A Case Study On Warlordism In Africa History Essay

A Case Study On Warlordism In Africa History Essay Warlordism has appeared in many states and cultures in history. Currently there are two countries, in which warlords play an important role these are Afghanistan and Somalia. In my paper I will try to describe this form of ruling in a case of Somalia what have warlords brought to common people, how have they affected their lives and possibly how may their future look like. Warlordism is known as the prevailing form of political organization in the south-central regions after the fall of Siad Barres regime in the early 1990s. Warlords, the leaders of Somali newly emerged political factions, begun to play an important role mainly after the fall of Siad Barres regime in 1991. These powerful men, who base their support mainly on clan identification, changed the country of Somalia a lot when they were pursuing their own ambitions. The main goal of my work is therefore finding the answers to these questions what caused warlordism to rise in Somalia, what happened during their rule in the 1990s and what impacts have had warlordism on this country. For better lucidity, I divided my seminar work into four major chapters. The first chapter is rather theoretical it explains the meaning and origin of the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾warlord and it tries to offer some exact definition of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾warlordism. The following part of my paper seeks an explanation of why has warlordism become such a significant phenomen of Somalia, where lie its roots and it also reminds of the role of Siad Barre in Somali history. It describes the rise of warlords and also their gradual fall during the second half of the 1990s. For better understanding, I added two subchapters the first is about clans in Somalia and the second one takes a closer look on how the situation looks like in different Somali regions. The third chapter examines the impacts of warlordism on common life of Somalis, what was their contribution to Somalis after the year 1991. Again, two subchapter were added. The first subchapter explains, where warlords gain there resources for maintaing warfare and keeping their rule; it also offers somewhat interesting conclusions of researchers from the World Bank about Somali economy and Somalis themselves. The second subchapter tells about rather sad remains of Barres regime about militarization of society. The last chapter takes a brief look on the way how have warlordism and civil war changed the role of a women in Somali society. It shows that in spite of their inferior situation, they still carry on some important function in common life of Somalis. 1 A definition of warlordism Warlord is a person who controls a specific area of his country with military forces that are loyal to him and not to a central government. He uses his power beyond his legitimacy, often thinking that war is the only way of ruling. By doing this, he differs from a feudal, who has also military power, however he still stays loayl to a central governmant (or leader). This word (warlord) comes from the German word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Kriegsherr, that has similar meaning. Even Germans use nowadays the English term instead of their own.  [1]   Warlordism is therefore a form of ruling by warlords and can be described above all in so called failed states. Generally, in these states there is either no central government or authority, or this government has lost its control over the country. According to Anderson, most of the failed states share these three characteristic features: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Firstly, the central government has effectively lost control and authority over the territory. Secondly, internal violent conflict is or has recently been rampant. Thirdly, the level of human suffering is appalling. Extreme poverty and hunger are widespread and growing. Atrocities are being committed. Human rights grossly violated and otherwise curable diseases turn into epidemics.  [2]  . The Fund for Peace creates every year so-called Failed States Index, which mixes social, economic and political indicators. For the year 2009, 38 countries most of them from Africa were classified as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾alert. The highest index level was assigned to Somalia (114,7)  [3]  . In a specific case of Somalia, we can therefore speak not only about a failed state, but many scientists and journalists describe it as a collapsed one. It means lack of state institutions and state coercive powers who cannot offer public services anymore.  [4]   If we would like to be more precise at the description and origin of warlordism, there can be found four major characteristics: 1) Rule over a small part of country is overtaken by trained and armed man, who make use of instability of a central authority 2) These men seek their own self-interest, not a public favour 3) Legitimacy of warlords comes from their personal charisma and the devotion of followers 4) Because of their self-interest, country is divided into small political and economical sections, free trade is disrupted, therefore economy is slowing and foreign investors do not wish their capital to be part of this territory.  [5]   Examples of this system can be found in many countries. It appeared and appears in Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, Chechnya, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Pakistan. In this paper, I will describe the current situation in Somalia. 2 The origin and progress of warlordism in Somalia The beginnings of warlordism in Somalia can be observed after a coup detat in 1969, when general Siad Barrà © took control over the country. He rewarded well those were loyal to him, to his clan, but with the help of bribes, gossip and intrigues, he managed to fragment other factions (which were supposed to get weaker) this tactic is described as divide-and-rule. Domestic resources and foreign aid were not used for development, rather for rewarding Barres loyal clans and their military leaders and to punish disloyal ones. This brought a massive instability, causing armed oppositionist clans to rise against Barres regime, first in the northeast region, and then in the northwestern, southern and central regions all except the territory ruled by Barre. Combined with rather disastrous result of the war with Ethiopia, Barre started to lose control and other factions began strengthening their positions. It resulted into civil war, where Siad Barrà © was overthrowned and anarchy again r eigned this country. Cause of the Somali civil war is not only clan system, but the roots lie in wrong distribution of resources and power, long-lasting