Implementation Theories Flashcards
According to the “First Era” of implementation theory, what did the case studies revealed regarding why policies fell short of their goals?
Policies fell short of their goals because a generalized theory never came out of the case studies.
According to the “Second Era”, what was the goal for understanding the policy process?
The goal was to find a systemic theory of the policy process that was generalizeable.
What two (2) major approaches came out of the “Second Era”?
- ) Bottom Up Approach
2. ) Top Down Approach
What two (2) major approaches came out of the “Second Era”?
- ) Bottom Up Approach
2. ) Top Down Approach
How would you describe a “Bottom-Up” Approach, regarding the policy process?
For the bottom-up approach, the policy process is traced from the street-level bureaucrats that implement the policy to those that created the same policy, indeed “backward mapping”.
How would you describe a “Top-Down” Approach, regarding the policy process?
The top-down approach design starts at the top with the highest level of policy designers and traces it down to street-level implementers. It understands policy by looking at what is intended and what occurs then discerns the gap.
Who are considered the “founding fathers” of implementation studies?
Jeffrey Pressman & Aaron Wildavsky
Michael Lipsky, the “founding father” of Bottom-Up perspective, was known for what influential analysis?
Michael Lipsky is known for his analysis of the behavior of frontline staff in policy delivery agencies, whom he calls “street level bureaucrats”. This had an important influence upon implementation studies.
What are the decision characteristics of a “top-down” approach?
Decisions are taken at the top (i.e. Board of Directors & top executives). Lower level managers have little or no input, which is passed down the line for implementation.
When is it better to use the top-down approach?
When you have limited resources and when the effects of a large, national plan is studied.
What is a top-down approach is also known as?
It is also known as a stepwise design. This basically means the breaking down of a system to gain insight into its compositional sub-systems in a reverse engineering fashion.
Why is the top-down model often specified with the assistance of “black boxes”?
It is often specified with the assistance of “black boxes” because it make it easier to manipulate. The model approach starts with the big picture and background information for making implementation decisions.
What is a “bottom-up” approach?
A bottom-up approach is where the ideas and decisions are controlled or directed from the lower levels of hierarchy. Decisions progress upwards from the lowest levels.
At what “level” is the bottom-up approach implemented? Who is involved at this “level”?
Planning for the bottom-up approach is initiated at the lowest level in the organization usually by employees. It involves all levels of managers and others, that are considered in the planning process. Functional managers are able to suggest and evaluate plans. This also involves institutions moving forward base upon building a consensus and a culture.
What is the bottom-up approach more interested in, rather than the top-down approach?
The bottom-down approach is more interested in local dynamics than the broad sweep of policy (top-down approach’s interest), which requires a lot of resources.
