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Thursday, April 21, 2005

Uganda Members of Parliament arrested

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Dear ugandans,
I'm very disappointed with the present situation in uganda. I once respected your president but now I am very convinced he's another Robert mugabe, who uses intimidation and violance to preach his model of democracy. The opposition should take to the streets before you all end up in prison. This time your international friends will not let you down.

"MPs protest Okumu, Ocula arrest, charge
By Monitor Reporters
Opposition leaders plan demonstration today

KAMPALA — The arrest of two members of Parliament on murder charges took centre stage yesterday in the House as legislators took turns to condemn the act.

Mr Reagan Okumu (Aswa County MP), also the deputy executive co-ordinator of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Mr Michael Nyeko Ocula (Kilak County MP) were arrested on Wednesday, charged with murder and sent on remand at Luzira Prisons.

Kashari County MP, Maj. John Kazoora said he was not surprised by the arrests, and claimed that President Yoweri Museveni at one time said he hates Okumu and Ocula.
Kazoora cited a recent incident where the President said, “I and Matembe should come back to the Movement or else we will get hit by a tornado. Does the President control heaven? Certainly he knows the tornado he is talking about. Tomorrow if I am arrested for treason, I will know the tornado that hit me,” Kazoora told the House.

Bugweri County MP, Mr Abdu Katuntu, said the arrests were politically instigated.
“This is political persecution. We (opposition) have tried not to degenerate to extremism. Don’t push us to the wall,” Katuntu said.

The FDC officials have called a demonstration to protest the arrest of the two MPs.
The two are accused of murdering Alfred Bongomin on February 12, 2002 at Pabbo in Gulu district.
The Speaker, Mr Edward Ssekandi said he knew of the arrest on Wednesday night (about 10 pm). He said he immediately called the Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi to register his concern. “I did not know of the arrest until 10 pm.

Earlier in the day, I had informed the two MPs about a letter I received from the CID Director [Kuteesa] and advised them to get in touch with her,” Ssekandi said.
Ssekandi dismissed as false accusations that he adjourned the House prematurely to facilitate the arrest of the MPs. He said he adjourned the House at around 4.30 pm to allow MPs attend a mass in honour of the new Pope Benedict XVI at Lubaga Cathedral.

The MPs were yesterday largely responding to a statement by Internal Affairs Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda about the arrest. Rugunda told the House that the murder of Bongomin was a premeditated criminal act. He said that investigations indicated that the murder plot was hatched in Okumu’s house in Gulu.

The late Bongomin, formerly a Movement chairman of Pabbo sub-county was killed by unknown gunmen on February 12, 2002. An eye-witness account said that Bongomin’s body bore two or three bullet wounds on the head and chest.
Said Rugunda, “Hon. Okumu and Hon. Ocula are said to have participated in the meetings.”

Rugunda said there was sufficient evidence to charge the MPs after the Director of Public Prosecutions had completed inquiries into the case.
Mr Katuntu said, “Is it a coincidence for the same MPs who were beaten up to be arrested?” This country belongs to all of us. Nobody shall persecute us and get away with it,” he said on top of his voice.

Gulu Municipality MP Norbert Mao said that a plot had been hatched to also include him among the suspects for the murder of Bongomin.
“Col. Otema [head of intelligence in northern Uganda] tried to link me to the murder. It is insanity !” he said.

Mao said these were trumped up charges, which were politically motivated to harass government opponents. Said Mao: “Museveni and his government have pushed us too far. Government should release all political prisoners. Who knows who will be the next prison victim tomorrow?”

Agago County MP, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, said, “All the plans are hatched within Acholi.”
Many MPs in protest carried placards in the House reading “We say no to political persecution.”
Bugabula South MP, Ms Saalamu Musumba, carried her placard throughout the debate.
The other placards read, “End Sadism. Free Acholi People From Mental Torture.”
Okumu and Ocula appeared in the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court at 4.45pm.

They were not allowed to enter any plea. The two MPs are expected to reappear in court this morning.
The two MPs are jointly charged with Mr Steven Otim Olanya, an LCI chairman of Green Valley Sub-ward in Gulu, Mr Ochan Layang of Ayeri and Mr David Ocheng, a local councillor in the same district.
The three men were separately charged on April 6 before the same court and remanded at Luzira.

Several legislators yesterday visited the two MPs at Luzira Upper Prison. Okumu and Ocula said they are politically harassed because they belong to the opposition. “We won’t accept this kind of intimidation,” the two said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party announced yesterday it was calling for civil disobedience and demonstrations to protest harassment of its supporters, reports Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi.

The party said its members and those of other opposition parties will demonstrate today to show solidarity with the two MPs who are also officials of the party. The six major opposition parties were by last evening also preparing a letter calling on the donors to freeze funding to the government of President Yoweri Museveni.

The FDC spokesman, Mr Wafula Oguttu said the charges were trumped up as a means to harass the opposition. He told a press conference at FDC offices that the charges against the two MPs are political, not criminal.

“The arrest is the beginning of an orchestrated campaign against the opposition and not simply a random act or just vendetta against the two honourable members - Reagan Okumu and Michael Ocula - by the government,” Oguttu said.

The MPs’ lawyer, Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, said the MPs were not allowed legal representation and their arrest, production in court and detention in a record number of hours was conducted in a fashion that showed government wanted to keep them away for long.

Oguttu said all the opposition parties were in talks to mobilise supporters to show solidarity with the arrested MPs. “We are working together with the G6, right now meetings are going on. We are going to organise people to show solidarity with our colleagues,” he said, “we are organising something massive to show that we are not happy with the government.”

Oguttu said that calling on donors to temporarily freeze funding to government will prove to President Museveni that democracy is the only option and that terror will not be tolerated.

“We call upon the diplomatic community and Uganda’s international development partners to move beyond making statements of concern about the state of democracy in Uganda,” he said. By Monitor Reporters

KAMPALA — The arrest of two members of Parliament on murder charges took centre stage yesterday in the House as legislators took turns to condemn the act.
Mr Reagan Okumu (Aswa County MP), also the deputy executive co-ordinator of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Mr Michael Nyeko Ocula (Kilak County MP) were arrested on Wednesday, charged with murder and sent on remand at Luzira Prisons.

Kashari County MP, Maj. John Kazoora said he was not surprised by the arrests, and claimed that President Yoweri Museveni at one time said he hates Okumu and Ocula.
Kazoora cited a recent incident where the President said, “I and Matembe should come back to the Movement or else we will get hit by a tornado. Does the President control heaven? Certainly he knows the tornado he is talking about. Tomorrow if I am arrested for treason, I will know the tornado that hit me,” Kazoora told the House.

Bugweri County MP, Mr Abdu Katuntu, said the arrests were politically instigated.
“This is political persecution. We (opposition) have tried not to degenerate to extremism. Don’t push us to the wall,” Katuntu said.
The FDC officials have called a demonstration to protest the arrest of the two MPs.
The two are accused of murdering Alfred Bongomin on February 12, 2002 at Pabbo in Gulu district.

The Speaker, Mr Edward Ssekandi said he knew of the arrest on Wednesday night (about 10 pm). He said he immediately called the Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi to register his concern. “I did not know of the arrest until 10 pm.

Earlier in the day, I had informed the two MPs about a letter I received from the CID Director [Kuteesa] and advised them to get in touch with her,” Ssekandi said.
Ssekandi dismissed as false accusations that he adjourned the House prematurely to facilitate the arrest of the MPs. He said he adjourned the House at around 4.30 pm to allow MPs attend a mass in honour of the new Pope Benedict XVI at Lubaga Cathedral.

The MPs were yesterday largely responding to a statement by Internal Affairs Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda about the arrest. Rugunda told the House that the murder of Bongomin was a premeditated criminal act. He said that investigations indicated that the murder plot was hatched in Okumu’s house in Gulu.

The late Bongomin, formerly a Movement chairman of Pabbo sub-county was killed by unknown gunmen on February 12, 2002. An eye-witness account said that Bongomin’s body bore two or three bullet wounds on the head and chest.
Said Rugunda, “Hon. Okumu and Hon. Ocula are said to have participated in the meetings.”

Rugunda said there was sufficient evidence to charge the MPs after the Director of Public Prosecutions had completed inquiries into the case.
Mr Katuntu said, “Is it a coincidence for the same MPs who were beaten up to be arrested?” This country belongs to all of us. Nobody shall persecute us and get away with it,” he said on top of his voice.

Gulu Municipality MP Norbert Mao said that a plot had been hatched to also include him among the suspects for the murder of Bongomin.
“Col. Otema [head of intelligence in northern Uganda] tried to link me to the murder. It is insanity !” he said.

Mao said these were trumped up charges, which were politically motivated to harass government opponents. Said Mao: “Museveni and his government have pushed us too far. Government should release all political prisoners. Who knows who will be the next prison victim tomorrow?”