corruption, exploation, despotic regime and wrong development. All these elements mixed together caused what we saw in the first half of the 90s in Somalia. The loss of war with Ogaden gave a birth to new political factions. People from the Majerteen sub-clan of the Darod established the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), operating in central Somalia, while the Isaaq clan took control over the north, under the name of Somali National Movement (SNM). The last important faction, emerged during the reign of Siad Barre, was the United Somali Congress, consisting of the biggest clan of the Hawiye, and occupied central-south Somalia. At the time of Barres fall, there was about 15 political factions in Somalia. A year later, major centres were occupied by the four strongest warlords. While Mogadishu was divided into two parts between Aidid and Ali Mahdi, Mohamed Said Hersi controlled Bardaro and the port of Kismaayo was under the rule of Ahmed Omar Jess. All four fought strongly among themselves, bloody fights occured especially between the two leaders of Mogadishu.  [6]   Therefore we can say that former clans emerged now as political factions with warlords in their lead and these factions often crossed clan lines. What was also broken and missing, was the Xeer law.  [7]  Regrettably after the collapse of regime, warlords were not able to unify, to maintain central government with warlords in its lead. They could have governed the whole country, but they were unable to make an agreement, so all that remained was shattered country with relatively small territories, controlled by military leader. Militias were not struggling for taking place in government; the war simply degenerated in anarchy and banditry. The only exceptions rised in the north, forming Somaliland and Puntland. Fights among the leaders for remaining resources and for strategic points (harbours, airports, major cities etc.) brought great havoc to this country and because farmers were not able to work on their fields due to persisting warfare, hunger spread quickly among inhabitants. The result of their warfare was also spread of armaments, the nearly complete destruction of the capital of Mogadishu, plundering of almost all public goods and state properties, fleeing of almost one million of Somalis abroad and separation of at first Somaliland, and than Puntland in the north. The civil war destroyed almost all state institutions, the social and economic infrastructure and broke all food supplies, both from internal and external sources. Boundaries of traditional clan territories have quite changed since the start of civil war. Weaker clans have been driven out of their homeland, while stronger ones took their positions. The raids were targeted at profitable areas (rich agriculture lands, ports, cities etc.) and locals often fled because of violence that is brought by attacking warlords. It is also an example of Puntland, from which many people have fled through Yemen to Australia, America or Scandinavia.  [8]   The main interest of rising warlords was prolonging of statelessness, as their crimes agains locals errupted massive stolen property, unresolved property disputes and occupied territory.  [9]  It were not only warlords, who had an interest on prolonging of civil war and anarchy. Also some businessmen voted strongly against a rebuilding of government, as a new administrative could easily see through their business and cut their gains from illegal trade to minimum Since 1995, conflicts have changed a lot in Somalia. From a large-scale warfare betwen clans that plagued the whole country to only local conflicts between sub-clans began to emerge. These conflicts had much less duration and were also not so bloody, as only few people were involved.    The are several reasons for this change clan elders gained much more authority, also warlords have finally secured their regions and also have less resources to buy means of war weapons and ammunition. The biggest incentive gave however Somalis themselves people became finally fed-up with their tyranny, especially businessmen, who refused to pay any fees and taxes just for passing through warlord operated territories. Therefore they hired Islamists militias, who represented a formidable threat to warlords. Islamic radicals quickly restricted warlords rule. The real power had only those warlords controlling strategic places (like ports, cities, airports) or those in high positions (memebers of the government etc.) Meanwhile, businessmen formed their own private security forces to guard their property    since the new government was unable to do that; these private forces are ranked among the most powerful in Mogadishu. Although crimes of warlords are deceasing in progress, white collars are beginning to represent a new threat to Somali stability, since their increasing counterfeiting of currency, which strongly undermines Somali economy.  [10]   2.1 Clannism in Somalia Clans are basic units of society in Somalia throughout its history. Yet their role has somewhat changed in   last years, especially after the accesion to power by Siad Barre. First I would like to characterize a Somali clan.   Clan identity is not fixed here, and is subject to change. Warlord maipulates people to gain their loaylty to achieve his goals, (where they are political, territorial, economic or military). However, it does not mean that the members of clans change their membership constantly every day. It happens only when see that someone else can offer them better conditions. A few points can be observed about the changes of clans and clan identities in Somalia: a) traditionally, clans served more like mediators, their purpose was to bring peace and stability to the country, also shifting of clan identities was not so often. This was changed during the rule of Siad Barre, when clan leaders manipulate other followers to acquire their goals, and this shifting of clan identities became a primary source of conflicts (not clans themselves. b) in the beginnings of Somali civil war, conflicts occured especially between major clans. In progress, conflicts became more and more localized, even between the leaders of the same clan (fights between subclans andeven between sub-subclans), like it happened for example in Somaliland eventhough they gained some independence, new clashes emerged inside ruling Isaaqs clan. As I mentioned, the primary source of conflicts are shifting clan identities. But it it also true that clans are main and probably the only way how to bring peace to Somalia, as they it was in past Somalia. Legitimacy of clan elders and of traditional customary law (xeer) could be the sources of cooperation and reconciliation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾A clan is Somalia is a double-edged sword it closely links Somalis and tears them apart  [11]  . 