Black Leaders Essay Example for Free

Black Leaders Essay Booker T. Washington and William Edward Burghardt Du Bois were influential black leaders. Their leadership strengthened the minds of the black race. During the decades of Reconstruction following the Civil War, African Americans struggled to be assimilated into the new American society. To do this African Americans required social and economic equality. Two great Negro leaders that emerged for this cause were Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. With these two strong-headed men, another problem arose. They both sharply disagreed upon the strategies needed to gain these equalities. Washington preferred a gradual, submissive, and economically based plan. On the other hand, Du Bois relied upon a more agitating and politically aggressive plan. They worked for the advancement of African-Americans in American society, but their methods of achieving this goal and their leadership style differed greatly from one another. It is hard to fathom that two men, who helped to strive for the great goal of racial fairness, could have been such opposites, but it is true. Booker T. Washington, a former slave and the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, believed that African Americans needed to accept segregation and discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. The eventual acquisition of wealth and culture by African Americans would gradually win for them the respect and acceptance of the white community. This would break down the divisions between the two races and lead to equal citizenship for African Americans in the end. Also he urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial and farming skills and the cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise and thrift. This, he said, would win the respect of whites and lead to African Americans being fully accepted as citizens and included into all strata of society. Washington wanted blacks in the south to respect and value the need for industrial education both from a vantage of American and African experience. Booker T. Washington was born a slave on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. Once the slaves were emancipated, his family moved to West Virginia. There, his family was poor, and he had to work in a salt furnace and then a coal mine. In school he named himself Booker Washington. Only later did he find out his name was Booker Taliaferro. So he combined both names to form his now famous name, Booker T. Washington. He went to school at the Hampton Institute, which was an industrial school for blacks. Later on, he based his educational theories on his time at Hampton. He founded the Tuskegee Institute, which was a Negro school, which eventually became known for its hardworking, reliable graduates. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born into an affluent family on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Bois took college preparatory classes while in high school. He was also a column writer of a newspaper, the New York Globe. While still young he attended town meetings to listen to people discuss concerns of the town. He spoke about Wendell Phillips at his high school graduation. Du Boiss mother unexpectedly died in 1884. After high school, he attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the first black person to obtain a Ph. D. from Harvard. He taught at Atlanta University. At Fisk he took part in public speaking and debates. He edited the Fisk Herald, the schools paper. At Fisk he realized that his goal was not for his own happiness, but for the advancement of the black race. He graduated from Fisk in 1886 with an A. B. degree. After Fisk he was accepted into Harvard. In 1895 Du Bois became the first African American to get a Ph. D. from Harvard. Even with a Ph. D. from Harvard he did not feel he was ready to deal with the problems that African Americans faced. He then spent two years at Berlin University. This gave him an extended outlook on the race problem. In the south, African Americans received segregated and unequal education established by white Americans. Du Bois was confident that he could get white Americans to give up discrimination. Du Bois was motivated to lead African Americans out of the disadvantaged position they seemed to be in. He believed the key to their advancement was in education. Near the end of the 1800s African Americans occupied unskilled jobs in southern cities. Their economic situation was not good. Du Bois felt compelled to work to improve this situation. He initially wanted to dedicate his life to education. In 1909 he contributed to the development of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). According to Gerald Hynes, Du Bois was not pleased with the group, due in part by it being under the leadership of whites. He agreed to work with them and became the editor of The Crisis (1909-1934), a publication from the NAACP. He also led the Niagara Movement. The Niagara Movement was an organization founded by black Americans to racial discrimination. The movement placed most of the blame for Americas racial problems on whites. It opposed the view of Booker T. Washington. He later became a Marxist and a Communist. Washington and Du Bois were alike in few ways. They were both black leaders. They were both teachers and authors. They were also both subject to discrimination from whites. They were both spokesmen for their separate ideologies. Du Bois and Washington were polar opposites of each other in every aspect except for the reasons previously stated. They were so much so that Du Bois published a book named The Souls of Black Folk, which contained many essays criticizing Washingtons views. Du Bois went on to write many other essays and speeches opposing the viewpoints of supposed Uncle Toms. The author believes that Booker T. Washington developed a leadership style based on the model of the old plantation house servant. He used humility, politeness, flattery, and restraint as a wedge with which he hoped to split the wall of racial discrimination. His conciliatory approach won the enthusiastic support of the solid South as well as that of influential Northern politicians and industrialists; their backing gained him a national reputation and provided him with easy access to the press. Members of his own community were filled with pride to see one of their own treated with such respect by wealthy and influential leaders of