Agago County MP, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, said, “All the plans are hatched within Acholi.”
Many MPs in protest carried placards in the House reading “We say no to political persecution.”

Bugabula South MP, Ms Saalamu Musumba, carried her placard throughout the debate.
The other placards read, “End Sadism. Free Acholi People From Mental Torture.”
Okumu and Ocula appeared in the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court at 4.45pm.
They were not allowed to enter any plea. The two MPs are expected to reappear in court this morning.

The two MPs are jointly charged with Mr Steven Otim Olanya, an LCI chairman of Green Valley Sub-ward in Gulu, Mr Ochan Layang of Ayeri and Mr David Ocheng, a local councillor in the same district.
The three men were separately charged on April 6 before the same court and remanded at Luzira.

Several legislators yesterday visited the two MPs at Luzira Upper Prison. Okumu and Ocula said they are politically harassed because they belong to the opposition. “We won’t accept this kind of intimidation,” the two said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party announced yesterday it was calling for civil disobedience and demonstrations to protest harassment of its supporters, reports Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi.

The party said its members and those of other opposition parties will demonstrate today to show solidarity with the two MPs who are also officials of the party. The six major opposition parties were by last evening also preparing a letter calling on the donors to freeze funding to the government of President Yoweri Museveni.

The FDC spokesman, Mr Wafula Oguttu said the charges were trumped up as a means to harass the opposition. He told a press conference at FDC offices that the charges against the two MPs are political, not criminal.

“The arrest is the beginning of an orchestrated campaign against the opposition and not simply a random act or just vendetta against the two honourable members - Reagan Okumu and Michael Ocula - by the government,” Oguttu said.

The MPs’ lawyer, Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, said the MPs were not allowed legal representation and their arrest, production in court and detention in a record number of hours was conducted in a fashion that showed government wanted to keep them away for long.

Oguttu said all the opposition parties were in talks to mobilise supporters to show solidarity with the arrested MPs. “We are working together with the G6, right now meetings are going on. We are going to organise people to show solidarity with our colleagues,” he said, “we are organising something massive to show that we are not happy with the government.”

Oguttu said that calling on donors to temporarily freeze funding to government will prove to President Museveni that democracy is the only option and that terror will not be tolerated.

“We call upon the diplomatic community and Uganda’s international development partners to move beyond making statements of concern about the state of democracy in Uganda,” he said. "

Posted by: Harriet Mcguire | Thursday, April 21, 2005

Dear fellow citizens of the uganda

I know as you also very well know it is not surprising to learn, hear, see, read or find out that Hon. Reagan Okumu MP for Aswa County, and his co MP for Kilak County, Mr. Hon. Michael Nyeko Ocula was arrested by the Uganda government security and remanded in Luzira Prison. This is not a new thing happening to these Members of parliament coming from Acholi region, because some few months ago the two MP were beaten, humiliated, embarrassed by the UPDF soldiers for the reason that they have gone to consult their people in the displacement camp in the regions they are representing in the parliament.

Secondly, few months ago, Hon. Reagan Okumu wrote to Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Internal Affairs and Hon. Amama Mbabazi, Minister for Defence drawing their attention to the rampant violation of human right in the entire Acholi regions by the UPDFsoldiers. In the same letter, Reagan pointed out clearly the brutality, open killing of his people, unlawful arrest, beating, detention of his people in Acholiland. He also stated clearly the death threat he himself is experiencing in the hands of the UPDF.

Is this arrest the response to Mr. Okumu’s letter? Were these soldiers arrested and taken the court of law for the crime they committing? If few months ago Ofwono Opondo shot and killed somebody, is he also going to charge for murder? These are what the two Minister should tell us.

Seeing Mr. Okumu Reagan’s letter below to the two ministers, Makes me conclude that there is a lot of double standard being played by Government

MP OKUMU’S HONESTY


THE PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA
P.O BOX 7178, KAMPALA
TEL.348584, FAX. 342364,
PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

10/3/2005
Hon. Amama Mbabazi,
Minister of Defence.
The Republic of Uganda.

Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda,
Minister of Internal Affairs
The Republic of Uganda

Dear Ministers,

REF.VIOLATION OF RIGHTS, MILITARISED RULE OF LAW AND POLITICISED MILITARY DETENSION WITHOUT TRIAL.

I would like to seriously draw your attention to the rampant violation of human rights by some section of the UPDF. I draw your attention in particular to the UPDF 11 battalion. The following are some of the extreme reported cases and there are others like beatings that seem to be normal now: -
-On the 9/2/2005 Owiny P.Oneka of Paduny parish in Awach sub-county Aswa county was shot by UPDF from his house in Awach Camp.
-On 15/2/2005 Nyeko Batulumayo of Paduny parish,Awach subcounty Aswa county was gunned down by UPDF.
-On 18/2.2005 Ayella Vincent was killed in Awach Camp by UPDF.
-On 18/2/2005 Kidega Richard a teacher of Olel P7 was killed by UPDF.

-On 23/2/2005 AJ Opoka of Pagik was killed by UPDF
-1/3/2005 Nyero David from Awach Camp was beaten to near death by UPDF-HE IS IN HOSPITAL.
-2/3/2005 One Ave was killed in Awach camp area by UPDF.
-19/2/2005 Odong Binoni of Pagik camp was tortured to near death by UPDF
-5/3/2005 Oneka Kenneth of Pagik Camp was shot dead by the UPDF
-5/3/2005 AbuOpoka ’min’ Ouna of Pagik was killed by UPDF for being the mother of a suspected rebel collaborator.
At this rate with the many tortures and beatings, 11 Battalion will reduce our population greatly if you do not act. This same matter has been reported to the fourth division PC.

Secondly I would like to draw your attention to the militarized rule of law and politicized detention of people without trial of people opposed to NRMO party in the entire Acholi sub-region. A week ago Mr.Orach Otim was arrested by UPDF from Pabbo camp and taken to Gulu military barrack where he is being detain-he is told that if he joins the movement (NRMO) then he would be release. Yesterday the Chairman LC1 of green valley in Gulu Mr.Olanya Stephen were arrested together with the LCV councilor of Lamogi Mr.Penytoo David by police on an alleged charge of attempting murder which was the right procedure but by 300pm they were taken away by UPDF from police custody. This in particular is worrying given the fact that the two were arrested by the state in 2002 on allegation of murder and treason only to be set free after more than one year of detention and torture when the state withdrew the case. This is part of the frame up charges because the last time state officials asked them to accept amnesty and support NRMO, which they refused, and to date this is their major crime. If the state has a case-take them to court and prison not UPDF barracks. Further to this Col.Otema Charles has been threatening these people after their first release with another nightmare if they dare continue with the opposition politics. Col. Otema Charles is openly campaigning for President Museveni and his third term project with serious threats to people opposed to that. From my sources, Col.Otema Charles is allegedly threatening death to the opposition leaders including me. He is further being allege to be planning to use former LRA rebels in his allege project. For this reason since there is no smoke without fire this is a serious warning signal, which you should seriously, investigate this matter. Mean while my safety and that of other leaders remain the responsibility of the state.

Thirdly Hon. Ministers, there is a high court standing order for UPDF division four to release the body of Peter Oloya who was killed by UPDF while on a night raid on 16/9/2002 where 22 prisoners were forcefully removed from Gulu central prison and they were taken and unlawfully detained at UPDF barracks for over 3 months until a high court order demanded for their transfer to civil prison before the state as usual dropped their murder/treason charges.

This matters Hon.Ministers, I trust that you are senior and competent enough to handle because it does not only expose government in serious violation of human rights but as a government engaged in a mockery of a transition to multi-party democracy where state institutions are not fused with the interest of the ruling party.

Thank you.
Yours in struggle for good governance.

OKUMU RONALD REAGAN-MP
ASWA COUNTY-GULU DISTRICT.

CC.SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT
CC.HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
CC .ALL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN UGANDA

Seeing Mr. Okumu Reagan’s letter above to the two ministers, Makes me conclude that there is a lot of double standard being played by Government.

Nyeko Christ
UGANDA

Posted by: nyeko chris | Saturday, April 30, 2005

I do believe that the 2 Honourables were becoming a voice for the silent majority and the NRM had to sop them! Uganda is becoming a dangerous place for those that dare speak out

Posted by: Nayigaga | Saturday, April 30, 2005

Uganda is becoming quite un predictable. With the President's desire for the fifth term in office, he is ready to do any thing to maintain himself in power. Mr. Museveni is a typical Machiavellian politician. Unless the international community intervenes, Ugandans are going to suffer drastically. Museveni no longer respects the rule of law which he claims to have fought for in the bush. The donors must wake up and look at the plight of Ugandans.

