Role of Interest Groups in Government Business Relations - Example

Role of Interest Groups in Government Business Relations Name Course Lecturer Date Role of Interest Groups in Government Business Relations Introduction Relations between the government and businesses in a country are carried out in numerous ways as well as through several channels. Interest groups form a crucial mechanism by which the nationals of a country inform elected officials of their needs, ideas and opinions. Regardless of how specialized the nationals may be, they always establish and associate with an interest cluster that draws attention to their concerns. Interest groups fall under different categories and they all play a significant role in government-business associations. Depending on how influential a group is, a number of interest groups are more effectual than others (Mack 1997, p.37). This essay will focus on the role of these groups in business dealings with the government as well as the reasons why some of these groups are more effective than others. Types of interest groups and their roles on government business relations Business organizations Well established corporations take the regard of being significant players in a country’s economy. Since elected representatives are held answerable for the performance of country’s economy, time and again they are afraid that, anti-business strategies may negatively impact that performance. In addition, corporations use direct forces of influence. Big international corporations convey huge resources to promote their political objectives. They are typically members of numerous trade unions that stand for a whole industry's opinions in political procedures. Moreover, individual corporations directly porch members of parliament, and they direct a lot of finances in campaign assistances to their favorite candidates (Mack 1997, p.89). Professional bodies They form another significant category of interest groups. Groups such as medical associations and law associations pay interest on the joint interests, principles, and position of their careers. Less influential, but however well structured, are experts in the civic sector. Nearly all fields within federal as well as local governments have their individual national organization. For instance, in the housing strategy, there are groups like the National Housing Association and Development Representatives and the Committee of Big Public Accommodation Authorities. These groups are constrained from partisan undertakings by national and federal regulations. Nevertheless, they bear out before the Parliament on matters influencing their programs, and also systematize their affiliates to talk to officials from their individual states or constituencies. Since low-income patrons of civic programs seldom form interest groups, which are powerful at the state level, professional unions of service givers, are significant voices for the underprivileged in government procedures (Schnitzer 2007, p. 56). Public interest groups This is the swiftest growing category of interest groups. Jeffrey (1977, p.22) describes a public interest collection as a group, which holds up objectives which do not present direct material gains to its associates but relatively express their principles concerning the society in general. The earliest public interest clusters were initiated by the civil privileges, women's privileges along with environmental movements in the 1960s. Followers of these groups often underwent an evolution in due course that transmitted the conveyance of their opinions from street demonstrations to structured action inside the political structure. Afterward, public interest groups activated new matters like the deterrence of child mistreatment and domestic violence, privileges of the disabled and homosexual rights. More so, these groups have been chief supporters of programs that benefit poor people. According to Smith (2002, p.302), public concern groups are short of the economic resources that are possessed by business groups. Although the concerns they support often receive considerable support from the members of the public, only a small amount of these groups have large memberships. This is because; the elusive temperament of their objectives lead to the issue of free rider meaning that, a person can gain from the efforts of an interest group exclusive of being an associate, or without seriously taking part in it. Nonetheless, they utilize their know-how and information-gathering attempts to raise matters that no additional groups are dealing with. In the past, majority of public interest groups rarely took part in the political field. Conversely, in current years conformists have prearranged their personal groups, mainly in reaction to the alleged liberal move of public strategy. Local public interest groups are similar to the non-governmental establishments, which have emerged in the international arena as from the 1980s. Actually, a number of public concern groups have links with global NGOs. In all situations, support resides in citizens apprehensive about a universal social matter, rather than instant economic interests. Reasons for difference in effectiveness of interest groups With the existence of a big number of interest groups, their success in making their members’ opinions known differs very much. The grounds for this difference revolve around the manner in which a certain group uses key political resources which in this case are finances, membership, unity and information (Vogel 1996, p.146). Financial base The significance of funds in government-business dealings has augmented in the current years, owing to the rising expenditure of political