21 Updating an Existing Policy

Arley’s comments:

You’ve done some good work here. You’ve done quite a bit of research and used headings and bullet points to help the reader revise a policy. You’ve thoroughly covered the topic. However, I think that the scope of this section could be narrowed a bit. We might choose to move the top part of this section into an introduction to the ‘policies’ section. Removing the information about what a policy is and why it’s important, or how to write a policy, will make room for focusing in a bit more detail on updating an existing policy. For example, what kind of research should I do? How do I make sure my policy meets legal requirements? How should my team work together? Also, you should quote when the words of the source are important. When just the idea is important, paraphrase. Also, introduce a quote by explaining its significance. Overall, however, good work!

Judy’s comments:

Overall, there is a lot of great information contained here. To tighten up the information and add depth I would suggest researching and adding such information like: what would trigger a change in policy? This could be broken down further by policy types (e.g. OH&S, Compensation, etc.), what are the legal aspects with regards to having updated policies (e.g. what are the risks of having outdated policies), and what are the best practices around policy review cycles, included revision dates on policies, etc.

INTRODUCTION

” Business policies are the guidelines developed by an organization to govern its actions. They define the limits within which decisions must be made. Business policy also deals with acquisition of resources with which organizational goals can be achieved. Business policy is the study of the roles and responsibilities of top-level management, the significant issues affecting organizational success and the decisions affecting organization in long-run” (Juneja, 2015). In this you will able to find the importance of business policies, how to build business policies, steps for reviewing and revising policies and step for updating policies.

IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS POLICIES

The policies and methods of implementation you choose as a business leader to adopt will directly affect how your employees perform. Some business leaders do not want to have everything in a exact format while others like to implement specific processes at every stage of the company operational process. This is according to owner’s decision.

Some policies and procedures are designed to prevent legal issues while others are designed to build a company image, experience and culture. A business should be aware of how policies are affecting the team. There may be policies that pertain to employee’s dress code, schedules, time off and holidays. If a dress code is becoming a problem for the majority of employees, a new policy such as a casual Friday policy could change the office dynamic in a positive direction. If no cell phone policy exists but employees are spending hours on personal calls, texts and social media then a new policy with training should be implemented and managed to improve productivity. Managers should regularly evaluate company policies and their effectiveness to the business success (Leonard, 2018).

BUILDING BUSINESS POLICIES

Building policies generally starts with owner or managers writing an employee handbook and business plan with mission and vision. The team must consider what are standard policies regulated by federal and state regulations. Some regulated policies include privacy policies, anti-discrimination rules, overtime and holiday pay and healthcare programs.

Most businesses will find these regulated rules are similar among many companies. Some companies decided to go beyond the required policies, then there will be operations and cultural policies. These include the image that managers want the company to have and the internal corporate culture they are working to establish. Once the main policies are created, managers must be updated on how employees and customers respond to the policies. If a policy is having a negative impact on the overall productivity of the company, feedback must be sought and adjustments should be considered (Leonard, 2018).

STEPS FOR REVIEWING AND REVISNG POLICIES

• Determine Responsibilities: In companies, human resources officers are responsible for reviewing policies and updating them. In smaller companies the senior managers may be responsible for updating policies. Because company policies must comply with relevant legislation and regulations (Ruhland, 2021).
• Review for Accuracy: Review all policies to ensure they are still relevant and up to date. For instance, a company policy regarding manual time sheets collected by supervisors would be no longer relevant if the company has installed an automatic electronic attendance system. You should also review for up-to-date compliance with both federal and state legislation and regulations, review policies for current HR practices and procedures, and current products and services (Ruhland, 2021).
• Revise and Redistribute: Policy manuals are typically produced as paper copies of written policies put together in printed as book-bound publications. However, many companies post their manuals in digital formats that employees can access on their computers. A great approach is to keep your original copies complete, and categorize your updated revisions with a numbering system so that your changes are documented and dated. These updates are then made to the digital version for distribution to all involved so they are informed of the policy change (Ruhland, 2021).