Posted by: Nuwagaba Vincent | Monday, May 02, 2005

History is about to repeat itself if not man is repeating history. It is quite unfortunate that despite the fact that our current political leaders are well versed with the political history of this country, they have wantonly decided to choke all the avenues of democracy. The arrest of Honourables Michael Ochula and Reagan Okumu provide more questions than answers. One wonders the reason as to why these people were not arrested in 2002 when they are alleged to have committed the crime? The rules of natural justice hold that justice delayed is indeed justice denied. As a matter of fact in a situation like this, one has all the reasons to smell a rat. But again, how many criminals have been shielded by this regime. Just months ago, the spokes person of the NRM-O and Director of information at the Movement secretariat shot a suspected thief. What was done to him? Ugandans need to see justice done. We need to see equal treatment of all Ugandans for thats when one would feel proud to be Ugandan. Of course, I don't condone murder if the two honourables committed it but I highly doubt. At the moment the two senior citizens are innocent until proved guilty. Unfortunately, in Uganda President Museveni behaves like he is the law, the judiciary, justice, the state and evry thing. And I am quite sure, if these MPs were third termists, they wouldn't be in prison. One is left wondering whether this is not political persecution. What is so annoying is why all this is done to the Acholi who suffered under Amin and under Obote as if these people annoyed God. Sincerely, God should listen to the plight of his people.

Posted by: Vincent Nuwagaba | Monday, May 02, 2005

Uganda recorded 80,000 deaths from malaria, half of these children. Malaria costs Uganda more than $347 million a year. But when public health officials decided to begin a DDT spraying campaign, they immediately encountered opposition from USAID. Officials were also warned that Europe and the United States might ban imports of Ugandan fish and agricultural products.

Posted by: herbert mwesigye | Friday, May 27, 2005

Transformational Leadership
Basic ideas of leadership are about power and its use, about control of resources, and how they are disposed, initiatives in social interpretation, sensemaking and shaping of meaning and the place of individuals in the context of social control options like the law. [1] Consideration of leadership has moved through notions about heroes, attention to traits, context and advocacy of the importance of the leader having vision. Whilst some considered leaders were born, others developed ways of training leaders. In 1990s as some continued to argue that crafting strategy was the principal task of the leader others saw that creating the climate in which followers could achieve more than their best was the main game.
In the 1970s through the 80s organisations were seen to be facing the dilemma of employee commitment. [2] Jay Conger (University of Southern California) has observed that in the midst of their change efforts, companies were resorting to extensive downsizing as well as to new organisational arrangements such as flatter hierarchies and strategic business units. While often improving bottom-line performance, these initiatives took their toll on worker satisfaction and empowerment. In the process, the old social contract of long-term employment in return for employee loyalty was broken. The net result was the disenfranchising of many in the workforce. Moreover, this occurred just at the moment when corporations were demanding ever-greater performance and commitment from employees.
For companies, the challenge became a question of how to orchestrate transformational change while simultaneously building employee morale and commitment, a seemingly contradictory endeavour. In the view of Conger, these events had a direct impact on the study of leadership. It turned attention to the senior leaders in the belief that they possessed the power and resources to effectively implement significant organisational change.
In the late 1970's an approach to studies of leadership emerged which engaged a number of researchers in the USA and expanded to investigate the extent to which a new theory of leadership behaviour, based first on studies of politicians, could be applied internationally, was more valid in circumstances of crisis, applied to people at different levels and was true for both public and private organisations.
Transformational Leadership Theory emerged from considerations by James McGregor Burns [3] of the histories of various political leaders. Burns identified two types of leadership style, transformational and transactional leadership. Transformational leaders engaged with followers and sought new ways of working so as to achieve more for both themselves and followers than they would ordinarily. Transactional leaders engaged with followers as part of an exchange process that involved tangible rewards for superior performance and mutual support. Burns drew from the literature on traits, leadership styles and research on the behaviour of leaders and followers, as well as his own observations. [4]

President John F Kennedy once said, "Courage - not complacency - is our need today. Leadership - not salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead. Our ends will not be won by rhetoric. We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves."
Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping took his grandson to see Chairman Mao Zeedong. "You may call me Granduncle", said Mao to the little boy. "Oh I couldn't possibly do that", said the child. "Give him an apple," said Deng. "Oh, thank you Granduncle", the little boy chirped. "See what a difference incentives make", said Deng.

In more detail, the transformational leader was seen as someone who engages with others in such a way that leader and follower raise one another to a higher level of motivation and morality, a level not easily explained by traditional instrumental exchanges. These higher aspirations or goals of the collective group are expected to transcend the individual and result in the achievement of significant change in work unit effectiveness. Burns believed that all managers could be classified by leadership style according to their propensity for transactions with, versus transformation of, subordinates.
The transactional leader, on the other hand, was seen as operating within the existing system or culture, had a preference for risk avoidance, paid attention to time constraints and efficiency, and generally preferred process over substance as a means for maintaining control. The skilful transactional leader was likely to be effective in stable, predictable environments where charting activity against prior performance is the most successful strategy. This leader prototype was consistent with an equitable leader-member exchange relationship where the leader fulfilled the needs of followers in exchange for performance meeting basic expectations.
Bernard Bass [5], as much as anyone, has advanced Burns' theories. In Bass' view [6], transformational leaders seek new ways of working, seek opportunities in the face of risk, prefer effective to efficient answers and are less likely to support the status quo. Transformational leaders don't merely react to environmental circumstances, they attempt to shape and create them. They may use transactional strategies when appropriate but tend to use symbolism and imagery to solicit increased effort by raising the level of intellectual awareness about the importance of valued outcomes, by raising or expanding individual needs and by inducing a belief in transcending self-interest for the sake of the team or organisation.
In 1985 Bass developed an instrument to measure both transactional and transformational leader behaviour and to investigate the nature of the relationship between these leader styles and work unit effectiveness and satisfaction. The resulting instrument, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), was conceptually developed and empirically validated to reflect the complementary dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership with sub-scales to further differentiate leader behaviour. [7] The MLQ has since acquired a history of research as the primary quantitative instrument to measure the transformational leadership construct.
The MLQ has been examined in perhaps more than 100 research studies of leaders in a variety of organisational settings such as manufacturing, the military, educational and religious institutions, and at various levels in the organisation from first line supervisors to senior managers. MLQ scales have been related to a range of effectiveness criteria such as subordinate perceptions of effectiveness, as well as to a variety of organisational measures of performance like supervisory ratings, number of promotion recommendations, performance grades, percent of goals met, pass rate on exams and financial performance of the work unit.
The factors, the definitions and groupings, have been through a number of changes. It is now accepted that the concept involves four factors exhibited by effective leaders.
Idealised Influence
Leaders display conviction; emphasize trust; take stands on difficult issues; present their most important values; and emphasize the importance of purpose, commitment, and the ethical consequences of decision. Such leaders are admired as role models; they generate pride, loyalty, confidence, and alignment around a shared purpose.
Inspirational Motivation
Leaders articulate an appealing vision of the future, challenge followers with high standards, talk optimistically and with enthusiasm, and provide encouragement and meaning for what needs to be done.
Intellectual Stimulation
Leaders question old assumptions, traditions, and beliefs; stimulate in others new perspectives and ways of doing things; and encourage the expression of ideas and reasons.
Individualised Consideration
Leaders deal with others as individuals; consider their individual needs, abilities and aspirations; listen attentively; further their development; advise; and coach.
The MLQ measures a full range of leadership behaviours, including transactional leadership who may be characterised as engaging in the following behaviours:
Contingent Reward
Leaders engage in a constructive path-goal transaction of reward for performance. They clarify expectations, exchange promises and resources, arrange mutually satisfactory agreements, negotiate for resources, exchange assistance for effort, and provide commendations for successful follower performance.
Management-by-Exception
Active - leaders monitor followers' performance and take corrective action if deviations from standards occur. They enforce rules to avoid mistakes. Passive - leaders fail to intervene until problems become serious. They wait to take action until mistakes are brought to their attention.
Laissez Faire Leadership
A non-leadership component - leaders avoid accepting their responsibilities, are absent when needed, fail to follow up requests for assistance, and resist expressing their views on important issues.
It is asserted that Transformational Leadership positively affects organisational effectiveness, revolves around relationships, which are the core of leadership, can be measured and taught, and is effective across diverse cultures and organisations.
Bass's conceptualisation of the transformational leader also extended the ideas of Robert House (Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania) who promoted the construct of the charismatic leader by incorporating the individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation aspects. Rather than being dependent on the leader, followers were seen as able to demonstrate free choice behaviour and develop follower autonomy within the overlay of the leader's vision. Thus, true transformational leadership requires employee empowerment, not employee dependence.
The view that transformational leadership enhances organisational innovation has gained wide popularity among researchers during the past decade. [8] In summary, research has shown that leaders who display the four behaviours of transformational leadership are able to realign their followers' values and norms, promote both personal and organisational changes, and help followers to exceed their initial performance expectations.
Transformational leaders go beyond exchanging contractual agreements for desired performance by
actively engaging followers' personal value systems and providing ideological explanations that link followers' identities to the collective identity of their organisation, thereby increasing followers' intrinsic motivation (rather than just providing extrinsic motivation) to perform their job;
articulating an important vision and mission for the organisation, so increasing followers' understanding of the importance and values associated with desired outcomes; and
raising the performance expectations of followers so increasing their willingness to transcend their self-interests for the sake of the collective entity.
Motivated people tend to prefer novel approaches to problem solving. Followers' identification with the organisation's vision, mission, and culture also has been linked to heightened levels of motivation toward higher levels of performance.
Second, by providing intellectual stimulation, transformational leaders encourage followers to think "out of the box" and to adopt generative and exploratory thinking processes.
They stimulate their followers to think about old problems in new ways and encourage them to challenge their own values, traditions, and beliefs;
By showing high expectations and confidence in followers' capabilities, they help to develop followers' commitment to long-term goals, missions, and vision and to shift their focus from short-term and immediate solutions and objectives to long-term and fundamental solutions and objectives.