2.2 Divided country The following lines describe the differences between the main Somalia region. From 1991, many formal, self-declared adiminstrations have arisen. We can distinguish between these four types transregional, regional, district and municipal. Examples of transregional and regional entities can be found obviously in Somaliland and Puntland. The problems is that although they provide some basic functions, they do not posses the marks of an internationally recognized sovereign state like issuing of passports and so on. But not only these two have tried to gain some autonomy the Rahanweyn Resistance Armys administration of Bay and Bakool regions in 1998-2002 and the Benadir Regional Authority in 1996  [12]  . These territories are often formed on clan homelands or former colonies, like Puntland, which is situated on the territory of the Harti clans, or Somaliland, the place of the former Brittish colony. Warlords could therefore build a new state by adding existing blocks together. There is however another clash between centralists and federalists. Centralists fear that a divided state will become much weaker and will offer an opportunity to neighbouring countries to slowly appropriate separeted territories, while federalists are mainly those, who dont have any representatives in government and fear that the TFG could take too much from them. There is a strong regional diversity in Somalia from the relatively peaceful and secure provinces in the north to the war-torn territories in the south. Rich lands of southern region, ports and acces to sea are the sources of conflict that still prevails in this part of Somali country.    The Lower Shabelle region doesnt seem to form some regional authority, as clashes between various factions and warlords over rich agriculture and marine resources still continue. On the other hand, the Middle Shabelle region proves to be relatively stable in recent years thanks to new formed administration. Other clashes continued to torment the Lower Jubba region, especially those around the port of Kismaayo. The winner of factions wars was the clan Juba Valley Authority, which holds a relatively strong position over this territory. Neighboring Middle Juba and Gedo regions also lack some strong authorities; the Gedo region must in addition face attacks form Ethiopian soldiers, who are trying to pacify local Islamic groups. The   regions of Mudug,   Galgaduud and Hiraan in the northwest of Mogadishu officialy claim some authority, but de facto have none. They provide no basic functions, have no authority or legitimacy to govern. Security is   provided by traditional leader and Islamic courts, to some extent. In opposite to the southern and the central regions, the north-east and west terriotries have succeeded in forming stable and secure provinces without significant violent   conflicts. Even administrative organs and state institution appear here, providing some basic functions. Somaliland, occupying the north-west part, formed on bounderies of the former British   colony in 1991. Despite two minor civil conflicts in 1992 and 1994, it has created its onw bicameral parliament, judiciary, police force and municipal structures, also elections are regularly held. Somaliland was followed   by Puntland in the north-east eight years later. Similar to Somaliland, Puntland also faced internal conflicts from 2001-2003 concerning constitutional crisis, but those two were solved peacefully. Like in Somaliland, peace and security has attracted some foreign investment and NGOs, however in a smaller quantity compared to its western neigbour.  [13]   3 The impacts of warlords rule In a case of Somalia, we can say that the absence of state authority or defined state borders is not an essential problem for this country. Most African states gained their independence almost overnight, which brought many problems. Examples may be ethnic conflicts as a result of arbitrary boundaries, weak institutional system full of corruption and bureaucracy, weak links between state and civil society or monocrop economy too dependent on exports  [14]  . Also most African people have had bad experience with both colonists and post-colonial leaders, who have often cruelly exploited them and used state institutions and state power only for their personal profit. No wonder why many Africans rather do not believe à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾modern systems of free market and liberal democracy. For a long time, they had their own system of organization that worked well. If we describe anarchy as a system without a central government, than in Somalia lasted anarchy all the time, before colonists arrived (the difference between anarchy past and present is that in pre-colonial era, round  ½ of population was not dying or being in danger of dying because of hunger, as it happened in 1992  [15]  ). Families, clans, tribes and villages had their own rules and traditions, with which their could prosper relatively good. They also had their own leader. Would it be so bad, if that leader became a warlord? Somali experience answers us the question yes, it would. As much as order within clans or tribes is well-kept, people still need basic functions of state to be organised. They need to have their rights protected, their basic needs to be satisfied. Property rights, security, infrastructure, electricity, schools, health-care or (for common people not so important) some political represantion; these things have to exist in case a state wants to be succesfull and prosperous these days. If warlords took care of this, it would have been no problem. However, warlords in Somalia have not been able to secure these things, they have cared rather about their personal gains while exploiting this already poor country and fighting for remaining resources, than about people needs. Thats why we can say that warlordism have affected the country of Somalia quite negatively, it has spreaded fear and hate among civilians and was profitable only for those who were loyal and close to the warlords. Warfar e brought among civilians was terrible. The Lower Jubba region was affected by far the worst. To maintain the patronize system and to acquire more weapons, warlords needed money. They gained financial resources by selling livestock and agricultural products of locals, later even that of foreign food aid. Rural inhabitants were terrorized almost instantly after Barre was overthrown. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Destruction was systematic, wells, ponds, grain stores, seeds and livestock consumed, carried off, killed or destroyed.  [16]   Because of many refugees, who were forced to flee the country and settle in abroad, we can say that warlords are responsible for Somali diaspora, which have affected many Somali lives till nowadays. Somalia is highly dependent on remittance and for many people it is the only way how to survive (remittances make up about 825 mil. USD in 2004, which is about 60 % of GNP  [17]  ). Warlords have also prevented people from reaching basic state functions healthcare, education, infrastructure and so on. Especially education, which is important everywhere and everytime, was signifacantly missing, as new young people can help their country, at least by describing and understanding what is happening there, so the foreigners could better comprehend what is going on. Furthermore, not only that warlordism doesnt help locals, it also keeps off foreign countries from helping. Risky environment full of chaos will probably not attract foreign investors. Foreign aid is stolen by the warlords, and those delivering it are kidnapped or attacked.  [18]  Under these circumstances, only few countries are willing to help such countries, whether with humanitarian, development or military aid. Especially in case of Somalia, after the debacle of the US and the UN forces in 1993, the Western states consider twice before they send some troops to these regions. To summ up, no matter how bad experience have Somalis with autocrative regimes, a creation of some state authority still looks better that status-quo. Stronger government (without warlords in its lead) with control over the country seems to be at least some solution to current problems. Furthermore, except of breaking internal security, warlordism also threatens neighbouring countries. Collapsed Somalia, without a well-guarded border, is ideal for smugglers, illegal trade of weapons and drugs. In addition, unstable environment will surely attract those who need to be hidden radicals, extremists, terrorists. Somalia is a great example, as after reclaiming the power by Islamic Union Courts in 2006, some highly-sought terrorists from al-Qaida appered in these territories. Which attracted a major enemy of terrorists, the government of the United States, and the US Army began consequently airstriking suspicous villages in the south region, where terrorists were hiding. However, the US did not well in this case, as they supported enemies of UIC warlords, who on the contrary used these resources to gain more power, so they could continue with exploiting Somali inhabitants. Not a good idea from the US, I would say. 3.1 Economic consequences of warlordism To maintain dissorder and to keep their power, warlords need money. The main sources of their income are money they receive from foreign sponsors, from taxes and charges levied on trade routes, ports, airports or in big cities or even on some sections of road, or, there have been attempts to use counterfeit Somali currency, which was printed abroad. Another problem of Somalia is qat (khat), a flowering plant with cathinone alkaloid, which is a stimulant causing excitement, loss of appetite and euphoria. The WHO considers this plant as a drug of abuse  [19]  . Since Islam forbids Somalis drinking alcohol, they chew this plant to have at least some feelings of intoxication. Similar to the Czech people, who meet in pubs and drink beer, Somalis meet in a place called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾mefrish, where they chew en mass  [20]  . Not only that workers are of course less effective while being drugged; what is more important is the fact that the distribution of khat is nearly entirely con trolled by warlords, who gain huge profits from the drug trade and they use these revenues to acquire more weapons and other means of warfare and therefore more power. Conflicts between warlords also caused massive economic problems. Except of human casaulties number of people who were killed by war and disease, who were never born or who emigrated is estimated about 2 millions, there is also a great poverty, by which is affected about 43 percent of population Moreover, Somalia finds itself at the bottom of the most African (and worlds) economic rankings. Also its external debt has increased a lot from the beginning of civil (2 billion USD) to nowadays (about 3,2 billion USD)  [21]  . Nevertheless, trade was not so affected by warfare and private sector adapted very quickly on the lack of state institutions. When Saudis placed a ban on livestock (mainly sheep and goats), they simply direct their trade elsewhere. This example shows us another characteristic feature of Somalis their resiliance. As I said, many Somali economic indicators lie even behind the worlds poorest countries. Yet we should mention that these data do not vary so much from those of pre-civil war this shows us high resilience of Somali people, who could adapt to very difficult conditions. Moreover, state collapse brought to Somalia what even structural adjustment programmes could not privatization and liberalization of economy and of all public services water, electricity or security; especially telecommuncation system have developed quite well so far.  [22]  It shows us, that Somalia was not unified politically, economic integration of Somali regions went on well through free flow of goods, services and informations. Economy is able to develop itself, although foreign aid is either missing (after the debacle of UN forces in 1993-1994) or being looted by warlords. Trade has to face some difficulties here though, as important markets placed in major cities have become too dangerous and risky for trading as a result of warfare. So traders need to operate on different trade routes. Also some states, especially from Arabian peninsula, refuse to do business with Somalis, as there are no veterinary controls. Menkhaus  [23]  appoints however, that the demand of Somali merchants for new roads a trading routes, so they could trade more easily and safely, is one of the primary causes of incurred peace processes and peace talks.   Furthermore, it is an argument for weakening position of warlordism. Without warlord rule, traders have better opporunities. If country is secured, if merchants can do their business without a fear of being kidnapped or robbed, if veterinary regulations are instituted, than trade is flourishing and commonweal is incresing. A conclusion of the World Bank research says that Somali war has its main roots neither in a warfare between clans nor in the Cold war, but in a policy of Siad Barre, who shifted from command economy to free market and economic liberalization, while still relying on the power of his own clan and fomenting rivalry between other clans. Consequences of these actions were not immediate, however in the future they have proved to have a devastating effect on Somalia. 