BY: OPEYEMI GBADEBO

PROFESSOR PIGATT
CSIT 120

Capital City
AccraisthecapitalandlargestcityofGhana,with

anestimatedurbanpopulationof2.27million.

Primary language and Religion

Tourist Attraction 1
Fullerwaterfallsisa

fierceandmagnificent
plungeonatwo-tierrock
piletogiveaperfect
whirlatthebottom.

Tourist Attraction 2

KakumNationalParkisanaturalpark
thatgivesatasteofundisturbedvirgin
rainforest.Ithasexcellentwalktours
throughtheforestprovidingvisitors
theopportunityofGhana'sindigenous
plantlife.Otherhighlightsinclude
treetopcanopywalkwayandbird
watching.

National Cuisine

Fufu:madewithaflourmadefrom
thecassavaplantorother
alternativesflour,such
assemolinaormaizeflour..Fufu
iseatenwithfingers,andasmall
ballofitcanbedippedintoan
accompanyingsouporsauce.

Jollof Rice: Rice mixed tomatoes

and tomato paste, onions, salt,
and hot red pepper and nearly
any kind of meat, vegetable,
or spice can be added.

Stereotypes By Americans

Ghanaianshaveareputationfor
welcomingforeigners,andpeople
frequentlystartingupwithafriendly
conversations.

Foreignersareuniversallytreated
withgreatfriendlinessandtolerance
inGhana.Racialdiscriminationis
generallynotaproblem,butsome
Caucasianexchangestudentshave
reportedfeelingracialdiscrimination
againstthem.Thisisduetoseveral
kindsofmisunderstandings.

Superstitions

Superstitionscanbedefinedasbeliefsorpractices
resultingfromignorance,fearoftheunknown,trustin
magicorchance,orfalseconceptionofcausation.

ExamplesofSuperstitionsinGhana:

1.

Ifyousinginthebathroom,yourmotherorfatherwill
die.(Theydontwantustoswallowthesoapywater).

2.

Unlessyouarethemother,fatheroracloserelative,a
newborncannotbeseenuntiltheseventhday.(For
protectionagainstblackmagic).

Hand Gestures in Ghana

Hand holding

In Ghana this is a sign of

friendship. Boys hold
hands with boys, and it is
not seen as gay or
anything. Couples do not
show physical intimacy
in public. If you see a boy
and a girl holding hands
they are probably
brother and sister. When
someone grabs you hand
it means they have taken
you as a friend.

Handshake, Rubbing Middle

Fingers, and Then Snapping

Thisisthehandshake
ofgoodfriends.It
stepsawayfrom
formalitiesandshows
adegreeofcloseness.
IcannotsnapsoI
couldnotperfectit,
butjusttryingseemed
tosuffice.Atleastit
gotafewlaughs.

Business Culture- Etiquette

and Body Language

Ghanaiansaregenerallypolite,warm,andformalintheir
businessinteractionsanddealings.

ThemostcommonbusinessgreetinginGhanaisa
handshakewiththerighthand,alongwithawarmsmile.
ManyGhanaianmenwillwaitforthewomantoextendher
handfirst,andmalevisitorsshoulddosoaswell.

InGhana,itisconsideredrudetonotacknowledge
someone,sovisitorsshouldverballygreeteachGhanaian
contactindividually.Handshakesarealsoexchangedwhen
departing.

Business Culture- Relationship

Building

RelationshipbuildingisveryimportantinGhana.

Mostbusinessdealsarebasedonpersonalconnectionsandthebusinessrelationship.

Ghanaiansusuallylookforbusinesscounterpartswhohavecompatiblepersonalitiesand
commongoals.Afterthepersonalityfitisaccepted,futurebusiness-specificmeetingswill
bescheduled.Evenafterthebusinessrelationshipisinplace,Ghanaianswillspendthefirst
partsofmeetingsconductingsmalltalkandniceties.

AfteryourGhanaiancontactgetstoknowyou,heorshewilloftenteaseyouinagoodnaturedmanner.MostGhanaiansenjoytellingjokes.

Butvisitorsshouldholdbackfromtellingtheirownjokesoranecdotesuntiltheytruly
understandGhanaianhumor.

Business cultureCommunicating styles in

decision making

ThebusinesscommunicationstyleinGhanaistypicallyconsidered
tobeindirect.BecauseGhanaiansareconcernedaboutsavingface
andpromotingharmonyinbusinessmatters,manyhaveavery
difficulttimesaying"no"oranythingnegative.

Onecommoncommunicationtoolinthesetypesofsituationsisthe
proverb,whichmanyGhanaiansusetoconveydifficultinformation
inatactful,respectfulway.

Whenanuncomfortablesilenceoccursduringameeting,many
Ghanaianswillusethissilenceistoconveytheyarenot
comfortablewithwhatisbeingdiscussed.Thesaying"Ifyoudon't
havesomethingnicetosay,don'tsayanythingatall"expresses
howGhanaiansfeelaboutcommunication.

Business Cultures- Power Structures,

in decisions making.

AllaspectsofGhanaianculturesaresetupindefined
hierarchies.

IftheheadoftheGhanaiancompanyisinchargeofmaking
decisions,heorshewillusuallyconsultwithothers,

Somevisitorsmayneverbeabletomeetwiththeactual
decisionmaker,andwillinsteadpresenttheirproposalsto
hisorherrepresentatives.

Thesecontactswillrelayinformationbackandforth
betweenthevisitorandthedecisionmaker.Thisisagood
reasontoberespectfulofallcontacts,andanotherreason
whydecisionmakinginGhanacanbesotimeconsuming.

