THE ENTERPRISE--The Complexity of Government Influences
A friend of mine, an astute professor whom I like and respect, raised a question last week, asking why I so often gravitate to political topics in THE ENTERPRISE, when it was born as an economic and business oriented newsletter/commentary. He caused me to wonder about that myself, and the more I thought about it, the clearer it became. I have become much more aware of how our government, business and politics are inextricably intertwined, and who gets elected has a huge impact on the business environment in this country--and that means business leaders must manage in (or in spite of) that environment.
The principles of good business and management are still a powerfully important topic, and one which deserves more of my attention. Because of that, in this issue, I will once again include the Economic Week in Review (the economic outlook is a matter of great concern right now.) In future issues, I will visit a multitude of business topics, aided, I am sure by some very bright people I have come to know in these fields.
In the remainder of this issue, I will also try to answer my friend's question in such a way that it is not an excuse, but truly a reasoned, documented reply.
Simply consider the influence the government agencies and laws listed below have on business. And I am sure I have just listed the most obvious ones I could think of. These laws and regulations are passed by elected officials in Congress, then signed or vetoed by the President or, in many cases, promulgated by commissions and boards whose members are appointed by the President and approved by Congress. However it is done--the impact on business, how it works, and how we manage it is immense--and often constitutes a huge competitive disadvantage for US companies.
Worst of all, once the regulations and regulatory bodies are in place, they seldom go away, and usually grow in reach and complexity. The disadvantages that are imposed, and the American companies that are made less globally competitiv suffer from stifling costs and almost unimaginable complexity. Once the American jobs and businesses are gone, only then does the hand-wringing lament start--and the the only answer proferred then is "protectionism."
Scary. In a future Issue of the Enterprise, I will discuss the $$BILLIONS of costs incurred by complexity in our government and industry. For now, suffice it to say that business managers and executives all over the US are "DROWNING IN THE COMPLEXITY" OF GOVERNMENT RULES, REGULATIONS & OVERSIGHT. It makes you wonder how they get anything at all done.
Consider just these few that I could quickly think of (I will try to translate, but may get a few of the acronyms slightly wrong) and remember that many of them have corollary state bodies, similar in nature and intent.
SEC--Securities and Exchange Commission
FASB--Federal Accounting Standards Board
CFTC--Commodity Futures Trading Commission
NFA--National Futures Association
IRS--Internal Revenue Service
FTC--Federal Trade Commission
FDA--Food and Drug Administration
FAA--Federal Aviation Administration
FCC--Federal Communications Commission
EPA--Environmental Protection Agency
EEOC--Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
FLSA--Fair Labor Standards Act
NLRB--National Labor Relations Board
Taft-Hartley Act--governing Union organizational activities
OSHA--Occupational Safety and Health Administration
PBGC--Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation
ERISA--Employee Retirement Income Security Act
NHTSA--National Highway Transportation Safety Agency
CPSC--Consumer Product Safety Committee
Sarbanes-Oxley
Medicare & Medicaid
Social Security
Employee Retirement Plans 401 (k), 403 (a) etc.
IRA--Individual Retirement Act
Keogh Plans
Roth IRAs
Customs Regulations and Duties
USPTO--U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
ITC--International Trade Commission
USTR--Special Trade Representative
Compensation Restrictions on Stock Options, Executive Pay, etc.
SEC Public Filings--8(k), 10(k), 10(q), Chapter 7 & 11, etc.
INS--Immigration and Naturalization Service
Members of The Intelligence Community of the US Government*
Army Intelligence
Air Force Intelligence
CIA--Central Intelligence Agency
Coast Guard Intelligence
DIA--Defense Intelligence Agency
DOE--Department of Energy
DHS--Department of Homeland Security
Department of State
Department of the Treasury
DEA--Drug Enforcement Administration
FBI--Federal Bureau of Investigation
Marine Corps Intelligence
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Reconnaissance Office
NSA--National Security Agency
Navy Intelligence\
*Secret Service (not included as it was part of the Treasury Dept.)
ATF--Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Agency
OK, I give up...this could go on forever. Business leaders in the USA must know about, abide by and operate under some, and in fact, many of these laws, regulations ... and regulators' scrutiny. And that, my friend, is why politics and who gets elected and appointed gets into my head so often.
I'll try to fight it--and get into more business related matters. As publicity for my book THE COMPLEXITY CRISIS starts to hit the market, that will be easier. (It is available for pre-orders on amazon.com and bn.com right now...but the big sales push will be in early '08--make your shopping list early ;-) .)
Best, John
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