2. The Nature of Decisions
▪ Decision making: product of complex social
process generally extending over a long
period of time
▫ Increasing potential gains
▫ Monitoring ongoing decisional process
▫ Reducing resource expenditure,
uncertainty or risk
3. Approaches to Decision Making:
Concepts and Controversies
▪ Rational approach
▫ Works to achieve conscious goals
▫ Efficiency
▫ Cost-benefit analysis/cost-benefit
ratios
▫ Value-neutral
▫ Procedural criteria
4. Approaches to Decision Making:
Concepts and Controversies
▪ Critiques of rational model
▫ Only applicable to low-level decisions
▫ Many impediments to rationality
▫ Competition for resources
▫ Must deal with different aspects of same
problem
▫ Not usually applicable to government
decision-making processes
5. Incrementalism and Mixed Scanning: Response and
Counterresponse
▪ Incrementalism
▫ Uses limited successive comparisons
▫ Simplified choices
▫ Status quo as reference for decisions
▫ Short-term effects & crucial consequences
▫ Less formalized cost/benefit
measurements
▫ Satisfice
6. Incrementalism and Mixed Scanning: Response and
Counterresponse
▪ Advantages of incrementalism
▫ Can satisfy ambiguous orders and
legislative requirements while buying time
▫ Sometimes economic models
inappropriate
▫ Can use nonquantitative measures
7. Incrementalism and Mixed Scanning: Response and
Counterresponse
▪ Critiques of incrementalism
▫ Marginal changes may not meet policy
demands, may overlook larger needs
▫ Makes inertia and status quo acceptable
8. Incrementalism and Mixed Scanning: Response and
Counterresponse
▪ Mixed scanning
▫ Incorporates elements of rational and
incremental approaches
▫ Decisions made by exploring main
alternatives, but details omitted to permit
overview
9. Decisions in the Balance:
The Environment of Choice
Decision-maker considerations
Kinds/quantity of resources to be used
Benefits vs. probable costs
How are benefits and costs measured?
Substantive grounds
Political grounds
Organizational grounds
Which factor predominates?
10. Decisions in the Balance:
The Environment of Choice
▪ Different grounds predominate for different
decision makers
▫ Specialists (area of expertise)
▫ Generalists (political factors)
▪ Time factors
11. Information Quality and
Decision Analysis
Quantity and quality of information
Decision analysis techniques
Experimental method
Technology
Human judgment and experience
Limitations
Imperfect information
Costs of obtaining
Biases
Deliberately distorted information
12. Information Quality and
Decision Analysis
▪ Other issues facing decision makers
▫ Influence by previous decisions, current
policy
▫ Unanticipated consequences
▫ Groupthink
▫ Sunk costs
▪ Bounded rationality framework
13. The Problem of Goals
▪ Organizational goals: survival, maintenance,
substantive, symbolic
▫ Symbolic goals attract political support
▫ Public policy goals may be aims (not
attainable)
▫ Criticism can lead to “lowering the bar”
14. The Problem of Goals
▪ Personal goals: livelihood, advancement or
self improvement, strong policy attachment
▫ Some focus on personal goals only
▫ Personal goals can lead to conflicts
15. The Problem of Goals
▪ Downs’ bureaucratic mind-sets:
▫ Climbers
▫ Conservers
▫ Zealots
▫ Advocates
▫ Statesmen
▪ Ideal to have goal congruence
16. Ethical Dimensions of
Decision Making
▪ What is ethical behavior?
▫ ASPA’s Code of Ethics
▫ Public and ethical obligations
▫ Bailey’s moral attitudes and qualities
▫ Internal vs. external checks
▫ Rely on bureaucrat’s
character/inclinations
▫ Public morality and public trust
17. The Ethical Setting:
New Emphasis on an Old Challenge
Challenge in defining, establishing and maintaining
high level of ethical behavior in government officials
Ethical behaviors
Professional conduct
Personal honesty
Concern for serving public
Respecting law and democratic beliefs
18. The Ethical Setting:
New Emphasis on an Old Challenge
Implementation:
Formal adoption of ethics code
Professional association codes
Financial disclosure requirements
Honoraria restrictions
Professional activity restrictions
In-house ethics training
Moral leadership
19. Political Rationality:
A Contradiction in Terms?
▪ Can politics and rationality coexist?
▪ Political rationality
▫ Political costs, benefits, consequences
▫ Choice of criteria significant
20. Organized Anarchies and Uncertainty
▪ Organized anarchies
▫ Garbage can theory
▫ Decision making characterized by
pervasive ambiguity and unpredictable
behavior
▫ Choices often product of chance (not
rationality)