Differences and Similarities in

Business Culture- Body Language

America
n
peoplegreeteach
otherwithan
embraceorkisson
thecheeks,orboth

Americansarenot
knowntobephysically
demonstrativewith
peopletheydon'tknow
well

Similariti
es

Ghana

Handshake

polite,warm,andformal
intheirbusiness
interactionsanddealings.

Smileinapolite
way

handshakewiththe
righthand,along
withawarmsmile.

Differences and Similarities in

Business Culture- Communication
Styles

America
n

Similariti
es

Direct

Face-face
meetings

Mostlydobusinessover
thephoneorvia-email

SpeaksEnglish
duringmeetings

Ghana
indirect
usethissilenceistoconvey
theyarenotcomfortablewith
whatisbeingdiscussed.
useproverbtoconvey
difficultinformationina
tactfulandrespectfulway.

Differences and Similarities in

Business Culture- Power
Structures

Internet penetration rate & Popular

Social Networks
InternetPenetrationRate:

5,171,993InternetusersonDec31,2014,19.6%ofthepopulation,perIWS.

1,630,420FacebooksubscribersforDec31/12,6.4%penetrationrate.

6.43MbpsBroadbanddownloadspeedonMarch2015,perNetIndex

PopularSocialNetworks:

Facebook-Onlinesocialnetworkthatmakesiteasyforyoutoconnectandsharewithyourfamilyand
friendsonline.

Kokoliko-biggestGhanaiansocialnetwork,Browsethecommunity,searchallprofilesforpeople,
viewtheirpictures,makefriendsandconnect.

Collectivism

InCollectivistsocietiespeoplebelong
toingroupsthattakecareofthemin
exchangeforloyalty.

Ghanaisacollectivisticsociety,
havingacloselong-termcommitment
tothemember'group',extended
family,orextendedrelationships.

Thesocietyfostersstrong
relationshipswhereeveryonetakes
responsibilityforfellowmembersof
theirgroup.

Large Power Distance

Powerdistanceisdefinedastheextent

towhichthelesspowerfulmembersof
institutionsandorganizationswithina
countryexpectandacceptthatpoweris
distributedunequally.
PeopleinGhanaacceptahierarchical

orderinwhicheverybodyhasaplace
andwhichneedsnofurtherjustification.

Strong Uncertainty Avoidance

UncertaintyAvoidance-Theextenttowhichthemembersofaculture
feelthreatenedbyambiguousorunknownsituationsandhavecreated
beliefsandinstitutions

Ghanaisahighuncertaintyavoidancewhichmaintainsrigidcodesof
andbehaviorandareintolerantofunorthodoxbehaviorandideas.

Thereisanemotionalneedforrules(eveniftherulesneverseemto
work)timeismoney,peoplehaveaninnerurgetobebusyandwork
hard,precisionandpunctualityarethenorm,innovationmaybe
resisted,securityisanimportantelementinindividualmotivation.

Femininity

Thefundamentalissuehereiswhatmotivatespeople,wanting
tobethebest(masculine)orlikingwhatyoudo(feminine).

Ghanaisafemininecountrywhichthefocusesonworkingin
ordertolive,managersstriveforconsensus,peoplevalue
equality,solidarityandqualityintheirworkinglives.

Conflictsareresolvedbycompromiseandnegotiation.
Incentivessuchasfreetimeandflexibilityarefavored.

Aneffectivemanagerisasupportiveone,anddecisionmaking
isachievedthroughinvolvement.

Individualism or Collectivism in
America and Ghana
America

An Individualist society- the

degree of interdependence a
society maintains among its
members.

People are only supposed to look

after themselves and their direct
family.

Ghana
ACollectivistsociety
Peoplebelongtoingroups

thattakecareofthemin
exchangeforunquestioning
loyalty.

Large or Small Power Distance in

America and Ghana
America

Ghana

LargePowerDistance

PeopleinGhanaaccepta
Large

Power Distance
Hierarchical

hierarchicalorderinwhich
everybodyhasaplaceand
whichneedsnofurther
justification.

Strong or weak Uncertainty

Avoidance in America and Ghana
America

America is a weak uncertainty avoidance.

Fair degree of acceptance for new ideas,
innovative products and a willingness to
try something new or different

Ghana

Tend to be more tolerant of ideas or

opinions from anyone and allow the
freedom of expression

Do not require a lot of rules and are less

emotionally expressive than higherscoring cultures.

Ghanaisahighuncertaintyavoidance
whichmaintainsrigidcodesofand
behaviorandareintolerantofunorthodox
behaviorandideas.

Thereisanemotionalneedforrules
(eveniftherulesneverseemtowork).

Masculinity or Femininity in America

and Ghana
America

Ghana

The fundamental issue here is what

motivates people, wanting to be the
best (masculine) or liking what you do
(feminine).

Thefundamentalissuehereiswhatmotivates
people,wantingtobethebest(masculine)or
liking what you do (feminine).

Femininesocietyisonewherequalityoflifeis
thesignofsuccessandstandingoutfromthe
crowdisnotadmirable.

Ghanaisafemininecountrywhichfocuseson
workinginordertolive,managersstrivefor
consensus,peoplevalueequality,solidarityand
qualityintheirworkinglives.

Masculine Society

The society will be driven by

competition, achievement and success,
with success being defined by the
winner or best-in-the-field.

Citations

Atu,A.(n.d.).THEHOFSTEDECENTRE.RetrievedMarch20,2015,from
http://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html

Atu,A.(n.d.).WhataboutGhana?RetrievedMarch20,2015,from
http://geert-hofstede.com/ghana.html

CountriesandTheirCultures.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch20,2015,from
http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Ghana.html

Attractions.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch20,2015,from
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/tourism/attraction.php

(n.d.).RetrievedMarch20,2015,from
http://0-www.globalroadwarrior.com.library.ccbcmd.edu/index.asp