Prioritise a robust culture for business success- Ken Thompson

Mr Kenneth Thompson, Director of Dalex Finance, thought leader on business and economic matters and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has challenged businesses in Ghana to prioritize the development of a robust organizational culture to ensure their survival.

Many Ghanaian businesses grapple with establishing a positive organizational culture among their staff, resulting in various challenges which negatively impact the organisation.

Speaking on the “Doing Business in Ghana” series on Zed 101.9fm, Mr Thompson emphasized the importance of investing in a strong organizational culture, highlighting that effective business strategies are futile without the right cultural foundation.

“If you want to succeed , make sure your culture is right and making painstaking effort to get it into your team. If you want results, do things the right way.” he added.

Mr Thompson who made it clear that he did not accept the notion that Ghanaian are a certain way in a business environment maintained that “Culture influences behaviour but a lot depends on the culture an organisation has, but a culture of an organisation is one that’s enduring, affects execution of strategies, it influences leadership and so in business culture is very important.”

He stressed the importance of business owners getting their team to be involved in the matters of the organisation , because, “it’s the team that wins.”

Business is war and both employees and the employers must take it seriously.

Business owners must prioritise training to ingrain the culture of their businesses into their staff. They must look for knowledge from wherever knowledge is, apply and keep researching till you find what works and gives results.

According to Mr Thompson “results is everything and is all that matters” and it’s important to carry everyone including the cleaner along.

Using the case and experience of Dalex Finance, Mr Thompson explained that he built a culture of hardwork, discipline, zero tolerance for inefficiency, laziness and absenteeism at work.

The Dalex Director observed that the average Ghanaian business owner appreciates that culture is important but isn’t ready to put in the resources or investments to get a culture that will help achieve results.