...No Casinos Toronto Campaign Student’s Name Institution No Casinos Toronto Campaign Conflict expansion is the incorporated use of advocacy and lobbying, in an attempt to influence legislation changes. In the No Casinos Toronto Campaign, the advocacy groups employed conflict expansion to carry out the course. The groups ensured that most individuals in Toronto are aware of the campaign, and what it entails. They also coerced councilors to make legislation in opposition of the intended casino in the city. In their campaign, the advocacy groups ensured that councilors did not have a wide room for voting in favor of the casino. Conflict expansion is the rigorous use of lobbying and advocacy to manipulate legislation, without giving legislators much of a choice. This essay will evaluate the efficacy of conflict expansion, in regard to No Casinos Toronto Campaign. The advocacy groups in the “No Casinos Toronto Campaign” first contacted the legislators in the city regarding their opposing views on the proposed mega-casino. They wrote to the relevant authorities, regarding the upcoming effects of the casino on the public, the businesses and the Toronto society in general. They tried to convince the councilors to legislate in opposition of the mega-casino proposition (TogetherToronto, 2013). After communicating their stand with the legislators, the advocacy groups then launched and online campaign. The online campaign was to...
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...beliefs about what they are advocating. These groups at times feel so strong in their beliefs that sometimes they start protesting and even sometimes start riots. These groups come into fruition when people get together and start pulling their resources together. An individual can be highly educated, wealthy, or have a little socio-economic background to help further along their cause. Support and money goes along way when you have it to give and make things happen. Lobbying is a really big issue to these groups, because that’s how they are able to maneuver through the “red tape “ of Politics in any social realm. The lobbying starts when IGs are fighting to protect their respective turfs; meaning each Group is trying to get some kind of program implemented. This is our world of ‘DEMOCRACY’. Money and advertising will and can influence America. These groups know, eventually with enough support that a bill or law will be passed. There is one IG in particular that I would like to mention in this essay and this group fits the Chapter 9 title Organized Interests: NOT “THE PEOPLE” and they are called PETA (People for the Ethical...
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...Are interest groups in the USA too powerful? Interest groups are an organised pressure group in which members hold similar beliefs and actively pursue ways to influence government. Unlike political parties, which seek to win control of government, pressure groups are principally interested in influencing those to determine policy. There are different structures of pressure groups within the United States, for example there is a predominance of business groups, the larger pressure groups (e.g. NRA) tend to have a wider scope of insider activity and the evolution of associated Political Action Committees by focusing on the funding side. In this essay I am defining ‘too powerful’ as something that is a hindrance to democracy. On the one hand there is the pluralist view on pressure groups. Many believe they provide true representation for the ordinary citizens between the long stretches of elections. Interest groups provide a valuable addition to any democracy in which the range of views and beliefs can be heard and fed into the decision-making process. Pressure groups highlight the inherent value of the first amendment to the constitution, which formally protects the freedom of speech and the right to petition for the remedy of grievances. In this light, pressure groups can effectively never be too powerful, as they are providing a source for ordinary citizens to participate in politics, which they normally don’t get to do between elections. Pressure groups offer many forms of...
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...Govt., Business, NGOs – Interface between them in the rise of globalization BUSINESS ETHICS PROJECT Govt., Business, NGOs – Interface between them in the rise of globalization BUSINESS ETHICS PROJECT Chand Ajmera, PGP/17/192 Ananya Jha, PGP/17/194 Shraddha Srikhande, PGP/17/240 Dinesh Kumar V, PGP/17/248 Chand Ajmera, PGP/17/192 Ananya Jha, PGP/17/194 Shraddha Srikhande, PGP/17/240 Dinesh Kumar V, PGP/17/248 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ROLE OF CSOS IN BUSINESS GOVERNMENT INTERFACE 3. LOBBYING - INTRODUCTION 4. ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF LOBBYING 5. EXAMPLES OF LOBBYING 6. ACTIONS BEING TAKEN TO CURB THE UNETHICAL ASPECT OF LOBBYING 7. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS 1. INTRODUCTION The growth and function of every business is highly dependent on the government. A large number of government actions in addition to laws and regulations affect companies’ finances. There are several reasons behind regulation of business by the government. 1. Public safety and welfare: Many industries are regularly reviewed and overseen because their activities, if they go skewed, can have detrimental effects to human health, financial well-being, or community structure. [21] 2. Protecting industry: Many regulations are in place to protect those who have developed their business correctly; licensing, permits, and inspections by the government clear out criminal activities that challenge truthful industries. [21] 3. Revenue...
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...Unit 1 – Ethics, Morality and Legalities Abstract This paper will attempt to dissect the fine line between lobbying and bribery and give some direction as to where one ends and the other begins with relationship to ethics, morality and legalities. Unit 1 - Ethics, Morality and Legalities 1. What is the difference between lobbying and bribery? Meriam-Websters online dictionary. (2011). Defines bribe(ry) as money or favor given to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust. Meriam-Websters online dictionary. (2011). Defines lobbying as conducting activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation. Based upon the previous definitions of bribery and lobbying it is hard to tell the difference between the two. However, upon closer inspection bribery clearly defines what cannot be done and lobbying is simply conducting activities to influence public official or legislative bodies. Jrank.org. (2011) states that lobbying is considered so essential to the proper functioning of the U.S Government that is specifically protected by the First Amendment of the U.S Constitution. 2. What argument cold the SLOC members make that the payments made do not fit the definition of an illegal bribe (under the FCPA)? SLOC members could argue that the payments made to IOC members were not to influence them to secure their business interests. According to justice.gov. (nd) was...
