Law and Management Issues - Research Paper Example

Running Head: LAW AND MANAGEMENT Law and Management [The Writer’s Name] [The Name of the Institution] Part I Law and Management According to the Oxford Compact English Dictionary, law is, "a rule or system of rules recognized by a country or community as regulating the actions of its members and enforced by the imposition of penalties". Law is classified based on the legal sources of law which may include the constitution, the legislation, case law and customs. Many of the rules of law came into existence because of the colonization of West Indian Territories and the fact that they are based solely on the roots that are in England. The constitution may be defined as the supreme law of the land, or the rules that govern the country. However constitutional law is described as determining the constitution of the state or country including the manner in which the country is organized and the fundamental principles that govern the country. In reference to the constitution, every law or action should be able to stand against the constitution to determine its validity. In article 2 of the Bahamian constitution it is stated; "This constitution is the supreme law of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and subject to the provisions of this constitution if any other law is inconsistent with this constitution this constitution shall prevail and the other law shall to the extent of its inconsistency be void". The statute is the type of legislation that is enacted by parliament whereas, the subordinate legislation is that not enacted by lawmakers as superior as parliament and therefore parliament has the authority or power to override the legislation with another statute. However, parliament has the authority to delegate or give power to subordinate law makers who are then able to make regulation, rules, and orders - in - council, orders, proclamations and by-laws. In addition to the constitution and the legislation there is case law. In reference to case law, judges are required to research relevant laws that are applicable to a case and from there; base his decision on available cases that are relative to the case that he must pass judgment. (Conley, 1988, 467-507) However, a judge is only able to do this if there are no applicable statutes that may be used for a certain case. a) The Distinction between Binding and Persuasive Precedent Case laws are the basis of common law, meaning that they develop from precedent to precedent. Precedents are cases that serve as examples or models for future cases or actions. This infers that cases are based on the principle of law, which they contain, and not so much on the cases itself. There are two types of precedents, the doctrine of binding precedents and persuasive precedents. The doctrine of binding precedents state that a court is bound to apply to a case, laws or facts as stated in the previous case that is identical or similar in fact. In persuasive precedents, judges tend to analyze factual situations in earlier cases and from their consider the reasoning of the earlier judges before making a decision for a particular case. The final source of law by which law is classified is customs. Customs is grouped into to categories; local and general customs. Before either type of law can be recognized by the courts it must meet certain rules. Local custom is a usage that has obtained the force of law and is binding within a particular area or place upon the person and things which it concerns. It must first meet certain requirements before it is considered legally binding. In addition, customs must be certain. When referring to a custom being certain, it means that the custom cannot exist from time immemorial when it is not certain what it is. The custom should also be compulsory, implying that the persons involved must regard it as binding. Also the custom should be consistent with other customs and not be contradictory to any statute. Finally, the custom should apply to definite locality meaning that they should apply to the things or inhabitants of a particular area. The other type of custom is the general custom that relates to a trade or commercial practice not restricted to a particular locality. b) Judges in Their Decisions Laws have been around from time immemorial. It is a way to govern a society to protect both the people and the state. If there were no laws on the books, the human race would indeed be in a serious dilemma. Certainly the rate of crime would be through the roof as everyone would be doing there own thing in regards to seeking revenge and committing offences such as stealing. Likewise, if there were no sources of law to govern judges, they could possible take advantage of the system and simply condemn someone because of their demeanour or the way they look in the court room. The classification of law exhausts every possible loop hole to ensure conviction and fairness which ultimately leads to a governed nation. By the very definition of law, cases are part of law. As judges are the originators of cases they do in fact contribute to the law. Thus the question whether judges are law makers seems to be ubiquitous in the light that they contribute to the existence of a very source of law. The question though arises from where they derive their wisdom. The question has to be limited to analyse the thin line between interpretation of statutes and the creation of law. In the 1970s Parliament passed the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act (1976). Section 1 empowered judges to make various protective orders one of which had the effect of "excluding the other party from the matrimonial home" [s.1 (1) (c)]. (Dyer, 2000. B4) This is a prime