WOMENS? RIGHTS IN WORLD PERSPECTIVE
WOMENS’ RIGHTS IN WORLD PERSPECTIVE
Women’s rights around the world are an important indicator of understanding global well-being. Many may think that women’s rights are only an issue in countries where religion is law, such as many Muslim countries. Or even worse, some may think this is no longer an issue at all.
BACKGROUND
The importance of the question of violence against women was emphasized over the last decade through the holding of several expert group meetings sponsored by the United Nations to draw attention to the extent and severity of the problem.
In September 1992, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women established a special Working Group and gave it a mandate to draw up a draft declaration on violence against women.
The following year, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, in resolution 1993/46 of 3 March condemned all forms of violence and violations of human rights directed specifically against women.
The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, laid extensive groundwork for eliminating violence against women. In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Governments declared that the United Nations system and Member States should work towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life; of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women; of gender bias in the administration of justice; and of any conflicts arising between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism.
The document also declared that “violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflicts are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law”, and that all violations of this kind — including murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy — “require a particularly effective response”.
The issue of the advancement of women’s rights has concerned the United Nations since the Organization’s founding. Yet the alarming global dimensions of female-targeted violence were not explicitly acknowledged by the international community until December 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Until that point, most Governments tended to regard violence against women largely as a private matter between individuals, and not as a pervasive human rights problem requiring State intervention.
In view of the alarming growth in the number of cases of violence against women throughout the world, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, including its causes and consequences.
As a result of these steps, the problem of violence against women has been drawing increasing political attention.
WHAT IS GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women is the first international human rights instrument to exclusively and explicitly address the issue of violence against women. It affirms that the phenomenon violates, impairs or nullifies women’s human rights and their exercise of fundamental freedoms.
The Declaration provides a definition of gender-based abuse, calling it “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.
The definition is amplified in article 2 of the Declaration, which identifies three areas in which violence commonly takes place:
Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family, including battering; sexual abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related violence; marital rape; female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women; non-spousal violence; and violence related to exploitation; Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs within the general community, including rape; sexual abuse; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution; Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
SAFE GUARDS FOR WOMEN
In recent years some countries have taken significant steps towards improving laws relating to violence against women. For example:
In July 1991, Mexico revised its rape law in several important ways. A provision was eliminated that allowed a man who rapes a minor to avoid prosecution if he agrees to marry her. Now judges are required to hand down a decision regarding access to an abortion within five working days. On 9 June 1994, the Organization of American States adopted the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women (also called Convention of Belém do Parà), a new international instrument that recognizes all gender-based violence as an abuse of human rights. This Convention provides an individual right of petition and a right for non-governmental organizations to lodge complaints with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. In Australia, a National Committee on Violence against Women was established to coordinate the development of policy, legislation and law enforcement at the national level as well as community education on violence against women. In 1991, the Government of Canada announced a new four-year Family Violence Initiative intended to mobilize community action, strengthen Canada’s legal framework, establish services on Indian reserves and in Inuit communities, develop resources to help victims and stop offenders, and provide housing for abused women and children. In Turkey, a Ministry of State for Women was established whose main goals are, among others, to promote women’s rights and strengthen their role in economic, social, political and cultural life. Legal measures are being adopted towards the elimination of violence against women. The establishment of special courts to deal with violence is envisaged. Psychological treatment for abused women is also planned, along with the establishment of women’s shelters around the country. Specially trained female police officers could provide assistance to victims of violence. In Burkina Faso, a strong advertising campaign by the Government as well as television and radio programmes on the unhealthy practice of genital mutilation were launched to educate and raise public awareness about the dangerous consequences of such an “operation”. A National Anti-Excision Committee was established in 1990 by the present head of State. Today, the practice of genital mutilation has been eliminated in some villages of Burkina Faso. In others, there has been an incredible drop in the number of girls excised: only 10 per cent of the girls are excised compared to 100 per cent 10 years ago. Some countries have introduced police units specially trained for dealing with spousal assault. In Brazil, specific police stations have been designated to deal with women’s issues, including domestic violence. These police stations are staffed entirely by women.
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Professor of anthropology, Richard Robbins also notes that
At the same time that women produce 75 to 90 percent of food crops in the world, they are responsible for the running of households. According to the United Nations, in no country in the world do men come anywhere close to women in the amount of time spent in housework. Furthermore, despite the efforts of feminist movements, women in the core [wealthiest, Western countries] still suffer disproportionately, leading to what sociologist refers to as the “feminization of poverty,” where two out of every three poor adults are women. The informal slogan of the Decade of Women became “Women do two-thirds of the world’s work, receive 10 percent of the world’s income and own 1 percent of the means of production.”
CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979
Entered into force: 3 September 1981, in accordance with article 27 (1)
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women,
Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,
Noting that the States Parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights have the obligation to ensure the equal rights of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights,
Considering the international conventions concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Noting also the resolutions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Concerned, however, that despite these various instruments, extensive discrimination against women continues to exist,
Recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity,
Concerned that in situations of poverty women have the least access to food, health, education, training and opportunities for employment and other needs,
Convinced that the establishment of the new international economic order based on equity and justice will contribute significantly towards the promotion of equality between men and women,
Emphasizing that the eradication of apartheid, all forms of racism, racial discrimination, colonialism, neocolonialism, aggression, foreign occupation and domination and interference in the internal affairs of States is essential to the full enjoyment of the rights of men and women,
Affirming that the strengthening of international peace and security, the relaxation of international tension, mutual cooperation among all States irrespective of their social and economic systems, general and complete disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control, the affirmation of the principles of justice, equality and mutual benefit in relations among countries and the realization of the right of peoples under alien and colonial domination and foreign occupation to self determination and independence, as well as respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, will promote social progress and development and as a consequence will contribute to the attainment of full equality between men and women,
Convinced that the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields,
Bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, so far not fully recognized, the social significance of maternity and the role of both parents in the family and in the upbringing of children, and aware that the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination but that the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and women and society as a whole,
Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women,
Determined to implement the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, for that purpose, to adopt the measures required for the elimination of such discrimination in all its forms and manifestations,
CONCLUSION-
Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievementOf equality, development and peace, as recognized in the NairobiForward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in which a set ofMeasures to combat violence against women was recommended, and to the fullImplementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women. The Law affirming, that violence against women constitutes a violation of theRights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or nullifies theirEnjoyment of those rights and freedoms, and concerned about the long-standingFailure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case ofViolence against women. REFERENCE 1. UN CHARTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2. UN CONVENTION REPORTS NANDINI CHAKRABORTY.LECTURER OF JOURNALISM& MASS COMMUNICATION.KOLKATA, W.B.
Nigerian Women Agro-entrepreneurship Development: Issues and Challenges
Introduction
Suleiman (2006) defined entrepreneurship as “the willingness and ability of an individual to seek for investment opportunities to establish and run an enterprise successfully” while Drucker viewed an entrepreneur as a person who perceives business opportunities and takes advantage of the scarce resources and uses them profitably. Entrepreneurs are job creators and/or become self-employed rather than seekers of jobs in an overstretched public service. Using USA standard, a woman-owned enterprise is a small enterprise that is at least 51% owned, managed and operated by one or more women.
A small-scale farming is a farm holding established on a land area of not less than 5 hectares. In Nigeria, most of the small-scale farming enterprises are owned by men. This does not imply that Nigerian women agriculturists are not desirous of expanding their businesses due to so many challenges which border on gender issues, economic or socio-cultural barriers as well as government unfavourable policies. This paper, a purely descriptive research, employs secondary data to expound on the issues and challenges confronting the development of the Nigerian women to full blown agro- entrepreneurs for national economic advancement. The rest of the discussion in this paper is organized along the following issues;
· Women’s potentials in entrepreneurial skills.
· Why women entrepreneurship development?
· Policy Framework for Women Entrepreneurship Development.
· Challenges faced by women agro-entrepreneurs.
· Strategies for development of women agro-entrepreneurs.
· Conclusion.
Women’s Potentials in Entrepreneurial Skills
Women in general are naturally endowed with some exceptional abilities, which if properly harnessed for entrepreneurship purpose, could result in positive and enviable results. Women by nature;
v Have creative abilities
v Are blessed with ability to persist and pursue their desires
v Are good and patient nurtures of children, and this tenacity is usually transferred into business
v Are good innovators
v Have ability to develop passion for what they believe in
Waton (undated) cited in Okara (2005) identified the basic requirements of an entrepreneur to include: hardwork, teamwork, commitment, appreciation, listening, high expectations, setting achievable goals. Women, by nature and exposure to family relationships, possess most of these qualities that are essential and can be enhanced for entrepreneurial success.
Why Women Entrepreneurship Development?
Many researchers have shown that poverty is a malady that incapacitates its victim economically and indirectly subject him/her to a state of destitution, voicelessness, powerlessness and even violence (World Bank 2000; Okojie, 2002) Unfortunately, the most affected sex by the above incapacitation are women and children. Statistics show that women are poorer than men. The UNDP (1995) estimated that, about 60% of the world-poors, are women. Women are poorer because they are more vulnerable economically.
The findings of Thane (1978), Showalter (1987) and Lewis and Piachered (1987) cited in Magaji (2004) showed that women have been the poor sex throughout the 20th Century and have formed a substantial majority of the poor since poverty was first recognized. On why women are the poorest sex, the physical strength of women and various challenges limit them to specific soft duties making it difficult to be enterprising. Entrepreneurship development therefore is a crucial tool for women’s economic empowerment.
The benefits derivable from empowering the women folk are far reaching, starting with family advancement and eventually touching on the national and global economic advancement. According to the Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya H. S. Bungudu, the latest Nigerian census revealed that women constitute 49.9% of the nation’s population; the underrepresentation of women (2%) in the nation’s development processes in finance, business and investment fronts renders 40% of the population inadequately positioned to contribute to the economic growth of the country. It is the nation that blends the strengths of women and men that will lead the world in development (Kiyosaki 1993) in the field of agriculture and other sectors.
Entrepreneurship or investing is not an exclusive reserve of any gender. Both women and men generate the same result provided they follow the principles of investment. Kiyosaki (1993) proves with statistical data in United States, that women are better investors than men. A year 2000 National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) study found that women-only clubs achieved average annual returns of 32% since 1951 versus 23% for men-only investment clubs. The verdict is; women know how to handle money and can be greater entrepreneurs than men if the various obstacles to development is removed or minimized.
