TEAM MEMBERS
NAME EMAIL PHONE
NANA O. WARE
IRIS BARNOR
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT
MGT 201.10, FALL 2005
DR. STUART UMPLEBY
BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
RATIONALE:
The Department is the unit of the Government Agencyresponsible for the issuance of
Passports and travel documents to the citizens and residents of Ghana. The Ghanaian
government is undertaking reform measures to streamline the processing and issuance of
travel documents to ensure that no procedural irregularities occur. The driving force behind
this upheaval is the fact that the activities of this division are in direct correlation to security,
protecting the interests of the country and that of its citizens. Our efforts by way of this project
will help our client in taking the first and greatest possible measure in enhancing national
confidence in the integrity of the Department.
GOALS:
Our goal in pursuing this project is to help the Department develop a new process, a
structured and logically-related set of activities or tasks if you will. The implementation of
which will govern personnel and coordinate the application process, irrespective of the
different functions and agencies involved. The new process will also serve as a system of
checks and balances, reducing any inconsistencies and/or irregularities.
The business process reengineering phase seeks to examine the current AS-IS process and
design a better process that will make the work of all the stakeholders effective and efficient,
and also, to streamline the process so that it will be supported by the chosen technology. In
addition, the TO-BE process seeks to integrate the Department of Births and Deaths Registry
with the Department of Passports to ensure that legitimate documents are used to obtain
passports and any travel documents.
The next step will be to implement an enterprise technological solution for the tracking and
issuance of passports. The overall goal of this project is to eliminate the inefficiencies and
fraud that has plagued the current system, and also to help strengthen the national security of
Ghana.
METHOD:
A great opportunity lies ahead, an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with our client
representative in assessing their current processes and mapping out new and improved
activities. We will collaborate on this project via email, telephone, and instant messaging
considering the fact that the stakeholders are not in a geographically centralized location.
Below are the various stages of our analysis:
Identification Stage-
Model the process (as-is) and Identify the activities
Vision Stage-
Outline the process structure/work-flow, identify value-added activities, and benchmark
performance.
Design Stage-
Outline entity relationships, re-examine process linkages and integrate interfaces and
information.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Human Asset Design Stage-
Identify job characteristics, define jobs and teams, define skills and staffing needs, outline
management structure, specify job changes, design change management program and plan
implementation.
Implementation Stage-
Develop new process, train personnel, implement pilot, refine transition and perform
adjustments (continuous improvement)
Results:
Presentation of Group Recommendation/Project to MGT 201 class in December 2005.
Delivered Project Report to Steve Dankwah our client representative.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Initial contact was made with our client representative to discuss the goals and expectations
of all stakeholders going in, and to map out a viable cause of action.
After the first contact we established the need for a change in business process at the unit, to
incorporate a system of checks and balances, a form of transparency between functions and
procedures particularly with other agencies involved in the validation of documents presented
with applications.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. PROJECT SELECTION AND GOALS ………………………………………………… 5
2. BACKGROUND ON GHANA …………………………………………………………… 5
3. BACKGROUND ON THE GOVERNMENT AGENCYAND THE
PASSPORT DIVISION ……………………………………………………………………10
4. AS-IS PROCESS ……………………………………………………………………………….14
5. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS …………………………………………………………… 15
6. CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM ………………………………………………………..17
6.1. DEFINING THE PROBLEM ………………………………………………………17
6.2. THE NEED FOR CHANGE ……………………………………………………….18
6.3. ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM………………………..19
7. BENCHMARKING OF GHANA PASSPORT PROCESS AGAINST UNITED STSTES
AND CANADA ……………………………………………………………………………….24
7.1. Z-TEST ANALYSIS FOR THE BENCHMARK …………………………………… 25
8. TO-BE PROCESS …………………………………………………………………………..27
8.1. READINESS FOR CHANGE …………………………………………………… 27
8.2. EXPLANATION OF PROPOSED PROCESS……………………………………27
8.3. ADDENDUM TO NEW PROCESS ……………………………………31
8.4. POTENTIAL FOR WORKING WITH CLIENT …………………………………33
8.5. EXTENT OF COMMITMENT …………………………………………………… 33
9. GROUP PROCESS …………………………………………………………………. 33
10. REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………… 35
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
1. PROJECT SELECTION AND GOALS
Our group selected this project for a reason that hit close to home, patriotism.