example of how interpretation of a statute can lead to make an Act of Parliament almost useless and fully undermine the regulatory purpose of the Act. This is reinforced by the doctrine of precedent, for which the English legal system is so famous for. Cantliff was fully consistent with case law lending a high status for personal property. One might attempt to defend a rigid precedent doctrine on the grounds of consistency and respect for rights, i.e. property rights. Parliamentary Acts are thus subject of judges tearing statutes apart in the light of well established case law. Despite statutes override precedent, the statute in question (the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act) had certain "gaps", which judges found to be interpreted. This has been done in the light of precedence. Altogether one can recognize how the judges interpret statutes. Statutes try to cover as much situations as possible and hence have to be phrased quite generally, but again not so generally that it offences the principle of nulla poena sine lege certa as it would be a detriment to freedom of action. Statutes are often product of political compromise and thus do not provide an answer how to deal with particular problems. Or Parliament simply does not want to enact certain regulations as it fears political opposition and leaves it to the courts to decide, so for example the application of race relation legislation to political clubs. So they might be "law makers". On the other hand they might interpret law as necessary to render statutes applicable to daily life and thus give life to parliamentary sovereignty. So in a way they are also "law contributors" or "law animators". Parliamentary in its sovereignty would be overloaded if it had to create a statute for every single different situation and variation of a case they might foresee. Equally Parliament might be rendered in practicable if had to do so. In a way the courts secure the safe and reasonable application of law in the light of precedent and legislators intent. As we have seen though there is a thin line between sole interpretation or application and creation. Part II Management and Motivation 1-Modern Theories of Leadership and the Traditional Theories of Leadership Leadership is a concept which reflects the ability of a certain person to have an influence on the behaviour of the others. The early approaches of researching this process had accentuated the attention on the personal characteristics of the leaders. After those investigations came the research of the leadership behaviour. The theories of leadership try to find the optimal methods of leadership, describing the situation, in which every model of behaviour works more efficiently. In the recent time, the approaches to leadership started to count the aspect of interaction, looking at the influence of the subordinates on the leaders and vice versa. The relationship between a leader and his employees is an important aspect of the modern leadership organization of power. (Crookall, 2002, 11-17) The purposefulness, responsibility for the society, understanding its questions and problems appear to be inalienable or indisputable qualities of a leader. The people that surround him should also have these qualities. Leader should be able to move his staff wisely, substantially and timely; he should also make some conditions for their professional growth and make sure they use their abilities and possibilities. The way in which the management interacts, develops and enforces policies, designs culture in the workplace. Managers can open the workplace and allow employees to discover their potential and begin to create an atmosphere of cooperation. The empowerment of one helps breed a sense of being and promotes teamwork. (Hunt, 1991, 248-54) The environment can begin to evolve and productivity will expand. In conclusion, there are various theories of leadership, which can be useful in one-way or the other to organizations. It can be dependent on the attitudes and skill of the employees, the nature of the task and the culture of the group involved. While leadership style in the real world has much to do with authority and the relationships, which come from the authority structure, it cannot be divorced from goal setting. Management, which is concerned with establishing and implementing various kinds of goals, cannot avoid resolving the issues of authority and relationships if it is to be successful. (Bryman, 1992, 109-15) All workers no matter what their job need motivation. Motivation is connected to job satisfaction in all organizations. There are many theories that managers can use in the motivation of workers in any organization. A manager must learn which theories work on their workers and how best to apply the motivations. Leadership is something more than just morality and intellect; it is also more than just personality or accident. Instead it is intimately linked with the person's education and behaviour. (Burns, 1996, 55-60) A modern leader should be able to deal with people, because leadership is essentially a human process at work in organizations. The basic elements of leadership are the leader himself, the subordinates, goals, and the environment or situation. The role of the leader is to formulate a group according to its needs and direct it towards its goals. 