Clemons and McBeth - MavDISK

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$Math 375 Final Exam Solutions Spring 2010 Name ... - MavDISK$

58 Once again these categories are interrelated and influence each other. The factors discussed as falling under the intellectual/analytical umbrella also interact with these factors, and indeed both are intertwined with the ideological/philosophical factors to be discussed subsequently. Political System While there is no political system that could guarantee or deliver rationality, the political system that exists in the United States-for all its strengths-can be cited as proof of, and a contributor to, the nonrationality of the policy process and policy outcomes.' The most commonly proclaimed essential characteristics of the polity known as the United States of America are political pluralism, federalism, fragmentation, legalism, checks and balances, incrementalism, and an element of democracy. These characteristics are also the key parameters of the political system. This is not the place for a discussion of these aspects, but rather for examining the impact these characteristics have on policy. Policymaking in the United States generally requires consensus building to put majorities together. It is easier to stop policy development than to change or create it. Dramatic and radical change is rare. As Braybrooke and Lindblom explain, "NonincrementaI alternatives usually do not lie within the range of choice possible in the society or body politic." (The) "nonincrementaI (is) often politically irrelevant. . . we always begin somewhere, not ad nihilo" (pp. 73, 89, 83). Clear mandates are extremely rare and for any given issue there are multiple stakeholders, with legitimate and conflicting claims (both individuals and groups) who can affect, and are affected by, policy decisions. As the earlier discussions of group and elite theory suggested, not all players, or policies, are created equal. Nondecisions are cornmon. Nondecisions occur when issues are taken off, or never placed onto, the table. The policy process offers many opportunities for contestants to get into the game, and it should be thought of as a never-ending, ongoing process in which the outcomes of earlier battles are relevant to, but not determinant of, today's policy outcomes. The result is a messy process where, as John Kingdon (1984/1995) suggests, policy tends to occur more than be made, and policies that can gain the necessary level of political support, not necessarily the most rational policies, are the ones that win out. Writing about the making of environmental policy, Dean Mann (1986) powerfully captured the relationship between policy and the political system of the United States that produces it. He described the pattern of policymaking as being marked by "a process of dramatic advances, incomplete movement in the 'right' direction, frequent and partial retrogression, sometimes illogical and contradictory combinations of policies, and often excessive cost. . . ." He concluded this discussion with the observation that this ". . . should come as no surprise to students of American politics" (p. 4). The political system is based on value conflict, politics, self-interest, the public interest, and coalition building; it is fragmented and tied to political culture, and, as a result, the making of policy is far from rational. While a perfect following of the rational model seems impossible, a famous example of a rather rational and comprehensive policy is the energy policy that President Jimmy Carter, a nuclear engineer and policy wonk, devised. However, his political strategy was not nearly as well developed as his policy plan. While Carter knew the details and substance of the issue, he did not understand the need for stroking egos, striking fear in opponents, or swapping political 'This discussion builds on, and makes more specific to the United States. the earlier explanation of political systems in Chapter J. PARTI . THEORY AND PRACTICE CHAPTER3 . CR/TlQUES OF THE RATIONAL ApPROACH 59 favors. The Carter White House failed to generate and gamer the political support necessary for his policy. It failed to become law not because of its substance, but because of poor politics.' In another political system, the head of government might have been able to simply impose his or her policy on their society. Instead, the nature of the political system of the United States has produced an energy policy that much more closely fits the portrait painted of the making of environmental policy by Dean Mann. To the extent that the United States has an energy policy (and not having a public policy is a policy), it was created through bursts of partial progress and steps backward and features legislation and goals that contradict other legislation and goals. The Nature of Organizations The ideas that we have bundled under the rubric of the nature of organizations offer little comfort to anyone wishing to believe in the rational model. As descriptions of large organizations though, they ring true to astute observers and participants. Organizations and their leaders designate authority and divide work. They train employees and establish organizational objectives. They limit access to information and standardize and fragment the information sought and recorded through, for example, the use of standardized forms. They limit the amount of time, money, and personnel available to work on any given problem. They institute rigid routines and standard operating procedures (SOPs). As Alexander George and others have demonstrated, the way decision makers and organizations are organized to process information is also important (1980). Permanent, professional policy shops and temporary ad hoc committees thrown together to quickly address a crisis are quite likely to produce different advice. The effect of all this is to create agency cultures, behavioral patterns, and decisional premises that guide decision makers. So, while in one very real sense individuals decide, in another equally real sense organizations, or subunits within organizations, decide. A related idea is role theory, and the contention of Miles' Law-discussed in Chapter 1that one's stance on any given issue is determined by one's position (where you stand depends on where you sit). This may be stated too deterministically, but it is a crucial insight into decision making and the impact that the particular organization, or branch of an organization, involved in the decision can have. Units and subunits tend to view policies that are good for them and their particular clients as sacred cows, while issues that do not affect them may be ignored or marginalized. All things being equal, the top Air Force brass is undoubtedly less likely than the top Army brass to doubt the efficacy of aerial bombing. As McNamara detailed, this was indeed the case. The effect of role on policy analysis is not an easy one to deal with even for an ethical analyst. Consider briefly the following mini-case. 'This paragraph draws upon Charles O. Jones's policy classic, An Introduction 10 tlte Study of Public Policy, 3rd ed. (1984), pp. 107-108. D ead the following scenarios and decide what you would do as an analyst. These sceftnarios raise severalimportantissues, includingthe following: Who does the analyst really work for? Can the analyst really be a neutral party? (continued)
