Paper Example on Corporate Political Activity

Introduction

For most strategic managers, challenges are often encountered as a result of a competitive advantage. As such, political arenas have been underprivileged due to their inability to building and maintaining an advantage (Hadani et al., 338). For the most part, the corporate political activity (CPA) perspective can be categorized as a fundamental aspect of addressing the performance of firms in political arenas. According to various researches, the ethics of corporate political activity are often based on inconsistent presumptions (Weber 71). Therefore, for the political activity of the business, the appropriate goals and objectives may be understood in terms of questioning the ethical as well as social responsibility, especially for multinational companies.

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Mapping the Corporate Political Activity Landscape in the United States

In the United States, the influence of CPA is exercised by a significant body of opinion which incorporates "special interests" exercise. However, these special interests have been largely unwarranted at the federal, state, and local levels in the political processes (Weber 71). For instance, in the case of corporations and labor unions, the exercises are conducted by selecting candidates for public office through lobbying of public officials for a campaign contribution. As a relevant example, William Greider's popular Who Will Tell the People: The Betrayal of American Democracy (1992), significantly contributes to matters concerning the threat of American democracy.

Activist organizations such as Common Cause aim to promote good governance through threat reduction. Essentially, good governance requires openness, integrity as well as public participation. Thus, it may be prevalent in all states of government, i.e. federal, state and local governments. Common Cause organization issues press releases and its magazine Common Cause Magazine, to report on the relevancy of the contributions made for both political candidates and parties. From this perspective, it can be said that the moneyed interests are exhibiting radical influence on the government thus, making them serve only the interests of the few. In this position, the response of the threat to democracy is only efficient if the duties of public officials and candidates are assigned to the elective public office.

All levels of government, ethics and conflict-of-interest laws must be detailed to ensure that the required mechanisms are redirected towards education and enforcement. Though there are restrictions for proposed campaign contributions on the ethics of public service, standards of ethics must systematically be clarified and articulated to influence public policy in the overall decision-making process.

The Significance of Corporate Political Activity

From a competitive perspective, the effect of a business on public policy may involve engaging in the public arena through political activity. This alternative perspective is often termed as the ethics of citizenship. In Mark Sagoff statement, "the ethics of citizenship activity differ from the ethics of consumer activity." In this regard, he asserts that when people take the role of a consumer, the outcome will be seeking an alternative option suitable to their needs (Weber 71). Hence, as citizens, it is necessary to work with others for the greater good of society as a whole.

Similarly, in Democracy's Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy, Michael Sandel suggests the viability of civic value. According to his statement, those who participate in politics should specifically not relate to their self-interest rather, the main focus must be based upon reinstating the existing part of the American tradition that addresses the point of politics. For the most part, the concern about business's political activity has raised numerous questions regarding ethical standards. As a consideration, it may be essential for organizations to place the standards of good citizenship to that of applicable ethical orientation.

Disaggregating and Explaining Corporate Political Activity

Much of the arguments raised about corporate political activity often tend to come from the issues regarding certain moneyed interests, rather than the goals of the corporations involved in this kind of activity. Though these moneyed interests have a significant effect on public policy, they are often termed as undue. The reason for this is because of the attempts made to effectively engage with decision makers (Weber 71). As such, the policy position may not necessarily be decisive or effective in relation to the force of the arguments presented towards their existing relationship with decision makers.

The efforts made on indicating and establishing ethical standards for the corporate political activity should be reliant upon the practical guidelines which determine the type of behaviors to be displayed, whether legal or not. These efforts can be identified through various activities which require careful considerations. They may include:

• The promotion of "grassroots" political action by lobbying.
• Lobbyists acting as fundraisers for the election of political candidates or officials.
• Committees engaging in Political Action practices such as bundling, which in turn, play a significant role in construing the contributing limits of campaign evasion.
• Making contributions to a PAC campaign for public officials to support or conjunct specific lobbying effort as well as proposed specific action on legislation.
• Promoting public policy through corporate advocacy advertising.
• Voluntary Restraint in Business and the Governments.

Competitive Environment of Host Countries

For most organizations, restricting options while disregarding any assurance can often result in "unilateral disarmament." As a result, conscientious organizations may be placed at a competitive disadvantage due to the nature of voluntary restraints. Nevertheless, the acceptance of such restraints only proved to be viable if there are significant considerations presented when discussing matters related to CPA. Therefore, countries such as the United States must incorporate the ethics of CPA thus allowing businesses to effectively influence public policy, especially for other countries.

In most cases, the primary concern for the political dimensions of business ethics mainly lies within human rights and democracy. In the international arena, business relationships should focus mainly on exemplifying the nature of governments in relation to human rights and democracy (Weber 71). For instance, if the record of the host government disregard the opinions of the majority or violating the population's repressing segments, the primary concern should be based on the responsibility of a firm. Hence, the decision made may be relevant in terms of doing or not doing business from an international perspective.

For business leaders, is essential to consider the significant factors presented in host countries by addressing the relevance of human rights and democracy, thus allowing them to make effective decisions. In the issued debate regarding the role of U.S.-based companies in apartheid South Africa, various critics pointed out that any decisions made concerning the performance of a business should relate to the evaluation of the business goals as well as the nature of the host government. According to Caux's "Principles for Business," the stakeholder principles and responsibilities must be reformed through the considerations of global corporate citizens thus allowing human rights and democratic institutions to facilitate the overall social and political process.

The "Guidelines for Country Selection" are often preferred in representing the specific issues related to the political and social setting of human rights and democratic institutions. Even though it disapproves contractual relationships in countries, these guidelines go beyond the capability of individual business partners to reinstate the addressed issues. They are often prominent in the following areas:

• In situations where a business would "have an adverse effect on our global brand image."
• In situations where a business exposes company employees or representatives to health and safety risks which may be considered unreasonable.
• In situations involving pervasive violations of basic human rights.
• In situations whereby the legal environment creates an unreasonable risk to trademarks or to other significant commercial interests.
• In situations whereby unreasonable threats are made in relation to the nature of commercial interests through political or social turmoil.

For host countries, one fundamental aspect regarding the operation of businesses is respect for cultural values and traditions. In business ethics, the efforts that underlie with the clarification of business responsibilities should be based upon the notion of the practices of social and ethical values which are prevalent in other countries. Therefore, the efforts concerning the political responsibilities of businesses in other countries should evaluate the outcomes of cultural values, traditions, and practices. Furthermore, those seeking to clarify these efforts must carefully review the "respect for culture" discussions. In this context, businesses can play an integral role in acting as powerful agents of social change and re-establishing the current social reality. Overall, when addressing the issues of business ethics agenda, it is essential to substantiate the significance of the political activity of business by considering the ethical responsibilities of businesses.

Works Cited

Hadani, Michael, Jean-Philippe Bonardi, and Nicolas M. Dahan. "Corporate political activity, public policy uncertainty, and firm outcomes: A meta-analysis." Strategic Organization15.3 (2017).

Weber, Leonard J. "Ethics and the political activity of business: Reviewing the agenda." Business Ethics Quarterly 7.3 (1997).