white America. Du Bois assigned Washington of giving the black race the distinct status of civil inferiority. Washington was for surrendering basic human rights and dignity for economic advancement. Du Bois thought that was detrimental to the black race. Washington thought that a vocational education was far more important to blacks than higher education. Du Bois thought that the really important things in life laid in the realm of the mind. The term The Talented Tenth was the trademark of his educational philosophy. To him, this was, The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this work and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. In the authors opinion, theres any question that Booker T. Washington did accept segregation. Booker T. Washington was an accommodationist. And his program was to accommodate the social and political situation of the South. Du Bois was not in complete disagreement with Booker T. Washington. Du Bois referred to Booker T. Washington as the greatest black leader since Frederick Douglass. And also referred to Washington as the most distinguished man, black or white, to come out of the South since the Civil War. So it wasnt as though Du Bois disagreed with Washingtons program, but Du Bois felt that there was room for more than one solution to the problem. And just as Washington advocated vocational education for the majority of African Americans in the South, Du Bois felt yes, there were African Americans in the South, perhaps the majority who at that point in their historical development were better off with vocational education. But there were others among the race who needed to be the individuals who were at the top, the individuals who did the training, the individuals who were the intelligentsia. And that you needed this group of people. And I think that was the basis of their disagreement. Not that Du Bois felt that Washington was completely wrong, but that Washington needed to have more than just one way of approaching the problem. And then of course the other issue on which they disagreed was Du Bois did not feel that you could accommodate injustice. And he felt that Washington was placing upon his shoulders an extremely heavy responsibility by advocating that African Americans accommodate the social and political system in the South. Washington stated that blacks should work hard and become economically prosperous before they should ask for racial equality from the whites. Du Bois thought that this was absolutely preposterous. Blacks shouldnt have to ask for equality from whites, it is Gods gift to them and every human being deserved it. Du Bois believed that the whites were responsible for keeping the black men down and that the black man should cry out and declare his independence. Washington wanted to please the whites, because he thought that was the only way anything good could happen. Even when he was a child, he made his name Washington, whom was a well-known white historical figure of prominence. Du Bois was more radical, whereas Washington was very moderate. Washington was a realist, Du Bois was a romantic. Du Bois wanted to stir mens hearts, Washington wanted to stir mens minds. Washington was loyal to his country, Du Bois was loyal to his race. Washington was possessed humility, and could relate to the common man, Du Bois was arrogant, egotistical, and imperious. Since he could not believe that the average Southern white man had any desire to help the Negro, Du Bois could see no future in the South for the ambitious young people of his race. Directly contradicting Washingtons counsel, Du Bois urged them to go North for freedom and advancement. He encouraged urban migration at every turn, believing that the country represented oppression and serfdom, while the city represented opportunity. It is very clear to see that their experiences were different and this is very important in understanding how they saw the future of the race. But its also important to keep in mind that for both of them, race uplift was the central key. Despite all of Du Bois attacks on him, Washington still managed to be more popular at the time, and more famous today.

Network :: essays research papers

A computer network is a group of interconnected computers that can accomplish many important tasks. To define computer networking you should define networks. A network is composed of two or people or objects, using a common language, and they have something to share. In computer networking the two or more objects are the computer or terminal. This can consist; have an IBM 3270 terminal and accompanying mainframe, to a stand-alone computer. The computer is usually an IBM PC personal computer or clone licensed copy of a PC, usually cheaply made. The common language or protocol is necessary for the communicators to be able to understand each other. We take for granted simple things like who talks first, how long they talk, and how to end a conversation. A protocol addresses these and more. The common protocol is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP/IP). TCP/IP is the protocol of the Internet. Internet is actually the short form of the word Internet work. Internet work means a network of n etworks. At one time, all of the different networks used different protocols. A user could talk to others on their network, but not to someone on a different network. The protocol TCP/IP solves this problem. It is what allows a person on one network to communicate with a person on a different network. When I mentioned something to share in the network definition, it can be anything, an idea, document, or greeting. Networking allows use of applications on other computers, electronic mail (email), and real time discussions in chat rooms. The types of networks are classified as distributive or centralized. In a centralized network, processing occurs at one place and requests are made of the processing from terminals. A mainframe computer with attached terminals is a great example of centralized network. The terminals communicate with the mainframe to accomplish tasks. A distributive network spreads processing power to the individual computers. Networked PCs are a great example. Tasks are accomplished at the computer and at other computers using communication. In the definition of a network the computer hardware is considered part of the user in this definition. The hardware used to connect to other computers is considered part of the protocol.

