Understanding the nature, structure and relationships that make up the gold mining industry in Ghana: A multi-framing, multi-level exploration

10.26686/wgtn.16968175.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Edward Johnson

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Gold Mining ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Theory Of Constraints ◽

Mining Sector ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Wide Range

The gold mining industry in Ghana is characterised by complexity in terms of its extended/sequential operations, its system-wide reach, its multiple stakeholders, and the variety of formal and informal organisations that constitute the industry. Perceptions of the industry differ considerably amongst stakeholders, depending on their stakes and interests, knowledge, understanding, involvement and agency within or without the sector. Studies of the industry to date have overlooked these diverse viewpoints and used limited-scope, single-frame analyses. However, they have highlighted wide-ranging industry issues that impact the diversity of stakeholders, which could benefit from a fuller and more comprehensive analysis. This study addresses this need by adopting a multi-framing systems-based approach. Data was examined and analysed through a variety of systems-based lenses and frames, including a stakeholder analysis (SA) frame, a causal loop modelling (CLM) frame, supply chain analysis (SCA) frame and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Thinking Processes analytical frames lenses. First the Current Reality Tree (CRT) tool of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) was used to synthesise information from the literature examined, providing an initial provisional CRT model. Interview data was collected by sharing and seeking feedback to the CRT model at multiple levels of the industry, giving voice to stakeholders throughout the sector. Subsequent analysis used all the modelling frameworks mentioned above in a multi-framing analysis. In particular, the evaporating cloud (EC) tool from TOC was used to structure and develop potential solutions to conflict highlighted by the literature review, the SA, SCA and CLM. Building on this, a final CRT was developed, and a goal tree (GT) used to design the desired future whilst employing the future reality tree (FRT) to test the plausibility of solutions from the EC to deliver the desired future. The prerequisite tree (PRT) was then used to identify obstacles and intermediate objectives that must be overcome for successful transition to the desired future. Insights from the research shows a desire by multi-national large scale-gold mining companies and government alike to minimise adverse impacts and maximise the sector’s outcomes for key stakeholders, including those at the community level. However, the research has documented many instances of actions taken to address issues and improve outcomes that have instead resulted in unresolved dilemmas and paradoxes, failing to achieve desired outcomes. A number of factors have been identified as being responsible for these situations. Key amongst them is a limited understanding to deliver desired outcome for stakeholders without compromises, a focus on short-term goals, no collective effort, and arms-length/win-lose relationships amongst the Ghanaian stakeholders of the industry. The study’s concluding findings and results allow decision makers to benefit significantly from the study through its recommendations and showcasing of tools that may allow them to make sound decisions and address endogenous and exogenous cause-effect relationships limiting desirable outcomes from actions taken. Theoretical and knowledge-based contributions are made by conceptualising and offering evidence for three key factors or dimensions that can explain a significant number of issues limiting desirable outcomes for stakeholders of the gold mining industry. These include difficulty to transition from theory (espoused aims) to practice, a relative focus on local optima (silo thinking), poor monitoring (lack of evaluation), and a control culture. Methodological contributions are made by demonstrating the application of a multi-framing approach in a more organic and iterative manner as opposed to its use in a designed sequence, working down through layers of various systemic levels of an industry (in this case, the gold mining industry in Ghana). By so doing, the study builds on and extends the practicality of the multi-framing approach and stimulates further research in the field. In terms of its contribution to practice, the study provides Government, political and mining sector policy decision makers, and other interested actors, with a platform for understanding the sector in order to support their decision making about the industry to ultimately improve outcomes for key stakeholders. In particular, the study allows mining sector policy decision makers and other stakeholders to recognise complexity, uncertainty and conflicts that are embedded in the mining system and in their everyday decision-making activities about the industry. It also allows these stakeholders to become more aware that such issues can be addressed and improved by identifying and focusing on one or few underlying causes. This thesis draws on systems-based frameworks drawn both from functional management, for example, the supply chain and value chain frameworks of operations management and the stakeholder framework of strategic management, and from the broad domain of systems thinking (ST) and systems-based methodologies; and then focuses on the intersection of these frameworks in relation to the gold mining sector in Ghana. Due to the wide range of techniques applied, none are over-explored, creating potential for further research. On the other hand, with regard to explanations, depending on background, practitioners, and researchers familiar with some techniques may consider those sections over-explained. The researcher has sought a balance for the purpose of this study. Whilst limiting the scope of this work has been necessary in the context of doctoral study, topics ripe for future research are set out in the conclusion.