A study of unconventional behaviour by leaders in stimulating creativity [9] indicates that such behaviour (e.g., standing on furniture, hanging ideas on clotheslines) significantly interacts with follower perceptions of the leader as a role model for creativity to explain follower creativity. (In other words, unconventional behaviour by leaders attracts attention and stimulates improved performance.) Results also suggest that unconventional behaviour explains variance in group cohesion above and beyond transformational leadership, and that group cohesion interacts with group intrinsic motivation to explain group creative performance. (That is to say, if leaders behave in an unusual manner, especially in groups where intrinsic motivation is high, followers are encouraged to achieve above average results.)
(In the 1980s at the Royal British Columbia Museum, noted then for its outstanding exhibitions, put the proposed (draft) texts for its exhibition labels on notice boards in corridors for all staff to see and comment on.)
Other examples of the link between leadership and innovation come from the articles by Rosabeth Moss Kanter on leadership and organisational turnaround and Innovation at the World Bank (see New in Leadership, Management and Organizational Development).
The issue of transformational leadership and research and development organisations is dealt with further in the essay on what science leadership really means.

Notwithstanding the very many studies of transformational leadership that have produced important results, the morality of transformational leadership has been sharply questioned, particularly by libertarians, "grass roots" theorists, and organisational development consultants.
These criticisms have been addressed by arguing that to be truly transformational, leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. [10] "The four components of authentic transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration) are contrasted with their counterfeits in dissembling pseudo-transformational leadership on the basis of
(1) the moral character of the leaders and their concerns for self and others; (2) the ethical values embedded in the leaders' vision, articulation, and program, which followers can embrace or reject; and
(3) the morality of the processes of social ethical choices and action in which the leaders and followers engage and collectively pursue."
While transactional leadership manages outcomes and aims for behavioural compliance independent of the ideals a follower may happen to have, transformational leadership is predicated upon the inner dynamics of a freely embraced change of heart in the realm of core values and motivation, upon open-ended intellectual stimulation and a commitment to treating people as ends not mere means [11]. To bring about change, authentic transformational leadership fosters the modal values of honesty, loyalty, and fairness, as well as the end values of justice, equality, and human rights
One of the conclusions to be drawn from this examination of the theory is that "social distance" is always important to those who wish to be seen as charismatic but are in fact unethical and wish to ensure that they are not seen in that light. The credibility of the leaders suffers when the truth is stretched. Trust in the leaders is risked and ... trust is the single most important variable moderating the effects of transformational leadership on the performance, attitudes, and satisfaction of the followers. [12] Although distant leaders may be able to play with the truth longer than can close, immediate leaders ... the trust so necessary for authentic transformational leadership is lost when leaders are caught in lies, when the fantasies fail to materialize, or when hypocrisies and inconsistencies are exposed. [13]
Amongst other arguments about leadership, those concerning context have been amongst the most debated. Conger observed that investigations about context and situational factors have been few. Is transformational leadership more important at certain stages of the life cycle of the organisation? Does it apply across cultures? One study which illuminates this is of a school superintendent perceived by her organisation as a charismatic leader. When she later was appointed state commissioner of education that was not how she was seen. Several essential differences were seen between the two contexts. [14]
In terms of the organisational environment, the person's first context, a school district, was one in crisis whereas in the second context at the state government level there was not a similar state of distress. Authority also differed: as a superintendent she had much more control and autonomy. As commissioner, her number one priority was political loyalty to the governor. She no longer possessed the freedom to undertake actions she deemed necessary. Instead, her actions had to be cleared through the governor's office. Her relationships were also different.
Whereas the district organisation had been small with limited stakeholders and localized geographically, the agency was large, complex and bureaucratic. As a result, she had little time to build the deep, personal bonds that she had established at the district level. Her impact at the state level was no longer personal and she did not come to be seen as a charismatic leader.
This study might show that crisis is indeed more receptive to leadership in general and second, there are characteristics of organisations that influence an individual's latitude to take initiative and to build personal relationships that in turn shape perceptions of leadership. More latitude for initiative on the job may result in simply more opportunities to demonstrate leadership. The superintendent's position allowed far more autonomy to act than the commissioner's position. Closer proximity to followers may permit greater relationship building.
Whereas some research shows little relationship between charismatic leadership and crises other studies have seen organisations as benefiting from charismatic leadership in times of uncertainty. This is particularly so of studies of political leadership. [15] The performance of U.S. presidents was seen by their cabinet members to be strongly related to their charisma. [16]
Certainly there are differences between different cultures in terms of attributes like uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity-femininity as elaborated by Hofstede [17] in his 25 years of studies of international companies including IBM. Whilst there are several attributes associated with charismatic/transformational leadership which are seen universally as contributing to outstanding leadership this does not preclude differences between cultures in ratings for those attributes; in other words the attributes likely will be enacted differently in different cultures, as shown by the GLOBE studies of Den Hartog and colleagues [18].
Attributes like motive arouser, foresight, encouraging, communicative, trustworthy, dynamic, positive, and confidence builder are endorsed as contributing to outstanding leadership. Several other charismatic attributes are perceived as culturally contingent. These include enthusiastic, risk taking, ambitious, self-effacing, unique, self-sacrificial, sincere, sensitive, compassionate, and wilful. None of the items universally perceived as impediments to outstanding leadership describe transformational/charismatic leadership. The importance of certain characteristics seems to vary with hierarchical level in the organisation. As demands, tasks and responsibilities at different hierarchical levels are quite different, it seems likely that preferred leader attributes also differ for the different levels.
Effectiveness of a pattern of behaviour is in part dependent on the hierarchical level of leaders. Top-management is concerned with ends rather than means; middle management with means more than ends and supervisors are instrumental performers [19]. Thus, the implicit theory people hold regarding an effective top-manager or CEO is likely to differ from the implicit theory they hold for an effective supervisor. And followers generally regard leader effectiveness depending on their own values and preferences, those who value extrinsic rewards of work are most satisfied by relationship-oriented leaders whilst those with strong security values are particularly attracted to task-oriented leaders: in other words follower preferences for charismatic leadership are predictable on the basis of the follower values [20]
The personal view I have that transformational leadership theory is of great significance is based not only on the research conducted using the MLQ but on the substantial support for its underlying propositions found in the work of Kelloway & Barling (all references are found in the Leadership, Management and Governance section), Metcalf & Alimo-Metcalf, Gitell (in her study of Southwest airlines and American airlines), Brown & Posner (in their study of learning and leadership), Carol and Hatakenaka (in their study of the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant - although that study merely points up the importance of building trust in management through attention to staff concerns and the involvement of staff) and a host of others including the substantial studies by Christopher Bartlett (Harvard) and Sumantra Ghoshal (London School of Economics) and Collins & Porras (Built to Last and Good to Great) and studies of the importance of conversations in relation to organisational development (referenced in this section). All these are studies which show the importance of leadership attributes very similar to the four features of transformational leadership.

