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Firing of employees

Margolis, J. D., & Molinsky, A. Navigating the bind of necessary evils: Psychological engagement and the production of interpersonally sensitive behavior. 2008. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 847-872.

Article Summary

According to Joshua Margolis and Andrew Molinsky, necessary evil is “a work-related task that requires a person to cause physical, emotional, or material harm to another human being in order to advance a perceived greater good” (Margolis & Molinsky 847). The research explores often overlooked best practices necessary for the well-being of persons who undertake emotionally difficult tasks. The managerial best practices include developing an understanding for oneself as well as recognizing one’s limitations. According to Margolis and Molinsky, “the core challenge for everyone who performs necessary evils come from having to do two seemingly contradictory things at once: be compassionate and be direct” (Margolis & Molinsky 849). The authors observe that managers who resort to layoffs often feel such mix of emotions such as anxiety, sadness, shame, anger, guilty, and sympathy. The authors recommend that companies ought to focus on getting the task done together with ensuring the general well-being of those affected, as well the well-being of managers who are forced to perform layoffs. The authors assert, “no matter how dire the company’s economic state or how poorly the employee performed, all human beings want to be respected for the effort they have devoted to the company, and they want to leave with their dignity intact” (Margolis & Molinsky 864).

Article Critique

The article deals with a relatable issue of layoff as a necessary considering the tough economic times those corporations are grappling with. The strength of the article is reflected in the manner the authors argue that necessary evils such as layoffs/firings or downsizing can indeed be carried out in a clear yet respectful manner. The actions can be managed in a manner that accommodates the emotional cauldron that individuals experience when they are the ones to effect the unpopular decisions.

The research sourced experiences of professionals from a wide range of occupations, including management, addiction counseling, medicine, and law enforcement. These managers were found to exhibit a mix of emotions when performing necessary evil actions. Furthermore, they remained psychologically attached to these emotions throughout the undertaking of the decision while fully aware of the suffering of those on the receiving end. The findings also demonstrated that managers were highly creative or improvised when performing necessary evils so as to customize their actions toward the victim in a manner that best demonstrates the unique challenges of the situations of the particular needs of the victim. The authors observe that “stress relief and learning are the two key components for taking care of yourself after performing a necessary evil” (Margolis & Molinsky, 898). Those managers who have limitations of managing their emotional reactions and at the risk of getting overwhelmed need a scripted response to a necessary evil.

While the research would come in handy for executives and psychologists, it fails to address such pertinent issues as the conditions in which managers employ varying response styles when executing a necessary evil. This is key because the influencing factors may affect differently individual managers leading to varying different response styles (Campbell, 293). The research also fails to collect data on outcomes for both the ones at the receiving of the necessary evils as well as the perpetrators of the actions.

References:

The Caring in Nursing

The Caring in Nursing

Nursing and Caring are known as intertwined elements. Majority of those who choose nursing as a career do so because of their desire to care for others. Caring as a basic concept in nursing has resulted into the development of various caring theories. Leininger’s Theory of cultural care and Watson’s Theory of human caring are the two main acknowledged theories developed in 1970s. The free dictionary (2002) defines caring as a feeling and an exhibit of empathy and concern for other people. On the other hand, it simply means having or showing compassion. As these definitions depict, caring is not just a feeling but also requires an action.

Theoretical structure of human caring has been established to serve as a foundation for education, practice and research in nursing. Within the context of nursing, caring includes doing, being, and being all at once. Bailey (2009) explains ten theories grounded within the context of caring theory or nurse caring. The common elements in these theories are the emphasis on the relationship of caring healing between the patient and nurse. The theorists honor caring as a sacred act. As caring science continues to emerge and develop in the setting practice, the debate on caring has moved from scholars and academicians to the practice setting. Practitioners have a difficult task in finding away of demonstrating how the practice of caring and professional models of care based on the framework of caring theory make a difference in nursing, organizational outcomes, and patients (DiNapoli, and Nelson, 2010).

The human caring framework in nursing serves as a basis in transforming the nursing practitioners as well as the nursing systems. Watson (2006) opines that curative elements are those existing within the interaction between the nurse and the patient which are an embodiment and a manifestation of human caring. Watson went on to say that, the ten caritas processes which are the facets of caring as normally portrayed by the caregiver potentiate the healing process. The ten elements of caring according to this author includes: the healing environment, practice loving kindness, spiritual beliefs and practices, holistic care, helping and trusting relationship, teaching and learning, promoting the expression of healing, miracles, decision making, and instillation of hope and faith.

The American nurses Association in 1995 defined nursing as including the provision of caring relationship, emphasizing on the significance of the caring theory within the nursing profession. Moreover, scholars have consistently continued to examine the perceptions, experiences and meanings that are related with both the recipient and caregiver (Lee, Larson, & Holzemer, 2006). Kyle (1995) on the other hand observed a growing interest with regard to the concept of caring, not only in US but also in other parts of the world. People had come to a growing realization that caring is the foundation in all nursing practice. The heightened emphasis and increased level of interest on disclosing the theoretical and conceptual aspects of caring offers the framework and inspiration upon which one will explore and evaluate the aspect of caring in nursing practice.

According to Nightingale, (1859) nursing means taking charge of the personal health of someone else. She went on to articulate that what nursing does is to putting the patient in the best possible condition to be acted upon by nature. Although this philosophy of Nightingale has been rephrased and restated since its inception, the essence remains that caring is the foundation of nursing. On the other hand a caring nurse is the one responsible for promoting, protecting and optimization of abilities and health, prevention of illnesses and health, alleviating suffering through diagnosis and treatment of human response as well as advocacy in the caring of families, individual’s, communities, ad population. The nurse’s focus on theory and practice is what sets them apart from other healthcare professionals. The focus is not just placed on the response of the family or an individual but attuned to the all round person and not simply the unique presentation of health issues. There is popular saying articulating that physician’s cure and nurses’ care. In what is sometimes regarded as a blend of psychology and physiology, caring nurses are established on the preferences and experiences of their patients and there understanding of the illness and disease project to restoration and promotion the maintenance of health for the patients. The wide based education for nurses and holistic focus position them as a network of health care providers whereby a true healthcare system is established. A realization that individuals have a responsibility for their personal health has triggered an increased recognition that there is a professional entity which emphasizes on education and practice. Such entity which is responsible for facilitating individual’s efforts in reaching the fullest health potential is that of the caring nurses.

Meleis (2007) in theoretical nursing explains that caring is the basis for the development of nursing theory. Established nursing theories in turn act as a guide for assessing and intervening in patient services. This in turn will render the nursing practice more effective and efficient. The compilation of queries and issues with regard to nursing practice in specific setting transpired to nursing practice theories. Such theories which come up in each specific health care setting are intended to explain the practical results and the impact of nursing practice as well as guiding the nurse practitioners in the daily operations and experiences.

According to Schotfetdt, (1977), the systematic examination of patients and experiences on their health is the basic concern in nursing. Among the factors making this examination crucial in nursing health care is to validate the development in nursing practice, making healthcare cost effective and efficient as well as building a body of knowledge in nursing. Nursing research is a study that offers evidence employed in support of nursing practices. As an evidence area of practice, nursing practice has been transforming since time immemorial. The education in nursing places special emphasis on the utilization of evidence obtained from research in rationalizing the interventions and deliberations in the nursing care.

The nursing staff and administrators play an important role in establishing a culture which encourages clinical review and debate. They are also important in encouraging enhanced communication in overcoming problems that may happen in the course of analyzing the efficiency of the information obtained. The efficient nursing practice is the role of not only the staff, but also the health care organization. The nursing staff and the individual nurse in particular should consistently strive to improve their specified practice since that is an avenue of stirring significant change.

Watson’ (2001) developed a theory that is well acknowledged in the nursing profession. The three main elements in her theory include the transpersonal caring relationship, the carative factors, and the caring moment. The major emphasis in her carative factors is to honor the human dimension of nursing profession and the inner perspective of the world as well as the subjective experiences of the patients. The two examples of her caractive elements that were eventually changed into caritas factors in nursing practice are consistently developing and sustaining a helping- trusting, authentic caring relationship and availing oneself in support of both the positive and negative feelings relating the inner spirit and the patient. In establishing this trustworthy caring relationship with patient, the nurse ought to be aware of any judgment feelings which could promote her or his crossing limitation into intimacy. Therefore, caring in nursing requires that the nurse have a deep spiritual connection within himself or herself and also within the patient.

