The Role of a Leader and its impact on Organisational Performance

PURPOSE OF STUDY?

The aim of the study was to find out about the qualities of a good leader by understanding different kind of leadership behaviours of leaders and we also found out the impact of leadership behaviours on organizational performance. One of the main, reason of study is to find out the importance of a good leader for an organisation with the help of case study of two companies namely- Tesla and Nokia. Through the case study we tried to find out what was the reason of failure of Nokia and success of Tesla and what role did the leaders had in their failure and success respectfully. We also tried to understand the concepts and types of leadership behaviours. Through the study we tried to demonstrate that the role and importance of a leader for an organisation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain how the leader plays a role for success or failure of an organisation.

INTRODUCTION – What is leadership?

So, who’s a leader? Leadership means different things to different people around the world We often hear that leader is someone who takes important decisions for the growth of any organisation. I think in that way everyone is a leader because everyone takes important decision of their life in order to grow as a human being.

Leaders play a key role in any organisation because not only they help others but they also inspire, set direction and build a vision for their organisation. Leadership is about mapping out the road for the organisation in order to achieve their goal. Not only leaders set direction but they also guide the people with proper management skills to move towards the right direction in a smooth and efficient way. (“What Is Leadership?:”)

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?

A good leader knows how to lead. A good leader shares his vision with other. And it’s only when you inspire others that a collective purpose can be expressed to lead the commitment and determination of the whole team. What does Vision mean? Vision is not only a pitch to the leader but a more philosophical matter, it is “why we are here”, “why we work”, “what are our goals”. A good leader knows how to motivate his co-worker to work in order to achieve the goal. Another key factor of any good leader is transparency. Transparency can be another tool for leaders to motivate their co-workers. (“What Is Leadership?:”)

Why is leadership important

The leader is in the team’s service, and not the other way around. The co-workers must feel the support and trust shown by the leader. Because when you show trust on somebody then other person gets motivated more in order to not break your trust on him. The co-workers should understand that there is a person who is there to correct your mistakes and give recognition for their efforts. Another key element of a good leader is emotional intelligence. The leader should understand what his co-worker is going through so that they can understand their problem and solve it. Having empathy is important for any leader. A good leader is the one who is able to create a good working environment for his co-workers. A good leader is the one who not only leads and guides the organisation but a good leader is the one who is ready to listen to people. One of the biggest challenge faced by leader is people management. Leadership is important because the leader is responsible to keep the team motivated to act towards achieving the common goal. A leader is the one who is responsible to do the work and take the risks which others aren’t taking and at the same time the leader should have the courage to rectify and accept his mistake without blaming on others because this will give confidence to others to take decisions without any hesitation. (Team)

How Does Leadership Work?

In industry, leadership is related to performance, and that must be taken into account in the concept of leadership. Therefore, while leadership is not intrinsically related to benefit, those who in corporate environments are seen as successful leaders are the ones who improve the bottom line of their organization. Although there are individuals that appear to be instinctively equipped with more leadership qualities than others, by developing necessary skills, everyone can train to become a leader. History is filled of people who have come to the center in emergencies and convinced everyone to pursue their proposed form of action, despite possessing no prior leadership experience. They had attributes and abilities that allowed them to move into leadership positions. (“What Is Leadership?”)

Leadership can be defined in many ways as there is no set definition of it because every leader has his own style of leadership according to which the culture and direction of the company is built. But in a organisation its better to have definition of leader than no definition so that there is a clarity on what is expected of a leader of that organisation. (Morgan)

Why organisations need good leader?

For maximum efficiency, organisations require good leadership. Both human psychology and expert tactics are dealt with by organisational leadership. Organizational leadership emphasises the acquisition of appropriate leadership qualities and skills through organisations. It implies people’s willingness to tackle the tough times in the company and continue to thrive during those times. It specifically defines the leaders and distinguishes them from the managers. A good leader should lead the people under him, offer everybody a feeling of purpose to effectively attain corporate objectives and act responsibly.

Organizational leaders articulate organisational mission, strategy and agendas clearly in order to establish morale for workers, maintain successful company operations; help employees improve effectively and make a positive contribution to the mission of organisations. (Morgan)

7 major reasons for leadership failure:

  1. Over-confidence: Excessive of anything is bad and such is the case with confidence as well. People normally tend to overestimate their capabilities and expectations. People need to understand that confidence is good but not overconfidence. Even under-confidence is a reason for failure. (Morgan)
  2. Poor attitude: Leaders are expected to be pillar of the organisation who motivates and encourages its co-workers. But if the leader himself lacks motivation to work and has poor attitude then it will have a negative effect on people working under him. (Morgan)
  3. Failure to delegate authority: Poor leaders are those who blame its co-workers for failure of task and don’t take the responsibility of it .And yet don’t give them the authority to carry out assigned duties(Morgan).
  4. Blindness to reality and having wrong expectations: It is important of any leader to know what’s going on and also its wrong to have false expectations as well. So as a leader its important to be aware of reality and be practical(Morgan).
  5. Failure to communicate a vision: As a leader not only its important to create a vision for which the whole organisation needs to collectively work upon but its also important that the workers are clear about the vision and the way to achieve it. (Morgan)
  6. Failure to listen, Ignoring relationship building and Lack of social skills: No leader knows everything but individual knows something hence leader should be open to ideas and should be ready to listen to its co-workers as it will help him take better decisions. In this way you are not only giving importance to your co-worker but also building good relations. (Morgan)
  7. Leader refuse to adapt: In today’s fast changing world it’s important to adapt depending on the need and requirement of the time. Being flexible is important for any leader. (“Top 10 Reasons Why Leaders Fail”).

Consequences of bad leadership on organizational performance

1. Loss of motivation to work leading poor work culture: If there is poor leadership then it will have a negative impact on whole environment as the workers will lose motivation to work, come up with innovative ideas or contribute to company growth. (Hopkin)

2. Poor sales performance: According to AZCentral, poor leadership will have direct impact on sales as according to them poor leadership will lead to poor sales since there is lack of motivation and purpose to work which will indeed result in low productivity and the organisation won’t be able to achieve its targets. (Hopkin)

3. Lack of ownership and transparency:

A good leader may inculcate the importance of responsibility to his or her team-mates. On the other hand, a weak leader makes individuals feel oblivious to accepting responsibilities within the organisation for their own jobs. Weak leaders may appear to struggle to be accountable to their staff. (Hopkin)

4. Mismanaged resources

A resource is a waste or useful depending on how the user uses it. So, poor leadership can not only negatively effect the sales of the company but a poor leader doesn’t make best the best use of the resources which results in huge loss as the resource gets wasted and even lot of time goes in vain in order to correct it. (Hopkin)

5. Lack of coordination and teamwork

A poor leader just looks after himself rather than other just to look good in front of the top management in expense of others. Which leads to bad relations, distrust etc. (Hopkin)

6.. Lack of direction

Poor leaders lack the ability to set a direction for his/her team which is due to their lack of vision. (Hopkin)

Different leadership styles AND Relationship between Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance

Leadership has a relationship of direct cause and effect with organisations and their performance. Below is a brief overview of the above traditional leadership types and their possible effect on a group and their relative utility.. (“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  1. Autocratic leadership and Organizational Performance

Autocratic leaders are classic forms of “do as I say.” Autocratic leaders are harmful for any organisation as they force their employees to work on subjective idea of what success looks like in a very narrow way. Due to such leadership there is no mutual goal or motivation in the team.(“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Bureaucratic leadership and Organizational Performance

Bureaucratic executives develop strategies to accomplish corporate priorities and focus on them. Policies guide implementation, plan, priorities and performance The actual challenge or challenges involved with the use of leadership policies are not necessarily evident until the harm is done. The risk here is that the biggest rewards of leadership empowering and improving persons, are neglected by bureaucratic leaders. Policies are clearly ineffective for the role of empowering and building interaction. The basic risk for bureaucratic leaders is the assumption that policies come before persons, and opposition or disinterest is typically met with protests to that effect. Policies are not in themselves harmful, but policies that are thoughtlessly designed and automatically enforced will de-motivate workers and frustrate desired performance. (“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Democratic leadership and Organizational Performance

As the name suggests that it is democratic i.e. instead of one specific leader, the group leads themselves. The problem with democratic leadership is that 

It sounds easy enough. Instead of one defined leader, the group leads itself. The key issue with democratic leadership is its implicit expectations that everybody has a fair interest in the results as well as mutual decision-making degrees of competence. Rarely is that the case. Although political leadership sounds fantastic in principle, in its own sluggish phase, it is always bogged down, and workable outcomes typically take a massive amount of effort. (“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Charismatic leadership and Organizational Performance

Charismatic leaders have a vision in mind and have a personality that motivates all the co-workers. But the only problems that lies in Charismatic leadership is that if the leader leaves the organisation then the co-workers will be left with no direction and vision.(“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Situational leadership and Organizational Performance

Situational leadership suggests that the best leaders are the one who are flexible and can adapt different styles depending upon the situation. The problem rises if the leaders choses the wrong leadership style. (“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Transactional leadership and Organizational Performance

Transactional leaders are those who will give you something in return if you follow them. It can be a promotion or raise etc. But the problem is the expectations.

(“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

  • Transformational leadership and Organizational Performance

Transformational politicians are seeking to modify those they are leading. They will portray sustainable, self-replicating leadership doing so. Transformative leadership is widely valued because it has no arbitrary buy-in limitations but rather relies on bringing followers on board based on their own developing reasoning process and shifting reactions to problems in leadership. For fast-paced, change-laden environments that involve innovative problem solving and customer loyalty, it is especially suitable. (“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”)

Let’s try to understand the role of Leadership in a Organisation better with help of case study of 2 companies.