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Understanding the nature, structure and relationships that make up the gold mining industry in Ghana: A multi-framing, multi-level exploration

10.26686/wgtn.16968175.v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Edward Johnson

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Gold Mining ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Theory Of Constraints ◽

Mining Sector ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Wide Range

The gold mining industry in Ghana is characterised by complexity in terms of its extended/sequential operations, its system-wide reach, its multiple stakeholders, and the variety of formal and informal organisations that constitute the industry. Perceptions of the industry differ considerably amongst stakeholders, depending on their stakes and interests, knowledge, understanding, involvement and agency within or without the sector. Studies of the industry to date have overlooked these diverse viewpoints and used limited-scope, single-frame analyses. However, they have highlighted wide-ranging industry issues that impact the diversity of stakeholders, which could benefit from a fuller and more comprehensive analysis. This study addresses this need by adopting a multi-framing systems-based approach. Data was examined and analysed through a variety of systems-based lenses and frames, including a stakeholder analysis (SA) frame, a causal loop modelling (CLM) frame, supply chain analysis (SCA) frame and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Thinking Processes analytical frames lenses. First the Current Reality Tree (CRT) tool of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) was used to synthesise information from the literature examined, providing an initial provisional CRT model. Interview data was collected by sharing and seeking feedback to the CRT model at multiple levels of the industry, giving voice to stakeholders throughout the sector. Subsequent analysis used all the modelling frameworks mentioned above in a multi-framing analysis. In particular, the evaporating cloud (EC) tool from TOC was used to structure and develop potential solutions to conflict highlighted by the literature review, the SA, SCA and CLM. Building on this, a final CRT was developed, and a goal tree (GT) used to design the desired future whilst employing the future reality tree (FRT) to test the plausibility of solutions from the EC to deliver the desired future. The prerequisite tree (PRT) was then used to identify obstacles and intermediate objectives that must be overcome for successful transition to the desired future. Insights from the research shows a desire by multi-national large scale-gold mining companies and government alike to minimise adverse impacts and maximise the sector’s outcomes for key stakeholders, including those at the community level. However, the research has documented many instances of actions taken to address issues and improve outcomes that have instead resulted in unresolved dilemmas and paradoxes, failing to achieve desired outcomes. A number of factors have been identified as being responsible for these situations. Key amongst them is a limited understanding to deliver desired outcome for stakeholders without compromises, a focus on short-term goals, no collective effort, and arms-length/win-lose relationships amongst the Ghanaian stakeholders of the industry. The study’s concluding findings and results allow decision makers to benefit significantly from the study through its recommendations and showcasing of tools that may allow them to make sound decisions and address endogenous and exogenous cause-effect relationships limiting desirable outcomes from actions taken. Theoretical and knowledge-based contributions are made by conceptualising and offering evidence for three key factors or dimensions that can explain a significant number of issues limiting desirable outcomes for stakeholders of the gold mining industry. These include difficulty to transition from theory (espoused aims) to practice, a relative focus on local optima (silo thinking), poor monitoring (lack of evaluation), and a control culture. Methodological contributions are made by demonstrating the application of a multi-framing approach in a more organic and iterative manner as opposed to its use in a designed sequence, working down through layers of various systemic levels of an industry (in this case, the gold mining industry in Ghana). By so doing, the study builds on and extends the practicality of the multi-framing approach and stimulates further research in the field. In terms of its contribution to practice, the study provides Government, political and mining sector policy decision makers, and other interested actors, with a platform for understanding the sector in order to support their decision making about the industry to ultimately improve outcomes for key stakeholders. In particular, the study allows mining sector policy decision makers and other stakeholders to recognise complexity, uncertainty and conflicts that are embedded in the mining system and in their everyday decision-making activities about the industry. It also allows these stakeholders to become more aware that such issues can be addressed and improved by identifying and focusing on one or few underlying causes. This thesis draws on systems-based frameworks drawn both from functional management, for example, the supply chain and value chain frameworks of operations management and the stakeholder framework of strategic management, and from the broad domain of systems thinking (ST) and systems-based methodologies; and then focuses on the intersection of these frameworks in relation to the gold mining sector in Ghana. Due to the wide range of techniques applied, none are over-explored, creating potential for further research. On the other hand, with regard to explanations, depending on background, practitioners, and researchers familiar with some techniques may consider those sections over-explained. The researcher has sought a balance for the purpose of this study. Whilst limiting the scope of this work has been necessary in the context of doctoral study, topics ripe for future research are set out in the conclusion.