Policy Framework for Women Entrepreneurship Development
There are neither policies nor strategies for entrepreneurship development that is specifically tailored to women (Olutunla, 2008). The Nigerian government’s policy of promoting entrepreneurship dated back to the early 1970s. The hope of promoting small scale enterprises to stimulate entrepreneurship was documented in the 2nd National Development Plan (1970-74). This policy continued in the 3rd (1975-80) and the 4th National Development Plan through various strategies of technical, financial and management of the small scale industries. The Federal Government’s concern for the menacing problem of mass unemployment in the mid-1980s spurred the setting up of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in 1986 and the Work For Yourself Programme (WFYP) in 1987. Both were essentially joint programmes of training and financial support to entrepreneurs. The NDE operations included three core programmes (i) Youth Employment and Vocational Skills Development Program (YEVSDP) (ii) agricultural programs (iii) the small scale industries and graduate employment scheme. The NDE, though starved of fund for some time, has achieved a lot in promoting employment, create wealth and alleviating women poverty. The Better Life for Rural Women Programme (BLRWP) initiative of a first lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Maryam Babangida, was an entrepreneurship development programme specifically for promoting education, health and economic development of women. It made unprecedented contribution to women through the cooperative organizations. The spirit of BLRWP is still operating today through the subsequent first ladies. A number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also came up to promote entrepreneurship development. Prominent amongst them was the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN) which contributed immensely towards women entrepreneurship development through organization of many cooperatives and micro-credit schemes and in partnership with the United Nations.
The Role of Women in Agriculture
A significant amount of work has been carried out in developing countries on the potential of women in boosting food production. Boserup (1970) described Black Africa as the region of female farming par excellence. FAO (1982) estimated that the rural women contribute two-third of all the time that is put into traditional agriculture in Africa. Accat (1983) also pointed out that 80% of African women are engaged in agriculture. Patel and Antonio (1973) reported that 95% of the Yoruba women of the Southwestern Nigeria are engaged in farm works, growing yams, maize, tobacco and cassava, poultry and fish farming. They also participate in bush clearing, land preparation and weeding. In addition to their role in production, they are actively engaged in harvesting, processing and marketing of farm produce. The participation of Igbo men in nonfarm activities and waged employment has resulted in an increased workload for women in food crop production as well as a breakdown of the gender division of labor in agriculture. Igbo women now undertake some of the conventional male agricultural tasks in addition to those in the female domain (Ezumah and Di Domenico, 1995). The predominance of women in the small-scale fisheries post-harvest activities: micro-fish retailing, fish processing, fish distribution and marketing, make women the major players in the socio-economic development of the West African countries.
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Despite women’s extensive and varied participation in agriculture, they continue to have less access to credit and modern agriculture inputs. Consequently, their farm works is labor-intensive, yields meager economic returns (Buvinie and Mehra, 1990) and operate mostly at subsistence level. International Labour Organization (ILO 2003) quoted in Akpera and Sunday (2008) reported that Nigerian and African women entrepreneurs in general are in the micro enterprise sector and almost invisible in the small and medium enterprise categories.
The Challenges of Nigerian Women Agro-Entrepreneurs
Some of the many obstacles that hinder women enterprise development, agribusiness growth and improved income earnings include;
1) Finance
The greatest challenge for Nigerian women in agribusiness is lack of finance. Women in agribusiness need substantial finance both for start-up and expansion. Finance could be in form of equity or from external sources. Equity from informal sources includes personal savings, friends and relatives, traditional (esusu), professional and age-group associations as well as formal co-operative societies.
External finance is majorly from banks (specialized, development, commercial, etc), government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), international donors, etc. Entrepreneurs are expected to provide, in some cases, 25% of fund applied for and/or produce collaterals before accessing these external finances. It has been difficult for women to raise equity for own business because most women interested or engaged in farming earn low income. Many of the commercial or development banks are reluctant to grant agricultural loans due generally to the high agricultural risk factor or because they do not have competent assessors as in the case of fish farming. The high interest rate charged as well as the demand for collateral of landed property or other assets also compound the issue.
Currently, the Microfinance banks (MFB) are the government’s latest major organ of policy for entrepreneurship finance in Nigeria. In an ongoing research conducted recently, it was discovered that male to female application and approval by MFB are in the ratio 65% to 35%. This discrepancy was linked to women entrepreneurs approaching banks on an individual basis and lack of soundly written business plan and/or feasibility studies (Olutunla, 2008).
2) Manpower and Education
The whole business be- it agricultural or any other, revolves around the entrepreneur (visionary) as she combines all other human, financial and material resources to create an enterprise of value. The chief executive of the business outfit must be knowledgeable to effectively mobilize resources to advantage. Agribusiness at small or medium scale is highly professional, technologically driven and require some level of education. Education not only provides basic knowledge and skills to improve health and Iivelihood, but it empowers women to take their rightful place in society and the development process (Fasokun 2000).
Entrepreneurial education seems to be the major key policy to promote entrepreneurship development for women in Nigeria. Entrepreneurship education should be inculcated into school curriculum at all levels. Research indicates that Small and Medium Enterprise Industrial Empowerment Scheme (SMEIES) operators ranked the reasons for failure of entrepreneurs’ application for loans and came up with reasons that range from bad feasibility studies, poor management skills, lack of proper accounting, poor character checks and attitudes among others. All these are challenges that can be remedied by entrepreneurship education. Even as the 93 approved Nigerian universities have adopted entrepreneurial studies, funds and the dearth of teachers to train the students has remained an obstacle.
A number of current training centers/programs are urban-based, for example, the Industrial Development Centers established in the 1960s are urban-based. Small Medium Entrepreneurial Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) aimed at facilitating credit, technology markets, capacity building, training and technical support for SMEs and provide adequate linkage with women bodies is urban-based and starved of funds. Agribusiness is rural-based and better educated farmers are more likely to adopt new technologies and have access to credit and extension services (Adereti, 2000).
3) Technology
Many women, due to lack of exposure and financial limitations, still make use of old technology in farming, processing and preservation thus leading to drudgery and low output.
4) Cultural Restrictions/Weak Land Rights:
The Nigerian culture cannot be described as being gender friendly. For example, the “Kule” policy in the North where married women are forbidden from going out of the house in daylight for business is an initiative/development-killer policy that should be discouraged in this 21st Century. In Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, where women have prime responsibility for food production, they are generally limited to user rights to land and subject to the consent of a male relative (FAO, 1982). Culture and social practices discriminate against women to be enterprise successors/inheritors or own independent assets which could easily serve as collaterals. Such unequal land rights are reflected in the smaller land sizes of women farmers thus limiting them economically.
5) Lack of Equipment and Appropriate Technology
Despite women’s extensive and varied participation in agriculture, they continue to have less access to modern agriculture inputs. Consequently, women agro-entrepreneurs work under very difficult and laborious conditions, using crude traditional technology. Technology is closely related to finance and education. Nigerian women entrepreneurs, especially in agriculture, work under very difficult and laborious conditions, using crude traditional technology. There is urgent need for provision of modern, cost effective and affordable technologies for the use of women.
Moreover, some new technology has often been inappropriate to women’s needs. There is a need to define some priority actions to promote the role of women in the economy because it has been showed that women are productive and efficient when they have access to the right technologies and opportunities.
6) Erroneous Ideas about Women and Credit
There are certain myths about women in respect to credit which have made them to remain poor and limited their entrepreneurial prospects. One of such myths is that poor women make poor credit risks. This is being proved wrong as Olutunla (2008) reported that Nigerian women have been found to be more faithful in terms of loan repayment to Banks than men.
7) Entrepreneurial Attitude
According to Akpa (2007), an average entrepreneur is rugged and aggressive. These are common attributes of men while most women are of the gentle and kind disposition. Men tend to focus on gettingthe job done while women tend to focus on being more inclusive and relational. If a woman entrepreneur is to succeed, she must adopt some level of ruggedness and aggressiveness. Success is not gender-friendly.
8) Research and Extension Services
For a long time, agronomic researchers do not pay attention to the role of women in the farming system. Research into the activities of women in agriculture is gaining attention only recently. A survey in Ogun State, Nigeria (Elabor-Idemudia, 1991) and Osun State, Nigeria (Ogbimi and Williams, 1999) revealed that Extension Agents visited between 7-10% of women farmers every week compared to 70% of the male farmers who received weekly visits. An FAO (1989) study found government investment on agriculture represented less than half the sector’s contribution to national income, therefore, it is reasonable to guess that women’s access to extension services and training especially in the area of fish farming, processing, packaging, distribution and marketing are unlikely to improve when the overall funding and availability of services is declining.
9) Misplaced Focus
Many agricultural projects and programs are not suited to the special circumstances of women or may not reach women at all, thus truncating the intended effort to increase food production.
10) Market and Marketing
Due to lack of good roads in Nigeria, electricity, poor access to information and poor networking, many farm produce perish thus discouraging women farmers.
Strategies for Women Agro-Entrepreneurship Development
· The complementary policy issues in entrepreneurship education should include increasing women enrolment in schools at all levels especially in the field of agriculture to reduce gender inequality. Budgetary allocation should be made to accommodate more continuing and vocational education.
· More seminars/workshops should be sponsored and extended to rural areas to increase women’s capacity to start and grow their agribusiness, prepare sound business plan/feasibility studies and increase their technical and managerial capacity in agribusiness.
· Modern processing plants/storage facilities should be installed for women groups on government/private joint partnership basis so that women can process and store their farm produce with ease.
· The enabling environment in terms of gender-friendly policies, good roads, pipe-borne water and electricity should be provided by the various arms of government.
· Cooperatives and women groups should be more formally instituted and encouraged among women to position them strategically to access fund and other inputs with ease.
· The Government should mandate the commercial Banks to produce more gender-friendly loan packages (low interest rates and more relaxed duration of repayment).
· Women should be exposed to the latest agro-technology from time to time to remove drudgery in farming, processing and preservation techniques.
· Nigerian women should be encouraged to network more, both at the national and international levels for more exposure, to access fund and export information.
· Agro-extension institutions should be boosted and more women extension agents be trained to reduce women to extension workers ratio and for wider coverage of women agriculturists.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the top twenty leading economies of the world by the year 2020, otherwise known simply as vision 20:20 appears compelling enough to energize its over 150 million people (nearly half of which are women) to make the vision a reality. To accomplish this laudable goal, there is urgent need to pay attention to the development of agro-women entrepreneurs so that they can take their place in family advancement and national economic development. The government and development/change agencies must not only be prepared to recognize the economic role of the women but must also extend to them the same recognition and facilities as the men are enjoying.
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Akpa A. (2007): Challenges of the Nigerian entrepreneur in the twenty-first century. A paper presented at the maiden Annual College of Management Sciences Seminar, University of Mkar. 10p
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Boserup, E. (1970): Women’s Role in Economic Development. St. Martino Press New York, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
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References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
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Grassroots Leadership Principles ?” a Review of It??s Your Ship
At the age of 36, Michael Abrashoff was selected to become Commander of the USS Benfold — at the time, the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific Fleet. The immediate challenges that faced him were staggering: Exceptionally low morale with unacceptably high turnover. Few thought that this ship could improve. In many ways, the Benfold was actually an extreme example of the same problems facing many organizations today.