Both team members are Ghanaians by birth and having grown up in Ghana, we have
witnessed the transition from military to democratic rule, from influence peddling, bribery and
corruption to the enactment of rules and regulations under the tenet of introducing
transparency into the governance of Ghana. Working on this project will serve us our
contribution to a major cause, a cause geared for the protection of our home country and its
citizens.
Our client is the branch of the Government Agencythat governs the issuance of passports and
other travel documents to Ghanaian citizens and residents. The Ghana Department is one of
the frontline agencies supported by the „Gateway Project‟, under the Public Sector Reform
Act-a restructuring effort by the current Government to simplify and speed up procedures and
processes and improve service delivery through the use of efficient systems and technology.
The charter and goal for the project is to design a new process that will bring efficiency to the
passport acquisition process and also ensure that the new process lend itself to technological
implementation.
2. BACKGROUND ON GHANA
Ghana was formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland
trust territory. Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in Colonial Africa to gain
its independence.
In 1966 the first President of Ghana and Pan-African hero Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was
deposed in a coup, heralding years of mostly military rule. A new constitution, restoring
multiparty politics was approved in 1992 (Fourth Republican Constitution). Flt Lt. Jerry John
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Rawlings, head of state since 1981, won the presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was
constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. The current President John
Agyekum Kuffour defeated former Vice President Dr. Atta Mills in a free and fair election in
2000 and 2004 to succeed Jerry Rawlings. Ghana, a well-administered country by regional
standards is widely regarded as a model for political and economic reforms in Africa. It has a
high-profile peacekeeping role; troops from Ghana have been deployed in Ivory Coast,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Lebanon, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia.
Facts about Ghana
Population: 21.8 Million
Capital: Accra
Major Languages: English, Akan, Ewe, Ga, Hausa
Major Religions: Christianity, Islam, Indigenous beliefs
Life Expectancy: 56 Years (Men), 57 Years (Women)
Monetary unit: Cedi
Main Exports: Gold, Cocoa, Timber, Tuna, Bauxite, Aluminum, Manganese Ore, Diamonds
GNI per Capita: US $380 (World Bank, 2005)
Internet Domain: .gh
Area: 238, 533 sq km (92, 098 sq miles) – The same size as Oregon
International dialing code: +233
Ghana Leaders
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
President: John Agyekum Kuffour
John Kuffour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), is an Oxford trained Lawyer. And on
November 8, 2000 he was elected president of Ghana after defeating Dr. Atta Mills of the
then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). President Kuffour was re-elected in the
December 2004 national elections to another four-year term.
Vice President: Alhaji Aliu Mahama
Alhaji Aliu Mahama is a trained Civil Engineer from the Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology.
Speaker of Parliament: Mr. Sekyi Hughes, LLM
Mr. Hughes is a trained lawyer and he became the speaker of parliament after the 2004
elections.
Foreign Minister: Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo
Nana Addo Dankwah is an Oxford trained lawyer and the son of the former president of
Ghana during the second republic.
Defence Minister: Kwame Addo Kuffour, MD
Dr. Kuffour is the junior brother of the current president of Ghana. He is also a practicing
medical doctor.
Finance Minister: Kwaku Baah Wiredu, CPA
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Mr. Wiredu is a Certified Public Accountant and he assumed his current position in January
2005.
Media in Ghana
Ghana enjoys a high degree of media freedom, and the country‟s private press and
broadcasters operate without any restrictions. The private press is lively, and often carries
criticism of government policy. Animated phone-in programs on a wide range of topics are
staple fare on many radio stations.
Private radio stations crowd the FM dial in Accra and elsewhere, most of them chasing a
limited amount of advertising revenue. The state-run GBC runs national TV and radio
networks. The news agency of Ghana is called GNA.
The BBC, VOA and Radio France Internationale are available on FM in Accra. Below is a list
of media houses in Ghana.
The Press
The Ghanaian Chronicle
Daily Graphic
The Mirror
The Ghanaian Times
The Independent
The Statesman
Accra Daily Mail
Ghana Palaver
Sunday Herald
The Vanguard
The Daily Guide
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
The Crusading Guide
And Many Others
Television
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) – operates Ghana TV (GTV)
Metro TV – jointly owned by the government and a private company
TV3 – privately owned
TV Africa – privately owned
MultiChoice – cable operator
DS TV – cable operator
Radio
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) – state- run, operates Radio 1
with programs in English and Ghanaian languages, commercial service
Radio 2 and regional FM stations in all the 10 regions of Ghana.
