Chapter Five: Decision Making in Administration
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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)
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