Homework: Conducting a Cost-Benefit Analysis
It is relatively easy to develop alternative solutions for any identified problem. You do have to be careful about leaping into what appears to be an obvious solution. You need to determine which identified alternative best meets the needs and expectations of the community. In this homework, you will be identifying at least three potential alternatives to resolve the problem you identified in the first homework. There are a number of factors you need to consider in conducting a policy analysis: realistic options, a cost-benefit analysis, and objectivity.
Realistic Alternatives
At times, you may notice people suggesting an alternative, which everyone knows will be unacceptable. The alternative is often added simply to provide an option that can be easily rejected, with the intention of guiding the decision-making in a specific direction. This should be considered unethical behavior in a public administrator. There will always be diverse views on how to move forward to resolve a problem, based on differing values and perspectives on the issue. You have to try to be objective, providing an unbiased view of how the community wishes to move forward, being open to an approach you might not necessarily support on a personal level. Additionally, you should always include the status quo as one of the alternatives. You might find, at certain times and with certain issues, the status quo might be the best we can hope for at the moment, and therefore it should be considered. Even if we know the status quo may be unacceptable, including it provides a benchmark to use as a contrast and comparison with the proposed alternatives, providing insights into how alternatives might support a more desirable outcome.
Cost-benefit Approach
The classical cost-benefit process emerged from the field of micro-economics. It focuses narrowly on financial costs. It requires finding a means to assign a dollar value to each alternative, and the alternative with the best cost-benefit ratio (i.e., benefits are greater than costs) is selected. Over time, a macro-economic model developed, which included the consideration of non-financial metrics tied to perceptions, values, and other non-monetary measures. You will still try to find an objective means to capture this for assessment, and you may integrate financial metrics such as those used in a micro-economic model. Whatever approach you develop, you will be expected to find objective means to define, measure, and weigh alternatives to determine which one best supports mission success.
Objectivity
It is all too easy to find your personal values affecting your analysis and evaluation of alternatives. It is important you understand and control for your personal values when assessing alternatives, providing an unbiased analysis.
For this homework, provide a cost-benefit analysis of your proposed alternatives for addressing the problem you identified in the first homework. The problems and cost issues are identified in Information from Discussion 1 and Information from Discussion 2 in this attachment below. Read those to understand what is needed and conduct this homework.
Identify and analyze at least three potential alternatives for addressing the problem, providing insights into what specific actions might be taken by the organization to address aspects of the problem. Remember that one of the alternatives must be the status quo.
1. For each of the identified alternatives, provide a cost-benefit analysis that compares the alternatives to one another using either a microeconomic or macroeconomic model, or a combination of the two, evaluating each of the alternatives in terms of its ability to resolve aspects of the problem.
2. Analyze how each of the proposed alternatives will or will not serve the needs of diverse groups within the community, providing a discussion of how this should play into decision-making and the selection of an alternative to apply in a real-world situation.
3. Analyze how each of the identified alternatives would reflect ethical behavior on behalf of the public agency in the conduct of its duties to the community.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Attachment:- Information-from-Discussions.rar