2- Managers with Different Leadership Styles Motivate Their Teams The steps of team making and development, employee motivation, and leadership becoming a manager are essentially a hard task, when you're in charge of putting together a cross-functional team within the organization to make an effective team. An organization, simply put, is a group that is formally designed to achieve some specific goal. A top concern of those managing this organization will always be to motivate their employees in an effort to reach their goal as cost-effective and as quickly as possible. The motivated employee learns fast, deals with customers courteously and efficiently, is cooperative with other employees, and is committed to helping you achieve the kind of results your business needs. Unfortunately, these types of employees do not grow on trees, and must be assisted to become truly motivated towards an organization's goals. Motivation is the process of arousing, directing and maintaining behaviour towards a goal. Effective leadership motivates others to meet specific objectives and to be in the situation of making significant decisions. Both areas of leadership are the most significant aspects, because they can make or break a leaders following. To be motivated is one thing, but to motivate others is the most powerful thing a leader can possibly do. Also, to make crucial decisions and risks for a company or group is an extremely large task, one that is 100% needed for any successful leader. When people get motivated, they will have a reason to put more efforts on what they are doing. Motivation is a crucial management tool in lifting the organization's work force, and its key elements take forms like offering rewards, improving working conditions, or employee recognition. In order to help managers motivate their workers more effectively, the managers should know that people have their own drives, aspirations and needs as human beings. Since the manager works with and through people, he must recognize these needs in order to motivate his subordinates to work to the best of their abilities. Otherwise the efficiency of the whole firm may be affected. Yet the needs of individuals vary considerably and managers may have problems in introducing a system of motivation that satisfies everyone. Therefore, a manager might want to motivate the employees by offering financial and/or non-financial motivators. Financial motivators include incentive, fringe benefits, rewards and payment system such as bonuses and piece-rate. Non-financial motivators include job enrichment, job enlargement, job rotation, delegation and empowerment. Managers can also set up a team in order to discuss on how to run the organization and how to improve their productivity in order to achieve its goal. (Luthans, 2001, 127-33) To gain employees trust, managers must show that they want employees to contribute and take responsibility for decision making. They must also show the value for the workers' input. In the organization, employees are encouraged to take control over their own work and develop ways of improving the process themselves. Here, there is a conscious effort to remove the distinction between managers and workers. When the team run and is in charge of the organization, they are also responsible for what they do. A given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style for a different situation. In modern management, managers cannot command their employees to work harder, smarter or faster. (Whiteley, 2002, 80-83) They need to find innovative and creative ways, in order to challenge their workers to accomplish their desired goals and objectives. Leaders fail for many different reasons, but to be successful they need some similar talents and skills. (Howell, 2000, 79-84) Numerous researches show that successful leaders need to have the ability to create a vision of the future state of the organization and bring it to the minds of the followers. A good leader can admit his own weak sides and attract some human resources to eliminate his weaknesses. Persons can perform the vital functions of leadership in many different ways. The style of leadership a leader adopts depends on the situation and on his or her personality traits. The interplay between these two factors is complex. Some situations may favour one style; other situations may favour another style. Some leaders may vary their styles, whereas other leaders may not be able to vary their styles. As mentioned above, leadership styles are complex and varied as they depend on many behavioural traits. One may look at leadership styles depending on how a person influences others. Leaders may rely on charisma; leaders may use their positional authority; leaders may lead by example, etc. However, this delineation of leadership approaches or styles is only a matter of emphasis. In practice leaders normally resort to a multiple of leadership styles. References Bryman A. (1992). Charisma and leadership in organizations. London: Sage. 109-15 Burns J. T., & Stalker G. M. (1996) The management of innovation (2nd ed.). London: Social Science Paperbacks. 55-60 Conley, John M. and William M. O'Barr. (1988). "Fundamentals of Jurisprudence: An Ethnography of Judicial Decision Making in Informal Courts." The North Carolina Law Review. 66:3:467-507. Crookall P. (2002). Management of inmate workers: A field test of transformational and situational leadership. Doctoral dissertation, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. 11-17 Dyer, C. (2000). "Anyone know what the judge is on about?" The Guardian. July 17th 2000. B4 Howell J. M., & House R. J. (2000). Socialized and personalized charisma: An essay on the bright and dark sides of leadership. Western Business School, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. 79-84 Hunt J. P. (1991). Leadership: A new synthesis. London: Sage. 248-54 Luthans, F., Hodgetts, R.M., & Rosenkrantz, S.A. 2001. Real managers. Cambridge, Mass: Ballinger. 127-33 Whiteley, Philip: 2002, "10 Steps to Making Motivation Work" in Motivation, Oxford, United Kingdom: Capstone Publishing Ltd., 80-83 Read More