ABSTRACT
Government
all over the world has always existed to give direction, meaning, organization,
management and leadership to the affairs of both human and material resources.
In Nigeria for instance there is the philosophy and practice of capitalist
economy. This socio-economic and political system allows and promotes
individualistic ownership of means of production and distribution of goods and
services.
It
is in the light of the apparent overzealous tendencies associated with
capitalist economy and the insatiable nature of man that government is
empowered by the country’s constitution to deal appropriately with matters and
issues relating to business operations in the overall interest of the general
public. It is by the facts of the above reasons that this study seeks to
identify the ways and means through which government conduct the regulation and
promotion of business enterprises in Nigeria vis-Ã -vis the wellbeing of the
entire citizenry. The study therefore employs the use of stakeholder theory to
adumbrate the reasons for government regulation of business enterprises. The
results showed that government deploys the constitutional powers at her disposal
to effectuate the smooth operations of business enterprises within her
jurisdiction. Findings
however reveal that the capitalists and merchants are capable of perpetrating
evil machination and ungodly and unethical practices if left unchecked hence
the strong recommendation that government should not rest on its oasis in her
quest for a healthy and productive business atmosphere.
INTRODUCTION
It is instructive to state here
categorically loud and clear that right from creation down to the present day,
there has always been regulation of human activities. This is clearly
demonstrated in the Holy Book, the Bible in Genesis chapter three verses one to
seven Genesis 3:1-7. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the Lord God made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, you
shall not eat of every tree of the garden”? And the woman said to the serpent,
“we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, god has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor
shall you touch it, lest you die.” Then the serpent said to the woman, you will
not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw
the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree
desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruits and ate. She also gave to
her husband with her, and he ate, then the eyes of both of them were opened and
they knew that they were naked; and they served fig leaves together and made
themselves covering. From the above quotations from the Bible it becomes
crystal clear that if man could flout the regulation of God who is the creator
and Supreme Being, then man can spring surprises even in business transaction
or dealings. In the same vein, the contemporary society is replete with stories
of bizarre, wicked and atrocious behaviours so much so that man inhumanity to
man has become rule of the thumb rather than the exception. Therefore,
government in recognition of the above problem enjoys the constitutional powers
to deploy all the resources at its disposal to provide, promote and protect
business enterprises, operators, customers, consumers, suppliers, competitors
and indeed all the stakeholders.
THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
Our society today is awash with stories of unethical
conducts and practices of individuals as well as groups or corporate
organization who carry out their business activities in a very despicable and
incredible manner devoid of decorum, fear of God, equity, good conscience and
natural justice as it were.
In spite of all the
instrumentalities and various agencies government has but in place to enforce
smooth and healthy business practices in the country. Our national dailies,
radio and television programmes have always inundated us with bizarre stories
of what happen in the different sectors of our Nigerian business world. These
range from fake and adulterated products, expired goods, embezzlement, forgery,
environmental pollution, misappropriation of public fund, slave labour, casualization
of staff/ workers, denial of one’s inalienable rights, bribery and corruption,
brutalization, kidnapping, litigation and even destruction of peoples lives and
properties and so on. These crimes are perpetrated across the length and
breadth of Nigeria with impunity.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Government has been variously
defined by scholars, writers, authors based on their understanding, background,
orientation and training and so on.
Eyiyere in Ile 2002:3 argues that
the word “Government” refers to the whole machinery or system through which a
country is ruled. He maintains that such a system usually develops out of people’s
historical experience, culture, customs or common practice. Sometimes the term
government is used to refer to a group of people who hold and wield the
instrument of power with which a given country is ruled or governed as the case
many be.
Similarity, Jordan (1985:1), defines
government as the management, direction and control of the public affairs of a
given social group or unit. It is further argued that government is at once a
process, a structure and idea.
Invariably, as a process, government
is the art of process of governing. Then as a structure, it is viewed as an
organization or institution of the state. Finally, as an idea, government is
perceived as an academic field of study or a discipline.
In another instance, government
could mean a group of people that governs a community or unit as it were. The
group is usually charged with the responsibilities of setting and administering
public policy and exercising executive, political power through customs,
institutions and laws within a state. Government could also be seen as an
institution that makes and enforces public policies for and on a society. The
public policies have to do with the things government wants to do in its
involvement with society. And for government to make and enforce the said
public policy, it must possess the instrument called power which could be in
the form of executive power, legislative power, and judicial power
respectively.