Through these case studies we are trying to understand the reason of failure and success of the companies and what role the leaders played in it.

NOKIA

Nokia was a brand which built name for itself that contributed to the revolution in mobile phones. It developed quickly to be one of the world’s most noticeable and valuable brands.  Although its journey to the peak was swift, so was its descent. (“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”). Let’s now try to understand few important reasons why Nokia Failed:

  1. Focusing only on one aspect:

Nokia as a brand had kept its focus only on one hardware as it didn’t get associated itself with Android with the help of which it could have made a comeback in the industry. Instead, it went on to get associated with Microsoft which resulted in huge loss for both of them. Hence, it was a bad decision to stick to one hardware and later on joining with Microsoft and not Android. Which proves that a leader should have good decision-making skills. (“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”)

  • Lack of innovation: Nokia lacked innovation as in a era of 4G also it struggled to have 3G since it didn’t had 3G enabled phones. Although later on Nokia tried to make a comeback with the Asha series but by then everything was over for them. Risk aversion and wrong decisions led to failure of Nokia. (Shrivastava, and Gupta)
  • Not becoming a part of the ecosystem: Nokia was resistant to become part of an ecosystem unlike other new brands who were happy to try them since they were used to UI of Android. Nokia was never in the competition and this isolation made the public lose its interest from Nokia. This is also another failure of leadership group as they were hesitant to try. (“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”)
  • Later on Chinese brands started making their presence felt in the market as they were manufacturing smartphones at a unbeatable pace. Hence, we can say that due to poor decisions of leadership group and not willing to try new things, gave an opportunity to other brands to make a name for themselves (“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”)
  • Picking the wrong CEO: Although Stephen Elop was a skilful leader but sometimes only skills aren’t enough to transform a company. Elop although took big decisions since he realized about the situation of Nokia but all decisions went in vain as none of them worked.(“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”)
  • Nokia management chose to create mobile phone products for short-term consumer needs instead of allocating capital to accomplish long-term targets such as designing a new operating system.(“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market

TESLA

The massive growth of Tesla Inc to become the most profitable carmaker in the world might signal the beginning of a new age for the global automobile industry, characterised by a Silicon Valley tech strategy that overtakes the know-how of old-school manufacturing. The elevation of Tesla caught numerous investors by surprise. (“The Rise And Rise Of Tesla: How The Visionary Car Maker Is Defining A New Era For The Auto Industry”). Let’s now try to understand few important reasons why Nokia Failed:

  1. Elon Musk had a game plan from day one: Elon Musk was a good example of a good leader as he had a vision for Tesla from day one. Even before launching the first vehicle the vision and long-term goal of Tesla were clear and set which is the reason why Tesla is one of the most successful brands. As we discussed earlier, the importance of having a vision and making it clear to the co-workers is very important. And Elon Musk was able to do so. (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)
  2. Compromise was never an option:  In tesla nothing happened by chance as everything was well planned since vision was very clear not only to Elon but all the employees working in Tesla. Elon musk and his team’s determination made sure that they never compromise anything.  (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)
  3. Tesla never simply follows a trend: Elon musk at graduation speech at USC made it clear that “success doesn’t come from following a trend.” He said that “if you want to make something new then you need to boil down thing down to the most fundamental truths you can imagine, and you reason up from there even though if it takes effort”. Which shows that he as a leader is ready try new things. (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)
  4. It hired like-minded people: A organisation cannot be run just by a single person, it requires team effort if it wants to taste success. And Tesla managed to hire like minded people who had the same vision and goal as the leader. This is another important aspect of being a good leader that you are able to hire the right people for the organisation. (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)
  5. Its cars are sustainable and futuristic: Since Tesla had a clear vision and had like- minded people they were able to make cars that were sustainable and futuristic since it was aware that the fashion drove clean tech. Tesla made the drivers look cool by the association with famous movie stars that owned them.

 (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)

  • Technology is the number one priority: Tesla was able to build such a great technology that other car companies relied on it. Which shows that if a organisation has a good leader then the organisation is capable to make a team of like-minded people with a clear vision of mind which can achieve great heights.

