Abstract
In the present paper, the issue of the existential individualism is explored from the perspective of its evolution in philosophical thoughts of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre. Various aspects of philosophers’ perception of the individual in the universe are compared and evaluative conclusions made. The main philosophical categories used for research include self-cognition and self-awareness, free will and freedom of choice, limits and control of free will, motivation and responsibility, value systems and clash of individual interests.
The combined notion of the existential individual is given, and its placement in the framework of the modern art and popular culture is described. Typological distinction of existential individuals is also given.
Key words: existential individual, free will, values, freedom of choice, self-awareness.
Evolution of the Existential Individual: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre
Humanity has been always looking for the answers to numerous questions disturbing its mind through the centuries of self-examination, attempts to comprehend nature and the universe surrounding it. At certain points answers were so obvious and almost tangible, at others far as stars in the night sky. While discourses and types of questions changed through epochs, the essence of them may be summarized in two simple questions, ones written by ancient Slavs in their book of wisdom “Book of Veles” – “Who we are, and where are we going to?”. Each epoch and its philosophers had their own answer to those questions. Those answers were conditioned by the time and stage of human civilization. There were times when people were considered descendants of Gods, and that their destinies were predicted and controlled by higher forces. In other times, people were slaves of a single God and their lives were nothing but a suffering and penance for sins. There were also times when the human mind and spirit were liberated from the conditionality of divine power and were given free will and self-consciousness. The epoch of the Enlightenment gave human civilization a new image of the human being – the existentialist individual. When the existential individual was born, a new stage in human self-perception has begun. The image of the existential individual is present through the whole history of both XXth and XXIst centuries. If the first part of the eternal question can be answered by the notion of the individual, the second one can be comprehended only through analysis of the notion evolution and formation. The central idea of the present research is to analyze how the existential perception of the individual had evolved and examine its place in contemporaneity. With this regard, development of the existential approach to the individual is explored through the analysis of three existential philosophical thoughts, represented by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre. The structure of the present research consists of comparison of various aspects of philosophers’ perception of the individual from the evolutionary perspective. In other words, development of the thought is tracked from Kierkegaard, than to Nietzsche and eventually to Sartre as a final definition of the existential individual. In the end of the research, contemporary framework of existential individual is outlined and appropriate conclusions given.
Characteristic feature of existentialism is in prevalence of real life over afterlife, rejecting with classical thoughts of the Middle Ages. The supreme divinity became no longer the main driving force and motive of human activity, and a human being finally gained independence, free will and opportunity to choose (Solomon, 2005). The aim of the present research is not to describe only what the existential individual looks like, but to analyze his development and gaining strength as an image of the future. The first criterion to track this evolution is the self-awareness, as characteristic feature of existentialism. Human being is no longer seen as dependant element of the social or religious system, which has no rights or should subordinate to higher authority. According to Kierkegaard, cognition of universe is possible through the exploration of inner self; through self-cognition the individual is able to comprehend the universe and his place in it (Walsh, 2009). The reason why Kierkegaard is considered to be the first stage of existentialism is that he still uses divinity in the name of God as superiority over the individual. For Kierkegaard, an ideal embodiment of the individual is Abraham from the Bible. Subsequently, individual’s self-awareness and cognition result from surrendering his individuality to God and regaining it through faith (Golomb, 1995). In this context, self cognition and exploration of individuality are experienced through self-sacrifice and expectation of further reward. This reminds greatly of classic Christian submission. In fact, Kierkegaard’s philosophy is transitional between the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, due to the presence of God and blind faith in it. On the other hand, it contributes to the development of free will and self-awareness, distinctive feature of existentialism (Walsh, 2009). The main difference between existentialism and Middle Ages philosophy is that the individual is not obliged to act in a certain way, he is the one to decide what he wants to do and why. It does not matter if he decides to follow God’s will; the essence is that he was the one who made the decision. The process of decision-making, in this context, was not found in God’s voice, but in the inner self of the individual. Abraham was looking for the answer in himself, his will to establish his individuality in the action which might have been considered insane by the rest o the world. Thus, the free individual for Kierkegaard is a “knight of faith” (Golomb, 1995).
On the ground of Kierkegaard’s attempt to separate the individual from the religious and social realms, Nietzsche and Sartre proceeded to the “radical” self-exploration and self-awareness. Unlike Kierkegaard, Nietzsche considered God irrelevant in self exploration and made origins of moral bias the essence of self-exploration. According to Nietzsche, individual’s self-exploration rises from evaluation of moralities and comprehension of values (Nabais, 2006). In this context, moral bias of master and slavery moralities, with which individual can recognize himself, appears. While slavery moral is compulsory and dictated, only a master morality can be positive for the individual’s development. The master morality is based on free will and comprehension of the universe through the inner self and place of the individual in it (Solomon, 2005). Unlike Kierkegaard, Nietzsche emphasizes presence of the third party, but not a divine one. He also developed a transitional morality of mores, which corresponds to legal, administrative and social norms, prescribed to the individual by society. Nietzsche denied supremacy of this morality in the individual’s development; it served only one purpose – to elaborate a master from a slave. In case of Nietzsche, individual morality is superior to social (Golomb, 1995).
Sartre can be considered the final stage of the existentialist individual development, because he applied systematic approach to his philosophic thought. First of all, referring to the individual in his philosophy, he addressed not only a single person but humanity in general. Thus, the individual/ humanity should search for the answer in itself, but in direct connection with universe and its impact on it (Flynn, 2005). If Nietzsche proclaimed twilight of gods, Sartre had confirmed their death. According to him, human behavior can be motivated either by divinity or free will; there are no half measures possible. The answers to all questions are inside the individual/humanity. This is another difference between Nietzsche and Sartre, the first one was pessimistic about humanity in general, and self-conscious individual was seen as uniqueness and a hero of his time; while the second believed that every man is capable of equal self-awareness and comprehension and that each individual should gain full responsibility for his existence in respect to other individuals and the universe (Nabais, 2006; Flynn, 2005).
Another criterion for comparison is a correlation between source of fee will and its control. All three philosophers agreed that the main source of free will and human activity is inside the individual and is conditioned by the degree of self-perception and awareness. On the other hand, the source or inner strength, richness of the inner world were different. According to Kierkegaard, this conditionality developed from the union of the individual with God and essence of revelation (Walsh, 2009). Further, Nietzsche and Sartre derived the source of free will from the individual’s value system. According to Nietzsche, free individual is the one whose values are originated in his own value system, and his actions do not depend on needs and desires of surrounding environment or other individuals (Nabais, 2006). While Kierkegaard considered that absolute freedom can be gained through surrender to divinity, Nietzsche suggested that it can be reached exclusively beyond universal level of morality - supralevel, which can be developed only by the individual (Nabais, 2006). Contrasting with those suggestions, Sartre considered that free will of the individual can exist only if his values system is based on it. If the individual prefers material substitutions for freedom, he cannot posses free will and implications of choice (Flynn, 2005).
From the perspective of free will origins, the evolution of human consciousness can be tracked. At the first stage, there was inconsistent belief in a fantastic origin of the inner self and place of the third party in it. Gradually, belief was substituted by denial of any external factors in the free will rising, and then it became the reason for itself. This reminds of Christian religion – first there was fantastic resurrection, than denial of other religious believes like pagans, and then existence of the religion for itself. This comparison is not an attempt to elevate existentialism to the level of one of the world religions, but to show that human thinking on various matters remains relatively the same, and evolution of any thought goes through those stages.
Except for origins of free will it needs control. Nothing can exist in the universe without its limits. While Kierkegaard considered God the main limitation of human will, Nietzsche suggested that on the universal level the free will is limited by universal order, but when it reaches the level of the highest potential it goes to a the level exceeding universal boundaries. Nietzsche believed in the supremacy of human potential over all conditionality of existing limits, either social or universal, but this potential of unstoppable free will was a gift of the chosen individuals who were beyond normality and commonness (Nabais, 2006). From the modern perspective, such idea might seem discriminative, but what he meant was a potential given by birth, and rather intellectual ability than physical features. In other words, his approach can be applicable for the small percentage of gifted individuals or geniuses, whose existence is undeniable (Nabais, 2006).
Unlike Nietzsche, Sartre was referring to humanity in general. He was quite altruistic in his belief in human potential. As it was mentioned before, he believed all individuals are capable of favoring free will entirely. The controlling element of free will and its exercising is the individual himself, his comprehension of the consequences of his decisions in the form of personal responsibility. The individual is responsible not only for himself, but also for other individuals and the universe around him; this particularly refers to decisions which effect third parties (Solomon, 2005). Sartre managed to give the evolution of the existential individual complete and final character by inserting it into the system of interpersonal and inter-environmental interactions. This, in its turn, contributed to the consideration of cause-effect relations of individual decision as an integral system (Flynn, 2005).
Overall, the existential individual, through the process of abstracting of his free will from divinity and reaching deeper into himself, can be characterized as an individual with high self-awareness and self-perception, which is not conditioned by environmental and social influences. The source of his freedom of choice is derived from his values system based on free will as an essential need and reason for action. This individual is independent in his decision-making, and his actions can be controlled only by his inner consciousness of right and wrong, influence on other people and universe in general. Cause-effect relation of individual decision-making process is a distinctive feature of the existential individual. Unlike the Middle Ages, there is no predisposition of an individual to follow a prescribed path, either in profession, or personal life of moral values (Solomon, 2005). Fate and destiny are no longer ruling the life of the existential individual. He is the master of his own life and since he does not depend on anyone, he is entirely autonomous in his decision-making and dealing with consequences. The main cause for all human activity is the individual’s inner motives and system of moral values. In ideal, the main values of the existential individual should be freedom, and in most of the cases it is, when referred to personal freedom. On the other hand, when free wills of two individual’s clash, whose will is right and good? According to Sartre both free wills are good and right from the perspective of each individual; clash with other free wills cannot be seen other than clash of two good and righteous wills (Flynn, 2005).
