Developing policies and procedures for strategy implementation

Unit 9: Designing An Implementation Strategy

Unit 10 Seminar

Management Policy and Strategy

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UNIT OUTCOMES

Explain how policies affect the performance of an organization.
Illustrate the connection between policies that provide safeguards and policies that encourage innovation.
Design a policy manual to facilitate strategy implementation.
Compose policies that align all levels of the business strategy hierarchy to facilitate a seamless implementation plan.
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UNIT SUMMARY

The cornerstone of a sound strategy is the policy and procedures that guide and enforce its implementation and maintenance over a duration of time. In this unit, you will explain how policies affect the performance of an organization. You will identify and illustrate the connection between policies that provide safeguards for the strategy, and those policies that encourage innovation. Also, you will consider the significance of ethics in the practice of strategic management in the design of a policy manual that facilitates strategy implementation. Your policy manual should align all levels of the business strategy hierarchy to facilitate a seamless implementation plan for your strategies.
DISCUSSION

Ungraded Team Discussion
LEARNING ACTIVITY

Capsim Simulation
PowerPoint Presentation on Report #6
Verbal Narration
Elaborated on the successes and failures of each department in detail and gave strategic direction to each department manager.
ASSIGNMENT

Develop a professionally formatted policy manual to support your Capsim Core simulation company’s chosen department (Research and Development, Marketing, Production, or Finance) strategy and implementation plan.
It is up to you to decide what policies and procedures are needed to support and enforce your Capsim Core simulation company strategy and implementation plan. At minimum, you should compose five policies to help support and enforce your strategy and implementation plan.
Review Chapter 6 in “Writing Exceptional Policies and Procedures” by Page (2009), and Chapter 6 in “How to Develop Essential HR Policies and Procedures” by McConnell (2005) found in the library. Each Policy you compose should contain components such as the following. Be thorough and detailed in the composition of your policy manual.
Purpose
Persons Affected (Scope)
Policy Statement
Responsibilities
Procedures
Forms
References
Document Approvals
Explain how your policies affect the performance of the organization.
In the overview section your policy manual, illustrate the connection between policies that provide safeguards and policies that encourage innovation in relation to the strategy and implementation plan goals and objectives.
Compose policies that align all levels of the business strategy hierarchy to facilitate a seamless implementation plan. Ensure that the purpose, scope, policies, and procedures are aligned with the goals and objectives of each level of strategy.
Use a minimum of three peer-reviewed research resources to substantiate your strategic decision-making.
Your policies should be written using “Active” voice.
Your grammar and spelling must be perfect in a policy manual.
How policies affect the performance of an organization.

Policies are important in a workplace as it helps reinforce and clarify the standards expected of employees and help employers manage staff more effectively as it defines what is acceptable and unacceptable in the workplace.
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Written policies and procedures should be at the heart of every organization.
While it is not currently required by law that private companies to adhere to written policies and procedures , it is certainly in the best interest of all companies, regardless of their size, to have formal, documented policies and procedures and to periodically verify that they are operating effectively.
When an organization has written policies that address potential sources of risk and require employees to know them, one creates awareness of the need for risk management.
It is best to ensure that employees comply with company policies intended to minimize risk.
Policies and procedures also provide clarity to the reader when dealing with accountability issues or activities that are of critical importance to the company, such as, health and safety, legal liabilities, regulatory requirements or issues that have serious consequences.
Photo by Ty Williams on Unsplash

Problem

Definition

Policies

and

Methods of

Analysis

Stake-

holders/

Politics

History of the Issue

Policy Formulation

“What can we do?”

Policy Implementation

“How do we make it work”

Policy: Development to Implementation

TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use.

Performance & Innovation Policies
Safeguard Policies (Health & Safety, Diversity, Harassment, etc…)
Training & Development Policies
Employee Pay and Benefits Policies
Intellectual Property and Rights Policy
Illustrate the connection between policies that provide safeguards and policies that encourage innovation.

Policies that provide safe guards connect with policies that encourage innovation.

Safeguarding means ensuring the overall safety and wellbeing of individuals.
It is about protection and preservation of organizational interests.
Safeguarding concerns can include any form of harm including neglect, exploitation or radicalization.
An organization has the responsibility to act on safeguarding of individual private information according to law.
An organization has the responsibility to obey laws and regulations to safeguard stakeholders and shareholders from harm.
SAFEGUARD POLICIES

Policies that innovate:

An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations.
Innovation plays a key role in the economy and society by contributing to growth and jobs and helping address social and environmental challenges.
Innovation is important for growth at all stages of development, specifically by creating and diffusing new technologies; different types of innovation play different roles at various developmental stages.
Innovation may be characterized by several dimensions including (1) the degree of novelty, (2) the type of innovation (product and process innovation), (3) the impacts of radical and incremental innovation and (4) the source of innovation (technological and non-technological innovation).
The notion of what innovation is and what role policies to encourage innovation can play has changed considerably over the past decades.
WHAT TYPES OF POLICY INTERVENTIONS ARE NEEDED?
The rationales and objectives of policy intervention in support of innovation are wide-ranging, as are the policy instruments used. The large variety of policy instruments and wider number of actors involved have increased the complexity of the policy landscape and made inconsistencies and redundancies more likely.

