The Contemporary Language of Public Policy: Starting to Understand

This paper is a review of chapter’s one (1), two (2) and three (3) in Thomas A. Birklands (2016) fourth edition regarding policy process. The reading attempts to define and show what is meant by policy process, how government, politics and the public are intertwined, problems that are associated with the policy process and how we address the problems. Current day events as well as past history are applied to the practice of policy process which assists in defining the process and highlighting its connection and importance. Thomas A. Birklands refers to the Clinton administration, the Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration, the DARE Program, World War II, and the Vietnam War, in the chapters and leads us down a path discussing

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

Public policies are all of those things a government decides to do that ranges from taxation, defense, education, crime, health care, transportation, environment, civil rights, and working conditions.

What is Public Policy? According to (Merriam-Webster 2015), Public Polices are the governing policies that cover citizens, and are policies that can allow the government to stop any action that is contrary to the public good.

Public policy is a system of laws that the government created for the citizens in order to maintain order. Public policy should be fair for all the citizens, however, on many occasions it is hard to accommodate for all races and social classes such as lower, middle, and upper class.

Simply defining policy is a plan of action, is a little too simplistic, the idea of policy must be explored at a greater depth if policy analysis is to have any real impact. Stephen Bell, (1993) states that policy exists in a number of formats. This first being “policy as text”, policies are the result of a great deal of debate and compromises that

In the beginning of the article, “Politics and the Policymaking Process”, the author introduces us to the five steps that have been considered the foundation of the policymaking process. (1) Identifying Policy Problems, problems are identified as policy related when a crisis occurs, or an

Government policy can be described as the declaration that defines the objective of the priorities and goals of the government. Since these policies outline the rules, role, and procedures, they develop a framework in which the government and its citizens can carry out their specific duties. The public policies are created by all governmental levels and target the entire population or particular groups. The process of developing these policies involves the engagement of governmental officials and citizens. On the other hand, politics of government provide the platform for the development, establishment, and implementation of public policy. Therefore, the politics of government are the platform with which public policies are adopted and implemented.

In spite of the policy cycle tool, it is not as easy to develop or implement new policy as there are many factors influencing it. The process of policy development involves many participants and individual stake holders. It also involves various areas which will be affected due to the new policy development and implementation. According to Hardee, Feranil, Boezwinkle and Clark (2004) policy circle involves six different stages and involves various parties who are working together for the new policy development. However, it is

This article focused on the lack of knowledge that researchers know about public policy implementation despite several years of research. Also, it attempts to alter the deficiencies by performing results from a comprehensive literacy review. Its main object was to: 1) challenge; 2) revises; 3) and add some conventional wisdom about implementation. In addition, provide a foundation for and start a much-needed mixture of experimental data research result. The author stated that: “The overall volume of publications on policy implementation has not stagnated or declined dramatically since the mid 1980s as is commonly asserted” (Saetren, 2005). Quite the opposite, policy implementation has grown through the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. Surprisingly, a sizeable number of publications are located outside the core field (Saetren, 2005).

This has been in my thoughts as I’ve been drafting my way into my own dissertation ideas. My background in critical social studies means I am very familiar with building arguments, so some of this uncertainty is expected. AT the moment, I know enough to say I am on the right track with my research ideas and know that public administration, and public policy in particular, is the right field for me.. However, I also feel rather critical of the policy process literature. It has been claimed, “public administration exists to realize the governance of society” (Raadschelders, 1999, p. 288). Yet, what society believes policy to be, and for whom, changes over time and across place. I feel at this moment public policy in the United States will change dramatically and I worry that our field is ill equipped to deal with these changing views of policy. Consequently, most of my underlying thoughts and reflections have been on understanding how can we adapt to this changing atmosphere.

Chapter 1 walks the reader through the need for easy methods of policy analysis and planning as our problems in society become more complex and difficult to solve. This chapter starts with the introduction of a set off systematic procedures or what is known as policy analysis methods that can be used to solve our complex problems. Then there is a subgroup of these methods that are basic methods, which assists with quick results and in making good policy decisions (Patton, Sawicki, & Clark, 2012, p. 3). Some disagree that there is a set of procedures that can be used to assist in solving problems however a standardized methodology has developed and been applied (Patton et al., 2012 p.

Thomas R. Dye (1987) stated that, “Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not to do”. Dye focuses not only on government action, but also on government inaction. In this definition, “Action” means that government takes measures or uses symbols openly in order to solve some public problem. “Inaction” means that government does not take measures or express active symbols, abiding by the principle of noninterference. Both are important solutions to public problems.

The positive side describes the activities of the public sector, explains the reasons of the programs in existence and also analyses the consequences of government policies

THIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN PARTIAL FUFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTERS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (MPA).