability of the required infrastructure, equipment and other state-of-the-art-
facilities for the unit. 
aV Increase allocations to the schools research fund to support increased research and
conferences budget/grant and the number of conferences per years of faculty. 
aV Encourage more faculty member to participate in the ongoing seminar series.
aV Promote commercialized/applied research on critical business issues through corporate
research contracts.
aV Encourage inter-faculty research and consultancy and other extension./advisory services.
aV Encourage joint/collaborative research and publications among academic staff,
particularly among senior and junior faculty members.
aV Encourage academic staff to present more scholarly articles for publication in the
schools journal.
aV Encourage joint/collaborative research and consultancy and other extension service with
other private/public institutions/firms.
aV Intensify efforts to develop and implement more skills training and development
programmes/courses for public and private sector personnel.
aV Plug into and attract international research and consultancy project.
aV Design and produce a brochure on the schools capability profile in research,
consultancy, training, and other extension service.
aV Develop and disseminate written information on the new CMRPD policies and
regulations including remuneration for participating faculty and other resource persons.
aV Ensure quick dissemination/publication of research findings in the form of books,
journal articles, monographs etc.
aV Encourage and assist staff to write more research/consultancy proposals for external
findings as individuals, groups or schools as a whole.
aV Encourage and assist staff (financially and otherwise) to write local cases and text
books: make good use of research/teaching assistant.
aV Energize publication of the school journal
 aV Explore the possibility of appointing a research Director (bearing in mind any university
policy in this regard) t coordinate academic staff research within the framework of the
research and conferences committee.

/0
 c

Strengthen human resource management strategies, policies and programmes for improved staff
motivation and morale and enhancement of school¶s ability to attract and retain staff:

aV Carry out a human resource audit of all academic departments to determine additional
academic staff needed, in line with revised/rationalized programmes and efforts made to
fill identified vacancies.
aV Carry out a more comprehensive training needs identification of all faculty and
administrative/support staff as part of the annual performance management system and
implement appropriate continuing education, training and development programmes.
aV Institute formal mentoring system for new, inexperienced faculty.
aV Train faculty to produce on-line courses and teaching and learning materials.
aV Drganize seminars/workshops on teaching/training methodologies and techniques for all
faculty members, especially new entrants.
aV Drganize case-writing seminars/workshops for faculty members.
aV Sponsor all non-PhD Faculty members (who quality under university
regulations/policies) to pursue PhD programmes. All future faculties must be PhD
holders or M.Phil holders pursuing PhD programmes.
aV Initiate action towards institutionalizing ³salary supplementation¶ policy to attract and
retain faculty talent, including high caliber executives and professionals in high demand
outside academia.
aV Strengthen the school highly acclaimed quarterly bonus systems 
aV Strengthen and expand policies on provision of incentives/welfare benefits: house
ownership/mortgage loan schemes, household facilities loans, vehicle loans, etc.
aV Engage the university administration in a process of modify the criteria for promoting
academic staff to ensure fair and equitable promotion policies and prompt of deserving
staff.
 aV Appreciate hard work by institutionalizing annual staff recognition, appreciation and
award ceremony as part of an annual get-together function: Best Worker award schemes
(academic, senior administrative and junior staff), long-service awards, etc.
aV Emphasize the importance of the system of supervisory, subordinate, peer and student
evaluation of academic and administrative/support staff to enhance their accountability
and performance as part of their development promotion and reward system; review and
strength current system.
aV Introduce an official policy on use of Guest lecturers by faculty members, on their
courses and remuneration payable.
aV Sponsor young faculty members to attend faculty development programmes, at least
twice in their first two years of employment.
aV Produce a newsletter to provide periodic information to staff on major
developments/decisions.
aV Drganize periodic for a/durbars between schools leadership and staff to provide vital
information and receive feedback, and brainstorm on goings-on in the school.
aV Set up ad-hoc committee to audit/investigate schools ICT ± Related
operations/activities/units/sections. Grapevine sources point to possible malfeasance and
lackadaisical attitude of staff.
aV Drganize sensitization/change management training programmes for all staff on the need
to own or buy into the school¶s new strategic intent and direction. 



1)2 -

aV Establish linkages/collaborations with professional associations and institutes,

industry/business associations, private and public tertiary institutions and the
Alumni.
aV Prepare more comprehensive list of professional associations/institutes,
business/industry associations and university and other tertiary institutions the school
could have linkages/collaborations with: see Appendix 10.
 aV Determine the nature of linkages/collaborations the school may want to have with
selected professional associations/institutes and industry/business associations and
concluded agreements with them.
aV Conclude more exchange programme agreements with selected university/tertiary
institutions for both staff and students.
aV Explore chances of getting staff to serve on committees and boards of private and
public organizations, with assistance from Alumni.
aV Strengthen/reactivate operations of Alumni Dffice and provide full-time staff under
the office of proposed public affairs manager.
aV Drganize a major home-coming event for the Alumni, to be followed by other
periodic interactions.
aV Produce a newsletter targeted at the Alumni and public private-sector organizations
and firms.