Implementing Talent Development Strategies Essay

The organizations that are running the talent development programs may soon begin to find the high quality people who can be able to lead and to motivate others in order to achieve the highest levels of performance and productivity in the organization. This means that identifying the organizational education culture for the organization, people and top performers of the organization will revolve around some factors that lead to the development of an all round business professional. (Davis and Cutt, 1988). These include strategizing market and product or the services, instilling the manufacturing know how to the people, educating people on the distribution channels, financing strategies among others. Educational issues cover many issues such as cash and expense flow, position of the firm’s cash flow. The people undergoing the talent development will require getting instructions from skilled staff members to make solid decisions and to understand the technical issues that are involved. Education programs will include development of self awareness knowledge, effective problem solving and having good interpersonal communication. (Davis and Cutt, 1988). Training In the organizations if internal training programs are necessary for talent development, they should therefore be updated regularly. The management should also review these programs to see that they are up to date. Again, working in the training program should be a temporary move by employees who are in need of improving their career skills by sharpening their technical as well as presentation skills. (Davis and Cutt, 1988). An organization that is implementing the talent implementation program is likely to receive problems and resistance. This is because young employees are often faced with many problems sometimes that may come immediately after they begin their careers. (Davis and Cutt, 1988). The first problem which involves being offered jobs that they are not trained in. secondly, the firm may face the problem of too much experience which is caused by narrowing down of the career. In addition, the organization may face the problem of using techniques of talent development in order to protect ones career especially towards the person’s retirement. The above problems show that the development of new talents will stop if the firm fails to give appropriate conditions. This may be achieved through employee training. (Davis and Cutt, 1988). An OPD professional might help implement the strategies as well as address or resolve any problems or issues in the implementation of the talent program by making it clear to the organization the organizational requirements to maintain an organization’s competitive edge and to ensure the survival of the organization. The professional may provide means of developing the organizations effectiveness. The professi9onal is required to understand the strategic goals of the organization and to translate this in to the day to day running of the organizational processes. (Davis and Cutt, 1988).

Decision making and Directors Duties - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2534 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Research paper Tags: Duty Essay Did you like this example? Chapter 2 2.0 Decision making organs A company has 2 primary organs, the members in general meeting and the directorate. A company is not considered to be sovereign but has a limited competence only. Within these limits, the Supreme rule is making authority rests with a general meeting of the members1 and the constitution may entrench certain rights still further by embodying them in the memorandum and providing that they shall be unalterable 2. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Decision making and Directors Duties" essay for you Create order 2.1The board of director Although once incorporated, a company is a separate legal entity, but it can only make decisions and change its business through the persons authorised for that purpose, usually the directors, who in turn are accountable to the members.The articles of association usually entrust the directors to manage the company collectively by providing them the power to exercise the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s powers to achieve their task. It should be noted that directors do not have the power to act individually on behalf of the company3. In practice, the appointment of a board of directors will be found in the constitution of the company which will expressly delegate all powers of management to them4, and they in turn are generally empowered to sub à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" delegate to a committee or managing director. Thus, the act which gives birth to the company operates as an appointment and delegation by the company. [1] Resolutions and voting [2] CA 2001, sec 42 [3] Re Haycraft Gold Reduction and Mining Co [1990] 2Ch230) = tolleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rights n duties of directors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 4th edition- Martha Bruce FCIS, a member of the lexisnexis group.,pg 13. [4] Gowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s principles of modern company law,pg 140 2.3 Division of powers between the general meeting and the board By the end of the nineteenth century it was generally assumed that the principle remained intact that the general meeting was the company whereas the directors were merely the agents of the company subject to the control of the company in general meeting. Thus in Isle of Wight Ry. V. Tahourdin 5the court refused an application by the directors of a statutory company for an injunction to restrain the holding of a general meeting, one purpose of which was to appoint a committee to reorganise the management of the company. Cotton L.J. said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It is a very strong thing indeed to prevent shareholders from holding a meeting of the company, when such a meeting is the only way in which they can interfere, if the majority of them think that the course taken by the directors, in a matter intra vires of the directors, is not for the benefit of the company.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The modern idea is that both the general meeting and the board are organs rather than agents of the company. This is how the courts have sometimes described them when considering the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s liability for their acts and the distinction has, since the enactment if the European Communities Act 1972 become of greater importance. 