Effects of internal managerial controls on the operational performance of an organization: A case of Ashanti gold mine

Abstract

The study was focused on examining the internal managerial controls used by Ashanti Gold mine to improve operational performance. The motivation for the study was as a result of an increase in the number of accidents and fatalities recorded at work; bad organizational reputation arising from impacts of mining activities on the environment and surrounding communities; and other operating inefficiencies reported. The main focus of the study was to establish whether there is a relationship between the effective use of internal managerial controls and operational performance of Ashanti Gold mine. The study used explanatory research design and cluster sampling was used to select 75 respondents from a target population of 100 employees of Ashanti Gold mine. Through the use of a structured questionnaire as a research instrument for data collection, the study established that the scope of management system and responsible mining policy; health, safety, environment and community management controls, legal conformance, communication and stakeholder engagement; crisis and emergency response controls; and auditing and systems management reviews are significantly and positively related to operational performance. Other analysis performed indicated that other internal managerial controls used by Ashanti Gold mine are highly ineffective and the organization is not using the most critical health, safety, environment and community risk management controls for performance improvement. Generally, the study recommended that Ashanti Gold mine should shift its current mining policy to adopting a responsible mining policy framework which considers moderating the impacts of mining activities on the environment, community and the workforce health and safety issues.