As the new head of his own command Michael only became more resolved. “In my induction ceremony, my predecessor left to cheers. The crew was actually clapping as he and his family departed. I knew then that command and control leadership was dead.â€
“A lot of people do whatever it takes to secure the next promotion. All I ever wanted to do in the navy was to command a ship. I did not care if I ever got promoted again. And that attitude enabled me to do the right things for my people instead of doing the right things for my career. Along the way, it was my people that created the results that ensured my next promotion.â€
The solution was to establish a system of beliefs that Michael calls GrassRoots Leadership — a process of replacing command and control with commitment and cohesion by engaging the hearts, minds, and loyalties of workers.
In his book, It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from The Best Damn Ship in the Navy, Michael states that, “The most important thing that a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew.â€
To Michael, this meant interviewing every single person on his ship, from the most senior officer to the newest recruit — an experience that began to generate the most invaluable ideas, often from the most unexpected sources. For example, through one of these meetings Michael was able to address one of the most demoralizing roles of the crew: relentless chipping and painting had always been a standard task for a ship’s youngest sailors, the individuals that Michael most wanted to connect with. One of these sailors simply suggested replacing the rusting hardware with stainless-steel nuts and bolts.
“I took our credit card and bought the stainless steel hardware that day,†Michael commented. “Those guys didn’t pick up a paintbrush the rest of the time I was on board.†Today, the entire navy uses that process — a solution that began from GrassRoots efforts.
GrassRoots Leadership is a philosophy that empowers every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence. GrassRoots Leadership has as its core tenets:
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• Lead by Example — GrassRoots Leaders know they must first change their own attitudes and behaviors before expecting their crew to change.
• Listen Aggressively — GrassRoots Leaders don’t simply listen, they hear what their people are telling them. They know that those on the front lines are the most familiar with how operations can be more effective.
• Communicate Purpose and Meaning — GrassRoots Leaders help their crew understand (collectively and individually) how their work contributes to the success of the overall mission, as well as understand how that work supports the personal goals they have for themselves.
• Create a Climate of Trust — GrassRoots Leaders trust and cultivate trust from their crew. Without trust, the barriers that prevent excellent performance will never be lowered.
• Look for Results, Not Salutes — GrassRoots Leaders maximize performance by making their people grow. They succeed only where their people succeed.
• Take Calculated Risks — GrassRoots Leaders know that taking prudent, calculated risks is instrumental in maximizing performance.
• Go Beyond Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) — GrassRoots Leaders look at standard operating procedure as a guideline, because SOP doesn’t change as rapidly as the environment and competition. Therefore, they foster a climate that encourages people to come up with better and more innovative ways to accomplish their mission.
• Strengthen Others/Build Up Your People — GrassRoots Leaders focus on making their people grow and creating an environment where everyone can win, thereby making the entire team stronger.
• Generate Unity — GrassRoots Leaders work to not only change undesirable behaviors but to alter the underlying attitudes. By working toward a mutual respect for everyone, they level the playing field, permitting everyone to perform at their highest level.
• Cultivate Quality of Life — GrassRoots Leaders actively integrate fun into the work experience. They want their crew to have as much fun from 9 to 5 as they do at home from 5 to 9; thereby, gaining the passion, enthusiasm and creativity that they usually lock in their car in the parking lot each morning.
By every measure, these principles were able to achieve breakthrough results. Personnel turnover decreased to an unprecedented 1%. The rate of military promotions tripled, and operating expenses were slashed by 25%. USS Benfold became regarded as the finest ship in the Pacific Fleet, winning the prestigious Spokane Trophy for having the highest degree of combat readiness.
His first book, It’s Your Ship, has sold over hundreds of thousands of copies and is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best Seller. While receiving accolades from such business-minded entities as Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and others, perhaps the greatest testament to Michael’s leadership style is represented by one of his crew, who published the following review of It’s Your Ship on Amazon.com:
Reviewer: EW3 Holly (Davis) Simpson from Louisville, KY December 11, 2003
I am a plankowner* of the Benfold and admired Capt. Abrashoff’s leadership. His superior leadership brought the morale of our ship from just ordinary shipboard life to a ship that many in the fleet wanted to become a part of. Our ship was a show-piece and we were proud to carry out his orders.
What could have been a horribly desolate six months on deployment, including the holidays spent in the Gulf in 97-98, turned into a memorable experience for all, thanks to Capt. Abrashoff who even made UnRep a grand event! We learned from him that although we had a VERY important job to conduct, we were rewarded with pride in our accomplishments. Capt. Abrashoff was a very approachable Commanding Officer, an experience I had never encountered in the military and has been rare while employed with state government. He made an effort to see that his crew not only did their jobs exceptionally well, but that we enjoyed the festivities he provided for the ship while in port.
I have read his fantastic book, reliving all the memories of my Benfold life and have used his leadership knowledge to become a successful professional in the “civilian” world. To the readers who feel Capt. Abrashoff is “arrogant” in his leadership style–I think if you had as awesome a ship as the Benfold to be a part of, you would be extremely proud of it and the leadership that made it such a fine place to spend a few years of your life.
*a plankowner is a member of the crew of a ship when it’s first commissioned
Michael Abrashoff is originally from Altoona, Pennsylvania and is a 1982 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He currently resides in Arlington, Virginia and has recently published his second book, Get Your Ship Together.
Women Entrepreneurship in Asian Developing Countries
INTRODUCTION
In Asian developing countries, entrepreneurship development is currently an important issue related to economic development in the countries. It is publicly believed that the lack of entrepreneurship together with limited capital, skilled workers and technology have been the main important causes of relatively economic backwardness in most of these countries. Realizing this, training in entrepreneurship has been included as an important part of government programs to support the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Asian developing countries. Women entrepreneurship development in Asian developing countries is currently very important since it is part of ongoing national efforts to alleviate poverty in developing countries in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Greater opportunities for women to participate in economic activities either as well-paid employyees or as successful entrepreneurs certainly will help much in poverty reduction. Since entrepreneurship development is usually associated with SME development, this paper focuses on women entrepreneurs in SMEs.
METHODOLOGY
This paper is based on a review of key literature and a descriptive analysis of secondary data, from government sources as well as from International Labour Organization (ILO), or from individual case studies, on women entrepreneurs in Asian developing countries. Since not all countries in the region have enough data and literature, this study only covers all member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and some countries in the South Asia including India and Pakistan
Definitions and main characteristics of SMES
The definition and concept of SMEs vary between countries in the region. There is no common agreement on what distinguishes a microenterprise (MIE) from a small enterprise (SE), or a SE from a medium enterprise (ME), and a ME from a large enterprise (LE). In general, however, a MIE employs less than five (5) full time equivalent employees, although many enterprises of this category do not hire workers, often called self-employment enterprises; sometimes they use family members as helpers or unpaid workers. A SME can range from less than 100 workers in, for instance, Indonesia, to as much as 3000 laborers in China. In Indonesia, Les are those with 100 workers or more, while in Vietnam, they are units with 300 or more full time employees. Comparison between countries becomes more difficult since in some countries, definition of SME based on number of employees, value of fixed or productive assets (excluding land and building) varies, or annual revenues also vary between sectors, e.g. Thailand, India and China, or even among departments or agencies, e.g. Indonesia and Pakistan.
Definitions of SME in some Asian developing countries.
Name of the Country
Employees
Fixed/Productive Assets
MIE
SE
ME
MIE
SE
ME
Indonesia
≤ 4
5-19
20-99
≤Rp>50 m
>Rp50m-≤Rp500m
>Rp500m-≤Rp10b
Malaysia
≤5
5-50
51-150
-
-
-
Philippines
9
19-99
100-199
≤P 3m
>P3m- P15m
>P15m-P100m
Thailand
≤ 4
5-<50
50-200
<THB 50 m
<THB 50 m
THB 50m-THB 200 m
Vietnam
<10
10-49
50-299
-
-
-
Cambodia
<11
11-50
51-100
50,000 US$
50,000 US$ -
250,000US$
250,000US$ -500,000US$
Lao PDR
1-4
5-19
20-99
<70 m. kip
<250 m. kip
<1200 m. kip
China
0-5
<300
300-3000
< 40 m. RMB
40 m – 400 m. RMB
India
-
-
-
≤2,5 m. INR
2.5 m – 50m. INR
50m – 100m INR
Pakistan
≤9
10-35
36-99
< 2 m PR
2-20 m PR
21-40 PR
Bangladesh
≤ 50
≤ 50
51-200
≤15 m Tk
≤15 m Tk
15 m – 100 m Tk
Sri Lanka
-
-
-
< m.SR
1m – < 20m SR
20 – < 50 m SR
Nepal
-
-
-
≤200.000 NR
> 200.000 – 30 m. NR
> 30 m – 100 m NR
Besides using number of employees, annual revenues, or value of invested capital as criterion to define MIEs, SEs and MEs, in fact, MIEs can be obviously distinguished from SEs or MEs by looking at their different characteristics in many business aspects, such as market orientation, social-economic profiles of owners, nature of employment, organization and management system, degree of mechanization (nature of production process), sources of raw materials and capital, location, external relationships, and degree of involvement of women as entrepreneurs.
Main characteristics of MIEs, SEs, and MEs in Asian developing countries
Aspect
MIEs
SEs
MEs
1.Formality
Operate in informal sector, unregistered & seldom pays taxes
Some operate in formal
Sector, some unregistered & some pay taxes
All operate in formal sector, all registered & all pay taxes
2.Organization
and
management
Run by the owner, no division of internal labor, no formal management & no formal accounting system (bookkeeping)
Run by the owner, no division of labor, no formal management, and no formal accounting system
(bookkeeping)
Many hire professional
managers, have division of labor, formal organizational structure & formal account-ting system (bookkeeping)
3.Nature of
employment
Majority use unpaid family
members
Some hire wage laborers
All hire wage laborers & some have formal recruitment system
4.Nature of
production
process
Degree of mechanization
very low/mostly manual & level of technology very low
Some use up-to-date
machines
Many have high degree of
mechanization/have access to modern technology
5.Market orientation
Majority sell to local market
and for low-income consumers
Many sell to domestic
market and export & many serve also middle to high-income group
All sell to domestic market and many also export, all serve middle and high income consumers
6.Social and
economic
profiles
of owners
Low or uneducated, from poor households & main motivation: survival
Some have good education and from non-poor households & many have business/profit motivation
Majority have good education
Many are from wealthy families & main motivation: profit
7.Sources of raw
materials and
capital
Majority use local raw materials and use own money
Some import raw materials
& some have access to formal credits
Many use imported raw
Materials & majority have access to formal credits
8.External
relationships
Majority have no access
to government programs
and not business linkages
with LEs
Many have good relations
with government and have
business linkages (e.g.
subcontracting) with LEs
(including MNCs/FDI).