(“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)

  • It handles its own supply chain: A good leader is never afraid to take bold decisions. Tesla unlike other decided to own the entire distribution chain. So, unlike other companies Tesla doesn’t use dealers rather it itself owns and manages service centers and stores. (“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”)

CONCLUSION

The collapse of Nokia in mobile phones cannot be based on a single, clear answer: management decisions, fragmented corporate processes, increasing hierarchy and profound internal rivalries all performed a role in preventing Nokia from realising the change from product-based to platform-based rivalry. The tale of Nokia demonstrates a typical characteristic that we see in big, profitable businesses: success creates conservatism and hubris, resulting in a deterioration in planning processes leading to weak decisions over years. However, when firms adopted new ideas and innovations to boost growth, they became risk averse and less creative with success. For enterprises that wish to thrive and escape one of the greatest disruptive risks to their future, their own growth, such factors would be critical. (“The Strategic Decisions That Caused Nokia’s Failure”)

Meanwhile, the rise of Tesla showed us that if we have a good leader who can take good decisions and is able to make a team of like-minded people where there is no hierarchy and profound internal rivalries then nothing can stop Tesla from becoming a successful company. Hence through these case studies we understood the importance of leaders and what role they play in making a company successful or failure.

WORK CITED

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 Team, Gamelearn. “What Is Leadership? 10 Ways To Define It”. Gamelearn: Game-Based Learning Courses For Soft Skills Training, 2020, https://www.game-learn.com/what-is-leadership-ways-to-define/.

Morgan, Jacob. “What Is Leadership, And Who Is A Leader?”. Chief Learning Officer – CLO Media, 2020, https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/01/06/what-is-leadership-and-who-is-a-leader/.

Morgan, Jacob. “What Is Leadership, And Who Is A Leader?”. Chief Learning Officer – CLO Media, 2020, https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/01/06/what-is-leadership-and-who-is-a-leader/.

Satterfield, Douglas. 10 Major Reasons For Leadership Failure,. 2020, https://www.theleadermaker.com/10-major-reasons-leadership-failure/.

“Top 10 Reasons Why Leaders Fail”. Quick Base, 2020, https://www.quickbase.com/blog/top-10-reasons-why-leaders-fail.

“6 Ways Poor Leadership Impacts Your Business – Criteria For Success”. Criteria For Success, 2020, https://criteriaforsuccess.com/6-ways-poor-leadership-impacts-your-business/.

Hopkin, Michael. “The Impact Of Poor Leadership In An Organization”. Lead On Purpose, 2020, https://leadonpurposeblog.com/2018/01/15/the-impact-of-poor-leadership-in-an-organization/.

“Leadership Style And Organizational Impact – Library Worklife:”. Ala-Apa.Org, 2020, https://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2010/06/08/spotlight/#:~:text=Leadership%20has%20a%20direct%20cause,including%20their%20execution%20and%20effectiveness.

“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”. Marketing Mind, 2020, https://www.marketingmind.in/5-reasons-nokia-failed-mobile-phone-market5-reasons-nokia-failed-mobile-phone-market/.

Shrivastava, Devashish, and Yash Gupta. “6 Reasons Why Nokia Failed?”. Startuptalky, 2020, https://startuptalky.com/reasons-why-nokia-failed/.

“The Strategic Decisions That Caused Nokia’S Failure”. INSEAD Knowledge, 2020, https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/the-strategic-decisions-that-caused-nokias-failure-7766.

“Reshoring: Everything Manufacturing Execs Need To Know | Smart Manufacturing | Manufacturing Global”. Manufacturingglobal.Com, 2020, https://www.manufacturingglobal.com/smart-manufacturing/reshoring-everything-manufacturing-execs-need-know.

“5 Reasons Why Nokia Failed In The Mobile Phone Market”. Marketing Mind, 2020, https://www.marketingmind.in/5-reasons-nokia-failed-mobile-phone-market5-reasons-nokia-failed-mobile-phone-market/.

“The Rise And Rise Of Tesla: How The Visionary Car Maker Is Defining A New Era For The Auto Industry”. News18, 2020, https://www.news18.com/news/auto/the-rise-and-rise-of-tesla-how-the-visionary-car-maker-is-defining-a-new-era-for-the-auto-industry-2734761.html.

Should the internet be a fundamental Right?

Photo by Sam Lion on Pexels.com

“In the early twenty-first century, the Internet came into existence with the advent of the Information Age, fully transforming networking..” Wired commnicatins are now being replaced by the digital revolution and now internet has become a platform for everything .Internet has become lifeline for many people of business, education etc. Nowadays real life is slowly becoming dependent on how you are in virtual life over the internet. (“In The Era Of Digitization: Is Access To Internet Fundamental? – Academike”)Why is Internet Important? Internet has opened a new world for many people. Today internet has become integral part of many people’s lives and many can’t even imagine their life without internet as it can provide education, job opportunities, access to information, a platform for communication, online shopping etc. But does everyone get access to internet? The answer is NO! Not everyone has access to internet. In developing countries only 1 out of 10 people have access to internet. So, when so less people have access to it even after knowing the importance of internet, can we accept internet shutdowns? Some governments take the dramatic step of flipping the off switch.” In order to silence criticism and freedom of expression, the internet. Deliberate internet shutdowns across the globe are becoming more and more frequent. And “India Is The World’s Internet Shutdown Capital”” as India shuts down its internet most frequently(Bakshi).  The Government of Jammu and Kashmir recently claimed that the freedom to access the internet is not a constitutional right, in response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court for the restoration of 4G internet services. (“Can The Right To Internet Access Flow From The Right To Life?”) But even though government is denying the access to internet and even shutting down Internet in places like Jammu & Kashmir, I want to argue that not only Internet should be made accessible to all the citizens of the country but I believe internet should be our fundamental right