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Trends and Perspectives of PRC's Energy Policy Making Institutions and Policies

International Area Review ◽

10.1177/223386590901200206 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 111-124

Author(s):

Chulwon Lee

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Policy Making ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Policy Debate ◽

Wide Range ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

Future Direction ◽

The Impact

The future direction of China's approach to energy policy making is, of course, difficult to predict. This is due not only to the opaque and fragmented nature of Chinese energy policy decision-making, but also to the fact that energy policy is a new topic for China's leaders and the individuals they rely on for advice to master that impinges on the interests of actors throughout the Chinese bureaucracy. The wide range of participants in the energy policy debate indicates that more diversified views on it probably reach the top leadership. The impact of the multiplicity of opinions is two-fold. It can result in more informed decision-making, but it can also delay the process as decision makers must assess a larger number of competing and sometimes contradictory views.

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Bridging the research–implementation gap: Mainstreaming biodiversity into the South African mining sector

Bothalia ◽

10.4102/abc.v48i1.2265 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Holness ◽

Anthea Stephens ◽

Aimee Ginsburg ◽

Emily Botts ◽

Amanda Driver ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Training Programme ◽

Mining Sector ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Wide Range ◽

Policy Relevant Science ◽

The Impact ◽

Biodiversity Information

Background: ‘Mainstreaming biodiversity’ aims to integrate biodiversity priorities directly into the policies and practices of production sectors, including the mining sector. In South Africa, the need emerged for a biodiversity guideline specifically relevant to the mining sector that would interpret a wide range of available spatial biodiversity information and frame it in a user-friendly format.Objectives: The aim of this article was to document and review the development of the Mining and Biodiversity Guideline. This serves as a case study of a product developed to assist in bridging the gap between available biodiversity information and use of this information by a production sector.Methods: We examined the development of the Mining and Biodiversity Guideline with reference to three factors known to be beneficial to creating policy-relevant science: a sound scientific foundation (credibility), relevance to decision-making (salience) and involvement of stakeholders (legitimacy).Results: The Mining and Biodiversity Guideline was developed through collaboration between the mining and biodiversity sectors. It provides a tool that contributes to the sustainable development of South Africa’s mineral resources in a way that enables regulators, industry and practitioners to minimise the impact of mining on biodiversity and ecosystem services. It includes a single integrated map of biodiversity priority areas summarised into four sensitivity categories relevant for the mining industry, with detailed guidance on how these should inform the application of the mitigation hierarchy.Conclusion: The Mining and Biodiversity Guideline has received political endorsement from the relevant regulatory government departments. A focussed training programme has promoted awareness and understanding of the Guideline. Preliminary reports indicate that the Guideline has been effective in influencing decision-making.