Majority have good access to government programs & many have business linkages with LEs (including MNCs/FDI)
9.Women
entrepreneurs
Ratio of female to male as
entrepreneurs is high
Ratio of female to male as
entrepreneurs is high
Ratio of female to male as
entrepreneurs is low
Recent development of SMEs
Asian developing countries have touted SMEs as the engine of economic growth and development, the backbone of national economies, the highest employment-generators, and a potential tool of poverty alleviation by creating self-employment avenues. In Southeast Asian countries alone (that is Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar), notwithstanding various definitional issues and data problems, by combining all sources which are available (Tambunan, 2008; Wattanapruttipaisan, 2003; Lim, 2008) there is an estimated total of around 52 million SMEs, with Indonesia as the largest contributor According to a report from the Secretary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (ASEAN Development Blueprint for SMEs 2004-2014), these enterprises employ about 75-90% of the domestic workforce, especially adult persons and women (Lim, 2008). These enterprises play strategic roles in private sector development, especially in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. In some member countries, as their economies modernize or industrialize, SME provide the much-needed inter-firm linkages required to support LEs to ensure that they remain competitive in the world markets. In this region as well as in East Asia (e.g. China and South Korea), the total number of SMEs account, on average, for more than 99%.
Number of SMEs in selected Asian developing countries
Name of the Country
Number (‘000)
% of total enterprises
Indonesia
48,936.80
99.9
Malaysia
519.00
99.2
Philippines
72.70
99.5
Thailand
2,274.53
99.8
Vietnam
98.23
96.8
Cambodia
28.75
99
Lao PDR
26
99.4
China
2,370.26
99.7
]]>
India
12.34
90.0-99.7
Pakistan
2,880.00
90.0
Bangladesh
6,000.00
99.0
Singapore
72.00
97.8
Nepal
3,485*
98
SMEs’ contribution to total value added or gross domestic product (GDP), on the other hand, are much smaller than their share in total employment. This is indeed a general characteristic of SMEs in developing countries as compared to those in developed countries. In developing countries, SMEs are not yet so important from output contribution perspective due to their low productivity because they lack advanced technologies, sophisticated methods of production and skilled workers. However, in some individual countries, SMEs have GDP shares on average above 50%, such as Cambodia at almost 77% in 2001, Indonesia which reached almost 57% in 2003, and Brunei at 66% in 1995. In China, the ratio is about 60%.
Development of women entrepreneurship
As in other parts of the world, women’s entrepreneurship development in Asian developing countries has also a tremendous potential in empowering women and transforming society in the region. Yet in many countries, especially where the level of economic development, reflected by the level of income per capita and the degree of industrialization, is still low, this potential remains largely untapped. Sinhal (2005), for instance, observed that less than 10% of the entrepreneurs in South Asia, comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Categories of Women Entrepreneurs
There are three categories of women entrepreneurs, that is. “chance”, “forced” and “created” entrepreneurs.
Categories of women entrepreneurs (by reasons/motivations for starting the business) in Asian developing countries.
Category Main reason/motivation
Chance entrepreneurs -to keep busy
-was hobby/special interest
-family/spouse had business
Forced entrepreneurs -financial/needed the money
-control over time/flexibility
-challenge, try something on one’s own
-show others I could do it.
Created or pulled entrepreneurs -to be independent & self satisfaction
-example to children
-employment to others /do something worthwhile
These different categories are based on how their businesses got started, or the main reasons or motivetions behind starting their own businesses. Chance entrepreneurs are those who start a business without any clear goals or plans. Their businesses probably evolved from hobbies to economic enterprises over time. Forced entrepreneurs are those who were compelled by circumstances (e.g., death of a spouse, the family facing financial difficulties) to start a business, their primary motivation, hence, tend to be financial. Created entrepreneurs are those who are “located, motivated, encouraged and developed” through, for instance, entrepreneurship development programs. Although, within the developing countries, the degree varies by country, depending on many factors, including level of economic development, reflected by the level of income per capita, and social, cultural and political factors. Gender equity has many dimensions and it is not easy to measure, due to the lack of accurate, gender discriminated social indicators in many countries, especially in the developing world.
Two indices often used to measure gender equity are Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) constructed by UNDP. GDI is human development index (HDI) adjusted for gender inequality, and HDI measures the average achievements of the country in terms of the extent to which people lead a long and healthy life, are educated and knowledgeable, and enjoy a decent standard of living. GDI measures achievements in the same basic dimensions as HDI but in addition captures inequalities between women and men. Together GDI and GEM attempt to capture the level of development of women and the extent to which women are free from discrimination in building their capabilities and in gaining access to resources and opportunities.
In 2008, the GEI ranks the 2008 situation of 157 countries, based on the most recent statistics available, and is able to determine evolution trends in 133 by comparing their present index with that of five years ago. The following table presents the GEI for selected Asian developing countries.
Gender Equity Index 2008 for selected Asian developing countries
Country/Economy
GEI 2008
Dimensions
Education
Economic activity
Empowerment
Philippines
76
100.0
63.5
65.5
Hong Kong
72
98.5
66.0
51.8
Viet Nam
71
88.6
81.2
44.0
Thailand
70
98.7
71.7
39.7
China
69
95.1
73.3
38.2
Singapore
66
89.6
58.6
48.7
Brunei Darussalam
63
98.7
48.4
41.2
Cambodia
60
76.3
83.5
21.0
Malaysia
58
98.1
46.6
29.1
Korea, Rep.
54
84.2
53.9
23.5
Sri Lanka
53
83.7
42.9
32.1
Indonesia
52
91.7
52.8
12.4
Bangladesh
51
82.3
53.5
17.6
Nepal
44
61.1
57.0
15.3
Pakistan
42
73.2
34.2
17.5
India
40
77.5
36.6
6.3
World Economic Forum (WEF) also produces annual report on global gender gap ranking, based on gender gap index (GGI). The index is based on four critical areas of inequality between men and women:
Economic participation and opportunity: outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment.
Educational attainment: outcomes on access to basic and higher level education.
Political empowerment: outcomes on representation in decision-making structures.
Health and survival: outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio.
The index scores are on a 0 to 1 scale (0.00 = inequality, 1.00 = equality) but can be roughly interpreted as the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed. The index scores can be interpreted as the percentage of the gap between women and men that has been closed.
Another important institution which produces annual report on global employment trends for women is the International Labour Office (ILO). Its 2008 report shows that most regions in the world are making progress in increasing the number of women in decent employment, but that full gender equality in terms of labour market access and conditions of employment has not yet been attained. According to the report, economic empowerment for women has a lot to do with their ability or inability to participate in labour markets and with the conditions of employment that the women who do manage to find work face. The report shows that labour force participation rates in South Asia have traditionally been low due to the low rates for women. Compared to 100 men active on labour markets only 42 women participate by either working or looking for work. The low participation is also reflected in the employment-to-population ratios: in 2007, only 3.4 out of 10 women of working-age actually worked (34.1%), and over the last ten years the female employment-to-population ratio slightly decreased. For the same period, the share of women as own-account workers, increased by 7.9% and as employer declined by 0.2% m.
Distribution of female status in employment in South Asia, 2007 (% change from 1997 in parentheses)
Whereas, according to the report, East Asia, which has been the most successful region in terms of economic growth over the last decade, is also the region with the highest regional labour force participation rate for women, low unemployment rates for both women and men and relatively small gender gaps in sectoral as well as status distribution. In this region, the gender gap in economically active females per 100 males continues to be among the smallest in the world. For every 100 active men, there are 79 women participating in labour markets. Between 1997 and 2007, the shares of women as own-account workers (that is self-employed without employees) and as employer (that is self-employed with employees), respectively, increased by 11.1% and declined by 0.9%.
Distribution of female status in employment in East Asia, 2007 (% change from 1997 in parentheses).
Those changes in shares of women as own-account workers and employers can be seen as the development of women entrepreneurship.
Unfortunately, only few countries have national data and enough literature on women entrepreneurs, including Indonesia and Pakistan. In Indonesia, women entrepreneurs especially in SMEs have also been increasing since the 1980s during the new order era (1966-1998) when the country achieved rapid economic growth leading to rapid increase in per capita income. Data from the National state of the art of women entrepreneurship participation, then the table may suggest that becoming an entrepreneur, especially in larger, modern and more complex Labour Survey confirm this, looking at self-employed category by gender. Although, there are more males than females who are self-employed in businesses with or without employees, or the share of females engaged in businesses is lower than that of male entrepreneurs. According to a number of studies (Manning, 1998; Oey, 1998), the reason for the increasing number of womenowned enterprises are partly due to the increase of women’s educational level, and to the economic pressure the women faced in their households.
With respect to sectoral distribution within the manufacturing industry, most of the women entrepreneurs are in the food, beverages and tobacco industry, followed by textile, garment and leather, and non-metallic mineral products. In basic metal and fabricated metal products, the proportion of women entrepreneurs is always very small, not more than 1%. This indicates that women entrepreneurs in manufacturing industry tend to do businesses that do not require high skills and expertise. Indeed, in Indonesia, beyond the manufacturing industry, women entrepreneurs are more likely than male to be involved in these sectors, mostly as ownaccount traders having small shops or as owners of small restaurants or hotel (Tambuan, 2006, 2007).
In Pakistan, the rate of women as employers in the past 10 years does not change; while, that of those as selfemployed increased slightly. One important indication from this survey is that women working as entrepreneurs are still lower than that of their male counterparts. As in other countries in the region, women entrepreneurs in Pakistan are mainly found in MIEs (that is self-employed units) (Goheer, 2003; Sinhal 2005; Roomi and Parrot, 2008).
Main barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in the study area
In Asian developing countries, as in any other part of the world, though the entrepreneurial process is the same for men and women, there are however, in practice, many problems faced by women, which are of different dimensions and magnitudes, which prevent them from realizing their full potential as entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship by definition implies being in control of one’s life and activeties. It is precisely this independence that societies in the region have denied women. According to Sinhal (2005), the situation is more critical in South Asian countries, as compared to other parts of Asia. The business environment for women, which reflects the complex interplay of different factors (e.g. psychological, social/cultural, religion, economic and educational factors) in the South Asian region ultimately results in the disadvantaged status of women in society.
In Bangladesh, a large number of women’s enterprises are operating on an informal basis and they are not identified in the country’s economy. These enterprises lack the basic forms and information, marketing opportunities, regulatory and social supports (ADB, 2001b).
In Nepal problems faced by women entrepreneurs in Nepal are mainly low access to credit and marketing networks, lack of access to land and property and reduced risk-taking capacity, lack of access to modern technology, lack of personal security and risk of sexual harassment, severe competition from organized units both in the domestic as well as the international markets, low level of self-confidence, and social and cultural barriers such as exclusive responsibility for household work, restrictions on mobility (ADB, 1999a).
In Pakistan, Roomi and Parrot (2008) found that women entrepreneurs do not enjoy the same opportunities as men due to a number of deep-rooted discriminatory socio-cultural values and traditions. These restrictions can be observed within the support mechanism that exist to assist such fledgling businesswomen. The economic potential of female entrepreneurs is not being realized as they suffer from a lack of access to capital, land, business premises, information technology, training and agency assistance. Inherent attitudes of a patriarchal society, that men are superior to women and that women are best suited to be homemakers, create formidable challenges. Women also receive little encouragement from some male family members, resulting in limited spatial mobility and a dearth of social capital. Their research suggests that in order to foster development, multiagency cooperation is required. The media, educational policy makers and government agencies could combine to provide women with improved access to business development services and facilitate local, regional and national networks. This would help integration of women entrepreneurs into the mainstream economy.
