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CHAPTER
2
The Political and
Cultural Environment
of Public Policy and
its Administration
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading Chapter 2 in the textbook, the student should be able to:
1. State what is meant by public policy, describe and outline
the stages of the public policy cycle and the roles of public
administrators in policy-making.
pp. 47–60
2. De ne the meaning of power, differentiate between group
pp. 61–66
II. SUGGESTED LECTURE
A. Public Policymaking
Any policy is a decision on the part of government. Public policy is whatever a
government decides to do, or not to do in response to a public issue. Public admin-
istration is inherently an instrument of policy. Public policymaking is hierarchical
in nature. The broadest policy is made at the top, but officials at lower levels, also
18 The Political and Cultural Environment of Public Policy and its Administration
CHAPTER 2
B. The Role of Executive Power in a Republic
The authors provide us with three views of executive power. The conservative
C. The Policymaking Process
The policymaking process is a complex group of activities. In our textbook these
are broken down into five stages. All five stages are inherently political in nature.
1. Agenda setting or identification of the policy issue, where the citizens pro-
duce ideas for change or improvement. These bubble up through the various
political channels for consideration by the legislature or the courts, and
are sometimes stimulated by a catalytic event—a riot, a flood, a terrorist
attack, etc.
2. Decision making: where a choice is made, either rationally (based on com-
D. The Role of Power in the Policymaking Process
The theory of force fields helps explain the role of external and internal power that
is brought to bear on an agency and its key players from many directions.
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III. Assessments
1. External Power Forces. Pluralism is a concept that begins in the government
itself. The three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—
each exert power over the other and in this way balance and check each
other. Additionally, American society is made up of competitive groups, and
believe that government itself is a group that competes with other groups.
2. Internal Power. Within organizations, coalitions jockey for power to secure
scarce resources. Dependency power explains that individuals or groups
who have control of key products and services make others dependent upon
E. The Role of Culture in Public Policymaking
Organizational cultures are about the norms, values, symbolic behaviors, artifacts,
and other tangible and intangible things that exert influence upon a group and link
it to its environment.
1. Impacts of the External Environment. In the diversity that constitutes America,
local and regional cultures impact the culture of public organizations in
different ways. In this way, organizational culture reflects the overall values
of society.
2. Impacts of the Internal Environment. The internal culture of an organization
III. ASSESSMENTS
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Which of the following presidents espoused the theory of Executive
prerogative?
a. Ronald W. Reagan
b. Abraham Lincoln
c. Gerald Ford
d. William J. Clinton
p. 49, b
20 The Political and Cultural Environment of Public Policy and its Administration
CHAPTER 2
2. The restricted view of presidential power was/is embodied in:
a. the governance of President George H.W. Bush.
b. William Howard Taft.
c. arch-conservative viewpoints.
d. Libertarians today.
e. all of the above.
p. 49, b
3. The “doctrine of the separation of powers was adopted by the Convention
of 1787, not to promote efficiency, but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary
power.” This statement meant that:
4. The president who espoused the stewardship theory of the Presidency was
a. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
5. Which of the following is one of the typical outside forces impacting the head
of a public agency?
a. Judiciary
b. Auditors
c. Legislature
d. All of the above
p. 54, d
6. Which of the following is NOT a player in the iron triangle?
a. The government agency administering the policy
b. The office of the president promoting the policy
c. The legislative committee creating the policy
d. The special interest group that is advocating the policy
p. 66, b
7. The “power-elite” theory espoused by C. Wright Mills states that government is:
a. ruled by an elected majority.
b. controlled by “warlords,” “corporate “chieftains,” and political
directorates.
c. dominated by political, military, and business interests.
d. b. and c.
p. 82, d
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III. Assessments
8. Incremental policy decision making implies that:
a. rational policy decisions are made in a special predetermined order.
9. Which of the following is NOT true about the process of public
policymaking?
a. In modern times the media is likely to distill a detailed policy into a
sound bite.
b. It involves multiple players and political viewpoints.
c. Policy papers put out by various parties and interest groups need not
be read because policy is explained ad nauseum in oral reports via the
media.
d. It is a never-ending intangible process.
pp. 52–53, c
10. In a Republic like the US:
a. The Legislative branch is supreme and has the most powers.
b. The Presidency is supreme and has the most powers.
c. The Judiciary is supreme and has the most powers.
d. no branch has more powers than another.
pp. 47–48, a
11. John Locke’s theories about government:
a. were used in the Declaration of Independence.
b. were used as a rationale for the break with England.
c. had a profound influence on the Founding Fathers.
d. all of the above.
p. 49, d
12. Modern group theory derives from the work of:
a. Arthur Bentley and Graham Allison.
b. Arthur Bentley, David Truman and Earl Latham.
c. Michael Lipsky.
d. Irving Janis.
p. 64, b
Chapter 2 Political and Cultural Environment Student
Self Assessment Questions
Q1 What is public policy?
Q2 At what stage of the public policy cycle do ideas or issues bubble up the
various channels to wind up for consideration by a political institution?
22 The Political and Cultural Environment of Public Policy and its Administration
CHAPTER 2
Q4 Why are power relationships seen as permanent features of organizations?
Q5 Which political scientist posited a major challenge to the rational models
of formulating public policy in what he called “The Science of Muddling
Through”?
Q6 In a democracy the people meet and exercise the government in person.
