international assignments in ghana

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Intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana: Modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition

Moses segbenya.

1 Department of Business Studies, College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Nana Yaw Oppong

2 Department of Human Resource Management, School of Business, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Associated Data

All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

This study examined intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana by modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition on such intentions. The cross-sectional survey design was used to sample 723 workers drawn from Northern Ghana. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the data collected. The study found from individual workers’ and developing economy perspectives that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting international assignments and expatriates’ intention to accept international assignments. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in international assignments. Cultural disposition was, however, found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates’ intention to accept an international assignment. It is therefore recommended that human resource managers should make international assignments attractive for workers and expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities prepare individuals for an international assignment.

Introduction

The competitive business environment continues to compel organisations to spread their activities abroad for growth. Multinational and transnational organisations have resulted in deploying workers/managers to international locations to push their organisational goals and objectives [ 1 ]. Assignee managers or staff, either with or without families, take up such responsibilities and positions in another country for a period of six months to five years [ 2 , 3 ]. Thus, international assignment in this context relates to dispatching employee/s by their organisation from their home country to take up an oversea task temporarily to work at overseas offices or companies. International assignments, thus, help organisations to promote global integration and competencies and build a global and mature workforce [ 4 , 5 ].

Meanwhile, the ability of organisations to achieve targets associated with international assignments largely depends on the success of assignees on the international assignment [ 6 ]. Several factors play influential roles in determining the success of expatriates or staff on international assignments [ 6 , 7 ]. Success in international assignments starts with the intention and motivation to take up an international assignment [ 8 ]. Studies have found that international positions and appointments not based on the motivation of assignees are often not successful [ 7 – 9 ]. Thus, human resource managers of multinational organisations need to pay attention to motivation among staff to take up an international assignment [ 2 , 10 ]. Factors that can motivate staff to take up international assignments can include remuneration, support for spouses and children and good organisational policies on returning to the home country after an international assignment [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. It stands to reason that in the absence of motivators, workers are likely going to be disinterested or demotivated to take up an international assignment.

Motivation or demotivation is not enough to explain the success of expatriates. For this reason, cultural disposition was found to have played a critical role in the success of international assignees [ 6 ]. Cultural disposition relates to the exposure of the assignee to other cultures, especially the culture of the host country of the international assignment [ 6 ]. The ability of expatriates to express themselves in the host country’s language and other aspects of its culture has the potential to ensure the success of expatriates [ 6 ]. Thus, cross-cultural training could play a critical role in enhancing the chances of an expatriate’s performance in an international assignment [ 8 ].

Ghana hosts branches or headquarters of several multinational and transnational organisations. Therefore, the human resource of these organisations can be described as either host country, home country, or third-country national. The filling of vacancies in overseas subsidiaries will continue to be an important issue for international human resource managers for the growth of their organisations [ 6 , 13 ]. While some workers are already exposed to international experience, others have yet to have such opportunities [ 3 , 14 ]. Those who have had expatriate or international experience by working on international assignments could have also learnt their lessons as to whether to take up a future international assignment of their organisations (expatriation or im-patriations) or other organisations in the form of self-initiated oversea assignment.

In this regard, workers’ intention towards an international assignment is key for international human resource managers to recruit for international assignments [ 14 , 15 ]. Workers’ intentions could be influenced by their cultural disposition and motivation to accept international assignments [ 11 ]. Alternatively, certain demotivators and failure in an earlier international assignment could explain the lack of motivation for an international assignment [ 8 , 13 , 16 ]. International human resource managers benefit from the knowledge of motivators or demotivators among workers who have international working exposure and those who do not.

Meanwhile, earlier studies by [ 17 – 23 ] have focused on cultural adjustment and expatriate performance, job satisfaction, expatriate’s spouse adjustment; and [ 22 , 24 ] on job insecurity, expatriate’s benefits. Though [ 24 – 27 ] delved into an intention to accept an international assignment, these studies were conducted from the organisational approach. Thus, individual and contextual (Ghanaian) perspectives were either not addressed or not adequately addressed. This is because individuals’ appreciation of motivating and demotivating factors as well as their disposition towards various cultures could differently influence their intention to accept international/expatriate assignments. It is also possible that individuals’ socio-demographics (either married or single, number of foreign languages individuals can speak) could influence workers’ decision to accept expatriate assignments. The individual perspective is deemed very important for this study because it could not just influence the intention to accept an international assignment but also ensure higher employee performance in an international assignment.

The novelty and motivation for this study are not limited to the individual perspective but also to bring to the fore how cultural disposition, motivating, and demotivating factors from a developing economy perspective are influencing acceptance of international assignments. For this reason, this study sought to contribute to the literature on international assignment and international human resource management by examining the intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana. This study specifically modelled the role of motivators, demotivators, and cultural disposition in predicting intention to accept an international assignment from individual and developing economy perspectives. Thus, the role of factors that could serve as motivators and demotivators, as well as the cultural disposition of workers, were examined from workers’ perspectives in terms of how these factors could influence their intention and performance. The next sections of the paper focus on the theoretical review, conceptual model and hypotheses development. Other issues addressed were the methodology, results and analysis, discussion of the results, implications, conclusions and recommendations.

Literature review

Theoretical review.

This study was guided by the Hofstede’s Cultural Model. The cultural model propounded by Geert Hofstede in 1980 was based on five pillars- power distance , individualism , masculinity; uncertainty avoidance; and long-term orientation [ 28 , 29 ]. Each of these five pillars has two dimensions-high or low, suggesting that the level of individual workers’ inclination towards these pillars could influence the intention to accept international assignments. The first pillar, which is power distance , relates to power distribution between subordinates and superiors or society. The subordinates and superiors are the same in low power distance society. However, in a high-power distance society like the study context (Ghana), power is unevenly distributed or centralised among a few people. Hence superiors are different from subordinates because the superiors have power, and subordinates need to accept and respect it [ 29 ].

The second pillar of Hofstede’s Cultural Model— Individualism/Collectivism , explains how individuals relate to a group. A society where individuals tend to focus on their own interests and that of the immediate family relates to an individualised culture [ 29 ]. However, where individuals respect and seek the good and respect the group that they belong, it is a collectivist society. The third dimension, masculinity or femininity , deals with what motivates people. In masculine society, people strive to be the best; they portray values such as competitiveness and performance in that masculine have sympathy for the successful achievers, However, in feminine culture, people have a concern with relationships and quality of life [ 29 ].

The fourth dimension- Uncertainty Avoidance- relates to the level to which individuals in society welcome uncertainty [ 28 ]. In high uncertainty avoidance society, individuals are afraid to take a risk for fear of failure, unlike in a low uncertainty avoidance society where individuals are ready to deal with any situation regardless of the outcome. The last dimension of the theory, termed as short/long-term orientation , is also explained the extent to which society shows a future-oriented perspective versus a short-term point of view. Thus, short-term profit concentration characterised society with short-term orientation whiles people of long-term orientation emphasise future growth. The Hofstede’s cultural model with the five dimensions revealed that the Ghanaian society that serves as the study context is largely inclined towards a high-power distance culture, collectivism culture, feminine culture, high uncertainty avoidance culture, and short-term orientation culture [ 28 , 29 ].

Conceptual model and hypotheses development

The discussion in this section will focus on the key variables of the study, which are cultural disposition, motivation, demotivation, and intention to accept an international assignment among workers. The review for each subsection will be associated with the specific hypothesis related to it.

Cultural disposition and intention for international assignment

Culture relates to a way of life and is described as “the collective programming of the mind which differentiates one group from the other” [ 28 ]. Culture could be classified into material, tangible and non-material or intangible cultures. Key components of culture are the structure of society, values, religion, education, personal communication, and physical environment. Generally, culture has the characteristics of being learned. Language as an essential component, sometimes abstract, a product of behaviour and shared by individuals. Other characteristics also include culture being shared by members of society; it is pervasive and variable. In terms of layers, culture has three basic layers -assumption/beliefs, norms, and values and lastly, behavioural or explicit layers. Thus, culture could be a national culture, organisational culture, corporate culture or professional culture. Workers will easily and gladly accept to work in jurisdictions with similar cultural settings [ 3 , 29 ]. Some workers see different cultural settings as problematic places requiring so much time and effort to acclimate if they accept an international assignment in such locations [ 29 ]. This means that an individual’s cultural disposition plays a role in accepting or rejecting an international assignment [ 5 , 30 ]. It also means that cultural disposition could be a motivator for contemplating accepting an international assignment [ 30 ]. It is for these reasons that this study hypothesised that:

• 1. H 1 : Cultural disposition has a statistically significant effect on the intention to participate in an international assignment .
• 2. H 1 : Cultural disposition has a statistically significant effect on motivation to accept an international assignment .

Demotivators and intention for international assignment

Demotivators to accepting international assignments are factors that make both companies and employees disinterested in expatriation. For this reason, [ 30 ] identified factors including adaptability/cross-culture adjustment, spouse and family concerns, and compensation/salary-related issues that are not managed well. [ 7 , 29 ] identified five factors that could serve as demotivators and lead to expatriate failure. These are job-related factors comprising r ole conflict, role novelty, role clarity and role direction, organisational factors including organisational culture novelty, social support from co-workers and superiors, and logistical support. Other categorisations were positional factors —hierarchical level, functional area and assignment vector; non-work factors -culture novelty and spouse/family adjustment; and individual factors including self-efficacy, relational and perceptual skills, previous international assignments, and language fluency [ 27 ]. If these factors are not framed well in an organisational policy and managed well, employees will not be motivated to take up an international assignment. To further assess how demotivators influence acceptance of an international assignment among workers in a developing economy perspective, this study hypothesised that:

• 3. H 1 : Demotivation among workers toward international assignments has a statistically significant effect on the intention to participate in an international assignment .

Motivation and intention for international assignment

Several studies have found that there are many factors that motivate workers to accept international assignments [ 24 , 29 , 31 ]. These motivators are tax equalisation, temporary living allowances, language and cross-cultural training, overseas healthcare plan, and host-country housing assistance [ 23 , 31 ]. Other motivating factors include career and repatriation planning, home leave allowances, rest and relaxation leave, spouse job assistance and child education allowance [ 13 , 24 ]. The Global Mobility Challenge Survey by Ernst and Young revealed the top five incentives that motivate workers to accept international acceptance. These were repatriation assistance, round-trip airfare to return home for family visits, a paid trip to visit the country before agreeing to move there, paid language training, and immigration assistance for a spouse to obtain employment. Thus, managers must be very concerned about using these factors to motivate intention to accept an international assignment. However, how these motivators influence workers in developing economies to accept an international assignment is not clear Meanwhile, motivation to accept an international assignment could also play a mediating role between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. This means that apart from motivation influencing intention directly, it could also play an indirect role between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. It is for this reason that this study hypothesis that:

• 4. H 1 : Motivation to accept international assignments among workers has a statistically significant relationship with the intention to participate in an international assignment .
• 5. H 1 : Motivation to accept international assignments among workers statistically significantly mediate the relationship between cultural disposition and intention to to participate in an international assignment.

Based on the review, a conceptual framework was designed to guide the study, as shown in Fig 1 .

Source: Field survey (2021).

Methodology

The study used a cross-sectional survey design [ 32 ]. A sample of 723 workers was drawn from workers in Ghana. Multi-stage sampling techniques [ 33 ] including stratified and simple random techniques, were deployed to sample the respondents to the research instrument. These were simple random sampling techniques and stratified sampling techniques. The study adopted the lottery method of the simple random sampling technique. The study employed a multi-stage sampling procedure. The first sampling technique was the simple random sampling technique, and the lottery type of simple random was adopted [ 34 ]. The second sampling technique adopted by this study was the proportional stratified sampling technique. Grouping of subjects in a population into the same characteristics (strata) is related to a stratified sample [ 35 ]. Another probability sampling technique (cluster or simple random sampling) is deployed for each subgrouping or stratum [ 34 ]. The stratified sampling technique was employed because the characteristics of the population were diverse, and there was a need to ensure that every characteristic was adequately represented.