In Indonesia, the low representative of women entrepreneurs can be attributed to at least four main factors.
First, low level of education and lack of training opportunities. It is especially true for women living in rural areas or in relatively backward provinces. This fact is consistent with a report on gender mainstreaming in the education system in Indonesia cited in Suharyo (2005) which shows that, the illiteracy rate for women is still higher than men, and the gap between men and women in rural areas is much higher than that in urban areas.
Secondly, heavy household chores place a demand on women especially those in rural areas who have more children. They are required to perform their traditional role as housewives and therefore, they have fewer hours of free time than men, both during the weekend and on weekdays.
Thirdly, there may be legal, traditions, customs, cultural or religious constraints on the extent to which women can open their own businesses. Especially in rural areas rather isolated from big cities like Jakarta. Islamic-based norms have stronger influence on women daily life. This makes female behavior or attitude in rural areas less open than male (or than urban women) to “doing modern business” culture. In such society, women must fully comply with their primary duty as their husband’s partner and housewife, they are not allowed to start their own businesses or to do jobs that involve contact with or managing men, or simply they are not allowed to leave the home alone.
Fourthly, there is lack of access to formal credit and financial institutions. This is indeed a key concern of women business owners, in fact not only in Indonesia but also in other Asian developing countries. This is found to be more problematic for women in rural areas or outside of major metropolitan areas such as Jakarta and Surabaya.
In Malaysia, the problems faced by women entrepreneurs are the same as those in Indonesia. In addition to these problems, Ming-Yen et al. (2007) found that women entrepreneurs in Malaysia also faced a shortage of peer support networks compared with men even though various women entrepreneurs and industry associations have been formed which generally serve as a platform for women entrepreneurs to establish networks and exchange information and experiences as well as to conduct training programmes, seminars and workshops on motivation, leadership and entrepreneur development and to provide other means of support. According to their study, this is due to the fact that women may not join these associations as they might be overloaded with business and family responsibilities. This limits the women entrepreneurs’ ability to seek informal advice and peers financing as well as the information networks needed for survival and growth. This might pose a challenge to women entrepreneurs in establishing networks which are helpful to the survival of their businesses.
Conclusion
Based on limited data and literature, this paper has tried to examine the participation of women as entrepreneurs in SMEs in Asian developing countries. The main issue of women entrepreneurship development discussed in this paper is the main constraints facing women to become entrepreneurs or existing women entrepreneurs to sustain or grow. The paper shows a number of interesting facts. In Asian developing countries, as they accounted, on average, for more than 95% of all firms, thus the biggest source of employment, providing livelihood for over 90% of the country’s workforce, especially women and the young. Women entrepreneurs are mainly found in MIEs that is, traditional and low income generating activities. Majority of women entrepreneurs in the region were not drawn to entrepreneurship by “pull” factors, such as the need for a challenge, the urge to try something on their own and to be independent, to show others that they are capable of doing well in business, to be recognized by the society (self-esteem), hobby, or to use spare time, but by “push” factors such as poverty, unemployment, the need to have more cash income to support the family daily expenditures, and precaution motives (anticipation if husband is laid-off or unemployed, and other emergency needs). This may suggest that when women in the region are better educated and have greater well-paid employment opportunities, their participation in SMEs may decline.
References
v Charumathi B (1998). “Women entrepreneur’s challenges and prospects”, in C. Swarajya Lakshmi (ed.), Development of Women Entrepreneurship in India: Problems and Prospects, New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House.
v Dhameja SK, Bhatia BS, Saini JS (2002). “Problems and constraints of women entrepreneurship”, in D.D. Sharma and S.K. Dhameja (eds.). Women and Rural Entrepreneurship, Chandigarh: Abhishek Publications).
v Dhillon P (1998). Women Entrepreneurs: Problems and Prospects, New Delhi: Blaze Publishers and Distributors.
v Giovannelli C, Gunnsteinsdottir H, Me A (2003). “The status of statistics on women and men’s entrepreneurship in the UNECE region”, paper presented at Workshop on Improving Statistics on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, OECD, Paris, 17-19 September.
v ILO (2008). Global Employment Trends for Women 2008, March, Geneva: International Labour Office.
v Seymour N (2001). “Women entrepreneurs in the developing world”, CELCEE Digest No. 01-04, Kansas City, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Clearinghouse on Entrepreneurship Education, August, http://www.celcee.edu/.
v WEF (2007). The Global Gender Gap Report 2007, Geneva: World Economic Forum.
v UNDP (2008). The Human Development Report 2007/2008, New York: United Nations Development Programme.
v Sinha A (2003). Experience of SMEs in South and South-East Asia, Washington, D.C. SEDF and World Bank.
v Sinhal S (2005). “Developing Women Entrepreneurs in South Asia: Issues, Initiatives and Experiences”, ST/ESCAP/2401, Trade and Investment Division, Bangkok: UNESCAP.
Women and Business: What Does a Woman’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Look Like?
Today’s successful women entrepreneurs are sharp, savvy and highly skilled. Some have solo-enterprises, while others run multi-national organizations. All have one thing in common – an entrepreneurial spirit that just won’t stop.
More and more women are entering the world of business. In fact, we’re starting businesses twice as fast as men, and on the whole, we’re more successful doing it. One of the reasons is the bevy of women re-entering the workforce after rearing children. While many may have previously worked in corporate America-type jobs, they are finding at this stage of their lives, they want more autonomy and control over their work time and work demands, especially if returning to their former workplaces leaves them in new situations that do nothing but stifle their need to contribute in a meaningful way.
Plus the Internet has opened up a whole new world for women. They can not only start, run and grow a successful online business (at any age) but they can choose when they work because the Internet is open 24-7. In stark contrast to their working mothers who did the typical 9-5 stint, today’s women entrepreneurs can easily schedule their work around their family as well as their own needs.
But are all women born entrepreneurs?
]]>
It’s true we’re biologically wired for multi-tasking and juggling family and work. However, that doesn’t mean that every woman has what it takes to make the grade.
So how do you know if you fit the entrepreneurial profile? There are certain stand-out traits according to Susan L. Reid, author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Journey to Business Success
Here is the list of the Entrepreneurial Woman’s Top 10 Characteristics
1. You have a strong desire for autonomy, to be your own boss, and live life on your own terms.
2. You are an independent self-starter, not needing or wanting others to tell you what to do.
3. You have a powerful drive to make money and accumulate wealth.
4. You are a calculated risk-taker with a higher-than-normal tolerance for failure and consider failure a non-issue.
5. You like to be in control and call the shots.
6. You are highly self-motivated and are indefatigably fearless when it comes to getting the job done.
7. You had childhood experiences as a budding entrepreneur and/or entrepreneurial parents, grandparents, or relatives.
8. You have a high level of energy that is sustainable over a long period of time.
9. You are creative and innovative, a strong decision maker, and able to think quickly on your feet, and set things in motion.
10. You are a big-picture thinker capable of seeing how everything relates to each other.
It is my belief that you don’t have to necessarily have all 10 of these traits in your genetic make-up. If you have the drive and determination to work at obtaining what traits you may be missing, that’s a huge part of the equation.
I suggest you go on a fact-finding mission. Talk to women entrepreneurs you admire. Read up on the latest trends on women in business. Do whatever you can to seek out the answers you need and then dig deep inside and ask yourself if this is really want you want to do.
Make no mistake. You have to be prepared. Businesses have their ups and downs, growth spurts and setbacks. The road to success can sometimes be paved with long hours, heartache, pinching pennies and carrying on when the chips are down. No one is immune to the challenges, but if you do your homework thoroughly and delve into entrepreneurship with your eyes open and your feet on the ground, without a doubt, you’ll find a way to succeed. And that is true entrepreneurial spirit!
Should All World Leaders Speak in English?
Language allows people to communicate, learn, and grow which is the fundamental underpinning of society’s progress. In recent years, more people have begun discussing the question of whether all world leaders should speak English. Whether they should speak English or not depends on if there is a need for a common language, and if English is becoming one of the most commonly spoken languages throughout the world.
Many experts believe that there should be one common language that can be used as a method of conversing with people from all countries. It can reduce misunderstandings and help build bridges between cultures. English is the leading worldwide language in such areas as entertainment, science, business, and diplomacy. Approximately 85% of all information in the world is available in English. As well, English is studied as a second language more than any other language of the world. In most careers, speaking English can help one get a promotion, open the door for more opportunities, and earn more money. Governments around the world are providing funding for their citizens to learn English. The reason is not because English is a superior language, but because the language has spread across the globe. For instance, there are more people in China who speak English than in the U.S.A.
Many believe that the proliferation of the English language throughout the world is a result of America’s rise as the central superpower. International relations and business are basically tied to the United States. America is an English speaking country so other countries have recognized the value of speaking English when conversing with Americans. The result has been a surge in people learning the English language. According to a recent report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, “between 96 and 100 percent of people in China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam believe children should learn English.” Many see learning English as an essential tool to success. Chris Gibson, the British Council’s director for South India, “aims to have every South Indian speaking it by 2010, at which point he believes that English will be a codified world language” In 2007, the International Herald Tribune stated that “English is spoken in some form by three times as many non-native speakers as native speakers.” As well, the IHT wrote, “English is a first language for 400 million people, and a fluent second for between 300 and 500 million more.
The trend to learn English suggests that the use of the language will be increasing in the coming years. The Director of Asia for the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that “By 2100, the world will go from a 7,000-language planet to a couple of hundred languages at the most…English will be the major medium of communication in many countries.”
It is projected that half the world’s people will be speaking English by 2015. Many people believe English is on the path to becoming the world’s unofficial language The spread of the English language throughout the world should not only cause world leaders to consider learning the language, but it should also cause the citizens to consider taking advantage of learning English in order keep all opportunities in life available.
Cunnilingus Techniques – 3 Cunnilingus Techniques To Give Your Woman Powerful Orgasms
Cunnilingus is the best way to give your partner powerful orgasms and please her during lovemaking. Research has shown that only 68% of women felt that intercourse is pleasurable and believe it or not, these women experienced an orgasm only 25% of the time!
The above means that out of every four times these women engaged in sexual act, only once did they reach orgasm. However, when it comes to cunnilingus, these same women reach orgasms a whopping 81% of the time. This shows that if you really want to please your partner during lovemaking, you need to know how to give cunnilingus properly.
Before we talk about the 3 powerful cunnilingus techniques, one thing to note is that moves and techniques need to be varied and repeated in order to bring your partner to orgasms. Keep her guessing!