Adom FM – private
Choice FM – private
Vibe FM – private
JOY FM – private
Space FM – private
Peace FM – private
Radio Gold – private
Happy FM – private
Hello FM – private
And Many Others
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
3. BACKGROUND ON THE GOVERNMENT AGENCYAND THE DEPARTMENT
Nana Ado Danwah Akuffo-Addo heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; it is a cabinet level
ministry.
VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
Consistent with its constitutionally mandated responsibilities, "the Government Agencyexists
to promote and protect the interest of Ghana and its citizens abroad and to enhance Ghana's
security and prosperity through:
Promoting friendly relations and economic cooperation between Ghana and other
countries and enhancing Ghana‟s image abroad;
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Promoting Ghanaian exports, tourism potential, attracting foreign investments for
Ghana and enhancing scientific, technological and cultural links between Ghana and
other States;
Providing economic, political and security information and advise to Government;
Providing consular service;
Playing a positive and creative role as a member of the United Nations, the African
Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Non Aligned Movement,
the Commonwealth and other international organizations to which Ghana belongs;
Upholding the rule of law in international affairs and seeking the establishment of a
just and equitable international order;
Providing supportive services to relevant MDAs and local NGOs in their work; and
Assisting diplomatic missions, international organizations and foreign NGOs in the
discharge of their legitimate duties in Ghana.
The Government Agencyseeks to carry out the foregoing through a dedicated, efficient,
knowledgeable and patriotic staff.”
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
For the period under review, the following continued to be the six core objectives of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as validated in the approved programme budget for the 2004
financial year;
To promote and protect the interests of Ghana and its citizens abroad, and enhance
Ghana‟s security and prosperity;
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
To provide efficient and effective consular and legal services within and outside
Ghana;
To promote favorable conditions for Ghana‟s trade, foreign investments, tourism and
to seek scientific, technological and cultural cooperation with other countries and
institutions;
To promote fruitful political and economic relations with all countries especially
Ghana‟s neighboring countries in the interest of peace, stability and economic
development.
To play a positive and creative role in the international organizations to which Ghana
belongs; and
To upgrade the Ministry‟s human and institutional capacity for the efficient execution of
Ghana‟s foreign policy objectives
FUNCTIONS
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs‟ core function is to advise and assist Government in the
formulation and implementation of Ghana‟s foreign policy objectives, which includes
thoroughly proffering up advice on policy options in response to unfolding international
situations and events. The Ministry therefore, controls, directs and coordinates Ghana‟s
external relations and closely collaborates with other Ministries department and Agencies
(MDAs) to facilitate the realization of Government‟s agenda including efforts in the areas of
trade and investment promotion.
In addition to the core functions carried out to achieve the objectives contained in the Mission
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the following functions are also undertaken:
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Dissemination of general information on Ghana within the international
community;
Coordination of the interaction between the Government of Ghana and foreign
Governments
Assistance to national security agencies in safeguarding and protecting the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ghana.
Promotion and maintenance of international peace and security and the policy
of good neighborliness with Ghana‟s immediate neighbors;
Assistance to key economic players in pursuing an accelerated rate of national
economic development;
Issuance of passports and other travel documents; and
Provision of protocol services;
The Passport Department
This is the department within the Government Agencytasked with issuing passports and other
travel documents. The department in accomplishing this mission works in close collaboration
with the Department of Births and Deaths Registry.
4. AS-IS PROCESS OF PASSPORT ISSUANCE (THE DEPARTMENT)
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
GHANA PASSPORT ACQUISITION PROCESS-- AS-IS
Customer Application
Completes Submits & Fees
Application Submitted
Passport
Office
Receive
Application
New Validate Docs Request Passport
NO
Application? & Info on File Approved Issued
YES
Validate
Docs &
Information
Info YES
&
Valid?
Supporting Docs
Application
Return
To Applicant NO
Application
Denied
Page 1
When a customer submits an application for a travel document, the Department follows a
well-defined 10-step process. Is this a well-defined process yes; is it an inefficient system
relative to meeting its mission of promoting the interest of Ghana, its citizens and
safeguarding security, definitely.