Reference

DiNapoli, P and Nelson, J (2010). “Measuring the Caritas Processes: Caring Factor Survey”

University of New Hampshire.

Kyle, T. (1995). “The concept of caring: A review of the literature” Journal of Advanced

Nursing, 21, 506-514.

Lee, M., Larson, P.J., & Holzemer, W.L. (2006). “Psychometric evaluation of the modified

CARE-Q among Chinese nurses in Taiwan” International Journal for Human Caring, 10(4), 8-13. Nightingale,F (1859). What It Is and What It Is Not

Watson, J. (Ed.) (2008b). “Assessing and measuring caring in nursing and health

Science” (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

A comparison on the Roles of the Nurse Researcher and Nurse Educator

A comparison on the Roles of the Nurse Researcher and Nurse Educator

Candidate name:_______ _________________________________

Candidate ID number:____________________________________

Name and title of the interviewee: ____Principal Investigator _________________________

Describe the specialty area of the interviewee:___Clinical Researcher_____________

_____________________________________________________

The interviewee belongs to the following category: _____Nurse Research_______

Educator

Administrator

Clinical Specialist

Staff Nurse

Nurse Researcher

Date of interview:_______24^th March 2013________________________________

In person:___No__________________________________________

Via phone:_Yes____________________________________________

How would you describe your role in your current position and your educational preparation for this role?

The role of a nurse researcher according to this interviewee is to study various aspects that are related to illnesses, health care and the general health. In addition, they also look for means of improving human health, healthcare services as well as the outcomes of healthcare. While in their work, they identify a research problem or question, design and carry scientific studies, collect and analyze data and report the findings. In addition to their role as researchers, these professionals also teach in clinical setting or academics, write articles concerning their studies and research reports for medical, nursing as well as other professional journals.

These professionals start their careers as research assistant, clinical data coordinators, or clinical research monitor. The title of the principle investigator of which this interviewee held is the most senior position in this faculty. In addition, this presents the greatest accountability and responsibility that is related with a research study. In most instances, the nurse researchers collaborate with other scientists in such fields as nutrition, pharmacy, medicine, and engineering, in an attempt to address complicated issues in nursing health care.

How would you explain the unique contributions you as a nurse bring to an interdisciplinary team?

A research nurse operates in specialized and extended function within multidisciplinary team in a variety of settings. According to the nurse researcher in this interview, multidisciplinary team work is perceived to be one of the important processes by which care is managed in the health sector. However, there are those who harbor the perception that multidisciplinary approach in this setting is problematic. According to this respondent, working in multidisciplinary team setting needs expansive skills. This type of skills requires the understanding of the role of nurse researcher and also the role of other practitioners in the nursing field.

How would you describe the unique role of your specialty in promoting quality outcomes for patients?

Nurse researchers spend much of their time in trying to figure out various means through which health and the related services are enhanced. Nurse researchers are considered scientists who analyze all facets of illnesses and health. Through establishing and applying various scientific studies, nurse researcher is responsible for gathering and examining data and analyzing the findings. According to the respondent in this study, there is something very motivating and exciting with regard to acquisition of new information which is poised to not only improve but also save another person from a particular health dilemma. Nurse researcher’s help in discovering new information which people need desperately in making their lives better as well as furthering human development. The answers they generate their investigations may assist in preventing the patients from illnesses or injury. Finally, they also give comfort and care to those who have lost hope in their lives.

How has nursing research improved or changed a particular aspect of patient care in your specialty area?

A cross the health care spectrum, from palliative care to pediatrics, the nurse researchers assists in examining unanswered nursing queries which have significantly improved the patient outcomes, relieved pain and enhanced the quality of care in this region. According to this study’s nursing research respondent, not only the clinical researchers who have contributed in advancing the nursing knowledge but also the geneticists, engineers, as well as people from other disciplines who have assisted in a variety of ways.

For instance, the nurse researcher observed that nursing research has assisted in reducing teen pregnancy in her locality. She points out that when the clinicians learned that the adolescents were at a higher risk of catching sexually transmitted diseases, they started testing interventions measures that were geared towards preventing this problem. Other developments in nursing research is the use of technology in determining the patient’s pressure ulcer risks and introduced measures to turning those people who are prone to skin breakdown.

How do you facilitate patient-centered care in your practice?

In accordance to the nursing research respondent in this study, nursing research is a critical factor because it helps in improving the general patient care. The respondent explained that some of the studies she conducts help in enhancing patient care. The findings from nursing research assist in building the knowledge base as well as providing the evidence that will guide the nurses and other healthcare practitioners in their healthcare interventions. For instance, nursing research has helped to improve patient recovery after kidney or heart transplant, prenatal care, pain management for cancer and other ailments.

PART B:

Candidate name: ______________________________________

Candidate ID number:____________________________________

Name and title of the interviewee: ____Assistant Trainer _________________________

Describe the specialty area of the interviewee:___Nurse Educator

_____________________________________________________

The interviewee belongs to the following category: _____Educator

Educator

Administrator

Clinical Specialist

Staff Nurse

Nurse Researcher

Date of interview:_______24^th March 2013________________________________

In person:___No__________________________________________

Via phone:_Yes____________________________________________

How would you describe your role in your current position and your educational preparation for this role?

Nurse educators play an important function in training and educating new nurses who have just been recruited. In addition, they also assist in advancing experienced nurses through continuous training and education. As part of their teacher role, the nurse educators are regarded as leaders in evaluation, instruction and curriculum. This role includes leadership in various educational contexts, such as clinical teaching, supervision, virtual teaching, classroom teaching, as well applying the acquired knowledge of the learning process and managing the learning environment.

Nurse education is an occupation with very few practitioners. This has made it to receive and increasingly higher national attention owing to the shortage of the applicants. This shortage of qualified nurse educators has consequently contributed to shortage of RNs.

How would you explain the unique contributions you as a nurse bring to an interdisciplinary team?

According to the nurse educator interviewed, the significance’s of interdisciplinary involvement by not only the nurse educator but all the health care team is crucial to effective patient care. The major barrier that bars effective collaboration in this team is lack of communication among disciplines. There have been cases where unclear communication spars disagreements among the practitioners over “turf” and incapability to collaborate, both between the teams and individuals. In most cases, patients get bored by team members who give patients instructions that are already taught by others. This means that there is a need to move patients through a system which is efficient and cost effective means which must be learned collaboratively by nurses as well as other healthcare practitioners.

Because of the nursing’s consistent and visible presence on the side of the patient, the nurse educators and all the health care team are placed in a unique position in providing leadership for patient education and capitalizing on the strengths of each discipline for the patient’s advantage. It is crucial for every nurse to understand the important contributions which other heath care practitioners can make to patient education. In doing this, the nurse would need to understand the experience and skills of every member in the team.

How would you describe the unique role of your specialty in promoting quality outcomes for patients?

The nurse educator respondent in this study did not answer this query.

How has nursing research improved or changed a particular aspect of patient care in your specialty area?

Patients whose situation has declined so much in the sense they can not express the level of their pain have consistently remained a problem for nurse researchers to ensure their comfort. However, the nurse educator interviewee in this study argued that nursing research has tried to resolve this problem by establishing, testing and validating an observational pain assessment tool for patients who are incapable of communicating.

The Multidimensional Objective Pain Assessment Tool (MOPAT) developed by the nurse researchers would assist in watching restlessness, facial grimacing, vocalizations related with pain and restlessness and muscle tensing. Using the finding from the national institute for nursing research, they piloted the tool in the setting of the hospice and established that it was valid, reliable and clinically useful. The tool has been useful for its purpose ever since.

According to the interviewee, a recent study conducted by nurse researchers and which also received funding from the national institute of nursing research was meant to examine the causative agent for stage IIIb or IV lung cancer. This research established that the amount of distress was the biggest predictor for the quality of life for these patients. Establishing this, the researchers conducted patient assessments, including asking them on depression, sleep, psychological, physical symptoms and spiritual symptoms.

How do you facilitate patient-centered care in your practice?

