NWU hosts guest lecture by University of Ghana's pro vice-chancellor

On 19 April 2017, the North-West University's (NWU's) campus in Mafikeng hosted a guest lecture by Prof Bill Puplampu, pro vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana and a professor in organisational behaviour.

Prof Puplampu's lecture was titled: "Between the elephant and the anthill: organisational behaviour through an African lens".

In his lecture, Prof Puplampu explained the time is right, for both scholars and practitioners interested in organisational issues in various parts of Africa, to evaluate our current thinking and strive to build enduring organisations by using the opportunities that our environment offers. Prof Puplampu drew parallels between the resilience of the anthill and the endangered circumstances of the African elephant, and challenged corporate executives and scholars alike to rewrite current organisational scripts.

An accomplished academic and registered chartered psychologist and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, Prof Puplampu also emphasised the role current practitioners in the field of organisational behaviour ought to play.

"For us in Africa, our circumstances require that we take a close look at the theoretical and applied implications of our varied and diverse histories, cultures, philosophies and socio-economic circumstances. We need to ask ourselves which organisational challenges confront us and how this affects behaviours within our organisations and of the people who work in them. Furthermore, we need to understand how we can apply both exogenous as well as indigenous thinking to address these challenges," said Prof Puplampu.

Prof Puplampu holds MSc and PhD degrees in occupational psychology from University of East London (UK), a BA degree in psychology from the University of Ghana, and diplomas in project management, human resource management and higher education management. He as published more than 35 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has been cited in numerous publications, including international academic papers, chapters and books.

Before being appointed as pro vice-chancellor at the University of Ghana, Prof Puplampu was the dean of the Central Business School at the Central University in Ghana, from 2010 until 2014. Before this, he held various teaching roles at the Universities of Westminster and East London (UK), and the University of Ghana.

His latest books are: "Management in Africa: Macro and Micro Perspectives (2013)", which he edited with Prof T Lituchy and Prof BJ Punnett, and "Sustainable Management Development in Africa (2016)", which he co-edited with Prof H Kazeroony and Prof Yvonne du Plessis from the NWU.