The application, once the required fees are paid goes through one of three channels. If it is
entirely a new application, the paperwork goes through the validation process and both
biometric data and supporting documentation are verified to establish their authenticity. If all
documents and information is determined to be valid, the request is approved and the travel
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
document issued. On the other hand if validity is found to be wanting, the application will be
denied and returned to the applicant.
If the application is a renewal or „other‟ such as a request for re-issuance due to loss of a
previously issued passport, it is also subject to validation, though in this case the office has
documents already on file. The request is approved and the travel document is then issued.
5. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
With any initiative that will drastically change the way people do their work, it is imperative for
management and the change implementation agents to gauge where all stakeholders who will
be affected stand on the proposed change and what needs to be done to bring everybody
aboard for an effective implementation of the resultant changes.
As a result of the above reason, our team and our client (Mr. Steve Dankwah –the Project
Manager) in Ghana conducted a stakeholder analysis to ascertain where everybody currently
is on the project and what we will need to do to move them to a desired state. Our team
strongly believed the views and inputs of all stakeholders to be very important because we did
not want to design a new process that did not have the approval and support of the people
who are supposed to use it. As a result surveys and interviews were conducted and the
resultant stakeholder chart is displayed below.
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
ACTION TO MOVE
STRONGLY STRONGLY STAKEHOLDER TO
STAKEHOLDER OPPOSED OPPOSED NEUTRAL SUPPORTIVE SUPPORTIVE DESIRED STATE
Continue to get government
buy-in throughout the phases
of the project, and also
demonstrate and provide
evidence to the government
as to the gains, which are
being achieved at each
phase of the project in order
for them to continue to
provide their portion of the
Government X funding for the project.
Train and let the
management know the
benefits that the business
Management of process reengineering will
Department X √ bring to the department.
Ease employee opposition
and anxiety through training
and seminars, and also let
them know what benefits will
accrue to them from the
adoption of new ways of
doing things within their
function and organization as
Employees X √ a whole
The government and the
Ministry should embark on
an educational program to let
the public know the rationale
for the changes in the
passport procurement
process. Also, the public
should be educated on the
new process so that they will
know what is expected of
them when applying for a
Customers - passport and the duration
Ghanaian that it will take for them to get
Public X √ the passport.
The International community
is very supportive of the
project, and to continue to
secure their support, we
should judiciously apply the
funding that they are
International providing to the project and
Community X nothing else.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
X = Where this Stakeholder IS TODAY on the project
√ = Where this Stakeholder NEEDS TO BE on the project
6. CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM
6.1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM
The Department is the only agency within the arm of government that accounts for the
issuance of travel documents to the over 21million citizens of Ghana. The number of
applications flooding this office has been on a steady rise since the late 1990s. The numbers
will definitely grow higher and appropriate measures need to be taken in effort to improve
service procedures and better meet the needs of customers within considerations of foreign
and governmental policies.
Unlike most agencies, the business of the Department cannot be privatized. Privatized
agencies have an advantage in allocated resources and productive efficiency. It remains the
responsibility of the Government to balance the objectives and the rights of its citizens. This
agency is considered a relevant part of the government and is being awarded a high
developmental priority. Since it has a viable governmental mandate, this branch of
government does not fall under the commercialized industry sector. It is of great importance
not to lose sight of the fact that government has within its power the means to achieving
national security, therefore reforming the current processes and practices within this office is
long overdue.
A complete overhaul of the system is not necessary in this case; rather we seek to develop a
stream of processes from the current processes and improve upon those steps by adding
relevant steps that will meet the objectives laid out.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
The recent spate of worldwide events affecting national security including but not limited to;
passport fraud, identity thefts, absconding from the toil‟s of the law, and engaging in illegal
conduct which violates the laws of nations has led to the Ghanaian government taking an
introspective look at its existence.
6.2 THE NEED FOR CHANGE
When an application for a Ghanaian passport or travel document is submitted there is no
formal validation process to verify the authenticity of those documents or the identity of the
applicant. There are people who hold claim to a Passport issued by the agency, some of
whom are not entitled to by law, such as individuals from other nations, many of whom are not
in good standing with the law. How, one may ask did such individuals come to possess such
documents.
The absence of technology –means documents cannot be verified to ascertain their
validity.
Supplemental documents required by law to be submitted with all applications
were in certain cases incomplete, altogether falsified or wholly absent. It is interesting
to note that in all three scenarios passports were issued by the agency.
Some applications are not vetted but approved for issuance regardless
Applicable fees are never paid in some instances, at least to the processing office.
Which leaves you wondering where did those monies go?
Document verifications are bypassed completely
No substantial checks or inquiries are made into the backgrounds of applicants-
whether they‟re currently listed on police records as wanted or for that matter any
other law enforcement agency lists.
Incomplete applications are sometimes approved
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
6.3 ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM
There are a myriad of flaws within the current AS-IS PROCESS for passport acquisition in
Ghana. And to find out what has led to the flaws in the current system, our team investigated
the problems and the inefficiencies of the process. Through the use of a cause and effect
diagram (fishbone diagram), we were able to fish out the factors that have contributed to the
flaws in the current process.
The cause and effect diagram below sheds light on the reasons behind the inefficiencies of
the system.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM FOR THE PASSPORT OFFICE
Saturday, December 03, 2005
People Lack of Clear
Policies
Policy for reviewing Employees don‟t
Lack of training on supporting documents follow the process
modern fraud detection Lack of communication and policies in the department
across and within divisions
Lack of competent Lack of policy and
will to integrate the
Staff due to poor numeration Passport division with
Birth and Death Registry Why is Passport
processing inefficient
Lack of an Enterprise System Accountability and in Ghana?
to integrate the passport Leadership is missing
office and Birth and Death Registry in the division
No System to track
and detect Fake Supervision and oversight
Documents is lacking in the department
Machine Management
Page 1
Human Resource Factor (People):
Departments and divisions within the Department have specific and varied goals and
inadequate resources at their disposal to perform those tasks. The lack of training in large
part plays a significant role in the problems the agency is saddled with today. The phrase „to
upgrade the human and institutional capacity for the efficient execution of objectives‟, which is
part of the Government Agencymission certainly does not hold true.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
There is a direct relationship between staffing levels and functional performance. In every
organization there exists a threshold below which performance is compromised. Performance
has tapered off in this organization due to the lack of commitment on the part of the agency to
continuous improvement. Training is the first step to empowering employees and arming
them with the requisite skills to perform their jobs effectively. No substantive training policies
exist within this agency. Once employees get their foot in the door, that is basically it, they
work their way through the rank and file of the organization; rewards are based on length of
servitude alone. The foundation of the Department should be based on ongoing personal and
professional development.
Most of the staff members are not qualified in their respective fields, they bring a lackadaisical
perspective to the job, they lack in self-direction and self-directed professional growth. It is in
the interest of the agency to assist its staff by providing opportunities and economic support
for professional growth.
This leads to the one major problem hampering the effectiveness of this unit: the lack of
modern fraud detection. Since employees have absolutely no education on this front, they are
unable to detect the authenticity of the documents that come through their office daily. The
issue of fraudulent documents, some peddled right at the door of the passport issuing office
should not be disregarded. Individuals only have to pay a huge sum of money and they have
in their hands a new birth certificate, a new identity card, baptismal certificate or any other
identity establishing record.
There is currently no form of communication across and within the various divisions and
agencies involved with the process of issuing travel documents. Unrealistic as it sounds, there
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
is no system of checks and balances from one step to the next. Once an employee passes an
application on to the next step it is deemed okay and subsequently moved down the line. This
is where the lapses occur. At the beginning of this project we mentioned that there are
scenarios where document verification is completely bypassed, and incomplete applications
approved.
Some employees within the passport issuing office „contract‟ with applicants for a „fee‟ and
run their paperwork through the system. Bribery and corruption is rampant, and the only
means to curtailing this practice is the implementation of checks and balances. An article in a
Ghanaian newspaper recounted how an investigator uncovered a scheme recently by some
Departmentrs charging as much as 700,000 Cedis ($100) for the issuance of one passport,
which is supposed to cost 50,000 Cedis ($7) -- (Ghana Review International Magazine).
Currently employees do not evoke any sense of responsibility and accountability. Working in
the Department is simply a means to an end for paycheck for employees and this clearly calls
for a change.
Technological Factor (Machine):
We live in the 21st century; certainly every modern organization should have access to
information technology, if not for any other reason, to speed up functional performance.