For further exploration of the existential individual placement in the contemporary intellectual and artistic trends, it would be essential to make distinction between entirely evolved image of existential individual applicable to all humanity as it was above and Nietzsche’s selected existential individual, who refers to the limited percentage of genial people and hero symbols. This type of existential individual can be characterized by asocial behavior and alienation from society or certain spheres like public relations, politics or social goodness, etc. From the perspective of the existential development, such individual could not evolve to the social stage described by Sartre, and remained on the alienated stage of Nietzsche’s philosophy. This is conditioned by abnormal abilities and potential such individuals posses, and inability of society and other individuals to accept them (Nabais, 2006). According to Nietzsche, those existential individuals are strong enough to live that way due to the eternal struggle with tribal instinct of unification and the preciousness of their gift – ownership of themselves. In respect to this, he wrote the following:
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the
tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is
too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself” (as cited in Golomb, 1995, p. 67).
From the mentioned above distinction, it would be appropriate to analyze presence of both types of existential individual in the modern artistic trends. First of all, it should be outlined that both types are present in the contemporary intellectual and artistic field. Existentialism as philosophical thought did not cease to exist but transformed into post-existentialism or postmodern existentialism, evolving with other philosophical thoughts such as feminism, represented by Judith Butler and her development of queer theory and nature of gender and sexuality. For this research further development of existential theory is of a little interest. Piles of books were written in the topic, it is essential to see how two images of existential individuals are implemented in practices of the real life.
The common existential individuals are seen on regular basis on screen and in books, sometimes in the real life. It should be mentioned that nowadays heroes are far from conditionality of positive-negative bias. Their characteristics become more based on concrete life situations rather than general, social or moral opinions about their deeds. Human life and personal experiences are no longer seen as blessing of higher divinity but as a cause-effect relation of their decisions and circumstances under which those decisions were made. People’s and artists’ attention became more direct inside rather than outside of a human being. In fiction and movies, more often, the inner world of a person is shown rather than supernatural forces causing it.
How modern mass production artists depict the freedom of choice is of particular interest. The most expressive example might be movie “Troy”, where famous Trojan War is depicted from the modern perspective of existential individualism, rather than the classic Greek philosophy. Although authenticity of the rituals and certain garments is remarkable, the message of the film is far from authentic. Instead of showing bloodshed and conflict between two warrior egos, the struggle between two individuals’ free wills was described. Hector and Achilles are the most remarkable examples of artistic depiction of the existential individuals in the modern film art. They both had their own motives to fight each other; their decisions were conditioned by previous cause-effect relation and personal meaning of goodness and justice; no one, irrespective of status and authority, could influence their free wills. The most essential thing was that they both denied participation of gods in their lives, and did not believe that they could influence human freedom of choice. The example of this film was chosen because it depicts modern – existential perception of reality in the XXst century, where existential individuals are almost real. On the other hand, “Troy” is a bright example of how ancient philosophy/mythology is interpreted nowadays, meaning that even initially non-existential matters such as Greek mythology, where gods ruled the universe, are shown from the lens of the existential individualism. The final reason why a film was chosen as art is because it shows popular or common perception of the issues which correspond to the common type of existential individualism depicted by Sartre.
Since it can be concluded that the common existential individualism is present in common social consciousness of mass culture, where is the place for the existential individual described by Nietzsche? This type is embodied in two imageries both in real and fiction realms – heroes/antiheroes and geniuses. Both heroes and antiheroes are described beyond bias of good or evil characteristics in their motives, they both act from the point of personal or common goodness. Both are alienated from society because of their need to keep their secrets safe. Their social interactions come to minimum. While hero character or real person usually suffers from the messiah complex, antihero is driven by personal revenge or profit interest, in both cases actions are aimed to satisfy personal, inner needs. Transition from one state into another is also common. When matters are beyond good and evil, the line to cross is barely visible. Another group, which entirely fits Nietzsche’s abnormal individualism, are geniuses. Leonardo Da Vinci, Beethoven, Einstein and Nietzsche himself were alienated from an active social life. They could not be accepted entirely due to the nature of their intellectual abilities and supra-potential which exceeded normal limits of the individual. Just as Nietzsche wrote, those individuals come to life to show their potential but to keep their inner self to themselves (Nabais, 2006).
Overall, the existential individualism is worth studying for a better comprehension of the modern philosophy and practical implementation of the previous thoughts in contemporary art, both popular and intellectual. Evolution of the existential individual and its embodiment in the modernity show the development of common human consciousness and diversity in perception of the same issues by various people. This research also contributes to comprehension of the essence of entire epoch in human history. XXth and the beginning of XXIst centuries can be characterized as epoch of free will proclamation and implementation. It can be justly called the epoch of existentialism and supremacy of realism over idealism. The reality is beyond good and evil, it is somewhere in between, and human beings should determine where they are, in order to know where they are going to.
References
Flynn, T.R. (2005). Sartre at One Hundred-A Man of the Nineteenth Century Addressing the
Twenty-First? Sartre Studies International, 11(1-2), 1-21.
Golomb, J. (1995). In Search of Authenticity: Existentialism From Kierkegaard to Camus
(Problems of Modern European Thought). London, LD: Routledge.
Nabais, N. (2006). Nietzsche and the Metaphysics of the Tragedy. (E.Martin, Trans.). New
York, NY: Continuum International.
Solomon, R.C. (2005). Existentialism. Oxford, OX: Oxford University Press.
Walsh, S. (2009). Kierkegaard: thinking Christianly in an existential mode. Oxford, OX:
Oxford University Press.
четвер, 25 серпня 2011 р.
Realism in Libya
In early 2011, a wave of popular protests swept the Arab world, toppling dictatorial regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and sparking a civil war in Libya.
The Libyan conflict began with a popular protest: on February 15-16, 2011, Libyan police forcefully dispersed a sit-in protest demanding “the release of a lawyer representing the families of prisoners gunned down in a Tripoli prison in 1996” (France-Presse, “Revolt”, para. “February 15-16”). The next day, demonstrators on the popular social networking site Facebook called for “’A Day of Rage’ against Muammar Qaddafi’s regime” (France-Presse, para. “February 17”). Thereafter, events escalated quickly, as a wave of protest became the groundswell of a popular uprising: in five days, the demonstrators had seized control of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the country’s second-largest (Kirkpatrick and El-Naggar para. 1). In those five days alone, protests swept Libya, reaching all the way to the capital of Tripoli (para. 1). Also on February 20 came reports that Gaddafi was using mercenaries from other African nations to bolster his own security forces, in a crackdown that was already claiming a considerable body count (France-Press “Revolt” para. “February 20”).
Even as the uprising gained momentum in those February days, Gaddafi’s regime was undermined from within by high-level defections: France-Presse reported that “Libya’s envoy to the Arab League says he quit to ‘join the revolution’”; the next day, February 21, “Tripoli’s ambassador to Delhi [India]” and “a diplomat in Beijing” also defected (“Revolt” paras. “February 20”-“February 21”). As early as February 23, Black reported that “damaging defections by senior regime figures and key military commanders and units” were leaving Gaddafi “increasingly isolated” (para. 1). According to Libyan and Arab sources, “the biggest blow to Gaddafi so far… [was] the defection of his interior minister and veteran loyalist, Abdel-Fatah Younes al-Obeidi, who called on the army… to ‘serve the people and support the revolution and its legitimate demands’” (para. 6). Moreover, tribal groups, notably “tribes in the Azzintan and Nalut areas” in the west of the country, also deserted Gaddafi (para. 5). According to Black, “Benghazi and much of the east of the country have now been lost to the government”, with protests erupting in Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city, located in western Libya on the Gulf of Sirte (between Tripoli and Gaddafi’s own birthplace, the town of Sirte) (para. 3). Black wrote that “violence was reported in Sebrata and Zawiya… also in western Libya and closer to Tripoli” (para. 3).
An increasingly-beleaguered Gaddafi responded with promises of retribution: he would “execute his enemies and fight to the ‘last drop’ of his blood,”; he would “purge Libya ‘house by house’ and ‘inch by inch’” (Barker paras. 1-2). Meanwhile, Barker wrote, rebels in the west of the country were actively destroying all symbols of the hated dictator, even as reports from the east indicated that “government troops have openly defied the regime and joined the protestors in raising the old pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag” (paras. 3-5, 7). The dictator’s efforts to put down the uprising with military force by bombing Benghazi were set at naught when “the crew bailed out of the aircraft after taking off from Tripoli” (para. 8).
