Public Policies as an Important Part of Administrative Processes - Essay Example

Public policies are a very important part of administrative processes that are intended to improve and improvise welfare programs of the government in various areas of public interest. The major aim of public policy is to solve the problems of the people that have a significant impact on the quality of their lives (Dye, 2008). In the last several years, the American system of government has used public opinion and their actions and reactions on salient issues of public interest to evolve or reform policies.

The reforms in labor laws and recognition of labor unions, tax reforms, healthcare, outsourcing, immigration, etc. have been important issues that were addressed by the American government in response to massive public outcry. Public policy undergoes several stages before it is established and enacted by the government through proper laws. They are agenda building; formulation and adoption of agenda; implementation; evaluation and termination. The first step to the development of public policy is to set agenda by identifying the problem that influences the lives of people.

In recent times, the outsourcing of jobs to foreign agencies was a major issue in America as it had serious implications on the employment of the people which had gone down drastically. The issues are identified when it is raised by various interest groups that represent people who are affected by them. The citizen associations, business bodies, and voluntary agencies often start the movement at local and state levels and thereby generate greater support nationally. These interest groups have not only the support of the public but also of eminent people like politicians, social workers, Congress members, etc.

which lends credibility to the issue. Paul Sabatier (2007) says that advocacy coalition frameworks for policies in different areas of public interest are very strong tools for enacting public policies. They take into consideration the interests of a wide range of stakeholders whose lives are impacted by the problems. The coalition comprises people from different areas of media; interest groups; local and state councils, researchers and analysts, etc. Their feedback and opinions become a critical part of the government's mechanism to develop proper agenda for the issue so that it can be taken up by Congress for discussion.

Formulation and adoption of the agenda module take place after the issue is researched and analyzed. The policy formation goes to Congress as bill rules are drafted. When the draft is adopted, Congress passes the legislation to make policy regulations final so that they can be implemented.