The Relationship between the Government and Corporations - Coursework Example

? A Study into the Relationship between the Government and Corporations Introduction A Government is the constituted legal body of a nation, orcommunity while Corporation is a company where in a group of people together act as a single entity. The Government as a legal body is comprised of various laws, legislation boundaries and ministerial objectives for the welfare of people existing in that country. And as the corporations exist in a country, they are bound by the Government laws and principles of a country. If one look at the relationship of Government and Corporations then one can find that it is deep and intricate. A Corporation has a group of people with a business objective cannot survive without adhering to the laws and principles of their own government. The relationship of Government with Corporation used to be of lasses faire or socialist nature. However, today things have changed and the nature of relationship between Government and Corporation has evolved. According to (Alfredo,1999)“Today's relationship between government and business is thus neither laissez faire nor socialist, but rather a combination of both, essentially what is called a "mixed economy”. It is a fact that the businesses which deal with international business have to deal with two national governments. This procedure where business with two countries are involved, there can arise congruence of conflict between two governments. Here we can study the relationship dimensions of a corporation with that of a government in a brief manner. The Structure of government of America In order to understand the relationship of Government and Corporation, a brief look into the American governmental structure is essential. In the American Government , the executive position is held by the President of America and he also act as the head of the state and deal with diplomatic activities and hold the position of commander in chief branches of the armed forces. America also allows the vice president to hold the post in an Executive branch .Now it is the legislative branch which explains about the laws pertaining to the society and community of America. As per (Longley,2012) Every society needs laws. In the United States, the power to make laws is given to Congress, which represents the legislative branch of government. The laws of judicial branch of America are often confusing and vague and it is the federal judicial system which figure out what is constitution part of the law. Then there is the federalism which allows the sharing of power between different branches of the Government. Also it is the federal Government which is regulating the day to day functions of huge and small corporate in America. In Concise it can also be said that the present day American Corporations are regulated by the Federal Reserve System of the country. The Federal Reserve is the body of American Government which governs and controls all financial matters of the country.As per (bare foot) “The Federal Reserve is at the root of most of our present statutory regulations, "laws", in the control and regulation of virtually all aspects of human activity in the United States”. Different types of corporations in U.S. In America there are different types of corporations that are registered under the state law and pose as a single entity with specific privilege and liabilities. In the website (Wise Geek, 2003) writes that, “In general sense, a corporation is a business entity that is given many of the same legal rights as an actual person”. The corporations can be classified into different forms according to their nature and business motive. This includes public and private corporations whose nature, motive and structure may be different and varied. Although most of the bodies are formulated for business motives, we can also find charitable organization, public bodies and clubs included in this category of corporations. Even though the corporations are impersonal entities, Government has imposed rights and responsibilities like person to these corporations. The corporations are recognized bodies by the government and legally have the freedom to exercise human rights on state and real persons. The corporations are themselves obliged to adhere to the Government’s rules and regulations formulated in order to keep a control on business activities. In case human right violation, the corporations are subjected to fines and punishment in an effort to keep society lawful. The corporation cannot die but can dissolve at the will of the shareholders or board of directors. The Corporations are even convicted for criminal offenses but they are not literally considered as real human beings. The government has a deep and broadened relationship with corporations and this originates from the formulation to the dissolution of the corporate body. History of Corporate Relationship with Government The relationship of Corporations with that of Government is deep and firmly linked. The government had a heavy control on the corporations in the early years of American history. It is after the post civil war period, that the corporations started to emerge as a powerful entity. The one who took the real advantage of corporate power and political relations was the rail road barons. The big breakthrough came when the Supreme Court bestowed the corporation to have a status of single entity. With these turning points, corporate started to have more money than private individuals. With the rail road obtaining more power, they also acquired more wealth and they started spreading wealth throughout the country. With the huge power in hand, the rail road barons started to buy politicians like senators during 20th century. The rail road barons are the first group who demonstrated that corporations could buy politicians. With this practice other wealthy corporations also started to persuade the government to meet their goals and objectives. Many a times, lobbyist was appointed by the corporations to influence government officials to get their work done. The corporations had the sole aim of profit making and they appointed lobbyist to scan through the political procedures in government ,so that they