By early March, however, the initially meteoric success of the resistance was quickly giving way to a tooth-and-nail struggle between the rebels and Gaddafi’s paramilitary security forces and African mercenaries (NewsCore para. 7). The death toll continued to mount as “battles between troops loyal to… Gaddafi and rebel forces seesawed back and forth in both eastern and western parts of the country” (para. 7). On March 6, NewsCore reported that “at the same time as renewed fighting erupted, the self-proclaimed national council—the opposition’s newly formed government—held its first formal meeting in… Benghazi” (para. 9). The rebellion now had the beginnings of its own government, and not a moment too soon: although M&C New reported on March 11th that the rebels “claimed victory in the northern central town of Ras Lanuf”, “there were reports that Gaddafi’s troops were staging a counter-attack and that the fight for the town… was far from over” (paras. 1-2). Within days came reports that Gaddafi’s forces had reversed many, even most, of the rebels’ gains: on March 13th France-Presse reported that “Libyan rebels… retreated from another key town [Brega] under heavy shelling… as Moamer Khadhafi loyalists swept closer towards the main opposition-held city of Benghazi” (“Gaddafi” para. 1). With the recapture of Brega, Gaddafi’s forces were poised to strike at Ajdabiya, “the last rebel-held town before Benghazi”, and from Ajdabiya “there is also a straight desert road to the oil port of Tobruk” (paras. 7-8).
But just when Gaddafi seemed poised to stamp out the rebellion and restore his grasp on power, NATO intervened, bombarding Gaddafi’s emplacements and imposing a no-fly zone. As Abbas reported on March 19th, even as “Gaddafi’s troops… pushed into the outskirts of Benghazi,” French president Sarkozy “said an operation supported by France, Britain, the United States and Canada, and backed by Arab nations, was halting air attacks by Gaddafi’s forces and would continue unless the Libyan leader ceased fire” (paras. 1, 4). Gaddafi was quick to denounce this as “’colonial, crusader’ aggression” and issue a renewed call to his supporters to take up arms in order “’to defend the independence, unity and honor of Libya’” (paras. 4-5). The stated aim of this allied intervention was to halt Gaddafi’s attacks on civilians, in accordance with a resolution of the UN Security Council (Golovnina and Georgy sec. “Necessary Means” paras. 1-2). In the words of British Prime Minister David Cameron, “’Colonel Gaddafi has made this happen… We cannot allow the slaughter of civilians to continue’” (para. 3). U.S. President Obama also stated that the intervention was “’an international effort to protect Libyan civilians’”, and that the U.S. was “acting in support of allies, who would lead the enforcement of a no-fly zone to stop Gaddafi’s attacks on rebels” (“U.S. Says” paras. 3-4). Moreover, President Obama repeatedly insisted that “’we will not deploy any U.S. troops on the ground’” (para. 4). Indeed, France and the UK, rather than the U.S., took “a lead role in pushing for international intervention in Libya” (para. 1).
These, then, are the three key players in the Libyan Civil War: Gaddafi and his loyalists, the resistance, now led by its National Council in Benghazi, and the NATO effort. The Libyan dictator has made it amply clear that he will do literally anything to cling to power and destroy the resistance: as seen, he has already tried massacres. The resistance’s interim National Council, on the other hand, has articulated its “vision for rebuilding the democratic state of Libya”, a plan that calls for “a modern, free and united state”, with legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, suffrage for all Libyans of voting age, political, religious and cultural pluralism, and guaranteed freedom of expression (Guardian paras. 1-9). Although NATO’s stated aim was the protection of Libyan civilians, and not the overthrow of Gaddafi per se, on March 7th Fisk reported that the U.S. had “asked Saudi Arabia if it can supply weapons to the rebels in Benghazi” (para. 1). On June 29th, Pineau and Irish reported that “France provided weapons, munitions and food to Libyan rebels in the Western Mountains in early June to prevent troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from overrunning the region” (para. 1). Clearly, the allied powers have an active interest in not only bringing the conflict to an end, but also assuring that it ends with the downfall of Gaddafi’s regime.
The international relations theories of neorealism, neoliberalism, and neoconservatism offer widely-divergent analyses of the Libyan conflict. A cardinal tenet of Waltz’s neorealism is that systems, such as political systems, “are composed of a structure and their [own] interacting units” (Elman 13). According to Waltz, “political structures have three elements: an ordering principle (anarchic or hierarchical), the character of the units (functionally alike or differentiated), and the distribution of capabilities” (Waltz, ctd. in Elman 13). From the neorealist perspective, the ordering principle of the international system is “anarchy, and the principle of self-help means that all of the units remain functionally alike” (13). This leaves but a single structural variable, namely the “distribution of capabilities, with the main distinction falling between multipolar and bipolar systems” (13). For Waltz, the conventional Realist explanations of a Hobbesian human nature and “state interests in a condition of anarchy” were inadequate: his argument was that it was “the international system itself which compels states to preserve their security by constantly building up their power” (Burchill, ctd. in Daddow 94).
This neorealist emphasis on state security by means of the constant accrual of power suggests a ready analysis of the Libyan conflict on many levels: for Gaddafi, the preservation of his regime (by any measure a despotic and repressive one), necessitated coercive, repressive measures. Faced with a groundswell of popular opposition sweeping his country, and undermined by high-profile defections from within his regime, the Libyan dictator responded by rallying his supporters and attempting to quash the resistance with massacres. For the neorealist, NATO’s intervention might demonstrate the neorealist concept of state competition: either states “calculate how to act to their best advantage”, or they fail to do so and are “selected out of the system” (Elman 13). Another state behavioral paradigm is the concept of established norms: “states can decide to follow norms because they calculate it to their advantage or because the norms become internalized” (13). Gaddafi’s Libya has long been seen as a ‘rogue state’, with the dictator’s support of terrorism—notably the “bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988” (News-Basics para. “Qaddafi and Terrorism”). Gaddafi has competed in ways that have left him isolated—at least until his about-face after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when “he publicly renounced terrorism, and paid nearly $3 billion to the families of the Pan Am 103 victims” (para. “Qaddafi and Terrorism”). His heavy-handed response to the rebellion gave the allied powers the rationale they needed to seek his downfall; however, mindful of painful lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. was careful to stress its own supporting role, and promised not to send in ground troops—thereby seeking advantage against Gaddafi without engendering the risks of another protracted ground war in the Islamic world.
Neoliberalism offers points of similarity to neorealism, with its principles of states as the “primary units of analysis”; the concept of states as “rational-unitary actors”, and the anarchical international system (Leonard 76). However, there are three other foundational principles of neoliberalism: the idea that “complementary interests exist among states, therefore cooperation is possible”; that “relative gains are conditional”, and that “hegemony is not a necessary factor for cooperation” (76). The main difference, as Leonard explains, is that “realist thought is a power-based theory, while neoliberalism is interest-based” (76). As Daddow explains, the cardinal advance of neoliberalism over conventional liberalism was “the concept of international regimes”, not only “international organizations such as the EU but also… the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)… more basic international economic agreements that helped shape and regulate state behavior” (p. 97). For neoliberals, these international regimes and institutions “not only facilitate co-operation but help states make more rational choices about the outcomes of their cooperation because states involved in these institutions are both less likely and less able to cheat by reneging on commitments” (98). A key principle here is the concept of absolute vs. relative gains: for the neorealist, “the relative place of states within the international system” is truly foundational to any consideration of state behavior (98). Put another way, “states will be wary of cooperating if they fear other states may benefit more than they do” (98).
For the neoliberal, the Libyan Civil War demonstrates these international regimes consummately. Gaddafi’s reluctance to abide by international regimes during the 1970s and 1980s can be readily explained by referencing Cold War politics: he engaged in asymmetrical warfare with his terrorist attacks as a means of securing a relative place for Libya in the international system, one that would keep it out of the entangling orbits of either major superpower, the U.S. or the USSR. Gaddafi’s actions against his own people violated key tenets of international regimes on the rights of citizens and the acceptable uses of force by governments and, given his long-standing history, it is small wonder indeed that NATO has sought to aid the rebellion against him. The allies, by contrast, demonstrate the neoliberal concept of an international regime: cooperation in the interests of removing a dictator who has long been a thorn in the collective side of the West and of other Arab leaders, especially the Saudi royals—given that Gaddafi attempted to kill the Saudi king Abdullah in 2010 (Fisk para. 1).
Finally, neoconservatism, a “strictly American” theory of international relations, consists of both “a power strand and a moral strand”: as Rhoades explains, the neoconservatives argue for “the maintenance of American power” in a unipolar world system—and to this they add the moral argument that this state of affairs is good for the world (14, 17-19). For neoconservatives, American power carries with it the responsibility to “face down the international ‘nasties,’ if for no other reason than because we are the only nation that can” (19). For the neoconservative, “only the Western powers have the moral capacity to responsibly police the globe” (19). From this, it might seem that the Libyan intervention is a neoconservative’s dream scenario: the U.S. and its allies facing down yet another rogue dictator, a dictator attempting to brutally quash a popular pro-democracy movement, no less. The Libyan intervention would seem to accord with the most foundational tenets of neoconservatism: the moral responsibility that the U.S. has to take action against a tyrant in order to secure democracy. However, the Libyan intervention is not the kind of U.S.-led, largely unilateral enterprise that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq under George W. Bush were: it is multilateral, and neoconservatives distrust multilateralism intensely (Rhoades 22). Moreover, it comes at a time when the economic and military capabilities of the United States are already severely strained, due to the recession and the effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thus, for the neoconservative, the NATO intervention is not an effective demonstration of American power acting in the capacity of benevolent hegemon: rather, it is an acquiescence to multilateralism, a tacit sign of American weakness that bodes ill for an Americo-centric international order.