Data were collected, using a self-administered instrument measured on a four Likert point scales where 1 = strongly disagreement, 2 = disagreement, 3 = agreement and 4 = strongly agreement. The questionnaire had two sections. Section one dealt with the biodata of respondents, and section two focused on the five hypotheses guiding the study. The questionnaire obtained a reliability value above the 0.70 thresholds which confirmed that the instrument was good to be used for the data collection. Cronbach alpha values obtained for cultural disposition was .703, motivation was .793, Demotivators was .853, and lastly, intention for international assignment was .868. Data were collected from July 2021 to November 2021. Ethical considerations such as respondents’ anonymity, freedom to withdraw, confidentiality, freedom to participate, and informed consent were observed [ 36 ]. Written consent was obtained from respondents prior to data collection. A consent statement was indicated on the questionnaire and participants were to indicate their agreement or disagreement to continue or otherwise with the study.The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the hypotheses of the study. The PLS-SEM is a method of structural equation modelling which allows estimating complex cause-effect relationship models with latent variables. The PLS-SEM technique is widely applied in business and social sciences, and its ability to model composites and factors makes it a formidable statistical tool for new technology research. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) has been said to be the most effective analytical approach for non-experimental research for the last 20 years [ 37 ]. Some goodness-of-fit tests that make the PLS-SEM analytical tool very robust are the coefficient of determination (R 2 ), effect size (F 2 ), and the importance and performance map analysis (IPMA), among others. All these qualities were utilised to make the results of this study very robust.

Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

The first part of the results presented in this section is the s ocio-demographic characteristics of respondents . The s ocio-demographic characteristics considered in this study, as presented in Table 1 , were age, gender, country of birth, sector of employment, international working experience and highest academic qualification. The rest of the s ocio-demographic characteristics were marital status, international and local languages spoken, and preferred continent for international job/assignment. The results in Table 1 on respondents’ s ocio-demographic characteristics revealed that the majority of the respondents were 30–39 years (48.5%), were male workers (62.0%), Ghanaians by birth (99.3%), public sector workers (82.4%), and never had an international working experience (82.3%). Additionally, the majority of the respondents had tertiary education (88.8%), were married with Kids (54.8%), were fluent in the English language (93.5%), could speak the Dagbani (32%) and Twi local (30.8%) languages, and preferred Europe (48.1%)for their international assignment or job. Though the demographic characteristics are not directly related to the study hypotheses, readers need to understand the characteristics of respondents prior to the presentation of the main findings of the study in the next section.

Model measurement

The estimation of the internal consistency measure of the model was initially carried out with the use of the PLS algorithm for confirmatory factor analysis. The individual items forming each construct or variable in the study were used for the measurement, as seen in the reflective model presented in Fig 2 . Based on a minimum threshold of 0.70 for every item to be retained by [ 38 ], all items measuring below the minimum 0.70 thresholds were deleted to obtain the results presented in Fig 2 . Thus, in Fig 2 , the algorithm CFA obtained values above the 0.70 minimum threshold, suggesting that the model achieved internal consistency for the confirmatory factor analysis.

The measure of internal consistency

The PLS path model’s internal consistency measures were further measured with four indices: rho A, Composite Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) [ 38 ]. Results reported in Table 2 show that Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values obtained for all the constructs ranged from 0.526 to 0.739, and Composite Reliability values were also between 0.810 and 0.905. The last two indices also recorded values ranging between 0.703 and 0.872 for rho -A and 0.701–0.869 for Cronbach’s Alpha. All constructs attained recommended a minimum threshold of 0.70 for Composite Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha, and rho A [ 38 ]. Additionally, [ 39 ] recommended a minimum threshold of 0.50 for Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was also attained. Thus, both reliability and validity were attained for all four constructs in the study.

Discriminant validity

Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) was used to ascertain the exclusivity of each construct in the model, as recommended by [ 40 ]. The results, as presented in Table 3 , show that the diagonal loadings between variables of the study were below 0.85 thresholds and for the same variable was zero [ 40 ]. Thus, discriminant validity was achieved for the PLS path model.

Multicollinearity

The inner VIF (variance inflated factors) was used to check the existence of multicollinearity since its existence can fluctuate or affect the results. The recommendations of [ 38 ] of VIF values below 3.3 as an indication of the absence of multicollinearity were used, and the results is presented in Table 4 . The results revealed that all values of VIF were indeed below 3.3 thresholds, suggesting that there were no multicollinearity issues. Deatialed outer VIF values can be seen from S2 Appendix .

Source: Field survey (2021);

**p<0.000,

*p<0.05 supported.

Path analysis and hypotheses testing for the model

Before results for path analysis are presented, a bootstrapping sequence of 5000 samples utilised in the PLS according to the recommendation of [ 38 ] was carried out. The results, as presented in Fig 3 , confirmed the significance of the hypothesised paths.

Results for hypotheses testing

Table 4 presents the detailed results of path significance determined from the PLS bootstrapping sequence. The results revealed that the structural model explained about 0.137 variances in intention to participate in international assignments (INTPERF), and 0.154 variances in motivation (MOT) as expressed under the R 2 . The adjusted r-square in Table 4 further supports the results for the R2. The approximate 13.7 percent variance explained by the independent variables of the study suggests that there were other factors that influenced the intention to accept an international assignment among workers in developing economies that were not included in the model.

The results for the path analysis, as presented in Table 4 , suggest that four out of the five hypotheses guiding the study were supported since they attained statistical significance. That is, cultural disposition (CD) had a statistically significant relationship with motivation to accept an international job or assignment (MOT) at ( β = 0.393, t = 10.235, p = 0.000) for hypothesis two. There was a significant statistical relationship between demotivation for international assignment (DEMOT) and intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.106, t = 2.604, p = 0.009) for hypothesis three; and motivation for expatriation (MOT) and expatriate’s intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.137, t = 6.902, p = 0.000) for hypothesis four of the study. The last hypothesis was supported because it attained statistical significance. That is, motivation (MOT) statistically and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition (CD) and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) for hypotheses five at ( β = 0.158, t = 7.852, p = 0.000). Meanwhile, the study found a non-statistical significant relationship between cultural disposition (CD) and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.015, t = 0.394, p = 0.693) for hypothesis one.

Importance of performance map analysis (IPMA)

PLS Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) was conducted in this study to further check the PLS estimates of the structural model variable relationships, and the results are presented in Table 5 . The analysis compares the constructs’ total effect to that of its performance to determine the most relevant to consider for policy decisions. This was done based on [ 37 ] argument that the total effects represented the sum of direct and indirect effects; hence, the unstandardised effects were relied upon by the IPMA to enable a “ceteris paribus” interpretation of predecessor constructs’ impact on the target construct.

This meant that the size of the total unstandardised effect increased the performance of the target construct when there was an increase in certain predecessor construct’s performance. The results, as presented in Table 5 , show the IPMA values for expatriates intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF). From Table 5 , the construct with the highest and strongest performance value was cultural disposition (CD), with a value of 74.117. However, cultural disposition was not the most relevant in predicting expatriate intention in the model since its importance value was the second-highest (0.173). Therefore, the model’s most relevant predictor of expatriate performance was rather a motivation to take on expatriate assignment (MOT) with the highest value of 0. 399. The results are further corroborated by the additional information provided in Fig 4 . It is obvious from Fig 5 that MOT was the most relevant predictor of expatriate performance in international assignments, followed by CD.

Graphical representation of the PLS IPMA path results

Fig 5 further presents the results for the graphical representation of the IPMA path analysis for the PLS path model. This presentation was based on [ 37 ] argument that there are differences between the graphical PLS-SEM results and the graphical representation of IPMA in PLS outputs. The values of performance of individual independent variables IPMA are shown instead of the dependent variables’ values of R 2 in the PLS path model. Additionally, [ 37 , 41 ] believed the IPMA results highlighted the unstandardised and recalled the outer weights of the measurement models (formative and reflective) and not the standardised outer loading or weights. Therefore, the beta values in the outer model reported in Fig 5 indicate the importance of individual items to the construct and not the loading. Thus, in this study, the results of the beta values highlighted in the outer model in Fig 5 revealed each item’s importance to the construct and not the loading. Additionally, inner values presented in Fig 5 further revealed the performance values of each of the variables of the study to the endogenous variable and not the total variance explained.

Discussion of results

The discussion of the results session focuses on the five hypotheses guiding the study based on the three independent variables of the study (cultural disposition, motivators and demotivators) related to the dependent variable-intention to accept an international assignment. The findings for hypothesis one, that there was a non-statistical significant relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment, can be explained further. The result suggests that an expatriate’s experience in working in different cultures in terms of weather, food, and clothing, and ability to work with people of different cultures were good for an expatriate assignment but do not solely influence their intention. The result suggests that cultural disposition alone is not enough to influence the intention of expatriates to accept an international assignment. Thus, from the individual workers’ and developing economy perspectives, a cultural disposition is not enough to ensure significant relations with an intention to accept expatriate assignment. The results thus disagree with that of [ 6 ], who found that cultural disposition is a strong predictor of intention in an international assignment.

It is important to note that the non-significant relationship established between cultural disposition and expatriate intention in hypothesis one is further and better explained by hypothesis five. The findings for hypothesis five suggest that motivation statistically and significantly mediates the relationship between cultural disposition and the expatriate’s intention to participate in international assignments. The results mean that expatriates need to be motivated to take up an international assignment in addition to their cultural disposition before they can accept an international assignment. Thus, an employee must be convinced or motivated that in addition to cultural disposition, an international assignment will help him/her to meet career goals, bring him/her recognition, opportunities, and social rewards, will empower him/her for future higher assignments, to experience higher performance on the international assignment. The results mean that motivation is a potent mediator between cultural disposition and acceptance of an international assignment from an individual and developing economy perspectives. The findings agree with the findings of [ 31 ] that expatriate motivation to take up an international assignment influences their performance.

Findings for hypothesis two, that there was a statistically significant relationship between cultural disposition and motivation for an international assignment, need further explanation. The results can be explained that expatriates will be motivated to take up an international assignment when they have experience in working in different cultures, are able to work with people from different cultures and when one has the ability to learn other languages. Thus, motivation for an international assignment is highly dependent on one’s cultural disposition. To increase workers’ motivation for international assignments in other parts of the world, employers will need to pay attention to exposing workers to different cultures. This could take the form of organising cross-cultural training for workers expected to take up international assignments. This finding of the study equally corroborates the findings of [ 29 ] that cultural disposition is a strong predictor of motivation to take up an international assignment.

The findings that demotivation among workers’ assignments significantly predicted the intention to take up an international assignment have several dimensions to be explained. The results suggest that there are factors that can cause disaffection toward opting for an international assignment. Thus, expatriates’ intentions and performance could suffer depending on the level of dissatisfaction. A low dissatisfaction could lead to a low effect on intention, and a high dissatisfaction could lead to a high effect on the intention of expatriates. Thus, expatriates’ intentions could be affected if the worker’s spouse cannot accompany them on an international assignment and cannot get the right person to take care of the family at home while on an international assignment. Other dissatisfiers that could influence acceptance for expatriate assignment and intention to accept an international assignment were the negative impact of an internal assignment on children’s education and not being able to readjust after the expiration of an international assignment. The findings of this study agree with the findings of [ 29 , 39 ] that demotivation among workers affects acceptance of the expatriate assignment and the performance of expatriates.

The last finding of the study, that motivation for expatriate assignment significantly influences intention to participate in an international assignment, also need to be explained further. The results mean that workers will be motivated to take up an international assignment if motivators are attached to the appointment. Thus, if a worker is forced or coerced to take up an international assignment against their will, this could affect the intention and performance. The results further suggest that it is not enough to use an organisational perspective to determine intention for international assignments as captured in previous studies. Rather, individual workers’ motivation for international assignment is key for successful international assignments among expatriates. Thus, the findings of [ 26 ] that motivation among workers to take expatriate jobs greatly influence their intention and performance in an international assignment is upheld by the findings of this study. Though previous studies found a significant relationship between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. this study revealed and added to knowledge that cultural disposition is not adequate in influencing intention for expatriate assignments, but rather does so through motivation.