[1] Mark F Peterson & James G Hunt, "International Perspectives on International Leadership", The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 8/3, p203, 29p (1997)
[2] Jay A. Conger," Charismatic and transformational leadership in organizations: An insider's perspective on these developing streams of research." The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 10/2, p145, 25p (1999)
[3] James MacGregor Burns is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Presidential biographer and writer on transformational leadership; his recent books are (with Susan Dunn) The Three Roosevelts: Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America (Grove Atlantic, 2001) and (with Georgia Sorenson), Dead Center: Clinton-Gore Leadership and the Perils of Moderation (Scribner, 1999).
[4] Kevin B. Lowe & K. Galen Kroeck, "Effectiveness Correlates Of Transformational And Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Review Of The MLQ Literature", The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 7/3, p385, 41p (1996)
[5] Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Management and Director of the Center for Leadership Studies in the School of Management at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is the founding editor of Leadership Quarterl.
[6] in Leadership and Performance beyond Expectations, New York: The Free Press (1985), quoted by Lowe & Galen Kroeck (1996)

Posted by: HERBERT MWESIGYE | Friday, May 27, 2005

Human Relations
The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake."

The five most important words: "You did a good job."

The four most important words: "What is your opinion."

The three most important words: "If you please."

The two most important words: "Thank you,"

The one most important word: "We"

The least most important word: "I"

- Author unknown Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. This guide will help you through that process.
To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.

Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader...it simply makes you the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around.



Bass' (1989 & 1990) theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders. The first two explain the leadership development for a small number of people. These theories are:

Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.
People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today and the premise on which this guide is based.
When a person is deciding if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes, rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are. She uses this observation to tell if you are a honorable and trusted leader or a self serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image to their seniors at the expense of their workers.
The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organization's objectives and their well being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are [be] (such as beliefs and character), what they know (such as job, tasks, and human nature), and what they do (such as implementing, motivating, and provide direction).

What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership
A Hay's study examined over 75 key components of employee satisfaction. They found that:
Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization.
Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence:
Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy.
Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division is doing - relative to strategic business objectives.
So in a nutshell -- you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go. The next section, "Principles of Leadership," ties in closely with this key concept.
Principles of Leadership
To help you be, know, and do; (U.S. Army, 1973) follow these eleven principles of leadership (later chapters in this guide expand on these and provide tools for implementing them):
Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' tasks.
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later -- do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.
Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi
Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility.
Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs.
Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.
Factors of leadership
There are four major factors in leadership:


Follower
Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must become to know your employees' be, know, and do attributes.

Leader
You must have a honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader who determines if a leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed.

Communication
You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you "set the example," that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees.

Situation
All are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.

Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your people, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your company is organized.

Attributes
If you are a leader who can be trusted, then those around you will grow to respect you. To be such a leader, there is a Leadership Framework to guide you:

BE KNOW DO
BE a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the organization, perform selfless service, take personal responsibility.
BE a professional who possess good character traits. Examples: Honesty, competence, candor, commitment, integrity, courage, straightforwardness, imagination.

KNOW the four factors of leadership - follower, leader, communication, situation.

KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and weakness of your character, knowledge, and skills.

KNOW human nature. Examples: Human needs, emotions, and how people respond to stress.

KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient and be able to train others in their tasks.

KNOW your organization. Examples: where to go for help, its climate and culture, who the unofficial leaders are.

DO provide direction. Examples: goal setting, problem solving, decision making, planning.

DO implement. Examples: communicating, coordinating, supervising, evaluating.

DO motivate. Examples: develop moral and esprit in the organization, train, coach, counsel.

Environment
Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.

Goals, Values, and Concepts
Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions:
The goals and performance standards they establish.
The values they establish for the organization.
The business and people concepts they establish.
Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability.

Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted.

Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business.

These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization's "personality" or how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place.


Roles ad Relationships
Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about behavior of any job incumbent. Each role has a set of tasks and responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful effect on behavior for several reasons, to include money being paid for the performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of accomplishment or challenge.
Relationships are determined by a role's tasks. While some tasks are performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often, and towards what end. Also, normally the greater the interaction, the greater the liking. This in turn leads to more frequent interaction. In human behavior, its hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and friendship is a powerful reward. Many tasks and behaviors that are associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new task and behaviors are expected of the present role holder because a strong relationship was developed in the past, either by that role holder or a prior role holder.


Culture and Climate
There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an organization: culture and climate.
Each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size. This results in rites: the routines, rituals, and the "way we do things." These rites impact individual behavior on what it takes to be in good standing (the norm) and directs the appropriate behavior for each circumstance.

The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes of the organization's members. While the culture is the deeply rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs; climate is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership. Climate represents the beliefs about the "feel of the organization" by its members. This individual perception of the "feel of the organization" comes from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the organization. These activities influence both individual and team motivation and satisfaction, such as:

How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization? What is expected of us?
What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the organization?
How competent are the leaders?
Are leaders free to make decision?
What will happen if I make a mistake?
Organizational climate is directly related to the leadership and management style of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as well as the priorities of the leader. Compare this to "ethical climate" -- the "feel of the organization" about the activities that have ethical content or those aspects of the work environment that constitute ethical behavior. The ethical climate is the feel about whether we do things right; or the feel of whether we behave the way we ought to behave. The behavior (character) of the leader is the most important factor that impacts the climate.
On the other hand, culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create "tradition" or the "way we do things here." Things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything you do as a leader will effect the climate of the organization.

For an activity, see Culture and Climate.

For information on culture, see Long-Term Short-Term Orientation.


Leadership Models
Leadership models help us to understand what makes leaders act the way they do. The ideal is not to lock yourself in to a type of behavior discussed in the model, but to realize that every situation calls for a different approach or behavior to be taken. Two models will be discussed, the Four Framework Approach and the Managerial Grid.

Four Framework Approach
In the Four Framework Approach, Bolman and Deal (1991) suggest that leaders display leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Human Resource, Political, or Symbolic. The style can either be effective or ineffective, depending upon the chosen behavior in certain situations.
Structural Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a social architect whose leadership style is analysis and design. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a petty tyrant whose leadership style is details. Structural Leaders focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.

Human Resource Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose leadership style is support, advocate, and empowerment. while in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a pushover, whose leadership style is abdication and fraud. Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and move decision making down into the organization.

Political Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is an advocate, whose leadership style is coalition and building. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a hustler, whose leadership style is manipulation. Political leaders clarify what they want and what they can get; they assess the distribution of power and interests; they build linkages to other stakeholders, use persuasion first, then use negotiation and coercion only if necessary.

Symbolic Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a prophet, whose leadership style is inspiration. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a fanatic or fool, whose leadership style is smoke and mirrors. Symbolic leaders view organizations as a stage or theater to play certain roles and give impressions; these leaders use symbols to capture attention; they try to frame experience by providing plausible interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate a vision.

This model suggests that leaders can be put into one of these four categories and there are times when one approach is appropriate and times when it would not be. Any one of these approaches alone would be inadequate, thus we should strive to be conscious of all four approaches, and not just rely on one or two. For example, during a major organization change, a structural leadership style may be more effective than a visionary leadership style; while during a period when strong growth is needed, the visionary approach may be better. We also need to understand ourselves as each of us tends to have a preferred approach. We need to be conscious of this at all times and be aware of the limitations of our favoring just one approach.

For an activity, see Bolman and Deal's Four Framework Approach.

Managerial Grid
The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (1985) uses two axis:
"Concern for people" is plotted using the vertical axis
"Concern for task" is along the horizontal axis.
They both have a range of o to 9. The notion that just two dimensions can describe a managerial behavior has the attraction of simplicity. These two dimensions can be drawn as a graph or grid:


High 9 Country Club Team Leader

8

7

P 6
E
O 5
P
L 4
E
3

2

1 Impovished Authoritarian

0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Low High
TASK


Most people fall somewhere near the middle of the two axis. But, by going to the extremes, that is, people who score on the far end of the scales, we come up with four types of leaders:
Authoritarian (9 on task, 1 on people)
Team Leader (9 on task, 9 on people)
Country Club (1 on task, 9 on people)
Impoverished (1 on task, 1 on people).
Authoritarian Leader (high task, low relationship)
People who get this rating are very much task oriented and are hard on their workers (autocratic). There is little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. Heavily task oriented people display these characteristics: they are very strong on schedules; they expect people to do what they are told without question or debate; when something goes wrong they tend to focus on who is to blame rather than concentrate on exactly what is wrong and how to prevent it; they are intolerant of what they see as dissent (it may just be someone's creativity), so it is difficult for their subordinates to contribute or develop.
Team Leader (high task, high relationship)
This type of person leads by positive example and endeavors to foster a team environment in which all team members can reach their highest potential, both as team members and as people. They encourage the team to reach team goals as effectively as possible, while also working tirelessly to strengthen the bonds among the various members. They normally form and lead some of the most productive teams.

Country Club Leader (low task, high relationship)
This person uses predominantly reward power to maintain discipline and to encourage the team to accomplish its goals. Conversely, they are almost incapable of employing the more punitive coercive and legitimate powers. This inability results from fear that using such powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members.

