PUBLIC POLICY ublic policies are those which are formulated by the governmental bodies and officials and the ‘wn-governmental agents and actors also play an important role in this direction. Public policies wre the governmental rules and programmes, considered individually ot collectively, that is, the uthoritative decisional output of a political system. Public policy may be expressed in a variety of forms, including laws, local ordinances, court decisions, executive orders, decisions of wlministrators, or even unwritten understanding of what is to be done. Policy without the iuodifier public is sometimes regarded as synonymous with govemimental decision, but it is uiten treated as embracing a set or sequence of decisions rather than a single decision about a specific governmental action. Policy is also fermed by some to distinguish decisions about goals ur preferences from decisions related to the-means of achieving goals. Others, however, may {reat policy as embracing both ends and means. Policy in some contexts refers to decisions bout long-range objectives or general directions of governmental action, which serve as guides o short-run action in specific cases. Policies are the goals or purposes of government programmes, for example, the eradication of poverty, better employment opportunities foolproof safety measures, etc. Policy does include the implementation of intentions and rules ican be termed explicitly in rules or implicitly in actions and schedules. Policies do provide the standard guides which facilitate planning and acting in line with legal requirements to realise jyedetermined goals and objectives. The executive in a political system is helped by the policies, in keeping its activities within the prescribed framework of action. There is a close relationship hetween politics and policy. It is politics only which leads to the enactment of policies. When ‘he political system is viewed from the political point of consideration, one is faced with the “demands made by the masses upon the government officials or the party in power. These n bring out the emergence of the policies. Policies have a substantial bearing on the ininds of the people. Supposing the policies of a government are not in tune with the demands ‘the time, the people who enjoy the ultimate power of electing the government in democracies ¢ the party in the next elections.‘Administrative Theory Nature and Definition of Public Policy .quiry concemed with the application Policy Science is an emerging interdisciplinary field of in 1g and the solution of scientific methods and insights to the improvement of public policy makin ‘applied as contrasted with the pure ge of public problems, policy scientists The disciplines most to public problems. It represents primarily the cience 3 of the relevant disciplines. Given the wide ranj may be drawn from almost any discipline—social, biological, or physica directly concemed with the Policy Sciences approach have been Political Science, Econom Sociology, law, Business Management, History and Public Administration, etc. Policy Scie also utilise insights drawn from such fields as systems analysis, operation research, cybernetics fame theory, general systems theory, which cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries Policy scientists are particularly concerned with the process of clarifying goals, evalusting alternatives, identifying trends, and analysing the policy situationIt does not posit basic values but rather is concemed with factual propositions that are subject to empirical inquiry Nevertheless, the policy scientists contribute to goal choice by rendering judgement on the feasibility of means, the range of possible choices, and the possible consequences of alternative choices," ‘The definitions of public policy given by different scholars are as follows: Robert Bye Stone terms Public Policy “the relationship of a government unit to itt “environment”? The definition given by Robert Eye Stone is the one which is highly vague and} Complex. It does not make the things amply cléar. Had he. defined what does he mean by Environment to which the governmental unit is to have its relationships, the things might ha been more clear, because environment as such is very vast. It is the setting or surroundin conditions within which any object, activity, or system occurs. The environment of a politcal system includes human and non-human factors, both tangible and intangible, Thus, for exampiay geographical factors, social factors, ideologies, customs, and institutions may all be features the environment of a political system. In systems analysis the environment consists of al phenomena that affect the functioning of the system and that are not part of the system. "Thomas R, Dye says, “Public policy is whatever government chooses to do or not to do" The words of Thomas R. Dye do not seem to be very precise. There can be major divisio between what government chooses to do and what it actually does. Simply by keeping cert important priority areas in view does not serve the purpose, unless some concrete action is tak fon those issues Richard Rose says that “Public Policy is not a decision; it is a course or pattem activity’* This sounds somewhat nearer to the reality. Public policy formulation implementation involves a well-planned pattem or course of activity. Just by deciding one fi moming that a particular policy should be made will not let the issue resolved. Public pol process requires a thoroughly close-knit relation and interaction between the import governmental agencies, viz., the executive, legislature, bureaucracy and judiciary and the governmental agencies. {In Carl J. Friedrich’s opinion, public policy “is a proposed course of action of a p soup ot government within a given environment providing opportunities and