ABSTRACT
The most interesting contributions made by social scientists are those that attempt to unravel the dynamics of public policy-making. In terms of policy implementation analysis, discourse analysis might also help to explain some of the dynamics involved in the policy/action relationship. In the 1980s the government attempted to increase control over local revenue, increasing pressure through rate-capping and, later, council tax capping. The balance of power between local and central government became increasingly dynamic. The power a government has to ensure its set of beliefs is dominant in society is dependent on the power that it has over decision-making all the way down to the institutional level where its intentions are implemented. Developing this notion, to ensure that its policy and intention is implemented, government must influence organisations' decision-making processes. The way government asserts its political ideology within institutions is thus dependent on the way it manages compliance at the organisational level.