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...Running head: ETHICS IN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT Ethics in Academic Environment For the past several years, there has been a growing push for the implementation of ethics education in academic environments. With recent highly publicized scandals in the business world such as the Martha Stewart insider trading debacle, the WorldCom profit inflation situation and the Enron bankruptcy scandal, Institutions of Higher Education have increased their emphasis on ethics in their curricula in an effort to produce a qualified and ethical workforce. Students are now exposed to a curriculum that focuses intently on the study of ethical decision making models and case studies. Universities and Institutions of Higher Education are truly leading the way when it comes to the promotion of ethics. What happens though when the vehicles of ethics make the wrong turns? Recently, the University of New Mexico Foundation (UNMF) fell under scrutiny for what many consider to be the unethical funneling of large amounts of money into lobbyist spending. Although the intent was to generate additional funds and support for the school, poor decisions and lack of transparency led to a tangled web of what many consider deceit and the misuse of funds. A closer look at the situation shows that University stakeholders are uneasy about the manner in which funds were used and disclosed…or “not-disclosed”. Apparently, students are not the only ones receiving ethics lessons on campus, some administrators...
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...Bombardier TEG (A): Operational and Political Issues in Multinational Projects Price, technical proficiency, delivery dates, and domestic content/presence were the most important award criteria to win bids for passenger railcar manufacturing contracts in the US. For most bids around 1992, Morrison-Knudsen (M-K)’s offers were outweighing the technical edge Bombardier’s Transportation Equipment Group (TEG) had through fast delivery times and performing most of the contract locally (e.g. open more local plants or hire more local people than competitors). In addition, the company considerably underbid contracts by 7% on average. Remarkably, all those key deciding factors were based on promises without a record of proof. Therefore, M-K’s promises seemed to be out of touch when considering that the company lacked substantial experience in manufacturing rail equipment, and had not delivered a single working vehicle to any client so far at that time. M-K had experience in the refurbishment market for mass transit cars, but this is considered an entirely different business from car manufacturing, e.g. it did not involve design, and many integration issues were already solved (blueprints). Consequently, without the control of the overall design and the integration of various systems, while having components coming from all over the place (e.g. M-K was supplied and supported by low-cost overseas firms from Brazil, Japan or Portugal, even for design and engineering), M-K took a huge risk...
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...An overview and Descriptions : In very democracy, Interest groups are as old as political parties existence. Interest groups, equally known as advocacy or pressure groups, are associations or organizations of individuals who share a common interest and assert their collective strength in the political process to protect — and in some cases, expand — that interest. They are Non-profit and usually voluntary organization whose members have a common cause for which they seek to influence public policy, without seeking political control. Their primary activities are lobbying the members of legislative bodies through contribution to political parties, working to elect sympathetic or pliable politicians, and conducting covert or open propaganda campaigns. At this juncture, My emphasis is on The Anti-Abortion Right Group in My State of Maryland,which is of particular interest to me. Because my Delegate is a Republican. In the late 1960s, a number of organizations were formed to mobilize opinion against the legalization of abortion. In the United States, the National Right to Life Committee was formed in 1968, while in Australia, the National Right to Life formed in 1970. The United States pro-life movement (also known as the United States anti-abortion movement or the United States right-to-life movement) as a social and political movement in the united state opposing on moral or sectarian grounds elective Abortion and usually supporting its legal prohibition or restriction. Advocates...
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...The Role of Special Interest Groups in U.S. Elections INTRODUCTION According to Jeffrey Berry of The Interest Group Society, "an interest group is an organized body of individuals who share some goals and who try to influence public policy" (Hays). These groups allow citizens to make their ideas, needs, and views known to elected officials, and with more than 23,000 special interest groups nationwide, citizens can usually find an interest group that focuses on their concerns, no matter how specialized they may be (Encyclopedia of Associations). This paper will explore different types of interest groups, their influence, the methods and tactics they employ, and Citizens United’s effects on elections in the United States. TYPES OF INTEREST GROUPS Special interest groups can be classified into numerous categories. Though not an empirical list, these groups generally belong to at least one of the following categories: Economic interest groups are the largest category. These organization represent big business, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and labor unions like the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. These corporations and unions usually have offices in Washington, D.C., and represent entire industries (Types of Interest Groups). Government interest groups such as the National League of Cities, the National Conference of Mayors, and the National Governors Association, bring the issues...
