Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool, Family Centre and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited - Case Study Example

Review one Australian and one international Indigenous business. In your response illustrate how accountability, governance and contemporary political and public policy support and challenge them. Indigenous people across the world have participated in businesses to achieve economic independence and to contribute towards social change. Indigenous business development is a means to escape from poverty and welfare dependency. Indigenous people have a potential to improve their social and economic circumstances (Foley, 2006). This paper will discuss one Australian and one international indigenous business; and how they are supported and challenged by accountability, governance and contemporary political and public policy. These indigenous businesses are Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool and/or Family Centre (Australian) and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (New Zealand). The little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool provides early education in an aboriginal cultural setting to children aged 2 to 6 years. It is based at Wallaga Lake and has been in operation for over 15 years. It is run by Aboriginal management committee on voluntary terms. It is located on the land owned by Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council. The little Yuin Family Centre establishes programs and partnership with the community to provide various services to benefit and support the Wallaga people. It utilizes the community supports that are in existence to support the community. It collaborates with the Family, Youth, and the Local Aboriginal Child Service network to bring about coordination and planning of provision of service to the community (Small Business NSW, 2011). This Family Centre project aims to develop and implement programs that the indigenous community can relate to, ensure that the people are utilizing the available community services, increase a sense of belonging amongst the indigenous people and improve the functioning of the family (Gordon, 2009). Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (AFL) is a fishing company owned by Maori in Aotearoa and is one of the largest fisheries New Zealand. It aims at delivering growth of wealth for its shareholders Iwi, increase the value of assets of the Maori fisheries, and to be the best fishing company (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited, 2013). Accountability is an important value that should be exercised in business. It is the degree to which those in charge of the business or in management must justify their decisions and actions. It involves explaining what happened and providing answers for action taken and being responsible for the mistakes made. The stakeholders of indigenous businesses hold those in management to a set of standards, to assess whether they have done their responsibilities according to these standards and to enforce disciplinary measures if they find out that they did not fulfil their responsibilities as expected (Alcantara, Spicer, Leone, 2012). Both the AFL and Little Yuin directors are accountable to their stakeholders including business partners, shareholders, funding bodies, their communities, staff and members, among others. AFL Board is accountable to the company to provide quality financial reports in a timeless, comparable, reliable and relevant manner. AFL Annual reports are required by law to be provided to Iwi and stakeholders for them to stay informed on the affairs of AFL. The shareholding Iwi and stakeholders expect AFL to make Board committee terms of reference, code of ethics, Iwi Relationship Policy, and corporate governance policy (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited). There are several stakeholders that Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool and/or Family Centre is accountable to. The Department of Community Services deals with registration, licensing and approval of operation of children services. It expects Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool to provide appropriate and educational environment and care for children. This is governed by strict regulations. Department of Education Employment Workplace Relations supports Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool in child care services, provides policy advice, service and research management related to child services provision. This department expects Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool to account for this support (Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool). Llawarra Children’s Service and the Supporting Children with Additional Needs (SCAN) provide funds children services like Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool. These funded resources are meant to provide children with additional needs in order for them acquire services equal to vacation care experience or quality early childhood. SCAN has provided transport support for Little Yuin and assisted in purchasing specialist equipment. For continued support SCAN Little Yuin is expected to account for the utilization of the supported provided to it. Little Yuin directors are answerable to the community in which Little Yuin operates. They are expected to ensure that the vision of the business is carried out and the services provided are those communicated to the community such as providing early childhood education services to children in an indigenous setting. Other stakeholders that Little Yuin is answerable to include IMB Community Foundation, Bega Valley Shire Council, Mumbulla Foundation, Schools as Community Centres Narooma, and Eurobodalla Shire Council. Accountability in an organisation entails reporting and making decisions, being financially transparent and meeting behavior standards as expected under rules and legal constitution. Respect to the stakeholders in decision making is also