Over the course of the summer, the Libyan Civil War was largely considered a stalemate, a situation unpalatable to neoliberals, neorealists, and neoconservatives alike (Humphrey para. 1). Since late July, however, new reports indicate that the resistance may be recovering its momentum, with advances “along the Nafusa Mountains, west of Misrata, and even into Brega” in the east (para. 1). Still more recently, Al-Jazeera reported a “two-pronged (rebel) offensive in Western Libya”, with promising signs that the rebels may be able to sever Gaddafi’s supply lines (paras. 1-5). Al-Jazeera also reported indications that Gaddafi’s forces may be weakening, while popular support for the rebellion within Gaddafi-occupied areas remains strong (para. 10). And according to Beatty, “an imprisoned Libyan army colonel who surrendered to the rebel forces two months ago” said that Gaddafi’s regime “is riven with division and in the process of collapse” (para. 1). All of these signs point to the triumph of the Libyan rebels and Gaddafi’s ouster: Gaddafi has lost many key bases of support, many high-ranking officials, much of his offensive capabilities and no small amount of his country. It seems increasingly likely that the Libyan people will finally succeed in overthrowing their long-reigning tyrant.
Works Cited
Abbas, Mohammed. “Allied planes fly over Libya; Gaddafi hits Benghazi.” In.Reuters.com.
Reuters, 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Al-Jazeera. “Libyan opposition launches new offensive.” English.Aljazeera.net. Al-Jazeera, 14
Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Barker, Anne. “Time running out for cornered Gaddafi.” ABC.net.au. ABC News, 24 Feb. 2011.
Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Beatty, Andrew. “Ex-Kadhafi colonel says regime crumbling.” AFP. AFP, 13 Aug. 2011. Web.
14 Aug. 2011.
Black, Ian. “Gaddafi isolated in Tripoli bolthole.” Guardian.co.uk. Guardian, 23 Feb. 2011.
Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Daddow, Oliver. International Relations Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Ltd.,
2009. Print.
Elman, Colin. “Realism.” International Relations Theory for the Twenty-first Century: An
Introduction. Ed. Martin Griffiths. New York: Routledge, 2007. 11-20. Print.
Fisk, Robert. “America’s secret plan to arm Libya’s rebels.” Independent.co.uk. Independent, 7
Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
France-Presse, Agence. “Gaddafi forces advance closer to rebel capital.” Rawstory.com. Raw
Story, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
---. “Revolt in Libya: the timeline.” TheNational.ae. The National, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Aug.
2011.
Golovnina, Maria, and Michael Georgy. “Western warplanes, missiles hit Libyan targets.”
In.Reuters.com. Reuters, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Guardian. “A vision of a democratic Libya.” Guardian.co.uk. The Guardian, 29 Mar. 2011. Web.
14 Aug. 2011.
Humphrey, Shawn. “Libya Civil War: Diplomats Debate Goals, Rebel Recognition.”
News.Yahoo.com. Yahoo! News, 22 Jul. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Kirkpatrick, David D., and Mona El-Naggar. “Qadafi’s Son Warns of Civil War as Libyan
Protests Widen.” NYTimes.com. New York Times, 20 February 2011. Web. 14 Aug.
2011.
Leonard, Eric K. The Onset of Global Governance: International Relations Theory and the
International Criminal Court. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2005.
Print.
M&C News. “Rebels claim victory in Libya’s northern Ras Lanuf.” Monstersandcritics.com.
M&C News, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
News-Basics. “Libya.” News-Basics.com. News-Basics, 14 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
NewsCore. “Ferocious battles in Libya as national council meets for first time.” News.com.au.
NewsCore, 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Pineau, Elizabeth, and John Irish. “France provided weapons, food to Libya rebels.”
Reuters.com. Reuters, 29 Jun. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Rhoades, Matthew C. Neoconservatism: Beliefs, the Bush Administration, and the Future. Diss.
University of Kansas, 2003. Kansas City, MO: 2008. Print.
Spencer, Richard. “Libya: civil war breaks out as Gaddafi mounts rearguard fight.”
Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph, 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
The Libyan conflict began with a popular protest: on February 15-16, 2011, Libyan police forcefully dispersed a sit-in protest demanding “the release of a lawyer representing the families of prisoners gunned down in a Tripoli prison in 1996” (France-Presse, “Revolt”, para. “February 15-16”). The next day, demonstrators on the popular social networking site Facebook called for “’A Day of Rage’ against Muammar Qaddafi’s regime” (France-Presse, para. “February 17”). Thereafter, events escalated quickly, as a wave of protest became the groundswell of a popular uprising: in five days, the demonstrators had seized control of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the country’s second-largest (Kirkpatrick and El-Naggar para. 1). In those five days alone, protests swept Libya, reaching all the way to the capital of Tripoli (para. 1). Also on February 20 came reports that Gaddafi was using mercenaries from other African nations to bolster his own security forces, in a crackdown that was already claiming a considerable body count (France-Press “Revolt” para. “February 20”).
Even as the uprising gained momentum in those February days, Gaddafi’s regime was undermined from within by high-level defections: France-Presse reported that “Libya’s envoy to the Arab League says he quit to ‘join the revolution’”; the next day, February 21, “Tripoli’s ambassador to Delhi [India]” and “a diplomat in Beijing” also defected (“Revolt” paras. “February 20”-“February 21”). As early as February 23, Black reported that “damaging defections by senior regime figures and key military commanders and units” were leaving Gaddafi “increasingly isolated” (para. 1). According to Libyan and Arab sources, “the biggest blow to Gaddafi so far… [was] the defection of his interior minister and veteran loyalist, Abdel-Fatah Younes al-Obeidi, who called on the army… to ‘serve the people and support the revolution and its legitimate demands’” (para. 6). Moreover, tribal groups, notably “tribes in the Azzintan and Nalut areas” in the west of the country, also deserted Gaddafi (para. 5). According to Black, “Benghazi and much of the east of the country have now been lost to the government”, with protests erupting in Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city, located in western Libya on the Gulf of Sirte (between Tripoli and Gaddafi’s own birthplace, the town of Sirte) (para. 3). Black wrote that “violence was reported in Sebrata and Zawiya… also in western Libya and closer to Tripoli” (para. 3).
An increasingly-beleaguered Gaddafi responded with promises of retribution: he would “execute his enemies and fight to the ‘last drop’ of his blood,”; he would “purge Libya ‘house by house’ and ‘inch by inch’” (Barker paras. 1-2). Meanwhile, Barker wrote, rebels in the west of the country were actively destroying all symbols of the hated dictator, even as reports from the east indicated that “government troops have openly defied the regime and joined the protestors in raising the old pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag” (paras. 3-5, 7). The dictator’s efforts to put down the uprising with military force by bombing Benghazi were set at naught when “the crew bailed out of the aircraft after taking off from Tripoli” (para. 8).
By early March, however, the initially meteoric success of the resistance was quickly giving way to a tooth-and-nail struggle between the rebels and Gaddafi’s paramilitary security forces and African mercenaries (NewsCore para. 7). The death toll continued to mount as “battles between troops loyal to… Gaddafi and rebel forces seesawed back and forth in both eastern and western parts of the country” (para. 7). On March 6, NewsCore reported that “at the same time as renewed fighting erupted, the self-proclaimed national council—the opposition’s newly formed government—held its first formal meeting in… Benghazi” (para. 9). The rebellion now had the beginnings of its own government, and not a moment too soon: although M&C New reported on March 11th that the rebels “claimed victory in the northern central town of Ras Lanuf”, “there were reports that Gaddafi’s troops were staging a counter-attack and that the fight for the town… was far from over” (paras. 1-2). Within days came reports that Gaddafi’s forces had reversed many, even most, of the rebels’ gains: on March 13th France-Presse reported that “Libyan rebels… retreated from another key town [Brega] under heavy shelling… as Moamer Khadhafi loyalists swept closer towards the main opposition-held city of Benghazi” (“Gaddafi” para. 1). With the recapture of Brega, Gaddafi’s forces were poised to strike at Ajdabiya, “the last rebel-held town before Benghazi”, and from Ajdabiya “there is also a straight desert road to the oil port of Tobruk” (paras. 7-8).
But just when Gaddafi seemed poised to stamp out the rebellion and restore his grasp on power, NATO intervened, bombarding Gaddafi’s emplacements and imposing a no-fly zone. As Abbas reported on March 19th, even as “Gaddafi’s troops… pushed into the outskirts of Benghazi,” French president Sarkozy “said an operation supported by France, Britain, the United States and Canada, and backed by Arab nations, was halting air attacks by Gaddafi’s forces and would continue unless the Libyan leader ceased fire” (paras. 1, 4). Gaddafi was quick to denounce this as “’colonial, crusader’ aggression” and issue a renewed call to his supporters to take up arms in order “’to defend the independence, unity and honor of Libya’” (paras. 4-5). The stated aim of this allied intervention was to halt Gaddafi’s attacks on civilians, in accordance with a resolution of the UN Security Council (Golovnina and Georgy sec. “Necessary Means” paras. 1-2). In the words of British Prime Minister David Cameron, “’Colonel Gaddafi has made this happen… We cannot allow the slaughter of civilians to continue’” (para. 3). U.S. President Obama also stated that the intervention was “’an international effort to protect Libyan civilians’”, and that the U.S. was “acting in support of allies, who would lead the enforcement of a no-fly zone to stop Gaddafi’s attacks on rebels” (“U.S. Says” paras. 3-4). Moreover, President Obama repeatedly insisted that “’we will not deploy any U.S. troops on the ground’” (para. 4). Indeed, France and the UK, rather than the U.S., took “a lead role in pushing for international intervention in Libya” (para. 1).
