Features
Strategic collaboration will safeguard cocoa industry
Strategic collaboration implies that two or more organisations or individuals will come together to work in the interest of parties in order to be able to achieve their purpose whenever they are faced with certain challenges or obstacles which they need to overcome to promote their common interest.
It may be possible for an individual to adopt a method that will help to promote the interest of that individual, but this cannot always be successful depending on prevailing circumstances. Whenever circumstances are highly unfavourable, an individual may not be able to come out with an option that may be as effective as expected to overcome the challenge.
Challenges
As a nation, Ghana has been faced with a number of challenges over the years. In 1983, for example, the country experienced a number of bush fires in various parts which resulted in food shortage in the country at the time. Prior to this, that is, in the late 1970’s, there had been similar food shortages in the country even though early on the Acheampong government had successfully introduced what was known as “Operation Feed Yourself”.
The “Operation Feed Yourself” was an agricultural programme that was introduced to encourage people to go into farming and produce enough to feed their families. Every available space in people’s backyard was to be utilised to produce food for the family. The programme proved to be very successful from 1973 to about 1975. By 1977, hunger had started to hit the country again, making the Acheampong government very unpopular.
Maximises production
These past challenges in the area of agriculture have guided Ghanaians to realise the need to maximise production in the agricultural sector so as to be able to feed themselves and possibly export food to other countries. Even though some governments that followed did not learn any lesson from this, the government of Akufo-Addo appears to have learnt something from what was experienced in the late 1970’s and also in the early 1980’s, hence the introduction of “Planting For Food and Jobs” and other programmes to alleviate the plight of the Ghanaian.
The challenges faced by the country in the early 70s and 80s could not be used to guide subsequent governments that were put in charge of the administration of this country. For this reason, the agricultural sector did not see much improvement.
Similarly, other challenges have emerged to confront the country today in spite of the successes chalked by this country. For example, for many years, cocoa had served as the backbone of the economy of Ghana, providing for many of its socio-economic needs to enhance the welfare of the people. Understood in this sense, the cocoa industry is vitally linked to the growth and welfare of the country. If the cocoa industry does well, the whole national economy also does well to the benefit of everyone.
Cocoa industry beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of the cocoa industry are numerous. Cocoa farmers in the country will be the first to emphasise that it is the industry that has sustained them and their families up to this time. Again, many cocoa processing companies have benefited from the industry by way of employment and incomes that have been earned over the years.
Also, as a nation, the country has earned substantial sums of income in form of foreign exchange to undertake numerous development projects. The building of hospitals and construction of roads as well as schools and tertiary institutions, among others, have all been made possible as a result of the earnings from cocoa over the years.
Cocoa Board Scholarship
It is equally important to note that it is earnings from cocoa that enabled Ghana to establish Cocoa Board Scholarship for many students. This assisted many of them to pursue their educational dreams and to prepare them adequately to become useful citizens.
All these are indications of the great strategic role that has been played by the cocoa industry to the economy of Ghana. It is for this reason that every effort will have to be made to protect the industry. If this is not done and the industry suffers, the effect will be disastrous for the country.
In recent times, we have heard of stories threatening the foundations of the industry in the sense that the operation of illegal small-scale mining is adversely affecting the soil on which the cocoa crop is grown. The industry has been threatened also with deforestation which is affecting the cocoa industry. Apart from deforestation, illegal small-scale mining has also adversely affected waterbodies in the country. It has even been predicted that a few years from now, if the situation is not checked, Ghana will be forced to import water.
Reversing the unfavourable trend
What this means is that strenuous effort will have to be made to reverse this unfavourable trend so that the cocoa industry will be safeguarded. This does not depend only on Ghana or Cote d’Ivoire who are the major cocoa producing countries but all other countries that also serve as consumers of the cocoa product as well as the processes.
The collapse of the cocoa industry is, therefore, a threat to many countries in the world. It is for this reason that a collective effort is needed to right every wrong that is plaguing the cocoa industry. It is in the light of this that Ghana and cocoa and chocolate companies have announced an agreement to accelerate collaboration to protect and restore forests in cocoa-growing areas.
With this agreement, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Forestry Commission of Ghana (GFC) are building a partnership to further align the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP) and the Cocoa & Forests Initiative to achieve no deforestation commitments. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by GFC and WCF, commits the parties to working together in six regions where the government of Ghana has initiated action to protect and restore forests as a priority.
Economic importance of cocoa
The importance of cocoa to the economy of Ghana cannot be overemphasised. This is because the cash crop is a major source of foreign exchange for the country. Again, as has been pointed out already, it is money from cocoa that is used to build hospitals and roads for the benefit of the country.
About 800,000 small scale cocoa farmers make up 60 per cent of the country’s agricultural base. However, despite their importance to Ghana’s development, many cocoa farming families live in poverty, a situation that ought to be changed without delay.
In a nutshell, cocoa is the backbone of the economy of Ghana. If this is the case, then Ghana together with other partners will have to do all it can to revive the cocoa industry from collapse. This can be done, so let all the partners work assiduously for our common good and welfare.