Impoverished Leader (low task, low relationship)
A leader who uses a "delegate and disappear" management style. Since they are not committed to either task accomplishment or maintenance; they essentially allow their team to do whatever it wishes and prefer to detach themselves from the team process by allowing the team to suffer from a series of power struggles.

The most desirable place for a leader to be along the two axis at most times would be a 9 on task and a 9 on people -- the Team Leader. However, do not entirely dismiss the other three. Certain situations might call for one of the other three to be used at times. For example, by playing the Impoverished Leader, you allow your team to gain self-reliance. Be an Authoritarian Leader to instill a sense of discipline in an unmotivated worker. By carefully studying the situation and the forces affecting it, you will know at what points along the axis you need to be in order to achieve the desired result.

For an activity, see The Leadership Matrix.

The Process of Great Leadership
The road to great leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders:
Challenge the process - First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most.
Inspire a shared vision - Next, share you vision in words that can be understood by your followers.
Enable others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.
Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do...a leader shows that it can be done.
Encourage the heart - Share the glory with your followers' heart, while keeping the pains within your own.

Posted by: herbert mwesigye | Sunday, May 29, 2005

Hebert, bravo for the wonderful piece of writing.
I would like to differ with you on;

"Impoverished Leader (low task, low relationship)
A leader who uses a "delegate and disappear" management style. Since they are not committed to either task accomplishment or maintenance; they essentially allow their team to do whatever it wishes and prefer to detach themselves from the team process by allowing the team to suffer from a series of power struggles. "

I don't believe in leadership as they'll always fail in the above. Collective delegation is best as you can always go back at the drawing table and evaluate the failings.

Posted by: joram | Monday, May 30, 2005

IT (information technology) is a term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms, including those not yet conceived Adam, L. (1996).
IT includes everything from radios to telephones, from fax machines to computers, and from electronic mail (email) to the World Wide Web (www). Throughout the world, ITs are demonstrating significant impacts by enabling development partners to share information and knowledge in much more effective and efficient means than ever before Johnston, C.B. (1998).

IT refers to the lowest level of involvement in the use of computer technology using basic stand-alone machines for office/productivity/non-integrated job-specific functions such as computer-assisted design (CAD) or accountancy. The computer is a tool for performing tasks. It supports the lecturer’s role by facilitating materials production and class administration. Computers can greatly improve the quality of materials and thus enhance the traditional teaching approach, for example PowerPoint-type presentations with the use of data projectors to display content on the computer monitor on to an overhead projector screen Castells, M. (1996).

IT includes all matters concerned with the furtherance of computer science and technology and with the design, development, installation, and implementation of information systems and applications Hanna, N. et. al., (1995).

Information Technology (IT) plays a positive role in communication sector in Uganda in various ways although where there is good, the bad inevitably cannot be completely suppressed. The following discussion brings out the strong and weak points on the role IT plays in the communication sector in Uganda;
In the first place Information technology plays a key role in helping organizations achieve profitable results and keep competitive forces in check. Never before has the need for significant computing power been so great like it is happening today in Uganda Abid, A (2003).
Donor representatives and experts in Uganda have struggled with how modern information technology should be used to support innovation in agriculture extension and this is the main reason as to why Uganda national agricultural advisory services (NAADS) was introduced to assist farmers’ access relevant information for agricultural production. Since NAADS Mission is "To increase farmer access to information, knowledge and technology for profitable agricultural production" This has been achieved through the use of modern information technologies such as the Internet, Fm radios, television, satellites and so on Uganda Communications Commission, (2002).
IT potential raises great expectations among the educationists, and agriculture extension service workers, who settled in the rural areas to train farmers as plan for modernization of agriculture (PMA) is doing through National agriculture and advisory services (NAADS). However ITs have not been used maximally as a way of acquiring new knowledge because of the inadequacy of local content and limited access to ITs which constitute very serious problems.
With regard to time management, ITs can facilitate communication and reduce the time needed for business transactions in Uganda. In the main production areas, IT is very crucial because the absence of any information on prices and potential outlets notably, on the local markets, are often at the mercy of intermediaries who generally do not add any significant value to the production chain but aim at exploiting the producers. Hence IT according to many Ugandan business communities is seen to play a very vital role in communication sector Makau, B.M. (1990).
In education, IT plays the role of improving teacher/student learning and teaching methods whereby the access to information helps them enhance their classes and facilitate preparations for school exams. ITs can boost research and assist in acquiring new knowledge.
Furthermore, ITs make it possible for the people to have access to information that helps improve preventive health education especially as far as HIV/AIDS are concerned. In places affected by recurrent epidemics of malaria, and diarrhea, dysentery, Ebola and so on the use of IT warning system based on systematic data collection has been able to sharply reduce the scourge. Hence ITs’ role in the health sector has been of significant importance.
As a facilitator of communication, IT contributes to bringing scattered members of the same family closer together hence the creation and maintenance of a virtual community. This important effect has been taking place in Uganda more especially with the introduction of the Internet, mobile phones, the satellite communication, FM radio networks and so forth. This is a clear manifestation of the positive role IT plays in the communication sector.
In land-locked regions like Uganda, which are known for their high migration levels, there is a belief that ITs (email and telephone) can contribute to minimizing transport costs, facilitating communication, and improving social life. This aspect is very important in the specific case of poor communities with relatively low incomes and high communication needs. For instance of recent pay phones have reduced their charges to manageable rates for instance even with a hundred shillings (100) one can make a call on “simu4u” services.
However the Ugandan women seem to be less able to express the effects from ITs. The majority feel that these “instruments are not made for them.” This situation poses a problem since women constitute the highest percentage of the population and should have been the main target group. Many reasons have been advanced for lack of use by the women for instance lack of access to IT facilities, poverty, denial by their husbands and so on. Hence this has hindered the main role IT plays in communication sector that is as tool for empowerment Delmore, J. (1982)
More so, IT plays a big role in communication sector by encouraging the youth participate actively in cultural and sports activities. The access to sports programmes such as soccer, e-car racing, movies, video games and so forth has assisted them ton pass their free time meaningfully. But on the other side this has created cultural imperialism whereby the foreign games such as the European soccer has suppressed our local games which are more educative for instance “MWESO”game improves peoples’ skills in calculations and rational reasoning.
Important to note also is the fact that entrepreneurs through IT gain more external contacts and thus increase the prospects of diversification of their economic partners. ITs also contribute to employment generation through the creation of new jobs for the introduction of intrnet services created jobs for the kiosk attendants and computer maintenance experts. Hence IT plays essential roles in creating jobs in the communication sector globally and Uganda in particular.
IT is also an important instrument for government to inform people/citizens and involve them in the decision making- process, civic education, community service provision and so on. Hence the impact of IT on our thinking how to provide information and what information needs to be provided has been strongly influenced by the possibilities and the opportunities that have been created by the IT tools.

Uganda's vision for IT development is for a “Uganda where national development, especially human development and good governance, are sustainably enhanced, promoted and accelerated by efficient application and use of IT, including timely access to information”. This point clearly shows how the government is committed and values the contribution of IT to the communication sector.
The provision of mobile cellular, Internet and fixed line services throughout the country has played a big role in the communication sector. Three cellular operators are competing for business in Uganda, MTN, CelTel and ugatelecom (mango). MTN owns Uganda’s second national operator’s license and, based on its subscription numbers compared to those of its competitors, delivers superior service, reliability and network deployment. CelTel is Uganda’s first mobile cellular company, and as a result of the competition that has driven down user rates and fees, has been faced with a major public relations challenge since the emergence of MTN and ugandatelecom.

Approximately 15 Internet service providers ISPs are operating in Uganda at the moment, although there appears to be only two real choices between Infocom and Africa Online. Uganda Online (UOL) bills itself as an Internet service solutions provider (ISSP), and has for years been a major Internet backstopping support organization for development projects throughout East Africa. Wireless Internet connections deliver high-speed transmissions within Kampala City, and these services are slowly beginning to spread to other areas of the country as companies serve to meet the demands of their private sector clients. This has been a very big role information technology has played in the communication sector in Uganda.
However e-mail rates range from approximately US$20 per month, and full Internet accounts average approximately US$50 per month. A major drawback with Ugandan Internet connectivity at the present time is the fact that none of the ISPs operating in Uganda have any points of presence (POPs) outside of Kampala. For those living outside of the capital city, this poses a serious issue for Internet users, since it requires that one makes a long distance from their particular area to Kampala in order to obtain access.
Lack of information technology in general makes it difficult for the would be potential users of the in communication sector very challenging. For example in some areas of Uganda where there is no electricity such as remote of Kisoro the access to radio, computer, telephone, television and internet services remain a dream.
Broadening equitable access to IT requires a political commitment from the leaders, and Uganda in some way lacks the human and technical resources to exercise substantial leadership in this arena. Hence various efforts need to be put in place by different government bodies as well as political commitment in order to put IT at the forefront of the government’s strategies for this purpose.
In Uganda still, the penetration of computers in the private and public sectors is fairly high. All Banks have some level of computerization for example the use of Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) positively influenced modern service delivery. It has also been noted that most of the large private sector organizations use IT to support some of their activities for example most of such organizations have developed websites on which most of their transactions are done like job advertisements, applications and feed back. A number of NGOs (in particular the international ones) and international agencies operating in Uganda are reasonably computerized hence the role of IT at play in the banking system.
According to Uganda communications commission, 2002, IT has been given priority. It is believed that IT has the capacity to greatly enhance the long established traditions of popular entertainment as a means of communication. Theatre in particular, with its combination of drama, music and dance, has proved capable of effectively conveying messages to audiences in sympathy with its conventions. That the establishment of Information and Communication centres at the district and sub-county levels will contribute to the availability of platforms for local performances, as well as for the use of small scale audio-visual equipment and screening of films and video.

