XSIQ
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Business Management - Corporate Management - Organisational elements and
the role of management - Policy development - Policy development
continued

Policy development continued

The development of a specific policy will normally follow a number of
stages. These include:

* establishing the precise need for a written statement concerning a
specific area of organisational operations because certain problems have
arisen within the organisation or are impacting upon the organisation from
the external environment

* researching the specific issue area which includes obtaining as much
information as possible from within and from outside the organisation and,
consulting all stakeholders of the organisation (in some cases, external
consultants are outsourced to carry out this research and even prepare a
draft policy) as to their opinions about the issue area

* drafting a policy by a committee, an external consultant or a
management team, with or without employee representatives, delegated to
perform the task and then distributing the draft policy for comment

* reviewing comments and altering the draft policy where appropriate

* passing the policy on to senior management for approval and for setting
a date for implementation of the policy

* distributing the policy to all interested parties and holding
information sessions where appropriate to educate employees and other
interested stakeholders about the policy to be implemented

A policy will normally contain detail related to:

* the objective(s) of the policy

* the expected outcome(s) and the level or standard of achievement
desired

* the timeframe within which the policy is to be implemented and assessed

* the method(s) of evaluation to be employed by the organisation

* the activities that must be carried out, by both management and
employees, to implement the policy

In addition, procedures relating to how a specific policy is to be carried
out or implemented will also need to be written down. Procedures involve a
written or an unwritten statement or understanding of what must be done in
any particular situation, that is, the essential mechanics of the task. It
involves a step-by-step account of what is to be done by employees and/or
management when a specific task has to be completed or a specific decision
has to be made.

Management is largely responsible for establishing the policies and
procedures of the organisation and of communicating these to all employees
and other interested stakeholders of the organisation. Consultation between
management and employees should take place before implementing these
policies and procedures to ensure that they can be both effectively and
efficiently carried out. In many organisations today, however, where
employee empowerment is in place, employees or groups of employees may
provide much of the impetus for policy development and implementation.

The various policies of the organisation may be grouped together in a
policy manual. This will become a ready reference for all managers to be
referred to when the need arises in regard to how to handle certain
procedures or tasks.

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