Does Democracy Entail an Obligation to Make Rational Policy Decisions? The Muddling Through vs. Bounded Rationality Debate Through a Lockean and Madisonian Lens

Reed, Ryan; Curtis, Craig; Lovrich, Nicholas P.

doi:10.1080/10999922.2018.1518557

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The goal is to highlight values that counterbalance an initial inclination toward the reflexive, naturally gravitating self-interest of individuals. Additionally, this step of processing decision-making prevents the actor from ignoring a situation’s intensity, deters moral disengagement, and reduces habitual decision-making made in routine activities while introducing a rational thought process into what could be a reflexive decision (Reed et al, 2020). The decision-maker is forced to rely on the situation as it is presently and not rely on immediate responses to past situations (Bandura et al, 1996; Gunia et al, 2012).…”

Section: The Structure Function and Definition Of Morally Conscious D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The democratic processes of institutions create tensions between individuals’ moral autonomy and their engagement in habitual unconscious decision-making practices. The citizenry is to assume that public actors and organizations will notice the need for informed and conscious decision-making demanding far more due diligence of a public official than the traditional citizen, especially regarding major, impactful, and critical choices requiring a fair assessment (Reed et al, 2020). The multi-level complexity of this assumption poses unique challenges for public leadership as their diverse personal experiences, contexts, and interpersonal processes influence leadership roles, discretionary decisions, overwhelming statistics of professional burnout, and the reality that some public officials use their position and trust to pursue their own interests or to undermine the interests of others (Allison & Cecilione, 2008; Brady, 1983; Hassan, 2019; Witkowski, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even in the absence of formality, administrative ethics and moral psychology have been relied upon to inform the complexities of decisions, service delivery, and individual responsibility (Brady, 1983; Cooper, 2004; Stewart, 1985). As the field moved into new strains of scholarship derived from philosophical and social perspectives, influential thinkers including Chandler (1983) and Waldo (1980) built on social and philosophical perspectives to explore the moral emphasis on the administrator’s role being inseparable from the nature of the work, and to identify more than a dozen sources of obligation relevant to the conduct of administrators (Reed et al, 2020). Especially in the last four decades, the moral dimension of public administration has grown to highlight the central place of values in the normative determinations made, and the role of the moral responsibility of actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Redefining Morally Conscious Decision-Making for the Public Sector: A Theoretical Analysis

Brandt

Rodríguez

Nwakpuda

et al. 2022

Administration & Society

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This paper proposes a conceptual definition of morally conscious decision-making as “cognizant processing of an actor’s core values setting aside self-interest when presented with a dilemma.” Using moral phenomenology, Deweyan pragmatism, and piecing together previous works on decision-making, we develop a definitional framework that makes a case for specified and refined scopes of our understanding of morality and ethics in public administration. We then decompartmentalize this framework to demonstrate the validity, benefits, purpose, and consequences of decision-making that is morally conscious. We propose critical thinking and situational awareness as required skills for the application of the proposed framework. Ultimately, morally conscious decision-making is a way for public administration to better activate a response to growing demands for increased accountability and just leadership.

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Section: The Structure Function and Definition Of Morally Conscious D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Redefining Morally Conscious Decision-Making for the Public Sector: A Theoretical Analysis

Brandt

Rodríguez

Nwakpuda

et al. 2022

Administration & Society

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“…The term rational here refers to “a policy decision that is based on a systematic attempt to engage in probabilistic analysis of the most likely behavioral outcomes to be expected” (Reed et al, 2020 , p. 317). Numerous critics of Donald Trump argued that his presidential administration posed a threat to rationalism itself (Goodsell, 2019 ; Reed et al, 2020 ). Many Democrats like to think of their call for rational decision making in government as an inherent part of the founding ethos.…”

Section: Rationalism Collectivism and Compliance Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Partisan polarization, historical heritage, and public health: Exploring COVID‐19 outcomes

Curtis

Stillman

Remmel

et al. 2022

World Med & Health Policy

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When the COVID‐19 virus first arrived in the United States in early 2020, many epidemiologists and public health officers counseled for shutdowns and advised policymakers to prepare for a major pandemic. In 2020, though, US society was rife with major political and cultural divides. Some elected leaders promoted policies at odds with the experts, and many people refused to heed the public health‐based communications about the coming pandemic. Additionally, the capacity to respond to a pandemic was distributed in the country in a highly unequal fashion. This paper analyzes the noteworthy geopolitical patterns of COVID‐19 illnesses, subsequent demands on hospitals, and resulting deaths. This description is based on a snapshot of archival data gathered in the midst of the pandemic during late January and early February of 2021. Demographic data, indicators of political party support, indicators of citizen attitudes, and public health compliance behaviors are combined in a multivariate analysis to explain COVID‐19 outcomes at the local government (county) level. The analysis suggests strongly that regional political culture and local demographics played a substantial role in determining the severity of the public health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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“…The rational model is based on the principle of prudence, which highlights that policy formulation consists of making a choice among alternatives on reasonably qualified grounds (Reed, Curtis & Lovrich Jr. 2020). Since prudence aims 'to choose the one best option'; a policy is rational when it is the most efficient (Saxon & Snow, 2020).…”

Section: The Rational Model Of Policy Formulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated policy formulation processes in local governments: A case study in mid-western Uganda

Mwesigwa¹,

Bogere²,

Anastassova³

2021

jgas

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Purpose: This study set out to assess the level of policy formulation in Hoima district local government for effective service delivery in Uganda. Research methodology: A quantitative case study design was embraced, aiming at 30 local councillors and 60 technical officials. The real sample was 54 respondents. Data were gathered via a self-administered questionnaire and an interview guide. Numerical and non-numerical data were examined by way of descriptive statistics as well as thematic analysis. Results: Results suggest a moderate mean for policy formulation in Hoima as generated from all the five constructs namely; problem identification (µ=2.88; SD= 1.346), problem manifesto (µ=2.76; SD =1.347), policy agenda (µ=2.17; SD =1.268), policy debate (µ=2.58; SD =1.271) and policy decision (µ=2.20; SD =1.268). This was so because the overall mean was 2.52 and the overall SD was 1.300. Nevertheless, the numerous impediments confronted mainly at policy decision disrupted the process. Limitations: The study concentrated on one local government in Uganda and so the results may not be generalised to Uganda. Contribution: These results might be used as contributions for local governments in Uganda to evolve a guide on integrating policy formulation issues during orientation and or retooling local councillors and technical officials for better policy formulation processes. This article contributes to the budding understanding by underlining undertones in policy formulation so that local governments become more efficient in delivering services to the citizenry.

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Does Democracy Entail an Obligation to Make Rational Policy Decisions? The Muddling Through vs. Bounded Rationality Debate Through a Lockean and Madisonian Lens

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Redefining Morally Conscious Decision-Making for the Public Sector: A Theoretical Analysis

Redefining Morally Conscious Decision-Making for the Public Sector: A Theoretical Analysis

Partisan polarization, historical heritage, and public health: Exploring COVID‐19 outcomes

Integrated policy formulation processes in local governments: A case study in mid-western Uganda

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