Sweeping. This is a fairly easy technique and should be always included in a cunnilingus session as women just love this move. Position your tongue either on the left or right hand side of the clitoris and move from side to side as though you are sweeping the floor. Circles. This technique can be considered the most pleasurable clitoral technique in cunnilingus. To start off this technique, position your tongue either to the left or right hand side of the clitoris. Then move your tongue either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise around the clitoris only. This technique will make your partner feels excellent when she is fairly aroused as it gives the clitoris plenty of stimulation outside the hood. ABC’s. This technique may sound funny but I think it is the best overall cunnilingus technique that you can ever try on your partner. Position your tongue either to the side or top of the clitoris and begin using it to draw your ABC’s. The ABC stroke is very powerful as it gives just the right amount of contact to both the clitoral hood and clitoral head while mixing things up.
When dealing with a woman’s clitoris, it is more than just sticking your tongue out and start poking around. Bear these 3 cunnilingus techniques in mind to give your partner a pleasurable cunnilingus session.
Do you know that women easily achieve better orgasms from good oral sex when compared to penetration? Get more oral sex techniques and positions from the website below to give her maximum pleasure now:
Secrets Of Leadership Success – Good Leadership Skills
The thing that sets great leaders apart from the ordinary ones is their knowledge about the secrets of leadership success. Mentors teach different types of leadership styles; it also learned through attending seminars and also exists as part of an individual’s innate personal leadership skill that has been developed over the years and more importantly, existing possibly since birth. Natural leadership abilities combined with nurturing these skills and abilities through leadership development is what defines one’s leadership style.
Click Here to Learn How to Lead Effectively!
One of the most important factors that play a very important role to be an effective leader is to be able to communicate well to other people; he should have the ability to convey the organization’s visions and goals. In addition to that, knowledge and other technical expertise must be clearly communicated and imparted to all the people around him.
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Contrary to what other people may think, leadership is not about power, it is not about driving individuals to do what you want to accomplish through fear and intimidation. This is definitely a wrong way to lead people. To be a great leader and an effective one, you must be able to influence and inspire those people under your leadership to accomplish a particular goal or an objective of the team or an organization.
In order to be a good leader, it takes a lot more than being knowledgeable in their chosen career. It is not just all about taking charge and delegating works to be done to others. A remarkable leader is someone who has the ability to recognize everyone’s greatest value in their area of influence, and in order to do this he has to see others with insight and compassion.
There’s no doubt that a group or an organization will be able to perform to its maximum level effectively, when there is a good leader to guide the members or employees, and keep them motivated towards the path of success. In order to be a remarkable leader, an individual must possess very effective leadership qualities, and these are very important factors about the secrets of leadership success.
Click Here to Learn How to Lead Effectively!
Team Building Maneuvers and the Team?s Leadership
Conquering the Challenge of “Change” through Team Building Maneuvers
Leading teams into qualitative team building maneuvers prevails over the challenge of change at a time that change is definitely required in most organizations. In order to experience successful change, the “fear to change” must be addressed. Change is the one constant when uncertainty shows itself in life and change undoes the way process is both managed and executed. Change is natural and good, but people’s reaction to change is both unpredictable and irrational. It can be managed if done right – but when reacting to the uncertainties exhibited by the stimulus for change, mistakes are made and can be very costly. Managing the process that leads to change means managing people’s fear.
Nothing is as upsetting to your people as change. Nothing has greater potential to cause failures, loss of production or failing quality. Yet nothing is as important to the survival of your organization as your people and their response to change.
Research tells us that 70 percent of all change initiatives fail (Source: Author Peter Senge, “The Dance of Change,” Doubleday Press, Toronto, Ont. 1999, p. 3-4). Beyond a doubt, the likelihood of your change initiative failing is overwhelming. Since 2004, I’ve studied, facilitated and taught change processes and experience tells me that change efforts fail for one, two, or all of the following three reasons:
1. Failure to properly define the Future Picture and the impact of the change.
All too often, the “change” initiative addresses the symptoms of current challenges and problems rather than the future the organization wants or needs to create. Change is about creating a desired future, not just correcting current problem/symptoms.
2. Failure to properly assess the current situation, in order to determine the scope within the requirements for change.
Organizations perpetually assess the current situation against current measures of performance. However, change is not the same as problem-solving or project management. Rather, managing change is about moving an organization strategically forward to achieve its vision of the future.
3. Failure to effectively manage the transition of moving from the present to the future.
Experience demonstrates that failure to effectively manage the transition/transformation need is the leading cause of failure for strategic change initiatives. The change itself is not the problem. Change is an event; it is situational: deciding to implement a new system, target a new market, acquire or merge two organizational cultures (Source: Author William Bridges, “Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change,” Addison Wesley, Don Mills Ont., p.3). The problem occurs with what happens within the gap between the present and future, after the “change” and before you get to “there.” The reality of change is that change is about people not structures – people are the reasons for stop gaps in change initiatives!
Failure to successfully execute often comes from seeing the change as solely structural, so once the new system is designed and ready for implementation, the new organization is agreed upon and the doctrine papers are signed to legalize the “deal,” everyone, including the CEO, walks away from what is considered (prematurely) a “done deal.” This is a mistake that goes on all too often like a broken record. History is full of examples of organizations and teams that failed when experiencing changing environments (most of them are now extinct). The secret to successfully managing change, from the perspective of the people within the organization and their teams, is “definition” and “understanding.” To make it clear, I’ll explain them in subsets.
Definition and Understanding for the “WHAT” in Teams
It is important to understand that not everyone who works together or in close proximity is a member of a team. This concept is a misnomer for a lot of people. A clear explanation of a team is a group of individuals who are interdependent with respect to intelligence, information, transferable skill sets, resources, and tools and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a shared-vision towards a common goal. A team, for instance, is either building or falling apart. An essential aptitude for true team building and the maneuvers they require is leading the team into building on a continuous basis. Team building maneuvers lead a group into higher levels of team spirit, cooperation and interpersonal communication. Building teams is the process of developing on the team-dynamics and interpersonal relationship of the people that come together to make-up the unit. Team spirit either grows or it dies based on the dynamics of the unit.
Teams have specific characteristics that should be addressed:
Teams must be constructed to achieve a shared-vision for a shared goal. Team associates are interdependent regarding some common interests; teams are the instrument of sustained and enduring success in leadership and management. Teams use strategic thinking, acting, and influence – associates each possess the authority to manage their own stimulus for change. A team is a type of group, but not all groups are teams – team leaders know this to be true. Teams are formed to best facilitate learning and peak performance while operating in a socialist environment. Team associates are not responsible to “self,” but to their team and its mission; their obligation is to guide the unit to find its voice, while strategically and flawlessly executing. Teams learn to navigate positive transition to disseminate authority and power for change – and, they understand when it is a “must” to move into greater levels of performance (the difference between ordinary and extraordinary high performance teams).
The difference between ordinary teams and high performance teams are its people and their abilities to overcome the fear of change. High performance teams place a focus on the people who drive the overall performance within the system: “how do you define a high-performance team?” A high performance team is a group of people who are led by an exception leader, ALL having complementary skills, who understand roles and goals, and who are committed to achieving those goals through a shared-voice, as one unit or body, to demonstrate strategic and flawless execution measures for overcoming changing environments.
This team format learns quickly how-to work together toward mutual goals using their individual skills to support one another regardless of the situation they are engaging or any amount of resistance to change from a fear of the unknown or an expectation of loss or failure.
The “alpha” of the high performance team’s resistance to change is how they perceive the change. The “omega” is how well they are equipped to deal with the change they expect. The team member’s degree of resistance is determined by whether they perceive the change as good or bad, and how they expect the impact of the change to be on the entire unit. Their ultimate acceptance of the change is a function of how much resistance the team member has and the quality of their coping skills and their support system. The job role of the team leader is to address their resistance from both perspectives by helping each member reduce it to a minimal, manageable process level. The success of the response depends on the leader’s ability to lead by example, their level of trust from the members on the team and their ability to persuade the members to overcome their resistance so the unit can move ahead. When the leader is able to communicate a low threat level and/or limited risk, the member’s perception will be one of trust for engaging the objective. Simply, it will all come down to the leader’s relationship with the team; hence, the success of the team not only depends on its members, but also on the leadership they follow.
Definition and Understanding for Accepting “CHANGE” on Teams and Organizations
Now, we’ll look at how teams can manage change and fear, and overcome them both to perform at its peak as a unit, and pronounce its leadership style to permeate peak performance across an entire organization. The “alpha” here begins by looking at change as an emotions state that is synonymous with fear. Fear stipulates an uncomfortable emotional response to potential threats and a way of life. It is a basic survival mechanism that occurs in response to specific stimulus of future events, such as worsening of a situation or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. It needs to be addressed by the leadership personnel in as much detail and as early as possible. Leadership must be able to provide updates as things develop and become clearer if any chance is possible for overcoming the fears that are the precursor for change.
“Definition” is a two-way street. In addition to defining a problem that causes fear, team leaders need to get their members to a point that they feel comfortable defining the reasons behind their resistance. “Understanding,” the “omega” here is also a two-way street. Team leaders must be prepared to clearly explain to their members what is changing and why. They must also be clear about the member’s reluctance. Here are a few things that the team leaders must be aware of:
Team leaders must not try to rationalize the issues, but focus on opening and maintaining clear channels of communication with their team members so they understand what is coming and what it means to them and the unit. Team leaders must be able to help their member gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation at hand, both the positives and negatives. Team leaders must inform their members what the change will be, when it will happen and why – what is not changing and how the anchors on the team (the characteristics, such as “trust” that holds the team together) will be affected as they face the winds of uncertainty and change. Team leaders must be able to understand the specific fears of each member. What their concerns are and how strongly they feel about the potential outcomes, both the positives and negatives (do they perceive it as a good or a bad thing?).
The Bottom Line: Definition and Understanding
Conquering the challenge of “change” through team building maneuvers requires innovation, creativity and some good old fashion “leadership.” People yearn for ideas (big and small ones) and think that if they just had that one “right” idea for the team or organization, success would surely come. Certainly, we can all do things to be more creative, but having ideas isn’t the biggest, or even first, source of our challenges.
Think about it this way. You’ve experienced what is believed by you to be the greatest workshop ever attended, so you go back to the workplace to integrate what you’ve learned – only, you never do. You’ve thought about trying a new approach to your meetings, but never did. You’ve had a great idea that never went anywhere. You’ve had an idea for a new process, but failed to introduce it to other the leaders. The list can go on and on and you’ll see that there’s no shortage of ideas or creativity that is stopping you. What is stopping you is fear, the fear of change or the fear of failure. Either way you look at it, fear is the stimulus that stops great people from doing great things – the action that is required for successful progress in life and in the workplace.
Change and Failure (Breakdown)
Failure and success are the outcomes of change. No matter how you look at them both, they each have a constant that cannot go unnoticed, “leadership.” We cannot succeed at higher levels of performance if we maintain status quo, but inherent in change is the possibility that we might fail or experience a breakdown in process. So any discussion of the “fear of change” or the “fear of failure” needs to start with a discussion on transition and transformation. While there are downsides and risks involved in change (including the risk of failure) think of all of the positives that can come from change:
Process Improvement to Leadership and Management, Overall Employee Performance Increases, Team Development, Transition and Transformation, Greater Satisfaction (Individual) – Personal Proficiency, Organizational Renewal – Professional Mastery, and Marketplace Expansion, and much more.