3+4&  

Institute more extra-curricular activities to create opportunities for socialization/leisure,

acquisition of job-related experiences and insights by students and improved intra-organizational
relations.

aV Institute well-moderated debates/discussions/symposia on topical issues in various

subjects, involving students/staff of the school and other institutions, with
collaboration of BHJCR and GRASSAG Executives. 
aV Drganize more practitioners for and similar intercourse; with participation from
student, staff and general public.
aV Drganize periodic talks by known achievers/captains of industry/motivation
speakers.
aV Drganize more job fairs, career guidance and placement seminars, CV clinics, mock
interviews, among others for students, with collaboration of BHJCR and GRASSAG.
aV Drganize periodic open days for students, faculty and leadership of the school to
interact and share information and ideas.
 aV Encourage and assist students to form functional investment clubs,
discussion/debating clubs, games/sports clubs, and other business and non-business-
related clubs and associations.
aV Drganize exchange programmes with other local and foreign business schools.
aV Drganize entrepreneurship-related competitions/projects among students, such as
identification of innovative business opportunities and business plan preparation to
re-orient students towards self- employment.

5) !)- 

Strengthen schools community/public relations, social and ethical responsibility and corporate
image.

aV Create a public affairs department with a full-time manager: see Appendix 7 for job
description and personnel specifications.
aV Design and implement media relations programmes, including media
encounters/soirees, briefing sessions, etc.
aV Develop social responsibility policies and programmes: offering scholarships and
other financial support to UGBS students and assisting others to obtain corporate
sponsorships and post-graduation employment.
aV Plan and implement periodic outreach programmes in the immediate community, e.g.
³business management clinics´ for micro and small-scale entrepreneurs, using staff
and students and given wide publicity.
aV Provide research and consultancy, training and other extension services to
community businesses at reduced fee to encourage them to adopt good management
practices.
aV Drganize BHJCR/GRASSAG members to participate in community projects, clean-
ups, and similar community-improvement activities; sensitize students.
aV UGBS Faculty and Senior Administrative staff to participate in radio and TV
programmes.
aV Invite selected community leaders such as MP, Assemblymen, chiefs and other
community leaders to participate in some extra-curricula activities in the school.
 aV Undertake period career counseling and mentorship programmes for youth in
selected educational institutions in the community.
aV Strengthen and expand management day programme and encourage more
participation by general public.
aV Attend to requests from rest of the university community for consultancy/advisory
services and management training and development programmes. Create awareness
of these facilities among target customers.

6c2& 

Actively market and disseminate information about the school and its academic
programmes/courses, research, consultancy, skills training and development activities and other
services.

aV Promote the school¶s academic and other programmes and activities through special
flyers, brochures and the print and electronic media.
aV Produce a special documentary on the school, highlighting its programmes/services,
human resource capabilities, facilities, etc.
aV Drganize regular public lectures/forums on Ghanaian business challenges and
solutions, with extensive media coverage and corporate sponsorship.
aV Encourage faculty to comment on and issue out well-reasoned position papers on
critical national policies and programmes e.g. budget statement.
aV Put all academic and research programmes and achievements on the school¶s
Website.
aV Prepare and disseminate a written capability profile of the school in brochure form
and on-line.

# c

Establish and/or strengthen mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the school¶s performance
in all aspects of its operations and initiating the necessary corrective/improvement actions.

aV Institute a stakeholder-performance scorecard system (using questionnaire survey) by

which the school¶s internal and external stakeholders evaluate and indicate their level
 of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the school¶s academic programmes, facilities,
leadership, relations, other aspects of its operations and quality of its
output/graduates.
aV Introduce a formal complaint and suggestion system (suggestion Box) to receive
stakeholder complaints, comments and suggestions on an on-going basis.
aV Design and implement a management audit system: comprehensive, systematic,
independent and periodic examination of the schools internal and external
environment, mission, vision, objectives and core values as well as its strategies and
overall operations//activities, with a view to determining problem areas and
opportunities, and recommending corrective/improvement measures: to be carried
out by external consultants in 2009/2010 and every three years thereafter.

 ' )

Diversity funding sources to financially empower the school to implement its growth and
development and development and development and overall performance agenda.

aV Pursue aggressive fund-raising to tap into previously unexploited sources such as

foundations, sponsors, donors, international endowment funds, etc.
aV Make regular appeals to known Alumni and/or their organizations for assistance in
cash and kind.
aV Access the Ghana education trust fund (GETFUND) and other corporate bodies to
provide some funding for facilities: e.g. large capacity luxury but to support schools
study visits programme.
aV Strengthen school¶s research, consultancy, training and development and other
extension activities and aggressively pursue jobs.
aV Lobby government to allow the school (and the whole university) to charge realistic
fees that allow for sustained investment in facilities whilst introducing innovative
schemes to ensure wide access (e.g. to brilliant but needy students). a key
recommended action in the university of Ghana¶s strategic plan.
aV Institute and attain full-cost recovery by ensuring that all courses are properly costed:
a key proposed action in university of Ghana¶s strategic plan.
 aV Develop and run short summer/vacation courses.
aV Make responsible/viable commercial investments.
aV Increase in-take of fee-paying EMBA, MPA, MBA and undergraduate students:
contingent on expansion of facilities and academic staff.

The above key strategic thrusts and the key actions or activities necessary to implement them and
achieve the schools mission, vision, core values and objectives are set out in an action plan
matrix (Appendix 6), indicating responsibility for each action, expected outcome or output and
time-frame for completing the assignment. The plan assigns primary as well as
secondary/supporting responsibility for each action under the various key strategic thrusts.
Primary responsibilities are assigned to individuals or committees in the school best suited, in
terms of authority and expertise, to ensuring that further detailed plans/activities are drawn up to
implement he various actions in the matrix and deliver on the objectives(s) underlying the key
strategic thrusts.

nd a compatible technology strategy and sourcing strategy.