Case Study Answers

Example answer:

Questions must explain the theory then apply this theory to the case study. Around 450 words per question.

11.1 Organisations today are faced with the challenge of managing in a global environment. The United Nations is an organisation that exists for global purposes. The peace- keeping force for Rwanda, as an organisational subsidiary of the UN, needed to function in the face of many challenges related to this global background.

What globalisation issues does the case of the Rwandan genocide raise?

12.1 Values congruence is an important factor when the resolution of conflict involves diverse groups. Discuss the similarities and differences with their values for peace held between key players who were pro-Tutsi and pro-Hutu.

12.2 Taking into consideration the ‘team dimensions’ model, discuss how each dimension influenced the course of events leading to the genocide.

12.4 What leadership approaches best explain the behaviour of key personnel in the United Nations? Justify your answer.

Example Answer

RWANDAN GENOCIDE CASE STUDY 3.1 Scientific management tends to privilege the status quo. Describe the main features of scientific management. What role might these features have played in the UN’s apparent failure to respond to the rapidly changing situation in Rwanda?

Scientific management is a management theory that analyze and synthesizes work flows so as to improve economic efficiency more so in labor productivity. The main features of this theory include a systematic approach to management so that all tasks are completed in systematic and scientific manner. The theory calls for a significant change in attitude in that both management and workers need to realize that better production is beneficial to both parties. The system also requires strict adherence to rules as well as recognizes the importance of specialization. Lastly the system requires a higher managerial control over the work force.

When looking at the United Nations one would argue that the UN has none of the positive features of scientific management but possesses all its negative aspects and this is what may have contributed to its failure in Rwanda. The UN demands a strict adherence for rules yet while in scientific management rules are set after serious analysis therefore having no error, the UN rules are compromise agreements that are full of errors. Therefore while the UN calls for strict adherence to rules, those rules are not worth following especially in a rapidly evolving situation as Rwanda just before the genocide. For example when Dellaire seizes a cache of weapons suspected to belong to government side after receiving reliable information that a massacre was being planned, he is rebuked by his seniors and told to strictly stick to the Chapter six mandate they are operating on.

3.2 Weber feared the potential implications of bureaucratic organization. To what extent did bureaucratic regulations and structures affect the interplay between the UN and General RoméoDallaire, particularly the resistance he encountered from the very beginning of the mission in Rwanda?

While Webber saw bureaucracies as having technical and proficiency advantages that make them a far superior way of organizing institutions when handled well, the UN is a poorly mismanaged bureaucracy which is rife with incompetence, red tape, lack of imagination and personal discretion. For example while it was clear that the situation in Rwanda was a powder keg that only required a spark to explode especially after they had been informed of the situation by Dellaire, the UN continued to act as though the peace process was going on smoothly and was actually planning to withdraw from the country in less than six months after the meagre troops had been sent. Secondly the fact that an incompetent individual as Jacques Roger Booh Booh could rise through the ranks of the UN shows how incompetent the organization is. For example Jacques and his team kept regular office hours of nine to five at a time when it was clear things were going south in Rwanda. To cover his incompetence, he waters down Dellaires report which calls for logistical support as well as the deployment of phase two of additional troops ahead of schedule. Lastly the pace at which the UN operates and the decisions that are made also show that it is full of red tape and a good example is its acceptance to deploy only 2500 troops in phases despite the fact that Dellaire had indicated that 10000 troops would actually be needed to do the job