The nurse educators combine their teaching passion and expertise into rich and rewarding careers. According to the nurse educator interviewed, these professionals are responsible for mentoring, the present and future nurses who in turn offer quality services from the quality training and mentoring by the nurse educators. In addition, they play a crucial role in strengthening the nursing workforce, serving as role models for nurses and provide the required leadership in implementing the nursing practice which is evidence based.

PART C: Comparison

There are many people who have no idea on the existence of the nurse researcher; still many of those who do don’t know the exact roles those people do in there profession, nor the impact it creates in the nursing profession. Nurse researchers are responsible for building the knowledge body used to improve the efficiency and quality of health care. The nurse educators on the other hand play an important role in training nurses, educating them as well as advancing their knowledge through a continued education.

Both the nurse researcher and educator aspire to bring a unique perspective to healthcare. Both nurses are oriented to promoting health, disease prevention and treatment. Both the nurse researcher and educator understand that interdisciplinary involvement by all the staff is a crucial aspect in effective patient care. Because of the nursing’s consistent and visible presence on the side of the patient, the nurse educators and researchers as well as all the health care team are placed in a unique position in providing leadership for patient education and capitalizing on the strengths of each discipline for the patient’s advantage. Both the nurse educator and nurse researcher significantly contribute to leadership, communication and team work which basically lead to effective patient outcome. Nurse researchers and educators trigger a huge difference in the patient’s health in many methods. In fact, the opportunities which the nurse researcher and educator perform as their role are numerous

Reflections

The responses in the interview have provided insights on various aspects regarding the role, education, research and the general impact of nursing to the society. I have learned that a successful nurse ought to make a professional commitment to a continuous knowledge acquisition is a means of offering enhanced services to their clients. The education should also include the inter-professional and interdisciplinary team based and practice as well as the evaluation and implementation of evidence based nursing practice. Apparently, the essence of evidence based nursing practice is efficient care practice, and this translates to being committed at your work as well as applying the best skills

The other aspect of nursing that has stood out in this interview session is the interdisciplinary aspect in the nursing team. I have learned that to work efficiently, a nurse needs to be involved in a team and incorporate the services of other professionals. The chance to be alongside my patients as they courageously navigate through their personal life journeys is spectacular. It’s fantastic to be part of a team and professionals who have the same objective in offering enhanced services to their clients. In achieving this goal, the nurse practitioner and the team has to work exceedingly hard in all kinds of situations. Both professions are relevant and resourceful to the development of the nursing career. I have also come to know that the little acclaimed profession of nursing research is a very crucial element in the development of nursing and enhanced patient care. I thing the insights from this interview have come to influence my perspective on the nursing career in a positive manner.

Reference

Jannet S. (2013) Principal Nurse Researcher. Pro care health center Orlando.(interview)

Elmelda, J. (2013) Nurse Educator. Austhetic Clinique, Orlando. (Interview)

The Similarities and Differences of the Past and the New Thirty Years’ War

As observed in the “Thirty Years’ War” (1618-1648) class discussion and the “Thirty Years’ War” article written by Klare (2011), there are significant similarities and differences between the two that are worth highlighting in this journal. Therefore, a critical analysis of both the class discussion and Klare’s article reveals several issues on which they are similar. For instance, it is universally accepted that in both thirty years’ wars the main motive is a struggle for power through expansion of dominance (territory/political) and becoming leaders in alternatives to conventional sources of energy in the past and future thirty years’ wars respectively (Klare, 2011). This will lead to both winners and losers in the future war as it was in the past. Moreover, national security concern is a similarity due to struggle for natural resources where in past it was mainly the coal while in the future it will be Lithium and Nickel (due to need for electric-powered cars) leading to armed violence, thus bloodshed is a similarity. As in the past great nation-states emerged while in the future giant corporations in wealth and importance and new energy universe shall emerge (Klare, 2011). Furthermore, as the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1948 to end the war between 1618 and 1648 in Europe, a treaty of similar sort shall also need to be signed to bring peace between the winners and losers of the thirty years’ war between 2011 and 2041 (Klare, 2011).

However, several differences have been noted between the two, first, the past war began as a religious war between Protestants and Catholics while the future war has began as a struggle to take lead in providing alternatives to conventional sources of energy. There will also be difference in the extent of bloodshed between the two wars (Klare, 2011). Moreover, as the concern in the past war was dynasty expansion and political dominance, the concern in future will be to seek for alternatives to conventional sources of energy due to eventual oil scarcity and global climate change. In addition, energy efficiency was not a concern in the past war due to abundance, but in the future energy efficiency shall be vital to determine the winners and losers. Finally, I believe this war has the potential to offer appropriate energy solutions.

Reference

Klare, M.T. (2011). The New Thirty Years’ War: Winners and Losers in the Great Global Energy Struggle to Come. Retrieved on 25^th March 2013 from: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/27-1

Case Study

QA1: If you are the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) of a manufacturing company, what are the three major factors that you would argue to convince the Board of Directors in support of moving manufacturing back to Canada?

Moving the manufacturing company back to Canada will eliminate the supply logistics for the finished products. When goods are manufactured from another country, it takes months to transport the finished products to the American market if such goods are destined there. This is mainly due to the long distance that often requires goods to be transported using ship. Most of the ships take more than one month to get to America. This has greatly affected the overall cost of production since the high costs of transport lead to the reduction in the profits. The American market still remains one of the best consumers of finished products due to its high population. Most manufacturing companies therefore sell their products to the American market to meet the high demand. The rise in shipping costs is making operations in other countries to be expensive. It is therefore advisable to move the manufacturing company back to Canada due to the country’s proximity to United States.

The labor costs in the Asian countries such as China have increased tremendously. Many manufacturing companies had previously moved to the Asian countries due to the availability of cheap labor. For instance, companies could get unskilled workers in China willing to work for long workers with relatively low wages. The situation has changed and many workers in China are demanding better pay. The Chinese government is supporting the Chinese employees who demand increase in their salaries. By 2015, the minimum wages in China will have increased by 13 percent and hence it will no longer be profitable to operate from there. The high costs of labor will lead to high costs of production. It will no longer make economic sense to manufacture goods from such countries and then transport them to the American market. Canada, which borders United States, will therefore be a better destination for the manufacturing company.

The discovery of natural gas in United States is an added advantage for bringing the manufacturing company back to Canada. The cost of running business in Canada will be lower due to the low energy cost since it will be easier to import the gas from United States. This will lower the cost of production for the manufacturing company located in Canada. The effect will be an increase in revenue collection for the manufacturing company. Consequently, this will also lead to higher sustainability for the company.

QB1: Discuss the major reasons for long wait times in emergency departments compared to other departments in hospitals?

Emergency departments in hospitals attend to patients who may have complicated medical conditions. When patients are in serious medical conditions, the doctors take more time to treat them. This increases the wait time for the other patients waiting to be treated at the emergency department. The other departments in a hospital attend to minor medical problems. Such minor ailments can be attended easily by the doctors and hence taking shorter wait time.

The complex nature of most of the patients referred to the emergency departments requires specialized treatments. Most of the treatments in the emergency departments require the attention of qualified doctors. The number of specialized doctors in a hospital is normally few. With few doctors in the emergency department, the wait time for patients increases. Other departments in a hospital may not require specialized doctors. In such cases, patients with minor problems may be attended in other departments. The nurses can attend to such patients. Since nurses and other clinical officers in a hospital are normally many, they can attend to more patients. This reduces the wait time for the patients served in other departments of a hospital.

There is normally one emergency department in a hospital. This is mainly because expensive equipment is required in this department. Emergency departments therefore serve many patients in a hospital. The high number of patients in this department result to long wait time per patient. Other departments in a hospital are many. The patients may therefore be served in various departments depending on their needs. This makes the wait time to be shorter than in the emergency department.

The nature of the medical conditions for the patients served in emergency departments is mostly life-threatening. This requires the doctors to be cautious while attending to such patients. Any simple mistake may lead to the death of a patient. Being cautious increases the amount of time spent in treating one patient and hence leads to long waiting time for the other patients.

QB2: Do you agree that internet can help reduce long waits in emergency departments? Describe and comment on some of the remedial measures that you would recommend to deal with the problem of long waiting times in emergency departments?