These, then, are the three key players in the Libyan Civil War: Gaddafi and his loyalists, the resistance, now led by its National Council in Benghazi, and the NATO effort. The Libyan dictator has made it amply clear that he will do literally anything to cling to power and destroy the resistance: as seen, he has already tried massacres. The resistance’s interim National Council, on the other hand, has articulated its “vision for rebuilding the democratic state of Libya”, a plan that calls for “a modern, free and united state”, with legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, suffrage for all Libyans of voting age, political, religious and cultural pluralism, and guaranteed freedom of expression (Guardian paras. 1-9). Although NATO’s stated aim was the protection of Libyan civilians, and not the overthrow of Gaddafi per se, on March 7th Fisk reported that the U.S. had “asked Saudi Arabia if it can supply weapons to the rebels in Benghazi” (para. 1). On June 29th, Pineau and Irish reported that “France provided weapons, munitions and food to Libyan rebels in the Western Mountains in early June to prevent troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from overrunning the region” (para. 1). Clearly, the allied powers have an active interest in not only bringing the conflict to an end, but also assuring that it ends with the downfall of Gaddafi’s regime.
The international relations theories of neorealism, neoliberalism, and neoconservatism offer widely-divergent analyses of the Libyan conflict. A cardinal tenet of Waltz’s neorealism is that systems, such as political systems, “are composed of a structure and their [own] interacting units” (Elman 13). According to Waltz, “political structures have three elements: an ordering principle (anarchic or hierarchical), the character of the units (functionally alike or differentiated), and the distribution of capabilities” (Waltz, ctd. in Elman 13). From the neorealist perspective, the ordering principle of the international system is “anarchy, and the principle of self-help means that all of the units remain functionally alike” (13). This leaves but a single structural variable, namely the “distribution of capabilities, with the main distinction falling between multipolar and bipolar systems” (13). For Waltz, the conventional Realist explanations of a Hobbesian human nature and “state interests in a condition of anarchy” were inadequate: his argument was that it was “the international system itself which compels states to preserve their security by constantly building up their power” (Burchill, ctd. in Daddow 94).
This neorealist emphasis on state security by means of the constant accrual of power suggests a ready analysis of the Libyan conflict on many levels: for Gaddafi, the preservation of his regime (by any measure a despotic and repressive one), necessitated coercive, repressive measures. Faced with a groundswell of popular opposition sweeping his country, and undermined by high-profile defections from within his regime, the Libyan dictator responded by rallying his supporters and attempting to quash the resistance with massacres. For the neorealist, NATO’s intervention might demonstrate the neorealist concept of state competition: either states “calculate how to act to their best advantage”, or they fail to do so and are “selected out of the system” (Elman 13). Another state behavioral paradigm is the concept of established norms: “states can decide to follow norms because they calculate it to their advantage or because the norms become internalized” (13). Gaddafi’s Libya has long been seen as a ‘rogue state’, with the dictator’s support of terrorism—notably the “bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988” (News-Basics para. “Qaddafi and Terrorism”). Gaddafi has competed in ways that have left him isolated—at least until his about-face after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when “he publicly renounced terrorism, and paid nearly $3 billion to the families of the Pan Am 103 victims” (para. “Qaddafi and Terrorism”). His heavy-handed response to the rebellion gave the allied powers the rationale they needed to seek his downfall; however, mindful of painful lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. was careful to stress its own supporting role, and promised not to send in ground troops—thereby seeking advantage against Gaddafi without engendering the risks of another protracted ground war in the Islamic world.
Neoliberalism offers points of similarity to neorealism, with its principles of states as the “primary units of analysis”; the concept of states as “rational-unitary actors”, and the anarchical international system (Leonard 76). However, there are three other foundational principles of neoliberalism: the idea that “complementary interests exist among states, therefore cooperation is possible”; that “relative gains are conditional”, and that “hegemony is not a necessary factor for cooperation” (76). The main difference, as Leonard explains, is that “realist thought is a power-based theory, while neoliberalism is interest-based” (76). As Daddow explains, the cardinal advance of neoliberalism over conventional liberalism was “the concept of international regimes”, not only “international organizations such as the EU but also… the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)… more basic international economic agreements that helped shape and regulate state behavior” (p. 97). For neoliberals, these international regimes and institutions “not only facilitate co-operation but help states make more rational choices about the outcomes of their cooperation because states involved in these institutions are both less likely and less able to cheat by reneging on commitments” (98). A key principle here is the concept of absolute vs. relative gains: for the neorealist, “the relative place of states within the international system” is truly foundational to any consideration of state behavior (98). Put another way, “states will be wary of cooperating if they fear other states may benefit more than they do” (98).
For the neoliberal, the Libyan Civil War demonstrates these international regimes consummately. Gaddafi’s reluctance to abide by international regimes during the 1970s and 1980s can be readily explained by referencing Cold War politics: he engaged in asymmetrical warfare with his terrorist attacks as a means of securing a relative place for Libya in the international system, one that would keep it out of the entangling orbits of either major superpower, the U.S. or the USSR. Gaddafi’s actions against his own people violated key tenets of international regimes on the rights of citizens and the acceptable uses of force by governments and, given his long-standing history, it is small wonder indeed that NATO has sought to aid the rebellion against him. The allies, by contrast, demonstrate the neoliberal concept of an international regime: cooperation in the interests of removing a dictator who has long been a thorn in the collective side of the West and of other Arab leaders, especially the Saudi royals—given that Gaddafi attempted to kill the Saudi king Abdullah in 2010 (Fisk para. 1).
Finally, neoconservatism, a “strictly American” theory of international relations, consists of both “a power strand and a moral strand”: as Rhoades explains, the neoconservatives argue for “the maintenance of American power” in a unipolar world system—and to this they add the moral argument that this state of affairs is good for the world (14, 17-19). For neoconservatives, American power carries with it the responsibility to “face down the international ‘nasties,’ if for no other reason than because we are the only nation that can” (19). For the neoconservative, “only the Western powers have the moral capacity to responsibly police the globe” (19). From this, it might seem that the Libyan intervention is a neoconservative’s dream scenario: the U.S. and its allies facing down yet another rogue dictator, a dictator attempting to brutally quash a popular pro-democracy movement, no less. The Libyan intervention would seem to accord with the most foundational tenets of neoconservatism: the moral responsibility that the U.S. has to take action against a tyrant in order to secure democracy. However, the Libyan intervention is not the kind of U.S.-led, largely unilateral enterprise that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq under George W. Bush were: it is multilateral, and neoconservatives distrust multilateralism intensely (Rhoades 22). Moreover, it comes at a time when the economic and military capabilities of the United States are already severely strained, due to the recession and the effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thus, for the neoconservative, the NATO intervention is not an effective demonstration of American power acting in the capacity of benevolent hegemon: rather, it is an acquiescence to multilateralism, a tacit sign of American weakness that bodes ill for an Americo-centric international order.
Over the course of the summer, the Libyan Civil War was largely considered a stalemate, a situation unpalatable to neoliberals, neorealists, and neoconservatives alike (Humphrey para. 1). Since late July, however, new reports indicate that the resistance may be recovering its momentum, with advances “along the Nafusa Mountains, west of Misrata, and even into Brega” in the east (para. 1). Still more recently, Al-Jazeera reported a “two-pronged (rebel) offensive in Western Libya”, with promising signs that the rebels may be able to sever Gaddafi’s supply lines (paras. 1-5). Al-Jazeera also reported indications that Gaddafi’s forces may be weakening, while popular support for the rebellion within Gaddafi-occupied areas remains strong (para. 10). And according to Beatty, “an imprisoned Libyan army colonel who surrendered to the rebel forces two months ago” said that Gaddafi’s regime “is riven with division and in the process of collapse” (para. 1). All of these signs point to the triumph of the Libyan rebels and Gaddafi’s ouster: Gaddafi has lost many key bases of support, many high-ranking officials, much of his offensive capabilities and no small amount of his country. It seems increasingly likely that the Libyan people will finally succeed in overthrowing their long-reigning tyrant.
Works Cited
Abbas, Mohammed. “Allied planes fly over Libya; Gaddafi hits Benghazi.” In.Reuters.com.
Reuters, 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Al-Jazeera. “Libyan opposition launches new offensive.” English.Aljazeera.net. Al-Jazeera, 14
Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Barker, Anne. “Time running out for cornered Gaddafi.” ABC.net.au. ABC News, 24 Feb. 2011.
Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Beatty, Andrew. “Ex-Kadhafi colonel says regime crumbling.” AFP. AFP, 13 Aug. 2011. Web.
14 Aug. 2011.
Black, Ian. “Gaddafi isolated in Tripoli bolthole.” Guardian.co.uk. Guardian, 23 Feb. 2011.
Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Daddow, Oliver. International Relations Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Ltd.,
2009. Print.
Elman, Colin. “Realism.” International Relations Theory for the Twenty-first Century: An
Introduction. Ed. Martin Griffiths. New York: Routledge, 2007. 11-20. Print.
Fisk, Robert. “America’s secret plan to arm Libya’s rebels.” Independent.co.uk. Independent, 7
Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
France-Presse, Agence. “Gaddafi forces advance closer to rebel capital.” Rawstory.com. Raw
Story, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
---. “Revolt in Libya: the timeline.” TheNational.ae. The National, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Aug.
2011.
Golovnina, Maria, and Michael Georgy. “Western warplanes, missiles hit Libyan targets.”
In.Reuters.com. Reuters, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Guardian. “A vision of a democratic Libya.” Guardian.co.uk. The Guardian, 29 Mar. 2011. Web.
14 Aug. 2011.
Humphrey, Shawn. “Libya Civil War: Diplomats Debate Goals, Rebel Recognition.”