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And these are just a few. The next time you feel the fear of failure, think about how you feel about change and how it impacts your level of fear. All change involves a certain amount of uncertainty and ambiguity and those two conditions provoke anxiety. This is a reason to hold onto the past for lessons learned; it’s familiar, and as the adage goes, “better what you know versus whet you don’t know.” So, although change has the ability to promote new systems, structures, organizations and teams, people will always conform to the “same old~same old,” unwilling to let go of the past. That is why looking at the positives and keeping an open mind is so critical to the success of experiencing change.
Structuring Failure and Success (Breakthrough)
One individual’s failure is another individual’s success; it’s all based on a decision that “must” be made at some point. Sun Tzu, arguably the greatest military strategist that many still follow, had his say on success and failure: “Consideration and analysis of The Five Elements, “Dao” – Moral Unity, “Tian” – Weather Condition, “Di” – Geographical Condition, “Jiang” – Leadership Quality, “Fa” – Discipline and Organization Structure, a must know for all commanders. Victory to those who understand and no victory to those who does not. The Five Elements will determine success or failure of conducting war.”
Here’s an explanation of Sun Tzu’s statement through comparison and an analytical lens. The Five Elements will reveal the factors of success and failure of all battle, namely: Moral Unity, Weather Condition, Geographical Condition, Leadership Quality, Discipline and Organization Structure.
Moral Unity determines the cohesiveness between the ruler and his subjects, the leader and his followers, the general and his soldiers. Ultimately, to achieve full support by fellowman, putting aside life and death matters and share the view of the ruler’s is the goal of Moral Unity. Only when a view or decision is fully supported, can orders be carried out smoothly by the team.
Weather Condition such as summer/winter and drought/flood will have significant affects on how plans are executed. When weather is an element that no one has any control, the best strategy will be take full advantage of the conditions when able. Going against the force of nature may prove rewarding when one overcomes, but it usually spells destruction.
Geographical Condition here refers to distance of near/far, terrain/mountainous/flat regarding the battle space, wide/narrow the battle field and whether the location chosen to engage the battle favors attack/defense.
This will limit the size, type and performance of the troop. The same for business – this will also determine the team’s reaction to the mission and the amount of resources – people, process and management of initiative that will be required to win.
Leadership Quality (my favorite) concerns the general/commander’s leading capability. There are five qualities of a good leader: “wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence and deportment, courage (both physical and emotional) and sternness (temperament).” These five qualities will affect the leading capability of a commander, his culture and climate for organizational behavior effectiveness within the environment and the efficacy and value of his command being carried out by the people under his leadership.
Discipline and Organization Structure is the system of open communication and the vehicles used to do so – how each level within the organization manages and leads the people and process, including logistics. It requires a fair, consistent and clear communication to everyone. Communication is the greatest resource in all of life, not only in organizations, but in all we set out to accomplish. Effective communications is leadership’s greatest tool to win its people, systems, processes and management of functions.
As The Five Elements are inter-related, no leader can either ignore or fail to understand the constructive/destructive nature of each element. Victory will overcome “failure” and “success” will fall upon those who analyze and clearly understand The Five Elements. Therefore, by asking who offers fairest reward and punishment, whose troop, team or organization is best trained and led, whose equipment and resources are more efficient and plentiful, who can deliver and communicate order/leadership smoothly, effectively and thoroughly, who has better geographical/weather advantages (culture and organizational climate), who has more resourceful leaders and followers – teams, whether the appointed leader/leadership is wiser, more strategic in their thinking, tactical in their approach to engage and has virtue… the winner is clear, defined and understood.
Constructing it all to Enhance Leadership for Teamwork as an Essential Goal
What am I referring to in the term “Leadership for Teamwork?” Organizations can try to influence leaders to work as a team, but only leaders themselves can make it work. Why should you want to be a team-oriented leader, and how can you take steps to make it happen, even when the status quo is not favorable? A strong motivator to becoming a better cohort with your leaders-colleagues-peers is to take stock of what “not” collaborating is costing you during the tough times (and, even the not so tough times).
As you attempt to lead others and yourself, it is important to keep in mind your quintessential intention to enhance, deepen and strengthen the spirit of “we are absolutely on the same team, sounding with one unified voice, and committed to achieving the same outcome/ Future Picture for one another.” Integrate the improvement of the quality of leadership for effective teamwork into your objective, strategy and tactics. Include it in the vision and mission and ensure that all members across each level of the organization understand and can communicate it without fail. It must not “only” be written on a fancy picture and placed on the wall (the all too common inspirational). It must run like blood through veins and become as important as the air we breathe.
Express your value of Leadership for Teamwork and team fortitude by ensuring that the cost factor is not as important in the decision to remain on a continuum to train organizational behavior, transformational leadership, strategic execution and team building maneuvers as the decision to make all allocations to do so. The cost of not doing it, even when things are tough, offers a far more potential for failure.
If you overlook Leadership for Teamwork and effective team building maneuvers by focused exclusively or excessively on the outcome you want teamwork to accomplish, you’ll place your team and organization in a position to neglect the means to your end and eliminate the solution-centric outcomes in your future. This would be like a U.S. Marine purposely neglecting to adequately care for his weapons while on the battlefield.
How you think about each individual and team in the organization is the most critical aspect in Leadership for Teamwork. By leading your own thoughts, you begin leading in the most significant way. So discipline yourself to think about those you are responsible for leading as members of your team, and not as your problems, adversaries or competitors. You have to “mentally embrace” them as for you, and not against you, particularly when they demonstrate difficult conduct. This is the truest form of selflessness that, in most cases, is forgotten.
An effective and easy tool to form the greatest disciplines in Leadership for Teamwork is for everyone to do his best to interpret the behaviors of others, however dissonant, as a sign of a core challenge or initiative that needs immediate attention. It’s important to realize that behaviors are a form of communications to address Leadership for Teamwork and this action can transform bad feelings of resentment into positive organizational behaviors and gratitude. Our President Barack Obama, the 44TH of the United States, used similar techniques to successfully win the elections to lead the American people; “CHANGE and Leadership for Teamwork!” His message rings true around the world and is also being used to bring communities and Governments (also forms of teams) together in ways that at one time, would never have been thought of. Marcus Aurelius said, “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
This statement can be applied to teams and defines the true meaning of Leadership for Teamwork. The team that is not overwhelmed with being productive and full of life is far too busy dying. Life is born from every member and led by every member. Regard Leadership for Teamwork as an essential means for overcoming fear, winning change and leading through cooperation to experience peak performance that takes the organization to the next level.
How to Lead your Team to the Next Level
What is the worst thing that could happen? Actually, people will ask a more rhetorical question: “what could happen?” But, they never really get the answer they are hoping for because of fear. Most of the time, just asking the question seems like progress is being made or, a significant amount of time (meetings to schedule more meetings that promotes nothing but time and talk) planning and not executing. This is a question that simply hangs in the spam folders, lost in internet space or on a memo at the water cooler. Don’t let it become a technical “error message” that requires someone else to get it done. Take the initiative to go against the status quo and get the question answered yourself. Consider the very worst thing that could happen; answering the question for yourself can and will stimulate movement in a positive direction. Often, the absolute worst case isn’t as bad as might think.
What is the best possible outcome? Seriously, what is the best thing that could happen? Think about the scenario where everything goes perfectly. Will this be your outcome? Maybe not, but your worst case scenario likely won’t happen either. It takes both of these questions to really understand your situation. Chances are, your results will be somewhere between the two. Once you have considered the range of possibilities, you are in a better position to decide whether to proceed or not, and you will have definitely reduced your fear of failure if you do take that step forward.
Next, you can explore the development of a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) for the team. This is designed for people to learn broadly, to inspire the service out of generosity for others, and to prepare them to lead courageously into the future. A Memorandum of Understanding encourages a perspective to become firmly grounded in the potential for successful growth using a series of constructs – a portfolio management approach – that everyone buys into for effective deportment and forward movement. A Memorandum of Understanding acts as the blueprint for strategic leadership on the teams and across the organization.
Are you wondering how to build an organization in which executive leaders, team leaders, middle managers and front line staff will flourish? To build an environment where people, teams and organizations will flourish and achieve peak performance, you must get the best leaders to pay close attention to the design of the elements around them (situational awareness).
The Memorandum of Understanding articulate a lucid purpose, helps to create effective leadership teams, prioritize their initiatives carefully, redesign organizational structures, employ strategic intent meets strategic agility to result flawless and strategic execution and, most importantly, integrate all these tactics into one coherent strategy.
The Memorandum of Understanding must include the following constructs:
The Cardinal Rules, The Guiding Precepts, The Forms of Disposition, The General Orders, The Strategy Forward – Establishing Professional Mastery, and The Centers of Gravity.
The Cardinal Rules are a set of guidelines that are invaluable for people and organizations to follow while planning and executing at the strategic or tactical level. These rules, once established by the individual(s) or teams are the rules that govern forward movement and must not change (i.e. To manage by mind, lead by heart).
The Guiding Precepts are designed to inform people what they should and should not be doing in accordance with executing a well designed strategy to win. They also inform of the reasons “why” an action must occur and the repercussions should the individual and/or organization fail at meeting such a task (i.e. Unselfishness; this trait is the avoidance of providing for one’s personal comfort and advancement at the expense of others. The comfort, pleasure, and recreation levels should be placed above everything. Looking out for the needs of others is the essence of self-leadership).
The Forms of Disposition offer a substantive transformation in “thought” about how people achieve a perspective on things in life. It refers to an orchestrated, systemic and revolutionary new world-view resulting in a “change” of societies, cultures, and marketplaces due to behavioral perspective. This is today often called “systems theory,” which sees a web of relationships coalescing to become something greater than the parts. Individuals must be able to look at things from a perspective that they are always changing and evolving into new forms – thinking “out-of-the-box!” We are doomed to a slow death unless radical change occurs in the way we think. Change your way of thinking or die a slow death (i.e. Mistakes are a fact of life that requires an eraser; it is the ability to respond to error that counts. You can’t live without an eraser).
The General Orders are broad, community-wide “need statements,” designed to encompass a variety of related issues in a person’s life or within the life cycle of an organization. These related issues are referred to as “Guiding Objectives,” which are specific items that need to be addressed. The Guiding Strategies (developed to fit current and future circumstance) are the methods identified for addressing the Guiding Objectives, and the Guiding Policies are the specific action steps that are recommended to implement the Guiding Strategies. The General Orders, all eleven of them, offer the ability to explore implications in an open and reflective manner and reinforce each other in providing a coherency and wholeness often lacking in life cycles (i.e. Know yourself as a “Leader” and seek continuous improvement).