Theoretical implications

The findings of this study have several theoretical implications for Hofstede’s Cultural Model. This study is premised on a national culture that is generally characterised by high power distance culture, collectivism culture, feminine culture, high uncertainty avoidance culture and short-term orientation culture, as captured in the five dimensions of the theory. These characteristics need to be considered and respected by human resource managers when recruiting and training people for an international assignment in Ghana or sending a Ghanaian on an expatriate mission. This is because the findings of this study have confirmed certain hidden characteristics in theory. These are cultural matters in international business. There is a statistical difference between the populations of two countries or ethnic groups. The dimensions reflect stable national differences, implying that cultures tend to move together in the same cultural direction. Thus, cultural adaptation and integration become easier for an expatriate assignment in similar cultures.

Practical implications

The findings of this study have practical implications for human resource managers of multinational organisations. The human resource of every organisation remains one of the most important factors for international organisations. The first implication of this study relates to the relevance of cultural disposition for intention and expatriate performance. It suggests that human resource managers need to expose their workers to other cultures to prepare individuals to accept and work in other cross cultures. Cross-cultural exposures can come in the form of job rotations, transfers and teamwork. These can help to expose the individual to local cross-cultural elements, which could serve as a launchpad for accepting to work on an international assignment.

Another implication of the results of this study also relates to the motivation level of workers to accept an international assignment. It calls for ensuring that better packages are associated with international appointment. This could relate to remuneration, jobs for spouses, provision for children’s education, intense cross-cultural training and allowing workers to have international exposure by visiting the country of the international assignment before finally taking the appointment. Closely related to the motivation was also the demotivation for international appointments. Failure on the part of human resource managers of international firms to provide adequate information on the international appointment and exposure of workers to other cultures can result in two things. That is, it can lead to an unwillingness to accept an international assignment and greater chances of expatriate failure or poor performance. The policy implication of the findings of this study was that culture, motivation and demotivation should be taken very seriously by all multinational organisations for greater acceptance and for an international assignment.

Conclusion and recommendations

This study examined the motivation and demotivation for accepting expatriate assignments among workers in Ghana. Previous studies have examined these factors from organisational perspectives. However, the present study examined these factors from individual workers and from developing economy perspectives. Therefore, it can be concluded from the individual and developing economy perspectives, based on the findings of this study, that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting an international assignment. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment. However, cultural disposition was found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates’ intention to accept an international assignment. The contribution of this study to knowledge is from individual and developing economy perspectives. That is, cultural disposition alone is not potent to relate very well to acceptance of international assignment among individual workers in a developing economy like Ghana. Rather, cultural disposition becomes a significant factor when associated with motivators.

These conclusions call for a recommendation for managers of multinational organisations and human resource managers. Therefore, it is suggested that human resource managers expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams, and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities will reduce culture shock and prepare individuals for an international assignment. It is also recommended that international assignments should be made very attractive to be able to appeal to workers to be willing to accept such job openings. Expatriates should get more recognition, opportunities, social rewards, professional skills, attractive remuneration and other benefits, among others, attached to the expatriate job. The expatriate should also be prepared well for repatriation after the end of an international assignment.

Additionally, human resource managers should deal with demotivators with an international assignment. These demotivators relate to alienation from family, not getting the right person to take care of the family while on the international assignment, and differences in religious beliefs between host and home countries. This can be addressed by ensuring that expatriates are sent to their country or continent of their choice or similar exposure. Allowing a spouse to accompany the expatriate and providing jobs for spouses, as well as paying academic bills for children’s education for the expatriate in the foreign country, will be very helpful in addressing some of the challenges that relate to demotivation.

Limitations and suggestions for further studies

This study was limited to a quantitative approach and failed to capture the qualitative dimensions. The focus of this study was on the general motivation and demotivation among workers in Ghana toward an international assignment. It did not focus on only workers already on an international assignment. Future studies can pursue these dimensions. The analysis of this study did not consider the demographic characteristics of respondents in terms of gender and sector of employment. Other further studies can consider these perspectives. A comparative study between two or more countries will also be very revealing.

Supporting information

S1 appendix, s2 appendix, acknowledgments.

We wish to express our profound appreciation to all respondents who took time off their busy schedules to respond to the instrument for data gathering. The support of MBA (HRM) students at Tamale Centre for data collection and national service personnel (Raymond, Samuel, Edwina, Dennis) with the Art and Social Science Unit, CoDE, UCC during data analysis is also recognised and appreciated. God bless you all.

List of abbreviations

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work

Data Availability

Descriptive results of the study.

This study examined intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana by modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition on such intentions. The cross-sectional survey design was used to sample 723 workers drawn from Northern Ghana. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the data collected. The study found from individual workers’ and developing economy perspectives that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting international assignments and expatriates’ intention to accept international assignments. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in international assignments. Cultural disposition was, however, found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates’ intention to accept an international assignment. It is therefore recommended that human resource managers should make international assignments attractive for workers and expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities prepare individuals for an international assignment.

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A Successful International Assignment Depends on These Factors

• Boris Groysberg
• Robin Abrahams

Your marriage, your family, and your career will all benefit from advance planning.

The prospect of an international assignment can be equal parts thrilling and alarming: Will it make or break your career? What will it do to your life at home and the people you love? When you’re thinking about relocating, you start viewing questions of work and family — difficult enough under ordinary circumstances — through a kind of high-contrast, maximum-drama filter.

• BG Boris Groysberg is a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School and a faculty affiliate at the school’s Race, Gender & Equity Initiative. He is the coauthor, with Colleen Ammerman, of Glass Half-Broken: Shattering the Barriers That Still Hold Women Back at Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021). bgroysberg
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Country: Ghana

City: All Accra Bolgatanga Kumasi Tamale

Organization: UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)

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UN Jobs : how to build a career in United nations

Getting a job in the UN is a dream for many people, as a UN job is an amazing chance to grow both professionally and personally while getting priceless experience. Working for the UN, one should expect working in a team of international experts, competitive salaries, and great career opportunities. So, let's have a more detailed look at job types offered by the UN and clarify how to become a part of this powerful organization.

But the main question is “ how to get a job at the un ” without spending 10 years to achieve this dream ?

UN Career Jobs Opportunities

The issues the UN deals with are numerous, as well as jobs offered by this organization. Due to this, a person of almost any age and qualification can find something suitable. In fact, your perspectives are great, as if you will be lucky enough to get a UN job, you will have a chance to work in a team of the best professionals, all having one noble aim: to make our planet a better place to live. Besides, specialists for many positions are usually hired internationally, so it's better to be ready for relocations, which is an amazing chance to see the world. If you are ready to work in a team, client-oriented, ready to learn and improve your skills, and a good interlocutor, you are welcome to choose one of the jobs offered by the company. According to Gilles Sereni, the strength of the UN system lies in the diversity of the people working together to add to the well-being of the entire humanity. So, there are several staff categories for those looking for a job to get acquainted with, including 

• Professional and higher categories;
• General Service and related categories;
• National Professional Officers;
• Field Service;
• Senior Appointments.

Requirements for every of those differ greatly. For instance, specialists for higher and professional categories are usually hired nationally, and it is impossible to find a position in this category that doesn't require a degree, and at least some work experience.

Speaking about the second category, one can find secretarial, administrative, or different types of trade work there. Besides, a high school diploma and good physical condition are essential. A candidate should have several years of work experience in the field he/she has chosen. Specialists for this category are usually recruited locally.

Then comes the National Professional Officers. People are hired locally as well. It is necessary for a person to have an excellent knowledge of local culture, language, and national institutions. Child protection, human rights protection, medicine, and more - that's what you'll have to deal with choosing a job from this category. Work experience is also essential.

Specialists from the Field Service category are usually hired internationally. So, if you are striving to find a job in this category, you should understand that you'll have to be super mobile and relocate a lot. Minimum requirements for positions from this category include a High School diploma and work experience (for some jobs). For some positions, a candidate should have at least six years of work experience.

As you can see, your career here will fully depend on your decisions and effort. You will have a chance to choose between various career paths, including management, science, public information, administration, telecommunication technologies, security and safety, logistics, and so on.

How to Start the UN Career

If you love our planet and people and are eager to change the world for better, you will certainly find an ideal job for yourself in the UN. This organization is a huge employer , offering numerous career opportunities not only for experienced professionals but also for those who are just looking for a dream job. Competition is usually fierce, as there are often many candidates for the same position, which is proof that UN jobs are desirable and popular. Nevertheless, it's possible to become a UN worker. But be ready to prepare for it, as it may not be as easy as people eager to start a career in the UN usually expect. Now, let's have a look at the main steps you'll have to do to start the UN career .

• Prepare . The best way to start is to browse the United Nations official website to get a better understanding of what you are offered. This may be super helpful for those who do not yet understand what they are looking for. On the website, you will have a chance to get acquainted with a list of job openings, areas, and qualifications required. Information is everything, so be prepared.
• Choose the staff category . As we have already mentioned, there are several staff categories to choose from. So, the next step is choosing the category. You should take into account your skills and interests, as well as work experience (it's essential for some jobs).
• Make sure you have enough experience and qualification for the position chosen . Understandably, each position has a set of requirements you should meet for your application to be considered. Sometimes candidates don't pay attention to the requirements relying on luck. It's completely wrong, as in this case people just waste their time applying. We'll discuss general requirements a little bit later.
• Register an account . Having selected a job, you should proceed to the next step - registration. To register a personal account, you'll have to provide some personal information (like your date of birth, your name, email, etc). You'll also have to provide some information about your qualification. And the last step is to create a user name and a password.
• Choose a job and apply. Think twice whether you meet all the requirements not to waste your time for nothing. You can apply for as many positions as you like. Instead using CV, you will need to use forms as UN p11 form (personal history form) .  The applying process is not a complicated one, you just have to follow the instructions.
• Wait for an interview invitation . Having applied for a job (or several), all you have to do is wait. You will be able to check the status of your application in your account. Be attentive, as only those selected for an interview will be informed about the result.

There are several programs designed to help young people to find a career path in the UN. One of the most popular is the Young Professionals Programme (we'll discuss it a little bit later).

Main Requirements for Candidates

As we have previously mentioned, there are different applying requirements for UN positions. But there is a list of requirements that are the same for all the jobs offered by the UN. The first and most obvious one is fluency in several languages (or at least in one). To be able to apply for any of the UN job openings, an applicant should have a good knowledge of either English or French. If you are fluent in additional languages, it will be a huge plus for you and will certainly increase your winning chances.

The next requirement is education. To apply for a better position,  one should have at least a bachelor's degree or higher. If you want to get a lwer-level position, a high school diploma and several years of experience will be enough.

And last but not least - your experience. This factor is super important, especially if there are many candidates. It completely depends on the position you have selected, but those eager to get more well-paid positions should have a few years of work experience in the corresponding field. Actually, requirements for work experience are different, you may need from one to twelve years of work in the field or even more to get a job.

What is the Young Professionals Programme (YPP)? How to Apply?

This program is certainly the best choice for young people who want to get a job in one of the biggest and most influential in the world. Having selected this option, you will start your career as an international civil servant. So, how to become a participant in this program? First of all, you should check whether your country can participate, as some countries are not allowed. Then, browse the jobs available to select the one to suit your tastes and ambitions. The applying procedure is easy in the extreme. So, if you have found the position of your dream and completely sure you meet all the requirements, you simply have to stick to the procedure we have previously described. Another thing worth mentioning is that the application is not enough to become a participant. If selected, the company will inform you about it and invite you to pass the exam. Without this part, you won't be allowed to start working.

Speaking about general requirements, an applicant shouldn't be older than thirty-two. A university degree is also required. Similarly to other UN jobs, Young Professionals Programme requires fluency in English or French. There are often many people competing for the same position, so work experience may also be taken into account. So, use all your options to increase your chances of getting a job in the UN, as this company is the one doing a great job for all the people of our planet. Although it may not seem easy from the first sight, you will be rewarded with lots of knowledge and experience difficult to be found anywhere else.

UN Jobs FAQ

Getting into the UN may be challenging, so it's better to be fully aware of all your options and understand the potential problems you may face. The first step is research. Browse the official website to get acquainted with the company's ideology and its job openings. If you are sure you want to contribute to the well-being of humanity working in the UN, you are welcome to choose a position you like the most (or several) and apply. To do this, you'll have to go through the registration and provide some information about your qualification and some personal information. Make sure you meet all the requirements of the position chosen. If you are not experienced enough, you can select one of the internship programs offered by the UN.

