This document discusses different approaches to decision making in public administration. It describes rational, bargaining, participative, and public choice approaches. The rational approach aims for efficiency and uses a defined process. The bargaining approach views decision making as involving negotiation and compromise. The participative approach incorporates input from those affected by decisions. Public choice theory argues that officials act in self-interest. Each approach has strengths but also limitations, and no single approach can adequately address the complex realities of political decision making.

1. Decision Making
(Donald F. Kettl, 2012, The Politics of Administrative Process,
5th Edition, SAGE: London)
p317-356
Yogi Suwarno

2. Basic Problems
• Information
– Common knowledge, instinct and bias can drive the most
complex of decisions, but public administrators are hired for
their bias but for their expertise
– Dilemma of good information i.e. (1) difficulties to uncover and
channel useful information to relevant decision-makers and (2)
knowledge brings power
– Neutral competence vs political accountability
• Values
– Decision making is inherently subjective
– It includes questions, weighs preferences, value-laden process
– The need of political support from either formal institutions (top
level of executive, congress etc.) or public

3. Approaches
• Rational Approach
• Bargaining Approach
• Participative decision making Approach
• Public choice Approach

4. #1 Rational decision making
• Efficiency is the highest value
• Goals of any activity is to get the biggest
return for any investment, to get the most
bang for the buck
• Rests on system theory: input-process-output
• Basic steps (define goals, identify alternatives,
calculate consequences, decide, and begin
again)

5. #2 Bargaining
• Different view of rationality
• Decision making involves conflict, negotiation,
persuasion and individuals
• Incrementalism (Lindblom), to conduct limited
analysis and to bargain over decision to attract
political support

6. Graham Allison
on the Cuban Missile crisis
• Model I
Decision making guided by national position and
interests
• Model II
Organisational processes, simply an SOP of
bureaucracies on both sides
• Model III
Bureaucratic politics perspective, decision as a resultant
of various bargaining games among players in the
national government

7. #3 Participative Decision Making
• Calls at the most general level of participation by
those who will be affected by the decision
• Those who entitled to participate
– The employees of the organisation making the
decision
– The persons whom organisation serves or regulates
(the clientele)
– The taxpayer whose pocketbooks the decision will
affect
– The whole public or the voting public of the country
• NIMBY phenomenon

8. Public Choice
• Public choice theory argues that public
officials are self-interested, which leads them
to avoid risk and to promote their careers, by
enlarging their programmes and increasing
their budget
• Privatisation, public functions to be contracted
out to the private sector

9. Approaches to Decision Making
Approach Information Values
Rational Collect comprehensive
information to maximize
rationality
Assumed
Bargaining Limited Struggled over
Participative Acquired through those affected
by decision
Focus on clients’ values
Public choice Use self-policing forces of the
market
Use self-interest of
players

10. Problems and Limitations
• Each approach is single-mindedly focused, not
adequate for complex reality of the political
world
• Each approach has its own virtues and
idiosyncratic problems
• Shared limitations:
– Uncertainty, due to complexity of environment
– Information pathologies, with regard to bureaucracy
structure
– Crisis, upsetting the normal decision making and
increase the difficulty of many potential strategies