TOPIC 6 Introduction to Planning and Decision Making for Law Enforcement [5 Lectures]

7/29/2019 TOPIC 6 Introduction to Planning and Decision Making for Law Enforcement [5 Lectures]

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LE 101: Public Administration and Law Enforcement R.S. Damian +255713428318

TOPIC 6: INTRODUCTION TO PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING FORLAW ENFORCEMENT [2 LECTURES]

Respicius Shumbusho DamianPlanning and Decision-Making: Conceptual RelationshipWhat is planning?A Plan Is a guide of action to be taken in the future. It is a statement of the future path that

draws from the current realities. A plan can also be an unverified propositions about thefuture, but must be based on the past successes and failures. It contains SWOTelements.

Planning: in formal organizations may be defined as a managerial/administrative functionthat is concerned with establishing goals and state theways and means by whichthese goals are to be attained. Therefore planning is taken as the foundation for futureactivities of modern organizations be they public or private. Alternatively, in simple

language; planning is deciding in advance, what is to be done or thinking beforedoing.

Who does Planning?An individual, family, organization, government etc

Importance of planningPlanning is a managerial tool; it is used to forecast the future problems and selecting solutions

that are most relevant. It is used as a tool for allocating scarce resources. It is used as adeterminant factor for effectiveness of management. Planning is used as a tool for

distribution of income and ensuring economic growth. It is also a tool for maximizingefficiency in organizations.

What is Decision MakingDecision Making: is a conscious process that involves choosing between the existing

alternatives. Decision-making is the process of identifying a set of feasible alternativesand choosing a course of action from them. It means taking the best, but less costlyalternative. Commonly, in making decisions, an effective decision maker takes a decisionthat is cost effective. It is commonly said that failure to plan is planning for failure.

Relationship between Planning and Decision MakingThe two are closely related since the planner must take decisions at every stage of planning.

Both planning and decision-making involve choice (however limited it may be- e.g. insituations where you decide not to decide). At a given level of planning or decision-making there must be a decision. Therefore, scholars argue that non-decision differsfrom indecision because it is itself a decision. Indecision means that there is nodecision to decide, but non-decision means that the decision has been not to decide. Can

you see difference between the two? Find out examples .Page 1 of 6


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The process of planning includes a series of interconnected decisions. Both planning anddecision is making involve SWOT calculation that helps the participants to take the bestpath. Both of the processes involve collection and analysis of information related to thepast, present, and future (forecasting) as well as the options available. The stagesinvolved in either of the processes are the same and in most cases apply similar theoriesand models.

Decision making differs from planning in the sense that decision making has a narrow scopewhile planning has a wider scope. While decision-making means taking a course ofaction from alternatives, planning is a process of taking future course of action. Planninggoes an extra mail in making decisions; as the selected course of action must be clarified

by identifying the strategies and minor policies that would make the plan successful. Allplanning processes involve decision-making, but not all decision-making processes

involve planning.

6.2. Public Decision Making and Planning as Processes, Strategic OrientationThe Process of PlanningThe process of planning is political in the sense that it involves power and influence. Sometimes,

the acceptability of a path priority to achieve certain objective may not be technical. Itmay only depend on the capacity of planners to obtain information, analyze it, andconvince the others that a certain alternative would be the best (rationally, cost, etc).Planning is a continuous or cyclic process. The end of one plan is the beginning ofanother plan. The process of planning has stages at which the planner has to ask

himself/herself several questions that lead him/her into making a choice (decision).

Both decision-making and planning as processes have stages in which the stagesinterdependently support each other. Defects at one stage may affect the other stage.

Stage 1: Identification of the Problem: collect information, analyze it, define theproblem, and clarify it. Set the goals and identify related objectives (specific). Theobjectives that the plan wants to achieve must be identified. They must be as SMART aspossible

Stage 2: Selecting the Alternative Options: Enlist the options that would be taken tosolve the problem

Stage 3: Choosing the best option: the best option must be the most effective, feasible,(andseemingly legitimate-though not all options taken might be legitimate)

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Decision Making Stages: (1) Defining the problem (2) Developing alternatives (3) Evaluate

the alternatives (4) Make a decision (5) Implement a decision (6) Evaluate a decision-Then start

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Stage 4: Set the Plan: means pulling together all the components into a logical order in theway that each component support the other. For example, the objective supports theoutput-outcome; identify the cost versus the result, enlisting the barriers, selectimplementation strategies and set timeframes.

Stage 5: Implementation of the Plan: convert the plan into activities that are aimed atachieving the identified outputs and outcomes. Implementation needs availability ofresources and managerial support as the implementers is not always part of theplanning process).

Stage 6: Monitoring and Evaluation: monitoring means making day to-day follow upaimed at making sure that implementation match with the processes andstandards that were identified during planning. The aim of monitoring is to providenecessary support to implementers. Evaluation on the other hand, is related to makinginformed assessment of the plan implementation in relation to its outputs andoutcomes.

Strategic PlanningStrategic planning is defined as long-range planning that focuses on the entire organization.

Strategic planning seeks to achieve strategic alignment between different (main andminor) plans and decisions in organizations. Unlike other types of planning such asshort term (tactical planning) and contingent planning, involves executive directors andpresidents, leaders of the organizations at higher level who must define the direction ofthe organization and the rest of the plans need to establish mutual support to thecorporate executive plans. It is a long term planning 3 to 5 years. The nature of strategicplanning is to develop strategies for achieving your objectives, which must all

support the goal,vision, and mission of the organization.