3.2 Militarization of society A significant feature of Siad Barres regime (and consequently of warlordism) is a culture of militarization, something that have lasted to these days. Barres institutions had but a little legitimacy, law was rather forced by military means. After the coup in 1991, weapons could be found almost in every family, metaphorically spoken. Weapons have been used to settle quarrels between people and have even been traded on open markets. To make conditions even worse, several observes spotted that some Somali warlords are supported from the neigbouring countries, who dont seek a peaceful solution, but their own goals and interests. Main actors are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Yemen, who deliver their weapon-cargos though ports in Boosaaso, Marha and Kismaayo  [24]  . This was a serious problem for warlords, as they slowly started to lose control over their followers, as well as clan elders has lost much of their authority. Law was a one big uknown. Since any accountability could be s een and impunity became common in Somalia, situation got worse very quickly. (warlords were oppressing locals, using them as a forced labour or driven them out). Without any state authority, a real power lied in the hands of those who were armed militiamen, their leaders and young men, who sought in war their own profit (these men were often rather children, as some observes estimate that about 200  000 (5 %) of Somali children had been involved in militia activities).  [25]   Weapons that warlords demand and with which they fight are usually following low-cost assault rifles, pistols, hand grenades, rocket propelled grenades, mortars, heavy and medium machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons deployed in a ground-attack role. However, warlords commonly do not interfere directly with weapon traders, they rather authorize someone else to acquire merchandise for them. Luckily, in the past several years, clashes between clan-leaders and locals are not so frequent, but still most people keep their weapons, because they fear for their property and for their lives. This applies especially for south-central Somalia, the region without any form of effective and strong government. On the other hand, Somaliland and Puntland have made a signficant progress in demobilization, as their leaders know that without

Review of literature on vision, personal and organisation Essay

A vision answers the question â€Å"What do we want to become?† It calls for the skills, talents, and resources to make future happen. A vision is different from a mission, goal or objective as it must have a clear and compelling imaginary way that offers an innovative way to improve ourselves. Simply stated, a vision is a realistic, credible, attractive, and it inspires one’s future. Walt Disney for example understood the meaning of vision, he knew that dreams are wishes the heart makes and if one can dream it, one can make it happen (Nanus & Dobbs 1999). Each person must have their own personal vision in their life, as an example, one would dream to be the first female pilot in Malaysian Airlines but that dream will not come true because at the moment Malaysian Airlines is not prepared to employ a female as one of their pilots. They are not ready to change their traditional mind that pilots are meant for males. Their commercial advertisements reflect this attitude; it showed from the beginning of their operation their pilots have all been males. For that reason, if people want to realise their vision, they will need to relate or share it with the organisational vision. In a way, it gives people a sense of common ownership that enables them to cooperate with and support each other in pursuit of their common destiny (Nanus & Dobbs 1999). A shared vision authorizes and legitimates the activities of all who commit to it and act accordingly. It sanctions people, encouraging them to advance the common effort. As they do so, the vision also enables them to prioritize their efforts and improve their ability to serve their own needs and the needs of the organisation. As noted by Nanus and Dobbs (1999), there are several fundamentals where individual and organisational visions are linked. First, the organisation needs to verbalise with their employee where they (the organisation) are trying to take them; they must show the employee what they like to see this organisation hopes to become; and why it is important for the employee to move towards making his/her vision fulfil the organisation’s vision. Subsequently, the organisation’s vision and its passion must excite the employee and persuade the employee that by moving in towards the same direction, the employee will make a strong contribution and realise their own deepest needs for a sense of accomplishment, meaning and recognition in their own lives. Finally, if the organisation is willing to do all the above, and the employee find the vision firmly compelling and in accord with their own vision, they will commit to it and make it their own. Then they will see themselves not as the organisation’s followers but as colleagues and allies, working together on the same team with a common cause. Thus, when employees shape the vision of the organisation, it can reflect the personal visions that they have in their hearts and minds about their own futures (David 1998). Good personal and organisational visions are needed (Hills and Jones 1988), it creates a sense of direction and purpose for the individual as well as the organisation; it helps to drive decision making and resource allocation and finally to assess same significant improvement in the way they run their lives or the organisation. In addition, Nanus and Dobbs (1999) also indicated that personal and organisational visions provide focus, guiding decisions and actions, and enables them to filter the many issues competing for their time and attention. According to Nanus (1996), a shared vision between the individual and the organisation will result towards a long-term goal measurement, gradually accepting some major changes and has a more proactive planning style. In contrast, if the vision is not shared, it will only result in short-term goals with minimal resistance to change. However, a drawback for having individual and organisational visions linked together is either one of the entities must sacrifice their time or attention. For example, after 15 years of devoting myself working with a firm, I may think of retiring and start my own business within 3 years. However, in order to postpone my retirement and continue to serve the organisational vision, the company will now be required to top up my salary and entice me with all sorts of benefits which in my mind will compensate my desires for having my business. Having to say all that, many times we have heard some organisations failed to achieve their vision. This is true