The Strategy Forward – Establishing Professional Mastery. The traditional values are the foundation of the modern day; that was yesterday. Tomorrow, you have an opportunity to create commitment and the needed momentum to establish, publish, share, and teach a different set of life’s code, values, and ethics to journey into the future. After much hard work, you are prepared to develop a strategy to move forward and plan the next steps to target critical successes for winning the Future Picture. What a legacy you will leave when executed with personal and professional bearing for others to follow. This is the way of the future. This is a new chapter (i.e. Remove the Jars’ Lid: Allow for profound growth by employing Transformational Thinking to navigate the maze of organizational politics – and the schedule to do so – to accept change).
The Centers of Gravity. Just as time changes, so does the internal and external influence in your life and in the life cycle of an organization. The Centers of Gravity are the dynamics within a process that offer the greatest impact on the overall system when change happens. They offer a high level of “value” and return on your energy “investment.” When combined with the concept of parallel deposits (creating energy from various perspectives in a short period of time), the Centers of Gravity make possible the seemingly impossible task of realizing success in changing paradigms.
The Centers of Gravity places significant influence on the five established epicenters of any changing system to receive desired effects: Leadership, Processes, Infrastructure, Population, and Action Units.
In summary, a Memorandum of Understanding, your blueprint for strategic leadership, offers an opportunity to free up our actions as public servants. It is empowering, it is enabling and it grounds us in a public way on the fundamentals that we all must share. There is no ethical malaise. It is important to realize that the new is not a finding from what has been lost. Rather, we are like the journey of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz story in search of a brain (brain power in this context); the Tin Woodsman in search of a heart, and the Cowardly Lion in search of courage. Your value system is intact and has been with you the entire way thus far. The Memorandum of Understanding simply articulates and reaffirms the core value and behavioral perspective that already underlie your personal and professional appearance and conduct to achieve significant growth.
Develop, learn and instruct the Memorandum of Understanding well. It will make the difference between winning and losing in every aspect of your life – personally and professionally – and maintain a positive team building attitude.
Finally, Maintain a Positive Team Building Attitude
To lead most effectively, the leader’s attitude needs to be strongly and deeply rooted in the dynamics of the team and its fortitude, particularly when relating with individuals who are also seeking to grow themselves and the organization they are a part. The Memorandum of Understanding has been used to lead successful transformation efforts for organization and teams to achieve their goals in and away from the organization and the battlefields of life. A paradigm-changing approach, the Memorandum of Understanding concurrently addresses multiple disciplines across the entire transformation life cycle; enabling leaders and teams help people build a stronger, more responsive and resilient organizations.
It all begins with three creeds: one for achieving Personal Proficiency, one for achieving Professional Mastery and the last for achieving strategic execution while remaining strategically agile; a message in the form of a poem to help you with overcoming your deepest fear; and finally, something my team and I refer to as, “The Entitlement.”
Rather than relating to a series of ongoing problematic behaviors as a hindrance or as a threat to your objective, relate to the development of your Memorandum of Understanding as a guide for how you need to build teamwork and team spirit and fortitude to meet the inevitable challenge of change and effective leadership.
The Leader’s Creed – Individual Leadership
“I possess my own weapon. There are many like it but this one is unique. It is my life. I must master it as I must master the discipline that allows me to be. Without my weapon, I am useless. I must fire my weapon as a rifle. I must shoot straighter than the enemy who is aiming at me. I must win him before he wins me. I will! My weapon is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. My weapon and I know that what counts in personal war are not the rounds we fire. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit! I will keep my weapon clear and free, even as I am clear and free. My weapon and I are the defenders of my soul. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the standard of generations to follow – Failure is never an option, Ductus Exemplo!”
The Leader’s Creed – Instructors
“These are my future leaders. I will train them to the best of my ability. I will develop them into smartly disciplined, mindful-physically fit, basically trained specialists, thoroughly indoctrinated in love of personal leadership. I will demand of them, teach them to demand of themselves, excellence and demonstrate by my own example the highest standards of personal conduct, morality, and professional skill.”
The Strategic Executor’s Creed
“My loyalty to my team and organization is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow colleagues, always ready to defend against the enemy’s force that is trying to diminish our progress. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own. I serve with sincere gratitude on and away from my team to impact my teams’ responsibility on the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from others. … In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. … I will never quit nor will I ever conclude my pursuit for excellence. I remain agile to strike with speed and force and thrive on adversity. My team expects me to be mentally stronger and strategically smarter than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, each and every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of emotional strength and ability to protect my teammates, the mission and the organization to ensure success. I am never out of the fight and forever in debt to self, my teammates and the mission.”
Your Deepest Fear
“Conditions are never just right. People who delay actions until all factors are favorable are the kinds who do nothing.” – William Feather
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Storms come and go, but it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We must ask ourselves, why are we chosen to accept brilliance? In actuality, why would we not want to be chosen? And, chosen by whom? You? Me? It’s impossible to thrive without constantly updating ourselves with the knowledge used to execute life’s journey. Individuals who see themselves as visionary’s grasp this concept better than most. They remain on a continuum for growth, personally and professionally, to stay ahead of the learning curve within our ever changing global economy.
Accepting your personal call to duty may require you to walk slower so that people won’t feel insecure as you embark upon a personal rite of passage. We are meant to live for greatness and the time to shine is now. Are you ready? You have no choice but to be prepared to influence others to be ready for finding their voice as you have learned to find your own. It requires a choice for changing reality and for some, that choice is easy. As we decide to become a beacon of light, we must be willing to step out on faith, work towards greatness, and be fully aware that all storms have a time to be over. Liberation found within our personal convictions unshackles our souls to guide us unconsciously into becoming a Champion of Change.
The Entitlement
No one alive can buy it or rent it and it can not be lent for any price
…If ignored both of your enemy and yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle
Truth must always protect the covenant of integrity and honor amongst good
…knowing how to subdue the enemy without fighting is the ultimate objective
It can not be inherited nor can it be purchased
… the laws of success are to avoid the enemy’s strength and strike his weakness
You alone and our own have earned it with our passion, heart, sweat and tears
…it is a doctrine in battle, that supreme training gleans a presence and makes our position invincible
You own it forever, the attribute & title: The “LeaderShaped Leader!”
If you would like to receive a copy of our Memorandum of Understanding to guide you with developing your own, simply send me an email at Dpitts@thebisongroup.com. God Speed as you continue on your path to experience your own unique state of Leadership for Teamwork, using team building maneuvers to take your people and team to new levels and conquer the challenge of overcoming the “fears of change” across the organizations and teams you are leading.
How will world women be perceived in the 21st century?
Now it has been established that the 21st century will predominate with women’s leadership the world over. So far men have dominated the world via their arrogance, hard heartedness and demonic physical might but henceforth nothing of this will be seen.
No longer will economic management and political governance will stand on that foundation as is seen today. People will earn money in an apt way but nowhere will wealth be hoarded which has dire reactions like oppression, suppression and various crimes. Even the utility of physical might will end. Weapons will be used in such a way that none will have to make special arrangements for their personal security. Fraud can persist in world society today because there are men who support it. But in future when the very basis of social management will be rooted in ethics and social development none will get the chance to spread the net of fraud and none will get entangled in it. The cloth of true justice will be weaved in such a way that wherein fraud and cunningness will get no place. Those who dare oppose all this will be caught and punished severely. At that time all of today’s arrogant monopoly enjoyed by male society will be nipped in the bud. Those great qualities, generosity and sensitive emotions that will be required by world society in the New Age will be seen predominating in world women and naturally she will face no difficulty in attaining her basic human rights. Those hard core fundamentalists who obstruct women getting their rights by insisting on following blind beliefs will have to perforce change their views.
According to ‘State of World Population’ by the end of 20th century the number of women will exceed those of men by 2 billion. Today the world’s population is 50 billion and in half the number is women. But as per today’s needs the number of women will exceed those of men. More girl children will be born. Even today this does happen but because of being ignored, by the time girls reach 14 years they lag far behind than boys. Grown up girls facing lack and censure lose their lives. In future this shall not happen and all those fruits put on a tree by nature will get full protection by it. Very naturally the population of world women will rise. This will continue in future and according to wise thinkers by the time the 21st century ends 2/3rd of the world population will be women and only 1/3rd will be men. Nature is known to destroy that which is useless. When majority of the tasks of men are executed by machine based technology their utility value starts diminishing. Only tasks of security will be handed over to men.
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Women have always led in the intellectual arena. In the designing of her psyche creativity, affection, self control, discipline and apt management have predominated. Since quite a bit of all this was snatched away and that she was not given apt opportunities these qualities were rendered handicapped and lacked progress. But when ever women got due encouragement, guidance and opportunities they exhibited these more cleanly and deftly. Regarding various exams not only India but the record of the world has been that it is women who have passed them in greater number and with flying colors. No doubt her bodily anatomy is not tough yet she oozes with delicate sensitivity and power of endurance.
There are many more incidences wherein the deftness of women has augmented in a mind blowing fashion. We can call her a goddess of all artistic skills. It appears as though music, dance and acting skills were actually carved for her sake only. In fact women have entered this field in a very forceful manner.
Old age is always looked upon as that with blooms with wisdom. In this sense, women despite crossing the age of 50 years remain wise and youthful too. Her motherhood ends much before 50 years of age. Even sexual passion diminishes accordingly but men even after crossing middle age makes ‘efforts’ to destroy all such powers of his. Under such situations women live longer than men. Widows are known to outnumber widowers.
Within the tiny periphery of her household women work hard and carry out various duties. Her apt family management should not be looked upon as any less important. It oozes with brilliant talent and specialty too. Lest with reference to this if after increasing her literacy skills and other capabilities she is handed over great important tasks of world society then she will succeed much more than expected.
Certain departments in developed countries have been handed over to women. In tasks related to health, medical healing, education, social welfare schemes, children’s upbringing, agriculture, animal breeding and various offices women have been handed over their duties and instead of relegating the energy of half the world’s population useless its wholesome usage is made.
Of what stature should be the new generation? Which special qualities should pervade their character, actions and inner personality? This responsibility can be shouldered by women only. A major portion of the personality of a child gets developed within the first 10 years of his life albeit in seed form. Till then he is under the jurisdiction of his mother. A major portion of one’s childhood is spent living with one’s family. In this family reside the mother and other elderly women. Under their tutelage a child’s physical and mental growth takes place. In a certain sense these women can be called teachers. Via their utterances and actual behavior they mold the mind and body of a child. This nature remains with the child for his entire lifetime. In between very rarely a gigantic change is seen.
Time is changing speedily. That noose which so far forced world women to remain backward in life is now unloosening and will break up totally very shortly. Where an atmosphere of facilities appeared, women too got an opportunity to showcase their brilliant talent in useful tasks. Today she no longer is weak and in fact has manifested her potent form.
Although people say that poverty is the worst hardship and is called the mother of all dire problems yet the truth is quite different. In fact it is regressive backwardness that renders mankind weak and lacking progress. In the form of women half the world’s population has been rendered demeaned thus. If this state is uprooted when times change it is definite that women’s greatness and brilliant talent will shine radiantly. The extraordinary benefit of this attainment will be accrued by entire world humanity.