2.4 Performance of the board Shareholders have the power to remove some or all of the directors of their company from office or not to re appoint them. Such decision is frequently judged according to the performance of the company, by whatever means it is measured. However, in the US approximately one third of large companies go further than this and have introduced formal board eva luation, often assessed externally, to measure the boardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance6. In the contents of the Mauritian code of corporate governance, section 2.10 states the board and director appraisal which further highlights that those directors should be assessed both individually as well as collectively as a board. [5] 1883 25 Ch.D. 320, C.A, Gowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s principles of modern company law,pg 143 [6] tolleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rights n duties of directors,pg 20 2.5 The directors as primary organs of the company Both the directors and the members in general meeting are primary organs of the company between whom the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s powers are divided. The general meeting retains the ultimate control, but only through its powers to amend the articles and to remove the directors .Powers are conferred upon directors collectively as a board which is authorised expressly in the constitution. Prima facie therefore they can be exercised only at boar d meeting. Otherwise, in the absence of an express authorisation in the articles, the board will have no power to delegate such powers7. The board can delegate some of the tasks but must not delegate the exercise of its discretion and the maxim delegatus non potest delegare is regarded as applying8. 2.6 Duties of directors The duties fall into two categories, fiduciary duties (i.e. duties of good faith and honesty) and duties of skill and care. There are also statutory duties as well. Their general purpose is the protection of present and future shareholders and (to a lesser extent) creditors though they are generally expressed as being owed to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. 2.6.1 Role of directors A director is in a similar position to that of a trustee. He is an agent of the company in which he holds office as an employee. Like a trustee or an agent he owes fiduciary duties to his principal, and in a directorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case, these duties are to his company 9. [7] Cartmellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case [1874] L.R. 9 CH.App.691], Gowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s principles of modern company law pg 152 [8] by contrast the usa directors are generally regarded as possessing original and undelegated powers, which are capable of delegation : Goel [ 1969], 18 I.C.L.Q. 152 [9] UK company law, Nicholas Grier 2.6.2 To whom duties are owed? 2.6.2.1To the company as a whole As lord Greene MR said in the case of Re Smith Fawcett ltd [1942] Ch 304(CA), directors are bound to exercise the powers conferred upon them à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"bona fide in what they consider-not what a court may consider-is in the interests of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢this duty of honesty and good faith in the exercise of his powers is in fact the primary duty of a director. It should be directors, and not some other person or body to whom they have purported to delegate their powers, who determine how the powers vested in the directors are best used to serve the interests of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. 2.6.2.2 To Members as a body but not to individual shareholders It should be noted that as a director of a company is bound by fiduciary duties at general law, these duties are owed to the company only. Thus they are not owed to other companies or bodies corporate with whom the company is associated. This proposition stems from Percival v Wright10 in which a group of shareholders in a company approached the directors with a request that the directors purchase their shares; some of the directors did so without disclosing that a purchase of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s undertaking was imminent, this being a piece of information which was known to them and to other members of the board, though not to any of the shareholders who were not directors. It was held that the directors must act bona fide for the interests of the company but they are not in a fiduciary duty in relation to individual shareholders. -However in Peskin v Anderson [2001],it was held that a director may owe a fiduciary duty to individual shareholders where a director with special knowledge is buying shares for his own benefit [10] [1902]2 Ch 421 2.6.2.3 to Employees This provision was inserted in the CA 1985 s 309 to satisfy criticism that a company should be seen to give some attention to those who labor to produce the dividends that the members receive. 2.6.2.4 to creditors As creditor, he should be aware of the risk when he is dealing with the company. The directors of the company do not normally have a duty of care to any creditor of that company while the company is solvent. In Multinational Gas and Petrochemical Co ltd v Multinational Gas and Petrochemical Services ltd and others [1983] 1 Ch 258(a case which involved the alleged mismanagement of a solvent company) Dillon LJ said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A company owes no duty of care to future creditors. The directors indeed stand in a fiduciary relationsh ip to the company. As they are appointed to manage the affairs of the company and they owe fiduciary duties to the company though not to its creditors , present or future, or to individual shareholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  2.6.2.5 to the board Directors individually owe a duty towards the board. 2.6.3 The interests of the company as a whole Modern management often takes the view that the interests to be taken into account by directors in running a company should include the interests of not only the present and future shareholders, but also the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s employees, its customers and its creditors11 and, in the case of large public companies at least, the state and the general public. [11] Wiknworth v Edward baron development co ltd [1987] 1 all ER 114 2.6.4 Fiduciary Duties Every director has a fiduciary duty to act bona fide (in good faith) for the benefit of the company as a whole. Otherwise, they will be acting in someone elseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in terests, quite often themselves. In Alexander v Automatic Telephone Co [1990] 2 Ch 56, each member of the company subscribed 6d per share. The 5 directors then held a board meeting at which it was decided that all members, with the exception of the 3 directors who had the largest shareholdings, should have to pay a further 2s 6d per share. The 