operations. The present laws which constrain campaign involvements have some shortcomings and, numerous elected representatives from all political parties are hesitant to support alterations in the present structure that might offer some leads to their rivals. Interest groups who have the greatest influence in state elections usually make voluntary financial contributions to aspirants adding up to millions of dollars (Vogel 1996, p.148). Additionally, extensive financial resources are required to keep up a presence between elections. An interest group requires a qualified staff to sway legislation relating to its interests, on top of the staff required to talk with its affiliates and to present them with services. Normally, interest groups that do not have a steady financial base are not able to exert a lot of pressure on the minutiae of government operations which is a trait of an effective interest group (Vogel 1996, p.148). Membership and unity of members It may seem rational to suppose that interest groups that have a big base of support from the public would be highly effective. Elected officials support the policies raised by important majorities in view polling, since they desire to include the big number of prospective voters behind these arrangements to their captivating coalitions. On the contrary, a closer look demonstrates that, majority mass-membership clusters register only a petite portion of their prospective supporters. Even the major environmental groups declare memberships of less than one million. This comparatively little number of members agrees with the general belief that the percentage of nationals who enroll for interest groups forms a small part of the total population (Becker 2001, p.77). Another solemn predicament encountered by a mass-membership cluster is translating national hold up for the cluster into votes for contestants that promote its aims. Voting is an intricate undertaking comprising of various motivations and controls such as the candidate's character and party allegiance. Voting studies indicates that several voters are usually not completely conscious of the strategy positions assumed by the aspirants they support. Consequently it is habitually hard for a cluster to illustrate that its voting preferences for its sponsors are mainly aggravated by its specific issues. Therefore, groups with small memberships tend to be more effective in influencing government dealings than those with large memberships (Chaudhri & Samson 2000, p.16). Information Besides a dedicated membership and funds, information is the uppermost influential resource for an interest group and is conveyed in a number of ways. To start with, information moves from an interest group to policy-makers. Groups frequently have technical understanding that the policy-makers do not have and are thus keen to teach them on the matters they have interest in. It is obvious that, the facts they give usually has favoritism to the interests of the concerned group (Grosse 2005, p.12). In addition, information streams from the governmental and administrative divisions to interest groups. The staff of these groups follows legislative suggestions, hence knows the most favorable times to attempt to manipulate the legislative procedure. Their casual contacts with parliamentary staff offer opportunities to be witnesses at proceedings and to drum up their group's associates when a vital election is near. By doing so, they discover which participants are most influential and what approaches will expand their support. Lastly, interest groups swap information with associates as well as other nationals. They may carry out an investigation that dramatizes an issue. If they draw adequate media attention, representatives feel obliged to respond. From here, the interest groups that tend to be more effective are those that possess adequate and diverse information (Hoefer 2005, p.220). Conclusion Different interest groups play diverse and significant roles in government dealings with businesses. Business organizations do so by financing campaigns for their favorite contestants and joining trade unions. Professional bodies testify on subjects relating to their programs that are debated in parliament. Public interest groups link up with non-governmental institutions to express the concerns of the society in general. Interest groups with a stable financial base, small membership and adequate and extensive source of information tend to be more effective than those with inadequate funds, large memberships and shallow and insufficient information. References Becker, WH 2001, The dynamics of business-government relations : industry & exports, Chicago, University of Chicago Press. Chaudhri, V & Samson, D 2000, Business-government relations in Australia: Cooperating through task forces, Academy of Management Executive , 14 (3), 16-27. Grosse, RE 2005, International business and government relations in the 21st century, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Hoefer, R 2005, Altering State Policy: Interest Group Effectiveness among State-Level Advocacy Groups, Social Work , 50 (3), 219-227. Jeffrey, B 1977, Lobbying for the People: The Political Behavior of Public Interest Groups, Princeton University Press. Mack, CS 1997, Business, politics, and the practice of government relations, Westport, Quorum Books. Schnitzer, M 2007, Contemporary government and business relations, Houghton Mifflin. Smith, MJ 2002, Pluralism, Reformed Pluralism and Neopluralism: the Role of Pressure Groups in Policy-Making, Political Studies , 38 (2), 302-322. Vogel, DJ 1996, The Study of Business and Politics, California Management Review; Spring , 38 (3), 146-165. Read More