Strengths and weaknesses of policy cycles Essay

Strengths and weaknesses of policy cycles Essay Definition of the policy If to define the term of policy, we can say its not only those things that a government must do for the country or not. The policy could be defined as actions made by the government to reach some certain goals. These actions usually consist of thoughts and moving to actions, and finally they are ended with a certain solution. If the policy process occurs problems, it means that a policy cycle is not effective in reaching its goals. Its obviously that any politic cycle has its benefits and weaknesses. Strong sides of policy cycle The policy cycles strength is based on its stages. Each of such phases allows politicians to define problems, analyze the situation and select the most suitable strategy. Each stage of policy cycle is bright and clear, so for a good politician its easy to understand what decision they should make. Here are main stages of a typical policy cycle: Agenda setting period â€" when a policy maker analyzes problems of society that need to be government intervention. Making decision stage â€" when a policy maker realizes what decisions should be made for solving the problems that were found on the first stage. Implementation of policy â€" when all decisions that were made on the second stages, are provided into reality. Each of these phases allows the policy maker to see, revise and analyze if each and every stage was made right or wrong. Weak sides of policy cycle Apart from benefits, any policy cycle has its weak sides. First of all, its very hard to generate a decision when there are a lot of participants with different views. Its obviously that political leaders cannot be totally independent because they bring the politician party goals that are not always match with their own views. Sometimes debates between politician views can be so much intensive, that politicians are unable to finish the cycle with a clear decision. Needless to say that there are many people with different point of views are included into policy process, so they all may have different understanding of how to solve the problem. Of course this can slow down the process of making a decision. Thats why its also important to understand behavior and interaction of these different politicians, apart from stages. Another important thing is policy urgency, sometimes its quite important to make a decision very fast, without going through all stages of policy cycle. So, it means that the policy cycle is not a necessary thing for each and every situation.