There are several job networks in the UN, including economic and social development, peace and security, information systems and communication technology, management and operations support, safety and security, public information and external relations, conference management. There is a huge selection of jobs for the potential candidates of various experiences and qualifications, so your possibilities are plentiful. There are different categories of workers, such as field services workers, professionals, national professional officers, general service workers, and several others.

Salaries in the UN are competitive. In fact, the sum of money you'll get depends on several factors, such as your category, qualification, type of your contract, and your duty station. For some jobs (general services, national professional officers) people are hired locally, so the salary depends on it. Use our UN salary calculator to know your future sqlqry.  Choosing a position from professional and higher categories, you'll get from 37,000$ to 123,000$ and from 31,000$ to 90,000$ if you are planning to work in field services (depending on qualification).

Getting a job at the UN is certainly not an easy task. The competition is fierce, as there are usually many people eager to get the same position. It's better to immerse yourself into this adventure being prepared and ready for any outcome. Understandably, there are many people dreaming about working in a powerful international organization, but only the best candidates are chosen. All applications are carefully reviewed and chosen candidates are invited for an interview. It will be difficult, but we can make progress only by means of difficulties, so it's certainly worth trying.

Every UN job has a set of requirements, like age, work experience, etc. Language knowledge is another requirement that can influence your success. English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Russian are the official UN languages, but usually, candidates are required to have a good command of either French or English. The more languages you know - the bigger your chances of getting a job of your dream. Besides, if you have good language skills, you can become a UN translator, interpreter, language instructor, or a teacher.

It depends on the position you'd like to get, as there are different education and work experience requirements. For some positions, a bachelor's (or higher) degree is required, while you can apply for the others having your High School diploma only.

Those looking for chances to start a successful career can do it even while studying in the university, as the UN offers several volunteer programs and internships for young people. For example, the UN Internship Programme makes it possible for students in the final year of a Bachelor program to get into the UN and understand the core principles of its work better. There is also a United Nations Volunteers Programme, which is active in approximately 80 countries nowadays. So, if you are a student and want to get new knowledge and skills, you are welcome to choose any of the UN programs for students.

The applying procedure is not complicated at all. So, the first thing you should do is visit the career.un.org website to get acquainted with the job openings currently available. So, select the area you like and have a look at those. If you already know what types of positions you are looking for, just use filters to make the search easier. Click the "Search" button and you will have all the jobs in front of your eyes. If you have already chosen a position you'd like to apply to, the next step is registration at inspira.un.org. On this website, you'll have to provide all the necessary details about your qualification (as well as your personal information), write a cover letter and voila - you are ready to apply. Just go back to the vacancy you have selected and click the "Apply" button. 

Use the UN career Guide if you are in trouble, it actually helped more than a thousand of candidates to find the job of their dream in the UN. In our guide we offer opportunities for all countries : from France UN jobs to Somalia jobs . Last week Fred got a UN job in south Sudan thanks to our guide. 

As a rule, it takes from two weeks to four months to go through the selection process. So, you'll have to be patient and wait for the e-mail informing you that you are selected for the next step (as a rule, it's a writing test). We have many written assessment test samples for organisations such UN, UNDP, WFP, and Unicef. Our UN career Guide provides you the best and most recent UN, WFP, Unicef and UNDP written test . Then comes the interview (by Skype or personally). After an interview, you'll have to wait for the final decision from 1 week to 1 month.

The first and the most important rule you should remember - there should be no mistakes. A single little mistake or inaccuracy can reduce your chances. So, first of all, you are to provide your personal information. Then, proceed to education. Always start with the latest degree you've obtained. You should provide information about years of studying and the full names of educational institutions. Then comes a summary of your skills and proficiency. After this block of information comes professional experience, where you should try to highlight your most impressive achievements. Having done it, you are to provide some additional information (languages, additional training, etc.) and at least three references.

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Working abroad?

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Your Assignment Abroad: Its Career Impact

• International Assignments and Soft Skills

Going abroad for a work assignment is a big step, not only for your social and family life, but also for your career. Those who take the leap abroad soon find out whether and how this experience can give their career a well-deserved boost.

In previous articles we have addressed the many issues you might come across while abroad. However, you will also come across many new professional opportunities. If you are bold enough to take that huge step and hop on a plane, you may get a lot of good things out of your time abroad as an expat.

The longer you stay, the more time you have for a fully-fledged expat experience. However, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how long your assignment takes: Even being an expat for only half a year will enhance your chances in the company hierarchy or on the job market significantly.

The Effects of an Assignment Abroad

Moreover, your experience abroad can give you additional confidence. If you are adventurous enough to embark on a new assignment in another country or even become a “self-made” expatriate, you have already proven adaptability and determination. Paired with your newfound confidence and self-reliance, your experience abroad will greatly increase your chances on the job market.

Sue (24) used to be the shy type in college. “I wasn’t exactly a mousy wallflower,” she says and laughs, “but, yeah, it was pretty close sometimes.” When she decided to go to Ghana for a year and teach English and Arts in a rural community development project, she was almost as amazed at her own courage as most of her friends.

Gaining Confidence

Upon her return to Texas, Sue quickly realized how her assignment abroad had given her new confidence. Soon after she came back, she landed her dream job with a non-profit art project in Houston, Texas. “You just know that you have accomplished something. And after a whole year in Ghana, a couple of job interviews weren’t all that scary anymore.”

Just like Sue, you will thrive in the new working environment if you are equipped with patience, calmness, tenacity, and a well-developed sense of humor. An assignment abroad can be the perfect opportunity to further your personal development. Your manners, appearance, and behavior will change as your assignment gives you an air of new-found competence and confidence.

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Intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana: Modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Business Studies, College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
• 2 Department of Human Resource Management, School of Business, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
• PMID: 37141187
• PMCID: PMC10159112
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284615

This study examined intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana by modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition on such intentions. The cross-sectional survey design was used to sample 723 workers drawn from Northern Ghana. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the data collected. The study found from individual workers' and developing economy perspectives that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting international assignments and expatriates' intention to accept international assignments. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in international assignments. Cultural disposition was, however, found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates' intention to accept an international assignment. It is therefore recommended that human resource managers should make international assignments attractive for workers and expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities prepare individuals for an international assignment.

Copyright: © 2023 Segbenya, Oppong. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that no competing interests exist

Fig 1. Conceptual framework of the study.

Source: Field survey (2021).

Fig 2. PLS algorithm for confirmatory factor…

Fig 2. PLS algorithm for confirmatory factor analysis.

Fig 3. Bootstrapping results for path analysis.

Fig 4. IPMA for INTPERF.

Source: Field…

Fig 5. IPMA path analysis.

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Beyond Borders

Moving to Ghana in 2024: An Expat’s Guide

Immigration & Living Abroad

Last updated on May 7th, 2024 at 04:03 pm

Has the thought of moving to Ghana crossed your mind? Are you relocating for work, study, or lifestyle to this West African nation? Whatever your reasons, this guide has you covered.

Though Ghana’s expat communities include many nationalities, Americans are particularly well-represented. Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in the U.S., Ghana launched “Year of Return, Ghana 2019,” a program to encourage the descendants of former slaves to return to Africa as tourists or prospective residents. Since then, 5,000 Americans have visited Ghana and chosen to stay.

If you’re considering moving to Ghana, this guide will introduce you to the immigration process and important facts about the country to help you prepare.

A brief overview of Ghana

Ghana is in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east.

• Size: 92,098 square miles (238,533 square kilometers)
• Capital: Accra
• Major cities: Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi, Cape Coast
• Population: 31.4 million people
• Foreign-born population: roughly 1.5% of total
• Official language: English, Akan is the largest native language
• Demographics : 47.5% Akan, 17% Dagbani, 14% Ewe, 7% Ga-Adangbe, 6% Gurma, 4% Guan, 2.5% Gurunsi, 1% Bissa

Ghana is well known for its beautiful landscapes, and about 70% of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Some agricultural areas have spread into the country’s lush forests, which cover about 30% of Ghana’s total landmass .

Can a U.S. or Canadian citizen move to Ghana?

U.S. and Canadian citizens do have the opportunity to move to Ghana, provided they go through the immigration process and their applications are approved.

What are the requirements to move to Ghana?

To enter Ghana, you must hold either dual citizenship status or an entry visa. If you plan to work in the country, you will also need a work permit.

How do you get Ghanaian dual citizenship?

Americans and Canadians that can prove they are of Ghanaian nationality can apply for dual citizenship to enter the country. To prove this, you can submit either:

• Your parent’s birth certificate, Ghanaian voter ID card, or Ghanaian passport
• Names and addresses of two relatives who live in Ghana

Dual citizenship also requires a photocopy of a U.S. or Canadian naturalization certificate or a U.S. or Canadian passport and the completion of an application. The form can be obtained from a Ghanaian embassy or consulate in the U.S . or Canada . You can also request it by mail. When you submit the application, you’ll need to pay a fee of $200 .

How do you get a visa to move to Ghana?

Everyone else who wishes to move to Ghana will need to obtain an entry visa. Americans and Canadians will be granted entry visas fairly easily, with these requirements.

• Proof of financial means: The Ghanaian government may ask for proof of bank and investment account statements to show you have adequate savings to live off, or require you to obtain a job and acquire a work permit before you can enter.
• No criminal record: The Ghanaian government uses the term “undesirable” to include anyone charged with a felony that involved injury to another. A background check will be performed before your visa application is approved.
• Clean bill of health: Health authorities may bar someone from receiving a visa with a communicable disease like a sexually transmitted infection or another infectious disease or illness.

You can apply for an entry visa online or at a Ghanaian Embassy or Consulate. At the time of this writing, there is an application fee of $60 for a single-entry visa with regular processing, which takes 15–20 business days. The application fee is $100 with 7-day expedited processing.

How do you get a work permit in Ghana?

If you need a work permit , follow these steps:

• Obtain employment from a company in Ghana that is permitted to hire non-Ghanaian citizens
• Contact or visit a Ghanaian embassy or consulate to apply for a work permit
• Submit your resume, copies of any diplomas or degrees you have earned, and proof of employment (usually a letter from the company on their official letterhead)

Your prospective employer will also need to submit information, such as their registration information, tax clearance certificate, and financial reports. Normally, employers submit this information to the government directly.

The Ghanaian government usually assesses a fee for work permit applications, but the amount varies and may be paid by your prospective employer.

Processing time is usually about 2 weeks.

Can you live in Ghana permanently?

With a work permit, a foreigner can typically stay in Ghana for 6 months to 1 year. At the end of that period, you’ll need to apply to renew the permit and remain in the country. After living in the country for five years, you can apply to become a Ghanaian citizen .

Individuals who hold dual citizenship can remain permanently in Ghana.

How much money do you need to move to Ghana?

The cost of flying or driving to Ghana depends on where your trip begins. While the cost of living is low as compared to many countries in Europe and North America, it can be quite expensive to travel there.

International moving companies charge for the cost of shipping by container, which includes inspection and customs’ fees. As a result, the cost can run into thousands of dollars.

Expat forums like ExpatExchange will have up-to-date information from others about the cost of moving, as well as recommendations. In general, the amount you’ll pay will depend on the distance you travel and the total weight and size of what needs to be moved.

Once you arrive in the country, factor in the cost of initial accommodation in a hotel or hostel as you search for a residence.

How much monthly income do you need to live in Ghana?

A comfortable monthly income amount in Ghana depends on your location in the country. The estimated monthly living costs for a family of four in the capital city of Accra, Ghana, was $1,698 without rent in August 2022. For a single person, the monthly cost of living was $471.77.

In the city center, the average monthly rent was around $834 for a one-bedroom apartment or $2,012 for a three-bedroom apartment. The cost of living in other areas of Ghana may be lower.

The cedi is the unit of currency used in Ghana. As of August 2022, one cedi was worth about $0.12 U.S. dollars.

What type of government does Ghana have?