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...Lobbyist and interest groups have a huge impact in law making. These people try to lure political officials to change their opinion on votes that would benefit these interest groups. These people use money to take these political officials out for dinner and to buy them gifts. Based on government laws this practice is not illegal and it is only legal when the house or the senate is not in session. But overall “lobbyist are salespeople hired to persuade decision makers in the Legislature and in the agencies of the executive branch” (Ramsey 2). There are not many restrictions on interest groups or lobbyist are doing. These interest groups invest millions of dollars into these lobbyist to persuade government officials to get their vote on certain...
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...Ameer 2 SLO#2: 1 Lobbyist and Interest Groups in Texas Lobbying is widely carried out in the state government of Texas these days. Lobbyists are a group of individuals that make efforts to influence the elected government legislators to divert decisions in their favor. Interest groups are specialized group that support a certain legislation and they succeed in their goal with the help of lobbyist. After carefully analyzing both the articles I believe that there should definitely be more strict observance of the actions of interest groups and the activities of lobbyists as a single association with immense amount of wealth can alter the decision in their favor contradicting the norms and values of the society. eg Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA) is an old running organization with thousands of members and millions in funds, can easily turn the tables in their desired way by buying off legislators. (Legislation 1) This can result in a gun law being passed that can cause a sense of unsafety in the region of Texas giving air and free space to terrorism. On the other hand, interest groups and lobbying may play a positive role as it unites a community with same voice under one flag and can easily provide access to elected leaders with professional services which otherwise would have been nearly impossible. But this can still prove more beneficial for...
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...anjay Subedi Professor S Sharifian Govt-2306-73004 5th April 2017 Lobbyists in Texas Legislators do not disclose all the information most of the time and as people cannot access most of their legislators, lobbyists act as the best bet towards getting their issues attended to. There has been a split on the importance of lobbyists and their influence on lawmaking; however, the lobbyists hold that the legislators cannot be influenced by entertainment and dinner. In some cases, this may be regarded to be true but how this translates to being just a simple gesture that does not require anything in return is a major problem in the society. While there has been an individual who has noted that the lobbyists influence the lawmaking decisions by the legislators, there has been no evidence to back up these observations in the society. As Senators deliberate to implement laws that are aimed at controlling the lobbyists and ensuring that there is disclosure of their expenses and money use on the legislator's questions are still being asked on who will look out for the people. This paper assesses the lobbyists’ debate and highlights the key aspects that are being assessed and how a change of law may affect the people in the society. Lobbyists have an impact on decision making since they have an opportunity to interact with the legislators and give their opinions outlining the effects of the laws to the society. Lobbyists have a close contact with the legislators and while they are having dinner...
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...Define an interest group with examples. Interest group – usually a voluntary organization where members share a common interest in which they seek to influence public policy, without seeking political control. They have primary activities such as lobbying the members of the legislative bodies through contributions to political parties, trying to elect sympathetic or pliable politicians, and by conducting covert or open propaganda campaigns. (Interest Groups, n.d.) There are a few different types of interest groups and they are as follows: Economic Interest Groups This is the largest category that includes organizations that represent big businesses, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), as well as big labor – the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Types of Interest Groups, 2012) Public Interest Groups These groups usually do not expect to profit directly from policy changes. These groups gain financially by getting donations from individuals and foundations that support their activities. Groups such as Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), League of Women Voters, and Common Cause belong with the public interest groups. (Types of Interest Groups, 2012) Government Interest Groups Even with the structure of the federal system, it does not surprise us that there are organizations to bring issues of local and state government...
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...WEEK 8 ASSIGNMENT Interest Groups Professor Karina Arzumanova U.S. Goverment An Interests Group is defined as an organization of people or a letterhead organization, sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy. In the American political system, there are a wide variety of interest groups that are organized for the sole purpose of exerting influence on the political and legal systems. These groups play a central role in deciding who gets what, when, where and how in legislative and budget processes. They also play a significant role in deciding which values will be promoted and enforced by the government. When individuals have common interests, it often makes sense for them to join together in pursuit of those interests. When this happens, a special interest group is formed. These groups then compete for a share of the limited resources distributed through the political process. While many groups are formed to compete for economic resources, others are formed to support their positions on issues like abortion and gun control. The limited resource these groups compete for is not money or real estate but rather the use of governmental power to enforce a particular set of values. At the group level, it makes sense for groups to form and do the things they do. However, at the individual level, there are powerful incentives to be a free rider. If a group is pursuing your interests even though you, as an individual, are...
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...results than lawsuits or mass mobilization- you are dealing with one person (the politician you are funding); it buys the candidate's loyalty and support; it provides access when the interest group needs assistance; it is more effective on a single, focused issue; you don't need a large group of people to back you up (as with mass mobilization). Grassroots Lobbying- asking the public to contact legislators concerning the issue at had, as opposed to going to the legislators directly. A grassroots lobby puts pressure on the legislature to address the concerns of a particular group by mobilizing that group, usually through raising public awareness and running advocacy campaigns. A group or individual classified as a lobbyist must submit regular disclosure reports; however, reporting requirements vary from state to state. The unique characteristic of grassroots lobbying, in contrast to other forms of lobbying, is that it involves stimulating the politics. Mass Mobilization- Mobilizing a specific group identified by the lobby puts pressure on the legislature to address the concerns of this group. These tactics are used after the lobbying group gains the public’s...
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