Also contributing to knowledge,
Ezezue, (2011:154-155) opines that, “there are many laws that affect business
and marketing communications”. She went further to state that the UK television
advertising alone has at least 56 statutes and regulations which affect
business enterprises. Some of those statutes and regulations include but not
limited to :1987 consumer protection act, sex discrimination Acts 1975 and
1986, the Race Relation Act, 1976, the telecommunication Act 1988; here in
Nigeria, the following measures were put in place to regulate business
activities: Business Name Act 1961, Exchange Control Act, 1962, immigration Act
1963, the companies and allied matters decree 1968 (CAMA, 1990)’ the industrial
training fund (ITF) decree 1971, price control decree 1979; patent and design
decree 1979; Nigerian Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) Act 1971; the
Nigerian enterprises promotion decree (NEDP 1973 and 1989; National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Agency for Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC) Acts of 1997 and 1989 respectively, and a lost of others. All these
and other laws and regulation were put in place the government of Nigeria to
ensure protection of lives and properties of citizens through healthy and
ethnical business practices obtainable in the global business world.
STAKEHOLDER THEORY
This is a theory that was propounded
by R. Edward Freeman in his book titled strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach.
This theory hinges on organizational management and business ethics that
addresses morals and values in managing an organization. In other words, the
theory identifies and models the groups which are stakeholders of a corporation
and both describes and recommends methods by which management can give due
regard and respect to the interests of those groups. Simply put, it attempts to
address the principle of who or what really counts.
Therefore, the stakeholder theory
argues that there are other parties involved including but not limited to
employees, customers, suppliers, financiers, communities, governmental bodies,
political groups, trade associations, as well as unions etc.
GOVERNMENT
REGULATION OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
Government
adopts different measures and approaches in the regulations of business
enterprises which includes but not limited to the followings:
a. Permission:
Most businesses need to register with the state government to operate. Corporations
need a charter, and other forms of businesses, such as limited liability
companies or partnerships, need other forms of registration. The function of
this registration is usually to define the financial liability the owners of
the company have. It limits their risk to the amount they have invested in that
particular organization. Registration also allows the government to monitor
companies to execute its other functions in the business world.
b. Contract
enforcement: Business contract with other business, these contracts may be
complex, such as mergers, or they may be as simple as a warranty on supplies
purchased. The government enforces these contracts. Companies bring one another
to court just as individuals do. An oral agreement can constitution a contract,
but usually only a written agreement is provable in court of law. If one party
fails or refuses to meet its obligation under a contract, a company will turn
to the legal system for enforcement.
c. Consumer
Protection: The Government’s role in business includes protecting the
consumer or customer. When a vendor fails to honour the guarantee, the
purchaser has recourse in the law. Likewise when a product causes harm to an
individual, the courts may hold the vendor or manufacturer responsible.
Labeling is another requirement the government imposes on marketers.
Many foods, for example must display
nutritional content on the packaging.
d. Employee
Protection: Here, many state and federal agencies work to protect the
rights of employees. In some countries, the occupational health and safety
administration becomes an agency under the labour department. Its mission is to
ensure a safe and healthful work environment. While the equal opportunity
commission protects employees from discrimination in the case of Nigeria we
have the public complains commission otherwise known as (Ombudsman).
e. Environmental
Protection: It is said that when a marketing transaction impacts a third
party- others besides the marketer and purchaser the effect is called
externality. The third party is often the environment. Thus it is the role of
government to regulate industry and thereby protect the public from
environmental externalities. Whether the government is effective in this role
or not is a different issue for another day.
f.
Taxation: Governments at all levels tax businesses and the resulting
revenue is an important part of government budgets. Some revenue is taxed at
the corporate level then taxed as personal income when distributed as
dividends. This is no way inappropriate, since it balances the tax burden
between the company and individual and allows the government to tax more
equitably.
g. Investor
Protection: Government mandates that companies make financial information
public, thereby protecting the rights of investors and facitating further
investment. This is generally done through with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
h. Promoting
Entrepreneurs: This has to do with the people, who seed, grow and renew
businesses
i. Encouraging
innovation and technology: This enables and allows growth industries to
blossom.
j. Unleashing
private capital: Here government finances all stages of business formation.
Connecting
to global markets: this is done fully capture rapidly expanding opportunities.
Cultivating
industry clusters: to help businesses develop through critical mass of
education training, finance and marketing.
THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
It is a well known fact that
government all over the world wields environs powers and even to the extent of
possessing the monopoly of instrument of coactions or what the political
pundits would refer to as the naked power.