Ghana is a republic with a single parliamentary house, but it contains multiple political parties. Members of parliament are selected through local voting that takes place once every four years.

A president elected through a two-round voting system serves as the head of state and has a four-year term. The country’s supreme court has the final say on legal matters. Judges are appointed by the president. High judges hold their positions until the age of 70, but they can retire as early as 60.

Is there a U.S. embassy in Ghana?

Yes, there is a U.S. embassy in Ghana . It is located in the capital city of Accra. The High Commission of Canad a also has an office located in Accra.

Is Ghana a good place for North American expats?

Ghana does have some benefits for North American expats. The cost of living is substantially lower than in many major U.S. cities. The weather is also warm year-round.

However, there are also some drawbacks to living in the country, such as the prevalence of crime and civil unrest in some areas.

The U.S. State Department warns that violent crimes like carjackings and muggings do occur in urban areas, particularly in isolated sections of cities at night. Also, civil unrest in Bono East, Bono, Savannah, Northern, North East, and the Upper East regions of the country could make conditions unsafe for expats there.

What is the cost of living like in Ghana?

Generally, Ghanaians enjoy a lower cost of living than North Americans. The capital city of Accra is about 68% less expensive than New York City, and rent is roughly 82% lower.

What is the education system like in Ghana?

Compared to many other African countries, Ghana has a more robust education system. The Ministry of Education oversees the public school system, which is modeled after the educational system in the UK.

All children in Ghana must attend school through the ninth grade. Secondary school is available, but not mandatory. There are also private schools in the country. In 2018, 28% of Ghanaian elementary school students attended private schools.

Ghana is also home to numerous colleges and universities, and enrollment has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. In fact, enrollment doubled between 2009–2015. Universities in Ghana grant bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees, and doctoral degrees like U.S. and Canadian post-secondary institutions.

What is the healthcare system like in Ghana?

Ghana’s healthcare system generally doesn’t make it onto lists of the best healthcare systems in the world. A little more than two-thirds of the population has healthcare coverage, either through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) or private health insurance plans.

Most people in Ghana receive treatment and care through facilities operated by the government through the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Services. These facilities include health posts in rural areas, regional centers and clinics, district and regional hospitals, and large hospitals in large urban centers.

What is the climate/weather like in Ghana?

Ghana has a tropical monsoon climate. Northern Ghana has a rainy season that lasts from May to September. In the south, there are two rainy seasons: April to July and September to November. The annual mean temperature throughout most of the country is 78–84 °F (26–29 °C), and the weather is typically humid.

What is the quality of life in Ghana?

Ghana ranked 111 in the 2022 World Happiness Report , significantly lower than Canada and the U.S., which ranked 15th and 16th, respectively. The study ranked the country’s economic prosperity and freedom to make life choices higher than many other African nations, but poverty rates and a lack of strong social support systems put Ghana behind the U.S. and Canada. However, Ghana was shown to have a much lower perception of corruption among public officials than these two countries.

Can I get a driver’s license in Ghana?

Yes, Americans and Canadians can get driver’s licenses in Ghana. Cars are used more than public transportation. The DVLA handles foreign driver’s license conversions in Ghana.

Other transportation options in Ghana include:

• Public buses: these are operated by the State Transportation Corporation
• Taxis and ride-sharing: these are available in Accra and major cities
• Tro tros: these are private mini buses that transport small groups of people; the Trufi Association has an app to help you find them

Is it easy for Americans and Canadians to find a job in Ghana?

Ghana’s economy is growing rapidly and constantly creating job opportunities. However, the government limits the number of non-Ghanaian people who can work in many fields, so competition for jobs is often high among expats. Many immigrants work in the service industry or teach English.

Does Ghana offer digital nomad visas?

Digital nomad visas allow foreigners to move to a country and work remotely in their home country. As of this writing, Ghana does not offer a nomad visa program.

What are some things to do in Ghana? Exploring your new home

Some top tourist attractions in Ghana include:

• Aburi Botanical Gardens
• Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park
• Osu/Christiansborg Castle
• Artists Alliance Gallery

Ghana also boasts beautiful beaches, such as Bojo Beach and Labadi Pleasure Beach.

Ghanian culture: what to know

Ghana has many customs . Some important ones to know include:

• Using the phrase “you are invited”: Saying this to someone indicates that they are welcome to have some of what you’re eating. Sharing food is considered an act of kindness and generosity.
• Not using your left hand: Shaking someone’s hand, waving to them, or handing them something with your left hand is considered an insult.
• The unimportance of birthdays and age: Ghanaians don’t place a lot of emphasis on age and don’t tend to celebrate birthdays. In some parts of the country, birthdays aren’t documented. People normally don’t ask, “how old are you?”
• New Year celebrations: On the New Year, many Ghanaians attend Cross Over church services. In recent years, these religious observances have become more important than Christmas.

What are the best places to live in Ghana?

The best places to live in Ghana depend on your age, marital status, lifestyle, and personal preferences.

For retirees

Travel Noire named Kumasi, Ghana, one of the best cities for retirees to live in Africa. Cost of living in the city is generally low, and there are major hospitals in the area. In addition, the city is home to museums, markets, and forest reserves, so there is plenty to do.

For families

Families moving to Ghana may wish to settle in one of these sections of Accra:

• Airport Residential Area: Although rents tend to be pricey, this area is home to good schools and hospitals. Many foreign countries have their embassies here, and there are shopping malls, banks, restaurants, and service businesses as well.
• Cantonments: This area is home to many gated communities as well as the Ghana International School , a prestigious private elementary and secondary day school that is popular among expats.
• Roman Ridge: Families looking for more affordable housing who wish to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city center may prefer the Roman Ridge. The area is quieter than the Airport Residential Area and the Cantonments, and it is home primarily to corporate offices.

For young singles

The Osu neighborhood of Accra is one of the most popular places for young singles to live. It is home to much of the nightlife in Accra and has affordable apartments where many expats live. The area is also home to many restaurants, bars, clubs, and stores.

How to find a place to live in Ghana

Consider working with a real estate agent to find an apartment in Ghana. An expert can provide you with individualized advice about which area is best for you.

Alternatively, you can use a site like Realtor.com International to search for rentals. Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, and other expatriate forums can be a rich source of information for finding housing.

How to set up a bank account in Ghana

To make it easier to send money to Ghana and make purchases in the country, you’ll likely want to open a bank account. While you can get cash from an ATM with your home country debit card, you’ll need the convenience of local banking for your permanent residency.

There are 32 private banks in Ghana to choose from, including:

• GCB Bank Limited
• Ecobank Ghana
• Zenith Bank
• Absa Bank Ghana Limited 

Remitly is a trusted app for t ransferring money between accounts in your home country and your Ghanian bank. With international money transfers, your U.S. dollars will automatically turn into cedis that you can use electronically or withdraw from an ATM.

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana: Modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Validation, Writing – original draft

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Department of Business Studies, College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Roles Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Human Resource Management, School of Business, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

• Moses Segbenya, 
• Nana Yaw Oppong

• Published: May 4, 2023
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615
• Reader Comments

This study examined intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana by modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition on such intentions. The cross-sectional survey design was used to sample 723 workers drawn from Northern Ghana. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the data collected. The study found from individual workers’ and developing economy perspectives that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting international assignments and expatriates’ intention to accept international assignments. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in international assignments. Cultural disposition was, however, found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates’ intention to accept an international assignment. It is therefore recommended that human resource managers should make international assignments attractive for workers and expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities prepare individuals for an international assignment.

Citation: Segbenya M, Oppong NY (2023) Intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana: Modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0284615. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615

Editor: Dan-Cristian Dabija, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA

Received: December 13, 2022; Accepted: April 5, 2023; Published: May 4, 2023

Copyright: © 2023 Segbenya, Oppong. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work

Competing interests: The authors declare that no competing interests exist

List of abbreviations: CFA, Confirmatory Factor Analysis; CD, Cultural Disposition; HTMT, Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio; MOT, Motivation to accept an international assignment; DEMOT, Motivation to accept an international assignment Dem; INTPERF, Intention for t an international assignment; PLS, Partial Least Squares; PLS-SEM, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling; SEM, Structural Equation Modelling; VIF, Variance Inflated Factor

Introduction

The competitive business environment continues to compel organisations to spread their activities abroad for growth. Multinational and transnational organisations have resulted in deploying workers/managers to international locations to push their organisational goals and objectives [ 1 ]. Assignee managers or staff, either with or without families, take up such responsibilities and positions in another country for a period of six months to five years [ 2 , 3 ]. Thus, international assignment in this context relates to dispatching employee/s by their organisation from their home country to take up an oversea task temporarily to work at overseas offices or companies. International assignments, thus, help organisations to promote global integration and competencies and build a global and mature workforce [ 4 , 5 ].

Meanwhile, the ability of organisations to achieve targets associated with international assignments largely depends on the success of assignees on the international assignment [ 6 ]. Several factors play influential roles in determining the success of expatriates or staff on international assignments [ 6 , 7 ]. Success in international assignments starts with the intention and motivation to take up an international assignment [ 8 ]. Studies have found that international positions and appointments not based on the motivation of assignees are often not successful [ 7 – 9 ]. Thus, human resource managers of multinational organisations need to pay attention to motivation among staff to take up an international assignment [ 2 , 10 ]. Factors that can motivate staff to take up international assignments can include remuneration, support for spouses and children and good organisational policies on returning to the home country after an international assignment [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. It stands to reason that in the absence of motivators, workers are likely going to be disinterested or demotivated to take up an international assignment.

Motivation or demotivation is not enough to explain the success of expatriates. For this reason, cultural disposition was found to have played a critical role in the success of international assignees [ 6 ]. Cultural disposition relates to the exposure of the assignee to other cultures, especially the culture of the host country of the international assignment [ 6 ]. The ability of expatriates to express themselves in the host country’s language and other aspects of its culture has the potential to ensure the success of expatriates [ 6 ]. Thus, cross-cultural training could play a critical role in enhancing the chances of an expatriate’s performance in an international assignment [ 8 ].

Ghana hosts branches or headquarters of several multinational and transnational organisations. Therefore, the human resource of these organisations can be described as either host country, home country, or third-country national. The filling of vacancies in overseas subsidiaries will continue to be an important issue for international human resource managers for the growth of their organisations [ 6 , 13 ]. While some workers are already exposed to international experience, others have yet to have such opportunities [ 3 , 14 ]. Those who have had expatriate or international experience by working on international assignments could have also learnt their lessons as to whether to take up a future international assignment of their organisations (expatriation or im-patriations) or other organisations in the form of self-initiated oversea assignment.

In this regard, workers’ intention towards an international assignment is key for international human resource managers to recruit for international assignments [ 14 , 15 ]. Workers’ intentions could be influenced by their cultural disposition and motivation to accept international assignments [ 11 ]. Alternatively, certain demotivators and failure in an earlier international assignment could explain the lack of motivation for an international assignment [ 8 , 13 , 16 ]. International human resource managers benefit from the knowledge of motivators or demotivators among workers who have international working exposure and those who do not.

Meanwhile, earlier studies by [ 17 – 23 ] have focused on cultural adjustment and expatriate performance, job satisfaction, expatriate’s spouse adjustment; and [ 22 , 24 ] on job insecurity, expatriate’s benefits. Though [ 24 – 27 ] delved into an intention to accept an international assignment, these studies were conducted from the organisational approach. Thus, individual and contextual (Ghanaian) perspectives were either not addressed or not adequately addressed. This is because individuals’ appreciation of motivating and demotivating factors as well as their disposition towards various cultures could differently influence their intention to accept international/expatriate assignments. It is also possible that individuals’ socio-demographics (either married or single, number of foreign languages individuals can speak) could influence workers’ decision to accept expatriate assignments. The individual perspective is deemed very important for this study because it could not just influence the intention to accept an international assignment but also ensure higher employee performance in an international assignment.