At the same time, appropriate measurement of innovation and the conditions that affect it are critical for enacting policies to support innovation. Measurement and evaluation enable policy makers to justify particular types of interventions, design appropriate policies with higher chance of success and conduct suitable benchmarking exercises.
MEASURING INNOVATION POLICY

Appropriate measurement is critical for policy to support innovation since it may help policy makers in accomplishing the following:
Assessing the contribution of innovation to achieve social and economic objectives.
Understanding the determinants of and obstacles to innovation to design policies with higher chances of success.
Evaluating the effectiveness of different policy approaches, and consequently adapting current policies or designing new ones.
Benchmarking innovation performance and conditions for innovation to those of other countries.
Policies that Innovate

Innovation Policy Mix Example

Design a policy manual to facilitate strategy implementation.

DEFINITIONS

POLICIES

Express rules, expectations and requirements
Explain what to do
Are realistic and attainable
Have an active voice (subject-verb-object)
PROCEDURES

List steps to follow
Tell “how” to perform a job
Have an active voice and are imperative
STEPS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Assess the Need

Research Best Practice

Develop a Writing Plan

Draft and Edit the Policy and/or Procedure

Obtain Approval

Engage in Communication and Education

Practice Review and Revision

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Step 1: Investigate if an approved policy or procedure already exists.: Check appropriate manuals, discuss with the stakeholders involved (supervisor, P&P Coordinator)

Step 2: Complete a literature search (textbooks, internet, library, etc.). Interview users regarding current practice and ideas for best practice.. Benchmark with other similar areas.

Step 3: Review information collected. Set target dates: Rough draft, draft # 1, review, draft # 2, committee approval, and education.

Step 4: Review all resource documents: circle information you want to keep, use x’s through information to delete, and make notes on the document. Edit for wording, grammar, etc, Send to stakeholders to review for clarity and accuracy.

Step 5: Send to the appropriate committee and Senior Administration for approval.

Step 6: Distribute the policy and/or procedure. Ensure education is provided for all those who are users.

Step 7: Set appropriate time for all policies and procedures to be reviewed and updated and the length of time for retention.

FORMATTING DECISIONS

Font and size
Full margin justification or left only
Will the same font and size be used for headings?
How will headings and subheadings be identified?
Line spacing between paragraphs and points, headings and subheadings
Numbering of steps and substeps
Expression of time
Will numbers in the text be words or numerals?
Identification of abbreviations
Tense and tone used
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Example of formatting decisions: Arial font, size 11, Page Margins, Headings, Sub-Headings, Numbered points for procedures (steps and sub-steps), Bullets for policies, Use of numbers (e.g. Words are used to express numbers in mid-sentence if it is from 1 to 10, Words are used for numbers 11 or higher), Headers and Footers, References and Numbering of the policy or procedure.

Compose policies that align all levels of the business strategy hierarchy to facilitate a seamless implementation plan.

STAGES IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Identify need
Identify who will take lead responsibility
Gather information
Draft policy
Consult with appropriate stakeholders
Finalize / Approve policy
Consider whether procedures are needed
Implement
Monitor / Review / Modify as needed
IDENTIFY A NEED FOR POLICY

Bank wire deposits can be sent to:

Policies can be developed:
In anticipation of need (e.g. child protection policies should be in place once
an organization starts to work with children or young people); and
In response to need (e.g. a policy position on a government strategy may be developed in response to a consultation paper).
The organization needs to constantly assess its activities, responsibilities and the external environment in order to identify the need for policies and procedures.
IDENTIFY WHO WILL TAKE LEAD RESPONSIBILITY
Delegate responsibility to an individual, working group, sub-committee or staff members, according to the expertise required.
GATHER INFORMATION

Do you have any legal responsibilities in this area? Is your understanding accurate and up to date? Have other organisations tackled the same issue? Are there existing templates or examples that you could draw on? Where will you go for guidance?
DRAFT POLICY

Ensure that the wording and length or complexity of the policy are appropriate to those who will be expected to implement it.
Examples and Templates available in Knowledge Base Folder
CONSULT WITH APPROPRIATE STAKEHOLDERS