Furthermore, states have taken advantage of the latest modern information technologies in their fight against global crime and terror networks. Although one must note that these criminal organisations are also facilitated by ITs, they have been arguably more beneficial to governments, which are "nevertheless relying on Internet tools as never before. Thus, as with many other processes of globalisation, ITs are facilitating and playing a big role to new degrees of freedom and power for individuals which may often be seen to be at the expense of states Castells, M. (1996).

ITs also play the role of opening the door to new forms of blue-collar crime as well as providing a medium for vice rings and subversive activity such as "leaderless resistance" and cyber terrorism. The policing of the Internet asks new questions of governments, which will increasingly require supra-national levels of organization and co-operation. The question of Internet surveillance may need to be addressed as an appropriate way to tackle this social problem. Policies that facilitate international co-operation and exchange, and that help to avoid sectional interests and rivalries, should help this process of fighting international crime at a global level.
The use of modern information technology such as the internet, mobile phones and satellites have positively played a role of influencing the process of bridging the gap between various business partners. For example these days business can be carried out just by a mere click of the button and you are in business with the whole world.
The contemporary era of globalization has been influenced by a revolution in which Information Technology (IT) plays a role of altering the way people communicate, interact and conduct business. Friedman (2001) notes that today’s era of globalization is built around falling telecommunications costs of microchips, satellites, fiber optics and the Internet. These new information technologies are able to weave the world together even tighter. The Information Technology has influenced the way in which individuals relate to each other, and their relationship with states and other organizations.
However, the extent of this change has not been uniform, as not all societies, socio-economic groups or countries have felt its impact to the same degree. Globalisation, in its current form, has played a role of enhancing capitalist driven ideology, which has both positive and negative influences on people. As such, the use of information technology has given rise to a number of controversial issues.
In the contemporary world, globalization has shifted from industrialization to a focus on Information Technologies and in this respect Uganda has had its share in implementing the modern policies of communication. The key to a nation’s survival lies in its ability to arm its members with knowledge, skills and the intellectual capacity needed to meet the rapid change in this ‘information age’. Knowledge thus becomes a form of capital, which is then applied to production, so technological knowledge is now the key to a country’s success. As Castells 2000 suggests that, “the new economy is organised around global networks of capital management, and information technology, whose access to technological know-how is at the roots of productivity and competitiveness”.

On the other hand, ITs hold great possibilities for helping developing nations and lessening the inequality that exists in this era of globalisation. The cost of technology is falling with the development of microchips, satellites, fibre-optics and the Internet, which means that they are becoming more affordable to a wider range of Ugandans. For example the introduction of various communication services such as MTN, CELTEL, UGANDATELECOM and so on has considerably positively influenced modern communication as such services have not only remained in town areas but have also been extended to many rural areas. The introduction of village phones which do not need the use of electricity to operate shows the level at which IT has played a positive role in communication sector.
The Internet, or cyberspace as it is commonly referred to, has created a new ‘virtual reality’ as this has become accepted as being ‘real life’. Loader (1999) defines cyberspace as “A computer generated public domain which has no territorial boundaries or physical attributes and is in perpetual use. This kind of information technology use has played a big role in communication sector world wide and Uganda has greatly benefited from it.
Nevertheless, these uses are merely an extension of the real world’, evidenced by the fact that they were indeed created “for military, educational, public and increasingly commercial use.
The influence of social attitudes more often than not pose a challenge to the effective use of IT services in communication sectors and this comes about especially when the users in question have a negative attitude towards the use of IT. For example some people are used to certain ways of doing things and therefore changing their attitudes becomes a very challenging phenomenon. People like top-level managers are used to heavily rely on their secretaries to do all the work for them and yet with the information technology influence, people need to be IT literate in order to match with the Global World.
Information technology is significantly impacting Ugandan society and their daily lives. For example the public schools have and will continue to reflect societal change. There is a strong link between effective use of information technology and the theories of learning. This link is so strong that it will cause a fundamental shift away from didactic techniques to a unifying constructivist framework. Hence the role IT plays in the communication sector speaks for itself.
More to note is that information technology has always impacted education sector for example the printing press allowed textbooks to be developed, and the replacement of slates and chalk by pencil and paper permitted a permanent record of one's writing to be preserved. Today, a new wave of information technology is beginning to cause repercussions in schools that will forever change how students are taught. Education is being partially transformed by new information technologies in Uganda and the world at large. At one time students could learn a small, but fixed body of knowledge.
However, today, the enormous amount of available information, coupled with the fact that the amount of knowledge in the world continues to double at an increasingly quick rate, requires a transformative approach to education. It is imperative that the student of today learns how to be an information manager, rather than an information regurgitator (Mann, 1994).
IT also plays a role of bringing the global community together for the first time in history. Information technologies are a key element of political progress, economic growth, and social development. The commitment to the importance of the use of information technologies to promote peace, security and stability, and to enhance democracy, respect for human rights, open and transparent government and the rule of law. The international community universally recognizes that infrastructure development, human capacity building, and network security are critical to achieving our shared vision and this has been achieved to some extent by IT influence in the communication sector where Uganda is an active player.
The Uganda government through Uganda communications commission is committed to working with other nations to help create enabling environments for the rapid growth of information technologies. The commission stresses the point that these technologies are creating liberating and empowered Information Societies. They are linking the country closer together and accelerating economic growth and prosperity. The challenge here is to ensure that all persons fully enjoy.
Information technology itself may provide a positive impetus as Rader (2000) states, "developments in education and information technology are beginning to help academic librarians achieve new breakthroughs in integrating information technology skills into the curriculum". It is also noted that information technology is changing the role of librarians, "from the keeper of the books to that of network navigator," and is providing the opportunity for librarians to become more active participants and leaders in the educational process. Hence the practice of librarianship is changing where people are moving from the traditional inward-looking orientation towards books to an outward-looking emphasis on information technology handling. Currently in Uganda the emphasis on collecting, processing, compiling, and disseminating information in support of students and researchers both inside and outside the institutions is becoming the order of the day. For example in higher institutions of learning like Makerere University many computer laboratories are in place to serve the same purpose.
The essential conditions for successful integration of Information technologies into library education and the competencies required to fully cope with the new information technology is very core. For instance the use of online catalogue in many Ugandan libraries has reduced the problem of congestion at the service centers since people no longer waste time explaining the kind of books they are borrowing.
However, throughout the world and Uganda inclusive, the utility of IT applications in communication sector tends to advance much more slowly than the underlying technologies. The effective implementation and use of IT are the result of a complex process that requires not only adoption of an information technology but also changes in organizations and institutions. As part of this process, individuals and organizations actively adapt and sometimes resist the technologies. As a result, the effects of IT on society often take place more slowly than visionaries predict. Nevertheless, the effects driven by the continual change in underlying technologies are substantial over time.
The IT and development communities have a unique opportunity as indicated by the recent report of the United Nations Millennium Project and the United Nations Secretary-General's report “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all” (A/59/2005) have both highlighted the importance of science, innovation and information technology in realizing the millennium development goals (MDGs) and related national development priorities. IT has an especially significant role to play here for it is only with the strategic, widespread, intensive and innovative use of IT in development polices and programmes that the ambitious agenda of the MDGs becomes that much more possible to achieve. It should be noted that Uganda is a signatory to the millennium development goals hence affected by them.
However, this involves the need not only to unleash the potential of IT parse but also the need to ensure that an enabling environment and capacities that can facilitate its development at all levels of implementation.
Adequate IT awareness should include decision makers and stakeholders, including regional organizations, on the need for investment in IT capacity building at all levels of formal and non-formal sectors. This includes training development workers to incorporate ITs in their activities, and an emphasis on training of rural women, youth, and deprived groups in taking advantage of ITs.
In Uganda today, there is limited emphasis put on rural development and food security. Implementation of IT programmes therefore cold play a very vital role in addressing the foregoing problem. Beyond physical access, information technology needs to be timely, retrievable and easily applied by a broad range of users, accessible in their own languages and consistent with their values.
Information providers, such as NAADS, FAO and other agricultural and rural development agencies, to further facilitate access to their information technology resources, but also to provide support at the local level for rural people to generate and maintain ownership of their own content and applications, including agricultural information management. Information technology needs of various users should be identified in order to develop user-specific, locally sensitive content and applications, while procedures should also be implemented to enable feedback and widen participation in the development of these information resources.
Incomplete understanding of the use and impact of ITs for rural development and food security calls for piloting, monitoring, evaluating and documenting of successful and unsuccessful applications of ITs for rural development sector. From these applications, models should be developed for identifying strategic future investments and programmes.
In such a global economy, information technology plays a more important role than labour and capital do. Microeconomic globalization is a phase at which companies are establishing a global mechanism of production and marketing by means of the computer and communication. Macroeconomic globalization is closely related with global diffusion of information.
As the world economy is integrated, now is the time we have to think about the new role of each nation and region. Considering the key role of information technology in the world economy, we will have to find solutions in the information technology, information infrastructure, and information industry. From this viewpoint, it is important to analyze the effects of information technology on the economy in general, and find the directions we should move towards.