How does an agency that processes about 75000 passports every few weeks handle the
workload without access to functioning computers? Every process is carried out by hand;
paperwork is piled up to the roof within the offices. This point justifies the backlog of
applications spanning 6 months.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
There is no existing system to track and detect the invalid documents that are submitted;
hence we have incomplete and falsified application support documents accepted as sufficient
proof. The paper trail is hard to maintain and keep track of. Since no sensible filing system
exists you have instances where employees do not want to go searching for a single file or
folder out of the heap, so they just pass the application on to the next step.
There is absolutely no way for the Department to verify with the Births and Deaths Registry if
the personal information on an application is accurate. Both agencies are clearly located
across town from each other and it certainly would not be cost-effective to haul files and
folders frequently to cross-check data. Certainly this brings to light the adverse effects the
lack of technological infrastructure and information technology expertise have on the
effectiveness of this agency.
Law enforcement agencies- Regional, Local and Foreign, have no means other than the
paper route in informing the passport issuing office of any restrictive actions pertaining to
certain individuals. In the absence of a database, all requests or inquiries are on paper and
stored in backrooms as such it is not feasible to rummage though tons of paperwork to check
every applicant‟s name against the law enforcement restrictive list. This makes it very difficult
for the passport agency to keep up with its mission of „upholding the rule of law‟. This is why
certain people are able to obtain Ghanaian passports and flee the country while awaiting
prosecution for various crimes.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Management:
There is lack of managerial accountability and Leadership in the passport division. The civilian
leaders of the department do not give their employees the needed leadership and motivation
for them to execute their work. This leadership and accountability problem has resulted in a
lack of supervision and oversight in the department.
Policies:
Although the department has a policy in place for reviewing and establishing the validity of
supporting documents, according to current and former employees the said policy is sub-
standard. This has contributed to the situation where employees cannot clearly distinguish
between valid and invalid documents because of the loopholes in governance.
Also, the Department and the Births and Deaths Registry need to be integrated to facilitate
and enhance the effective verification of documents being submitted for the acquisition of
passports and other travel documents. The lack of will to integrate the two departments
continues to give fraudsters and imposters the green light to engage in illegal activities since
there are no effective check systems in place to detect the fake documents, purported to have
been issued by the Births and Deaths Registry.
It was therefore a relief when the sector Minister as part of this process reengineering effort
announced that the two departments will be integrated to enable effective coordination and
information sharing to curb the problem of document fraud.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
7. BENCHMARKING OF THE GHANA PASSPORT PROCESS AGAINST THE UNITED
STATES AND CANADA
With every process improvement or Total Quality Management (TQM) projects, it is best
practice to benchmark your process against the leaders within the industry (countries). After a
thorough research of countries that have a superior process that Ghana can emulate to
improve it‟s process, our team settled on the United States and Canada.
Both countries‟ passport acquisition process though not 100% foul proof against fraud, boast
the highest fraud detection rates and service delivery efficiency in the world.
7.1 Z-TEST ANALYSIS FOR THE BENCHMARK
To help us ascertain the viability of the Canada and US passport acquisition process,
the team leveraged a quality tool called “Z-test” to compare the current state of the Ghana‟s
process against the two leaders in the field. Here we collected data on how long it takes for
passports to be processed in the three countries (Canada, US, and Ghana) and the fraud
detection rate in all three countries. Below is the result of study.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Benchmarking – Ghana Against Canada & USA
Report 8B: Product Benchmarks
Z.Shift Zone of Average
Technology
3.0
2.5
2.0
Zone of
1.5 Typical
Control
1.0
Ghana 0.5
W orld-Class
Performance
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Canada & US
Z.Bench (Short-Term)
From the above Z-test analysis, U.S.A and Canada are indeed leaders in the field. They
occupy a position to the right of the zone of average technological performing countries. This
is the area where every country aspires to be. In the case of Ghana, we see from the analysis
that it occupies a position which lies to the left of the average technological performing
countries. That the current performance of Ghana doesn‟t even equal to countries that have
been deemed as average performers is an understatement.
The Z-test analysis will assist the team in designing a process that can be tested against the
world‟s leaders when it is fully implemented. The team will be able to run the test again to see
if their solution meets the world standard or not.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
8. TO--BE PROCESS
8.1 READINESS FOR CHANGE:
The current government has established the need to change and has drafted a
program to coordinate the implementation of reforms within this branch of government.