I agree that internet can help reduce the long waits in emergency departments. The internet will display the wait times for various hospitals or clinics in a given region. Patients will mostly choose to seek treatment from the emergency departments that have shorter wait times. This leads to an almost equal distribution of patients in the emergency departments of a given region. The average wait time is therefore reduced.

To deal with the problem of long wait times in emergency departments, the number of doctors in those departments should be increased. This will reduce the doctor-to-patient ratio. When there are more doctors to attend to patients, the average time spent with a patient is reduced. This reduces the long wait time for the patients.

The number of the emergency departments in a hospital may also be increased. The number of patients served in one emergency department will be fewer. When a hospital has only one emergency department, there may be overcrowding of patients. Introduction of one or more emergency department will reduce the congestion of patients in one emergency department. The patients will therefore be served faster and the wait time will be reduced.

The management of a hospital should work towards improving the efficiency of the doctors and other employees such as nurses. This can be done by employing qualified staff who can work under minimum supervision. Efficient doctors can use less time attending to patients since they know the requirements. This will result to reduction of the patient’s wait time in the emergency departments.

The availability of equipment may also affect the wait time in emergency departments. When the medical equipment is not enough, the implication is that patients may be forced to wait longer. To deal with this problem, the hospital should buy enough medical facilities in the emergency department to serve patients more efficiently. This will also reduce the long wait time.

An Introduction to business economics and finance

a) An evaluation of the proposed Fox and Co.’s salaries reduction strategy

According to BRATTON (1993) the duty of the management is to ensure company’s decisions and actions enhance profit margins and shareholder gain. The decision to reduce salaries at Fox and Co to achieve shareholder wealth maximization objective may seem appropriate in the short run but in the long run it may work against that same objective. In the short run the company will be able to reduce the operating expenses which will enhance net profits.

This strategy has a lot of ramifications and may work against the long run interests of the shareholders. According to BRATTON (1993) for Fox and Co to maximize production it depends on the collective goodwill of all stakeholders and more importantly the employees. This goodwill presupposes that the company will reciprocate by rewarding each employee well (BRATTON, 1993). Reduction of salaries will therefore interfere with the existing goodwill from employees and employees may reduce their production levels.

The salary reduction strategy will cause injury to the employee’s personality. This is because the relationship between the employees and the company is more than economic; it is a quasi- community (BRATTON, 1993). This quasi-community status leads to some form of identity and reducing salaries affects the employee’s ability to socialize and associate which will demoralize them. Demoralized employees become lethargic leading to low productivity and increase in workplace accidents. According to Anonymous (2008) the decision to reduce pay may result in departure of top performers and damage morale which leads to low production levels.

Printweek (2010) noted that reduction of staff salaries does not always lead to saving of jobs. In fact most companies thereafter end up declaring redundancies or closing anyway. Printweek (2010) also observed that employees down the line demand for higher salaries than would have been the case to cover for the lost income and this eventually worsens the financial state of the company. This decision also sends wrong signals to the business community and competitors and ultimately dents the company’s reputation (Printweek, 2010).

General conclusion about the business’s goal and evaluation of the impact on other

stakeholders

The decision to reduce salaries in order to maximize shareholder wealth will not only affect the employees but will also affect other stakeholders namely the government, trade unions, suppliers, customers, competitors and the society in general. According to Printweek ( 2010) salary reduction may seem to be a good decision as it keeps people employed but it also reduces the amount of taxes payable to the government which affects the government’s ability to provide essential services such as security, roads etc. According to BRATTON (1993) the decision carries with it political costs. Political costs may include various forms of sanctions which will work against the shareholder wealth maximization objective.

. The decision to reduce salaries will only favour one interest group; the stockholders and betray the interest of the others and more notably the employees (BRATTON, 1993). It is important to note that the employees constitute the most important interest group that actively participates in the company’s mission. Employees who feel unjustly treated may react by reducing their level of productivity (BRIDGES, MARCUM & J, 2003).

The salaries reduction strategy will send wrong signals to the business community, competitors and job seekers and will ultimately dent the company’s reputation (Printweek, 2010). Suppliers may cut their business volumes fearing bad debts arising from sales made to the company. The company will find it hard to attract and retain talent in future as potential employees will shun the company.

The company will face back clash from business ethicists. Dobson (1999) noted that companies are increasingly coming under pressure from Non Governmental Organizations to uphold ethical business practices. Those that fail to uphold good ethical business practices receive bad publicity which destroys their value. According to Dobson (1999) companies which uphold ethical business practices succeed in long term because they reap from stakeholder goodwill. Reducing salaries to maximize shareholder wealth will be regarded as greed by other stakeholders and will result in bad publicity and tongue lashing from business ethicists.

Evaluation of the statement of financial position.

The statement of financial position measures and reports the assets of a company and hence it is a valuable tool that measures the value of a company at a given point in time (Khan, 2011).

The statement of financial position shows the financial position of an organization at a given point in time (DOODY, 2006). It has been taken as being useless but the balance sheet is very important for decision making. According to SHINER (2011) the statement of financial position shows what the company owns otherwise called assets and how the assets were financed. The assets are normally financed by liabilities and/or equity. Liabilities are what the company owes whereas equity represents what portion of assets is financed by owner’s funds (SHINER, 2011). Using the balance sheet one can know the cash flow position of the company.

The balance sheet shows how much is owed to the company by outside parties and how much the company owes. If the amount of money the company owes in any given year exceeds the amount of current assets available to pay off the creditors then the company will be in trouble (SHINER, 2011). The balance sheet also shows whether the company is profitable or not over time. This is done by comparing the balance sheet over several reporting periods. Companies that have been profitable will reflect increasing shareholders’ funds over the years (SHINER, 2011). The balance sheet can be used by bankers to decide whether to lend to the company; by employees to decide whether to continue working for the company; by creditors to decide whether to continue doing business with the company e.tc (SHINER, 2011). The balance sheet cannot be overlooked by savvy business executives.

A) To determine profit or loss;

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
ASSETS		EQUITY & LIABILITIES
Non -current Assets	53000.00	Trades payable	2700.00
Inventories	2500.00	Lon term loan	10000.00
Cash at Bank	5100.00	Equity	50000.00
Trade Receivable	700.00	Drawings	(15000.00)
		Profit & Loss	13600.00
Total Assets	61300.00	Total Equity and Liabilities	61300.00

The company’s profit was 13,600 pounds

B) It is important for Claire to draw an income statement because of the following reasons;

According to HUNT (1994) an income statement matches revenues earned in a given period with the expenses incurred to earn that revenue to determine whether the company made a profit or a loss. The analysis above does not show how much revenue was made in the accounting period. Without an income statement the company may record expenses that were not necessarily incurred to earn revenue in the time. Income statement is not solely used to determine the profit and or loss of a company but it is also used to control expenses.

If the company does not prepare an Income Statement it will be unable to determine what expense items it should monitor to cut costs to increase profits or reduce costs. According to Canadian Underwriter (2006) an Income Statement is a mandatory document for a company which intends to sell shares to the public through the stock market. It is also an important document for revenue authorities to determine taxes owed. The income statement will enable the company to carefully monitor net profit, gross profit and overheads. The proprietor will also monitor the operating profit so that she can work on improving the performance in future. The owner will also monitor the gross margin to ensure it is as per industry levels (SHINER, 2011).

References

Anonymous, (2008), Nov 05. Dilemma of a downturn: to force pay cuts or slash jobs?. Financial

Times, 14. ISSN 03071766.

BRATTON, W.W., (1993). Confronting the ethical case against the ethical case for constituency

rights. Washington and Lee Law Review, 50(4), pp. 1449-1449.

BRIDGES, S., MARCUM, W. and J, K.H., (2003). The relation between employee perceptions of

stakeholder balance and corporate financial performance. S.A.M.Advanced Management

Journal, 68(2), pp. 50-50.

Canada strengthens financial reporting requirements. (2006). Canadian Underwriter, 73(4), 74-74. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224964659?accountid=45049

DOODY, D., (2006). The Balance Sheet: a Snapshot of Your Financial Health. Healthcare Financial

Management, 60(5), pp. 124-5.

