Changing or adding new legislation for the betterment of society requires many voices expressing their opinion to the political body. However, this is not an easy accomplishment for the populace as a whole. Consequently, special interest groups such as corporations or other organizations who share common view, work to promote this well-being by using various forms of influence other the legislative body via the utilization of lobbyists. These interest groups differ considerably in member numbers, purposes, and strategic approaches. Therefore, generally, division of these two groups falls into two broad categories, which are economic and noneconomic, as well as, three sub –categories, which …show more content…
First, there are those involving public interest issues such as environmental concerns or other public interest. There exist a plethora of examples of these, however, two such representatives of this group are People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA and GREENPEACE of group for environmental concerns. Secondly, there is the professional and nonprofessional service sector that represents such concerns as education, banking, healthcare, as well as, others, which address the economic advantages of their members and constituents. Examples include the AMA for doctors, NEA for educators, trade unions such as the Teamsters, and others. Lastly, there is the economic sector, which is the most common type of interest group, comprised of such entities as business, agriculture, corporations, and others. These constitute a major component of political interest because they have considerable funding and tend to wield a greater degree of power or influence, generally. Examples include those of the manufacturing, tobacco, and oil industry, as …show more content…
If an interest group exercises the use of a third party such as a non-lobbyist or the public at large to influence members of the government, one deems this an indirect technique (Nowaczyk, n.d.). Whereas, an interest group that engages in the use of a direct form of interaction with government representatives to further its objectives, is using a direct technique. Several specific direct strategies that interest groups employ consist of lobbying techniques, such as private appointments with legislative officials, as well as, testifying at committee or agency gatherings, in addition to consulting or providing political information to legislative representative on recommended bills. Furthermore, the formation of coalitions, the ranking of government officials on their voting policy concerning interest issues, as well as, offering campaign assistance or invitations to social gatherings is indicative of other direct strategies. Conversely, specific indirect strategies purported by interest groups involve generation of public pressure regarding particular issues via political advertisements, mailings in mass or social media such as Internet postings. Other forms of indirect strategies include the use of their constituents or select personages as lobbyists, public demonstrations of protest, or the donation of