Consulting report on Immigration public policy
Introduction
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and markets becomes more open to global business activities, organizations find themselves vulnerable to the occurrence in political business environment. Regardless of any transactions that the organizations carry out in the national and global markets, public policy formulation process will always have effects on the outcomes of business operations and the implementation of business strategies. Participation in public policy advocacy on immigration is important given that the workforce in our organizations includes big share of immigrants who have been taking up the various tasks that local employees are unwilling to undertake. Employees form a large part of success of the firm and any actions taken on public policy especially relating to the labor force is bound to affect their working environment and perception of the roles they have been allocated. The employees have to be informed if any advocacy actions undertaken by their organization given the role their play in performance. For the organization to effectively participate in public policy and influence the decisions made on immigration policy , it is important to look into the internal capabilities that will enable passage of valuable information to the policy makers and others stakeholders of the business. The internal capabilities that can make it possible for the organization to engage policy decision makers and suppliers of information include value creation, communication process, business associations and resources. These capabilities needs be improved so that public policy on immigration can influence in way that will not affect the business environment and thereby the performance of the organization. This includes opportunities available for improving the above capabilities in order to be able to influence the actions of policy makers through advocacy.
Engagement in immigration policy is crucial to the organization since the business are bound to lose if immigration policy negatively affect employees that have filled the skill gaps and have undertaken those jobs that locals are unwilling to do. In fact, the organization is interested in finding effective policies and resources that will ensure that immigrant employees that form a crucial part of their workforce are integrated internally (Kerr, 2013). Apart from immigrants’ employees, there are many immigrant entrepreneurs who have improved the business environment through different innovations in various industries. The need for participating and monitoring policies on immigration is aimed at achieving a balance between benefits and cost that comes with immigrants. The immigrants are becoming an important driving force in the business environment through creation of intellectual property, new business and providing various skills to functions that local labor force is reluctant to take (Kerr, 2013).
Research has shown that immigrants play a major role in ensuring the vibrancy of the economy development and a rich cultural life (Kerr, 2013). This outlines the need for the organization to utilize the available capabilities in ensuring that policy decisions made by policy makers will not interfere with the business operations and the market in general (Healy, 2014). The benefits stemming from immigrant’s arrivals in form of entrepreneurship and innovation are many and quite visible. While the involved costs are not zero, such impacts pale when compared to contributions brought by the brain gain. The organization management should therefore, embark on utilizing the available capabilities to maintain such benefits through influencing the decision making process of policy makers at the local and national level.
Value creation is an important capability that can serve as a basis of participating in public policy formulation in the formulation process. Value creation and the need for its maintenance are major factors that can drive the decision on strategic immigration policy formulation (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008). The organization may peg the participation in the immigration policy to the need for creating and maintaining the value of the firm and especially given that the organization is large and therefore, depends on the prevailing political environment and the political aspect of immigration policy becomes become of specific salient. Immigrants play a major role in value creation of the company and its performance and letting the policy makers see their contribution can go a long way in influencing their decisions on immigration policy. To achieve this, the organization will have to develop strategies that are politically compliant so that actions undertaken by management will create good relations with policy makers.
Value creation can be created through conforming to the present expectations and requirements on immigration policy and adapting that policy. The firm can adapt strategies that have political influence and undertaking actions that aim at mobilizing the support for the interest of the whole organizations and its employees. Compliance to policy can help in influencing political behavior and in turn, prepares the ground for political strategies that are more proactive (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008). This will create a positive relationship with the legislative institutions and thereby ensure that immigration policies adopted to not interfere with creation of value and its maintenance. The organization will create a platform where it can emphasize the role benefits arising from integration of immigrants into the work place through innovations and entrepreneurship activities that creates positive change in the market place.
Effective communication is an internal capability whose role in creating positive political relationships cannot be underestimated. Communication involves delivering the right information on immigration policy to the stakeholders in the policy formulation process. Communication with various government staffers especially those in the government agencies can help in creating a rapport that will in turn create an environment that allows organizational participation (Healy, 2014). Through the existing communication channel, the organization can provide information that is valuable to regulators and law makers, and especially relating to immigrants contribution to innovation and the vibrancy of the economy. The communication process involving a team chosen to handle the policy advocacy issues can help in building relations with employees of elected officials and using that platform to convey their view on the immigration policy.
