Bpa/303

Theories Paper

BPA/303

December 6, 2010

Theories Paper

Policy implementation represents the stage where government executes an adopted policy as specified by legislation or policy action (Theodoulou & Kofinis, 2004). Until policies are implemented, no insight can be derived as to what effects they may have on a target population or for the society, or whether the policy can be judged a success or failure (Theodoulou & Kofinis, 2004). Looking ahead this paper will discuss the three major theories of implementation. The most efficient strategy will be determined on how well the theory can be used to plan execution. The paper will also discuss the theorists associated with these theories and their roll and involvement with these theories of implementation.

Top-Down Approach

The top-down approach is an approach that considers implementation to be a function of the government decision, government management and oversight, and the resulting execution by the bureaucracy (Theodoulou & Kofinis, 2004). Top-down approaches use some defined metric to assign total costs for a system to individual services (Olsson, 2011). Theorists associated with the top-down approach include Meter and Van Horn who recognize different elements and dynamics. Some of the advantages include delayed returns on investments and a lower impact to the overall company. The top-down method is easy and direct, and the easiest to put into use.

Bottom-Up Approach

The bottom-up approach focuses on the critical role played by the various actors specifically responsible for or able to influence implementation (Theodoulou & Kofinis, 2004). The bottom-up approach assesses the amount of each resource that is used to produce an individual service and assigns costs accordingly to generate aggregate costs for a system (Olsson, 2011). Theorists associated with the bottom-down approach include Richard Elmore who emphasizes the importance of the network of actors directly responsible for...