The novelty and motivation for this study are not limited to the individual perspective but also to bring to the fore how cultural disposition, motivating, and demotivating factors from a developing economy perspective are influencing acceptance of international assignments. For this reason, this study sought to contribute to the literature on international assignment and international human resource management by examining the intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana. This study specifically modelled the role of motivators, demotivators, and cultural disposition in predicting intention to accept an international assignment from individual and developing economy perspectives. Thus, the role of factors that could serve as motivators and demotivators, as well as the cultural disposition of workers, were examined from workers’ perspectives in terms of how these factors could influence their intention and performance. The next sections of the paper focus on the theoretical review, conceptual model and hypotheses development. Other issues addressed were the methodology, results and analysis, discussion of the results, implications, conclusions and recommendations.

Literature review

Theoretical review.

This study was guided by the Hofstede’s Cultural Model. The cultural model propounded by Geert Hofstede in 1980 was based on five pillars- power distance , individualism , masculinity; uncertainty avoidance; and long-term orientation [ 28 , 29 ]. Each of these five pillars has two dimensions-high or low, suggesting that the level of individual workers’ inclination towards these pillars could influence the intention to accept international assignments. The first pillar, which is power distance , relates to power distribution between subordinates and superiors or society. The subordinates and superiors are the same in low power distance society. However, in a high-power distance society like the study context (Ghana), power is unevenly distributed or centralised among a few people. Hence superiors are different from subordinates because the superiors have power, and subordinates need to accept and respect it [ 29 ].

The second pillar of Hofstede’s Cultural Model— Individualism/Collectivism , explains how individuals relate to a group. A society where individuals tend to focus on their own interests and that of the immediate family relates to an individualised culture [ 29 ]. However, where individuals respect and seek the good and respect the group that they belong, it is a collectivist society. The third dimension, masculinity or femininity , deals with what motivates people. In masculine society, people strive to be the best; they portray values such as competitiveness and performance in that masculine have sympathy for the successful achievers, However, in feminine culture, people have a concern with relationships and quality of life [ 29 ].

The fourth dimension- Uncertainty Avoidance- relates to the level to which individuals in society welcome uncertainty [ 28 ]. In high uncertainty avoidance society, individuals are afraid to take a risk for fear of failure, unlike in a low uncertainty avoidance society where individuals are ready to deal with any situation regardless of the outcome. The last dimension of the theory, termed as short/long-term orientation , is also explained the extent to which society shows a future-oriented perspective versus a short-term point of view. Thus, short-term profit concentration characterised society with short-term orientation whiles people of long-term orientation emphasise future growth. The Hofstede’s cultural model with the five dimensions revealed that the Ghanaian society that serves as the study context is largely inclined towards a high-power distance culture, collectivism culture, feminine culture, high uncertainty avoidance culture, and short-term orientation culture [ 28 , 29 ].

Conceptual model and hypotheses development

The discussion in this section will focus on the key variables of the study, which are cultural disposition, motivation, demotivation, and intention to accept an international assignment among workers. The review for each subsection will be associated with the specific hypothesis related to it.

Cultural disposition and intention for international assignment.

Culture relates to a way of life and is described as “the collective programming of the mind which differentiates one group from the other” [ 28 ]. Culture could be classified into material, tangible and non-material or intangible cultures. Key components of culture are the structure of society, values, religion, education, personal communication, and physical environment. Generally, culture has the characteristics of being learned. Language as an essential component, sometimes abstract, a product of behaviour and shared by individuals. Other characteristics also include culture being shared by members of society; it is pervasive and variable. In terms of layers, culture has three basic layers -assumption/beliefs, norms, and values and lastly, behavioural or explicit layers. Thus, culture could be a national culture, organisational culture, corporate culture or professional culture. Workers will easily and gladly accept to work in jurisdictions with similar cultural settings [ 3 , 29 ]. Some workers see different cultural settings as problematic places requiring so much time and effort to acclimate if they accept an international assignment in such locations [ 29 ]. This means that an individual’s cultural disposition plays a role in accepting or rejecting an international assignment [ 5 , 30 ]. It also means that cultural disposition could be a motivator for contemplating accepting an international assignment [ 30 ]. It is for these reasons that this study hypothesised that:

• 1. H 1 : Cultural disposition has a statistically significant effect on the intention to participate in an international assignment .
• 2. H 1 : Cultural disposition has a statistically significant effect on motivation to accept an international assignment .

Demotivators and intention for international assignment.

Demotivators to accepting international assignments are factors that make both companies and employees disinterested in expatriation. For this reason, [ 30 ] identified factors including adaptability/cross-culture adjustment, spouse and family concerns, and compensation/salary-related issues that are not managed well. [ 7 , 29 ] identified five factors that could serve as demotivators and lead to expatriate failure. These are job-related factors comprising r ole conflict, role novelty, role clarity and role direction, organisational factors including organisational culture novelty, social support from co-workers and superiors, and logistical support. Other categorisations were positional factors —hierarchical level, functional area and assignment vector; non-work factors -culture novelty and spouse/family adjustment; and individual factors including self-efficacy, relational and perceptual skills, previous international assignments, and language fluency [ 27 ]. If these factors are not framed well in an organisational policy and managed well, employees will not be motivated to take up an international assignment. To further assess how demotivators influence acceptance of an international assignment among workers in a developing economy perspective, this study hypothesised that:

• 3. H 1 : Demotivation among workers toward international assignments has a statistically significant effect on the intention to participate in an international assignment .

Motivation and intention for international assignment.

Several studies have found that there are many factors that motivate workers to accept international assignments [ 24 , 29 , 31 ]. These motivators are tax equalisation, temporary living allowances, language and cross-cultural training, overseas healthcare plan, and host-country housing assistance [ 23 , 31 ]. Other motivating factors include career and repatriation planning, home leave allowances, rest and relaxation leave, spouse job assistance and child education allowance [ 13 , 24 ]. The Global Mobility Challenge Survey by Ernst and Young revealed the top five incentives that motivate workers to accept international acceptance. These were repatriation assistance, round-trip airfare to return home for family visits, a paid trip to visit the country before agreeing to move there, paid language training, and immigration assistance for a spouse to obtain employment. Thus, managers must be very concerned about using these factors to motivate intention to accept an international assignment. However, how these motivators influence workers in developing economies to accept an international assignment is not clear Meanwhile, motivation to accept an international assignment could also play a mediating role between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. This means that apart from motivation influencing intention directly, it could also play an indirect role between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. It is for this reason that this study hypothesis that:

• 4. H 1 : Motivation to accept international assignments among workers has a statistically significant relationship with the intention to participate in an international assignment .
• 5. H 1 : Motivation to accept international assignments among workers statistically significantly mediate the relationship between cultural disposition and intention to to participate in an international assignment.

Based on the review, a conceptual framework was designed to guide the study, as shown in Fig 1 .

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Source: Field survey (2021).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.g001

Methodology

The study used a cross-sectional survey design [ 32 ]. A sample of 723 workers was drawn from workers in Ghana. Multi-stage sampling techniques [ 33 ] including stratified and simple random techniques, were deployed to sample the respondents to the research instrument. These were simple random sampling techniques and stratified sampling techniques. The study adopted the lottery method of the simple random sampling technique. The study employed a multi-stage sampling procedure. The first sampling technique was the simple random sampling technique, and the lottery type of simple random was adopted [ 34 ]. The second sampling technique adopted by this study was the proportional stratified sampling technique. Grouping of subjects in a population into the same characteristics (strata) is related to a stratified sample [ 35 ]. Another probability sampling technique (cluster or simple random sampling) is deployed for each subgrouping or stratum [ 34 ]. The stratified sampling technique was employed because the characteristics of the population were diverse, and there was a need to ensure that every characteristic was adequately represented.

Data were collected, using a self-administered instrument measured on a four Likert point scales where 1 = strongly disagreement, 2 = disagreement, 3 = agreement and 4 = strongly agreement. The questionnaire had two sections. Section one dealt with the biodata of respondents, and section two focused on the five hypotheses guiding the study. The questionnaire obtained a reliability value above the 0.70 thresholds which confirmed that the instrument was good to be used for the data collection. Cronbach alpha values obtained for cultural disposition was .703, motivation was .793, Demotivators was .853, and lastly, intention for international assignment was .868. Data were collected from July 2021 to November 2021. Ethical considerations such as respondents’ anonymity, freedom to withdraw, confidentiality, freedom to participate, and informed consent were observed [ 36 ]. Written consent was obtained from respondents prior to data collection. A consent statement was indicated on the questionnaire and participants were to indicate their agreement or disagreement to continue or otherwise with the study.The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the hypotheses of the study. The PLS-SEM is a method of structural equation modelling which allows estimating complex cause-effect relationship models with latent variables. The PLS-SEM technique is widely applied in business and social sciences, and its ability to model composites and factors makes it a formidable statistical tool for new technology research. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) has been said to be the most effective analytical approach for non-experimental research for the last 20 years [ 37 ]. Some goodness-of-fit tests that make the PLS-SEM analytical tool very robust are the coefficient of determination (R 2 ), effect size (F 2 ), and the importance and performance map analysis (IPMA), among others. All these qualities were utilised to make the results of this study very robust.

Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

The first part of the results presented in this section is the s ocio-demographic characteristics of respondents . The s ocio-demographic characteristics considered in this study, as presented in Table 1 , were age, gender, country of birth, sector of employment, international working experience and highest academic qualification. The rest of the s ocio-demographic characteristics were marital status, international and local languages spoken, and preferred continent for international job/assignment. The results in Table 1 on respondents’ s ocio-demographic characteristics revealed that the majority of the respondents were 30–39 years (48.5%), were male workers (62.0%), Ghanaians by birth (99.3%), public sector workers (82.4%), and never had an international working experience (82.3%). Additionally, the majority of the respondents had tertiary education (88.8%), were married with Kids (54.8%), were fluent in the English language (93.5%), could speak the Dagbani (32%) and Twi local (30.8%) languages, and preferred Europe (48.1%)for their international assignment or job. Though the demographic characteristics are not directly related to the study hypotheses, readers need to understand the characteristics of respondents prior to the presentation of the main findings of the study in the next section.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.t001

Model measurement

The estimation of the internal consistency measure of the model was initially carried out with the use of the PLS algorithm for confirmatory factor analysis. The individual items forming each construct or variable in the study were used for the measurement, as seen in the reflective model presented in Fig 2 . Based on a minimum threshold of 0.70 for every item to be retained by [ 38 ], all items measuring below the minimum 0.70 thresholds were deleted to obtain the results presented in Fig 2 . Thus, in Fig 2 , the algorithm CFA obtained values above the 0.70 minimum threshold, suggesting that the model achieved internal consistency for the confirmatory factor analysis.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.g002

The measure of internal consistency

The PLS path model’s internal consistency measures were further measured with four indices: rho A, Composite Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) [ 38 ]. Results reported in Table 2 show that Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values obtained for all the constructs ranged from 0.526 to 0.739, and Composite Reliability values were also between 0.810 and 0.905. The last two indices also recorded values ranging between 0.703 and 0.872 for rho -A and 0.701–0.869 for Cronbach’s Alpha. All constructs attained recommended a minimum threshold of 0.70 for Composite Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha, and rho A [ 38 ]. Additionally, [ 39 ] recommended a minimum threshold of 0.50 for Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was also attained. Thus, both reliability and validity were attained for all four constructs in the study.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.t002

Discriminant validity

Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) was used to ascertain the exclusivity of each construct in the model, as recommended by [ 40 ]. The results, as presented in Table 3 , show that the diagonal loadings between variables of the study were below 0.85 thresholds and for the same variable was zero [ 40 ]. Thus, discriminant validity was achieved for the PLS path model.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.t003

Multicollinearity

The inner VIF (variance inflated factors) was used to check the existence of multicollinearity since its existence can fluctuate or affect the results. The recommendations of [ 38 ] of VIF values below 3.3 as an indication of the absence of multicollinearity were used, and the results is presented in Table 4 . The results revealed that all values of VIF were indeed below 3.3 thresholds, suggesting that there were no multicollinearity issues. Deatialed outer VIF values can be seen from S2 Appendix .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.t004

Path analysis and hypotheses testing for the model

Before results for path analysis are presented, a bootstrapping sequence of 5000 samples utilised in the PLS according to the recommendation of [ 38 ] was carried out. The results, as presented in Fig 3 , confirmed the significance of the hypothesised paths.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.g003

Results for hypotheses testing

Table 4 presents the detailed results of path significance determined from the PLS bootstrapping sequence. The results revealed that the structural model explained about 0.137 variances in intention to participate in international assignments (INTPERF), and 0.154 variances in motivation (MOT) as expressed under the R 2 . The adjusted r-square in Table 4 further supports the results for the R2. The approximate 13.7 percent variance explained by the independent variables of the study suggests that there were other factors that influenced the intention to accept an international assignment among workers in developing economies that were not included in the model.

