DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRACY: AN EVALUATION ON THE ROLE OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS IN PROMOTING DEMOCRACY. A CASE STUDY OF MULTI-CHOICE (DSTV)
NAMES: CHASUE ANDRIAN LONGWE
STUDENT NUMBER: BPIR1511056
SCHOOL: EDUCATION, SOCIAL SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY
PROGRAMME: POLITICAL SCIENCE & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
TABLE CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………….
BACKGROUND INFORMATION…………………………………………………
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM……………………………………………………..
OBJECTIVES………………………………………………………………………..
RESEARCH QUESTIONS………………………………………………………….
HYPOTHESIS………………………………………………………………………..
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY……………………………………………………….
LIMITATIONS ………………………………………………………………………
OPERATIONAL DEFINATIONS………………………………………………….
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.1 SAMPLE POPULATION & SIZE
3.2 DATA COLLECTION & TOOLS
3.3DATA ANALYSIS
3.4
INTRODUCTION:
Margolis and Walsh (2003) write that during the past decades they has been an increase in the number of business firms engaging in activities that were traditionally regarded as actual government activities. During this period, non-state actors have emerged, slowly proliferating the global community.. The increase in the number of firms has manifested the emergence of a form of ‘modern’ political power in which authority is decentralized to non-state actors, such as NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and multinational corporations (Matten and Crane 2005). According to Holland (2011) the proliferation of non-state actors in the international political economy has led to the startling reality that turned corporations into political entities hence making their influence as political actors sizable.
As stated above, globalization has led to the emergence different state actors t in the international political economy, this study will focus on multinational corporations as a non-state actor. The study aims to evaluate the role of multinational corporations in a promoting democracy.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Scherer & Palazzo (2011) write that prior to globalization, scholars in politics and economics widely shared the assumption that business firms operated for the purposes of increasing profits only, leaving the task of economic welfare and the provision public goods to the state alone. In particular, this meant that the government and state agencies were considered as the only political actors whose mandate was to provide according to their social, economic and political responsibilities. However, since the introduction of globalization, they has been uncertainty as to whether MNCs are legally responsible to their home country or to the country in which they are operating (Holland; 2011). However, despite the question of whether MNC’s are responsible to the host country or country of origin has not meant that MNC’s have no role in governance. Miller (2012) explains that since its introduction, many business firms have started to assume social and political responsibilities that go beyond profit maximization. As a result, they has been an increase in the number of political, social and economic actors, that each play a significant role in governance.
With majority of countries adopting the democratic political ideology in their governance systems, Art & Jevis (2005) write that non-state actors have begun to demand for their involvement in the content of new norms, with some having had opposition to their participation in decision making, non-state actors are causing a shift in the once perceived government of the state only.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the role that Multi-National Corporations play in promoting Democracy.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
To determine how Multi-National Corporations promote human rights
To analyze how Multi-National Corporations enhance economic growth
To examine how Multi-National Corporations contribute to sustainable development.
To determine how effective Multinational Corporations have being in achieving these principles
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How do Multi- National Corporations promote human rights?
What measures do Multi-National Corporations undertake in enhancing economic growth?
How do Multinational corporations contribute to Sustainable Development?
To what extent do Multi-National Corporations promote citizen participation?
HYPOTHESIS
H.o: Multi-National Corporations do not promote human rights.
H.i: Multi-National Corporations do promote human rights.
H.o: Multi-National Corporations do not enhance citizen participation.
H.i: Multi-National Corporations do enhance citizen participation.
H.o: Multi-National Corporations have no role in stimulating sustainable development.
H.o: Multi-National Corporations do have a role in stimulating sustainable development.
H.i: Multinational Corporations do contribute to economic growth.
H.o: Multinational Corporations do not contribute to economic growth.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Democracy can be said to be the ideal political ideology in a globalized world. Through this study, more awareness will be raised on the importance non state actors in promoting democracy. The study will educate people on the core principles of democracy, while going on to explain how Multi-National companies contribute to the development of some of these democratic principles. The study, will not only educate people on the importance of democracy and its different aspects, but will also help encourage people to get more involved in the democratization process. While this study will focus on Multi-choice as its study area, the study will also educate different MNC’s other than Multi-Choice on their social responsibilities in a democratic state.
Apart from the study raising awareness on the different non-state actors that contribute to the promotion of democracy, the study will also contribute to the Zambia’s political, economic and social field, hence contributing to the development process in different aspects of society.
LIMITATIONS
The research will only focus on the role of multinational corporations in promoting democracy, while other non-state actors such as non-governmental organizations, civil-society organizations and international non-governmental organizations that contribute to the democratization process will not be evaluated.