receive less threat .The government desired that the corporations meet their end by keeping in mind the balance of society .However the corporations were only interested in profit making and persuading government to assist their motive. As per (Free Webs)“Throughout the world, there are hundreds of examples of US companies persuading governments to allow them to ignore local laws and set up business on their terms, and it's local people who have suffered”. The relationship of Government with corporations The Corporation’s largest single liability in terms of relationship is with that of the Government. The business industry has acknowledged that it should maintain a good relationship with government in order to succeed, despite of the nature of industry. Managing relationship efficiently with the government promises the business corporate a green signal to flourishing. When practicing a reliable relationship with the government, the party ruling the country does not matter. The business corporations must have complete knowledge of the government policies and they should also be able to persuade government adversaries to progress the business in a profit mode .According to (Mack,1997) “The capability of business enterprise associations to protect and advance their own interests through effective government relations therefore assumes ever growing importance and complexity”. The government in general creates laws and policies and enforces them on corporation in order to hold a control on the daily functioning of the Government. As the history mentions, the lobbying of corporations with the government started in the 20th century by rail road barons. From then this nature of relationship has only progressed. In his website (Marzec) write that “Lobbying is a controversial and often misunderstood activity. Protected by the First Amendment and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, in its most simple form lobbying is informing the government officials as to what a group of citizens wants”. The Lobbying of corporation and the government The lobbying is the persuasion of the government employees in to the favor of corporations with the use of money or kind. Since the invention of the Government, the interaction between the government and the governed has been alive in the form of lobbying. The origin of lobbying can be traced back to the Greek times, where in discussion between the interaction of government and humanity has been studied. One of the most populace study performed in human discourse is the study between the government and the governed. It is a fact that the government which rules the least is the best government. Since the concept of government originated, people have shown their reluctance to follow government rules and laws. According to (Thoreau,2008) “Government is at best, but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient”. Generally speaking where there s government there is corporations who practice lobbying .The corporations influence the decision and policy making of government with the process of lobbying. Here the main motive of the corporations is the smooth functioning of their business with an ever flowing profit. As per (Barth,2011) “Thirty large U.S. corporations paid more money to Congressional lobbyists than they paid in taxes from 2008-2010, according to a new report from Public Campaign”. Lobbying includes advocating the governmental officials by an individual or a group of people acting on the behalf of corporations. When corporate approaches government adversaries they have different motives and interest in mind. For many Americans, the term lobbying is more known than the word Government. Generally speaking, the term lobbying is more prevalent among the country men. In brief, we can conclude that government relation is the various communication techniques practiced by individual or group of people in a corporation to change the government policies or laws in their interests. This practice can be on local, state, national or international level. The different lobbying practices can be pin pointed as: a) Mobilizing the constituent at the root through campaigns b) Fund raising of political nature and formulation of contributory programs. c) Introduction of different kinds of communication techniques and technologies. d) Alliance with different groups and trade association in an effort to manipulate government interests. These abovementioned factors are the attributes of the modern lobbying system in America.The corporations are otherwise called “interest groups” as they are the ones who manipulate and exploit the government to achieve their self interest and motive. The corporations in America are a large sector which has a complex and deep relation with the government. The individual companies in America have the position to act as an interest group with their own rights. Every kind of business corporations in America act and behave in a unique manner. So the relationship they hold with government also reflects this uniqueness. The corporatocracy in America It is a well known fact in America that the government does not control the corporations but the latter rule the former. Generally speaking America is not a democracy but a corporatocracy, where every decision about the government‘s movement is decided by large corporate. According to (Levine,2011)“Many Americans know that the United States is not a democracy but a "corporatocracy," in which we are ruled by a partnership of giant corporations, the extremely wealthy elite and corporate-collaborator government officials”. Many activists claim that the political passive action is provoked by the America’s ignorance which is backed up by the corporate media propaganda. While other claim that passive status of Government and less organization is caused by the inadequate provision of money. Here the situation can take the form of corporate capitalism where all the policies and regulations direct towards the corporate interests. Since a large proportion of labour market and economy falls under the umbrella of corporations, the government has the mere role of playing a mediator in the business process. Currently, the corporate is the one which controls the market segment with