Right to internet is a derived right under other fundamental rights just like right to health or right to privacy. According to Carl Wellman “Derived rights can be either more specific forms of some general right, since the right to freedom of the press is a special case of the right to freedom of expression, or auxiliary rights that serve to protect some primary right, since the right to habeas corpus serves to prevent a breach of the right to freedom of the individual”.A derived right is a secondary right with all of the primary right’s limitations and restrictions that it enables. But it being a secondary right is not important rather it being borne out of a connection of primary right is to be seen. Many rights that are guaranteed under article 21 and 19 are somehow related to internet access. Hence, if we restrict the access to internet we are in a way reducing the value and many people won’t be able to enjoy these rights. Even in Maneka Gandhi and Union of India, while discussing the unenumerated rights under article 19, it was seem whether the claimed rights are also integral part of the named right.Article 21 has been interpreted many a times by the courts as a  broad right, which contains various unenumerated rights which, if they can be seen as an integral part of existence, are located within 21. This could be asserted that the right to internet access can indeed be accepted as a fundamental right within the Indian constitutional framework, as internet access is affecting every area of an individual’s life, as well as being a prerequisite requirement for the implementation of various directive standards pertaining to social and economic welfare. (“Can The Right To Internet Access Flow From The Right To Life?”).In January, while reviewing the discriminatory J&K orders about the internet that had been entirely shut down in the Union Territories, the supreme court found this feature of the internet to be a fundamental right. The court further stated that ” Under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1), freedom of speech and expression and freedom to pursue a profession or to participate in any Internet trade, business or occupation are protected by the Constitution. ” In this growing digital age, where even the government is on a quest to move towards a cashless economy and encourage e-governance and digitisation, access to the Internet is absolutely necessary. (‘Right to the Internet: Is it a fundamental right in India? | Sabrangindia’) The government of Kerala has understood the fact that without basic access to the Internet, all digitisation initiatives will prove fruitless. (“Kerala Becomes First Indian State To Declare Internet A Basic Human Right”) Even the automotive industry is manufacturing vehicles that run over electricity and can be accessible directly by mobile phones with the help of internet. Internet is leading us to a future of intelligence and autonomous vehicles. The Internet is considered as an important vehicle for the promotion of the Convention among women. Taking into consideration the 2012 report submitted by Turkmenistan, the CERD Committee noted that “Internet-based outlets (e.g. blogs, websites) play an important role in supporting minority human rights and therefore the State should refrain from limiting access to those outlets and all other information on the Internet in violation of the freedom of speech provided for by international law. And also in order to live a better life, the Internet is the road to the future and the freedom to access the Internet is important and is thus a moral human right. When content has become more available to students, Internet access has become a crucial need for students. (“Right To Internet And Fundamental Rights”)”The Hon’ble High Court claimed in Faheema Shirin RK v. State of Kerala and others[9] that the freedom to access the internet is part of the right to education and the right to privacy under Articles 21A and 21 of the Indian Constitution, respectively.”  Online connectivity not only increases students’ chances for technology acquisition, but also improves the quality of schooling. The closure of the Internet is merely a blanket ban imposed by the state on access to mobile or fixed-line Internet networks, which is not only a block on social media, it also impacts enterprises, healthcare systems, education and human rights. Shutting down Internet services in an emerging country like India is like closing all roads for industrial growth and even shutting down all banks at once. (“Right To Internet And Fundamental Rights”)