Dobson, J. (1999), “Is shareholder wealth maximization immoral?”,Financial Analysts Journal, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 69-75.

HUNT, C., (1994). The overburdened income statement. CA Magazine, 127(10), pp. (53-54).

Is it better for firms to cut wages or to make redundancies? (2010). Printweek, , pp. 8-8.

Khan, S. (2011), “The Interactive Effects of Intellectual Capital Components on the Relevance of the

Balance Sheet as an Indicator of Corporate Value”, Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, vol. 16, no. (2), pp. 130-136.

SHINER, L., (2011). The Balance Sheet, Part Ii. CustomRetailer, 10(9), pp. 14-14.

Unified communication

Introduction

Unified communication is the integration of real time communication service with non-real time communication service. Real time communication services include instant messaging, video conferencing, speech recognition and voice control non real time communication services include unified messaging. These are e-mail, SMS, fax and voicemail. Unified communication automates and unifies human and device communication. This happens if a common experience and context. Unified communication optimizes business processes by reducing latency, eliminating device dependence and managing flows. It enhances human communication and makes it efficient. One common use of unified communication is tackling emergency. The ability to communicate effectively damage mitigating and life saving situations is very crucial. Unified communication ensures that this happens. The wide range of unified communication makes it easy for people to tackle cases of emergency.

Benefits to cross-device communications

Cross-device communication is the ability of accessing, watching and transferring information and data from one device from one device to another. This technology has revolutionised the communication industry. Cross device communication has made communication process to be easy, reliable and fast. Communication is important in the contemporary society. Without communication, the world would not function as it does today. During the old days, communication was slow because people did not have the advanced technology to enable fast communication. The use of letters and fax was the main common way people communicated. In the world today, technology has advanced to ensure that people have fast means of communicating. The advancement of Bluetooth communication has enabled people to share information from their mobile devices and also from their computers. The benefit to this is that it has led to effective communication between people.

My experience with cross-device communication

I have had my experience with cross-device communication. When am at home, I am able to play music from my mobile device by sending music to remote speakers wirelessly. This is possible because I have installed an application called ‘Air Bubble’ which enables me to send music wirelessly from my mobile phone to the speakers. The application enables me to play music in one room from m phone and in another room by the speakers. I also own an Xbox 360 that enables me to play a game and at the same time shop for things wirelessly. I am able to buy games online using my Xbox device while at the same time I can enjoy playing my game.

My desire

My desire is that I would like unified communication to help me convey video conferencing easily for effective and fast communication. Video conferencing will enable me to view the people am talking to and make sharing of information easy since I can see the person with whom am having a conversation. Video conferencing can help me to communicate with more than one person at the same time. This makes communication through video conferencing fast and efficient.

Downside of the technology

Unified communication has changed how people communicate in this world. This has been of great benefit since communication is easy and reliable. This development in communication technology has, however, faced major shortfalls. There has been an increase in cyber crimes where people hack into people’s online accounts and steal or compromise valuable information. One of the major cyber crimes is when people hack banks and other financial institutions then transfer money to offshore accounts. This makes people lose valuable resources that they can never recover.

Conclusion

Unified communication has brought many changes to the way people communicate. Communication is still changing and will continue to change as technology advances. Information technology experts should show people how to protect their information from cyber criminals. They should show people how to put firewalls into their systems by uploading tutorials in the internet where people can access and read. Information is vital and people should do all that is necessary to protect it from fraudsters and cyber criminals.

Improving Service Outcomes and Public Value in Saudi Arabia

Background Information

Saudi Arabia is the richest and fastest-growing economy in the Middle East, and is the world’s largest oil producer, which has contributed substantially to making the country one of the leading global economies. Saudi Arabia has undergone economic diversification, and industrialization is slowly catching up, with the country now exporting products to various regions worldwide. The strong economy has led to an increase in income levels, which stood at USD 24,726 per capita in 2008 (Almalki & Clark 2011), and is likely to make a positive impact on service provision in various public sectors, including health and education.

A 2010 census found that Saudi Arabia had a population of 27.1 million, compared to 22.6 million in 2004, representing an annual growth of 3.2 %. According to UN estimations, this is likely to increase to 39.8 million by 2025 and to 54.7 million by 2050 (Almalki & Clark 2011), as a result of a high birth-rate, high life-expectancy (72.6 years for men and 74.45 years for women) and a low child mortality rate, which have been attributed to improvements in healthcare and other social services. The compulsory childhood vaccination programme, in force since 1980, has also played a part in population growth, which has led to an increased demand for fundamental services, such as healthcare and education.

Saudi Arabia has made commendable progress in upgrading its public institutions; in 2010, it was ranked 28^th in the world, with regard to the development of public facilities, such as schools and hospitals (Ramady 2010). However, despite these developments, some of the challenges regarding the quality of service delivery have not been addressed appropriately, which has affected service outcomes in health and education in particular.

Healthcare Services

Healthcare services have significantly improved in recent times, beginning in early 1952, when the first public health department was set up in Mecca, following a decree from King Abdulaziz. Its aim was to provide free healthcare for the citizens of the city, as well as for visiting pilgrims, and several hospitals and dispensaries were established to effectively deliver health services. However, the services from the government health care centers were not enough to serve all those people.. Therefore, many people continued to rely on traditional medicine, and outbreaks of communicable diseases were prevalent.

Another significant move towards effective services was the founding of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in 1950, following a royal decree, then, in 1970, the government began a 5-year development plan, with the aim of improving all public sectors (Jeffreys 2011). Subsequent substantial improvements in healthcare have contributed to a relative improvement in service delivery.

The MOH is currently the main provider of healthcare services, via 244 hospitals (with 33,277 beds) and 2037 primary healthcare centres, nationwide (Almalki & Clark 2011). The contribution of these services has been vital to the improvement of service delivery in the healthcare sector.

In addition, the government has also provided funds to establish referral hospitals, such as the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, armed forces medical services, security forces medical services, Ministry of Higher Education hospitals (for teaching), Royal Commission for Jubail health services, Red Crescent Society, and the National Guard health services (Almalki & Clark 2011). The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also established health units in all major schools. Although some of these health facilities serve specific populations, they all provide services to any citizens during emergencies.

The private sector is instrumental in the delivery of healthcare services in urban areas, and operates 125 hospitals, with a bed capacity of 11,833, and 2218 clinics and dispensaries. These facilities are owned by wealthy individuals and private companies, and are located nationwide (Jeffreys 2011). Since the 1970s, the government has been using incentives to encourage private investment in the health sector; however, healthcare remains primarily public sector-dominated.

Despite government contributions to run public health facilities, surveys have shown that the quality of services provided in private healthcare is superior, with the majority of patients reporting improved service outcomes, compared to public hospitals (Al-Hawary 2012). Private hospitals hire foreign medical professionals, who are more focused on the delivery of quality services to protect their jobs and to meet set benchmarks in profit realisation. In addition, these hospitals set specific standards that their employees must reach in order to attract more customers. Therefore, the service provided is customer-oriented and is continually improved to satisfy patients through positive outcomes.

Patients treated in public health facilities complained of poor services that were associated with the laxity of the medical personnel. The majority of the facilities report long waits for patients, not because of lack of equipment, but because the medical staff are less committed to improving service delivery (Al-Hawary 2012), which is also attributed to the government’s lack of follow-up to ensure such improvement. Furthermore, medical personnel are not keen to attract more customers or patients because of the low fees that are charged. They also lack motivation to deliver quality services, as the government does not have adequate measures for their assessment.

The Education Sector

Education, from primary school to high school, is free and open to all residents. Children enroll in kindergartens at the wishes of their parents, but primary schools (all day schools) admit children from the age of 6 years. They are categorised as non-coeducational, and, according to UNESCO statistics, the enrollment rate is 99% for boys and 96.4% for girls (Ramady 2010). Children then progress to pursue 3 years of intermediate education.

For their final 3 years of education, students may choose to continue at free secondary school or to receive specialised education at technical secondary institutes, where they obtain training in various fields, such as agriculture, industry and commerce. The overall enrollment rate at secondary schools drops to 90% (Schwab et al. 2010).

