Introduction
Today, because of the multiple roles it plays in influencing business activity, government poses significant challenges for business owners and managers. Attempts by business to influence government are a major and accepted part of the public policy process in the United States. The U.S. political system is driven by the active participation of interest groups striving to achieve their own objectives. The business sector is, therefore, behaving in a normal and expected fashion when it assumes an advocacy role for its interests. 22
Political Involvement
(continued)
Political involvement is broadly defined as participation in the formulation and execution of public policy at various levels of government. As decisions about the current and future shape of society and the role of the private sector shift from the marketplace to the political arena, corporations, like all interest groups, find it imperative to increase their political involvement and activity. To appreciate more fully the participation of business in the process of public policy formation in the United States, it is necessary to understand the approaches that business uses to influence the government stakeholder.
44
(Continued)
The various approaches are: Lobbying Political Action Committees Coalition Building Political Strategy
55
Business Lobbying
Lobbying is the process of influencing public officials to promote or secure the passage or defeat of legislation. Lobbying is also used to promote the election or defeat of candidates for public office. Their goals are to promote legislation that is in their organizations interests and to defeat legislation that runs counter to their organizations interests. Business interests, labor interests, ethnic and racial groups, professional organizations, and those simply pursuing ideological goals they believe to be in the public interest are lobbying at the federal, state, and local levels.
77
Gain legislative support or institutional approval for some objective Obtain reinforcement of established policy or the defeat of proposed policy shifts Targets the election or defeat of national, state, and local legislators
88
Figure 12-1
Representation
99
Washingto National Chamber Automob State n and of ile Capital Commer Dealers Offices ce of the Law firms Assn Public US National National Associati affairs Associati of specialists on PACs on of Realtors Manufac Grassroots turers lobbying
Examples
Get access to key legislators Monitor legislation Establish communication channels with regulatory bodies Protect firms against surprise legislation Draft legislation, slick ad campaigns, direct-mail campaigns Provide issue papers on anticipated effects of legislative activity Communicate sentiments of client on key issues Influence outcome of legislation Assist companies in coalition building around issues Help members of Congress get reelected Organize grassroots efforts
1010
Figure 12-3
Grassroots Lobbying
Mobilizing the grassroots individual citizens who might be most directly affected by legislative activityto political action Using the Internet to amass grassroots support, and enable grassroots supporters to contact their legislators
1111
Grassroots Lobbying
Cyberadvocacy
Coalition Building
A coalition is formed when distinct groups or parties realize they have something incommon that might warrant their joining forces, at least temporarily, for joint action. Coalition formation has become a standard practice for firms interested in accomplishing political goals or influencing public policy. If a company or an association wants to pass or defeat particular legislation, it needs to seek the support of any individual or organization that has a similar position on the issue. Coalitions enable members to share their resources and pool their energies when they confront difficult issues.
1212
(Continued)
To do this, the following steps are recommended: Manage the sequence in which issues are addressed Increase the visibility of certain issues Unbundle issues into smaller subissues
1313
1414
1515
PACs are a reasonable means that business may use to organize their contributions to candidates for office.
1616
1717
Soft Money
The Hard Facts About Soft Money
A contribution made to political parties instead of political candidates The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was a sweeping change of U.S. campaign finance The BCRA removed the influence of soft money on candidates running for national office
1818
Containment Strategy
Keeps an issue off the public agenda and out of the limelight Helps to define an issue Formation, formulation, implementation, administration and modification of a firms political strategy
1919
Contingency Approach
Contingency approach considers variables of:
1.
2.
The number of salient issues in a legislative district The amount of information a legislator possesses concerning voter preferences
2.
The salience of the issue to the legislators constituency The identification of the expected position of voters on the issue
2020
THANK YOU
Click to edit Master subtitle style