However, beyond every other thing
Ile, (2002:7-10) outlines the functions of modern government to include but not
limited to the following:
(i) Protection
of lives and property: the constitution of every country bestows on its government the duty to ensure adequate protection of lives and property of her citizens. The police force army and law courts are the agencies
directly charged with responsibilities
of ensuring the protection of lives and property of not only the citizens but
also those living in the country.
(ii) Provision
of social Amenities: It is the duty of government to provide her citizens with social
amenities such as good roads, electricity,
pipe borne water hospitals, schools and even recreation centres among other things to the citizens especially from the taxes the citizens pay.
(iii) Provision
of Employment Opportunities: Again, it is the duty of the government to provide employment
opportunities to the teeming youths and
other citizens. In some advanced countries, the
unemployed people are even paid certain allowances or stipend to keep
them.
(iv) Implementation
of Law: It is also the duty of government to implement or execute the law. This is done by government
through the executive arm of
government.
(v) Interpretation of Law: Another function of
government is to interpret the law and
punish the offenders adequately.
(v) Maintenance
of order, Justice and Morality: It is also the duty of the government to maintain order, justice, and
morality. It is imperative that human conduct in every society be
controlled by the government through law so that no member of society will suffer injury from other members of society
or after receiving injury from others, go without remedy.
(vi) Defence
of the Country: Government established and equipped standing armed forces
in order to defend the country from external aggression
or internal insurrection and to maintain the territorial integrity of the state.
(viii) Law
making: it is the function of the government to make good laws for the good governance of the
country. This is usually done by
the government of the day through the legislative arm of government.
(ix) Maintaining
External Relations: Government has the responsibility
of establishing and maintaining external relations with friendly nations in order for this to be achieved and reasonably too, embassies and high commissions are established and maintained in those countries and ambassadors and high commissioners are appointed to take charge of them. Government equal formulate foreign
policies to suite the interest of the nation.
(x) Regulation
of Economic Activities: Government has the responsibility
of regulating economic activities in order to protect the economy, ensuring economic growth and economic development through careful economic
planning and execution, maintaining
stable economic atmosphere etc. The Government, in fact, do establish some regulating agencies and ministries
such as the central bank of
Nigeria, the ministries of finance and that of economic
planning etc to help in the performance of this force.
(xi) Orderly
transfer of authority or power: It is the functions of the Government to orderly transfer authority from
one Government to another.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
It is a well known fact that every
responsible and responsive government has the primary duty of safeguarding or
protecting lives and property of its citizens.
It is also pertinent and worthy of
note to state that, government goes about the protection of lives and property
in different ways and means. Specifically, government regulation of business
activities are done through the various agencies charged with responsibilities
of overseeing the affairs of the business enterprises within their area of
jurisdiction or coverage. For instance, in Nigeria there are agencies such as
the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON)
National Agencies for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
National Communication Commission (NCC). National Electricity Regularly
Commission (NERC) Nigeria Consumer Protection Council (NEPC) Etc. Beyond the protection of lives and
property of citizens, government also regulates business in order to generate
revenue for developmental projects and to also conform with the international
best practices. Some plausible recommendations were also presented for
reference purposes.
RECOMMENDATION
Arising from the study and its
findings. The following recommendations were made.
1. Government should continue to play its
major roles of regulating the
entrance, operations and exit of business enterprise in Nigeria.
2. Similarly, all the agencies of
government saddled with the responsibilities
of monitoring the activities of operators should be gives sufficient powers to prosecute erring operators.
3. the judiciary should be alive to its
duties of punishing offenders without
fear of favour.
4. The legislature on its part should
enact laws that give a level play ground
to those wishing into business.
5. Finally, those aspiring to venture into
business, should be thoroughly
screened, oriented and trained on the international best practice and ethical code of conduct among
other things.
REFERENCES
Ezezue,
B. O. (2011) Business Communication and some Basic Issues in Management, Enugu; Precision Publishers Limited.
Freeman
R. Edward (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Boston Pitman.
http:/www.snallbusiness.chron.com/rle-government-bu;
Ile,
N. M. (2002) Government Business and Labour Management Relations in Nigeria, Enugu, Otuson Nigeria Limited.
Jordan
Robert S. (1985), Government and Power in West Africa, Benin City; Ethiopic Publishing Corporation.
Nelson
Thomas Inc (1985) the Holy Bible, New King James Version, USA; National Publishing Company.