Government Environment of Business - Essay Example

GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS College Government Environment of Business The government influence in the contemporary business environment is a crucial factor for investors. The government is responsible for setting up the various levels of the government policies in a country that relate to the business structure. In the UK government structure, the various government power influence the business policies in various dimensions. The prime minister, the civil service, the parliament and the cabinet use their power to influence policies that the government implements. The power of the various government bodies can be measured on the magnitude with which they influence the business policies in the country. While the prime minister, the civil service and the cabinet play critical roles in policy design, the parliament has a greater power in design of business policies. The parliament is the final body that discusses the policies before they are implemented by the government. The Prime minister is a critical figure in the UK government. The role of the prime minister is to stand as the principle government figure in the house of the Commons and to appoint members of the government. The prime ministers take the role of evaluating the potential members of the government and selecting to the best of his knowledge those who he feels that may contribute to the government development (Gov.UK, 2013). Secondly, the prime minister oversees the work of the civil servants and other important government agencies (BBC News, 2012). In this role, the prime minster works closely with the civil service to ensure that government policies are implemented. On this note, the prime minister has a fair influence on the government policies. He ensures that all policies that affect the business environment are efficiently implemented and that they have the intended purpose after their implementation. By selecting the government officials, the prime minister influences the government decision making process. For instance, he selects members who have little experience in the UK business environment, they may end up formulating policies that affect the economy negatively. On this note, the prime minister duties impact indirectly to the business environment. The other important body of the government is the Cabinet. In the UK the cabinet comprises the top government officials that are directly involved in evaluating the government’s policies (Gov.UK, 2013). The cabinet meets every Tuesday during the parliament to discuss important issues emerging in the government. The members of the cabinet are influential people including secretaries of the state from all departments and other ministers in the government. This docket of the government provides advice to the government on contentious matter that affect the whole country as well as the business environment. The committee reacts to matters that the government considers important so as to give the government a direction on these matters. From this angle, the cabinet has less power than the prime minister but they have a significant influence on the government decisions whether to implement certain policies that affect the business environment. At times, the Cabinet may influence the government to reject certain policies that affect the business environment (Great Britain, 2011). For instance, they may advice the government against implementing high tax policies that due to their impact on the business sector. On this note, the cabinet has less power that the prime minister but their role in the business environment cannot be ignored. The civil service is a crucial part of the government that plays the role of implementing the operational government policies. The civil service in the UK is responsible for implement the tax policies that the government has laid down. The civil service comprises of the government employees working in various government offices (Gov.UK, 2013). In comparison with other bodies of the government, the civil service plays an operational role and contributes very little in the decision making process. For instance, in the UK, the civil service works under the authority of the prime minister to collect the tax from business organizations as laid down by the government. On this note, the civil service role has no direct influence on the tax rates but on the efficiency of tax collection. Their role has little impact on the business market though they ensure that the companies abide to the government policies. However, their input in the government may be considered during the decision making process. In this light, comparing the role of the various government bodies in influencing the business industry, it is clear that the civil service has the least influence. Since their role is to implement policies, they have little input in the design of the government policies. The UK parliament comprises of the elect member of the government who are directly involved in the decision making process. The parliament is the largest body of the government that represent the different regions of the country (Gov.UK, 2013). On this note, they represent the people in the parliament sitting to ensure that the decisions that are made impact positively on the society. The parliament is responsible for proposing specific debatable bills that affect the country as a whole. One of greatest roles of the parliament is to discuss motions on emerging matters in the government. Principally, all the matters that affect the government have to be tabled in the parliament before it is passed to become a law. Through a parliament debate, the members discuss various motions that arise by weighing down their impact on the society and the government as a whole. Their role is to ensure that all the policies that are formulated have a positive impact on business, the government, and even the society (Walzenbach, 2010). Any motion that they vote against in the parliament becomes ineffective in the land. On this note, it is possible to regard the parliament as the most powerful body of the government in the UK. The parliament decisions have a significant impact on the business environment. One of the most important factors in the business environment is the tax structure. The tax structure in a country may either encourage or discourage some types of business in the country. Also, the tax system may influence the way the incentives of foreign investors to launch their business organization in the country. The cumulative impact of this is that internal business competition is influenced by the tax policy. The parliament is directly involved in formulating tax policies and evaluating their effectiveness in the land. In the UK, the parliament debates issues regarding the tax system and have the power to pass or reject the designed tax policies. On this note, the parliament has a direct influence on the policies that exist within a country, which gives them an upper hand in comparison with other bodies of the government (Dwan, 2012). Through their contribution in the design of tax policies, the government discourages certain business and discourages others. Also, their decision may protect domestic investors from international investors. From this point of view, the parliamentary decisions have a great impact on the market forces. Although all the parliamentary decisions are subject to government approval, it is clear that any motions that are opposed in the parliament do not apply in the land. To some extent, the prime ministers contribution in the design of national policies and influencing the approval of the parliamentary acts is significant to the business environment. However, since the prime minister has little say on the debate regarding state policies, it is clear that their power is less compared to that vested in the parliament. On the other hand, the cabinet is comprised of fewer members than the parliament. Although the Cabinet is involved in discussing the matters that are critical to the government, they have little say on the discussions in the parliament (Albaek and Holzhacker, 2007). Their contribution has little impact on the decision that the parliamentarians pass in the parliament. The civil service works at the operational level and their major role is to implement the policies that the government have constructed through its other bodies. The parliament’s power lies in its ability to influence and contribute to all the policies that exist within a country. Their ability to reverse policies is critical in the business environment. In conclusion, the parliament has more power that the prime minister, the cabinet and the civil service in the UK. The superiority of the parliament lies in its ability to contribute directly to policy formulation in the country. Unlike other bodies such as the cabinet that comprise of few members representing the government departments, the parliament member is a large body that represents the voice of the people. Through their parliamentary acts, they are able to either encourage or discourage business within a country. The prime minister has an indirect influence on the country policy as he forms the main government personality of the House of the Common. The civil service assumes little power as their role does not go beyond implementing the policies formulated by other bodies of the government. On this note, the parliament implements the most significant role in designing the policies that affect the business environment. Bibliography Albaek, E. and Holzhacker, R., 2007, Democratic Governance and European Integration. Oxford: Oxford University Press. BBC News, 2012. Plan To Let Ministers Pick Top Civil Servants Blocked. Available at: < http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20664021> Dwan, J., 2012, The Changing Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University press. Gov.UK, 2013. How Government Works. Available at :< https://www.gov.uk/ Government/how-government-works> Great Britain, 2011, Government Assistance to Industry: Third Report of Session 2010-2011. London: TSO shop. Walzenbach, P., 2010. European Governance: Policy Making Between Politicization and Control. London: Ashgate Publishing. Read More