The results for the path analysis, as presented in Table 4 , suggest that four out of the five hypotheses guiding the study were supported since they attained statistical significance. That is, cultural disposition (CD) had a statistically significant relationship with motivation to accept an international job or assignment (MOT) at ( β = 0.393, t = 10.235, p = 0.000) for hypothesis two. There was a significant statistical relationship between demotivation for international assignment (DEMOT) and intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.106, t = 2.604, p = 0.009) for hypothesis three; and motivation for expatriation (MOT) and expatriate’s intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.137, t = 6.902, p = 0.000) for hypothesis four of the study. The last hypothesis was supported because it attained statistical significance. That is, motivation (MOT) statistically and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition (CD) and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) for hypotheses five at ( β = 0.158, t = 7.852, p = 0.000). Meanwhile, the study found a non-statistical significant relationship between cultural disposition (CD) and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF) at ( β = 0.015, t = 0.394, p = 0.693) for hypothesis one.

Importance of performance map analysis (IPMA)

PLS Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) was conducted in this study to further check the PLS estimates of the structural model variable relationships, and the results are presented in Table 5 . The analysis compares the constructs’ total effect to that of its performance to determine the most relevant to consider for policy decisions. This was done based on [ 37 ] argument that the total effects represented the sum of direct and indirect effects; hence, the unstandardised effects were relied upon by the IPMA to enable a “ceteris paribus” interpretation of predecessor constructs’ impact on the target construct.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.t005

This meant that the size of the total unstandardised effect increased the performance of the target construct when there was an increase in certain predecessor construct’s performance. The results, as presented in Table 5 , show the IPMA values for expatriates intention to participate in an international assignment (INTPERF). From Table 5 , the construct with the highest and strongest performance value was cultural disposition (CD), with a value of 74.117. However, cultural disposition was not the most relevant in predicting expatriate intention in the model since its importance value was the second-highest (0.173). Therefore, the model’s most relevant predictor of expatriate performance was rather a motivation to take on expatriate assignment (MOT) with the highest value of 0. 399. The results are further corroborated by the additional information provided in Fig 4 . It is obvious from Fig 5 that MOT was the most relevant predictor of expatriate performance in international assignments, followed by CD.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.g004

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.g005

Graphical representation of the PLS IPMA path results

Fig 5 further presents the results for the graphical representation of the IPMA path analysis for the PLS path model. This presentation was based on [ 37 ] argument that there are differences between the graphical PLS-SEM results and the graphical representation of IPMA in PLS outputs. The values of performance of individual independent variables IPMA are shown instead of the dependent variables’ values of R 2 in the PLS path model. Additionally, [ 37 , 41 ] believed the IPMA results highlighted the unstandardised and recalled the outer weights of the measurement models (formative and reflective) and not the standardised outer loading or weights. Therefore, the beta values in the outer model reported in Fig 5 indicate the importance of individual items to the construct and not the loading. Thus, in this study, the results of the beta values highlighted in the outer model in Fig 5 revealed each item’s importance to the construct and not the loading. Additionally, inner values presented in Fig 5 further revealed the performance values of each of the variables of the study to the endogenous variable and not the total variance explained.

Discussion of results

The discussion of the results session focuses on the five hypotheses guiding the study based on the three independent variables of the study (cultural disposition, motivators and demotivators) related to the dependent variable-intention to accept an international assignment. The findings for hypothesis one, that there was a non-statistical significant relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment, can be explained further. The result suggests that an expatriate’s experience in working in different cultures in terms of weather, food, and clothing, and ability to work with people of different cultures were good for an expatriate assignment but do not solely influence their intention. The result suggests that cultural disposition alone is not enough to influence the intention of expatriates to accept an international assignment. Thus, from the individual workers’ and developing economy perspectives, a cultural disposition is not enough to ensure significant relations with an intention to accept expatriate assignment. The results thus disagree with that of [ 6 ], who found that cultural disposition is a strong predictor of intention in an international assignment.

It is important to note that the non-significant relationship established between cultural disposition and expatriate intention in hypothesis one is further and better explained by hypothesis five. The findings for hypothesis five suggest that motivation statistically and significantly mediates the relationship between cultural disposition and the expatriate’s intention to participate in international assignments. The results mean that expatriates need to be motivated to take up an international assignment in addition to their cultural disposition before they can accept an international assignment. Thus, an employee must be convinced or motivated that in addition to cultural disposition, an international assignment will help him/her to meet career goals, bring him/her recognition, opportunities, and social rewards, will empower him/her for future higher assignments, to experience higher performance on the international assignment. The results mean that motivation is a potent mediator between cultural disposition and acceptance of an international assignment from an individual and developing economy perspectives. The findings agree with the findings of [ 31 ] that expatriate motivation to take up an international assignment influences their performance.

Findings for hypothesis two, that there was a statistically significant relationship between cultural disposition and motivation for an international assignment, need further explanation. The results can be explained that expatriates will be motivated to take up an international assignment when they have experience in working in different cultures, are able to work with people from different cultures and when one has the ability to learn other languages. Thus, motivation for an international assignment is highly dependent on one’s cultural disposition. To increase workers’ motivation for international assignments in other parts of the world, employers will need to pay attention to exposing workers to different cultures. This could take the form of organising cross-cultural training for workers expected to take up international assignments. This finding of the study equally corroborates the findings of [ 29 ] that cultural disposition is a strong predictor of motivation to take up an international assignment.

The findings that demotivation among workers’ assignments significantly predicted the intention to take up an international assignment have several dimensions to be explained. The results suggest that there are factors that can cause disaffection toward opting for an international assignment. Thus, expatriates’ intentions and performance could suffer depending on the level of dissatisfaction. A low dissatisfaction could lead to a low effect on intention, and a high dissatisfaction could lead to a high effect on the intention of expatriates. Thus, expatriates’ intentions could be affected if the worker’s spouse cannot accompany them on an international assignment and cannot get the right person to take care of the family at home while on an international assignment. Other dissatisfiers that could influence acceptance for expatriate assignment and intention to accept an international assignment were the negative impact of an internal assignment on children’s education and not being able to readjust after the expiration of an international assignment. The findings of this study agree with the findings of [ 29 , 39 ] that demotivation among workers affects acceptance of the expatriate assignment and the performance of expatriates.

The last finding of the study, that motivation for expatriate assignment significantly influences intention to participate in an international assignment, also need to be explained further. The results mean that workers will be motivated to take up an international assignment if motivators are attached to the appointment. Thus, if a worker is forced or coerced to take up an international assignment against their will, this could affect the intention and performance. The results further suggest that it is not enough to use an organisational perspective to determine intention for international assignments as captured in previous studies. Rather, individual workers’ motivation for international assignment is key for successful international assignments among expatriates. Thus, the findings of [ 26 ] that motivation among workers to take expatriate jobs greatly influence their intention and performance in an international assignment is upheld by the findings of this study. Though previous studies found a significant relationship between cultural disposition and intention to accept an international assignment. this study revealed and added to knowledge that cultural disposition is not adequate in influencing intention for expatriate assignments, but rather does so through motivation.

Theoretical implications

The findings of this study have several theoretical implications for Hofstede’s Cultural Model. This study is premised on a national culture that is generally characterised by high power distance culture, collectivism culture, feminine culture, high uncertainty avoidance culture and short-term orientation culture, as captured in the five dimensions of the theory. These characteristics need to be considered and respected by human resource managers when recruiting and training people for an international assignment in Ghana or sending a Ghanaian on an expatriate mission. This is because the findings of this study have confirmed certain hidden characteristics in theory. These are cultural matters in international business. There is a statistical difference between the populations of two countries or ethnic groups. The dimensions reflect stable national differences, implying that cultures tend to move together in the same cultural direction. Thus, cultural adaptation and integration become easier for an expatriate assignment in similar cultures.

Practical implications

The findings of this study have practical implications for human resource managers of multinational organisations. The human resource of every organisation remains one of the most important factors for international organisations. The first implication of this study relates to the relevance of cultural disposition for intention and expatriate performance. It suggests that human resource managers need to expose their workers to other cultures to prepare individuals to accept and work in other cross cultures. Cross-cultural exposures can come in the form of job rotations, transfers and teamwork. These can help to expose the individual to local cross-cultural elements, which could serve as a launchpad for accepting to work on an international assignment.

Another implication of the results of this study also relates to the motivation level of workers to accept an international assignment. It calls for ensuring that better packages are associated with international appointment. This could relate to remuneration, jobs for spouses, provision for children’s education, intense cross-cultural training and allowing workers to have international exposure by visiting the country of the international assignment before finally taking the appointment. Closely related to the motivation was also the demotivation for international appointments. Failure on the part of human resource managers of international firms to provide adequate information on the international appointment and exposure of workers to other cultures can result in two things. That is, it can lead to an unwillingness to accept an international assignment and greater chances of expatriate failure or poor performance. The policy implication of the findings of this study was that culture, motivation and demotivation should be taken very seriously by all multinational organisations for greater acceptance and for an international assignment.

Conclusion and recommendations

This study examined the motivation and demotivation for accepting expatriate assignments among workers in Ghana. Previous studies have examined these factors from organisational perspectives. However, the present study examined these factors from individual workers and from developing economy perspectives. Therefore, it can be concluded from the individual and developing economy perspectives, based on the findings of this study, that cultural disposition influences motivation for accepting an international assignment. Motivation and demotivation among workers were also found to have had a statistically significant relationship between expatriate intention and significantly mediated the relationship between cultural disposition and expatriate intention to participate in an international assignment. However, cultural disposition was found to have a non-significance relationship with expatriates’ intention to accept an international assignment. The contribution of this study to knowledge is from individual and developing economy perspectives. That is, cultural disposition alone is not potent to relate very well to acceptance of international assignment among individual workers in a developing economy like Ghana. Rather, cultural disposition becomes a significant factor when associated with motivators.

These conclusions call for a recommendation for managers of multinational organisations and human resource managers. Therefore, it is suggested that human resource managers expose workers to cross-cultural training through job rotations, working in teams, and experiential training. It is expected that such opportunities will reduce culture shock and prepare individuals for an international assignment. It is also recommended that international assignments should be made very attractive to be able to appeal to workers to be willing to accept such job openings. Expatriates should get more recognition, opportunities, social rewards, professional skills, attractive remuneration and other benefits, among others, attached to the expatriate job. The expatriate should also be prepared well for repatriation after the end of an international assignment.

Additionally, human resource managers should deal with demotivators with an international assignment. These demotivators relate to alienation from family, not getting the right person to take care of the family while on the international assignment, and differences in religious beliefs between host and home countries. This can be addressed by ensuring that expatriates are sent to their country or continent of their choice or similar exposure. Allowing a spouse to accompany the expatriate and providing jobs for spouses, as well as paying academic bills for children’s education for the expatriate in the foreign country, will be very helpful in addressing some of the challenges that relate to demotivation.

Limitations and suggestions for further studies

This study was limited to a quantitative approach and failed to capture the qualitative dimensions. The focus of this study was on the general motivation and demotivation among workers in Ghana toward an international assignment. It did not focus on only workers already on an international assignment. Future studies can pursue these dimensions. The analysis of this study did not consider the demographic characteristics of respondents in terms of gender and sector of employment. Other further studies can consider these perspectives. A comparative study between two or more countries will also be very revealing.

Supporting information

S1 appendix. descriptive results of the study..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.s001

S2 Appendix. Outer VIF values.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.s002

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284615.s003

Acknowledgments

We wish to express our profound appreciation to all respondents who took time off their busy schedules to respond to the instrument for data gathering. The support of MBA (HRM) students at Tamale Centre for data collection and national service personnel (Raymond, Samuel, Edwina, Dennis) with the Art and Social Science Unit, CoDE, UCC during data analysis is also recognised and appreciated. God bless you all.

