A policy problem is a condition or situation for which relief is sought because of:
o Human need....somebody needs healthcare, protection etc.
o Deprivation...somebody is being discriminated because of race, religion etc.
o Dissatisfaction...not happy with the way government is working, so we wa...
A policy problem is a condition or situation for which relief is sought because of:
o Human need....somebody needs healthcare, protection etc.
o Deprivation...somebody is being discriminated because of race, religion etc.
o Dissatisfaction...not happy with the way government is working, so we want
someone to fix it - ANSWER- Policy problem defined
is the process by which issues are identified and conflicts and concerns gain
prominence and exposure...once it gains exposure and awareness, they are
brought to the public arena for debate and possibly set for governmental action -
ANSWER- Agenda setting
Type of policy agenda in which it is a discussion agenda... all it means is that
we're talking about it, haven't made a commitment to do anything about the
problem, just discussing it...."BS agenda" what are we going to do about it? ...All
public issues that are viewed as requiring governmental attention; a discussion
agenda (DISCUSSION) - ANSWER- Systemic Agenda
Type of policy agenda in which the agenda moves beyond discussion...trying to
choose a course of action, actually doing something about it...taking steps on
how to solve the particular problem. Problems which government officials feel
obliged to give active and serious attention
Can be mandatory or discretionary (ACTION) - ANSWER- Institutional Agenda
Type of policy agenda in which there's a lot of discussion about it, situation we're
in and there's a policy in place without public meetings, the government has a
solution all of a sudden...we end up with the policy and there was no public
discussion about it. Ex: domestic violence - not have hearings on it but going to
deal/solve it. - ANSWER- Non-Agenda
Type of policy agenda in which there's a problem out there, we know we need to
address the problem, but government doesn't talk about it and pretends it doesn't
,exist. Can occur based on the reasons that it might be sensitive to the decision
maker. We know that the official doesn't want to deal with it so problem doesn't
reach his/her desk - ANSWER- Non-Decisions
Type of policy agenda in which there's a conspiracy theory...public has a position
but government has a private position...ex: real reason on why we invaded Iraq. -
ANSWER- Hidden Agenda
it doesn't matter where you are but society is divided into the few who have
power and the many who don't.
a. The few who govern are not typical of the masses that are governed. The
argument is that in our society, the few who govern are drawn disproportionally
from the rest of society. Problem is that if these people make the decisions on
allocating of resources, their decisions are going to be based on the values of
people in the "elite class".
b. Elites share a consensus on the basic values of the social system and the
preservation of the system. They have a tendency to think more along the same
lines as their values and not like the rest of the people
c. Public policy does not reflect demands of the masses, but rather values of the
elites...masses of the people are very gullible and can be sold on
anything...opposition is the opposite of the democratic theory. Elite theorists
believe decisions reflect the mino - ANSWER- Elite perspective of agenda theory
A. Inputs...action taken from people and/or elected (pre-policy) officials, pulse of
the American people
i Demands..."We demand immigration reform"
ii Support...people express approval for elected officials
iii Apathy...people just aren't that interested in politics
B. Authoritative Decision Making...grinding out solutions, (policy development
process) and public administration
C. Outputs...the public policy generated (post-policy)
i Rewards... some people benefit from the policy
ii Deprivations...some people don't benefit from the policy/aren't satisfied with
the policy
D. Feedback...people who are deprived can go back in and try to change the
system and vote in new officials who represent their needs
It's another descriptive model which treats the government like an organism
which responds to inputs and stimuli and creates outputs. The inputs are
demands and support. These go through a filter, enter the - ANSWER- Political
Systems Theory
, a. What is Formulation?
I. To develop a plan, a method or a prescription
ii. For alleviating some human deprivation, need or dissatisfaction
1. Somebody is deprived of something, other people have something that others
don't have, so they are not happy with the system - ANSWER- Policy Formulation
Type of policy formulation that simply deals with same techniques and see which
old problem can be used to solve a NEW problem. NEW, but use the same old
techniques...handles new problems by drawing on experience with similar ones
in the past; consistent gov action; familiar problems, old solutions - ANSWER-
Analogous Formulation
• Bargaining...people who are making the decision can bargain amongst one-
another, try to negotiate something out that seems reasonable
• Persuasion...trying to get you to see things my way, trying to convince you why
and here are the reasons on why you should support this choice
• Command...telling someone you HAVE to do something. There's an assumption
that in order to command someone to do something, you have to be in a position
of power. Ex: speaker of the house, chair committee can refuse to send
legislation to the senate and Oval Office. - ANSWER- Styles of Decision Making
• Problems result from events affecting people differently:
o Not all problems become public....like domestic abuse.
o Not all public problems become issues
o Not all issues are acted on in government...sometimes people can turn to other
sources (family, church) besides government - ANSWER- Policy problems from
outside forces
• Problem stream: reports, events,
• Policy stream: solutions, advocates
• Political stream: political mood, things that are happening politically that can
movie issues onto the agenda - ANSWER- Streams of Agendas
Model of decision-making that:
• Goals, values, objectives clarified and ranked
• Various alternatives and consequences for dealing with problem are examined
• Decision-makers choose the alternative that best maximizes attainment of the
goals
• Result of the process is a rational decision that most effectively achieves a
given end
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