STEPS FOR UPDATING POLICIES

• Create a team to support you in the effort. Assemble a team, such as the human resource manager and possibly the business attorney, to participate in putting together the new company policy. Gathering members from different departments and levels of employment with the company helps to represent different areas of the business in creating to the new policy.
• Gather the necessary information. Do research within the company to determine the level of need for the change, essentially stating the purpose for the new policy. Talk to other companies about similar policies and see how the owner or upper management phrases the policy and how the new policy was implemented.
• Write the new policy. The policy should be written as simply as possible, easy to follow and understand. The policy should be written to support the company’s objectives. Take time to develop the policy with your team. Talk to people that may be affected by the new policy and receive their suggestions. Include the values and benefits of the policy changes, as well as the methods used for enforcement.
• Make the policy look good. Appearance is important that it should look like you have spent time and conducted adequate research to present a well-written document. Use illustrations effectively, and only when necessary. Include a cover letter explaining the reasons for the policy change.
• Present the new policy to the employees. Arrange an employee meeting and create copies of the new policy to hand out and discuss at the meeting. Take the time to go through the policy change and answer any questions that employees may have regarding the new policy (Lorette, 2017).

CONCLUSION

A policy is a set of rules or guidelines for the organization and employees to follow or to achieve a specific goal. An effective policy should outline what employees must do or not to do, directions, limits, principles and guidance for decision making. This research helped me to understand the how to update and when to update an existing policies of a business.

REFERENCES

1. Leonard, K. (2018, August 20). Importance of Business Policy. Small Business – Chron.com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-business-policy-10199.html
2. Ruhland, L. (n.d.). 3 Reasons To Revise Your Policy Manual. https://blog.accuchex.com/3-reasons-to-revise-your-policy-manual
3. Lorette, K. (2017, November 21). How do I Change Company Policies? Small Business – Chron.com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/change-company-policies-3133.html
4. Juneja, P. (2015). MSG Management  Study  Guide. Business Policy – Definition and Features; Difference between Policy and Strategy. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/business-policy.html
5. Lane, S. (2020, December 14). The Purpose of Policies & Procedures – What Are Policies & Procedures? KirkpatrickPrice Home. https://kirkpatrickprice.com/blog/the-purpose-of-policies-procedures/

Updating Existing Policy

Introduction: Policy is a set of rules that Governments, Organizations, or individuals must abide by and supervise. Policies should be fair to everyone, not just for personal gain, otherwise, they will damage the reputation and environment of the organization/country. A policy defines so many things as roles and responsibilities to play in the organization, budget et

Cause: An organization or government often changes its policies for some reason. In a country or organization, people oppose policies that they think are irrelevant, and then under pressure, the government will change or update their policies. For example, In India, Government made a policy for agricultural areas, but farmers protest it to take it back and now the government is under pressure to change it. Same right in the organization, workers protest when they feel their right is in danger. Time also matters; old policies do not always work as it is, change is necessary just like computer software needs updates to work better. organizations strictly enforce the same policies, the organization cannot develop. To get better results, they need to update existing policies.

Types of policy:

There are different types of policies with different characteristics.

1. Based on Sources: a) Originated policy. b)  Appealed policy. c)  Implied policy. d)  Externally imposed, policy.
2. On Different Levels: a) Basic policy. b)  General policy. c)  Departmental policy.
3. Based on Managerial functions: a) Planning policies. b) Organization policies. c) Incentive and control policies.
4. For Dissemination: a) Explicit policies. b) Implicit policies.
5. Based on Functions: a) Marketing policies. b)  Production policies. c)  Finance policies. d)  Personnel policies.

Impact of outdated policies: If an organization does not update its policy, the organization will face a hard time in the future. Nowadays, there are so many laws that protect labor’s rights and organizations need to update their policy according to external factors. Employees will start protesting against the new environment following the updated policy. Companies can lose their reputation and money due to outdated policies.

(policy development process, n.d.) (Atkins, 2014) (Eloise Clark, 2006)

References

Atkins, s. (2014, March 6). Perils of outdated policy. Retrieved from navex global: https://www.navexglobal.com/blog/article/exhibit-perils-outdated-policies/CDC policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/policy/analysis/process/definition.htmlEloise Clark, E. F. (2006, April 13). International Journal for Quality in Health Care. Volume 18, Issue 3, pp. 165-166. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/intqhc/article/18/3/165/1786412policies: meaning and types. (n.d.). Retrieved from business management ideas: https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/policies/policies-meaning-and-types/3424policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy#:~:text=A%20policy%20is%20a%20deliberate%20system%20of%20principles,adopted%20by%20a%20governance%20body%20within%20an%20organization.policy development process. (n.d.). Retrieved from Acponline.org: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=1bZaVTkn&id=5EF8A5E4079BA2051E22DD674109A754CD0F91DB&thid=OIP.1bZaVTknzR-2JcRYXDkIngHaDy&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fd1grfy39ztai4o.cloudfront.net%2fsites%2fdefault%2ffiles%2fimages%2fadvocacy%2fimages%2fmdRabinowitz, P. (n.d.). changing policies. Retrieved from community tool box: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/changing-policies/overview/main