POLICY AND POLITICS
GOVERNMENT

CD9 Outline                                                                             Course Structure Index

Goals

The goal of this module is to train students to effectively manage the interaction between government and the private sector, from either perspective. The module seeks to teach students the differences in the goals and responsibilities of the public and private sectors, and how an understanding of these differences can help improve the effectiveness of communications and cooperation between the public and private sectors. Students will be trained to utilize and apply fundamental concepts underlying government/business/ society relationships in the creation and implementation of public policies in trade, investment, and technology.

Topics Covered

The topics covered in this module, in general order of discussion, will include but not be limited to the following: the political, legal, economic, social, and technological forces that generate new policy issues; how these new issues, especially in the area of trade, investment, and technology, affect the private and public sectors; how the public sector reacts through the institutions; how the private sector—business, households, individuals—react; the response of the private sector through individuals, corporations, business groups, and public interest groups; how interest groups are formed, organized, and managed to establish favorable public policies; management of issues through interaction with government institutions, other interest groups, and the media; the administration and enforcement of the developed policies; the global impact of the entire process as each topic is brought forward; and finally, how the student can integrate the entire body of knowledge presented.

The above topics may also be described in a conceptual sense as: macro‑forces; values, ideologies, the national and public interests; elitism, pluralism, and the electorate; the public policy process; the creation of collective groups at all levels of the public and private sectors; and finally, issues management. These topics will be developed with a framework that will be used to tie together concepts, applications, and the potential for changes over time.

Throughout the progress of the module case materials; discussion and debate on current events; and critiques of actions taken by government, business, and public interest groups in timely issues, will be utilized as teaching practice vehicles.

Key Books and Articles

Mark W. Mizruchi, The Structure of Corporate Political Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992.

William Greider, Who Will Tell the People? New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.

Theodore Lowi.The End of Liberalism, 2d edition. New York: Norton, 1979 (a classic critique of interest group democracy).

Jeffrey H. Birmbaum, The Lobbyists: How Influence Peddlers Act their Way in Washington. New York: Time Books, 1992.

David Vogel, Fluctuating Fortunes: The Political Power of Business in America, New York: Basic Books, 1989.

Ronald J. Hrebenar and Ruth K. Scott, Interest Group Politics in America, 2d edition. Inglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice‑Hall, 1990.

David B. Yoffie and F. Bergenstein, "Creating Political Advantage: The Rise of the Corporate Political Entrepreneur, California Management Review, Fall 1985, p. 124.

H. R. Mahood, Interest Group Politics in America, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice‑Hall, 1990.

Thomas G. Marx, "Integrating Public Affairs and Strategic Planning," California Management Review, Fall 1986

Raymond L. Hoewing, Issues Management Yesterday and Today, Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Council, 1993.

William F. Avery, "Managing Public Policy Abroad: Foreign Corporate Representation in Washington," Columbus Journal of World Business, Fall, 1990.

Robert E. Norton, "Can Business Win in Washington?," Fortune, Dec. 3, 1990, p. 76.

Burdett A. Loomis and Allen Cigler, 'Introduction: The Changing Nature of Interest Group Politics, eds. Interest Group Politics, 3rd edition, CQ Press, D.C., 1991

Yoa-Su Hu, "Global Corporations and National Firms with International Operations," California Management Review, Winter 1992.

Thomas Donaldson, The Ethics of International Business. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Jack Behrman and Robert Grosse, International Business and Governments. University of S.C. Press, 1990.

Michael Calingaert, "Govemment-Business Relations in the European Community," California Management Review, Winter 1993, pp. 118-133.

Alfred Marcus, A. Kaufman, and David R. Beam, ed., Business Strategy and Public Policy. New York: Quorum Books, 1987.

Robert H. Salisbury, Interests and Institutions. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992.

David Vogel, "The Globalization of Business Ethics," California Management Review, Fall, 1992, pp. 30-49.

Leonard Lynn and Timothy McKeown, Organizing Business: Trade Associations in America and Japan. Washington, D.C., American Enterprise Institute, 1988.

"Public Interest Pretenders," Consumer Reports, May1994, pp. 317-18.

David M. Ricci, The Transformation of American Politics: The New Washington and the Rise of Think Tanks. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.

Pat Choate, Agents of Influence. New York: Knopf, 1990.

Bruce C. Wolpe, Lobbying Congress How the System Works, Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1990.

Hugh Hecko, "In Search of a Role: America's Higher Civil Services," Bureaucrats and Policy Making, ed. Ezra Sulieman. New York: Holmes and Mera, 1984.

Kenneth J. Meier, Politics and the Bureaucracy, 2nd edition. Monterey, California: Brooks/Cole, 1987.

Bernd Marin and Renate Mayotz, eds., Policy Networks: Empirical Evidence and Theoretical Considerations. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1992.

Theodore J. Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg, American Government: Freedom and Power, 2d edition. New York: Norton, 1992.

David Baron, Business and Its Environment, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice‑Hall, 1993.

Andrew A. Procassini, Competition in Alliance: Industry Associations, Global Rivalries, and Business-Government Relations. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1995.

Rogine Buchholz, Business Environment and Its Public Policy Implications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice‑Hall, 1995.

Murray L. Weidenbaum, Business and Government in the Global Marketplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1995.

George A. Steiner and John F. Steiner, Business, Government and Society. New York:  McGraw Hill, 1994.

Arthur A. Goldsmith, Business, Government and Society. Chicago: Irwin Publishers, 1996.

Archie B. Carroll, Business and Society. Cincinnati, OH: South Western Publishing Co., 1993.

Note: Additional timely items from periodicals, journals, and newspapers will be added to the list at the beginning and during the course.

Case Material

Materials will be provided to examine several of the following:

·        A public interest group's attempt to protect health and the environment while opposing several industry and government groups.

·        An industry association's attempt to obtain a favorable technology policy, e.g., flat panel displays, semiconductors, HDTV.

·        Reconciling the positions of two opposing business groups—one a consumer, the other a producer—in a government action such as a trade dispute.

·        Formation of a new industry group where goverornent agencies are an essential supplier to the group, e.g., satellite communications providers and users.

·        A government agency's action to force disclosure of public interest pretenders, e.g., auto or tobacco industries may set up deceptively‑named organizations.

·        An industry association attempting to reach its goals in the conclusion of WTO negotiation through networked organizations.

Note: Current events reported in periodicals, journals, and newspapers may also provide timely case material for discussion and analysis. Guest speakers will also present actual events and situations that will provide occasions for class discussion.

Criteria for Evaluating Teaching and Student Performance

The student should be able to articulate the key concepts in government/business/society relationships and how they would be applied in cases involving trade issues and related public policy areas. The student should be able to take the position of government, business or the public in policy issues and be able to favorably resolve them by using all of the knowledge and skills developed trough this course module.