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Role Theory in Politics and International Relations

The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190634131.013.29 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Marijke Breuning

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

International Relations ◽

Role Theory ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Human Beings ◽

Cognitive Limitations ◽

Wide Range

Role theory scholarship in politics and international relations (IR) seeks to understand decision-making from the perspective of the decision maker. That said, role theory scholarship has evolved over time. It has moved from an initial emphasis on the structural and institutional constraints that affect human behavior to a greater emphasis on the agency of human beings. In the past decade, role theory has re-emerged as an approach to the study of politics and IR. This new generation of scholarship places its emphasis on decision makers (or agents) while acknowledging that they are embedded in institutions (or structures). As such, role theory accepts the foundational characteristics of behavioral IR—which demands attention for the cognitive limitations of human decision makers, as well as their limited capacity to process information, and the various biases and heuristics that affect their reasoning. Role theory posits that theoretical models must simultaneously take into account the state’s material capabilities and the perceptions of decision makers, who bring their own biases and ideas (or maybe ideals) to the task of shaping foreign policy. Role theory enables scholars to model ideational factors alongside material ones and, in doing so, to improve understanding of the foreign policy decision-making of a wide range of states, including small(er) states, new states, and emerging powers.

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The Role of Analogical Reasoning in Novel Foreign-Policy Situations

British Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0007123400007596 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 523-552 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

David Patrick Houghton

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Analogical Reasoning ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Hostage Crisis ◽

Wide Range ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Policy Decision Making

A number of scholars have argued that historical analogizing plays an important role in foreign-policy decision making; the extent of that importance, however, remains largely a mystery to us. This article proposes that analogical reasoning is probably even more commonplace than previously thought, since it may play a crucial role even in ‘novel foreign policy situations’ (scenarios which appear largely unprecedented to the decision makers confronting them).One notable example of a novel foreign-policy situation is provided by the Iranian hostage crisis. Examining the Carter administration's decision-making processes during that crisis, the article concludes that even though many saw the hostage crisis as a unique occurrence, the participants drew upon a wide range of historical analogies in order to make sense of what was occuring and to propose suggested ‘solutions’ to the crisis.

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Studying the prominence effect amid the COVID-19 crisis: implications for public health policy decision-making.

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.27324.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 1356

Author(s):

Yossi Maaravi ◽

Ben Heller

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Matching Condition ◽

Decision Makers ◽

The Other ◽

Choice Condition ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Prominence Effect ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

The Cost

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought with it crucial policy- and decision-making situations, especially when making judgments between financial and health concerns. One particularly relevant decision-making phenomenon is the prominence effect, where decision-makers base their decisions on the most prominent attribute of the object at hand (e.g., health concerns) rather than weigh all the attributes together. This bias diminishes when the decision-making mode inhibits heuristic processes. In this study, we tested the prominence of health vs. financial concerns across two decision-making modes - choice (prone to heuristics) and matching (mitigates heuristics) - during the peak of the COVID-19 in the UK using Tversky et al.’s classic experimental paradigm. We added to the classic experimental design a priming condition. Participants were presented with two casualty-minimization programs, differing in lives saved and costs: program X would save 100 lives at the cost of 55-million-pound sterling, whereas program Y would save 30 lives at the cost of 12-million-pound sterling. Half of the participants were required to choose between the programs (choice condition). The other half were not given the cost of program X and were asked to determine what the cost should be to make it as equally attractive as the program Y. Participants in both groups were primed for either: a) financial concerns; b) health concerns; or c) control (no priming). Results showed that in the choice condition, unless primed for financial concerns, health concerns are more prominent. In the matching condition, on the other hand, the prominence of health concerns did not affect decision-makers, as they all “preferred” the cheaper option. These results add further support to the practical relevance of using the proper decision-making modes in times of consequential crises where multiple concerns, interests, and parties are involved.

