PA Exam #1

[Name of the Institute]PA Exam #1

Public Administration

The functions of management and administration are interrelated. Decision making is a significant process of policymaking. The process of public policy making comprises of discrete steps. The process of public policy making starts with the consideration of decision of alternatives and ends with the selection of a final policy decision. Public officials make many decisions while executing their daily tasks. It depicts that the decision making process is an impartial aid in public administration functions. However, policy decisions are different from everyday decisions. The policy decisions are the most significant decisions made by public administration. In order to make these decisions, public administration relies on the mission statement, values, and policy manual. When making public policy decisions, public administration conducts a need-based analysis that analyses the need for creating a new policy framework (Conti, 2006).

In public administration, decision making is a complex activity. The activity of decision making in public administration is related to the administrative functions. Public administration deals with a number of administrative and management functions. The policy making process in public administration depends on conflicting guidelines.

The first step in the policy making process of public administration involves agenda setting. Agenda can be defined as an issue that involves distinguished merit. There are two types of agenda including formal agenda and structured agenda. Systematic agenda is an issue that does not receive the attention of policy makers but the overall political system. On the other side, formal agenda is an issue that receives the attention of policy-makers (Allen, 1999).

The systematic agendas are often at the discussion stage. It is because a number of people discuss the issue. However, when the issue reaches the authority, it is transformed into a policy issue. Once an issue receives the attention of policymakers, the next step involves the decision of making a policy. The issue is transformed into a policy when policymakers decide to make and implement policies. The policy makers could be in an agency, congress or the president issues. Sometimes, policy makers are also involved in the policy making process. Sometimes, interest groups also present proposals for legislations regarding policy making. The written proposals are evaluated, by the policy makers to devise an effective policy. The next step involves the adoption of policy. This is the stage when an issue is supported by the government. The stage of policy adoption often involves lobbying, bargaining, and compromises. This stage of policy making is also influenced by the decision maker. There are times when the personal values of the policy maker results in the adoption and implementation of a bias decision. After implementation, the policy is codified by the authority (Parent, et al, 2007).

The next step after the implementation of policy involves evaluation and feedback. There are diverse problems that arise after the implementation of policies. The step of evaluation and feedback involves solving those problems. The most important aspect of policy making in public administration includes leadership and accountability. The representatives of public administration ...