Republic of the Philippines

Province of Cebu
City of Carcar
CARCAR CITY COLLEGE
Luan-luan, Poblacion 1, Carcar City, Cebu
carcarcitycollege.edu.ph

Public Policy and Program Administration

Prelim Module no.1

Name: Dela Cerna, Lister L.

Course: BPA - 3C
Date: October , 2021

Topic: Understanding Public Policy

I. OBJECTIVE: At the of the target sessions, the students should be able to:
Explain why it is important to study public policy.

II. ACTIVITIES
Defined the following terms:

Administration Ideology
Government Patronage
Partisanship Policymakers
Policy formulation Policy Demand

III. ABSTRACTION
In this module, we will study the importance of public policy and its’ characteristics;

What is Public Policy?

While public policy is perceived by many as an easy term to understand, several scholars in the field of
public administration have experienced a number of difficulties in defining the concept. The term “public policy” since
the beginning has been described in a number of ways but the fact remains that not a single definition was agreed by
most of the scholars of the field of public administration. In the words of Kevin Smith and Christopher Larimer (2009),
public policy is described as “an intuitive concept that is maddeningly difficult to precisely define. (p.3). The existence
of numerous definitions of public policy as propounded by a number of experts in the field of public administration
makes the concept an interestingly instinctive concept that is possible to several kinds of interpretations or
explanations. Such difficulty of defining the concept of public policy is further emphasized by Smith and Larimer with
the comparison of the term to pornography that was outstandingly described by the great United States Supreme
Court Justice Potter Stewart in a concurring opinion in the case of Jacobellis versus Ohio (1964). In this landmark
case, Justice Stewart commented that it was impossible on his part to intelligibly define hard-core pornography but
explained that he knows it when he sees it. Public policy take the same perspective according to Smith and Larimer.
It is really an intuitive concept that is difficult to define. A particular scholar may be close to understanding and
developing the best definition of the term at a certain point but changes eventually as the concept continuous to
evolve.

Since its inception, a number of definitions have already been forwarded by the scholars of the discipline of public
administration despite the difficulty of developing a common understanding of the concept. Public policy being an
intuitive concept did not prevent these scholars to develop their perspectives of the term. According to Clarcke
Cochran, Lawrence Mayer, T.R. Carr, and N. Joseph Cayer (2000), public policy “refers to the actions of the
government and the intentions that determines those actions. It is an intentional course of action followed by a
government institution or a government official for resolving an issue of public concern”. In this definition of public
policy, serious consideration was given to the following ideas: intentional course of action and official actions must be
sanctioned by law or accepted norms. The idea on intentional course of action requires that the government be
conscious in all of its efforts or actions in addressing a particular problem. Being conscious in all of its efforts
manifests the seriousness of the government in pursuing a particular policy. On the other hand, the idea about the
official actions being sanctioned by law or accepted norm confers the government with the necessary authority to
proceed with the implementation of the public policy.
Authority is requisite to all actions of the government in order to have the legitimacy of executing a given policy.
Without it, the policy may be open to a lot of challenges from critics on all angles. Since the development of modern
governments, the concept of authority has always been a common requisite of governing a particular state. The
government obviously would not be able to exist unless it is complemented with authority.

Meaning of public policy

• system of courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic
promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives
• commonly embodied in constitution, legislative acts and judicial decisions, may also be created by an
executive order, bureaucratic regulation or provincial / city / municipality / barangay ordinance
• also considered academic discipline as it is studied by professors and students at public policy schools of
major universities basically the legal framework within which society operates composite decisions that
government makes and programs it embarks upon or implements to achieve goals.
• implies process of formulating and promulgating a program based on a set of principles
• rule of action, manifesting or clarifying specific organization goals, objectives, values, or ideals and often
prescribing the obligatory or most desirable ways and means for their accomplishment

Nature and scope of public policy

• The authoritative allocation of values for a society

• The process of deciding who gets what, when, where and how?
• What the government chooses to do or not to do about a specific problem
• Establish the boundaries of our freedoms & color the contours of our interactions with other people in our
political-social & economic systems

Three (3) parts of public policy making

 • Problem- issue that needs to be addressed
• Player- individual or group that is influential in forming a plan to address the problem in question
• Policy- finalized course of action decided upon by the government, widely open to interpretation by ngo
players & private sector including church & cultural institutions

IV. ASSESSMENT
Read the following questions and discuss briefly. (5pts. each)
1. What is the meaning of Public Policy?
Public policy is a;
• system of courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic
promulgated by a governmental entity
• commonly embodied in constitution, legislative acts and judicial decisions and also in the executive order
• also considered academic discipline as it is studied by professors and students at public policy schools of
major universities basically the legal framework within which society operates composite decisions that
government makes and programs it embarks upon or implements to achieve goals.
• implies process of formulating and promulgating a program based on a set of principles
• rule of action, manifesting or clarifying specific organization goals, objectives, values, or ideals and often
prescribing the obligatory or most desirable ways and means for their accomplishment
Apparently, the public policy has a broad definition for you must know how important it is and how to deal with it
especially it is my chosen course.

2. Why study public policy?

To study public policy is to be conscious and to be aware of pursuing policies that manifest the seriousness of the
government. Also, to permits and actualize solutions to practical problems of government. It can be a professional
role for students to be trained in political science such as public policy to really got in their minds their purpose in
choosing that field.

V. APPLICATION
Essay: Discuss/Explain the following questions briefly.

1. How is the concept of public policy defined by the different scholars of the discipline? (10 pts.)
•Kevin Smith & Christopher Larimer (2009) - they described it as "an intuitive concept that is
maddening difficult to precisely define.
•United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart - he defined public policy as a comparison to
Smith and Larimers', a particular scholar may be close to understanding and developing the best
definition at the same time changes as it evolves.
•Clarcke Cochran, Lawrence Mayer T.R. Carr, and N. Joseph Cayer (2000) - refers to the activities of the
government and the intentions that determines those actions.

2. What is the importance of public policy for the students and practitioners of the discipline? (10 pts.)

It is important that the studentd and practitioners should kknow the disciplines of public policy to
operates composite decisions that government makes and embarks it upon implement to achieve goals.
 ESSAY RUBRIC
Criteria Need Improvement Good Very Good Excellent Total
QUESTION 1 0-2points 3-4points 5-7 points 8-10points /10
Explanation is not Explanation is Explanation is aligned Explanation is aligned
Aligned with the with the Questions with the Questions. It o the question.
question. However, it aligned with the provides some It provides clearly
provides some It provides less explanation and stated explanation and
explanation Explanation. analysis to the larger analysis to the larger
concepts of the concepts of the
scenario scenario.
QUESTION 2 0-2points 3-4points 5-7 points 8-10 points /10
Explanation is not Explanation is Explanation is aligned Explanation is aligned
Aligned with the with the Questions with the Questions. It o the question.
question. However, it aligned with the provides some It provides clearly
provides some It provides less explanation and stated explanation and
explanation Explanation. analysis to the larger analysis to the larger
concepts of the concepts of the
scenario scenario.

TOTAL POINTS (sum of 4 Criteria) /20

Rubrics taken and developed from Donald B. Narra, Ph.D Practicum Manual (2014)
Reference:
Pereda, et.al (2012) Pinoy Human Behavior in Organization, Mindshapers Co.,Inc.
Penetrante,M. and Florendo, A. (2014) Understanding Human Behavior and Crisis Management,WISEMANS BOOK TRADING, INC.

Prepared by:

GLENN L. ALLER, LL.B

Instructor

Checked by:

MAGNALIZA F. BONALOS, PH.D MARY JESHIEL F. ALEGRADO,LPT, MAED-Eng

 BPA Department Head IMD Coordinator

Approved by:

EDWARD MAGLUCOT, PHD

Dean for Academic Affairs