RUNNING HEAD: DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIRMS

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Abstract

The current world of business is facing stiff competing in their operations leaving them with no option but to come up with new strategies. In this research, two firms from Africa will be considered in an effort to find out the challenges they are undergoing.

Currently, the Vodafone communication provider which operates in South Africa and Telecom Orange Company in Kenya, have been experiencing various challenges pose great threat their monopoly in those countries. The hindrances to their expansion could be explained from the basis of political, social and ethical issues among many other factors as we shall see in the discussion.

The challenges being experienced by the two firms are similar in many ways ranging from a drop in the number of subscribers and reduction in their coverage area. One of the main challenges they have been facing is competition from other similar firms.

Discussion

The Vodafone of South Africa has its roots from the United Kingdom while the Telecom Orange firm in Kenya by France. The two communication companies have been enjoying monopoly for a long time leading to increase in sales and profits. This saw them command a greater network through their efficient and qualified personnel coupled with excellent customer care services.

The current survey conducted on the two firms however indicates a fall in the annual earning due to various related factors (Matthew 23). The statistics collected from the communities indicate that the inclusion of other companies which offered better services at a cheaper price made them break their loyalty. They considered the two companies as being exploitative. It is therefore the social issues of the two companies that led to their loss in popularity.

The other main challenge to the two firms is that in both countries, there has been an increase in the number of companies offering similar services leading to further competition. They have therefore been forced to lower their calling rates which have the effect on their annual income.

Political instability in Kenya for instance in 2007 post-election violence led to the drop in the amount of profits for the Telecom Orange Company. Another major challenge emanates from exorbitant income taxes that the two firms are expected to pay to those countries. This therefore causes an increase in the cost of production while at the same time causing a reduction in the net profits.

Ethical issues have also been the major threats to the two companies as they have been blamed for the increase in the level of crimes. Lack of proper registration of the information of their subscribers has been used to encourage theft. There have been kidnaps for instance in both countries where those committing are never brought to justice because they can not be traced. The two companies have therefore been facing a increased pressure to force them consider fresh registration of their clients to increase security.

Is the International Court of Justice the first world court?

The international criminal court could be said to be the first court established which has the power to hear matters concerning the infringement on human rights on any one regardless of the country they come from (Rosenne, 2003).It was established in around 1946 to in order to prosecute those that their governments would not let stand in the court of justice. This was to ensure that even the most prominent people in the government could be held accountable for their actions.

What are the procedures of the World Court? Are they similar to any U.S. court?

One of the procedures is first of all to receive the case and it is examined and analyzed to see whether it qualified to be tried at this high level (Simic, 2009). The case must be related to civil issues for it to be tried here. The next step that is taken is by the court is to send its own investigators to the country where human rights have been infringed. They however have to be allowed to continue with their activities by the government of such a country. They gather information from many sources including the citizens. Once the investigation is out, they return to awaiting further analysis of the information gathered (Brownlie, 2008). Finally, they may issue a statement that they want the instigators arrested and taken to The Hague for trial. The only similarity with the United States courts is that both follow the general rule of law. However, the difference is the US has limited jurisdiction on matters of justice.

What is an advisory opinion?

This is an opinion that is issued by the court but which has no power to lead to any prosecutions. It is only an advice that the court can issue to the government or an individual on legal matters but which may not be necessarily used in making the final decision.

Reference

Matthew, L (2008). Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition. New York, New York McGraw-Hill

International Court of Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2009, from HYPERLINK “http://www.un.int/chile/Corteintenglish” http://www.un.int/chile/Corteintenglish

Simic, I. (2009, August 28). Failures of international law and the security council’s tyranny. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from the KurdishMedia Web site: HYPERLINK “http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15971” http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15971

Brownlie, J. (2008). Principles of Public International Law. New Jersey. Inc

Rosenne S. (2003). the world court: what it is and how it works 6th ed. USA.