Information technology has shifted the paradigm of the economy. In a macroeconomic sense, information technologies affect the patterns of production, investment and employment. In a microeconomic sense, information technology changes business activities. In other words, thanks to advanced information technology, knowledge-based workers, who create and utilize information, play a key role in economic activities.
In addition to yields and value added, it becomes important how much information can be converted into useful knowledge. Knowledge itself, not a physical good, will be a valuable product. So, we can easily infer that knowledge-creating organizations like research institutes and universities, will find their increased roles as a place for economic activities.
As the information technology evolves, the world is now in paradigm shift from the industrial age to the information age. As a result, there is a growing demand in the service fields that require expert knowledge and information. In Korea, the share of service industry in GDP is growing from 50 per cent in 1995 to 67 percent in 1998.
Thanks to information technology, existing service industries such as banking and distribution are enhancing efficiency and expanding their business areas. New industries on the basis of information technology such as software industry and information processing service are rapidly growing. As information technology plays the role of changing the aspects of competition, investment is made more in the area of information and communications that promotes productivity and expedites decision-making process than in the facilities increasing the production capability.
Information technology has great role it plays to influence business activities. Changes take place in every part of the business, development of goods and technology, procurement, production, sales, distribution, and post-sale services. In Uganda many people have found business interesting because of information technology at their disposal. For example people in Uganda no longer travel long distances to areas like Dubai, Japan, UK and the like on business ventures since information technology has eased this by linking these people with the outside world for business purposes.
"Technological shift" information technology has played a role of integrating ITs in university teaching in general and in teacher education in particular? The establishment of links among several variables that determine or affect the relation between the individual and these "new" information technologies has enhanced education at all levels. For example Makerere University has a plan to integrate computer learning in all disciplines offered to its students.
Information technology not only has direct effect on a nation's economy by developing information and communication industry but also indirect effect on other sectors. For example in Uganda the Ministry of Finance relies on information technology to competently plan for the nation and all budgetary estimates have been eased due this phenomenon known as IT.
With IT, the role of Government is changing from solving market failure into solving system failure. The system means the relationship between players and its environments. Players include individual person, corporate, research institute, university, government and so on. Environments include banking system, labour market structure, level of education, law and regulations. It is necessary for the Government to create, diffuse and utilize the information technology to remove bottlenecks that sometimes occur in these systems.
From the IT perspective, the Ministry of Information and Communication of Republic of Uganda, many changes have taken place for example there are weekly press briefing by the minister which plays the role of informing the public and the world about whatever happening needs to be known for the public good.
It is of paramount importance to know what role IT can play in the development processes of Uganda. The far-reaching effects of IT are not only limited to industrial production in industrialized and newly developed countries only. All economic sectors including agriculture, mining, banking, commerce, health-care, education, publishing, environment-management, energy conservation and transportation are becoming fast, flexible and information intensive (Hanna, 1995). If properly used in the developing countries, IT can be the main factor in increasing productivity in public administration, communications infrastructure, industry and agriculture
Another role IT plays in the communication sector is to encourage more women and girls to become involved with information technology, both as knowledgeable users and as professionals in the field. The use of IT creates awareness of gender issues and to offer a practical tool for IT advocates, especially women’s organisations and movements, to ensure that IT meets their needs and does not infringe on their rights. For example at Makerere University women and gender department has been providing subsidized computer courses to female students in order to reduce the disparity and knowledge gaps that are creations of gender disparities.
IT integration in radio Series is aimed at creating greater awareness on the information society, serving as a tool for media practitioners, especially radio broadcasters to engage various groups in debating the role of ITs in the development process. The series examine peoples’ understanding of the role and impact of ITs in communication sector and raises questions on the issues of access and disparities in the Ugandan information society.
In Uganda community organizations use ITs to facilitate communication processes and to mobilize their members through the establishment of reliable, real-time communication systems, combining email, in particular, with traditional community communication systems. These organizations also expect the use of ITs to improve management and to facilitate planning and organization of their activities. For community organizations, access to useful and relevant information for their members for instance economic, cultural, and sports activities constitute a major concern. This information is used to help members make better and more rapid decisions in their various activities.
Generally, ITs can improve the capacities of grassroots organizations to communicate and make their voices heard through the roles they play in their communities.
Information Technologies (ITs) give rise to many expectations among the communities in Uganda. The role that IT instruments can play in economic and social development is emerging. The effects or changes that individuals expect from ITs are quite varied. In general, individuals do apply ITs to their main areas of activity for their own development. As a rule, users (actual or potential) expect the use of ITs to make positive changes in their jobs, education, health, agriculture, and environment.
In Uganda another role Information Technologies (ITs) play in communication sector is the facilitation of business development through improved access to information on product prices (inputs and outputs), on markets, and on various other resources. Therefore, in agriculture, Ugandan farmers expect ITs to facilitate access to high-yielding varieties at competitive prices, input suppliers, credit institutions and information on how to improve their farming practices to increase yield. Although the said services have been strongly emphasized by the current government, the implementation of the same remains in balance.
Uganda government has played a big role in liberalizing the communication sector and this has assisted in easing the flow of information. However, the cost of connectivity is still prohibitive. IT products such as interactive radio and television, video conferencing, teletext, Internet based virtual communities, and web publishing is available to a small percent of the Ugandan population. Governments around the world are focusing on strategies to increase access to and improve the quality of education.
MTN village-Phone extends telecommunications access to rural villages across Uganda. In partnership with Uganda's leading micro-finance institutions, MTN villagePhone creates opportunities for poor rural individuals to become “Village Phone Operators”. These Village Phone businesses can be established in areas where electricity is unavailable and in areas where the MTN network can only be accessed with a booster antenna. MTN villagePhone provides special airtime rates to the Village Phone Operators to enable them to provide affordable telecommunications services to people in their village. Upcountry, people are now able to make a call without traveling many kilometers to the nearest town.
MTN VillagePhone is an initiative of MTN Uganda and Grameen Foundation USA (who implemented a similar model in Bangladesh). The Grameen Technology Center partnered with MTN Uganda to bring Village Phones to Uganda, but with changes to the Bangladeshi model to make it specifically suited for Uganda. The first Village Phone Operators started business in Uganda in March 2003, and MTN villagePhone was formally launched on November 17, 2003 Makau, B.M. (1990)
Globally and Uganda in particular the information technology acquisition raises a number questions both politically and culturally.
Politically IT dependence of the receiving nations on the supplying ones more especially the developed nations could become a political question. It is the responsibility of the government to select carefully the country from which acquisition could be made without any political problems in future.
The second question relates to the possible transfer of political power from political elites to the information technical specialists. This problem is more prominent in computer-based information technologies because these technologies are directly related with retrieval and processing of data and information. Those at the management level are mainly from non-technical backgrounds, as a result of which there is always a tension between these two groups.
The third question concerns the selection of countries to which certain technology could be transferred. Such question raised need to be answered first before certain information technologies are introduced in our communication sector.
Culturaly IT, particularly the computer, is not culturally neutral it often reflects the nature of the country that developed or manufactured it. One of the most distinct problems of the developing countries Uganda inclusive in fostering IT is their cultural difference from Western societies where individualism and rationalism are accepted as the higher values of life. That may not be the case with the developing countries, particularly from the point of view of individualism. The new information technology must be accepted by the receiving society. Therefore the set of values introduced by and indispensable for the use of the new in