US Policy-Making Process Analysis

This brings me to the third step of the U.S. policy making process, the step of adopting a solution. Formulated policies must be adopted by relevant bodies of the government in order to be put into effect. This can be done different ways in the U.S. but more times than not it’s done by Congress voting on and accepting a policy in order for it to be adopted. Another way a policy can be adopted is via executive order by the current president. These policies can range from nation altering orders, for example John F. Kennedy’s executive order that called for Affirmative Action. This executive order included a provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment,

Or executive orders can be something not very noticeable, for example Barack Obama’s executive order to establish a community solutions council. But just like the previous steps, the adoption stage have certain factors that can speed up, slow down, or completely halt this step. Some of same issues that occurred in the first couple steps may also be an issue in the adoption stage as well. For instance, the media can affect how fast or slow a policy solution is adopted and can even remove it as a solution all together by either supporting or undermining the importance and effectiveness of a policy once it is implemented. Also once a policy is accepted and adopted by Congress, it isn’t the end of the road for that policy. As being adopted is only half the battle of becoming legitimate, the policy must also be

If a nation is constantly passing laws that are not helping the people, they may become untrustworthy of the government which may lead to a stand-off between the government and its citizens. This is brings us to the last step of the policy making process, evaluation. The evaluation step talks about the efforts by the government to determine whether the policy was effective, and why or why not. This entails what a policy is accomplishing, is it achieving its goals, and if it has other consequences. As stated before, an ineffective policy may lead to unintended consequences or even the removal of the policy. There are several ways a policy can be evaluated. One way it can be done is by obtaining feedback from those affected by the policy. I believe this is the best way to determine if a policy is effective or not because the ones affected by this policy typically know the most about the pros and cons of said policy. For example, the best way to determine if the new abortion policy is effective is to ask women since they are the ones whose bodies it is affecting. Asking old white men to determine if a policy for women and their body is not the best course of action. Another way to evaluate a policy is by using scientific research and data analysis. I believe this is a good strategy to evaluate a policy, but sometimes the data doesn’t tell the whole story and can also be manipulated