Summary

In study session I you have learnt

• A system is a set of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole
• Policy can be defined as a definite course or method of action selected (by government, institution, group or individual) from among alternatives and in the light of given conditions to guide and, usually, to determine present and future decisions.
• Public policies are normally used when we are dealing with those policies for which governments are primarily responsible
• Health policy generally embraces courses of action that affect that set of institutions, organizations, services and funding arrangements that we have called the health care system.
• The four distinct ways in which public policies are perceived to affect individuals and organizations are: distributive, regulatory, self-regulatory and redistributive.
• The five key stages in the health policy-making process are: problem identification and agenda setting, policy formation, adoption, policy implementation and policy evaluation
• Politics means striving to share power or striving to influence the distribution of power, either among states or among groups within states
• The five elements which are taken into consideration in analysis of political process are:
• consensus, rule of law, competition, inclusion and good governance
• Decision can be defined as a choice made from two or more alternatives. Decision-making process is a set of steps that include identifying the problem, selecting an alternative and evaluating the decision's effectiveness.
• The models of decision-making, which will assist you when determining how you should engage the relevant decision-making include: the rational model, garbage can model, contingency model, organizational process model, incremental model and political bargaining model.
• Strategic decisions are defined as those concerned with deciding the objectives of an organization, the resources used to attain the objectives and policies governing acquisition, use and disposition of those resources.
• Operational decisions are concerned with ensuring that resources are used efficiently in the accomplishment of the organizational objective.