The government is currently in the process of creating over 150 vocational training institutes. These are expected to create more than 3 million jobs within 10 years of establishment, thereby reducing the overreliance on oil income (Ramady 2010), and the primary areas targeted to benefit include automobile components manufacture and metals processing.

Tertiary education is provided through 24 government universities. Degrees in medicine, engineering and pharmacy take 6 years to complete, while humanities and social sciences take 4 years. In addition, the government annually awards over 5,000 bursaries to enable students to study abroad (Schwab et al. 2010). Kind Saudi University is the largest public university in Saudi Arabia, with a population of 40,000 students.

In 2010, Saudi Arabia was ranked 7^th in the world in terms of public expenditure on education, which contrasted hugely with its world ranking of 74^th with regard to the quality of education provided in public institutions (Schwab et al. 2010). These data were interpreted as showing that education quality was not matching education investment. The government allocates over 20% of its total budget to the education sector, so infrastructure development has also been a priority, as witnessed in the number of public schools constructed. Consequently, the development of sector is attributed to the high economic growth resulting from oil revenue.

The government is unhappy with the quality of education offered in its public schools (Ramady 2010), which has significantly affected primary and secondary education. Many scholars associate this lack of quality with the free education, which often leads to high enrollment rates. Boys’ schools are often of higher quality than girls’ schools, which therefore has an effect on the outcome of their studies.

Green Belt Movement (Wangari Maathai), Kenya

Abstract

In an overview, this paper covers on the Green Belt Movement, its introduction and how it has been of effect in Kenya. The paper discusses the goals and objectives set by the Movement. It also shows the target or recipients of the Movement. It further discusses the successes of the movement and the reasons behind these successes. Lessons and best practices learnt are discussed in the paper and a conclusion given.

Introduction

The Green Belt Movement was founded in 1977 by the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai. It is a non-governmental organization situated in Nairobi, Kenya focusing on environmental conservation, community empowerment and sustainable livelihoods. An increase in the needs of the rural Kenyan women, for example, due to drying up of streams, threatened food supply and diminishing firewood sources triggered the creation of the movement (Maathai, 2008). In order to meet these needs, Wangari Maathai started a widespread tree-planting strategy involving the planting of a thousand seedlings in long rows. These formed green belts of trees and marked the commencement of the Green Belt Movement. These green belts provided windbreaks and shade, facilitated soil conservation, improved the beauty of the landscape and provided a habitat for birds and other small animals.

Research shows that, motivation towards the start of the Green Belt Movement was the increase of degradation of the natural environment and lack of water. Degradation of the natural environment results from increased cut down of trees in the major forests. These forests included Mt Kenya Forest, the Aberdares Forest and the Mau Forest. These forests are the main water catchment areas and mark the sources of significant rivers that provided water for the communities living downstream. The rivers are for the generation of electricity that served key industries and provided jobs in the urban centers. As a result of lack of water, there was a reduction in food production since many rural women depended on rivers for food production throughout the year. Therefore, this movement aims at addressing poverty, a social justice that affects a large percentage of the Kenyan population. These include the urban poor and people in rural areas.

Goals and objectives of Green Belt Movement

The Green Belt Movement devised several goals that it aimed to achieve. These goals include, to increase the provision of wood fuel for both the rural populations and the urban poor. Secondly, the movement plans to provide for the need of fencing and building materials, mainly in the rural settings. Thirdly, the Green Belt Movement set a goal of fighting malnutrition and hunger which are rampant in Kenya. Fourthly, it plans to protect the forests and in turn protect the water catchment areas. Finally, it set a goal of improving the low economic status of women through involving the women in activities, which aid in transferring farming techniques and knowledge to the women. In order to achieve these goals, the Green Belt Movement comes up with the following objectives. Firstly, it aims at restoring the ecosystem. Secondly, it aims at promoting sustainable livelihoods among the Kenyan population. Thirdly, it aims at empowering women to act as advocates of conserving the environment. Finally, it sets the objective of promoting democracy in the Kenyan political system that would lead to a government that supports initiatives like environmental conservation (Maathai & Green Belt Movement (Society: Kenya), 2003).

Target of the Green Belt Movement

The Green Belt Movement’s main target is the women in the rural areas. It educates and informs them about the connections between environment degradation and development policies. It encourages women to prevent soil erosion, reduce the processes that lead to desertification, loss of bio-diversity and adopt planting and eating of indigenous food crops. It also encourages women to create jobs through farming and sale of food crops grown in rural areas. The Movement also targets all the Kenyan citizens. It educates them on economic and political issues which have essential connections with environmental concerns, and are likely to have negative impacts on the environment. It educates the society on the role of protecting the environment, pursuing participatory development and promoting responsible governance that protects human rights, and respects the rule of law.

In order for the Green Belt Movement to create and carry out the program, it requires funds, human resource and time. The main human resources are the women who work in the grassroots. They plant and manage seedlings in tree nurseries. They mainly plant indigenous seedlings for planting in the threatened water catchment areas, their homes, public land, protected reserves and sites with cultural significance. However, for these women to be successful, the Movement deploys extension officers who aid in training them and communities at large. The extension officers train the communities on environment conservation and climate change. They also train them on how to plant and take care of the seedlings. These extension officers work under the Community Empowerment and Education program, a product of the Global Belt Movement. This program empowers communities to identify links between the environment and poverty and ways to address these issues, thus being able to improve their livelihoods.

The Movement needs to identify the affected areas that require reforestation. Therefore, it requires to develop an approach to planning, monitoring and analysis. This leads to the introduction of remote sensing tools and equipment with the capacity to produce satellite imagery. The Movement uses Spot imagery and the GeoEye imagery. They aid in production of forest maps that help in analyzing the level of forest cover and the needed interventions. Through this equipment, field officers aid women and communities, to track their tree belts and thus be able to monitor the progress. This aids in managing their tree nurseries and seedlings. In order for the Movement, to be able to carry out these activities, an organization by the name Esri avails its ArcGIS Server that provides an interactive Web map. This allows communities to share information with other project stakeholders. This results from the maps showing the location of the communities’ tree nurseries, their production capacity and the households participating in the nursery group. The location of the information on tree nurseries in the grassroots scales up the success of the Green Belt Movement in environmental conservation.

Other organizations that aid the Movement to plan, monitor and measure the impact of conversational efforts include Trimble, Astrium’s Planet Action, Blue Raster and Exelis. In addition, the activities of these organizations and people require funds in order to be successful. The various organizations that provide Green Belt Movement with funds are the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, the Gaia Foundation and various European Government Agencies. However, the Green Belt Movement uses methods to pass information to the people and organizations. These include use of seminars, workshops and exchange visits.

Evidence of the Program’s success

Today, evidence show that the Green Belt Movement is a success. It has supported grassroots communities to plant over 50 million trees in a variety of areas. This improves the total forest cover by 2% towards the achievement of required 10% cover. It also aids in restoring thousands of hectares of degraded forest land and water catchment areas. Control of soil erosion in community lands leads to the increase in agriculture and food production. In addition, there is an improvement of livelihoods of many women in the rural areas by meeting their needs of wood fuel and increase in sources of water for farming. In addition, there was a rejuvenation of many streams that faced drying up and thus an increase in water supply in the country. Further to this, there is an improvement in electricity production. This is due to the conservation of the Mt Kenya and the Aberdare forests that serve as the main water catchment areas, for rivers used in hydroelectric power production. Conservation of forests also leads to increase in tourism. This is as a result of conservation of natural habitats of tourist attracting animals and birds. This raises the economy of the country and creates jobs for the high population (Maathai, 2004).

Reasons behind the success

This program has been a success due to various reasons. Firstly, the communities understand the need of conserving the environment, and how this contributes to their efforts of alleviating poverty. Therefore, they commit fully to environmental conservation as they work towards improving their livelihoods. This commitment is a key reason for the Green Belt Movement’s success. Secondly, improving the governance system in the country aids the Movement in being successful. The Government with an aim of upholding the human rights of its citizens contributes to environmental conservation. Many government officials participate in tree planting when they hold public meetings. They also encourage people to take up tree planting in order to attain the goal of 10% forest cover. Thirdly, involvement of business organizations and learning institutions in environmental conservation makes the program a success. They participate in tree planting while celebrating the Worlds Tree Planting Day and also as their corporate social responsibility activities.