In a decade, 391 Internet shutdowns have occurred throughout India, contributing to a gradual decline in technology growth, where the government initiated IT sector growth by introducing programs such as Digital India, that has nine foundations, six of which are directly linked to Internet connectivity, but suspending the internet for such a long period not only poses an obstacle to such pro-internet access. The cessation of Internet services easily represents human misery elsewhere in one part of the world, which also impacts the economy. (“Right To Internet And Fundamental Rights”)” In 2015-16, Internet shutdowns cost India $968 million (Rs 6,485 crore), the largest loss among 19 countries surveyed, and the product of 22 shutdowns, the same as war-torn Iraq, showing the negative impact of these shutdowns on the economy, according to a report by the Brookings Institution, a US-based think-tank.”A detachment from social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or other social networking platforms is not necessarily an Internet shutdown. This means restricting opportunities for musicians, developers and students who have dedicated themselves to amplifying the concept of learning that online outlets, like online portal courses from SWAYAM, offer. (“In The Era Of Digitization: Is Access To Internet Fundamental? – Academike”) Between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016, the Brookings report evaluated “81 short-term shutdowns across 19 countries and concluded that these shutdowns cost the global economy at least $2.4 billion.” (Rs 16,080 crore).India ($968 million) suffered the largest damage, led by Saudi Arabia ($465 million) and Morocco ($320 million). (‘India Faces Greatest Economic Loss from Internet Shutdowns’) When we live in an environment where the Internet is an integral part of human life, the Internet plays a vital role in the growth of an economy. In the Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India case the court acknowledged that the internet is also a very useful medium for trade and commerce. The Indian economy’s globalization and the rapid developments in information and technology have opened up large business avenues and turned India as a global IT centre. There is no question that there are many things that are totally reliant on the web. Such an Internet-based right to trade further encourages consumerism and the availability of options.Accordingly, right to trade and communicate through the internet is therefore constitutionally covered under Article 19(1)(g), according to the limitations laid down in Article 19(6) of the Treaty (“Right To Access Internet : A Fundametal Right – Legal Articles In India”). Today, to a significant degree, clinical practice, commerce and industry are internet-based. Online industry is burgeoning: plane fares, rail travel, movie and music performances, gallery tours, taxis, hospital visits, restaurants, household necessities such as vegetables and eggs, permits and licenses, not to mention utility bill payments such as power, piped gas, telecommunications and water bills, are all charged online. If the use of the internet is limited, it is bound to have a significant effect on freedom of commerce and industry. (“The Question Of Internet Access – India”)

COVID 19 pandemic has shown and made us realize the value of internet as without internet children wouldn’t have been able to access education which could result in lag of years. Without internet work from home would not have been possible as most of the work requires transfer of information for which we require information. What about E-shopping? In pandemic when travel has been restricted, people staying away from urban areas who don’t have essential need’s shop near them then it will become a hard time for them to survive at such situation we understand the value of E-shoppping as sitting at any place we can order whatever we like. FOR EXAMPLE:KASHMIR:- In Kashmir, a petition was filed which emphasised the need of 4G internet speed during a pandemic as in a world which is running behind 5G, people in Kashmir are still using 2G due to which many problems have rosen. The petition contended,” With minimal and restricted internet access, patients and doctors are unable to access the latest information, advice and guidance by allowing only 2G speed in the UT.”. In such a fast paced generation, we can say that 2G internet is almost equal to no internet as too many difficulties have to be faced by people of Kashmir like doctors, “Several public health practitioners, medical professionals, and physicians have consistently expressed their concern about spending valuable time attempting to download the new COVID 19 reports, guidelines, manuals and guidance on care and management. In some cases, due to the Internet speed being too slow to download heavy files, doctors are not able to access these services at all..” claimed the petition. (“Right To Internet And Fundamental Rights”) Such restriction on the internet violates the right of people of Kashmir to education, health, business and expression.Due to restriction on internet, people are unable to access any information regarding any advice for COVID 19 treatment. Even the doctors have not much knowledge about treatment of COVID released in other parts of the country and internationally. In addition, it prohibits access to the telemedicine guidelines provided by the Indian Government to provide interactive channels for residents with healthcare and to minimize the number of people attending hospitals. The dual unavailability of the new therapies and telemedicine consultations contradicts the Right to Healthcare, which is protected by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The prohibition also goes against the Right of Access to Justice, with the courts running digitally at present and the method of bringing cases heading to an online mechanism. The high-speed internet ban has made access to justice inaccessible for residents of Kashmir, as well as access to telemedicine appointments. In addition to the problems surrounding access to medicine and justice, the ban has significant consequences for employment and education. Organizations have been directed by the Indian Government to introduce a work from home strategy that is unworkable in Kashmir.Because of the high-speed internet ban, the inability of people to work violates both the right to livelihood referred to in Article 21 and the right to trade granted in Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. The government eventually directed all schools and colleges to be closed, with instruction shifting to online platforms. These sites do not run in Kashmir and so the government is also in breach of the right to education provided for in Article 21-A of the Constitution.. (Gupta)