Policies are most effective if those affected are consulted are supportive and have the opportunity to consider and discuss the potential implications of the policy. Depending on whether you are developing policies to govern the internal working of the organization or external policy positions, you may wish to consult, for example:
Supporters; Staff and volunteers; Management Committee members; and Service users or beneficiary.
FINALIZE / APPROVE POLICY

Who will approve the policy? Is this a strategic issue that should be approved by the Management Committee or is the Committee con dent that this can be dealt with effectively by staff? Bear in mind that, ultimately, the Management Committee is responsible for all policies and procedures within the organization.
CONSIDER WHETHER PROCEDURES ARE NEEDED

Procedures are more likely to be required to support internal policies. Consider whether there is a need for clear guidance regarding how the policy will be implemented and by whom. (E.g. a policy regarding receiving complaints will require a set of procedures detailing how complaints will be handled).
Who will be responsible for developing these procedures? When will this be done?
What will be the processes for consultation, approval and implementation?
IMPLEMENT

How will the policy be communicated and to whom? Is training required to support the implementation among staff and volunteers? Should the organisation produce a press release (for external policy positions)?
MONITOR / REVIEW / MODIFY

What monitoring and reporting systems are in place to ensure that the policy is implemented and to assess usage and responses? On what basis and when will the policy be reviewed and revised (if necessary)?
WHAT POLICIES ARE NEEDED?

External Policy Influence
Internal Policy Influence
EXTERNAL POLICY INFLUENCE

This involves development of policy positions in relation to external issues or developments which are pertinent to the organisation's concerns. Engagement in the wider policy environment is often important to protect service users, bene ciaries, to demonstrate value to supporters or funders or to protect the future of the organisation itself.
EXTERNAL POLICY INFLUENCE EXAMPLES

An overseas development charity may need to adopt a policy position on the government's response to a particular aid crisis;
A community group may need to adopt a policy position on the Council's plans to redevelop a local play area for commercial purposes; and
A voluntary organisation may wish to adopt a policy position in relation to proposed legislation which impacts on their legal responsibilities or future funding potential.
EXTERNAL POLICY INFLUENCE

In order to be effective in external policy development, an organization must ensure it uses available opportunities to keep informed regarding external developments which are relevant to the organization. Organizations engaging in raising issues at a political level need to ensure they are aware of political regulators and laws.
INTERNAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT

This involves development of policies, practices and procedures to govern the organization's operations. These help to ensure that the organization:

complies with its legal responsibilities;
is able to demonstrate effective management and accountability;
provides clear guidelines for those involved in running activities; and
establishes clearly its beliefs, positions or values, helping to ensure that these are supported through its activities.
INTERNAL POLICY INFLUENCE EXAMPLES

Financial management policies;
volunteer policy;
complaints policy;
confidentiality policy;
recruitment policies; and
equal opportunities policy.
Even when there are no staff and the Management Committee carry out the day-to-day work, there is still a need for written policies to govern the organization's operations.
Remember, every policy decision made by the Management Committee should be designed to help the organization realize its mission (core purpose) and help it to operate more effectively.
POLICY RESOURCES

SHRM (2018). How to develop and implement a new company policy. Retrieved from: https ://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/howtodevelopandimplementanewcompanypolicy. aspx

Page, S. Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures by Stephen Page: Retrieved from: http://www.companymanuals.com/compliance/index.htm.

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Step 1: Investigate if an approved policy or procedure already exists.: Check appropriate manuals, discuss with the stakeholders involved (supervisor, P&P Coordinator)

Step 2: Complete a literature search (textbooks, internet, library, etc.). Interview users regarding current practice and ideas for best practice.. Benchmark with other similar areas.

Step 3: Review information collected. Set target dates: Rough draft, draft # 1, review, draft # 2, committee approval, and education.

Step 4: Review all resource documents: circle information you want to keep, use x’s through information to delete, and make notes on the document. Edit for wording, grammar, etc, Send to stakeholders to review for clarity and accuracy.

Step 5: Send to the appropriate committee and Senior Administration for approval.

Step 6: Distribute the policy and/or procedure. Ensure education is provided for all those who are users.

Step 7: Set appropriate time for all policies and procedures to be reviewed and updated and the length of time for retention.

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Example of formatting decisions: Arial font, size 11, Page Margins, Headings, Sub-Headings, Numbered points for procedures (steps and sub-steps), Bullets for policies, Use of numbers (e.g. Words are used to express numbers in mid-sentence if it is from 1 to 10, Words are used for numbers 11 or higher), Headers and Footers, References and Numbering of the policy or procedure.