SOCS3100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Policy, Decision-Making, Full Employment
25 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SOCS3100
Policy Development, Program Management, and Evaluation
March 28, 2018
WEEK 5
Public Policy Decision-Making: Factors Shaping Decision-Making Styles
Agenda universe – all possible issues to be addressed
Systemic agenda – conceivable issues to be addressed
Institutional agenda – someone takes it on board
Decision agenda – decides to do something about it
There’s a blurry connection between all stages.
Decision-making – the stage of the policy process from which emerges some formal or
informal statement of intent on the part of authorized public actors to undertake, or
refrain from undertaking, some action
• From a shortlist → one course of action
o Involves choosing from among relatively small number of alternative policy
options (as identified in the process of policy formulation) to resolve a
public problem
• One best option selected OR a trade-off/compromise?
o Some decisions stand out as significant changes
o Others are distinct, yet form part of a policy cycle
o Rounds of policy making where directions emerge cumulatively
• Consider practicality of succeeding stages
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Who decides?
• Those with voice AND vote
o Not only people of influence
• Fewer actors involved in policy formulation stage compared to formulation stage
o Those who occupy formal offices in government
o Non-state actors can lobby but do not vote
• There are sometimes powerful voices that can tell those with the vote what to do:
o Powerful media moguls
o Significant party donors
o People holding the balance of power in the senate – senate backbenchers
• Decision making stage subject to power considerations
Constraints on Decision-Makers
• Should they maintain or depart from the status quo?
o They aren’t free to just do anything
o Straying from usual decisions may result in benefits/costs
• Non-decisions
o Options to deviate from the status quo are filtered out at the agenda-
setting/policy formulation stages
o Doesn’t come to any formal decision making space
o Suppressed, but has very powerful impact in daily life
o EXAMPLE
▪ Full employment, unemployment rate at 2% only
• Negative decisions
o Conscious decision is taken to stick with the status quo
o (A proposal for change is considered but rejected in the decision-making
stage)
o EXAMPLE
▪ Not making apology to generation
• Positive decisions
o The focus of most of the decision-making literation
How rational (scientifically/empirically-based) can the policy process be? How were
processes to make decisions reached?
• Quickly or slowly?
o Affected by constitutional arrangements
• With a little or a lot of thinking?
o Understanding the problem and developing alternative strategies
• With a little or a lot of research?
o Understanding the consequences of choosing different alternatives
Policy sheets, marketing of decisions
1. When and where?
2. Is press conference considered necessary? What media opportunities should be
taken?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
3. What supplementary material is required for backgrounding journalists,
Members, and special interest groups?
4. What prior consultation with State Governments or other official bodies is
required? Which special interest groups should be advised of the
announcement?
5. What general or sectional support can be expected?
6. What criticism is anticipated and will it be answered?
Adam Smith, etc. were political economists
Economics is politics disguised with numbers
Evolution of the Public Policy Decision-Making Literature
1. Rational-Comprehensive Model (pre-1950s) – weighing options, looking at
judicially, coming to solutions
a. Attempt to use science to modernize the running of organizations
b. Implicit assumptions
i. Individuals capable to rational calculating decision-making
1. Neo-Classical Economic Theory
ii. Reality can be measured by new scientific bodies of knowledge
1. Just like engineering, accounting
2. Can put metric on a qualitative issue which results in one
best way
iii. One best way to address an issue
c. Wide thinking and deep research
d. Best method to achieve a goal
i. Goal for solving problem is established
1. Tightly define goal
ii. All alternative strategies of achieving the goal are explored and
listed
1. Fully research all strategies
iii. All significant consequences of each strategy are predicted,
probability of consequences occurring is estimated
iv. Strategy that most nearly solves the problem/solves at least cost
is selected
e. Means/Strategies
i. Comprehensive articulation of options and collation / analysis of
information
1. Thoroughly exploring options, knowing which means should
be
f. Goals/Objectives
i. Should they be decided in the same analytical manner?
ii. Some proponents regarded goals as a priori, not open to rational
analysis and weighting
iii. Goals might be sensible or ridiculous
1. Ideologies, values, assumptions informed by facts
2. But not decided by them
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Agenda universe all possible issues to be addressed. Systemic agenda conceivable issues to be addressed. Institutional agenda someone takes it on board. Decision agenda decides to do something about it. What media opportunities should be taken: what supplementary material is required for backgrounding journalists, Evolution of the public policy decision-making literature: rational-comprehensive model (pre-1950s) weighing options, looking at judicially, coming to solutions, attempt to use science to modernize the running of organizations, implicit assumptions. In practice, decision makers : are enmeshed in a political process of bargaining and compromise, only consider a few familiar alternatives that differ only marginally from the status quo for technical/political reasons. Find it difficult to consider values and goals a priori because available means restrict possible goals. Debate over pros and cons of decision-making models led to recognition of multiple styles of decision-making. In a complex organizational environment: intelligence networks will be as (or more) important than documents when information is needed.