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• 28. Hofstede G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
• 29. Oppong N.Y & Opoku F. (2021). International human resource management. College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana: UCC printing Press University
• 35. Creswell J.W. (2009). Research design: qualitative: Quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
• 39. Kline R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modelling. New York City, USA: Guilford Publications.

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Intention for international assignment among workers in Ghana: Modelling the role of motivators, demotivators and cultural disposition

2023, PLOS ONE

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Opinions of Thursday, 6 February 2020

Columnist: Carl Odame-Gyenti

Ghana`s banking sector crisis and its impact on correspondent banking activities

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Ghana has just come out from a banking sector clean-up that sought to restore investor and public confidence in the sector instituted by the Bank of Ghana (BOG). The licenses of distressed banks were revoked and consolidated; some were merged. More importantly, officials who played key roles leading to the collapse of such banks are facing prosecution and have been barred from playing roles in the financial services industry in Ghana. The new banking regime has placed sound corporate governance including adherence to acceptable Anti Money Laundering /Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) standards at the forefront of corresponding banking practice. In fact, the reforms in the banking sector which began in August 2017 was successfully completed end of January 2019. We now have a more resilient financial sector, well-positioned to support economic growth. A report from the Ministry of Finance’s 2020 budget statement, page 47 placed the cost of financial sector clean up to some Ghs16.4bn which represented about 5% of the country`s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This comprises Banks (Ghs11.7bn), Savings and Loans/Microfinance Institutions (Ghs2.4bn), Fund Managers (Ghs1.5bn) and Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) (Ghs0.8m) Since the beginning of the shakeup by the regulator, the focus has mainly been on how some 4million clients and investors who were adversely affected by the cleanup would be able to retrieve their funds. However, the situation also had far-reaching effects for the entire banking industry for Banks who have Correspondent Banking (CB) relationship with some international banks. Corresponding Banking Defined In simple terms, Corresponding Banking is the provision of banking-related services by one bank (Correspondent – say ‘Bank A limited’ to another ‘Bank B Limited’ (Respondent). This enables the Respondent to provide its own clients with cross-border products and services that it cannot provide them by itself, typically due to lack of an international network. In other words, a Correspondent is effectively an intermediary for the Respondent and executes, processes clears payment transactions for clients of the Respondent. The impact of the sector reforms has forced major corresponding banks to take a strong view on some banks in areas of: Onboarding restriction for prospective Respondent Banks Following the banking sector crisis, a lot of international banks have scaled-down on onboarding new banks who had the appetite to establish new Corresponding bank relationships. This is attributable to the weak Anti Money Laundering / Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) framework of some of the banks in Ghana. Inadequate Sanction Programmes Sanctions are legal measures imposed by countries or groups of countries that prohibit or restrict dealings with specific individuals, entities, or countries. Due to elevated risk in CB relationships where the underlying clients of respondent bank clients are not known, most international banks have updated their sanctions framework with the expectation that respondent banks will meet such high international standards. It`s important for Banks to put in place a strong mechanism to check all potential ‘red flags’ that may impact their CB relationships. Some of these red flags include; Customer/counterparty refusing to provide further information on parties/locations, unusual transaction structures which do not make commercial sense, indications that client company is controlled from a Sanctioned Country (e.g. shareholders are from a Sanctioned Country or parent company is incorporated in a Sanctioned Country) Correspondence indicating a Sanctioned Country address/fax number, Email address domain shows a Sanctioned Country. Reduced credit exposures on Banks Every correspondent bank offering Trade Finance services such as Financial Institution Trade Loans, Letters of Credit Confirmation and Discounting, Bonds and guarantees requires the CB bank to provide credit lines (Limit) to support such products of the respondent bank. However, following the financial crisis, some international banks have reduced their exposures on some banks due to their low levels of Capital and Capital Adequacy Ratios (CAR). Some CB banks are not allowed to expose to some banks more than 25% of their Tier 1. Weak Anti-Money Laundering / Counter-terrorism Financing (“AML/CTF”) Ghana is currently on Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) list of countries with strategic AML deficiencies. The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (“GIABA”) conducted a follow-up review on Ghana in October 2018 and according to that report, Ghana made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and GIABA to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime in order to address any related technical deficiencies. Ghana has since been making important progress in relation to addressing the technical compliance deficiencies in terms of implementing and improving AML measures. This requires banks to strengthen their AML/CTF framework and procedures to meet international banking practices including conducting the appropriate customer due diligence. Enhance Transaction Screening and Monitoring System The financial crisis saw many international banks requesting respondent banks to enhance their transaction screening and monitoring systems. It is interesting to note that in this 21st century where fraud and Cybersecurity has become the order of the day, some banks are still manually monitoring transactions instead of adopting an automated approach to transaction monitoring. Manual identification takes place through the vigilance of employees who identify suspicious behaviour of a client either through their engagements with the client, through media reports or thorough assessment of the transactions of the client. It`s the expectation of Correspondent Banks that, respondents have well-automated transaction screening and monitoring systems. The list can go on and on. However, to sum up, Banks must pay close attention to current deficiencies in AML/CTF, Dodd-Frank and Wolfsburg Questionnaire, sanctions, screening, monitoring and all corresponding banking activities that may impact their underlying clients Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal views and doesn’t represent the institution the writer work for or the publishing firm. About the writer Carl Odame-Gyenti is a third-year PhD (Financial Management) candidate, a Finance and Telecom enthusiast, managing local and global Investors, Intermediaries, Non-Bank Financial and Financial Institution relationships with an international bank in Ghana. He has embarked on several international assignments in London, Singapore, Dubai, Kenya, Nigeria and Southern African markets. He has a passion for youth and community development. Contact: [email protected], Cell: +233-204-811-911

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3000 Euro für Geburtstagsreise ausgegeben: Darum lohnte es sich

Ich habe meinen 40. geburtstag in ghana gefeiert und dafür 3000 euro ausgegeben — darum hat es sich gelohnt.

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Ich habe meinen 40. Geburtstag mit neun meiner engsten Freunde in Ghana verbracht — wir haben insgesamt etwa 3.500 US-Dollar (3.171 Euro) ausgegeben.

Wir wohnten in einem Fünf-Sterne-Hotel in Accra und besichtigten Sehenswürdigkeiten in der Cape Coast und der Volta-Region.

Wir haben die Reise mit einem Reiseveranstalter organisiert. Es war unglaublich, und ich fühlte mich mit meinen Wurzeln verbunden.

Ich habe schon über 30 Länder auf der ganzen Welt bereist und wusste, dass ich zu meinem 40. Geburtstag eine große Reise machen wollte.

Es war mir wichtig, mich zu Beginn eines neuen Jahrzehnts mit meinem Erbe verwurzelt und verbunden zu fühlen. So entschied ich mich, mit neun meiner engsten Freunde Ghana in Westafrika zu besuchen.

Ich habe schon viel Zeit im südlichen und östlichen Afrika verbracht. Aber Ghana habe ich nur einmal im Jahr 2017 besucht. Die Zeit dort hat mich sehr geprägt, und deshalb wollte ich meinen runden Geburtstag dort mit Freunden feiern.

Mit den Impfungen, dem Flug , dem Hotel, den geplanten Aktivitäten, dem Essen und den Getränken hat jeder von uns etwa 3.500 US-Dollar (3.171 Euro) für die Reise bezahlt. Das Geld war gut angelegt.

Ghana bot eine einzigartige Mischung aus Abenteuer, Entspannung und kulturellem Eintauchen und war damit der perfekte Ort, um meinen Geburtstag zu feiern.

So sah unsere Erfahrung aus.

Wir haben uns im Vorfeld über die Einreisebestimmungen für Ghana informiert

Es lohnt sich immer, die aktuellen Einreisebestimmungen und Gesundheitshinweise zu prüfen, bevor man nach Ghana reist.

Als wir einreisten, benötigten wir einen gültigen Reisepass und ein Visum. Es war einfach, ein Visum auf der Website der ghanaischen Botschaft zu beantragen. Die meisten von uns erhielten ihre Pässe von der ghanaischen Botschaft in Washington, DC, in etwa zwei Wochen.

Wir kümmerten uns auch um eine Reiseversicherung und alle notwendigen Impfungen.

Wir blieben in Accra und organisierten die Reise mithilfe eines in Ghana ansässigen Reiseunternehmens

Da wir nur etwa fünf volle Tage in Ghana verbringen konnten, arbeiteten wir mit Awuni Tours Ghana zusammen, um eine auf unsere Interessen abgestimmte Reiseroute zusammenzustellen.

Die Reiseleiter sorgten dafür, dass wir uns um keinen einzigen Aspekt unserer Reise kümmern mussten. Sie kannten die Stadt in- und auswendig und sorgten auch für den Transport zu den einzelnen Aktivitäten.

Ich kann nur empfehlen, mit ihnen oder einem anderen lokalen Reiseveranstalter in Ghana zusammenzuarbeiten, aber lest unbedingt vorher die Bewertungen.

Wir haben viele Sehenswürdigkeiten in Accra, Cape Coast und der Volta-Region besucht

Wir wohnten eine Woche lang im Kempinski Hotel in Ghanas Hauptstadt Accra. Es ist zentral gelegen und eines der wenigen Fünf-Sterne-Hotels in Accra.

Wenn wir nicht gerade auf unseren täglichen Ausflügen waren, boten der Pool und das Spa des Kempinski die perfekte Erholung. Das Hotelfrühstück , das wir zu unserem Aufenthalt hinzubuchen konnten, war auch eine gute Möglichkeit, jeden Tag zu beginnen.

Während unseres Aufenthalts in Accra besuchten wir berühmte Sehenswürdigkeiten wie den Independence Square, den Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, den Makola Market und das W.E.B. DuBois Centre. Wir genossen auch das pulsierende Nachtleben der Stadt.

An einem anderen Tag fuhren wir drei Stunden in die Region Cape Coast und besuchten das Cape Coast Castle .

Dies war einst ein Handelsposten, von dem aus Tausende von versklavten Afrikanern zu ihrer erzwungenen Reise über den Atlantik aufbrachen. Dort konnten wir durch das „Tor ohne Wiederkehr“ gehen, durch das sie auf die Schiffe gebracht wurden. Das war ein bewegendes Erlebnis.

Wir erhielten auch traditionelle ghanaische Namen von einem lokalen Stammeshäuptling, der uns als Nachkommen Afrikas „Zuhause“ willkommen hieß.

In der Volta-Region unternahmen wir eine 30-minütige Bootsfahrt im Royal Senchi Resort und aßen anschließend im Hotelrestaurant ein köstliches Mittagessen. Es war etwa zwei Stunden von Accra entfernt, aber die Fahrt war es wert, um eine andere Region in Ghana zu sehen.

Wir haben während der gesamten Reise gut gegessen und getrunken

Wir haben versucht, die perfekte Balance zwischen dem Probieren neuer ghanaischer Gerichte und dem Genießen anderer Speisen aus aller Welt zu finden.

In Ghana aßen wir traditionelle Gerichte wie Jollof-Reis (ein Gericht mit Tomaten, Chilis und Gewürzen), Banku (fermentierte Teigbällchen) und Kelewele (scharfe frittierte Kochbananen). Wir nahmen sogar an einem Kochkurs mit einem einheimischen Koch teil, um zu lernen, wie man traditionelle Gerichte zubereitet.

Zum Mittagessen gingen wir in einheimische Lokale wie Chez Clarisse und Buka. Zum Abendessen gingen wir in mehrere gehobene Restaurants wie Shogun und Bella Afrik.

So konnte ich meinen 40. Geburtstag am besten verbringen

Bei der Feier meines 40. Geburtstags in Ghana ging es nicht nur um das Reiseziel, sondern auch darum, bleibende Erinnerungen voller Abenteuer, Kultur und Entspannung zu schaffen.

Mit seinen gastfreundlichen Menschen, seiner reichen Geschichte und seinen atemberaubenden Landschaften bot Ghana eine unvergessliche Erfahrung, die meinen runden Geburtstag zu etwas ganz Besonderem machte.

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