One cannot give the reasons while people are criticize polices and on the and, still obey them without being given the meaning of public policies itself.
According to J.A Egonnwan, public policy deals with the under listed. As a filed of study public has a recent origin.
It came into existence only in the early 1950s and here is not as yet any commonly accepted definition of the form while policy studies remain a burgeoning field of activity, its
status to some is itself problematic.
Generally, the term public policy is sometimes referred to as a government programmer of action. It stands for various degrees of goals articulation and normative regulation of government activities that is what government intends to do or achieve (goals) and how it intends to do it (implements). The controversy in existing literature I.C political science, however, is over the boundary of what should constitute public policy should it be posited at the level of decision making, intention or action of government? Some believe that public policy is whatever government choose to do or not to do .
Others assert that policy is why government actually do… not what they intend to do or say they are going to do./ this dissension has led to various definitions. A few of such definitions are noted below and either utility for analysis commented upon.
One definition of public policy contends, “public policy refers to important activities of government. This definition highlights action only and does not give a complete picture of what policy entails. Another definition states that policy is “a purposive course of action followed by an actor or set in dealing with a problem or matter of concern”. Of policy focuses attention this concept of policy focuses attention of what is actually done (action) as against what is intended or proposed. Implicit in this definition is that a distinction is made between a policy and a decision, which is a choice among competing alternatives.
It does not however, stipulate what is or what is not important. Thomas dye on the other hand has defined public policy to means “whatever government choose to do or not to do”. This definition does not take into consideration the fact that the definition could be taken to include how action like staff recruitment or giant of licenses, which are usually not regarded as policy matter
It however, posits policy as the decision of government. To some extent, the definitions of the school or thought, that is, policy as decisions and intentions of government. And policy as actions of governments are right in relating public policy to the deliberate decisions or actions of government.
However, it would be dangerous to accept them as a proper basis for policy analysis because of narrow scope of the definitions. The weakness of definitions are as follows:
1. The notion is encouraged that governments may do or retrain form doing whatever they like. This is a totalitarian concept,. Which may be repulsive to modern government support and encouragement or citizens participation in public decision making is affecting them.
2. Nothing but confusion and failure will ensue from a situation where government make polices arbitrarily and change them equally arbitrarily. Hence the need to ensure that every policy decision proceeded by a clear articulation of its objectives and through examination of its implementation, its probable consequences and possible remedies.
3. The definition fails to provide basis for distinguishing policy formulated from. Policy implementation. According to the definitions, all actions and decision of government are decision…”adding that” the sense of continuous activity and adjustment involved in policy making is best conveyed by describing it as a process rather them as single once for all act
Although there is ambiguity in the definition of Rose, it introduces an important notion that policy is a process in pattern of activity and not simple a decision to do something. In a similar vein, W.I Jenkins defines policy as “a set of interrelated decisions by a political actor or group of action deliberately taken by government to solve a social problem as essential taken by government to solve a social decision makers where fully aware of their choice of goals and the means to achieve.
It also suggests that the decision makers gave consideration to one or more other proposals. Aspire all, Jenkins sees public as aggregate decision making as against single discrete decision. It recognized the need for availability of means to achieve given ends as well as competence of certain persons to take decisions on behalf of others . It also “ a government without a definite programmes of action is like a travelers without destination. He may cover many kilometers and yet not be able to say where he is going or how far he has gone” this is to say that such government may not be able to asses its performance based on feedback.
Like that of Jenkins, the definition recognized that there are a few people i.e. the actors who have the authority and responsibility to develop policies on behalf of the many in the society.
Why do we study public policy form the forgoing, public policy can be regarded as course of action aimed at finding solutions specific problem. As a course of action, we need to study and understand both the content and process of policy making include the organizational setting of policy making. The cause and consequences of a public policy must also be studied. We need to know for examples, what the issue is i.e. the social decision making, how decisions are made, what is done to achieve results (implementation strategies and how we evaluate what has been chosen to achieve results (i.e. policy instruments) and the results them sales i.e. output and outcomes all these can be broken down into a number of categories as follows
1. Poli
cy demands
2. Policy decisions
3. Policy statements
4. Policy out puts
5. Policy outcomes
Policy demand: this is the claims made upon public officials by other actors, private or official in political system for action[n or inaction on some perceived problem
The demands that help give rise to public policy and which it is designed to satisfy, at least in part are important items for consideration in the study of public policy.
Policy decision; decision are made by public officials that authorized or give direction and content of public actions are studied in public policy. Included in the study are decisions to enact statutes, issue executive orders or edicts, promulgate administrative rules or make important judicial interpretations of laws.
Policy statements: formal expressing or articulation of public policy, which include, legislative statues, decrees, presidential orders, administration rules and regulation and court opinions, statements and speeches by public officials indication the intentions and goals of government and what will be done to realize them. As indicated earlier policy statement is sometime ambiguous and conflict policy out puts: these includes tangible manifestations of policies,, namely those things actually done in pursuance of policy decisions and statements. This means what a government does as distinct from what it says going to do eg actual taxes collected, number of high ways constructed, amount of drugs purchased for the hospitals, trade liberation, import restrictions, tariff s imposed etc . this also included the new organizational units set up or renovation of existing ones done for the purpose of implementations policy out come: they are the intended or unintended consequences of policies that flow from action or inaction by government.
Take the case of the structural adjustment programme in Nigeria (sap) the consequences are intended gains, important in rural incomes and local sourcing of needed raw materials for industries and unintended pains hardship for families because of prevailing high rate of inflation, low disposal income and poor purchasing power of Nigeria. In all these, is need to know whether or not policies a complies what they are intended to a accomplish, it is also the task of policy evolution
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