3 non à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" paying directors justified their non- payment on the grounds that the articles permitted them as directors to issue shares on such terms as were expedient, and to treat some shareholders differently from others. It was held that they failed to carry out their duty to act in good faith in the best interest of the company as a whole; the directors had obtained a benefit for themselves at the expense of the other shareholders. It is to be noted that directors can subjectively believe that they are acting in good faith while carrying out an action for an improper purpose. Proper Purpose Rule Avoid conflict of interes t It is to benefit the company or to help it fulfill the purpose for which the company was set up. The transaction must be intra vires, including what is mentioned in the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s memorandum of association. The transaction must be reasonably incidental to the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business. Conflict of interest rule: When the directors stand to gain personally from a transaction in which the company is involved. It is not the job of a director to improve his own personal position12. The directors must not compete with the company, nor should they keep any profits, nor contract with the company except when the Articles allow it or when it has been approved by a general meeting. [12] In Cook v Deeks [1916]Ac 554 2.6.5 Duty of skill and care The directors are expected to manage the company with due skill and care; failure to fulfill this common law duty may result in the company or other aggrieved plaintiff raising an action for negligence ag ainst the directors13, proving all 3 of the following: That the director owed the plaintiff a duty to carry out his duties with skill and care That the duty was not exercised That the plaintiff suffered loss In City Equitable Fire Insurance Co 1925 it was held that Directors need not exhibit in the performance of their duties a greater degree of skill and care than may reasonably be expected from a person of their knowledge and experience. They are not bound to give continuous attention to the affairs of the company and may delegate their powers. 2.6.6 Statutory Duties 14 There are two main types of such duties, the first are imposed on the directors whereas the second are imposed on the company in connection with the directors. The 2006 Act sets out seven statutory duties being, duty: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To act within powers (s. 171) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To promote the success of the company (s.172) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To exercise independent judgment (s.173) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To use reasonable care, skill and diligence (s. 174) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To avoid conflicts of interest (s. 175) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Not to accept benefits from third parties (s. 176) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To d eclare an interest in a proposed transaction or arrangement with the company (s.177). The second type of duties will usually include, duty to convene meetings, sign statutory declarations, deliver accounts and other tasks. [13][14] UK company law, Nicholas Grier pg402, pg409 Some of the other statutory duties will include the Prohibition on tax free payments to directors [15], the compensation for loss of office [16] and Directors are required to disclose interests in company contracts [17]. Moreover, Directors service contracts must be kept open for inspection [18]. The company should refrain from giving a director a contract for more than 5 years without approval from the members [19]. Substantial property transactions [20] and Loans from Directors to the company [21] also need approval from members whereby directors may not contract at all with their companies without the authority under the Articles and approval by an ordinary resolution. 2.6.7 Breach of duty If t he directors by approving some transaction of the company have breached their fiduciary duty towards the company, it is sometimes permissible for the company to ratify the action that was the subject of the breach. In general, ratification will resolve any breach of the directorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ fiduciary duty unless: The transaction is inherently fraudulent, The transaction is not permitted under the company law generally because there are other procedures which must instead be followed22, The transaction has prejudiced a minority of the members, in which case the minority might seek redress under the CA 1985 (s 459), The transaction by the directors has prejudiced creditors because the company is insolvent. The directors of an insolvent company are treated as the custodians of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets for the creditors 23. In the case of fraudulent trading, the Court may order the person to contribute to the assets of the company. Application is generally made by the liquidator. On the other hand, Wrongful trading occurs when the director ought to have known that there was no reasonable prospect that the company would avoid going into insolvent liquidation. In this circumstance, the liquidator is only required to prove negligence by the directors. [15] CA 1985 s 311 [16] ss215 to 222 CA 2006 [17] s.182 CA 2006 [18] ss227 to 230 CA 2006 [19] ss188 and 189 CA 2006 [20] CA 2006 s.190 [21] CA 2006, s. 197 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 225 [22] Aveling Barford Ltd v Perion Ltd and others[1986] BCLC 626 [23] West Mercia Safetywear ltd v Dodd [1988] BCLC 2.6.8 Relief from Liability In general, subject to certain exceptions, only the company may bring an action against a director to recover its losses. Where proceedings for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust are brou ght against a director, the court may relieve him from liability if it considers both that he has acted honestly and reasonably24 .A director may also apply to the court for relief where he has reason to expect that a claim may be made against him. Although a company cannot exempt a director from any liability for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the company, it may indemnify the director against defense costs, or costs incurred in an application for relief, provided that the director repays the costs if he is unsuccessful. 2.6.9 Conclusion In order to stay in line with their duties directors must keep a close watch on the companys performance and take appropriate advice and action when necessary. General meeting should be conducted so that shareholders also can have their say in the company matters. [24] CA 1985 s 727