because a good vision will give a great impact towards the effectiveness of team and individual actions in the workplace. These few major points that I will elaborate later has proven the reasons that sometimes individual and organisational visions cannot be linked. As previously discussed, a vision is like making our dreams become a reality. In order to make it real, we must be prepared to accept changes and sacrifices, but not all are prepared to do that. We know that for organisational vision to be effective, it relies increasingly on employees’ discretion to change and adapt. If they are not willing to accept changes in their life plan, then the end result will not be so great. Employees whose careers connect to their life plans are more effective at work (Gillen 1996). Another reason that makes the organisational vision ineffective is due to the vision’s vagueness. If the vision is so grandiose it becomes clearly unattainable and when the employees know that it is impossible to achieve the vision, they will no longer work towards it. Finally, the biggest challenge of organisational vision to be effective is to understand cultural diversity (Hellriegel, Jackson & Slocum 1999). For example, although diversity can enhance a team’s ability to solve problems creatively because of different ways of looking at a problem and finding a solution; creativity may also heighten conflicts within a team causing more problems instead of providing solutions.

Tire City Case

Tire City, Inc. Analysis As a lender, I would have no problem giving a loan to Tire City, Inc to help finance their growth for the following reasons. The first thing that is apparent is the annual revenue growth. It is expected to steadily increase by 5% in the coming years. This means that Tire City has strong operating cash flows to fund its day-to-day operations. Additionally, Tire City, Inc has improved in total asset turnover over the years, suggesting that they are indeed growing their revenue in proportion to sales. Also, their net margin, gross margin, and return on equity have stayed constant over the years.It is good that there has been no significant decrease in these ratios. Furthermore, their noteworthy sales growth from ’93-’97 suggests they are finding ways to bring in more money such as increasing their prices. Another thing to be considered is the inventory turnover and payables period. It could be a concern that the inventory turnover period is at almo st 60 days; however, the payables period has been decreasing over the past few years, which means that Tire City is able to pay off some of their debt to creditors more frequently.Also, the company’s current ratio has been improving with only a slight drop in 1996. This proves the company has liquidity and is having no problem generating cash. Plus, it is apparent that the company has more assets than equity as the years move forward, meaning that they are trying to lower their financial leverage and their level of risk as they continue to grow. All things considered, I would be comfortable loaning funds to Tire City, Inc to finance their growth for it seems they have the resources necessary to pay back this loan in the future.

The Children Act - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2500 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Analytical essay Tags: Act Essay Children Essay Did you like this example? Question 1 When looking at the threshold, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s important that all factors are taken into consideration. The NSPCCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s research indicates that fewer than three children under the age of 10 were seriously injured or seriously injured every week. To give Lucy a fair overview, it will be important to take into account all facts concerned with Peter. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Children Act" essay for you Create order For the local authority to get a care order, there are certain provisions which must be met. Part IV of the Children Act gives power to local authorities to apply for care orders. This will need to be done via adjudication at the court who has jurisdiction. A supervision order lasts 12 months, with potential extensions for up to three years (block 2). There are certain conditions that must be met in order for the court to consider an order. A court will only make a decision subject to the criteria of Section 31 (2) of the Children Act 1989 being met. Whether a child is suffering significant harm, or is likely to suffer significant harm; and the harm is attributable to The care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give to him; or The childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s being beyond parental control. The definition of harm is defined under Section 31 (9) of the Children Act 1989. It is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"ill treatment or the impairment of health or developmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Harm is a subjective term. It is attributable to emotional and psychological harm, and does not just relate to physical injury. In the case of Humberside County Council v B [1993], the definition of significant was given its dictionary form. In the case involving Re M (A Minor) (Care Order: Threshold Conditions) [1994], the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"is sufferingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was interpreted by the House of Lords as to no whether a child is suffering in the present, but whether the child has suffered within the past. If the child is likely to suffer harm, the local authority must show this. In the case involving Re H and R [1996], the House of Lords declared that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"likelyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is defined as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"real possibilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Once the threshold has bee n met in relation to harm, the court must rule that it is attributable to the order. Beyond parental control is outlined in s 31(2)(b)(iii). This demands the court to establish that the child is suffering due to the decisions made by the child in contravention of the parentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wishes. The standard of proof in this is the balance of probabilities (more likely than not). In Re B (Minors) (Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof) [2008] it was ruled that the standard of proof must be met in order for judgment to be perceived in relation to s31(2) and/or s1 of the Children Act 1989 must be met, in order for the balance of probabilities to be met. By looking at the facts surrounding Peter, it will allow for an overview as to whether the threshold has been met. When looking at the definition of harm, as outlined by the House of Lords in the cases involving Re (A minor) (Care Order: Threshold Conditions) [1994] and Re H and R [1996], ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clear what the wo rds à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"sufferingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"is likely to sufferà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ mean. Harm does not just mean physical harm, although the in case of Peter, there has been physical harm due to the neglect of Peter (personal injury). ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s imperative to distinguish whether Sarah is suffering significant harm, or is likely to suffer significant harm. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clear that due to the negligence of Peter, Sarah has suffered detrimental effects to her physical wellbeing. Despite there being a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"child lockà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ on the bottle of methadone, Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s negligent actions have caused harm to Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s wellbeing. Section 21 (2) (b) (11) states that the court will satisfy the threshold criteria if the harm is attributable to the child being beyond the control of the parent. In Peterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case, this is a pertinent point. Peter is upset and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"distraughtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ by his actions. Although Peter did not intentionally mean to cause harm to Sarah, the negligence which caused harm is enough to satisfy the criteria of being beyond the control of the parent. In conclusion, it is likely when perusing the facts, that an order will be made, Peter was negligent and put Sarah in great danger with the methadone. If Sarah had consumed more, the severity of the injuries would have been increased. The harm was attributable beyond the parentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s control. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clear that Peter was shocked by his actions, although this is not a viable defence as the child was harmed pursuant to the regulations set out in section 31 of the Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Act. Peter is still taking methadone as a recovering drug user, which would indicate that Sarah has a chance of suffering harm in the near future without an order being made. Question 2 There is a general consensus in society that punishment should match the crime. The differing theories that exist, is that a person should punished in accordance with the crime, and upon deliberate wrong doing. Using the theories in reader 2 allows for a subjective overview as to whether punishment should fit the crime. The analysis will also be covering different areas of punishment and societal developments, proportionality, and retributive theories. Proportionality in modern society is a logical method which assists the correct balance between punishment and crime. Proportionality is used to convey the belief that the punishment should fit the crime. The law surrounding retributive justice is that punishment is unjust. The main aim of punishment is retribution. It is conveyed to defend the authority of the law, whilst providing justice to a criminal. In the UK, retribution has highly evolved periodically. This theory is somewhat outdated, and unrepresentative of justice in the United Kingdom. There is a retributive theory which somewhat justifies c apital punishment, in certain circumstances, however the right to life is a fundamental right. Article 2 of the ECHR have stated that there is a fundamental right to life. Whilst the UK is a member of the ECHR, protocol 13 states that the death penalty will never be brought back to the UK, as it will coincide with a right to life. Some theorists argue, that the biggest deterrence for murder is the death penalty, although within modern society, it is believed that the biggest deterrent for murder is taking away the freedom and liberties of the criminal. In some jurisdictions, punishments coincide with the severity of the crime, for example under sharia law a thief may have their hand cut off; this is seen as being representative of the crime, and will prevent further thefts. However, this is somewhat outdated in modern society, it is seen unrepresentative against human rights to inflict the same level of pain upon the victim, despite many leading theorists believing it is deserved as an act of deterrence. Deterrence is a form of preventing offenders from committing a certain type of crime, as the offender is aware of what the punishment will be. Individual deterrence is being outlawed by the courts to stop a person becoming a repeat offender, by trying to show that it is not within their interest to committee the crime. The 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s saw a rise of unit fines. These fines were scaled from unites 1 to 50. The scale was to determine the severity of the crime committed. Courts would make judgements based upon the offenderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s weekly income, and how much would be paid. However, this system was seen as unjust, it would favour the rich whereas the poor would suffer. If a wealthy individual was to commit a summary offence, in theory their income would not be to decreased, where as a less wealthy individual would feel the punishment more. General deterrence is simply portrayed to try and scare people to not commit crime. If an individ ual is fully aware of the punishment, is it seen that it will deter them from breaking the law. Using the example in reader 2, it shows that general deterrence does not always work. In Barbados, the sanction for murder, is automatic death penalty. However, the high level use of firearms and incidents involving murders has not have a complete deterrence upon the crime of murder and still to this day, there is a widespread use of firearms. In some jurisdiction, the death penalty is still in existence. It is now seen that the death penalty for the offence of murder is somewhat outdated and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t represent justice. Justice for murder offenders is now seen by life-imprisonment and taking away the freedom of the offender. Should a person in this day and age receive the death penalty for murder, it is seen that the will not have his freedom taken away, and will not suffer in a just way. The theory behind rehabilitation is to prevent an offender from committing offe nces in the future.. A classic example