Scope of Public Policy:

On the issue of scope, it is hard to imagine any restriction on the boundaries of public policy. Do health laws and regulations affect people's life? So does the environment. oreign policy can trigger a war? !ar can affect economy of the nation or health of a soldier? "ny action or non#action of government, which effect public in general or a segment of a society can be under the $urisdiction of public policy. %et us ta&e a soft angle' a humanistic and philosophical approach to envision public policy. (t is a process to transform public whishes and needs into reality. (n practical terms, it represents a process to prioriti)e the allocation of scare resources, according to the need of people. *he term policy by itself refers to a purpose course of action, in a cohesive manner. *he policy is used as a tool to find a solution to a problem of public interest or change the undesired and unacceptable conditions perceived by the public. (t might be through the intervention of governmental action or non#action' still it is a +public policy+. Policyma&ers have an edge to +pic& and choose+ among the conflicting and competing values and, force of law to impose and decide which values should be prevailed. Public policy often has to deal with competing values of a society and at a same time conflicting views on fundamental human values. "ny policy enforcement can change the social fabric of the society. *herefore, it is critical to ac,uire the s&ills to understand the policyma&ing process and e-pertise to analy)e the possible alternates, course of actions and finally the way government implements its policy decisions. *he implementation phase which reflects the e-ecution and steering to achieve an outcome of a specific policy, might e-pands the definition of public policy from +who gets what and why+ to +how+, an ongoing mechanism to deliver services, in addition to oversight and evaluation of government's actions. Public demand of government's intervention can be at any level' local, state or federal, depending on the nature of social issues. !hatever the level of government's action is, it might affect all the members of a society or partial segment of the society or might alter the individual's behavior.

Some laws governs personal conduct, i.e. from where to cross the busy traffic road, or wal& on sidewal&. (n addition, some of the laws impact the nations across the world, .ovement for restoration of democracy in Pa&istan or /a$$ policy or war on terror. rom speed limit on public roads to how much water is needed to flush a toilet, financial allocation to educate a community, budget to defend the country, how carbon footprint reduction is re,uired to save the environment' are all under the domain of public policy.