Download Approaches to Decision Making - WEB Du Bois at WEBDuBois.org

Chapter Five:
Decision Making in
Administration
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
Decisions in the Balance:
The Environment of Choice
 Different grounds predominate for
different decision makers
 Specialists (area of expertise)
 Generalists (political factors)
 Time factors
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
Information Quality and
Decision Analysis
 Other issues facing decision makers
 Influence by previous decisions, current
policy
 Unanticipated consequences
 Groupthink
 Sunk costs
 Bounded rationality framework
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”
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
The Problem of Goals
 Downs’ bureaucratic mind-sets:
 Climbers
 Conservers
 Zealots
 Advocates
 Statesmen
 Ideal to have goal congruence
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
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
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
Political Rationality:
A Contradiction in Terms?
 Can politics and rationality coexist?
 Political rationality
 Political costs, benefits, consequences
 Choice of criteria significant
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)