Therefore, various practices and lessons can be learnt from the program. Firstly, commitment is a key factor towards achieving success. The Kenyan population has shown full commitment towards achieving a 10% forest cover. Both the poor and the rich have joined hands towards the attainment of this. The school children follow the footsteps of their parents in planting trees. The women in rural areas commit to conserving the environment in order to supply food to the population. Secondly, from this research on Global Belt Movement, one learns that hard work pays. The program through the hard work of its stakeholders has attained 2% increase in forest cover. The rivers that produce electricity are rejuvenating, and the country thus provides electrical power for many of its citizens. Industries are able to work through out due to availability of electrical power. Consequently, the creation of jobs is evident; there is a drop of the level of unemployment in Kenya. Thirdly, the practice of informing and educating the communities in the grassroots aids, in understanding the goals and objectives of the program. The Movement educates the communities in the connections between environmental degradation and development policies. Once they understand this they focus their efforts to conserve the environment in order to develop and improve their livelihood.

Pitfalls

The movement faced various problems including those emanating from the government. The political period of the 1980s was against the movement because it taught people about liberation from oppressive government and the lack of democracy. An attempt to demolish Uhuru park by by president Moi hindered the activities of the program. Other pitfalls include ethnicity, corruption and funding issues.

In conclusion, environmental conservation is an essential aspect in dealing with climate change. The Green Belt Movement participates in this through its conversational efforts in Kenya. Its success its indicated by the increase in the Kenyan forest cover to 2%. This leads to conservation of water catchment areas and thus rejuvenation of main rivers in the country. The citizens use these rivers for agriculture and hydro power production. As a result, there has been an increase in food production and creation of employment, which reduces the poverty level in Kenya. Therefore, the Green Belt Movement not only conserves the environment but also improves the livelihoods of the population.

References

Maathai, W. (2004, December 10). Trees For Democracy. New York Times. p. A41.

Maathai, W. (2008). An Unbreakable Link. Harvard International Review, 29(4), 24-27.

Maathai, W., & Green Belt Movement (Society : Kenya). (2003). The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the approach and the experience. New York: Lantern Books.

International Law

Introduction

International law comprises the collection of regulations and policies that are deemed and acknowledged as binding within the associations between countries and states[1]. One of the main fundamentals of international law in the pursuance of justice against international and state criminals is the issuance of international arrest warrants. International arrest warrants are warrants that are legally binding to all member states. The warrants oblige member states to incarcerate and relocate an unlawful suspect or a sentenced individual to the issuing state or arbitral tribunal for trial or detention based on the binding treaties or conventions between states. The enforcement of international arrest warrants by international tribunals has been compounded by the involvement of national states.

Indeed, one of the key tenets of international law involves the creation of rights, responsibilities or requirements for third-party states without consent. As such, before international arrest warrants are enforced on criminal suspects, the member state, which represents the suspect, should agree to the warrant in order for it to occur. In addition, the precept of universal jurisdiction facilitates the issuance of arrest warrants internationally. This is because, without the principle, international crimes such as crimes against humanity and war crimes become performed with exemption[2]. Consequently, excluding the International Criminal Court, international law possesses null enforcement mechanisms except the right to prosecute suspects in custody by national courts for criminal incidents committed overseas. Alternatively, one cannot choose to ignore the ineffectual nature of international arrest warrants based on the incapability or reluctance of states to enforce the regulation for member criminals. Thus, it is important to consider the rights, obligations and limitations on states to execute international arrest warrants effectively.

Overview

The consideration of states in pursuing and effecting international arrest warrants against sentenced individuals or criminals under indictment has brewed legal controversy based on the flexibility of international law in incarcerating criminals within member states. Based on international law, states are recognized as sovereign entities and as such, need information on the arrest of a suspected national. In addition, states should provide consent on novel structures implemented by international tribunals in effecting international law. As such, states possess the capability, impeccable or flawed, to determine the enforcement of the international arrest warrants for criminal suspects. Alternatively, the notion of extradition and state immunity propels the controversy further within international law.

State immunity provides the accused suspect within the member state with the right to avoid arrests based on the restrictive legislations provided by the respective state in limiting the power of international law[3]. For instance, the case of state immunity is exhibited by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its protection of foreign ministers. Based on ICJ’s assertion, conventional international law obliges state immunity regarding foreign ministers to ascertain the effectual application of their duties with respect to their particular states and to secure the accused person against any course of action by the authority of a different member state, which would restrict the individual from performing his important functions.

Alternatively, the rationale provided based on the mentioned assertion deduces a rationale for offering immunity based on definite state conduct. The result of this is the creation of a rationale that controversially is a qualification to ascertaining the opinio juris indispensable for a decree of conventional international law. As such, the concept of immunity provides an efficient basis for determining the ineffectual enforcement of international arrest warrants.

Rights of States on Enforcing International Arrest Warrants

International law recognizes states as entities that have accomplished the international authorized criterion of statehood. Based on the Montevideo Convention, Article 1 of the treaty, which provides for the Rights and Duties of States, illustrates the authorization of statehood. The article recognizes states when they possess full completion of an undeviating population, a definite terrain, a government and the capacity to facilitate international associations and affairs with further states. Similarly, the Arbitration Commission of the European Conference on Yugoslavia compares a state with a community asserting that a state should comprise a terrain and a populace that is subject to an organized political authority and that the respective state should be characterized by sovereignty[4].

Alternately, the concept of state immunity contemplates the amount of rights that states should possess in protecting national suspects from international prosecution and warrants. The tenet of state immunity involves the protection and security provided to the officials of a state from being prosecuted and arrested by other states. The doctrine assumes that arresting or prosecuting an individual of a member state infringes the statehood and sovereignty of the suspect’s member state[5]. As such, state immunity comprises a fundamental right of states in the execution of international arrest warrants. This is because states focus on the loss of resources attributed to the compromise of the vital functions of the individuals suspected by international criminal tribunals or foreign states. As such, states become reluctant in assisting the courts in delivering the suspect for prosecution and arrest.

In addition, any individual performing a duty of the respective state, in the event of performing a crime, is immune from prosecution and arrest based on the assertions of state immunity. This transgresses even after the suspected individual resigns from performing state duties. Therefore, such a class of immunity will only cease to function if the state loses its sovereignty. Usually, functional immunity applies for offices such as the Head of State, Foreign Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and Defense Ministers. These offices are typically protected from prosecution for the actions they commit for the duration of time they remain in office. For instance, an English court lacked the power to issue an arrest warrant for Robert Mugabe based on international crimes since he was currently functioning as President of Zimbabwe at the period the proceedings were issued[6].

Alternatively, the principle of immunity has been evident in the protection of other prominent personalities against arrest warrants and prosecution proceedings. For instance, the retired Cuban President, Fidel Castro, was charged with Crimes against Humanity by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) in Spain. The organization accused Fidel Castro of humanity crimes based on genocide, mass killing and torture ever since the revolution by Castro commenced in 1959. However, the National Court, which was the court in charge of moderating international crimes, discarded the allegation. In addition, the Criminal Chamber, within the National Court, substantiated this decision due to sovereign impunity based on international law[7]. In summary, the principle of immunity within states for officials within the respective governments constitutes one of the major rights that states possess in international law milieu.

The right to extradite is also another fundamental privilege that states possess amidst the issuance of arrest warrants and conduction of prosecution proceedings. In legal context, the right to extradite, or simply extradition, is the legal procedure by which an individual condemned or alleged is relocated from a state to another state based on the directive of the issued arrest warrant in order to prosecute the suspected or sentenced person. Usually, for extradition to take place, three main parties are involved. These include the issuing state, the requested state and the extradition subject. International law accepts that states possess no obligation towards surrendering an individual in their terrain. As such, most states possess bilateral and multilateral extradition accords between each other that permit the relocation of offenders and suspects in specific circumstances. States also utilize agreements and non-attaching structures for extradition. In addition, states can also conduct extradition regardless of treaties depending on the statute of the appealed state[8].