50 PAlUI . THEORY AND PRACTICE CHAPTER3 . CRITIQUES OF THE RATIONAL ApPROACH 61 I Does organizational welfare outweigh honesty? . Depending on how the analyst handles each case, who are the potential winne{sandlosers? Would you really evaluate yourself out of a job? I I Scenario #1: Metroville Urban Renewal I HenryisapolicyanalystfortheMetrovilleCityPlanningDepartment.HiscUlTentassignment I is to stUdythe effects of 10 years of urban development projects sponsored by the department A significant amount (more than two-thirds) of the project has been funded by federal grant Ifunds. Federal guidelines accompanying these funds stipulate that "urban renewal must sig- Inificantlyassist disadvantaged populations." While conducting a stakeholders' analysis, he idiscovers that there is wide-scale citizen opposition to the continuation of the renewal work. I Foremost, critics contend that the development policy in Metroville has uprooted poor fami- I lies and small businesses and advantaged upper-middle-class farniliesand corporate interests. I The>director of the planning department (who is Henry's boss) recently won a national :award for his work in Metroville's urban renewal. If Henry reports the citizen's complaints, I he might well trigger a federal investigation, and Metrovillemight lose future funding and I evenfacefinesfor misuseof past grantfunds.Henry'spositionis fundedby federal , monies, and the department has several exciting new urban renewal projects on the front Iburner. How does Henry handle the information from Metroville's citizen stakeholders? I , Scenario #2: The InnerCity DrugProgram I Malinda isa policy analyst working for a state welfare agency. For the past five years the Iagency has sponsored antidrug programs in local school districts with inner-city high schools, including East High, which is right across the street from the,house where Malinda lived when growing up. The program has been a tremendous political asset for the agency I , because it allows agency personnel to have considerable interaction with local school districts, parents, and others. Through hard work, the agency's programs have increasingly reflected its commitment to a philosophy of community outreach. Malinda is very committed to the program, played a significant role in its planning and implementation, and believes in I her heart of hearts that "this program really helps these inner city kids." She has been charged with conducting an evaluation of the program. Her extensive evaluation has been unable to document any successes in reducing drug use among urban high school.students. In fact, her data demonstrate that drug use in the schools in the program has actually increllliedover the past five years. Despite the data. she still believes in the program and inher work inimplementing it. Many in the state legislature would like to see the program cut l}ecausethey believe the welfare agency-in becoming involved in community outreachhai overstepped its mission. However, the director of the welfare agency recently wrote a report in which sbe stated, "The inner-city anti-drug program is a model of how the agency can positively affect local communities." How does Malinda handle this evaluation task? Scenario #3: Commercial fishing in lakeside Joe is an analyst for a state commercial fishing agency. The job of the agency is to regulate commercial fishing in the state. Lakeside is a fishing community that has relied extensively on commercial fish catches from a huge lake. Recently, the fish population has declined dramatically,. and fish catches have dropped precipitously-to almost nothing. There are certainly not enough fish now to support commercial fishing. Three years ago, against heavy political pressure from environmental groups, Joe's agency implemented new regulations aUowing for much larger catches of fish. In addition, the agency at that timeaUowed (for the first time) commercial and residential development along the shores of the waterfront. Joe's task is to detelTnine the cause of the fish population decline and to write a report on his conclusions. The governor of the state, the mayor of Lakeside, and the director of the fishing agency have all publicly stated that the cause is simply "mother nature" (increases in water temperature, disease, poor food years, etc.) The director of the agency (who hired him) told Joe directly that "This is a natural. problem, but a lot of environmental groups will try to blame our new regulations. Your job is to show that our regulations had nothing to do with the problem." After much serious study, based on a wealth of scientific studies funded byhis..agencyand the state university, Joe concludes that the decline in the fish population is due almost solely to a combination of over-fishing and pollution directly linked to the increased development on the shores of the lake. If he reports this information, his agency will face a major shake-up, and the director wiU almost certainly be fired. The press and the environmental groups will have a field day with this and both the mayor and the governor will suffer politically. What should Joe do? ~,~""'."..""''-'''''''..., As you can see in the mini-case on pages 59-62, role tends to complicate things. Imagine a proposal to completely ban alcohol on a campus, including fraternity and sorority houses. Would the attitudes toward such a proposal likely be different, whether you drink or not, if you were one of the following? I. A student living in an expensive on-campus apartment? 2. An officer in a fraternity? 3. A faculty member? 4. A vendor? 5. An employee of campus security? 6. A member of the administration? 7. An admissions counselor? 8. The college's attorney? The point is that "policy decisions are made not by abstract people, but by people in particular roles and settings, using particular procedures, and addressing particular audiences" (Stone, 1988, p. 20). One of the classical bureaucratic pathologies often cited as a natural outcome of large organizations is over-quantification. Over-quantification is an example of confusing the ends and the means.' In a similar vein, the expansion, protection, and survival of the organization sometimes become the informal mission of the organization. Just as individuals within organizations 'Body counts during the Vietnam War. an off-shoot of McNamara's systems anaJysis, are often cited as an example of both over-quantification and confusing ends and means (it was not measuring strategic success. only tactical success).
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