The Court agreed that the flow of data is not only a standard obligation under the Constitution, but also a natural law necessity, and therefore no law can be passed clandestinely unless there is a clear ground of privilege or countervailing public interest to be balanced, which the State must expressly argue. It clearly held that the government’s argument (that it was too hard to generate numerous orders being given and revoked on a day-to-day basis) is not a legitimate excuse for declining to release orders. The Court held that it is not possible to acknowledge a full blocking/prohibition on the Internet perpetually. The Court ruled that it would not be possible to recognize a total blocking/prohibition indefinitely on the Internet. Consequently, the Review Committee does not only discuss the issue of whether the limitations also meet with the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act. The problem of whether the directives are still proportionate must also be examined. The internet suspension order must not be permitted to continue past the required amount of time (“India Law Journal”). A survey for the BBC World Service shows that almost four in five people around the world agree that access to the internet is a human right.The study showed widespread support for access to internet from both sides of the digital divide, amongst more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries. Countries like Finland and Estonia also have stated that access to internet is a basic human right for their residents. The BBC survey showed that “87% of internet users felt that the constitutional right of all people to use the internet should be “. More than 70 percent of non-users felt they should have access to the net. Overall, almost 79 percent of those surveyed said they either strongly agreed with the definition of the internet as a fundamental right or fairly agreed with it – whether they actually had access to the internet”.. (“BBC News – Internet Access Is ‘A Fundamental Right'”) It’ll be worthy the government’s time to prepare simple internet shutdown rules that are in compliance only with decision of the Court, and should also be sent out for public comment. Maybe a cap may be imposed on how long such a phase should last, aside from terms whereby individuals can be held under a cyber curfew. For even more than five months already, much of Kashmir has been under an internet outage, which is long enough just to knock business and social life out of gear. Normal life can hardly be said to have returned in today’s times without the net turning back on. (“Business News Today, Stock Market News, Sensex & Finance News Online – Mint”)

WORK CITED

“Can The Right To Internet Access Flow From The Right To Life?”. The Wire, 2020, https://thewire.in/rights/internet-access-fundamental-right.

“Internet Access A Fundamental Right, Supreme Court Makes It Official: Article 19 Explained”. India Today, 2020, https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/internet-access-fundamental-right-supreme-court-makes-official-article-19-explained-1635662-2020-01-10.

“Kerala Becomes First Indian State To Declare Internet A Basic Human Right”. India Today, 2020, https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/kerala-first-indian-state-declare-internet-basic-human-right-966265-2017-03-18.

“Right To Internet: Is It A Fundamental Right In India? | Sabrangindia”. Sabrangindia, 2020, https://sabrangindia.in/article/right-internet-it-fundamental-right-india.

“Right To Internet And Fundamental Rights”. Legalserviceindia.Com, 2020, http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-2967-right-to-internet-and-fundamental-rights.html.

“Right To Access Internet : A Fundametal Right – Legal Articles In India”. Legal Articles In India, 2020, http://www.legalservicesindia.com/law/article/1577/10/Right-to-Access-Internet-A-Fundametal-Right.

“Internet: A Fundamental Right”. Lexlife India, 2020, https://lexlife.in/2020/05/25/internet-a-fundamental-right/.

The Question Of Internet Access – India”. India Legal, 2020, https://www.indialegallive.com/viewpoint/the-question-of-internet-access/.

“In The Era Of Digitization: Is Access To Internet Fundamental? – Academike”. Academike, 2020, https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/in-the-era-of-digitization-is-access-to-internet-fundamental/.

Right To Internet Access, A Fundamental Right | Lawsisto Legal News”. Lawsisto.Com, 2020, https://lawsisto.com/legalnewsread/NDkzMg==/Right-to-Internet-Access-A-Fundamental-Right.

Gupta, Shubham. “The Internet Ban In Kashmir: A Hurdle To Fundamental Rights In The Pandemic — Human Rights Pulse”. Human Rights Pulse, 2020, https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/2yb80l3288brfqfo82uwjvo0gayu32.

Women entrepreneurship: A Necessity

PIC CREDITS: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

In today’s generation, everybody wants to be an entrepreneur. Some find it very appealing, while some find it a way to add value to people’s lives, but only a few go on to become successful entrepreneurs.

Anybody can be an entrepreneur, given that they have an idea and the right tools to convert it into a functional business.

So, whom can we call an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who sees a need and takes on the financial risk to start a business to fill that need.

Similarly, when a woman initiates a business, undertakes all the challenges and provides employment to others, this process is called as women entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship not only helps the entrepreneur in earning the profit through the business, but it also gives livelihood to people, which benefits the nation at large.          

But are just skills, ideas, passion, innovation, dedication, etc, the only difference between a successful and an unsuccessful entrepreneur? Or is there anything else that is making a difference and limiting many people from becoming successful?

We know that whoever has gone on to make a big name for themselves has faced a lot of challenges and difficulties throughout their journey, but it is their hard work and perseverance, which has made them stood apart from the rest.

Because when we start doing something new, we never do it to fail. We always start with the hope that we will succeed. But, that’s not the case in reality because although everybody dreams to become successful, but not everyone becomes

So, where lies the problem?

Just like the way you need to start your vehicle to make it move and reach your destination. Similarly, to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to start implementing your ideas to convert it into a successful business model, but many people, especially women, aren’t even allowed to do so because of many reasons like lack of family support, lack of opportunities, family responsibilities, lack of organized sectors, etc.

