Introduction to Public Management and Policy
Agenda setting, the circle of public attention, decision-making process and evaluating are key processes in policymaking. Organizational structure and the nature of power influence these processes actively, so they would also be observed below.
Agenda setting theory explains how any issue becomes the one which should be addressed by policymakers. Agenda setting occurs when media decide which issue to highlight (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012). It does not matter whether the issue is significant or not because only one fact matters: whether it is highlighted or not. Media is a coin with two faces because it provides the necessary filtration but also could give too much attention to irrelevant questions. Not only media can set the agenda: “Agenda setting…is a game that anybody can play” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012, p. 49). Thereby, agenda setting is created by different actors.
Public attention to policy is changeable. Downs developed the issue-attention cycle, which is “premised on the notion that the public’s attention rarely remains focused on any one issue, regardless of the objective nature of problem” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012, p. 48). Downs argued that public interest on any complicated problem increases rapidly but declines after the lengthy discussion. Kingdon supported him: “As increasing attention was brought to the financial costs and difficulties of implementation, the issue faded from view while both political leaders and the public lost the enthusiasm” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012, p. 49). Thereby, the decline of attention may be a problem because it may delay reforms, but it is a natural phenomenon.
Decision-making process begins after the agenda setting. Three theories explain the dynamic of decision-making:
Lasswell’s rational approach, which was developed by Simon's concept of “bounded rationality”. Thus, actors address issues rationally, logically and consistently, but it is possible only to find “satisfice rather than maximize solution” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012, p. 50). The most outstanding thesis in this theory is that the correct decision is objective and removed from political pressure.
Lindblom’s incremental approach. This scholar explains that decision-making process depends more on “incremental” than “rational” factors. These factors are circumstances, ideology, competition, and etcetera. He argues that each decision is a product of negotiations instead of evaluations and political context is always significant (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012). Thereby, rational and incremental approaches are very distinctive.
Etzioni’s “mixed-scanning” approach, which recognizes both rational and incremental factors as influential (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012). With accordance to this, it is impossible to address the issue without taking into consideration both rational and incremental factors.
Mentioned approaches underpin all three models of decision-making. The first model is called as the “Rational Actor Model”, which is close to Lasswell’s theory; the second is the Organizational Process Model, which “understood as the output of large organizations that operated according to standard operating procedures” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2012, p. 51); the last is the Governmental Model, which is close to Etzioni’s views and implies bargaining . Thereby, the wide range of factors influences the …
