"Do you believe self regulation is more or less effective than governmental regulatory agencies? Why?"
Governmental Regulatory Agencies, such as the FDA, Interstate Commerce Commission, and the SEC, have been created over the years in order to create and maintain a fair business environment and to help protect consumers. Before these agencies were created it was solely up to the business to regulate and maintain their business and ensure they were providing a safe product for their consumers.
However, there are problems with both; with self regulation, it is up to the business and the business alone to regulate it's actions, in a perfect world they would run their business honestly and fairly, unfortunately that is not the case. One business may be self regulated and be an upstanding business in the community. While another business is selling the same product, however it is made using excess amounts of lead. Without a regulatory agency both business will remain open while one harms its customers and the other may have business harmed because people lump the similar stores into the same category.
With regulatory agencies, it creates a fair playing field among business, but it also allows for a safer product market for the consumer. It can also allow for more eco-friendly businesses because they have to adhere to the agencies standards. A downfall to the agencies is sometimes they are behind the ball on what is necessary for their standards. With self regulation, a business can hear about a way to provide a safer product, and figure out a way to implement it into their business right away. Some regulations can also be outdated and harm the way that a company is doing their business. They might not be doing anything wrong, but if it goes against the agency's standards it will still be stopped.
Self regulation allows for innovative thinking for a better business and better product, but the government agencies create standards for a whole industry preventing individuals from doing something harmful. There certainly can be one without the other, but with both self regulation and government agencies, it creates an environment where there are safe standards and requirements, while allowing businesses to work beyond those standards and requirements to be more regulated and even more advanced than just the government agency and its regulations.
Final Thoughts; Self regulation can be more effective than governmental regulation agencies, but more often than not, a government agency will help to regulate a business in a more positive way than just self regulation.
Do you think government agencies are always thinking about what is best for the consumers? Or is there something or someone else at the top of their priority list?
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