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IT in Manufacturing and Logistics for SCM and OP in SMEs

10.46532/jebm.20201204 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 109-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wei Hung ◽

Yao-Wen Hsu

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Information Technology ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Statistical Analysis ◽

Organizational Performance ◽

Manufacturing Sector ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Chain Management ◽

Modern Age ◽

Wide Range

This analysis focusses on the effects of Information Technology (IT) and how it significantly affects the Supply Chain Management (SCM) in logistics and manufacturing-Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Apart from that, our purpose is to evaluate how IT affects the Organizational Performance (OP) in the enterprises. Irrespective of the fact that IT cannot be applied in every enterprise, the findings in this research are based on the statistical analysis which shows that a wide-range of workforce in the modern age has adopted the initiative considering the complexities of SCM and mostly to maximize OP in the enterprises. This research was done based on the analysis of SMEs in logistics and manufacturing sector in India. The sample used to conduct this research makes it valid to draw assumptions that managers and CEOs are responsible for coordinating enterprise operations in SMEs. The evaluation in this research shows that the workforce is obliged to formulate strategies to allow employees to enhance their competency of IT. In that regard, the findings are essential for the enhancement of the decision-making process, SCM and OP.

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Foreign Policy Decision Making

10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.398 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James M. Goldgeier

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

International Relations ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Political Processes ◽

Patterns Of Behavior ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

The Cold War

Decision makers, acting singly or in groups, influence the field of international relations by shaping the interactions among nations. It is therefore important to understand how those decision makers are likely to behave. Some scholars have developed elegant formal theories of decision making to demonstrate the utility of rational choice approaches in the study of international relations, while others have chosen to explain the patterns of bias that exist when leaders face the difficult task of making decisions and formulating policy. Among them are Herbert Simon, who introduced “bounded rationality” to allow leaders to short-circuit the decision process, and Elizabeth Kier, who has shown how organizational cultures shaped the development of military doctrine during the interwar period. The literature on foreign policy decision making during the Cold War looked inside the black box to generate analyses of bureaucratic politics and individual mindsets. Because decision making involves consensus seeking among groups, leaders will often avoid making choices so that they will not antagonize key members of the bureaucracy. Scholars have also investigated the role of “policy entrepreneurs” in the decision-making process, bringing individual agents into organizational, diplomatic and political processes. Over time, the field of policy decision making has evolved to help us understand not only why leaders often calculate so poorly but even more importantly, why systematic patterns of behavior are more or less likely under certain conditions.

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Decision Optimization and Interest Coordination of Dual-Channel Supply Chain Embedded by Two-Echelon Logistics Service Providers under the Dominance of Retailer

Mathematical Problems in Engineering ◽

10.1155/2020/3020315 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Jianjun Zhang ◽

Daning Xing

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Service Providers ◽

Sensitivity Coefficient ◽

Service Level ◽

Profit Sharing ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Coordination Mechanism ◽

Supply Chain System ◽

Decentralized Decision Making

Taking the dual-channel supply chain embedded by two-echelon logistics service providers as the research object, this paper studies the optimal decisions of each decision maker under the centralized and decentralized decision-making mode led by the retailer. Based on the decentralized decision-making mode, an improved coordination mechanism of residual profit sharing is designed to realize the interest coordination, in which the bargaining power of all participants is fully considered. The results show that, under the decentralized decision-making mode, the profit of FLSP increases first and then decreases as the sensitivity coefficient of cross-service level increases, while the profits of other decision makers and the supply chain system decrease with the increase of sensitivity coefficient of cross-service level. The relative size of the price sensitivity coefficient of online and offline channel has an inconsistent impact on the profit of FLSP, while it has a consistent impact on the profits of other decision makers. The profit of FLSP fluctuates greatly with changes in the sensitivity coefficient, and it is difficult to be guaranteed in the entire supply chain system. On this basis, an improved coordination mechanism of residual profit sharing is designed. The results show that, after the introduction of bargaining power coefficient of the Nash negotiation model, the variation coefficient of the profits of all decision makers is smaller after coordination, and the profit growth rates are more uniform.

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