Vision= Answers the questions why does the organization/institution exists? What it does?For whom one? Where it wants to go? It is just like an impressive picture of where theorganization wants to go in the future-it is inspirational in nature.

Mission= Answers the questions How to get to that point? Why we believe we must getthere? What means will make us reach the dreamt success. The vision energizes, whilethe mission brings energy and shown the way thereon.

Requirements of Strategic Planning: all the plans should reflect the goal and vision ofthe organization. The strategic objectives must be linked with the corporate goals and thevision. Objectives should be SMART and each objective should have clear indicators formeasuring both the outputs and outcomes. Planning must be done participatory andline managers should be empowered as part of planners. The results should be reviewedcontinuously and improvement strategies be supported.

Summary: plans can therefore be categorized in an overlapping way into contingent plans,short term (tactical plans), long-term plans, and strategic plans.

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6.3. The basic models of Public planning/decision making (rationalcomprehensive,incremental, mixed scanning)

Answers that the models attempt to provide: how capable are decision makers? Isinformation about options available? What are the best plans/decisions?.

(a) The Rational Comprehensive ModelAssumptions: Development is clearly predictable, information is cheap, and the policy

maker is equipped with capacity and knowledge to collect information and analyze allthe alternatives. Thus, there is a clear cut between the best and the rest of the options asalternatives can be ranked from the best to the least. There is also a clear cut betweenrational calculation of decision makers and values and beliefs. It is therefore possible(and best) to have new plans which are rational.

(b) Incremental ModelAssumptions: It tries to address weakness of the rational comprehensive model and focuses on

how planners and decision makers behave in actual planning contexts. Goals andobjectives selection is intertwined with scientific analysis of the problem (not separate).Information is highly costly and decision makers capacity to obtain all the availableinformation and analyze all the available alternatives is limited (some alternatives are notknown). Therefore, decision makers deal with alternatives at hand or what they know.The problems that confront a decision maker are constantly redefined and thus means-ends-means are continuously revisited to improve plans. Therefore, planners make

marginal adjustments on existing plans rather than making completely new plans.

(c) Mixed Scanning Model

Amitai Etzioni (1967), a sociologist found fault s in both rational comprehensive andincremental models. He criticized rationalists as Utopian because actors cannotcommand the resources and capabilities required by rationalist decision makers. He alsocriticized instrumentalists for overlooking innovations and empirical fundamentaldecisions on which incrementing build. He developed a model called mixed scanningthat assumes that plans undergo both fundamental and incremental decisions.Therefore, both broad based analysis and in-depth analysis may be useful in planningand decision-making. He argued that planners are just like chess players; they dont takelong to examine all the opportunities, they think one or two steps a head, running fromtrouble or toward a seeming opportunity and thus divide their time deciding betweenchoosing fundamental approach (attack) or develop force (king ) since the time forcompleting the game is limited. This mixed scanning in the policy and planning arenamay take place at different stages including choosing the strategy, sub strategy, andchoosing an alternative.

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Given the nature of planning environments, the MSM needs planners to use focused trial errorplanning, to be slowly and go tentative, to procrastinate if there is likelihood ofuncertainty, to stagger their decisions, fractionize decisions if there are uncertainty, tohedge their bet, and also be ready to reverse their decisions.

Given the context of LEAs, which of the models is the most useful in decision making andplanning among LEAs? Those who believe that LEAs can be transformed abruptly, they

would rather go for rational comprehensive model while those who believe that it needsgradual transformation would go for incremental model. Today LEAs need to bedynamic , flexible, innovative, and seemingly undergo fundamental transformations.However, there are established traditional norms related to LEAs roles that requireLEAs to live preparedly. In this sense, LEAs would always continue planning andmaking decisions by building on previous decisions. Decision-making and planningenvironments in LEAs are characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and shortage of

information that would provide basis for reaching the most rational decisions.Sometimes, owing to the planning contexts of LEAs, planning would seek to be rational,but continue to be practically tactical, and contingent.

6.4: Barriers to Planning and Decision Making in the Context ofLaw Enforcement

The environment of LEAs and the nature of their functions generally affect it.In most of theLEAs, organizational purposes are clear, but the problem comes on the side of thedeveloping measurable objectives and indicators to assess the extent to which LEAs andindividuals should be regarded as having attained their performance goals in

implementing plans. Public organizations, particularly LEAs aspire to move on withchanges happening in the existing knowledge and practices of management, but are notas dynamic as market firms are. So, by using the factors that determine success ofplanning, students may be able to identify what constrains planning in organizations oftheir choice.

Successful planning depend on several factors: these include

Knowledge: especially concerned with linking the strategies selected withfuture results (think of stopping road accidents through prohibiting nightdriving).

Information availability (research) that reduces uncertainty

Power: the possibility of changing the behavior of the other (sometimes thecapacity to impose hard decisions)-National IDs for instance, economicrecovery through compulsory farm work in rural areas.

Availability of resources (human, physical, financial): Especially when itcomes to implementation stage.

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Time: is especially needed so as to collect information, analyze it, goingthrough options, and making informed choice

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TOPIC 6 Introduction to Planning and Decision Making for Law Enforcement [5 Lectures]