The research will only focus on one multinational corporation in Zambia (Multichoice) while other multinational corporations in the country such as Vodaphone, Airtel and MTN will not be analyzed.
The study will base its research on the promotion of democracy while the other contributions made by multinational corporations will not be acknowledged in this study.
SCOPE OF STUDY
The study will focus on multi-national corporations in a democratic state, with democracy been the key political ideology been analyzed. The scope of this research will be focuses on analyzing how MNC’s promote democratic principles such as sustainable development, economic growth, citizen participation and human rights that each significantly contribute to the democratization processrole of business firms in society . The case study for this particular research will be Multichoice, which is a multinational digital satellite television company with subsidiaries in different countries around the African region, but its headquarters in South Africa. The study will be carried out in Lusaka province, Zambia during July – December 2018.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Despite Zambia been declared a democratic state, Zambia still remains a developing country with the key democratic principles such as equality, citizen participation, political tolerance, accountability and transparency still falling short in the Zambian society. In order for democratization to be as effective as required by the liberal standard, different measures and policies need to be undertaken not only by the government, but by non-state actors as well. Based on the growing need for the involvement of more actors in the democratization process, more awareness needs to be raised so as to inform not only multinational corporations but other non-state actors on their role in fostering sustainable development among other democratic principles. The involvement of more actors could help ensure that core democratic principles are put into practice and upheld.
OPERATIONAL DEFINATIONS :MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS: A large company operating in several host countries, while having its headquarters in a particular country, this maybe its country of origin. Foreign subsidiaries maybe either regional or international.
DEMOCRACY;
GLOBLIZATION; Globalization can be defined as a process of intensification of cross-border social interactions due to declining costs of connecting distant locations through communication and the transfer of capital, goods, and people. This process leads to growing transnational interdependence of economic and social actors, an increase in both opportunities and risks, and to intensified competition (
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: “corporate social responsibility (CSR)” as an umbrella term for the debate on the role of business in society. political CSR can be understood as a movement of the corporation into the political sphere in order to respond to environmental and social challenges such as human rights, global warming, or deforestation (Scherer and Palazzo 2007)
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The decentralization in the political responsibilities has caused some business firms to incorporate a state-like role (Margolis and Walsh; 2003). Ibid clarifies that in the course of this development, business firms have become more involved in government activities. This has been especially the case for multinational corporations who as according to the term ‘multinational’ operate in different countries expanding their business operations from the domestic level to the regional level and for some, even international. Over the years, the international community has seen multinational’s engage in the provision of public health, education, social security, and protection of human rights (Matten and Crane; 2005). Margolis and Walsh (2003) write that MNCs often operate with state agencies to address social issues such as HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy and promote societal peace and stability. Nevertheless, the provisions of public goods are not the only ‘state like activities’ that have been undertaken by multinational corporations. Kobrin (2001) explains that many corporations have begun to fulfill the functions of protecting, enabling and implementing citizenship rights, which have originally been considered the sole responsibility of the state and its agencies .
According to Carroll (1991) the behavior of business firms goes beyond the aforementioned. Ibid states that multinational corporations also go on to collaborate with the state by sharing knowledge on the interests of the people that contribute to the policy making process. In these areas of public policy, the involvement of both private and public actors has helped to better the content of the policies that have been implemented. The collaboration of the private and public entities has combined the interests of both parties with the available knowledge and resources, and to enhance the capacity to enforce standards or to implement policies (Fung 2003). According to Scherer and Palazzo (2007) business firms have become important political actors in the global society as they explain that on the global level, neither nation states nor international institutions alone are able to sufficiently regulate the global economy and to provide global public goods. Ibid (2003) writes that business firms have begun to participate in the processes of self-regulation through “soft law” in instances where state agencies are unable or unwilling to regulate.
Lawyers have also emphasized the importance of private business firms, explaining that multinational corporations have contributed to the process of legalization and have aided the process of pushing norms and institutions towards the rule of law, fighting corruption, environmental protection, public health and education so as to further develop human rights while also preserving peace (Dunfee and Fort 2003).
Besides the provision of public welfare and contributions to the legislation, it has also been admitted that multinational corporations are one of the most effective means in generating growth and development in a host country through foreign direct investment (FDI). Li and Liu (2005) clarify that the investments made by multinational firms have become a vital aspect in a countries economic activity. Ibid explains the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic growth in developing countries; claiming that FDI can facilitate both endogenous and exogenous growth through various means. Over the past two decades, the increasing the flow of trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) have transformed and modernized the economies of emerging markets (Raj et al., 2010). However, it should be noted that the increasing the FDI in a host nation is not the only economic contribution that has been made by mnc’s in a bid to achieve economic growth in a host nation.