Obligations of States on Enforcing International Arrest Warrants

International law prescribes that member states are obligated to produce suspected individuals or sentenced persons for prosecution and detention upon the issuance of an arrest warrant. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the obligation of the states in the enforcement of international arrest warrants is based solely on the cooperation of the nations. This is evidenced in the establishment of the International Tribunal Council for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Tribunal Council for Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993 and 1994 whereby the United Nations Security Council deduced the success of the tribunals to arise from cooperation among member states. Evidently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) deems it imperative for states to oblige in cooperation in the context of international law[9]. As such, the main obligation required by states in enforcing international arrest warrants is cooperation per or not per to the agreements binding the respective member states.

One of the chief doctrines innate within international law involves the incorporation of consent. International law assumes that a treaty or a convention does not possess the mandate to make obligations or privileges for states without sanction. This is evidenced in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. In addition, treaties that do not bind the respective member states should not make such changes without gaining consent from the non-binded states. For instance, the constituents within conventions minimally require states that are not party to the agreements to provide consent and ensure that they do not barricade the actions of the international tribunals from prosecuting the suspect. Nevertheless, cooperation is eminent in both situations in order to ensure that arrest warrants are enforced regardless of whether or not the requested member state is part of or separate from the respective international treaties.

As mentioned, it is considerably noteworthy that states exercise cooperation in the event that the courts, through the issuing states, provide arrest warrants for criminal suspects. Usually, international courts such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) do not possess the power to provide a security force to enforce arrests based on the respective arrest warrants. As such, courts rely on state cooperation in ascertaining the detention of individuals who have been issued arrest warrants by the legal bodies. The ICC, after issuing an arrest warrant for a suspect, asks for cooperation from State or non-State parties to conduct arrest and surrender the identified suspect. Commonly, the Registrar of the international Court is mandated to deliver the documents and receive the responses by the parties to the request. After receiving the issuance of arrest, States that are party to the binding agreement are required to cooperate with the international court and apply procedures to arrest the suspects within their territories immediately.

For instance, the International Criminal Court requires all States Parties binded by the Rome Statute to execute measures of arrest of the named suspect in the event that an arrest warrant has already been issued. The task to cooperate is deduced from the binding agreements between the requested and the issuing state. This is respect to paragraph 4 and 2 of the S/RES/827 (1993) and S/RES/955 (1994) respectively of the United Nations Security Council. The articles provide that states must cooperate entirely with the International Criminal Tribunal and its elements with respect to the existing resolution and the Statute of the International Tribunal. Additionally, the articles provide that States must apply all compulsory procedures underneath domestic law to employ the stipulations of the current declaration and the Statute, with the obligation of the parties to conform to the appeals for support or orders provided by a Trial Chamber within Article 29 of the Statute[10].

As such, parties are obliged to provide the International Tribunals with support if required based on the requisite temperament of the proviso. In addition, states are obligated by courts or tribunals to provide cooperation in the context of presenting suspects or sentenced persons upon receipt of an arrest warrant based on the structure of the framework guiding the obligation of cooperation. For instance, states are required to comply with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) because of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, statutory declaration based on the obligation of states to cooperate with courts is depicted in the example statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The provisions granted by specific statues within these tribunals provide the basis for state cooperation.

For instance, Article 28 and 29 of the Rwanda Statute and the Yugoslav Statute provide for the inculcation of cooperation by states regarding international lawsuits. Specifically, the articles provide that states should cooperate with the International Tribunal in the inquiry and prosecution of individuals indicted of committing stern contraventions of international law as well as provision of assistance in facilitating arrests[11]. Similarly, the Rome Statute provides that states provide assistance such as state authorities in arresting suspected individuals as per the warrant of the International Criminal Court[12]. As such, states are obliged to support international courts in arresting suspects as means to implement the issued arrest warrants from the courts.

Limitations of States on Enforcing International Arrest Warrants

The enforcement of international arrest warrants by states faces various limitations that grant the ineffectiveness of international arrest warrants. Much of the ineffectiveness associated with the issuance of arrest warrants is majorly attributed to the incapability and hesitation of states in enforcing the stipulations. One of the main limitations incumbent on states regarding such enforcement is the limitation to extradition. Regardless of the assumption that states possess the right to carry out extradition, the requested state in which the suspect resides also possess equal and considerable powers that can be utilized to limit the performance of extradition against the respective suspect. As such, the limitations to extradition determine the possibility or revocation of an extradition regardless of the issuance of international arrest warrants.

One restriction to extradition is Dual Criminality. Dual Criminality is one of the most general clauses evident in most binding agreements. The rule of dual criminality specifically asserts that a suspect can only receive extradition if the offense that forms the basis for the extradition is an offense in both the requested and issuing State. The rationale behind the stipulation is that the appealed State should possess the capability to repudiate to extradite if they do not see the suspect’s demeanor as a criminal offense. The clause serves as a limitation on states to enforce arrest warrants because of the difference in regulations guarding criminal offenses in both states[13]. A state issuing an arrest warrant against another country’s suspect may issue the warrant based on the crime committed which may be recognized in the issuer as eligible for extradition based on the contravention of its laws but may be seen in the requested state as mild and thus not eligible for extradition.

Alternately, states may be unwilling to enforce international arrest warrants based on the nature of the crime. This mostly applies in cases where the crimes committed are described as political offenses. Regardless of the fact that international law lacks the delineation of political offense, states requested to enforce arrest warrants by courts in other countries can refuse based on the assertion that the crime committed is a political offense. Additionally, requested states can take advantage of the lack of definition of political offenses by veiling heinous crimes as political crimes and thus securing a limitation against enforcing arrests. Alternatively, for states that condone political crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity, it becomes impossible for the respective states to enforce arrest warrants because there is a possibility that the presiding government has been deprived of its law. As such, it does not possess the enforcement capabilities or is reluctant to carry out such mandates for perpetrators holding political or military positions.

Conclusion

The enforcement of international arrest warrants is an issue that presents obstacles to the efficacy of international law in upholding law and justice. The rights declared to a state such as sovereign impunity facilitate a state’s autonomy and concurrently affect the apprehension. Regardless, enforcing such warrants has been compounded based on political context in which requested states attach justified or unjustified political reasons in enforcing arrests by the issuing states. Nevertheless, it is clear that the regulations guarding individuals within their states prove to be the same barriers that limit implementation of arrest warrants across borders.

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[1] Jeremy Bentham, Bentham’s: An introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (SCM Press, 2009), 6.

[2] The Guardian, Arrest Warrants: Short Arm of International Law (17 Dec 2009) < http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/17/tzipi-livni-miliband-gaza-law/>

[3] Rosanne Alebeek, The Immunity of States and Their Officials in International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2008), 101.

[4] Lee Caplan, “State Immunity, Human Rights and ‘jus Cogens’: A Critique of the Normative Hierarchy Theory” (2009) 2 International Law 481, 492; Colin Warbrick, “States and Recognition in International Law” in Malcolm D Evans (ed.), International Law (Oxford University press, 2^nd ed, 2006) 218, 220

[5] Lee Caplan, “State Immunity, Human Rights and ‘jus Cogens’: A Critique of the Normative Hierarchy Theory” (2009) 2 International Law 481, 497.

[6] Hazel Fox, “International Law and restraints on the Exercise of Jurisdiction by National Courts of States” in Malcolm D Evans (ed.), International Law (Oxford University Press, 1^st ed, 2003) 415, 416.

[7] Hazel Fox, “International Law and restraints on the Exercise of Jurisdiction by National Courts of States” in Malcolm D Evans (ed.), International Law (Oxford University Press, 1^st ed, 2003) 415, 418.

[8] Clive Nicholls et al, The Law of Extradition and Mutual Assistance (Oxford University Press, 2007) 27.

[9] Dapo Akande, “The Effect of Security Council Resolutions and Domestic Proceedings on State Obligations to Cooperate with the ICC” (2012) 10(2) Journal of International Criminal Justice 299, 300.

[10] Jochen Frowein & Rudiger Wolfrum, Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law (Kluwer Law International, 2000) 56.

[11] Dagmar Stroh, “State Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda” (2001) 5 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 249, 254.

[12] Dapo Akande, “The Effect of Security Council Resolutions and Domestic Proceedings on State Obligations to Cooperate with the ICC” (2012) 10(2) Journal of International Criminal Justice 299, 305

[13] Ian Brownlie, The Principles of International Law (Oxford University Press, 7^th ed, 2010), 77