Question

List and explain three ways in which rules, laws or expectations make public policy tools used to build Canada’s automotive manufacturing industry have changed. Explain how each of those changes make it more difficult for Canadian policy makers to influence investment decisions by global automakers.

Answer 1

1] The stages of policy analysis are as follows :

Verify, detail and define the problem : - The first stage is to identify and specify the problem statement for which policy is to be designed.
Establish evaluation criteria : After the problem has been identified, a set of criterias are established which will be used to evaluate if the policy is able to resolve the problem. The criterias can be derived directly from the problem statement or from the opinions of the stakeholders or policy makers.
Identify alternative policies : After the problem identification and establishing evaluation criteria, a set of various policies are identified that can be used. This can be done by research analysis and experiments, through brainstorming among members or by writing scenarios.
Evaluate alternative policies : This stage is most important one since each of the alternative policies is evaluated to select the best option. The evaluation and analysis is done by using either quantitive or qualitative methods as per the nature of the topic.
Select among the alternative policies : After analyzing each alternative, the most suitable one is selected and the action plan for implementation of policy is initiated.
Monitor policy outcomes : The implemented policy is continously monitored for its effectiveness with respect to the problem and goal defined.
2] Difference between proximate and root causes :

Proximate cause is an event or factor that is closest to the consequence or immediately responsible for causing an effect. Root cause is a more deeper factor that may have eventually led to the proximate cause. It is the actual factor responsible for the event occured. Resolving a proximate cause provides temporary solution and there are chances of re-occurence of the problem and hence, identifying and resolving the root cause is most important.

For example, consider a man meets with an accident after getting hit by a car. The proximate cause for the accident is hitting by the car. But the driver of the car may have lost control over car due to failure in its brake system and hence couldn't stop the car at right time to avoid the accident. Thus, the failure of brakes is the root cause for causing an accident.

3] While framing the policy, the issue is first identified and the problem is clearly defined. The possible causes for the problem are established and as per the type of cause whether proximate or root cause, the policy alternatives are identified. For a proximate cause, the policy framing will require providing only a temporary solution so as to resolve the immediate cause. The evaluation criteria will be to check if the immediate cause is eliminated.

While for a root cause, first in-depth analysis of the problem will be done to find out the root cause of the problem. The policy alternatives will be identified wth an objective of providing a permanent soution by eliminating the ultimate cause of the problem. The evaluation criteria will be to check if all the possible causes including the root cause have been resolved or not. The measurement techniques used can be quantitative or qualitative depending on the topic selected.

4] Problem Analysis :

Problem analysis is the process of gathering and analyzing the information required to identify the root cause of a problem and understanding how the problem emerged. In this process, the topic of analysis is verified, the problems related to the topic are identified, from this the key problems are shortlisted. After problems are identified, analysis is conducted to establish causes of the problem. Various techniques can be used for establishing causes such as Root Cause Analysis, Cause & Effect Trail, Critical Incidence Analysis, Five Whys, Fishbone Analysis, etc. The analysis is conducted with an objective to identify the root cause of the problem and once the causes are established, the possible solution is identified.

Literature review is a report that contains evaluative information found in literature and which is related to the topic of study selected. This report can help in problem analysis by providing information about existing findings or research already done on the topic selected. This can give a base and direction to identify the problems and its possible causes easily.