News.Yahoo.com. Yahoo! News, 22 Jul. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Kirkpatrick, David D., and Mona El-Naggar. “Qadafi’s Son Warns of Civil War as Libyan
Protests Widen.” NYTimes.com. New York Times, 20 February 2011. Web. 14 Aug.
2011.
Leonard, Eric K. The Onset of Global Governance: International Relations Theory and the
International Criminal Court. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2005.
Print.
M&C News. “Rebels claim victory in Libya’s northern Ras Lanuf.” Monstersandcritics.com.
M&C News, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
News-Basics. “Libya.” News-Basics.com. News-Basics, 14 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
NewsCore. “Ferocious battles in Libya as national council meets for first time.” News.com.au.
NewsCore, 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Pineau, Elizabeth, and John Irish. “France provided weapons, food to Libya rebels.”
Reuters.com. Reuters, 29 Jun. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
Rhoades, Matthew C. Neoconservatism: Beliefs, the Bush Administration, and the Future. Diss.
University of Kansas, 2003. Kansas City, MO: 2008. Print.
Spencer, Richard. “Libya: civil war breaks out as Gaddafi mounts rearguard fight.”
Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph, 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Aug. 2011.
пʼятницю, 19 серпня 2011 р.
Human Resources Onboarding Model
Introduction
Employers have recalcitrance on operational turnovers and employee retentions that hinders their organization profitability and stability. The difficulty of reducing employee turnovers and employee retentions is a common plague among major and minor entities. A discussion on various cost effective employee oriented designs and strategies proposals are elaborated on this presentation, mainly on cost effective methods for new hired employees. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight for employers to redesign human resources traditional hiring processes, core competencies, communication styles, evaluation processes, and retrench a diverse incentive program in order to re-gain the power of effectiveness. A human resources development on employee retention strategies to ensure quality assurance and a concrete organization educational core competency framework for newly hired employees to adhere the policies, principles, and guidelines more constructively and productivity are the primary means of HR Onboarding model.
Human Resources Core Competencies
Human Resources Core Competencies
In tradition, there is no official theoretical framework for onboarding executives or lower managers. Human Resources should take overall onboarding management process as it is widely accepted across organization that Human Resources should take a central role in the onboarding process (Wells, 2005, p.3) and that the senior leadership and stakeholders should actively integrated in the process. An effortlessly orientation strategy is given to the unique nature of strategic focus of job tasks. In the past, onboarding employees in the orientation tend to not to learn the foundation of organization development, organizational identity, the atmosphere, environmental climate, and the décor, and the invention of a feeling of belongingness through the self-actualization stages by learning the people, politics, language, values, and history of the organization, when they should learn all of the essentials of business as researchers has anticipated across studies (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979).
The probability of achieving the strategic goals would enhance new employee orientation and socialization may be effective for new executives, but not may be effective for subordinates, however, it is recommended that subordinates to acknowledge their co-workers and managers. In Return on Investment (ROI) theory, strategic performance goals move from onboarding process from reactive to tactical and onboarding activities move from proactive to strategic. Thus, higher ROI on organizational performance. See
An effective onboarding model that encompass four key objectives – Preventing derailment, fostering retention, catalyzing, performance acceleration, and achieving strategic optimization. Corporations faced six critical issues to seize the threats to exclude the onboarding procedures. Implementating a cohesive initiative plan is usually difficult for new hired executives, as they are not provided a strong feedback from the senior management team on what it needs to improve across departmental operations and onboarding program. Most of the time, the senior management team comply executive’s vision of the objectives than to delegate or share the needs of organization to improve onboarding program.
Routinely, organizations jumped into the systematic onboarding processes without bringing the economic events into the processes, in which, that impedes the teaching of economic trends in the program. It is difficult for new hires to comprehend the ancient history strategies as the strategic issues are already established, and consider that it cannot be change as the evolution change through time (Dai, G., et .al, 2011).
Hence, it is likely to overturn newly hired executives and deter their achievement of strategic goals (Conger, et .al, 2004). Organizational readiness is necessary to make onboarding program changes.
Performance Measures
Many organizations are pleased with their performance measures outcome. For example, at Leadership IQ Company, in their first 18 months, 46% of new employees learned all ropes of organization's method of business operation, compared to previous 78% of turnovers due to core incompetencies among new employees; Monster.com has 6.2 months break-even point for new managers in the year of 2010; The Wynhurst Group has 22% of staff turnovers within 45 days of employment; Designer Blinds Company reduced turnover rate from 200% annually to less than 8% annually.
Return On Investment Methods
Two business-impact measures (performance impact and retention impact) of Return of Investment (ROI) calculation were assessed throughout the program progress. The performance target were identified and linked to the monetary of value (costs of materials, facilities, new employee’s time, facilitator and coach’s time, and manager time) which total benefits the program with an impact on retention and performance results. The total benefits of the program are $445,704 for performance and $430,870 for retention that comes to the total of $876,574. Thus, the effect of the ROI equals Net solution benefits as $876,574 minus $278, 304 then divide by $278,304 then multiply by 100 equals 215% of ROI. Thus, for every dollar invested, $2.15 is returned after the costs were assessed, which it is a significant good results for corporations adopt onboarding program. However, there are other factors that may be overlooked for instance, the background of candidate’s education, training, knowledge, and skills competency levels that may set back with time delay on achieving obstacles and barriers (Edwards, J, 2009).
Human Resources can use sources accords to the quantitative and qualitative research gathered through surveys among corporations across the locales, states and the nation and even globally to argue with managers to adapt change the attitude of the organization culture that was once popularized by our predecessors.
Human Resources can provide managers with resources and rewards in exchange for innovation, productivity, and effective task accomplishment. This exchange and the concept of providing contingent rewards are at the heart of motivation, leadership and management theory and practice (Nahavandi, 2009). As a leader of an organization, Human Resource Management By Exception (HRMBE) is not what will help organization to succeed in a long run by practicing disciplinary and punishment for those who have not met the goals or commitment to the tasks.
Human Resource Competitive Intelligence Analysis
Business Intelligence software is an up-to-date data Management information system (MIS) interdependent database, which is consists of Data Management, Advanced Analytics, Business Performance Management and Information Delivery. Which it is an ideal software for human resources to review variety performance levels (e.g., forecast turnovers, predict possible onboarding talent, tactical business decisions, and "what ifs scenarios" into a component system. An advanced technology to keep abreast with regulatory changes (e.g., the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002), which mandates advance and accurate reporting capabilities in corporate setting) and compressed large volume of data on employees, salary information, critical talents, and education levels to one terabytes (1 TB) will be reached in 2020 (Kapoor, 2010).
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) specialized in MIS and subsystems (including, meta-data management, security management, backup and recovery, and data distribution). The OLAP council teamed up with analysts, managers, and executives on gaining insights on interactive enterprise dimensionality. According to the report in April 2010, BI platforms, analytic applications and performance management (PM) software revenue surpassed $9.3. Billion in 2009, a 4.2 percent increase from the 2008 revenue of $8.9 billion with 64.2% of market share worldwide in 2009 (Gartner, April 2010).
Onboarding Oversight Committee
Onboarding Oversight Committee
A leader would have an open-end communication with managers and require managers to bring their supporting facts of why they disagreed on implementating on team-based organization and what are their strategies on solving problems and who are the delegates of resolutions. With all of the empirical evidence in hand, a decision will be made based on evidence among sources and the measurement of success of team-based versus individual in charge.
There is a guideline for overcoming barriers to teamwork written by Lauren Keller Johnson of Harvard Management Update article in 2005. Lauren Johnson (2005) has put in a perception of group collaboration at workplace and encourage managers to inject fun in their day-to-day operations and have team players to draw up their expertise and get know one other and acknowledge of who would take the responsibility of every task situations that may arise upon them.
Table 2: A Conceptual Framework of the Executive Onboarding Process for Senior Leaders
Critical onboarding areas | Strategic onboarding activities | Onboarding results |
Addressing position imprint of predecessor | Situational analysis | Direct effects |
Setting clear expectations | Organizational objectives | Smooth power transition from predecessor to successor |
Recognizing non-portable aspects of leadership | Enabling and derailing factors | Self awareness and leadership |
Providing ‘outside’ hires with ‘inside’ views | Onboarding plan: Focus, Prioritize, Execute | Strategic understanding of the role |
Preparing the organization for change | Key stakeholder involvement: Board and/or HR, Boss, Peers, Direct reports, Important others | Enchanced understanding of organization. |
Building an effective senior team | Prepared Organization for onboarding strategies | |
Ongoing support: Periodic pulse check, Feedback and coaching | Strategic Outcomes: Shortened ‘breakeven point’ Increased job satisfaction Enhanced retention | |
Monitoring the onboarding process: Reanalyze the situation; Reset priorities; Evaluate the effectiveness | Achievement of organizational strategic goals | |
Reference: Dai, G, DeMeuse, K., Gaeddert, G. (2011) Onboarding externally hired executives: Avoiding derailment –accelerating contribution. Page 11
Power Leadership Styles
The term power, influence, and authority are often used interchangeably (Nahavandi, 2009). It involves the position of upper-echelon individual has held and the behavior that affects or influence associations and oneself, in which, exercise the right of rules or regulations that associates has to comply under the direction of upper-echelon leader. There are several commonalities of power that describes a certain behavior, knowledge and abilities of a leader that are depleted by the public as identified below:
1. Legitimate power – an ability to convicted the public to comply without depth knowledge
2. Reward power- an ability to provide the public a promotion or raise
3. Coercive power- an ability to punish the public for unproductive work or task
4. Expert power- an ability to explain in detail of a specialized subject
5. Referent power- an ability to charm the public and earned respected status
As indicated, all of the abilities of power tends to hold a position, once the abilities are gone, so is the power and the position as well (Nahavandi, 2009).