What is the form of government in which sovereignty resides in the people
who elect agents to represent them in political decision making?
Obama’sHealth Care Law (even for a Cabinet Secretary) boils down to
what type of issue?
Q10 When a community perceives maintaining order as the primary function
of its police department, the department is likely to deploy what type of
performance style based on its outside cultural environment?
Q11 An executive’s deviation from the legislative intent or law in a republican
form of government is very subjective. The theory or view that describes
managers who would instantly solve public problems with new policy if
they had the power is known as what?
Q12 The action phase of public administration, an inherently political process,
is known as what?
Q13 The theory that governmental institutions attempt to take into
consideration all interests of society in one form or another is known as
what?
Q14 Why are organizational goals important in the same way as organizational
power and politics?
Q15 Which of the following is not among the few organizational culture issues
that attracted widespread agreement?
Q16 The theory of executive power is quietly reserved to support the efforts of
a leader who sees the nation through times of crisis. Which theory serves
the president best during the War on Terror?
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IV. Activities
Q21 Why is it that under President Barack Obama, the United States and its
NATO allies started military action against Libya in order to help rebels
overthrow the regime of Muammar Gadhafi in an undeclared war?
Q22 Who makes legitimate policy in a political community?
Q23 Why is it that the policy cycle comes full circle when evaluative
information creates new agenda items for subsequent decisions?
Q24 The issue about power in organizations is not our understanding of it but
is rather what?
consensus about what to do about it?
IV. ACTIVITIES
Class Exercise
Power: A Force Field Exercise
1. Power Influences on Public Administration:
a. Draw a circle representing a public organization. Examples are: the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, federal level; or the State Department of
Transportation, state level; or the county jail, local level. Class or instruc-
tor chooses one.
b. Draw power forces from fields that impact on this agency as follows:
i Straight line arrows for negative power influences.
ii Dotted line arrows for positive power influences.
c. Explain your model.
2. Draw the policy cycle as shown in your textbook using one of the following
policies:
a. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
b. The Patriot Act of 2001
Discussion Questions
1. Choose two of the most significant public policies that were passed in the last
50 years. How have our social and political consciousnesses both shaped and
been shaped by these policies?
Instructor’s Note: There were many significant statutory laws passed
since the middle of the twentieth century. Students can refer to the inside of
24 The Political and Cultural Environment of Public Policy and its Administration
CHAPTER 2
2. What does Michael Lipsky mean by the term “street-level bureaucrat”?
Explain how a street-level bureaucrat, in implementing public policy, may
actually be “making” policy.
Instructor’s Note: Michael Lipsky defines “street-level bureaucrats” as
those public officials who are literally close to the people by being most in
3. What is the difference between a rational-comprehensive approach to
decision making and an incremental model? Explain where the polis model,
posited by Deborah Stone, fits into these two models.
Instructor’s Note: The rational and incremental models are often viewed
as two opposite ends on the decision-making continuum. The first model
assumes that totality of information is available so that decision makers are
Writing Exercises
Using one of the following key words or phrases of your choice, write a short anal-
ysis linking this notion in the text to an incident in your workplace, your daily life,
or a media report that you have heard.
policy implementation mixed scanning
democracy
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IV. Activities
Individual Exercises
Critical Thinking
“The Killing of Bin-Laden: Power Bases & Legality of the Action”
The resounding applause for President Obama by international leaders after the
killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011 have not drowned out misgivings about the
legality of the action in the absence of prior debate in the UN Security Council.
Opponents argue that it would have been more appropriate to have captured
Bin Laden and turned him over to a world court, as was done with perpetra-
tors of Nazi atrocities at the Nuremburg trials. Others say that the killing of
Osama Bin Laden was not accomplished in legitimate self-defense. Prof Nick
Grief, an international lawyer at Kent University, said the attack had the appear–
ance of an “extrajudicial killing,” and one that took place outside due process
considerations.
Instructor’s Note: Have the class consider the following questions: a) What were
the pros and cons of the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound? b) What might
have happened if Bin Laden had surrendered to the Navy Seals? c) What could have
happened if the White House went to Congress and asked the UN for permission to
conduct the raid? Have students write a two-page paper on using the questions as
a guide.
Source: Breena E. Coates, Professor, Department of Management, California State
University, San Bernardino,
Keynote In-Depth: The US War Powers Resolution
Review the powers of war granted by the US Constitution to the President and
Introduction to a Policy Paper
Locate and read a policy paper published by an elected official, advocacy group, or
26 The Political and Cultural Environment of Public Policy and its Administration
CHAPTER 2
V. ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
www.cbpp.org
The Center conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed bud-
get and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income
National Center for Policy Analysis
www.public-policy.org
This site allows you to search for information about public policy by providing links that
National League of Cities
www.nlc.org
The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better com-
Public Agenda Online (PAO)
www.publicagenda.org
PAO allows viewers to get critical facts and consider the choices and current public opinion
The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
Brookings is a nonpartisan but liberal leaning think tank focusing on public policy matters.
Brookings research is often cited in policy debates and discussions. Its site offers news and
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V. Additional Web Resources
American Enterprise Institute
www.aei.org
The Urban Institute
www.urban.org
While the name connotates Urban issues, the Urban Institute has a broad public policy
Russell Sage Foundation
www.russellsage.org
The Russell Sage Foundation is a premier source for social science research on all aspects