This makes our work here easier. The government will establish the mandate to build the
capacity of the Department, in providing timely and productive service to the public. Prior
consultations revealed the urgent need for the employees within this agency to be further
trained and developed and the dire need to appoint skilled Human Resource professionals
who understand the vision and objectives of the office. These professionals must be able to
implement HR interventions to align the output of the agency‟s employees to that of the
overall mission. Such a strengthened HR function will seek to improve the policies and
procedures pertaining to training, recruitment, performance management and career
management among others
8.2 EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED PROCESS
To help the Department overcome its problems as a result of an inefficient process we
have designed a process that models itself around the US and Canadian passport process.
Below is the proposed process along with explanations backing our recommendation.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
1
2 3 4 5
Customer Receiving
New Or Old
Completes Submits Centers Accept New Administers Oath
Application?
Application Application
Submitted 15 Old
5
Renew
Passport Issued
Application
14
Submits
6
Application Submits Passport Office
Approve
Receives
Application
NO Submits for validation
12 11
9
13
Check
Validate Application
Customer has Application Application Documents 7
Submits YES and Supporting
Criminal History? Against Criminal Documents Valid Valid?
Documents
Database
Application YES NO
Return to Receives Sends for
Applicant Results Validation
Application
Application
Denied
Denied
10
Dept. Of Birth
and Death
Denied Registry &
Application Passport
office 8
Integrated
Enterprise
System (ERP)
Explanation of the New Process
This is how the TO-BE Process, which is modeled after the Canadian and the
American system, will work.
(1) CUSTOMER – The member of the general public needs a passport or traveling
document.
(2) CUSTOMER – Customer picks up application, complete with the necessary
supporting documents.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
(3) RECEIVING CENTER – Customer sends the application and the required fee
to a designated receiving center. The receiving centers are especially post
offices and court houses throughout the country.
(4) The Receiving center then sorts the application into new application and
renewal application/ replacement application.
(5) Administering of Oath – If it is a new application an oath will be administered
by a judge or a notary public Officer after originals of supporting documents
have been reviewed by the Receiving Officer for the completeness of the
application and the penalties for knowingly submitting a false application and
documents.
(6) The Receiving Center sends the application to the Department after
completing its process. This step eliminates the practice where individual
applicants submit their application directly to the Department resulting in
bribery and other illegalities between the corrupt staff of the department and
applicants who do not want to follow the law.
(7) & (8) Department – When the office receives the application, they then validate
it against an integrated ERP system, which is shared by the Department and
the Department of Births and Deaths Registry. This new system will enable
information sharing between the two departments. Information sharing is
imperative for the detection of fraudulent documents, which are presented as
having been issued by the Department of Births and Deaths Registry. Currently
there is no way of validating this claim under the current process since the two
departments don‟t share information.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
(9) & (10) When the results for document and application check against the ERP
system is received and the application fails, the application is then denied and the
reasons communicated to the applicant with the reasons for denial.
(11) & (12) On the other hand, if an application passes the test then it moves the
next stage. Here the application is run against a law enforcement criminal
database to determine if an applicant qualifies for an application based on his or
her criminal history.
(13) If an applicant has a criminal history or an outstanding charge then the
application will be refused or denied and communicated to the applicant. On the
other hand, if the check reveals no adverse findings against the applicant, the
application is approved.
(14) & (15) When an application is approved it should be signed off by a
supervising Superintendent, then the passport is issued and submitted to the
applicant through mode delivery that he or she chose.
Although no process can be foul proof against fraudsters and criminals, the checks
that have been integrated into the new process will curb the rampant incidents of
impersonation and acquisition of passports and traveling documents with fake
documents.
Also, integrating the department of Births and Deaths Registry with the Passport
Department will allow information sharing and the prevention of fake documents being
used to obtain passports and traveling documents. In addition, applicants who have a
criminal record will be prevented from obtaining passports and traveling documents.
All these checks don‟t exist in the current process.
The team believes that with proper training, motivation and empowerment of
employees and the use of modern information technology, the new process will
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
eliminate the issues and problems that have plagued the Department if it is
implemented to its logical conclusion.
8.3 Addendum to New Process
It is worthy to note that our new process recommendation will not be effective without
the establishment of three other areas pertinent to the success and implementation of
the reform efforts at the Department.
