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Having given an introduction to Policy in an earlier article, it may appear rather incongruous to go back to basics about the concept and praxis of the term. It is not as an afterthought that this sequence in presentation has been made. Deliberately, in that article the hierarchy within which policy is undertaken was explained to place the subject in proper perspective because very often it is discussed without regard to the context, very much in a disembodied manner. Having stressed the importance of policy issues with the relevant perspective in public discourse it now behoves to clarify the oft-used term more explicitly in a discrete manner comparing it with seemingly similar terms.
The term 'policy' is widely used both in private and publicly, creating confusion. Thus when a person says that it is his/her policy to be honest, the term takes on a popular usage at private level. It has an overtone of morality or ethics over the behaviour and conduct of a particular person. Since the attitude of the person (adopting an honest policy) does not affect many, it does not qualify to be discussed in any public discourse. It is important, that citizens are honest in their dealings with each other but it is not a public policy matter.
Similarly, it may be the policy of a corporate body to be fair to consumers or to be gender-sensitive in regard to recruitment of employees. Since corporate bodies have the clear purpose of making profits, the only question that is relevant for them is to decide which way they might choose to achieve this goal. This makes the statement of 'policy' superficial and unnecessary. Very often such declarations are made for public relations purposes. Also such statements are only a description of intent and not of actual practice.
A public policy, i.e., of the government, is not only a declaration of intent. It is more importantly, a blueprint for concrete actions. Another important character of a public policy is its goal of promoting the greatest good of the greatest number. This Benthamian principle of utilitarianism underlies all public policy. In some cases the 'promotion of good' may be for a target group, i.e., the poor, women or a tribal community but in that case also the majoritarian goal is kept in view as a guiding principle.
The promotion of greatest good for the greatest number cannot be achieved in the short-term. Relief measures undertaken in the wake of natural disasters do not qualify as a public policy as these do not benefit the recipients permanently. Changing the status quo in respect of public welfare depends on sustained efforts made over the medium to long-term. This time-frame is an important aspect of policy, just as the goal of changing status qua is for promotion of the greatest good.
Very often policy is used interchangeably with 'decisions'. In the government, decisions are made almost on daily basis. These do not constitute policy. For normal routine activities myriads of decisions are made by different agencies within the government. These are not policies, firstly, because they are not made by policymakers through the formal procedure and secondly, these are short-term in nature. For example, decisions may be taken about assignment of tasks to staff or for decentralised implementation of an order received from above. But decisions are not totally foreign to policy. Decisions are made by departments and agencies within the government about the manner in which a policy adopted by higher authorities is to be implemented. Decisions in this context become an integral part of policy.
There are three central elements in the way the term 'policy' is used in the public domain. First of all, policy rests on authority. To speak of something as 'policy' implies that it has the endorsement of authorised decision makers. It is the authority which legitimises a 'policy' and the authority may be parliament (in case of new laws) or the cabinet which is authorised to make policies without requiring new laws. To differentiate between cabinet and ministries with regard to policy making it can be said that policies made by a ministry do not usually cut across the jurisdictions of other ministries and as such is not a policy in the strict sense. But policies like budget by the ministry of finance or monetary policy formulated by the central bank affects every ministry and almost every citizen. These are important examples of policy making but there are many policies made by ministries which are not so comprehensive. Very often a public policy involves the participation of several ministries in addition to the lead ministry. A ministry within a government is authorised to make policies of both kinds.
The second attribute of policy is that it implies expertise. Policy is seen as a process of bringing the power of a ministry (ministries in some cases) to bear on a particular problem area. This implies that policy requires knowledge, both of the problem area and of the actions to be taken to deal with it. Such expertise may be available within a ministry, but where it is inadequate, outsiders may be appointed as consultants. This is one way of making policies more broad-based and participatory. Consultation with interest groups, e.g., trade bodies, before budget preparation by a ministry of finance, is another way of broadening the expertise of a ministry. A ministry may not be obliged to accept all the suggestions made by interest groups but the practice makes policy process more transparent.
Finally, policy is concerned with order. Policy implies system and consistency. Policy decisions cannot be arbitrary or capricious. It is governed by a known procedure of universal application. In this way policy sets limits on the behaviour of bureaucracy, making it accountable to superior authority. At the same time, use of established procedure frees bureaucracy from the need to make choices. And it has the additional advantage of drawing a range of activities into a coherent common framework.
To conclude, public policy should be understood not simply in terms of officially proclaimed goals, an impression that the first article on the subject may have given, but in terms of the process developed under proper authority (both in-house and external) in an ordered manner.