obstacles whi the policy was proposed to utilise and overunuc in an cifort to .wach a goal or realise ‘objective or purpose”. Friedrich has given an exhaustive analysis of the meaning of publ poliey Rober ferme govert fn thi dofinis follow— tee seteat ne Chapter 7 Public Policy RAM whey, We find c Prick - Se iw the view points of Robert Bye Stone and Richard Rose i the Minert Eye Stone and Ri aken positive points of the definitions of public policy made by Rael ard Rose. He has attempted to confire the environment and has public policy Vine or course of action adopted by the individual, group and pvernment for facilitating the public policy process and doing away with the stumbling blocks N this way for the attainment of objectives and accomplishment of goa The above stated Selinitions of public policy by variou: is of those definitions refer to the Aullowing: ; s authors and an analy 1. Public policies are goal-oriented. In order to attain the objects which the government has in view for the ultimate benefit of the masses in general, the public policies are formulated and implemented. These are the ones which are value Jaden and speak of the programmes of the government in action overtly; Public policy is a pattem or course of activity of the governmental and non- governmental officials and actors collectively rather than being termed as their discrete and segregated decision; v 3. Public policy is what government actually decides or chooses to do and is the relationship of the government units to the specific field of political environment in & given administrative system; 4, Public policy is positive in the sense that it depicts the concem of the government and involves its action to a particular problem on which the policy is made. Negatively, it involves a decision by governmental actors not to take any action on & particular issue; 5, Public policy, in its positive form has the sanction of law and authority behind it; and 6. Public policy stems from a well-defined procedure wherein the power control, gaming and bargaining concepts play a significant role. ‘The preceding analysis reveals thaf public policy is a goal-oriented action of the government. {ris a clearly defined course of action adopted by the political agencies and actors in line to achieve certain goals. Public Policy—Various Types Public policies are expected to be rather multiferious in character and kind, whereby each and every area connected with the lives ofthe individuals, both within the country and outside the country, is touched and fairly covered. Along with it, policies are also made whereby the stance rthe government towards foreign powers has to be kept in view. The concept of city state, as trused to be in ancient times, is not any longer in existence. The place of city states has been taken by the national states and the growing awareness, highly developed technology and the tlesire to be more advanced are the factors which amount to the emergence of various types of policies whereby the demands of the masses and the foreign and defence policies of the nation become clear.Substantive These are concrete policies which take into account the general welfare society. These refer to the society as a whole and not with any particular oF P employment oppormni of it. It deals with economic stabilisation, education and : sex or creed, measures of safety, law and onic © cies dea irrespective of caste, colour, pollution, and adulteration eradication etc. In broader terms, these pols ‘ince the substantive society and its inhabitants in a given political system. Si areas of operation, therefore, the governmental agencies have t formulate those Dy analysing various problems attached with such Kinds of policies. For examsp'c: © BRIS Venesreeriant policy ties to\ be framed, then the government les yo circumstances under which the police or paramilitary forces would be acting in a dras' to provide peace and stability, because we are not living now in the polic es ects end co the policy has to be formulated keeping the prime Charm . Be a ew For enacting policy fox providing coonomic stabilisation, the S°° emame has to effectively deal with the issues like: how to maximise the scarce sources and consumption effective; how to keep the output of abundant resources f0 the required leve! moral claims of economy, etc. The policy of ed the overall development of the . material. The moral objective is to ensure rsonality development of scientific attitude among the citizens. Materialistic objective is to help ther be able to cam their both ends meet. 5 Regulatory Regulatory policies are those whereby trade, business, safety measures, public whites. regulated by independent organisations having legal status. These corporation organisations work on behalf of the government. The regulatory policies provide large mess» xamples of sin jucation will deal with two aspec of adminis-trative and financial autonomy to these organisations. The various ¢ organisations or corporations in India are: Life Insurance Corporation, Reserve Bank of Inve Hindustan Steel, etc, as Central Government undertakings; State Electricity Boards, Ste ‘Transport Corporations, State Financial Corporations at State Government level; and Damoxtw Valley Project, Bhakra Nangal Project, etc., under the joint management of the Central and Ste Governments. There are so many others of these kinds of corporations and organisations wh are regulating the Railways, Airlines, Shipping, Public utility services like water, gas, electric) made by the government pertaining to these services and organisatw~ etc. The policies rendering these services are known as regulatory policies. Distributive Distributive public policies include all public assistance and welfare programmes to socie'y These differ from the substantive policies as