Although many aspects have improved, over the period of time but there are still certain limitations which are only faced by women like:

  1. Mobility problems: If countries like India where an average of 87 rape cases was recorded every single day in 2019[1], it becomes totally unsafe for a woman to travel. So, due to this, women can’s even travel to get the required raw materials for their business and they have to rely on a male, which proves that we still live in a male dominant society because they have to be dependent on men for getting their work done.
  2. Lack of education: We all know the importance of basic education but out of the world’s 774 million illiterate adults, 2/3 are women[2]. One of the reasons for the lack of education among women is the lack of support from family members, which is one of the reasons why we have fewer women entrepreneurs.
  • Patriarchal society: The society believes in passing the business to son and not daughters as we stay in male dominant society. Due to such partiality, the scope of women becoming an entrepreneur reduces as it reduces the opportunities available to a woman. 
  • Societal expectations: In our society, if you are a woman, you are expected to take family responsibilities because of which whenever a woman tries to do something different of her own, the society raises questions against her, especially when it comes to rural areas.
  • The attitude of creditors: You need funding if you want to open your own business from scratch. But the attitude of most of the creditors towards women is that since she is a woman, she might not be serious about her business as she must be having other responsibilities as well. The creditors, don’t trust women compared to men in terms of credibility, due to which they avoid giving loans or funds to women to start their own business.

So, one can imagine how hard it is to become a women entrepreneur as you have to go through so many additional challenges, even before starting any business.

Although there are many limitations like mentioned above, in the society, few women didn’t let these limitations stop them from becoming successful entrepreneurs. One such example is Leela Bordia, who revived blue pottery, which was a dying art in Rajasthan, as she started a venture which became successful in selling these in markets nationally and internationally. It is because of her that not only the art survived, but even several people got employment opportunities.

Just like this, we have seen upward movement in the graph of the number of women entrepreneurs in recent years. But what else can we do to bridge the gap and increase the number of entrepreneurs because in India, out of 58.5 million entrepreneurs, only 14% are women [3].

So, what we need to do?

  • We need to create incentives for those who invest in women-owned companies[4] and also, not only we need to increase the use of loan guarantees for women entrepreneurs but also improve the availability of risk capital for women entrepreneurs.[5]
  • We need to give guidance to women to show them the different aspects of economic, social benefits of business ownership as it could help in increasing entrepreneurship rates.[6]
  • We need to provide more education to women as it will make them more confident and reduce their fear of failure. Because research has shown that women have more fear of failure and less confidence level than man. Also, we need to ensure that the education system should be gender-neutral.[7]
  •  Entrepreneurs get influenced by role models and social context. So, it becomes necessary to promote women entrepreneurs as role models.[8]
  • We need to ensure that the education system does not discourage women from going into fields like science, law, mathematics, technology, engineering, etc.[9]

Hence, we can conclude that today women are making accomplishments in every sphere of life And with the help of initiatives taken by the government, management boards, peer-to-peer platforms, families, the gender-based roadblocks are now being rapidly eliminated in the entrepreneurial journey of a woman which is a positive sign and if this continues like this we can see more women entrepreneurs with time..[10]


BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1]Mythreyee Ramesh, India reports 87 Rapes Per Day: NCRB Data Amid Hathras Outrage, The Quint, (Oct.15 ,2020,3:30 PM), https://www.thequint.com/neon/gender/hathras-rape-crimes-against-women-ncrb-data#:~:text=An%20average%20of%2087%20rape,the%20same%20period%20in%202018.

[2] WOMEN AND GIRLS’ EDUCATION – FACTS AND FIGURES, UNESCO, (Oct.15 ,2020,3:45 PM)

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/international-womens-day-2014/women-ed-facts-and-figure/.

[3] 8 Stats to Know About Women Entrepreneurs in India, Hello Alice, (Oct.15 ,2020,4:00 PM), https://helloalice.com/resources/content/3819..

[4] Karen Quintos, Four ways to boost the number of women entrepreneurs, World Economic F,(Oct.15 ,2020,4:15 PM),https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/Here-are-four-ways-accelerate-women-entrepreneurs/.

[5]  David Halabisky,5 ways policy could close the gender gap in entrepreneurship, World Economic F,(Oct.15 ,2020,4:30 PM), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/five-ways-policy-could-close-the-gender-gap-in-entrepreneurship/

[6] Kelly Spors, 3 Ways to Increase Women Entrepreneurship Worldwide, American Express, ,(Oct.15 ,2020,5:30 PM), https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/3-ways-to-increase-women-entrepreneurship-worldwide/

[7] Id

[8] David Halabisky,5 ways policy could close the gender gap in entrepreneurship, World Economic F,(Oct.15 ,2020,6:30PM), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/five-ways-policy-could-close-the-gender-gap-in-entrepreneurship/

[9]Id.

[10] Archanna Das, Here’s how we can empower women entrepreneurship in India, Economic Times, (Oct.15 ,2020,7:00 PM),
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/entrepreneurship/heres-how-we-can-empower-women-entrepreneurship-in-india/articleshow/59605765.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst