Leadership in Context

PSCI 2106 Introduction to Public Policy Analysis

An introduction to policymaking processes and general policy issues in American government were the primary points of focus in this course. I took this course with hopes of learning basic information about the policy process in the United States with real-world examples I'd be able to reference. After coming to have a general understanding of how the system works, current events were used as real-time policy issues, many of which changed over the course of the semester. This class was very useful in terms of getting a glimpse at the way leadership plays out on national, state and local levels--something I find value in understanding as an educated citizen.

This course made it very clear just how complex organizations, governments, and other groups are. While the class was oriented in political science, we were able to explore the incredible amount of community interaction and involvement related to public policy. Unpacking the policy-making process took virtually the entire semester, where we identified the various steps in policy-making as a whole and proceeded to analyze the sorts of policy actors involved for each step. This method of understanding public policy was useful in that it showed the many people involved in decisions that are (or, are not) made. With this said, I acknowledge that while it may be easy to attribute a policy decision or any other decision made by someone "higher up", what actually plays out often is not the result of a single person. At the same time, decisions that are widely praised ought to be understood as usually the result of a variety of people's hard work. The decisions we studied in this course were rooted in American policy and thus are reflective of a particular area of the world, where democracy and civic engagement are of extreme importance. The unique combination of ideas, backgrounds, and experiences that exist in a democratic society certainly influence what actions are taken; we must take this wider context into consideration when offering both positive and negative critiques. While the United States has an executive government branch, the voices of the American people provide an important understanding and basis for policy in action. I am hopeful that I may use this understanding of public policy in the United States in my leadership, prioritizing the voices of constituents and acknowledging the complexity of organizations.