Preview

A Critical Analysis of the Policy Making Process in Public Administration

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3075 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Critical Analysis of the Policy Making Process in Public Administration
1. Introduction
South Africa has changed over time and ever since the democratic elections lots of laws and policies have been changed as well. When a policy is being made it will always involve interaction between the population and the institutions that have to perform the policy making functions. Interaction takes place by means of elections, meetings between the people and officials, public opinion surveys, media campaigns, etc. No policy can be made in an disorderly manner, so if the information which is needed to decide on a new policy is not correct, no planning can be made. For example, if a policy must be made which involves the standards of schools, research surveys must be done in all the schools of the state. This must then be interpreted and evaluated correct by the person or persons doing it.
2. Public Policy
In any society, governmental entities enact laws, make policies, and allocate resources. According to Cloete (1993) a policy is a declaration of intent to do something or to have it done by specified institutions or functionaries as prescribed. There are a few steps that need to be completed successfully to have a policy such as a series of decisions have to be taken, the implementation of a policy means another series of decisions, and for policy analysis another series of decisions have to be taken. Cloete (1993:80) states that the constitution is a policy statement because it declares “the action to be taken by specified institutions and office bearers who follow stated procedures and respect prescribed conduct guidelines and values for the creation and maintenance of the state.” However, a policy statement is never static because of human society constantly moving and developing it causes a constant change in policy to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of the population.
Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic formed by



Bibliography: Anderson, J.E., (2006). Public policymaking, 6th Edition. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning. Chandler, J.A., 2000 Cliffs, E., Dye, T.R., (1987). Understanding public policy, N.J: Prentice-Hall. Cloete, J.J.N., (1993). Public Administration and Management, Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik. Dye, T.R., Khator,R., 2005. Public Administration in the Global Village. Westport,CT: Praeger Publishers. Farmer, D.J., 1995. The Language of Public Administration. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. Gerston, L.N., (2008). Public Policy Making: Process and Principles, 3rd Edition. Chapter 1, p.7. Rainey, H.G, 2003. Understanding and managing public organisations. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schuster, M.W., (2008). For the Greater Good: The Use of Public Policy Considerations, Vol.46, p.467, Carolina: Houston Law Review. Simeon, R, 1976. Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 9, No. 4, p 548-580.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    AVERBACH, CARD, QUIGLEY, A. J. D. J. M. (2006). Public Policy and the Income Distribution. Retrieved from https://www.russellsage.org/publications/public-policy-and-income-distribution…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this assignment I am going to analyse how government policies are developed, covering all aspects of the policy making process.There are many different levels of government which exist and have a direct or indirect impact on people’s lives. The levels of government are Central, (which involve the Monarchy, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords), Regional, (which involve Devolved parliaments) and Local, (which involve Local authorities, country councils and Metropolitan councils). Each level contains a variety of different organisations and branches of government which help to keep the country and the public services running smoothly and effectively. All branches of the government interact with each other to produce laws, and by interacting with each other and sharing ideas, new policies are created.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper we will discuss the final stages of how a topic becomes a policy. The paper will discuss formulation, implementation, and the legislation stage. These stages must be done in this order to ensure the policy is being formed the correct way and not scattered around. This paper will also consist of the evaluation stage, analysis stage, and revision stage and describe the purpose and methodologies process for evaluating and revising a public policy.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this assignment I am going to analyse how government policies are developed, covering all aspects of the policy making process.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Policy Process Part 1

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There is a lot that goes into implementing new policies. Before a policy can be created or even formulated, a problem needs to exist. Policy makers need to be prepared to explain the problem at hand and why the issue is so important. When presenting an existing problem, there are several questions to be prepared for such as: What are the implications of not acting? What is at stake? Why is action needed? These questions are important when presenting a problem to the government. Once a problem exists, the government will look into the situation. What is the formulation stage? Well pretty much the formulation stage is where the government seeks different approaches in order to solve the problem at hand. There are typically several people involved in this stage of the process including: Congress, the executive branch, the courts and interest groups (Cliffsnotes.com, n.d.). Throughout the formulation process different approaches to the policy are…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Johnson's Policy Cycle

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages

    According to Johnson, public policy consists of government choices of actions intended to serve the public purpose. These policies give public agencies the right and direction to carry out their mission and acquire all needed resource. Johnson also stated that the fundamental principals are expressed in the U.S. and State Constitution. Statutory laws passed by the congress, state legislature and local boards and councils. Decisions made by the courts on statues and the U.S. constitution also sometimes becomes public policies. Some policies are influenced…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nt1310 Unit 1 Activity 1

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    a) Public Policy - the fundamental policy on which laws rest, especially policy not yet…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The purpose and public policy is for the politician to CLAIM what they are dong for the constituents. It serves the purpose to getting elected or re-elected to run for office of the president.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Texas Political Culture

    • 4533 Words
    • 19 Pages

    Government, Politics, and Public Policy: A policymaking system is a set of institutions and activities that link together government, politics, and public policy. In a democratic society, parties, elections, interest groups, and the media are key linkage institutions between the preferences of citizens and the government’s policy agenda. When people confront government officials with problems they expect them to solve, they are trying to influence the government’s policy agenda. A government’s policy agenda changes frequently: if public officials want to get elected, they must pay attention to the problems that concern…

    • 4533 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Centralia No. 5

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Stillman, R. (2010). Public administration concepts and cases (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. pp. 30-44.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ps/102 Final Exam

    • 4512 Words
    • 19 Pages

    Please note: in addition to many of the following multiple choice questions, there will be additional questions with regard to the assigned article on executive agreements and the assigned article on education policy, as well as more questions pertaining to the unit on public policy. Also, at the end of the study guide are the two essay questions that will be on the exam. Please note: the essay questions are multiple part questions and should be answered completely.…

    • 4512 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Anderson J. E, Public Policymaking, 4th ed., Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 2000. Dye T. R, Understanding Public Policy, 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998. Dunn W. N, Public Policy Analysis- An Introduction, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994. Heineman R. A et al, The World of the Policy Analyst, Rationality, Values & Politics, 2nd ed., Catham House Publishers, Inc. Catham: New Jersey, 1997. Howlett M, and Ramesh M, Studying Public Policy, Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems, Oxford University Press: Canada, 1995. Hughes O.E, Public Management & Administration: An Introduction (2nd Ed), Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire, 1998. Lindblom C, The Policy Making Process, Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, 1968. Miyakawa T, The Science of Public Policy- Essential Readings in Policy Sciences 1, Routledge: London, 1999. Simon H. Administrative Behaviour, Second Edition, Macmillan: London, 1957. Simon, H.A. Models of Man, The Free Press: New York, 1957. Simon, H.A. (1979), "Rational decision making in business organisations", American Economic Review, September, pp.493-513.…

    • 2813 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Present government policies and procedures contain several objectives and programs to increase participation of the…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Policies should be made to attain the goals in life of equity, efficiency, security, and liberty. "Policy…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Public policies can be implemented by administrative agencies in the executive branch. Implementation can be through tax breaks, some form of punishment through fines or restrictions, or by appealing to people’s positive instincts to be helpful and do their duty as a citizen.…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics