Public Policy and Opinion Polls - Coursework Example

Public Policy and Opinion Polls Public policy refers to the system of regulatory measures, laws, s of action and funding priorities concerning a given topic put into effect by a governmental entity or representatives of that entity. It should be noted that political processes are the property of a group such as a nation, ethnic community, region, class and party among many others. Political process refers to the system of belief about patterns of political institutions and interaction. It plays a huge role in the prediction of political phenomena.

It is a conglomerate of beliefs and actions of the class of the political elite who represent the people. It should be noted that their views do not necessarily reflect those of the people but ought to, at least ideally. Policy content, on the other hand, is a result of actions and beliefs held by the political elite who birth political processes and set them in motion. Decision-making, political procedures and institutions are heavily dependent on the political elite echelon (Dye, 2010).The overall effect of this are laws which are meant to serve and govern the people but which they really have no say over.

This is because national opinion polls, though dubbed inaccurate, on several occasions show a sentiment which differs from that held by those who stand for political process (Dye, 2010). This phenomenon is shows an antagonistic trend between policy content and the public. We ought to be concerned because political processes ought to have the interest of the common man as its central motive. This is true, at least on most occasions. A conclusion can thus made that political processes have a huge influence on decision making procedures, especially those concerning policy content.

References Dye, T.R. (2010). Understanding public policy (13th Ed.). Longman: Pearson Prentice Hall.