can be seen for young offenders. Courts will always look to rehabilitate a young person, where possible to ensure that they become a well-adjusted member of society. However, rehabilitation is not available to every offender. Some might argue that providing a criminal with education and counselling is not representative of justice, however it has been proved from rehabilitation that it does work. An example can be seen with the use of drug users. Drug users are sent by the court to undertake drug rehabilitation courses, to prevent any repercussions in the future. There are many sanctions available to the court. Imprisonment has been in use since 1795-50 BCE in Babylon. Within the past 200 years, prisons have been built across the world. Prisons are seen to provide justice and take away the freedom of the criminal. Philosopher Michel Foucalt believes that the development of prisons have been instigated by the middle-class, whom are trying to dominate and prevent lower-class aberrant behaviour (Block 2, p.48) Conversely, society has had an increasing view that the development of prisons are demonstrating the humanitarian view of society. The terms life imprisonment does not necessarily mean just that. Offenders are given a minimum 20 years imprisonment before being eligible for parole. The minimum sentence for life imprisonment up until the Criminal Justice Act 2003, was set by the home secretary, however some ruled that a politician should not be making sentencing structures and that the court with jurisdiction of a case should. In the infamous case involving James Bulger, the convicted killersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ lawyer argued in the European Court of Human Rights that Venables and Thompson had not had a fair trial, and that there trial contravened their human rights, more specifically: Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Lawyers argued that the sentence was unfair due to the need for a fair hearing by a independent tribunal. Fines are another way to serve punishment. Fines are seen as a fair punishment in low summary offences. Fines take away money from the hard working. Examples of fines can be seen within traffic violations. Speeding tickets are often seen as a way to prevent individuals from speeding again and to prevent road safety. There are also additional sanctions to speeder in England and Wales, proven by the deployment of penalty points. Penalty points are a good way to deter individuals from speeding in the future. However, should there be repercussions, prosecution will follow, and the severity can lead to a disqualification of license, thus taking away liberties of the accused. A community rehabilitation order was named under the Powers of Criminal Courts Sentencing Act 2000. The concept surrounding a community order is to treat each criminal individually and to apply sanctions in respect to the sentencing structure. Such punishments may include unpaid work or rehabilitation courses. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced the punishment of formal cautions. It is seen as a punishment containing both rehabilitation and deterrence. A person of good character who has committed a minor summary offence, is often given a second chance. Upon this caution they must not commit any further criminal activity, or face a more serve punishment. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 introduced the Sentencing Council for England and Wales in 2010. This was used to create a sentencing structure for England and Wales to ensure that consistency was used to create within court proceedings. This replaced the sentencing Advisory Panel and the Sentencing Guidelines Council. Courts will need to take into account the seriousness of the offence. The Sentencing Council (SC) and Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA) states that the judge will need to consider whether the offender has previous convictions, and what sanction was applied. Section 143 (1) CJA 2003 st ates that the seriousness of the crimes has to be determined by looking at the culpability and the harm that was caused or was capable of being caused. Courts must take into account if any aggravating or mitigating factors. Aggravating factors include working in a gang, repeated crimes against the victim and abusing a position of trust. Mitigating factors are of a lower level of culpability, and some examples include playing a minor role in committing the crime or provocation. Once charges have been brought against an individual, the defendant will need to enter a plea. Generally a guilty plea will result in a shorter sentence, usually one-third deduction of the sentence. Another area of crime, is corporate crime. This includes corporate manslaughter, pursuant to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Corporate manslaughter arises due to breaches of health and safety. Corporate crime, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t always surround personal injury. The Sunday trad ing laws are a good example of this. If a company trades for more than outlined within the act, they may find themself with a fine. The maximum fine being  £50,000. The shop has committed an offence by trying to earn more profit by opening more hours than allowed, and as a result the company will receive a fine and have profits taken off them, this is generally perceived a fair sight of justice. In conclusion, its clear that societal developments have changed the approach to punishments. While it is clear that in the jurisdiction of the UK that the death penalty has been abolished, it is still at large today. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clear that in the UK a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"fairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ punishment would be taking away the liberties and freedom of the criminal as opposed to prevent him from serving punishment over time by the means of the death penalty. It is important that offenders are given the correct rehabilitation and deterrence, to ensure that society develops an overview as to the harsh punishments put before them, if they were to commit a crime. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clear that legal personality doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t just apply to individuals; companies throughout the UK are bound by certain laws, giving them a direct personality. Word Count: 2481 Bibliography The Open University (2012). Reader 2 . The Open University, Milton Keynes, The Open University. 134-136. The Open University (2012). Block 5 Sanctions. The Open University, Milton Keynes, The Open University. 39-74. Bagaric, M. (2001) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Punishment and sentencing: A rational approach, London, Cavendish.