CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
2.1 Introduction
A
country's government shapes the business activities and environment in which
companies operate. Government policies such as changes to regulations,
taxation, interest rates and spending programmes therefore have a huge
influence on business activities in Nigeria and even the rest of the world.
Public discourse
today is saturated with the advocacy of various government policies. It is common to hear of foreign policy,
defence policy, economic policy, educational policy and policies in almost
every area. Business activities are in
fact affected and influenced by policies made by governments. Government has been variously defined by
scholars, writers, authors based on their understanding, background,
orientation etc..
(Eyieyere 2002)
argues that the word “Government” refers to the whole machinery or system
through which a country is ruled. He
maintains that such a system usually develop out of people’s historical,
experience, culture, customs or common practice. Sometimes, the term government is used to
refer to a group of people who hold and wield the instrument of power with
which a given country is ruled or governed as the case may be.
Jordan (1985),
defines government as the management, direction and control of the public
affairs of a given social group or unit.
It is further argued that government is at once a process, a structure
and idea.
Invariably, as a
process, government is the art of process of governing. Then as a structure, it is viewed as an
organization or institution.
Finally, as an idea, government
is perceived as an academic field of study or a discipline.
In another
instance, government could mean a group of people that governs a community or
unit. The group is usually charged with
responsibilities of setting and administering policies and exercising
executive, political power through customs, institutions and laws.
Government could
also been seen as an institution that makes and enforces policies for and on
business organization and society at large.
Ezezue (2011)
opines that there are many policies that affect business activities in
Nigeria. Some of these policies put in
place by the Nigerian government to regulate business activities are; Business Name Act 1961, Exchange Control Act,
1962, Immigration Act 1963, the Companies and Allied Matter Decree 1968 (CAMA
1990), the industrial training fund (ITF) decree 1971, price control decree
1979, patent and design decree 1979, Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) act
1971, the Nigerian enterprises promotion decree (NEPA 1973 and 1983); National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Acts 1989 and 1997 respectively, and a lot
of others. All these and other polices were put in place
by the government of Nigeria to protect lives through health and ethical
business practices and activities.
2.2 Theoretical Framework
So many
theories abound in government policy.
However, for the purpose of this research study, the Elite Theory is
adopted. Dlakwa, (2008) argued that the
Elite theory has been developed by Gaetano Mosca, Wilfredo Pareto, Robert
Michel and Ortega Gasset as a complement to conflict theory and pluralism.
This
theory posits that contrary to the belief that pluralism has in-built mechanism
for ensuring equity in the share of power and influence in the society, in
reality government policies are by and large the mirror image of the ruling
elite’s interest.
Wilfredo
Pareto in his book “Mind and Society” argues that persons of ability actively
seek to confirm and aggrandize their social position. The Elite group is divided into governing and
non-governing ones. These few that
possess unique qualities such as skills, material wealth, cunning and
intelligence have the rights to supreme leadership, while the bulk of the
population (Masses) is destined to be ruled.
Thus social classes are formed.
2.2.1 Policy Making Process In Nigeria
The
dominant feature of policy making process in Nigeria is the principle of
Federal Supremacy which is a constitutional conditionality in Nigeria. Under the constitution, the federal
government is expected to provide the overall direction and leadership in the
planning process from the formulation stage through the implantation and
evaluation stages. The decision making
under the federal supremacy principles requires the National Economic Council,
which is presided by the Vice President, to advice the president concerning the
economic affairs of the federation, and in particular, on measures necessary
for the co-ordination of economic activities of Nigeria - this also involves
all business activities.
2.2.2 Actors Involved In Policy Making In
Nigeria
Policy in any given country is being directed
by both government and non-governmental bodies.
These institutions constituted themselves as actors in policy making
process. For us to vividly look at these
actors, we adopted the works of Ikelegbe (1996) who sum the actors as follows:
The Governmental Actors
a)
The
Legislative Bodies:
Legislative influence over policy range from its initiation and
formulation to its implementation, control and review.
The influence over policy
emanates from the legislative function of representation and expression of
popular opinion, law making, control and oversight of the executive branch and
control of expenditure. The legislators
represent the citizenry and therefore articulate and aggregate citizenry
interests and demands by initiating and formulating policy proposals in the
legislature.
b)
The
Executive: The executive here refers specifically to the chief executive,
cabinet, top political officials, advisers and assistants. The executive has responsibility and power
for the implementation of policies.
c)
The
Judiciary: This refers to the body of judges and courts that interpret the
constitution and the laws and adjudicates conflicts and crises between the
various institutions of government, groups, individuals and business
organizations. The judiciary also posses the power of judicial review through
which they could examine and determine the constitutionality of legislature,
executive and bureaucratic actions and policies.
The Bureaucracy: In the modem world, the
bureaucracy is a major organizational context, within which policy making,
implementation and evaluation takes place.
So important is the bureaucratic input in the policy process that the
concepts of administrative policy making and bureaucratic policy system have
become common place in policy studies. for complete project material, visit www.researchshelf.com
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