Midterm Flashcards
Explain Dr. Margaret Jackson’s Policy Cycle
- Social/Justice problem
- Threshold crossed - need for policy or reform
- “evidence” gathered
- Monitoring Implementation
- Review
- If unresolved, begin cycle again
Define what is meant by “public policy”
A course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems
Explain how government inaction can be described as a policy decision
Same Sex marriage, failure to recognize the unions initially could not be seen as a policy decision. Once the unions were recognized, the absence of action could be seen as a policy decision.
Explain why governments rarely only attack single problems
Dynamic complexity: causes and effects are interdependent
Social complexity: facts and nature of the problem are contested
Generative complexity: unforeseen factors surface and combine and recombine in unexpected ways
Explain what is meant by the Rational Model of Policy
“Policy or strategy formulated consciously, preferably analytically, and made explicit and then implemented formally”
Explain where policy originates within an organization
They come from those within an organization that have the legitimate authority to impose normative guidelines for action
Explain the challenges to problem definition
Problems need to be recognized and defined
Process of problem definition can be casual or exhaustive
Problems usually complex and in clusters (example – encouraging innovation in the Canadian economy)
May appear as a substantially changed context or situation (9/11)
Problem definitions have a causal character
Explain what is meant by horizontal and vertical consistency
Two different policies that are either consistent or inconsistent = horizontal
Within the policy is there consistency and adherence to the policy = vertical
Identify and explain the different forms of reasoning in policy analysis
Normative: Analyzes policy in reference to basic values or ethical principles
Legal: Analyzes policy in terms of jurisdiction and consistency with legislation of the Charter
Logical: Analyzes policy in terms of internal, vertical, and horizontal consistency and whether it “makes sense”
Empirical: Analyzes policy in relation to impacts and effects, costs, and administration
Explain the Rational Decision-making Model
Choose objectives Consider alternatives Outline impacts Apply models/scenarios Implement preferred option Evaluate consequences
Explain what is meant by the term “globality”
The entire planet is a single social place
Conversations and movement carried on irrespective of territory
Collective interest in “global events” and simultaneity
Identify and explain the five “scapes” of globalization
Ethnoscapes: Movement of tourists, migrants, regugees, exiles
Techoscapes: Internet and transportation
Financescapes: Unpredictable financial flows
Mediascapes: TV, videos, movies generated locally, spread globally
Ideocapes: Ideas and ideologies generated locally, spread globally
Identify the three phases of growth for Transnational Corporations
First, export of domestic products
Second, establishment of foreign production facilities
Finally, production organized into transnational firms
Identify and explain the impact of globalization on policy making
Governments have fewer policy instruments to protect domestic markets
These international agreements and entities shift key decision-making away from governments
The very nature of regulating the international movement and problems of citizens, necessitates the need for global governance including crime, commerce, and civic engagement
Identify and explain the key challenges to governments and public management
X
Identify and explain the key features of New Public Management
Focus on management, not policy
Performance appraisal and efficiency
Disaggregating public bureaucracies into agencies which deal with one another on a user pay basis
Contracting out to foster competition; cost cutting
Emphasis on outputs, monetary incentives and freedom to manage
Identify the 10 principles of re-inventing government
Competition
Empower citizens
Focus on outcomes
Driven by goals and mission, not rules and regulations
Clients redefined as customers
Prevent problems before they emerge
Energy into earning money
Decentralize authority
Market mechanisms vs. bureaucratic mechanisms
Catalyzing all sectors – public, private, and voluntary into action to deal with community problems
Identify the three components to reconcile in problem definition
Reality (what or unrealized needs or values)
Desired state of affairs (what should be – the improvement)
And the gap between them (the discrepancy)
Explain what is meant by the social construction of problems
Values, perceptions, and interests play a huge role in this.
Problem recognition often surfaced through widely agreed-upon indicators.
“Focusing events” until correctly identified, can result in haphazard and inconsistent response (SARS, Dziekanski)
Identify and explain the three key questions in the problem definition process
How good is the fit between the phenomenon and the indicator?
Question of causality
What action to take if there is a “real” problem?
Explain what is meant by the terms constructivists and boundary analysis in the problem definition process
Constructivists assert there can be no absolute proof of anything without a shared paradigm of understanding
Boundary analysis suggests repeat surveying of people will develop the range of criteria of a given problem
Identify and explain the elements of issue framing
Issue framing is a structured means of presenting a policy argument.
Policy Relevant Information (I)
Policy Claim (C) is a conclusion in the form of a recommendation
Warrant (W) is the assumptions leading to the claim
Backings (B) are statements in support of the warrant
Qualifiers (Q) express the degree of confidence in the policy claim
Explain want is meant by policy windows and policy entrepreneurs
Policy windows provide opportunities to advance problems for consideration
Policy entrepreneurs can effectively navigate those opportunities
Explain what is meant by “wicked” and “super wicked” problems
Some policy problems are “wicked” in their confusing definition and causality and no clear criteria to judge the solutions (may be inseparable and entangled with other problems)
“Super wicked” problems refer to those of global proportion.
Explain what is meant by policy design
x
Explain what is meant by “coercion” in government in relation to the progression of policy
x
Explain the Policy Instrument Classifications along with the component parts as highlighted in class
x
Explain the questions governments should ask before taking direct action
x
Identify and explain the “New Dynamics” related to policy instruments
x
