Ch12 Summary

Mangt 596

WEN　XU

07/11/2011

Chapter 12 Summary

Political involvement is defined as participation in the formulation and execution of public policy at various levels of government. The lesson of the Microsoft that they antitrust the market and U.S. Justice Department against its isolationist policy made us to know that the hard way that political involvement is not optional. It is necessary to understand the approaches that business uses to influence government stakeholders.

Lobbying is the process of influencing public officials to promote or secure the passage or defeat of legislation. It is used to promote the election or defeat of candidates for public office. Lobbyists are self-interests and to defeat legislation that runs counter to their organizations; interest. Lobbying has been defined as the professionalization of the art of persuasion. It is directed toward the reinforcement of established policy or the defeat of proposed policy shifts. It targets the election or defeat of national, state, and local legislators.

Umbrella organizations are at the broadest level of the lobbying organizational levels. It represents the collective business interests of the United States. At the next level are trade associations, which are composed of many firms in a given industry or line of business. There are individual companies lobbying levels. The companies use their own personnel, establish Washington offices for the sole purpose of lobbying, or hire professional lobbying firms or consultants located in Washington or a state capital.

Lobbyists are referred as “influence peddlers”, operate under a variety of formal titles and come from a variety of backgrounds. They are lawyers, government affairs specialists, public relations consultant, staffs of large trade associations based in Washington, and some represent specific companies that have Washington offices dedicated to the sole purpose of representing those companies in the capitol city. The Washington...