constituting fifty percent of the overall business. Corporate capitalism which is formed of giant corporations has been blamed in persuading the government from all dimensions for their profit motive interest. Corporate consist of hierarchical chain of power and with the financial resources, they provoke the government policies to work in favor of them. Corporate Crime and government regulations Corporations as a single entity do perform crime in various ways, and this requires a strong control from the government in the form of regulations and penalty. Thousands of companies regularly commit crime which injures public more than street hooliganism. Still the government deals with corporate crimes with less seriousness. The corporate crime happens on all grounds like socially, environmentally, physically and economically. While street crimes are overlooked by the police, the corporate crime is controlled by the government. As per (Suppan,2003) “Although criminal activity within the private service industries has been an important factor in the current recession, the service industry continues to form the basis for the U.S. negotiating position on the General Agreement on Trade in Services”. The corporate crimes fall into three categories like white collar crime, corporate pollution and violence against consumers. To control these crimes, the American government has formulated many regulations, policies and laws. There is even set regulation on the accountability of the power held by corporations in a society. Government has regulations and policies for the environment pollution and dumping of toxic waste into the environment by the industries. The government also has formulated policies and regulation to control advertising campaigns of huge corporations. Basically, the ever changing law of government is the law regarding the employee protection. These laws are connected to employee minimum wages and benefits, health and safety compliance, working conditions, work for non U.S. citizens, equal opportunity to employees and privacy regulations. Moreover, the environmental crime by big corporations is controlled by Environmental Protection Agency alongside state agencies. Thus the relation of corporations with that of the government works on multitude platforms. Conclusion Generally speaking, the relationship of government and corporations are to be analyzed from various dimensions in order to assess its intricacy. The government relations with the corporations starts from the very moment the corporation is formed. Every step of the corporations as a single entity faces laws and regulations to keep them in control. Usually, the governmental policies change and renovate as the time pass by in order to give flexibility and ease for the business to function .The government need to install leading rules and regulation to keep a viable relationship with the large corporations in U.S. In recent times, the public has been forcing the government to change the laws and regulations in such a way that less can be done by corporations to influence government. As per (Healey,2004) “Recent corporate scandals have led to public pressure to reform business practices and increase regulation”. The corporations are known for their dishonestly, cover up and greed since their origin. And it is because of these reasons, the corporations have started up the process of lobbying among the government officials. With the lobbying process, all the rules and regulations of the government are formulated according to the profit motive of the business corporations. The corporations in America are highly scandalous and public is enquiring to the government regarding the corporate accountability on grave issues like environmental pollution, employee rights and compensation facilities. The government needs to take effective action on such important issues my reforming the regulatory system, auditing procedure and law enforcement. Even though, the power of American corporations are beyond our imagination, still government can act honestly in a mild way as a wakeup call to the dishonest practice of corporate businesses. Alfredo, D. (1999). The Relationship Between Government & Business. In google.co.in. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.ehow.com/about_5427693_relationship-between-government-business.html Barth, C. D. (2011, December 14). 29 Companies That Paid Millions For Lobbying (And Didn't Pay Taxes). In forbes.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisbarth /2011/ 12/14/29-companies-that-paid-millions-for-lobbying-and-didnt-pay-taxes/ Barefoot, . (1996, December 7). Who Is Running America? . In barefootsworld.ne. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from http://www.barefootsworld.net/usfraud.html Free webs, . (n.d.). The Case Against America. In freewebs.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://www.freewebs.com/tcam/ Healey, T. J. (2004). The Role of Government. In http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/research/rpp/reports/RPPREPORT8.pdf. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/research/rpp/reports/RPPREPORT8.pdf Longley, R. (2012). The basic structure and functions of the United States Federal Government. In usgovinfo.about.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://usgovinfo.about.com /od/right sandfreedoms/u/gov101.htm Levine, B. E. (2011, May 20). 10 Steps to Defeat the Corporatocracy. In alternet.org. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.alternet.org/story/151018/10_steps_ to_defeat_th e_cor poratocracy Mack, C. S. (1997). Business, Politics, and the Practice of Government Relations. West Port: Quorom Books. Marzec, E. (n.d.). What Is Corporate Lobbying?. In smallbusiness.chron.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/corporate-lobbying-11729.html Suppan, S. (2003). Service industry deregulation: corporate crime and tougher disciplines on the poor. In socialwatch.org. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.social watch.org/book /export/html/10824 Thoreau, H. D. (2008). Civil Disobedience (p. 2). London: Hayes Barton Press. Wise Geek, . (2003). What is a corporation. In wisegeek.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-corporation.htm Read More