Logically, a leader can possess more than two type of leadership power, for instance, delegating a task to a manager is a legitimate power then when a manager goes awry with the operational process, and then the manager may be pressured in getting the task done by the leader, which, that is a mixture of coercive and expert power. Whereas, referent and reward power only comes in when business goes in accord and in excellent shape.
In addition, as Nahavandi (2009) emphasized by using power and influence tactics combined can be effective or ineffective in collaboration with associates or subordinates. The influence tactics are goal-oriented behaviors that individuals use to obtain desired outcomes. Thus, it is important that managers understand subordinates' use of influence tactics and the effects of these tactics on organizational outcomes (Hochwarter, 2003).
In practice, the business behaviors antecedents tested included self-reported measures of impression management, Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, locus of control, social identity, intrinsic/internal motivation, and extrinsic/external motivation. Eight influence tactics—ingratiation, rational persuasion, exchanges, coalition building, personal appeals, and inspirational appeals, assertiveness (Barbuto, et. al 2006).
Each tactics are appropriate in different situations and carries the potential for leading to commitment on the part of the person being influenced. For instance, personal appeal relies on referent power and tends to be appropriate when used with colleagues; it is not likely to lead to a high degree of commitment. Inspirational appeal, which also relies on referent power, leads to high commitment. Rational persuasion relies on expert power and is appropriate to use when trying to influence superiors. The commitment tends to be moderate. Consultation and coalition building relies on all sources of power and are appropriate to use on all levels and tends to a high and low degree of commitment. (Nahavandi, 2009).
Human Resources Management Style
The style that this organization to adopt is the Trompennars’ Cross-Cultural Organization cultures of Incubator, Guided Missile, Family, and Eiffel Tower. Incubator refers an individual oriented which focus on taking care of individual needs; Guided Missile refers a performance- oriented which focus on task completion rather than individual needs- Both Incubator and Guided Missile represents Egalitarian culture; Family refers power-oriented which focus the welfare of employees ; Eiffel Tower refers to roles of managers as rigid and robust, in other words, a disciplinary-oriented which focus on performance through order and obedience of legal and legitimate authority – Both Family and Eiffel Tower represents hierarchical cultures (Nahavandi, 2009).
In practice, according to Joseph W. McGuire (1977) elaborated the theory of egalitarianism has only indirectly affected the institution of business. Typically, the egalitarian thrust has been general and diffuse, related more to the development of democratic attitudes, to the disdain for titles of nobility, to the concealed envy and open distrust of elite groups, corporations to the adulation of the common man, the underdog, and the "small" businessman, to the belief that all men are created equal, and to the concept of equality of opportunity. But people, especially leaders and managers should recognize that the attainment of a more equal society requires tradeoffs, and that to make equity a preeminent objective in our society involves the surrender of other important values, among which are freedoms, efficiency and meritocracy. There is, indeed, no such thing as a free lunch. However, leaders can offer incentives for accomplishing each step of management style transformation.
Implications
Across HR literature, many research studies has concluded that 40% of leaders going into new organizational roles fail during their first 18 months. The decisions were implied by the results of methodology and coaching. The idea of having CEO, Managers, and employees to be equal in work environment and be comfortable in working with every level and every department as every member in the organization are in this together and operate effectively daily.
The distinction of cultures that has imposed upon us domestically and globally, in which, it affects each and one of us all to accept ones difference and attain goals for the organization without ambiguity and vagueness of who’s who are responsible for certain problem or situation in question without biasing one another. Human Resources leaders and managers have distinctive roles, however a mixed of both roles and responsibilities can lead the organization to succession. Team members are accounted for their opinions, suggestions, and whatnots as these are the valuable tools for innovation and creativity to the existing policy or a program in development.
For example, managers are to host a departmental meeting to inform new employees how much they have appreciated their work and recognize at least 10 employees monthly to instill their esteem and good work performance instead of recognizing 3 or 4 employees. Recognizing 10 employees motivates the lower 10 onboarding employees and leads them to work at their best ability on the job. Thus, their intrinsic and extrinsic values overall improves their dignity and integrity for the members of the organization and the organization itself.
Difference in Leading and Managing for onboarding employees
Improve managers-Employee relationship build a charter on the area of strengths and weakness. Improvise a temporal leadership and servant leadership to influence the organizational culture and philosophy as obliged by vision and mission statements. A leader is an objective-minded that visualized the mission of an organization and emphasizes the concept of organization culture and norms that is reflected by the mission statement, while a Manager is a task processor accords by the book following the guidelines, policies, standardization, and procedurements.
Author, Nahavandi (2009) defines leaders have long-term and future-oriented perspectives and provide a vision for their followers that looks beyond their immediate surroundings whereas managers take short-term perspectives and focus on routine issues within their own immediate departments or groups.
Chief Executive Officer Role
According to the Standard and Poor’s Index in their 2008 article, representating approximately 1300 firms, 28% outsourced for hiring new employees through agencies, from outside of the company (Tuna, 2008). The main goal for this presentation is to comprehend the components of all of organizational psychology as managers or leaders to execute the ability of delegation, collaboration, and power sharing. Leaders must possesses leadership skills of technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills, in which, they guide the employees, public and other businesses to visualize the organizations’ culture that is delved by vision and mission statement.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the top of the line of an organization. It could be the owner of the business or the president of the business who oversees all operations, finances, and resources and budget with discretion of board of directors. CEO is leading and managing the change initiatives because this is his or her organization as he or she wants the best for the business internally. As a CEO acting as a leader – is to lead the managers to the objective of the team-based collaboration in order to have higher productivity, higher revenues and profits whereas CEO acts like a manager, CEO is to give the guidelines of how managers delegate their subordinates into a certain tasks or positions. Path-Goal Theory, for instance, the leader clears obstacles in exchange for follower motivation by providing structure to the task or by being considerate (Nahavandi, 2009)
Onboarding Program Design
Employee learning and Development
In the terms of contribution, the expectation of new hires to contribute at their optimal level of performance are highly desired, however it is not always the case that at least 10% percent of those new hires are able to accomplish that objective. Hence, the remaining 90% of new hires should be proactively to make a successful transition into their new position and adapt to the setting as early as possible. During the transition phrase, trainees should interact with organizational stakeholders on dynamic business requirements (Dai, et .al, 2011).
According to the CU research study, a partnership with academia institution or a Faculty does help many corporations on customizing an organizational curriculum that designs organizational content and development of five dimensions of organizational learning. For example, Motorola University in China collaborates with 21 Chinese higher education institutions to deliver executive management programs such as MBAs and specialized technology training. General Motors offers a customized MBA program with Indiana University (Li, J & Abel, A, 2011).
Increasingly, new employees would supersede their knowledge of employee learning and development functions after complete the program and they have the advantage to bring the company the competitive intelligence and positive financial performance.
In the industry training, Alliger (1989), elaborated the traditional Kirkpatrick hierarchical training model that consists of four different levels are widely used in the corporate world. The first level is the reaction as in the form 'liking of' and 'feelings for' as a first step to understand the reason of the participation in the training program. Most trainees assumed that each level is more informative than the last. However, some training includes rewarding, spirit building, or perquisite in nature. First impression may be misjudged as a result in the last level of training. The second level of training is learning, trainees get to absorb the organization's concepts, facts, and principals and to be understood. As the trainee grow in knowledge, often managers or evaluator can observe causality and decide to approve or disapprove of trainees' temporal behaviors. Trainees perform an above average of demonstrating temporal behaviors are more likely to move to level three to level four (Kirkpatrick, 1959a).
For example, trainees may be good at attending the training but not good at learning. Thus, it is deleterious to learning. The third level of training is behavior, defining the role-playing the learned principals on the job and techniques on how to tackle on tasks issues. The 4th level is called, 'results', which dissembles the organization's objectives and goals into simplified quotes or motto for trainees to remember organizational desired results, goals, and the ends of production or service line. Employee demonstrates an ability to be independent and interindependently on-the-job training based on the knowledge job responsibilities level ranks.
In addition, they emphasizes on reduction of costs; reduction of turnover and absenteeism; reduction of grievances; increase in quality and quantity of production; or improved self-morals. However, it is difficult to assess the reactions between learning like most researchers has anticipated, over 55 articles has indicated that there are no correlations report between levels (Kirkpatrick, et .al, 1959).
