The Relationship between NGO, Businesses and Government

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Question One A healthy relationship between the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the government can only be achieved when the two parties share a common objective. When this is not the case, the relationship shifts from that of collaboration to achieve the set objectives to that of confrontation which is frustrating for both parties.

Good communication and relationship between the government and the NGOs is very important for effective NGO regulation. This therefore demands that the government come up with effective mechanisms for dialogue to ensure that needs and realities of the NGO sector are accounted for. In the same way NGOs need to appreciate the role of the government in ensuring their accountability. In order to achieve good governance, there need to be mutual respect between the government and the NGOs (Charity Commission for England and Wales, 2011). This relationship can also be affected by the policies put in place by the government which include consultation and delivering of services to the public among others.

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In the United States, the past few decades have seen the increase in the number of NGOs. This has been as a result of a good relationship between the government and these organizations. Firstly, the government in this region has facilitated democracy and facilitated support for these organizations which have now become an important bridge between the government, business, and even the society. This has not been the case in Cameroon; this is because the consistent problems in the Cameroon government which have been characterized by lack of transparency, accountability and even corruption among others have necessitated the intervention of the NGOs and other bodies to press the government to be more efficient (Charity Commission for England and Wales, 2011). As a result, the relationship between the government and the NGOs has not been that of cooperating to achieve the set objectives. Some NGOS have even taken extreme steps where they have mobilized people to raise their voices in protest against some of the government policies (REF). This has made their relationship to be that of confrontational.

There is increased transparency due to the United States’ adoption of Global Reporting Initiative for the NGOs affiliated to this nation. This has made it possible for the government to achieve parity on transparency standards (Clark, 1991). In addition, the NGOs have become effective in their traditional role of acting as watchdogs by reporting the government’s activities. In Cameroon, this has not been the case. This is because the NGOs decision to pressure the government to remain accountable to its policies and also work to eliminate corruption has been viewed as a distraction. This

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has made the government to exhibit very little or no enthusiasm at all in cooperating with the NGOs to work for the good of all the citizens.

In the United States, the NGOs have worked together with the government agencies in achieving success in various areas like prevention of human rights violation and many others. However, the situation in Cameroon is different. This is because the confrontational relationship prevents the two bodies from coming together in order to work on common areas. In addition, both the government and the NGOs have lost their influence on each other in determining their partner’s operational environment. As a result, each body works hard to protect its own interest thus preventing any chance for cooperative relationship (Clark, 1991). Some of the policies followed by the Cameroon government have also been criticized by some NGOs as they fail to consider the needs of common citizens. For instance, the government’s denial of important information to its citizens has limited empowerment among these citizens. In addition, it has made it possible for various government agencies to continue with corrupt practices. The intervention of the NGOs to prevent this trend has met government criticism and lack of support.

Question Two New trends in the business environment have called for new strategies in ensuring that the NGOs and various business corporations devise new relationships in order to deal with the changes occurring in the business environment.

The Unites States has been one of the countries in the west which has faced economic stagnation. This has forced the NGOs that are government supported to concentrate their efforts in addressing the internal sustainability issues. This situation

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has also forced the relationship between the NGOs and various companies to shift from confrontation to collaboration. This is on realization that effective change will be born from collaboration between the two groups. For instance, companies have realized that social networks can facilitate support of more radical groups, thus they have sought to foster good relationship between all the organizations. According to Mack (2010), this has led to both partners seeking credibility in order to demonstrate significant impact from their collaboration. In Cameroon, the many problems that are facing the business environment which are led by poor governance, growing population, and unsustainable consumption among others have made the NGOs in this nation to change their strategies in coming up with appropriate solutions. For instance, these organizations are putting pressure on financial institutions perceived to be supporting repressive regimes and those violating human rights among the citizens of this nation. This is through collaboration with the authorities in tracking down the business corporations taking part in activities that are oppressing the public (Mack, 2010).

The NGOs and the business institutions in the United States have also come together in seeking the solutions to some global issues facing this nation. This includes issues related to sustainability and climate change. This has been through use of social networks as the main communication tool thus making this campaign even more effective. The NGOs in Cameroon have not been able to cooperate well with business institutions to provide important solutions since most of their efforts have been based on supporting conflict resolution (Krishnan, 2007).

The NGOs in the United States have also worked together with business institutions in pressuring the government to support conflict prevention efforts through

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international organizations like the United Nations. In addition, the major businesses have utilized their resources to fund various NGOs thus improving their relationship for the benefit of the stakeholders. However, in Cameroon these two partners have focused on their major disagreements especially on the issues of human rights and conflict prevention. According to Lewis (2006), in this country where the capacity of governance is minimal and chances of conflict very high, the possibility of the two partners coming together to resolve various issues is minimized since each of them is considering each other as a threat. Businesses have not been able to provide funding to various NGOs that are in operation in Cameroon. This is because of the general view of most individuals that these organizations ought to be funded by either the government or the international financial institutions.

There has been cases, however, where the business community and the NGOs have come together to facilitate community development (Krishnan, 2007). This is in areas like increasing educational and health security. For instance, various businesses have supported the NGOs policies of increasing the knowledge of the people on preventable diseases like AIDS and malaria; thus leading to adoption of better health practices in order to prevent the spread of these diseases.

Question Three Clark, J. (n.d.). The relationship between the state and the voluntary sector. Retrieved 18 January 2012 from http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/state-ngo.html There have been cases where the NGOs, the government, and even the business institutions have joined hands for the welfare of their stakeholders. This is in various areas like provision of relief, environmental solutions, and human or civil rights

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among others. For instance, the NGOs in conjunction with the business community and the government demonstrated the ability to assist the poor especially in developing countries. Through the government assistance this partnership was able to work in inaccessible areas to meet objectives that had proved unachievable by the official agencies that were tried to work on their own. This was clearly demonstrated in the assistance provided to vulnerable groups such as orphans and AIDS sufferers in various countries in Africa and other parts of the world (Clark, n.d.).

Various business institutions which became donors in these projects were attracted by the NGOs policies that enable them to respond to failures in public and the private sectors. In addition, these organizations are able to achieve things that may take the state a long time to do due to their effectiveness (Clark, n.d.).

When the three groups work as partners in achieving the set objectives, trust is built which becomes the benefit of the stakeholders as matters of national interest are not taken lightly. This is made possible through the relationship that is based on mutual respect, independence, and autonomy giving each partner a chance to exercise their opinions and position even when it varies from that of the others (Clark, n.d.).

The realization that effective relationship can ensure easy achievement of set objectives among the partners has made some organizations to push their collaboration too far. As a result, there have been cases where this collaboration has increased chances of corruption and financial dependency. This relationship should therefore be checked in order to prevent situations where one of partners cannot voice their concerns due to blackmailing.

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Government, Business and NGOs

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Charity Commission for England and Wales, (2011). Government/sector dialogue.

Retrieved 18 January 2012 from http://www.ngoregnet.org/About_effective_regulation/The_regulatory_bridge/ Gov_sectr_dialogue.asp Clark, J. (1991). Democratizing development: The role of voluntary organizations. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press.

Clark, J. (n.d). The relationship between the state and the voluntary sector. Retrieved 18 January 2012 from http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/state-ngo.html Krishnan, S. S. (2007). NGO relations with the government and private sector. Journal of Health Management, 9(2), 237-255.

Lewis R. D. (2006). When cultures collide: Leading across cultures, third edition.

Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Mack, A. (2010). The private sector and conflict. Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. Retrieved 18 January 2012 from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/conflict_prevention/meetings_and_works hops/privateSector.html