Customer Service:
One major setback that has faced the government and the various sectors the
Department included is the apparent lack of customer/client service.
No customer service facilities exist to serve the interest and requests of the public who
are at the receiving end of this service. This has led to an image of bribery and
corruption as well a lack of commitment on the part of the agency in delivering the
best level of service that the stakeholders expect. It is to this end that client service
units have to be set up to facilitate the requests of the general public and to address
any complaints that might crop up.
The objectives of the Customer Service Departments are to:
Simplify the process and procedures for delivering service to the general public
Carry out service delivery in a transparent, timely and cost-effective manner
Establish customer service units to oversee the resolution of complaints and
handle inquiries
Institute a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the services provided by the
agency.
This process will demonstrate to the general public the agency‟s commitment in
improving service delivery practices; provide a benchmark against which the agency
can be measured; provide a customer complaint handling procedure and detail
channels for redressing grievances.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
Records Management:
Storage and retrieval of files are a constant nightmare for this agency, contributing to
delays in the processing of transactions for the public. Performance within the
Department will be highly improved if employees are able to retrieve information
expeditiously, reducing the incidence of resubmitting forms and documents. Less
effort will be exerted in assessing the right information in decision-making situations,
speeding up the service delivery process.
Human Resource Policies:
The goal of establishing an effective HR management policy is to attract, retain and
develop a cadre of public service personnel through training, career management, and
performance management towards providing a high performance environment that will
step up their performance. (P-E fit, Ivancevich et al)
The objective of this process is to promote:
New, improved organizational structure and roles
Appropriate staffing to roles and functions
Enhance personnel skills
Greater accountability through performance management
New and Improved systems and processes
8.4 POTENTIAL FOR WORKING WITH CLIENT
In designing this project, it is suggested that the Department employ the use of the World
Bank‟s Rapid Results approach whereby employees review their work processes with the
objective of shortening and improving services. In order to obtain maximum participation and
ownership of the job process by the employees, it is essential to get them involved in the
process design from inception to implementation.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
8.5 EXTENT OF COMMITMENT:
The reengineering task force team is made up of both Senior and Junior staff members. The
lead facilitators of the BPR will be a team of two individuals who have knowledge of BPR and
have undertaken such measures before.
To ensure that the process is effectively implemented, the BPR office plans to organize
seminars and training for all members of the department. Also, plans are far advance to
initiate public education for the general public when the process comes into force.
The agency has allocated the needed funding for the project implementation and there is
leadership commitment to see through the project.
9. GROUP PROCESS
Our team adopted an informal procedure when we started work on our project. The goals of
the two team members were implicit and not necessarily discussed. The loyalty and sense of
belonging to the team at large eschewed from both of us at the onset.
The adaptation of the informal procedure enabled us to achieve our aims. No visible structure
existed, both team members assumed full and equal responsibility to carrying out the work
involved. We each took on leading roles and worked hand in hand to accomplish the task. It
was during the discussions that the leading roles emerged.
There was evidence of „pyramiding‟- a sequence of stages where we‟d each work on the
project on an individual basis and then come together to discuss it at length. Elements of
personal development such as working individually yet cooperatively helped us work tactfully
on the case.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
We encountered some constraints early on in the project. The availability of us attending ad
hoc meetings was limited since we both live on opposite ends of the metro DC area. We
therefore decided to utilize all mediums of communication-email, Instant Messenger and
Telephone calls. All these came in handy and helped us bridge that communication gap.
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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: GHANA DEPARTMENT
10. REFERENCES
1. “Country Profile: Ghana”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm, Accessed
11/29/2005
2. “Ghana Country History” http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0858408.html,
Accessed 11/28/2005
3. “CIA World FACT Book 2005 – Ghana”
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gh.html, Accessed
11/29/2005
4. “History of Ghana” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana, Accessed 11/30/2005
5. “Ghana Information Portal Web” http://www.ghanaweb.com, Accessed
12/01/2005
6. “Ghana Diaspora Portal” http://www.ghanatoday.com, Accessed 11/29/2005
7. “Ghana Review International Online Magazine”
http://ghanareview.com/review/, Accessed 12/05/2005
8. “Welcome to The Republic of Ghana – Government Portal”
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php, Accessed 11/30/2005
9. Memory Jogger II – Six Sigma, A guide Quality Tools (GE Publication 2003)
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