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April 4th, 2008: the YCI Policy Action team and the importance of public policy
As Canadian citizens, we are all influenced by political decisions and the activities of our government. Public policy is a written plan of action created by national governments intended to guide decision making actions to produce logical and advantageous outcomes. Based on changing popular public opinion on social, moral, and economic values, public policy influences the perception and application of government legislation.
In the public sector, police assures various corporations and government organizations will follow rules that will equally benefit the employers, employees and the general public. Public policy will guarantee organizations and corporations are keeping their practices and procedures up to a commonly agreed upon standard and therefore eliminating the chance of things such as discrimination and workplace harassment.
In the private sector, policy provides a more likely chance for equity and equality of opportunity for those who are employed by organizations running the private sectors. Policy facilitates the government’s ability to monitor organizations commitment to their procedures and attainment of common goals. It also enables employees and employers to understand their rights, as well as where they may turn to should those rights be taken away.
In the nonprofit sector, policy creates accountability and enables relationships with businesses, government and local organizations. As nonprofit organizations rely on funding and sponsorships, a strong relationship based on transparency and accountability is integral. Just like in the private sector, policies and procedures in the nonprofit sector ensure members of the organization are working toward a shared objective, using agreed-upon practices and proven methods of evaluation. The focus on partnership, teambuilding and community necessitates strong policy in the nonprofit sector.
Policy affects Canadians differently, depending upon the scope of the domain to which it applies. That domain, in turn, is determined by the entity enacting the policy. The most wide-reaching policy is that adopted by the federal government, which has jurisdiction over all Canadian residents. While some of its policies may affect individuals directly, the effects of other policies are filtered down through at least another level of government. In the end, however, critical aspects of our lives such as safety, healthcare and education are fundamentally shaped by the constraints and incentives that stem from government policies. The policies of corporations are theoretically of narrower influence than those of government but in practice they tend to have effects of comparable magnitude because our society is so thoroughly intertwined with the products and services produced by these corporations.
On a micro level, policy provides Canadians with guidelines for acceptable behavior, whether within the public, private or nonprofit sector. Individuals thus know what is expected of them, and are aware of their rights and responsibilities within an organization. Policy also allows organizations to run effectively, with positions created to work together instead of overlapping duties. Most importantly, though, policy ensures all individuals are dealt with fairly and by equal standards. The micro level of policy is focused on creating an efficient, consistent and unbiased environment for individuals within public, private and nonprofit organizations.
By examining the impacts of decision making of policy in public, private, and non-profit sector one can see that Canadians are affected by public policy on a broad, micro and macro level. It can be concluded that regardless of what position one may identify oneself with, the main focus is for policy to provide partnership and teambuilding skills along with a sense of a community.
Written by the Policy Action Team, April 2008
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