those are for whole of the society but \« distributive policies are meant for specific segments of society. These deal with grant of goo! public welfare and health services. These include policies like sterilisation for family planniy purposes, vaccination of children, adult education, flood relief, social insurance, mid-day mews to the school going children, old age pension, non-formal education to the children, etcChapter? Pubic Poicy EEE Acdistributive - pa of the redistributive polices is to rearrange the basic programmes of social sins. The rescheduling with the enactment of public policies is made in such @ wennet whereby the rich have to pay more as taxes in comparison to the poor. Certain public = and welfare services are disproportionately divided among certain segments of society by stributive policies, the amendments to the proper effect of such distributive policies is also wmic through the enactment of redistributive policies. (Capitalisation ‘pitalisation policies are different in nature than the substantive, regulatory, distributive and snlistibutive policies. No welfare services and provision of public goods is made through sspitalisation policies as is done through other types of public policies. Under the capitalisation prilicies financial subsidies are given by the union government to the state and local wevernments and also to the central and state business undertakings. Sometimes subsidies peraining to some other important spheres are also given by the union government. Policies sogulating such issues are known as capitalisation policies. ‘Wthical The moral and ethical values of citizens play a significant role in shaping the destiny of a wation. It is not the gold and silver which make the country great but it is always the human thcings Which establish the greatness of their country by virtue of certain ethical principles. ‘hore are certain public policies which bring forth adequate norms for some ethical and moral esues. Ethical public policy has a separate category from the other regulative policies of Law wed Commerce. It is a well-known fact that corruption is rampant these days and it won’t be ‘wrong t© say that it is at its peak now. The major reasons for it are lack of effective public ‘opinion, improper education and less awareness among the masses. Economic measures to improve the general lot, enforcement of professional code of ethics and propagation of new weial values among the public by the government led to the enactment of public policy formulating the Prevention of Corruption Act. Nature of Public Policy Public policy has been termed pattem or course of activity and as the relationship of the government unit to its environment. Public policy is based upon policy demands and claims ‘ade upon public officials by others, governmental or nongovernmental, agencies and actors, ‘8 given political system for taking some action to sort out a specific problem. The action taken by the goverumental actors and agencies pertaining to any issue is known as a policy decision. The policy decision helps the governmental officials to provide direction and content tw public policy actions. Their action to the effect is based on the formal expressions or eticulations of public policies. This formal expression or articulation is termed a policy ‘watement and it includes all legislative statutes, executive orders and decrees, and ‘administrative rales and regulations in it, Public policy is often analysed in the light of thepublic policies, In simple government, The 48 to how many have been benefited quantity and what are the overall c Public pol of public policy is abundantly vast and its range and scope thorough! any aspect of human life, it is not possible to escape from one from the birth of the child up to the death of a man, even wi graveyard for final rites, there is some policy or the other, which plays a child, prevention from disease, better and nutritious mea potentials, better salaries, adequate housing facilities, safety from national or internation. dangers, safety from natural calamities, ete. are some of Keeping in view the interdependence on other national pow system also do include in them po cordial relations with other nations, It is rather of public policy in words. Public Policy Stages It has been mentioned earlier that public policy is n activity. Hence, it has.to pass through certain stages, which are as follows: 1 Adiministrative Theory n done ords policy outputs reflect what has actually bee es of result of the policy is viewed by considering the outcor 1d how many are the losers and in how much 4 sequences of the policy.” al the overall functioning of a political sy stem. The operational ar y vide. For example public policy or the other. Right hen the dead body is taken ' role, Education of the Is, good clothes, higher education, j ies re ral f the policies we can easily talk about rs, the public policies of a politics! pertaining to import and export aspects and healthy cult to restrict or define the scope and rans ot a decision but a patter or course l Policy Formulation: The first stage in publit policy process is policy formulation Public policy is a proposed course action dealing with public demands and problen [As per the input-output model of Gabrial A. Almond the demands are converted int policies with the aid of the input, that is, factors like political socialisation, interest aggregation, interest articulation and political communication. These input factor convert the demands into outputs, which include rule making, rule application and rl adjudication. According to the feedback mode! of David Easton, the demands of the people which are not converted into policies are again fed through the same procedina Bll the action is taken on those. At the policy formulation a close-knit relationship