Special Training Programs
Most of training is either technical or behavioural in nature, but there are still other trainings that are neither. These fall under the ambit of special training programs and are conducted with an agenda of smoothening the work process within the organisation. Workforce diversity can be both positive and negative for the organisation. Positive in […]
What is Employee Development? – An Overview
Individuals in an organization form its vital resource and must be valued, nurtured and retained. Employees are the most valuable assets and truly the backbone of an organization. Every employee in his/her own way contributes towards the success or failure of an organization. Without employees in an organization, even the most powerful machinery with the […]
EQ @ Work: Emotional Intelligence at Work – Why it is Important and How to Apply it
Emotional intelligence and emotional quotient Emotional intelligence is an indispensable skill for people. Emotions impact every aspect of people’s lives, including the workplace. Those with a high level of emotional intelligence can identify the impact of their emotions on themselves and others. One indicator of a high level of emotional intelligence in the workplace is […]
Benefits of Formal Succession Planning
Succession planning is one of the most important career development tools used by organizations. This is done to determine the backups for each senior position by identifying and training the executives who are at the next-lower levels. This is an important process as most organizations rely on it to find their next CEO and other […]
Employee Engagement and Employee Retention
Individuals coming together on a common platform to achieve the goals of the organization as well as to earn a living for themselves are called as employees. The smooth functioning of an organization depends on its employees and their seriousness towards work. What is employee engagement? Employee engagement refers to a situation where all the […]
We often read about the terms, lobbying, and lobbyists, being used in the mainstream media and the business press. Most of us also read about how lobbyists have influenced the outcome of a particular policy or how they have succeeded in convincing lawmakers and elected representatives to pass favorable legislation.
So, what does lobbying do and who are lobbyists and how they work? The answers to these questions can be found in the way government works in democracies worldwide. For instance, it is often the case that governments wish to pass laws that regulate certain industries or want to draft legislation that pertains to business and economy.
When this happens, there is any number of business and economic not to leave out societal and civil society stakeholders who are affected by such legislation and who desire a favorable outcome to their interests.
Say, for example, the government wants to regulate the tobacco or the media or the tech industries. It might want to pass legislation that outlaws some tobacco products, bring the media companies into its ambit of regulation, or ensure that tech companies comply with the new norms.
In all these cases, the affected stakeholders who are the tobacco companies, the media houses, and the tech firms would want to ensure that the government passed legislation does not harm their business interests.
Thus, to achieve this objective, they employ lobbyists whose job is to petition the government with their recommendations and favored language in the laws, as well as to convince the lawmakers to their cause.
This requires extensive consultations and contacts with the lawmakers, and hence, this is where professional lobbyists with their network of contacts and extensive web of connections can help such firms.
Through lobbying the lawmakers and meeting with them as well as through a series of conferences and other modes of persuasion and influence, lobbyists can indeed help their clients in protecting their business interests.
Hence, lobbying is part and parcel of any democracy and especially so, when such democracies follow the free market and capitalist forms of economic systems.
In other words, lobbyists exist because of the businesses whose interests have to be promoted and protected and because such aspects can be done in democracies where lawmakers pass legislation and other methods of regulation that are unique to free-market democracies.
It is also the case that lobbying in recent times has come under much criticism due to the fact that the businesses and the corporates in most of the advanced and developed free-market democracies have extended their reach to such an extent that they have the “government in their pockets”.
Indeed, in the United States, the power of lobbyists is such that even when progressive and people friendly legislation is passed, it is often the case that such legislation is drafted in accordance with the lobbyists and their client’s interests rather than containing language that promotes societal welfare.
For instance, even the much celebrated Affordable Care Act or the Obamacare which is to do with health insurance was passed only after the healthcare and Pharma lobbies inserted terms and conditions that are favorable to them.
It is indeed an irony that this Obamacare which was supposed to help the poor and the needy had a provision that suited the business interests rather than being totally people friendly. This indicates the power of lobbyists and lobbying in the United States where it is virtually impossible for the Congress and the Senate to pass legislation without the lobbyists having their say.
On the other hand, lobbying is also a much-needed mechanism and method that smoothens the interface between the government and the business.
Indeed, without lobbying, there would be a “dialogue of the deaf” wherein the government and the business worlds would be talking within themselves without any meaningful conversation.
This is the reason why lobbyists and lobbying in the United States and Europe are usually tolerated as well as patronized by the lawmakers. It also works both ways as businesses fund the election campaigns of the legislators and the elected representatives who in turn return the favor by passing laws and rules that are in the interests of the former.
Indeed, as long as democracies follow the free market and capitalist systems, there are always going to be lobbyists and lobbies whose clients would pay “Top Dollar Monies” to ensure that their business interests are protected.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, such systems also need a meaningful exchange between the government and the business worlds and hence, lobbyists are the “lubricant that greases the wheels” of the free market democracies decision-making model.
In other words, lobbying is essential to any sustained interaction between governments and businesses.
Lastly, whether one likes it or not, even the developing world is also catching up regarding the sophisticated systems and methods of lobbying. For instance, it is common in India for lobbyists to descend on the Parliament when it is in session and ensure that any laws and regulations are only passed after the interests of their clients are taken into account.
Thus, India can be said to be catching up with the United States as far as the practices of lobbying are concerned.
To conclude, depending on which side of the debate you are on, you might like or hate lobbyists but you they are here to stay and function.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