Dr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
Features
Fix It Fast or Lose Them Forever: The Ever-Rising Importance of Service Recovery in Competitive Industries
Yes, in literature and in practice, differences exist regarding customer service, service failures, and service recovery.
But have you ever considered the latter (service recovery) and its potential impact on service experience, brand building, and sustainable growth?
Well, in today’s fiercely competitive service economy, customer experience has become one of the most powerful determinants of business survival and long-term success.
Across industries, from aviation and banking to telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, retail, and digital platforms, customers now expect fast, seamless, and reliable service delivery at every touchpoint.
Yet despite technological advancements and operational improvements, service failures remain inevitable.
Systems experience downtime, deliveries are delayed, reservations are misplaced, payments fail, customer inquiries go unanswered, employees mishandle interactions, and digital platforms experience disruptions.
In the midst of these, what increasingly separates successful organisations from struggling ones is not whether failures occur, but how quickly and effectively they recover when they do.
Service Recovery
Simply put, it is the process of fixing a service problem and restoring customer confidence after a failure has occurred.
Examples of service recoveries are; an airline offering compensation after a flight delay, a telecom company restoring interrupted service and providing bonus data, a restaurant replacing a wrongly prepared meal at no extra cost, a hotel upgrading a guest’s room after a booking problem, and finally a bank reversing an erroneous transaction and apologising promptly.
As competition intensifies and customer expectations continue to rise, service recovery is rapidly evolving from a routine customer service function into a critical strategic capability.
Businesses are discovering a hard truth of the modern marketplace: fix customer problems quickly, or risk losing them permanently.
Customers are More Powerful Now Than Ever
Customers now possess more power than at any other time in business history. Digital technology, social media, online reviews, and mobile connectivity have fundamentally changed customer behaviour.
Consumers now easily compare competitors instantly, publicly share negative experiences, switch providers with ease, and influence the purchasing decisions of thousands of others online.
This evolution has made customer loyalty increasingly fragile. A single poor experience can quickly damage years of brand-building effort.
In highly competitive sectors where products and pricing are often similar, customer experience has emerged as one of the few sustainable competitive advantages.
Modern customers no longer evaluate organisations solely by product quality or pricing. Increasingly, they judge businesses by their responsiveness, reliability, transparency, empathy, and effectiveness in resolving problems.
Why Service Recovery Matters More Than Ever
Failures are no longer viewed as isolated operational incidents, especially in competitive service sectors. They are moments that directly influence customer trust, brand perception, and future purchasing behaviour.
Research across service industries consistently demonstrates that customers are often willing to forgive mistakes when organisations respond quickly, communicate honestly, show empathy, and resolve issues effectively.
Conversely, poor recovery experiences frequently create stronger dissatisfaction than the original service failure itself.
For many businesses, the greatest reputational damage does not arise from operational errors, but from delayed responses, poor communication, lack of accountability, and unresolved customer frustrations.
This has elevated service recovery into a central component of customer relationship management and competitive strategy.
Speed, a Competitive Weapon
In the modern service economy, speed is no longer merely operational efficiency; it is a basic customer expectation.
Consumers increasingly expect: immediate responses, real-time updates, fast complaint resolution, and proactive communication. Delays are often interpreted as incompetence, indifference, or organisational inefficiency.
Consequently, organisations are redesigning their service recovery frameworks to prioritize rapid intervention and customer reassurance.
A cursory assessment revealed that some businesses now operate dedicated customer experience teams, 24/7 support systems, AI-powered service platforms, automated escalation systems, and real-time issue monitoring dashboards.
The ability to resolve customer problems quickly is now a major source of competitive differentiation.
Technology Is Transforming Recovery Strategies
Technology is fundamentally reshaping how organisations manage service recovery. Across industries, companies are leveraging artificial intelligence, customer analytics, chatbots, predictive monitoring systems, and integrated digital support platforms.
These tools allow organisations to identify service failures earlier, monitor customer dissatisfaction, automate responses, personalize engagement, and accelerate resolution timelines.
Some organisations now proactively contact customers before complaints are formally lodged, using analytics to identify service disruptions in real time.
This means that the future of service recovery is increasingly preventive rather than purely reactive.
Service Recovery as a Brand Strategy
Forward-looking organisations are now treating service recovery as part of brand management strategy rather than operational damage control.
The logic is straightforward because, acquiring new customers is expensive, dissatisfied customers influence others, and loyalty is increasingly experience-driven.
Businesses are therefore measuring customer satisfaction, response times, complaint resolution rates, customer retention, and net promoter scores more aggressively than before.
In many industries, service recovery performance is now discussed at executive and board levels because of its direct relationship with profitability, reputation, and long-term growth.
A call to action
As industries become more digital, interconnected and customer-driven, service recovery will likely become even more important.
Therefore, organisations that succeed in the future will likely be those that respond rapidly, communicate transparently, empower employees, leverage technology intelligently, treat customers fairly, and place their (customers’) trust at the centre of recovery strategies.
Remember, customers now have more choices, less patience, and greater influence than ever before, a clear message to forward-looking organisations that when service breaks down, recovery is everything. Fix it fast or risk losing customers forever.
Writer: Mohammed Ali
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