The onboarding taxonomy training model evaluation criteria is of essence to the power of simplification. The proposed model provides very comprehensive evaluation criterions for trainees to easily adopt vocabularies and numbers, than to re-create the false assumptions of how trainees evaluate themselves at their work site. Evaluators assessed trainees' learned behaviors through first level to fourth level of training to determine the effectiveness of trainees' instilled organizational knowledge, adaption skills, and intragroup skills. The key areas for corporate executive to learn the organizational strategies: (1) Alignment and Execution: How quickly and how effectively the new hire is in line with organizational direction. A real time technology can assist executives on decisions on what to do and what they should do and what work they should be doing in order to prioritize the interruptions and unexpected requests for their time and attention. This strategy attempts to reduce time-consuming with minor issues, and manage time with other important issues better. (2) Development of skills that supports business needs: How quickly the new hire can be immersed in the daily operation of their successful work. Developing the skills of forecasting the next action to take, where to start, and what to next, and how fast to go. A self-discipline would discord the law of entropy; (3) Evaluation of learning and performance: measuring return-on-investment of learning efforts and learning transfer are clearly identified. A sustainable practice to adopt the repeatable methodology, accountability coaching, execution system, and community learning are what to grow organizational capacity to execute strategy to the onboarding employees. (4) The use of technology to support the learning functions: multiple delivery formats such as intranet modules, CD or DVD programs, podcasts, webcasts, simulations, and Web 2.0 technologies. As described in the business intelligence segment that has sub-component data systems for each level of management to access to the MIS system and real-time conference video streaming network. This strategy attempts onboarding executives to analyze the results and review the results to the senior team and narrowed the action alternatives more effectively. (5) Partnership and collaborate with Academia: customize organizational content and organizational learning through their existing knowledge base on supported system. They can cultivate a HR design for onboarding executives to read a summarized and easy-to-read agenda more efficient and effectively for overall organizational behaviors and health (Harpst, 2008).
Human Resources Code of Conduct
In the policy, the people who are affected by the policy are included in the policy as to exercise the understanding of effects of the disciplinary actions or violations this incumbent held responsible, including termination may occur. In addition, the HR code of conduct procedure include the guide for internal members, colleagues, students, or stakeholders dealing with external organizations like the university, national, and the international community. These individuals shall complete a Conflict of Interest Form and other forms if other interests change the course of employment. In the Conflict of Interest form, a guideline offering staff members to question the conflict that arises: Avoiding or dealing with any situation that an individual or a group may have or may not have seen the incident or involved in the incident due to conflict of interest relationship with another employee or trainee. The hope of employees to resolve the issue regarding to personal setback, delayed commercial delivery, any HR familial, or other significant relationship. The same for supervisors to employees of other employees should apply Conflict of Interest form. Any obligations that is the lieu of HR shall be free of debt.
Consulting activities of HR policy requires any of financial of interests that benefits the organization shall benefit of the finances. For example, Receipt of gifts, gratuities, loans , or special favors (including trips or speaker’s fees) from research sponsors or vendors; Holding an ownership of employee or the employee family in any real or personal property leased or purchased by the organization; Holding of an equity, equity, royalty, or debt instrument interests of financial support including research purposes may be directed benefit the organization. Including, Receipt, directly to the employee from other sources, of cash, services, or equipment provided in support of the employee’s job task activities; Some memberships on board of directors, committees, advisory groups (or similar bodies) of governmental, for-profit or not-for profit entity, and use of information received as a company’s employee for general purposes.
Business Incentive Plans
A corporation is to provide benefits of goods in order to have high volume of marketing sales, and benefits for star talent employees to make it possible, and benefits for stakeholders who faithfully to persuade private and not for private entities and prospects to invested their time and money into the organization. Moreover, understandings on business foundation processes are the key for onboarding employees to acknowledge the organizational objectives and goals incentives (David, 2007).
Business Objectives
Formulating a mission and vision statements for your business is the foremost important design to establish business objectives. One of the benefit objectives is the employees’ incentive benefits. In order to acknowledge what incentive plans are appropriate for employees to value their productivity and their performance. When implementating incentive plan, CEO and Board of Directors and Human Resources leaders provide an assessment on strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of products/services activities and performance scorecard. Including, the guidelines for employees to adhere business objectives, and commitments and cooperation, and opportunities for growth, and measurements and differenation of problem solving tactics (David, 2007).
In which, these business components are part of the essentials in all aspects of an organization. Most companies utilizes two popular cost-effective incentive programs –Individual incentive plans and Organizational wide incentive plans (Ebert, et .al, 2005)
Vision statements should instilled goals to all members of organization and scrutinized on the tasks to reach the goals. Onboarding executives and subordinates must take into account for their performance and actions as they contributed their service at the organization. Managing stakeholders’ commitments and cooperation on improvise company’s financial portfolio is the priority goal for all members of organization to perform as stakeholder themselves.
For example, A “high-quality” salespeople is efficient in selling over 100 products within a day, managers are more likely to obtain greater results for teaching salespeople on marketing skills than of those managers bequeathing the same management effort for not helping the fewer “terrific” salespeople to effective. Onboarding employees shall receive information on how sales people accomplish the sales mark goal during onboarding training. Thus, incentives are given with an additional quality time. In which, this strategies are considered as an objective of mission and vision statements, and one of incentive attributes. Thus, it is wise to evaluate various management/employees situations and apply the Pareto Principle appropriately – and wisely (Principle Management Associates, 2005).
The HR guideline comply the federal, state, and local laws and the legalability of work conditions. The
Pareto Principle
The Pareto principle is used in prioritizing objectives in the orderly manner during the implementation processes. Pareto principal is known as 20-80 rules, the law of organizational behavior results, the principle of internal factors, in which, states that for many phenomena 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. An internal organizational behavior rule-of-thumb is simple, but it is also commonly unexplainable for some areas of business. For instance, creating a guideline for employees to earn incentives by contributing their economic attributes on time, stewardmanship, teamwork effort, and ensured that product has a good quality assurance as their primary responsibilities as the part of objectives. Another perspective of 20-80 Pareto principal is a setting goal of 20% of work productivity effort, along with the 80% of given product performance. Lastly, maintaining the minimum of 20% of undefective products and goods as a baseline, and evaluate the consumer purchase parities outcome of 80% of satisfied/loyal consumers (Pareto Principle 80-20 Complete Information, 1995). All of the objectives can be used for evaluating incentives.
Hence, it supporters claim that since 20% of employees are likely to produce 80% of production. In which, results that time and money are accounted for. A part of managers’ incentive is to be critical with production and processes with good time management. When the productions are above the quota – they are considered so-called “superstars”. Furthermore, an implementation plans designing the Pareto’s Principle philosophy to the mission/ vision guidelines is flawed for many organizations. Because of its nature of complexity on what is applicable and what does not apply to the incentive program(s). This principal is considered useful. Otherwise, it would not be effective in all areas of operations.
Organizational incentive program. Robert J. Ebert and Ricky W. Griffin (2005) recommended variety of incentive programs for employers to consider the options as long the plans are effective in all areas of operations. This incentive program that is consists of three different incentive plans, which are: Profit-sharing, Gainsharing plans, and Pay-for-Knowledge plans. All of these plans are based on the employment levels in combination with training, education, and experience.
Profit-sharing. Profit-sharing and Pay-for-Knowledge plans are for all employees, whereas the Gainsharing plans are for executive positions. Profit-sharing incentives are purported for distributing equivalent bonus pay to all employees when the company’s financial health is above the certain P/E ratio level of financial portfolio.
Gainsharing plan. This plan is an optional benefit for employees. A stock-option plan that divides the dividends to all executive employees or operational cost-savings through greater work efficiency.
Pay for Knowledge plan. Some companies preferred that Pay-for-Knowledge incentive plan to be designed for employees to learn new task skills other than their initial job description duties and cover other employees’ job tasks as needed. an incentive benefit.
Variable pay. Similar to the Gainsharing plan, but, this plan is designed for middle managers, for production outputs exceeding the costs of bonuses. Managers must be on exempted salary rate that does not include the compensation time, overtime pay, and or added merit based pay. This incentive benefit can be transferred to retirement benefits by the time a middle-level manager retired. Moreover, then the company has to pay out retirement benefits.
Individual Incentive Plans. Under the Individual Incentive program, there are two forms of special payments for employees earning their highest performance potential and demonstrating an ability to influence other employees to motivate to earn their performance incentive benefits.
Salary Bonus. In the private-for-profit sectors, service employees receive sales bonuses—the number of goods sold above the baseline in a year. A bonus earned that is not succeeding is described, as the numbers of goods sold are less than the minimum sales mark baseline (e.g., 10% of unsatisfied consumers). A guideline on salary bonus system should be brief with less than 100 words without any discretion (Ebert, et .al, 2005)
Merit salary system. A system designed for manufacturing, factory, and Not-for-Profit sectors employees earning through the performance rank levels. Some companies would design an incentive plan for employees in service for 1-5 years, 5-10 years, and 10-20 years. The first twenty years of services, employees receive a 1% to 5% raise, including the scores of 100% to 90% performance scorecard results. Any exception to the incentive rules, according to the guidelines as indicated, would take in account considerably. Such as, the objective of Social responsibility--- gains more stakeholders --- influences the power of products/services that benefits the community and organization as whole. Thus, those employees gain its recognization for its accomplishment and they are entitled to incentive benefits as a part of companywide incentive program. Hence, it depends on the all aspects of organization’s health including internal/external exposure during the year of services rendered (Ebert, et .al, 2005).
Recommendations
Managers get to participate to the assembly line and perform the task productivity, and join lunch with assembly liners to hear out the pros and cons of the work procession, which may help managers to get the idea of how each employee act, behave, react, and think toward to the job duties. If managers see employees help one another on an assembly line, which shows that they are working, together as team without knowing they are doing it. It is recommended that all employees are rewarded for their hard work on quotas met for the time frame based on the evaluation and performance results. Provide a continuing education for managers and employees to keep up the corporation trends and society trends and laws or regulations and all of the environmental factors or business factors to prevent from costly fixed or flexible assets and liabilities. In the reference of the 20-80 rules, an organization shall always review and reevaluate strategy objectives that is imposed by internal /external environment or environmental factors that may affect one or two incentive objectives. The measurements of objectives are best described as a guideline for employees to perform their best potential (e.g., the survival, growth, and profitability) based on performance.
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