between executive ond legislature, executive and judiciary, judiciary and legislatur facilitate policy making. Policy Interpretation: Once the policy is formulated, the policy includes number technical words and phrases. The interpretation of such terms and phrases is very, important to be made otherwise wrong meaning of the policy can be taken uj Therefore, it becomes imperative on the part of governmental actors to interpret !li policy. Policy Education: Fhe next stage in the public policy process is policy educitit The government through various channels of mass media attempts to make not «i implementors but also masses aware of the policy made by it, It is very nw necessary to educate the public about the policy because the people will obey a respect it only when they will understand it.at "Chapter 7 Ponte Fa > Ea Hnanecatal edoceiat Hg After the policy is fe the next hase is that of poli implementatior ‘his is also a very implemen-ted, it wil) Se ee Bo ies are properly and positively Of no use to spend time on their formulation The implementation sue neh 8 te varices sciminiountive agencies comes Wap) AE ntral, state, and local i" Policy Control: work is mainly levels—cen The last phase of the and implemented by government to Policy process is control over the public the various governmental actors and agencies. exercise full control on public policies so that the Purpose for which the Policies have been made is achieved and the masses get the due benefits out of the same. Proper and appropriate administrative and adjudicative fimetions are required for keeping complow cxraot over the public policies. Objectives of Public Policy ‘At the time of the election s. The objectives of public policies are long-term and short-term 1. Long-Term Objectives: If the policy i is for the long term, then the objectives will also be determined likewise. For example, in a defence policy, long-term objectives are kept in view. These can pertain to meritorious recruitment, adequate training, proper armament, etc. Similarly, policies on education, economy, health and family welfare, etc., would have objectives determined on a long-term basis. 2. Short-Term Objectives: Some of the problems emerge by policies are formulated with short- term objectives, 3. Types of Objecives: The various objectives of the public policy are as such:® (2) Scientific Objectives: Public policy can be studied in order to gain greater Knowledge about its origin, the processes by which it develops and its Consequences for society. This in tum increases our understanding of political y chance. In such cases,Administrative Theory 8 ie aa icular and society in general. The poli dent variable or independent variable for f such kind When iis yisied Ga'e dipesiddnr vs or purpose of suc! aad “eave oaerk lependent variable, the attention is placed on the politi : al factors that help to determine the content of the policy. |" Public policy is viewed as an independent variable, the focus shifts to the political system and its environment. Thus, it reveals the overall working of the government and its concern for the masses. (©) Professional Objectives: The knowledge gathered with the aid of scientific tools and techniques is put to use for solving certain issues in a professional and well-defined manner. The question over here is not whether the policy scientists should endeavour clarifying the goals and attainments of public policy, but the important aspect is that when we are conversant with the role played by certain factors in shaping the public policy, then we can definitely say something relevant regarding the involvement of governmental actors Or agencies, individuals, and groups in attaining policy goals. It can amount to an indication regarding the requirements of certain policies for meeting the demand and the physical, political ancl environmental factors needed for the same to be enacted and implemented It is view of some policy scientists that the public policy mulation of right type of policies being adopted by the They aspire for better quality sagreement prevails among he right goals of policy: may be regarded as # of analysis. ical (c) Political Objectives: study should aim at the for governments for accomplishing appropriate goals. of public policy, notwithstanding that considerable di people regarding the contents of correct policies or t Policy Analysis man relationships through which authoritative Political system is the persisting pattem of bu decisions are made and carried out in a society. A political system is distinguished from other social systems by foar characteristics: itis universal in its reach, extending 1 all members of a society; it claims ultimate control over the use of physical coercion; its right to make binding vcciions is accepted as legitimate; and its decisions are authoritative, bearing the force of legitimacy and a substantial probability of compliance. Within sub-societal groups, like family, church, labour uni decision-making structure is regarded ‘on, or business organisation, the group 4s political system. Whether one likes or not, a person is not at al beyond the reach of one Facet he other of a political system. Politics is an unavoidable fact of human existence and it playy quite a substantial part in the lives of the individuals. Politics is inescapable and so are its » policies play a significant role in shaping and re-shaping the lives of the people ‘na given political mileu. Policy analysis is equally important as it amounts to understanding the eavironment around us and to decide intelligently the best of the alternatives out of the available choices. Tt is generally agreed upon that the policy analysts have not reached a point of agreement ‘on the kinds of policies to be formulated by the governments. The term public policy has been