important. Enhancement of accountability can be achieved through identifying responsibilities, delegations and roles clearly, establishing planning and performance reporting processes, developing process that enhance legitimate decision implementation, and establishing governance procedures and policies (Alcantara, Spicer &Leone, 2012). Governance is the ‘art of steering societies and organisations’. Governance comes into existence when processes, traditions, and structures interact with each other, which then establishes how decisions are made, power is exercised and how the opinion of stakeholders are considered. Governance is all about accountability, relationships and power. It accounts on how accountability is bestowed upon those making decisions, who makes decisions and who influences. The importance of governance in indigenous organisations cannot be understated. The effectiveness of governances affects the society at all levels and plays a crucial part in the lives of communities. The structures and processes of governance develop and implement laws and policies, deliver services and control essential programs, manage, cultural, land and human resources, represent the human rights and welfare of the constituent, and partner with the government and other organisations. The community’s well-being and strength is directly affected by such structures and processes. A stable and effective organisation that reflects the community, is accountable to it and meets its values and needs form a strong socioeconomic Governance of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (AFL) is based on accountability and accountability as requirements for promoting trust in Directors (Smith, 2005). For Directors to gain support for the company strategies from stakeholders and Iwi they should observe obligations strictly and undertake ethical and moral responsibilities. For AFL Board to work effectively it is expected to have a balance of experience, perspectives, skills and independence among Directors. The Board directs AFL and its strategic level management. The Ohu Kai Moana Limited as the control shareholder appoints and selcts the Directors as stated in Sections 62 and 63 of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004. The Directors are permitted by law to overlook other interests and act in the AFL’s best interests. Processes for evaluating the Board, Directors and Board committees are established by the Board. These processes are led by the chairperson of the Board (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited). Ethical conduct is the basis of which good governance is built. AFL directors are expected to demonstrate and raise high ethical standards and act in good faith and be honest. The ethical conduct highlights on ethical issues, provides methods and processes of reporting and investigating unethical behavior and put disciplinary measures in place in case there is violation of any kind. Ethical conduct also establish procedures and standards which they should be complied by the Directors (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited). Directors are expected to establish a strong relationship between AFL and IWI that will enable them to benefit mutually and have a long-lasting relationship. Directors achieve this through the requirements stated in the Maori Fisheries Act. AFL has established clear policies for its relationship with Iwi and review the Directors practices regularly to have clear communication to Iwi regarding AFL strategies, goals and strategies (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited). The Board of AFL use Board committees to facilitate effectiveness in its crucial areas while maintaining its duty to make decisions. There is a clear terms of reference that outlines the responsibilities of the Board committee while securing the authority of the Board to make ultimate decisions. The Audit Committee promotes integrity in financial reporting by making sure that processes are present for the Board to be informed regularly and properly on corporate financial matters. The Audit Committee also ensures that reporting of financials is done according to the law. The Remuneration Committee sets and reviews remuneration policies and the company’s practices. Beside this committee there is a clear policy used to set remuneration of executives and Directors what should be reasonable and fair (Aotearoa Fisheries Limited). The Board is expected to ensure that objectivity, independence and integrity of t the external audit process takes place. Auditors will be selected by the board passed on professional merit. In order to identify and manage relevant potential risks appropriate processes and policies are available for AFL. These policies include environmental, delegations, operational and financial risks. Little Yuin pre-school was closed down in 2005 and its funding cut due to the management committee issues. However, in 2009 it won the Excellence Awards of NSW Premier in the category of Family Support and Community Assistance. There was great commitment and dedication shown by Little Yuin’s staff and Management committee. The management committee works voluntarily to bring the pre-school back to the track. The IMB Community Fund funded Little Yuin to develop management committee skills. The aim was this was to enhance good governance and mastering of their responsibilities and roles (Elm Grove Sanctuary Trust, 2009). To improve governance and leadership in Little Yuin the Council of Australian Governments has worked with the pre-school to encourage and support good practice engagement and train the managing committee on strong leadership. According to Australian Education Union (2007), the Australian Early Childhood Policy expects early childhood education providers like Little Yuin to be responsible for provision of cultural, emotional, social and intellectual development of young Indigenous children and should acknowledge that the main focus to learning of Indigenous students is on self-determination and identity. Funding reforms announced by NSW Minister for Education challenged the existence of Little Yuin. These funding reforms came into existence as a responsible to state funding reviews and recommendations for early childhood education. These recommendations include increasing funds for indigenous students and give attention to older preschoolers. Little Yuin’s children cater children up to the age of four years. The reforms may hurt community who expect that the Little Yuin would cater for those children. The Ministry of Education pushes for lower fees for students where as Little Yuin already charges lower on fees and already meeting the expectations of the government. Abolishing funding for children aged 2 years and below is threatening the existence of Little Yuin. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) allowed the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA) to help enhance access to early childhood education to all Indigenous four year olds. As much as this is a challenge to Little Yuin whose children are majorly under three year, the pre-school and other indigenous businesses offering early childhood education can be fully supported to deliver their services successfully (Australian Education Union, 2007). The Australian Government is committed to close the gap in education between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students. It is working with territories, states and organisations to improve Indigenous Australians’ educational outcomes. The Department of Education rolled out an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014. The department is ensuring that Commonwealth contributes towards the future development of the plan. The aim of the plan is to support education providers like the Little Yuin Pre-school to increase educational outcomes of the Indigenous children and young people. The Australian Government established a National Early Childhood Development Strategy (2009) to invest in early childhood education and care to support Indigenous people. These strategies have been developed for Indigenous peoples focusing on skills development. Efforts have been exerted to increase qualities of school leadership and teachers by establishing a system for accountability, setting standards, and creating the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. In New Zealand, Government has established fisheries policies to increase the value of fisheries and sectors of aquaculture, increase the fisheries’ environmental performance, strategies on improving the strategies of fisheries, their outcomes and monitoring, and provide delivery obligations to Maori. This enhances the business outcomes of the Aotearoa Fisheries Limited. The Government of New Zealand supports Aquaculture as the demand of seafood is growing globally. This growth is meant to also benefit the Maori and other regional economies. The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) regulates the development of Aquaculture and its roles is to implement Maori aquaculture settlement and investigate how fishing is impacted by aquaculture development (Ministry of Primary Industry, 2009). Provision of delivery obligations to Maori includes delivery of Deed Settlement. This is done by the Government to also ensure that obligations of Crown to Maori relating to historical Treaty claim are settled. Fisheries strategy and visions has been develop with Fisheries 2030 project aiming at providing guidance and actions to open doors of future for the fishing sector. The Fisheries Outcomes Framework directs the Government in setting outcomes that are very high through the Fisheries 2030 project. This has helped the Aoteroa Fisheries Limited implement a management that is based on objectives. The Outcomes Framework has enabled AFL coordinate its decision making to make sure desired outcomes are achieved in the organisation. The Outcomes Framework also supports those making decisions in AFL do priority setting, resource allocation and progress monitoring in order to achieve the objectives of the management (Ministry of Primary Industry, 2009). AFL and other fisheries in New Zealand were threatened by the National Party’s fisheries policy. The policy purposed to remove the approach of ecosystem to the management of fisheries which was passed by National in the 1996 Fisheries Act. The policy was perceived to lead to over-fishing and destroying the marine environment (ECO, 2005). The New Fisheries Policy retreated majorly from the ecosystem based Management principles. Indigenous businesses across the world continue to increase despite the challenges faced in the business environment. These businesses find themselves playing double standards in order to survive; embracing indigenous values in the business while implementing the mainstream style of business. The Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool and/or Family Centre (Australian), and Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (New Zealand) face accountability, governance, contemporary political and public policy which has supported them and challenged them at the same time. There is hope that in the future the generations of Indigenous businesses will be as successful as the non-indigenous businesses. Reference List Aotearoa Fisheries Limited, Corporate Governance Code, viewed 9 January, 2014, Alcantara, C, Spicer, Z & Leone, R 2012, ‘Institutional design and the accountability paradox: A case study of three Aboriginal accountability regimes in Canada’, Canadian Public Administration, vol.55, no. 1, pp. 69–90. Available as a UNE Library e-journal article:http://ezproxy.une.edu.au/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1111/j.17547121.2012.00206.x Australian Education Union 2007, Early Childhood Education Policy 2007. ECO, 2005, National's fisheries policy will lead to further fishing job losses, vied 9 January 2014, Ministry of Primary Industries, 2009, Adding value to fisheries and aquaculture sectors, Read More