| Term | Definition |
|---|
| rational decision making model (5 steps) | step-by-step rational process to make decisions, includes defining problem, gathering facts, construct alternative solutions, analyze alternatives, select best alternative |
| incremental decision making model | view that most public policy decisions are not made by rational process with total infor but are dependent upon small incremental decisions that tend to be made in response to short-term political conditions |
| mixed scanning | model that uses both incrementalism and rational comprehensive approaches to problem solving |
| advantages to rational decision model (4) | more efficient way, not based on short-term solutions to crisis, explores alternative solution instead of immediately jumping to often used solutions, systematic |
| disadvantages rational model (5) | almost impossible to do b/c requires to gather all info and consider all alternatives which is not in human nature, instead we accept satisfactory amount of info, consequences difficult to predict, people can't foresee their own wants accurately, larger the increments of change the harder it is for superiors to check on subordinates or give instructions, large scale change usually fails b/c the system resists sudden large-scale change |
| advantages incrementalism (4) | b/c of people's many conflicting goals, a marginal adjustment will bring about a gain in goal achievement, it is easier to verify the results, reversible thus mistakes can be repaired, more flexible |
| disadvantages incrementalism (3) | usually based on procrastination, idea of ignore till goes away if can't do as little as possible to tweak current system, does not consider new alternatives or explore all options & consequences |
| advantages mixed scanning (3) | flexible, allows advantages of both systems, saves time in dealing in detail w/ only issues that need attention |
| disadvantages mixed scanning (2) | based on unrealistic "theory" and not the way the world really works, doesn't take into account outside factors of decision making |
| market model | public policy model w/ underlying assumption that everyone starts on an equal footing and the winners are determined by who has the best skills/resources/works hardest |
| polis model | assumption that everyone has inherent advantages and disadvantages and these play a factor in who wins and loses |
| paradigm | general framework for viewing social reality including assumptions about the nature of reality and individual frames of reference |
| determinism | all social phenomena are the result of prior causes and that these causes themselves are the product of prior causes, circumstances rules over individual choices |
| free-will | not all human actions and thought are pre-determined – social phenomena are the product of personal decisions |
| rationality | reason, logic, sanity, objectivity, evidentiary and data-driven, analytical |
| emotionality | empathy, affect, subjectivity, adaptive, communal, interpretation, construct |
| view of human nature | pessimistic- hobbs humans are intrinsically bad, optomistic-humans are intrinsically good |
| policy process | pattern of governmental activities or decision designed to remedy some public problem, either real or imagined that is formulated, implemented, and evaluated in a political system |
| government | formal institutions with authority and the processes in these institutions |
| politics | process of the prioritization of different policy choices conflict will occur and it is managed through a representative/democratic government |
| public sector | government, agency or organization located within the public domain in which no profits can be retained or distributed and it is subject to legal constraints for public sector operations including citizen scrutiny and citizen participation |
| private sector | individual, entity or organization legally able to conduct business without the legal constraints associated with either the public or nonprofit sectors, it may retain profits and distribute to owners, and is not necessarily subject to public scrutiny |
| nonprofit sector | organized for some public good, legally permitted to generate, retain and use profits for organizational mission, prohibited by law from distributing surplus revenues to individuals (no owners), may form subsidiary corporations and engage in commercial activities |
| public administration | what governments do; the execution of a public law |
| policy space | judgments about issues, problems, policies and programs that are on the current social and political agenda |
| stakeholders | individuals/groups/governments who have concerns about the outcome of a policy, includes both now and the future and both in and outside the U.S. |
| agenda setting | We identify an occasion, event or issue then define it as a problem, then push to get the problem recognized |
| federalism | a system of government in which a national government shares power with subnational governments |
| intergovernmental relations | complex network of interrelationships among governments; the political fiscal programmatic and administrative processes by which high units of government share revenues and other resources with lower units, generally accompanied by special conditions that the lower units must satisfy as prerequisites |
| public policy | what government does and does not do |
| differences of nonprofit/public/private | goals and objectives sources of funding media and public scrutiny structure/management/outputs legal issues |
| ethical approach to public policy | using religion and moral teachings to shape public policy, can be influenced by culture |
| biographical approach | uses life of an individual to illustrate how and why certain policies came to be |
| case-study approach | using an in-depth analysis of history that offers understanding of dynamic constantly moving and changing processes over time in a single subject. |
| public law approach | analysis of legislative acts that apply to the citizenry as a whole, refers to the underlying basis of a regime and the character of its government |
| systems approach | any analytical framework that views situations as systems, any review of a policy that seeks to put it in the context of a larger system |
| policy paper approach | a formal argument in favor of or against a particular public policy |
| formal research approach | end product of a formal effort to test the utility of a given policy, reports the result of a formal research involving techniques such as data gathering and analysis, sample surveys, etc. tests the effectiveness of a policy or the cause of policy adoption |
| model | a simplification of reality, a reduction in time and space that allows for a better understanding of reality |
| theory | a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation |
| issue attention cycle (5 steps) | model that attempts to explain how many policy problems evolve on the political agenda, includes preproblem stage, alarmed discovery/euphoric enthusiasm, recognition of cost of change, decline of interest, postproblem stage |
| policy analysis | a set of techniques that seeks to answer the question of what the probable effects of a policy will be before they actually occur |
| program evaluation | the systematic examination of any activity undertaken by government to make a determination about its effects both short term and long range |
| policy maintenance | 1 of 3 responses to evaluation; maintaining the status quo of a program with only minor tweaks |
| termination | 1 of 3 responses to evaluation; completely stopping a policy because of a bad evaluation |
| policy succession | 1 of 3 responses to evaluation; includes linear, consolidated, splitting, and nonlinear |
| causality | 3 things to take into account when trying to determine a cause of an effect includes: cause must precede effect, cause & effect must have correlation or be empirically related, observed empirical relationship must not be due to intervening variables |
| similarities of nonprofit/private/public | basic management, resources, design, delivery |
| steps to determine & set policy (6) | 1.identify and define problems 2.push to get problems recognized 3.propose solutions 4.provide support for solutions 5.implement policies that are developed 6.evaluate policies |
| rational for expansion of government (5) | constantly shifting technology, population increase and urbanization, welfare programs and other social services, special interest advocacy, mandates without money |
| traditionalistic | paternalistic elite power is limited to "who do you know" or clan/family assignment family obligation to government |
| moralistic | common public interest government exists to serve the public interest through moral goals government intervention to promote public good |
| individualistic | politics as a means to advance economic interests Individual with self-interest as motivation influence of Luther contract and individualistic ownership Limited government |
Combine with other sets
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