Employment creation is another economic contribution made by MNC’s. Raj et al. (2010) clarify that the infiltration of MNCs in developing countries has a potential to increase welfare of citizens through the salary level of employed people, this in turn increases the purchasing power of local citizens, eventually leading to increased tax payments. Based on these factors, more resources will be generated, allowing the government to spend more money in social welfare areas such as education, health care, and infrastructure building having a positive effect on social welfare and economic growth in the domestic economy (Ibid; 2010).
In the light of this, Carroll (1991) writes that in the event that state agencies and international institutions fail to deliver according to their social, economic and political responsibilities or fail to address the various issues in many parts of the world, private business firms can voluntarily contribute to further their institutionalization, and can also help bring about social and legal development. This also applies to other concerns such as environmental issues, social issues, labor standards, and anti-corruption activities.
These activities undertaken by multinational corporations illustrate the manifestations of democratic principles which comprises of; human rights, citizen participation, provision of health and food security, rule of law and economic growth. The roles played by MNC’s in the provision of these democratic principles denote their contributions towards the democratization process.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
168592629210MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS
00MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS
28765501911350
187642576835ROLES
ROLES
41243251968500146685019685002876550196850
441007591441CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
00CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
196215091440ECONOMIC GROWTH
00ECONOMIC GROWTH
-6476995715SUSTAINABLE DEVELOP
00SUSTAINABLE DEVELOP
54673502673352876550267335333375162560
4562475201295ELECTION TURNOUTS
0ELECTION TURNOUTS
1962150201295EMPLOYMENT CREATION
INCREASED INTEREST RATES (FDI)
0EMPLOYMENT CREATION
INCREASED INTEREST RATES (FDI)
-714375201295INFUSTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
TECHNOLOGY
00INFUSTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH APPROACH
The approach that will be applied for this particular research will be qualitative and quantitative
RESEARCH DESIGN
SAMPLE POPULATION
The study population will be taken from Lusaka Zambia; the research will take place in two suburb areas, two rural setting areas and one middle class area.
SAMPLE SIZE
The research will study a total of 25 people from the 5 neighborhoods in Lusaka Zambia, this will be broken down as; 5 from Kabulonga, 5 from Roma, 5 from Ngombe area, 5 from Kalingalinga and 5 from Chelstone area.
DATA COLLECTION
The gathering of data in this study will be done through screening tools. The interviews will be unstructured, while at the same time having conversations with the individuals been interviewed. Questions will be informal and free flowing,
DATA ANALYSIS
Data will be analyzed through frequency distribution tables, to show the results obtained from the research and results will be recorded in percentage form.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Below are the ethical considerations that will be considered for this research
1. Informed Consent- respondents will be informed on the nature and purpose of the research. Respondents will then be given a choice as to whether they would like to participate in the research or not. Participates will not be obliged to participate in the research and if they do choose to participate, they will do so at their own free will.
2. Rights to Privacy-respondents will not be asked for their phone numbers, physical address or their financial status. Respondents will not be obliged to give out their full names and the principle of anonymity will be upheld.
3.
REFERENCES
Carroll, A.B.: The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders. Business Horiz. 34, 39–48 (1991)
Fung, A.: Deliberative Democracy and International Labor Standards. Governance. 16, 51–71 (2003)
Margolis, J.D., Walsh, J.P.: Misery Loves Companies: Rethinking Social Initiatives by Business. Adm. Sci. Q. 48, 268–305 (2003)
Matten, D., Crane, A.: Corporate Citizenship: Towards an Extended Theoretical Conceptualization. Acad. Manag. Rev. 30, 166–179 (2005)
Palazzo, G., Scherer, A.G.: Corporate Legitimacy as Deliberation. A Communicative Framework. J.Bus. Ethics. 66, 71–88 (2006)
Kobrin, S.J.: Globalization, Multinational Enterprise, and the International Political
System. In: Rugman, A.M., Brewer, T.L. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of International Business, pp. 181–205. Oxford University Press, New York (2001)
Gomez, P.-Y., Korine, H.: Entrepreneurs and Democracy. A Political Theory of Corporate Governance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2008)
Dunfee, T.W., Fort, T.L.: Corporate Hypergoals, Sustainable Peace, and the Adapted Firm. Vanderbilt J. Transnatl. Law. 36, 563–617 (2003)