Effective communication process will help informing to employees on the need to take part in the public policy on those issues that are likely to affect the operations of the organization, in this case the immigrant employees whose performance is undisputed. Communication is both informal and low-level and regular so as to provide information to policy makers and receiving their views on any suggestions (Healy, 2014). This process is the most effective in finding out those issues that are being discussed by government agencies and lawmakers and which relate to the immigrant policies. Effective communication process may be used as a proactive strategy for an organization to identify policy issues which have not been widely known and in seeking feedback through established relationships. An organization is able to assess the magnitude of the issues and thereby undertake research that will provide information for that can be used in early stage influence. The communication process involves following the media and press, utilizing the established relationships and monitoring activities of undertaken by government organizations. Monitoring involves constant communication with relevant departments and agencies tasked with implementation of immigration policy.
The other capability involves the association with lobby groups that provides platform for advocating the issues affecting the immigrants and the need for the public policy that will not negatively affect them. When the other capabilities fail in delivering the intended results in influencing decision makers, group effort whose focus is influencing or changing the immigration policies can be adopted. A group effort can be very effective in influencing the provisions of public policy in a transparent manner (CIPE, n.d). The association with the lobby group will acts as a capability that will enable organization to make its position regarding the policy known to regulators, legislators and any other policy makers involved in the process (CIPE, n.d). Such association provides a capability for advocating for regional and national level policies that respects the role played by immigrants in value creation, innovation and market changes for the organization and the other industries. However, since this may involve opposition to the stand of government on immigration issues, it can be challenging but group effort can withstand such challenges. Since the public policies such as immigration policy affect the operations of any business and in turn the health the entire economy , the lobby group can exercise its civic obligation and right to make its stand on such issues . This association can serves as a capability that will ensure that the society benefits by influencing government agencies and law makers not to adopt policies that will hurt the gain brought about by the immigrants employees and entrepreneurs.
Another important capability is the resources in the organization that comprises of physical resources and human capital. These capabilities can influence how technical information on immigration policies can affect the operations of the organization and other businesses at large. The physical resources provide the organization with the best expertise that can be used in evaluating the benefits and costs the current or proposed policies (Healy, 2014). Any public policy implemented always brings about unintended results that may affect the business environment in which an organization operates. The human capital can provide expertise on research on the consequences of the immigration policies currently in use or proposed ones in terms of costs and benefits. The information from such research can be a basis for the organization to advocate for reasonable policies on immigration so that the operations of the firm and the entire market are not affected.
In addition, the human capital may be used to form a team that can be tasked with advocacy work and assessing the right political strategy that will be effective in ensuring that the organization gain a competitive edge in the advocacy market (Healy, 2014). Such a team can also provide a solution against the efforts of any advocate that are opposing the stand taken by the organization. The financial resources and other physical resources can be used in providing technical input that is valuable in the process of policy making (Healy, 2014). The resources may also be used in informing government enforcement agencies and other policy makers by providing them with relevant information regarding the impact of the immigration policies and thereby enhancing the chances of policy makers considering the interests of the business. The regulation agency staffs and the lawmakers need in information about the degree of political interest in the policy and technical information relating to the impact of the policy.
Opportunities for improving the capabilities
Value creation
The capabilities for influencing the immigration public policy can be very effective if efforts are directed towards exploiting opportunities that will improve participation in public policy process. These opportunities relate to the strategies that the organization can take where proactive or defensive to thwart changes that are unwanted in the political environment. Value creation as a capability of the organization present an opportunity for informing law makers and staff in enforcement agencies of the role played by immigrants employees in enhancing organization’s performance through innovation and the positive outlook of the market (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008). For instance, the firm may take the opportunity provided by high performing immigrants on specific tasks to influence law makers to abolish policies that prevent the successful integration of immigrants into the workforce. The hope in this case is that the organization will manage to gain more from the brain gain brought by the immigrants into the workforce and thereby improving value creation. In this case, the possibility of greater value to the firm provides the motivation required to for the organization to undertake a political action.
There is also an opportunity for the organization to lobby the government agency to acknowledge the fact that immigrant workers increase value business performance and the market. Firms can be motivated to participate in public policy process and hence, engage in political environment so as to maintain value and this serves a strategic purpose. Value creation serves as s strategic capability that provides an opportunity for an organization to lobby government against policies that are likely to take away its market advantage in the industry (Oliver & Holzinger, 2008). In addition, the organization can adopt a political strategy that influences the government to implement immigration policies that will ensure that it can hire immigrants to fill in skill-gaps for those operations that local workforce is not willing to undertake due to nature of work or rate of wages . If the organization is able to use this opportunity well, it can create an environment that will allow for integration of immigrants into the work places not only in its workforce but the entire labor market.
Improving communication process
Effective communication provides an opportunity for dialogue between the organization, law makers and agencies tasked with enforcing immigration policies. Communication is a tool that can be used to build relationship with policy makers and this relationship can create a platform for dialogue. Dialogue provides considerable improvement in participation in public policy process whether such process is purely technocratic or closed (Bettcher, 2011). The organization should seize this as an opportunity for offering its insights, validating policy proposals and creating a change momentum for the immigration policy. Dialogue is thus an opportunity for improving the communication process that provides support for participating in a policy making process that is informed. Each side can have different reason for the dialogue, with the government aiming at cracking down on illegal immigrants while the business tries to retain its valuable human capital. As such the organization should use the opportunity to draw attention to the issues may have negative consequences, acquiring better representation in the process or securing support for streamlining immigration laws. Through dialogue, the business will manage to seek assistance from the government in improving a predictable labor market and business environment. If dialogue is effective, a mutual understanding will be achieved between the organization and policy makers and thereby addressing issues related to immigration policy and the transparency in implementing regulatory requirements in way that does not harm the business or the market (Bettcher, 2011).
Communication through dialogue may include various steps which comprises of identification of key issues, understanding these issues, formulation of policy on the basis of evidence, reaching the relevant staffs in government and monitoring the progress. Dialogue involves identifying those issues coming from all the organization and other stakeholders and prioritizing on issues that are to be addressed (Bettcher, 2011). The immigration policy will, therefore, be addressed based on those issues that may affect the interest of the business and the public at large.
Improving communication process
Figure i. Improving communication process
Understanding the relevant issues may require the organization to carry out a research on immigration and drawing logical conclusions that will form a basis of internal consensus development. After the research has been done and conclusions made, the objective evidence is presented to government staffs or lawmakers and then providing a compelling argument for the position that the organization takes on immigration issues. Through this, the organization will be able influence the relevant individuals and hence the immigration policy. After the policy makers have agreed on the stand taken by the organization, effort should be focused towards monitoring the progress so that decision makers can be held accountable. Dialogue improves communication since the organization can continue pushing for any new legislation and abolishment of previous policy in immigration is taken through the process (Bettcher, 2011). In this case, the organization can appreciate the success and the same time ensures that encouraging continuous action by using the media or press release.
Promoting these changes in communication can be done through continuous engagement with the involved parties so that no action taken will deviate from the discussed issues. The opportunity for dialogue should include actual evidence on how immigration policies affect organization performance and the entire market. The changes should not be limited to the national policy making process but should include policy makers at the global level as the organization expands to new markets. The firm can persuade the government agencies and law makers on how much immigration policies affect not only its performance but the entire market and the society.
Building coalition
The association with lobby groups presents an opportunity for building effective coalitions with other global organizations. A coalition is an effective way of having more individuals and organizations to support the stance taken on any policy issues (CIPE, n.d). The strength to influence the public policy process can be achieved through numbers since more parties favoring a stance on immigration policy will increase the likelihood of policymakers paying attention. The opportunity represented here is an improvement on credibility of the immigration policy advocacy efforts. The coalition is very important especially where dialogue has failed to bear fruits and the policy makers are reluctant to adopt a given regulatory change or policy.
Figure ii. Coalition building
This change can be implemented using the information that has been gathered on immigration policy to get other organizations’ leaders to take the same position. This would involve organizing a meeting with key leaders where they will outline the extent to which they are willing to commit the activities to be undertaken (CIPE, n.d). For successful lobbying of other firms, there is a need to give enough notice to willing members of the immigration issues so that they can take part. In addition, seeking the support of others who are not willing to be part of the coalition will be essential.
Resources capability
The opportunity present by the resources for improving public policy publication involves continuous engagement with policy makers to ensure that management is on top of any development. This involves development of a corporate policy or revision of the current one that relates to sponsoring foreign workers that have been affected by any immigration policy. The changes can be facilitated by sponsoring foreign workers that are highly valued in the firm to participate various actions such as litigations with an aim of challenging the immigration policies in a court. This will ensure that organization is not forced to terminate valuable employees if the immigration policy requires it. The resources including human capital should be directed at ensuring that immigration policies are adopted after the participation of all the stakeholders.
References
Healy, R. (2014). Corporate political behavior: Why corporations do what they do in politics. Routledge. 230-235
Kerr, W. R. (2013). US high-skilled immigration, innovation, and entrepreneurship: Empirical approaches and evidence (No. w19377). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Oliver, C., & Holzinger, I. (2008). The effectiveness of strategic political management: A dynamic capabilities framework. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 496-520.
Bettcher K., (2011).Making the Most of Public-Private Dialogue: An Advocacy Approach. Retrieved from: http://www.cipe.org/publications/detail/making-most-public-private-dialogue-advocacy-approach
CIPE, (n.d). How to Advocate Effectively: A Guidebook for Business Associations Center for International Private Enterprise. Retrieved from: http://www.cipe.org/sites/default/files/publication-docs/advocacyguidebook_english.pdf
