July Hart Gabriel Public Policy and Program Administration

May 1, 2021 BA PoS 2

Policy Statement
- Statements that clarify intent, describe the means by which a company [or an organization]
administers the policy and defines the particulars of it. Policy statements serve to protect an
organization from misunderstandings that might lead to unauthorized behavior or lawsuits.
Each policy statement should include its purpose, terminology definitions, the statement
itself and the steps to implement it (Duff, 2019).
- A declaration of the plans and intentions of an organization or government (Collins English
Dictionary, 2021).
What makes a good policy?
- There are five elements to a good policy: right-size, clear hierarchy, principles-based,
provenance, publicise (Walwyn, 2016).
1. Right-size
a. There isn’t a “good” (standard) size for policies. The size depends on the organization
type, size of the policy topic, the importance, the size and nature of the audience
(external or internal) and how much details does this audience needs to see.
2. Clear hierarchy
a. A policy can have a “hierarchy” starting from the simplest to most complex: one-line
mission statements, values, strategies, business plans, policies, standards, guidance,
process maps, procedures, and operational manuals.
i. These “hierarchies” can be illustrated as follows:
1. Mission statement – a one-line summary of your over-riding strategic aim: the
WHY.
2. Values – five or six statements representing expected behaviours across your
organization: the HOW.
3. Strategies – high-level descriptions of your long-term business objectives and
focus points, your value proposition, what you are trying to achieve: the WHAT.
4. Business plans” Detailed term plans for practical implementation of your
strategies: the WHEN, the WHERE, and the HOW.
5. Policies* – a principles-based framework setting out how you go about achieving
your strategies and business plans in a controlled and compliant way: the HOW.
6. Standards – a more detailed framework of how key policies map to key external
(regulatory) and internal (audit and other control) conditions of doing business:
the WHAT.
7. Guidance – indicative non-binding statement or factors you need to take into
account in determining decisioning and governance treatment: the WHAT, the
WHERE, the WHEN and the WHY.
 8. Process Maps: Visual structure diagrams and decision trees to highlight in
summary form the relationship between teams, processes or functions: the WHAT
and the WHO.
9. Procedures – Detailed textual and visual descriptions of WHAT needs to be done,
HOW and WHO does it; with explanations of context and meaning.
10. Operational Manuals – step by step instructions on precisely how a procedure or
process is executed; without much explanation of context or meaning; the WHAT,
the HOW, and the WHO.
* The next three watchwords apply mainly to Policies in the individual (narrow sense), the
principles-based framework setting out how we achieve our strategies and business plans in a
controlled and compliant way.
3. Principles-based
a. Good policies are principles-based. You’d want policies to be clear, short, embedded in
the hearts and minds of the [constituents], widely applicable, identifiable back to the
mission and values set out.
4. Provenance
a. It is the basic information about the policy: dates, owners, authors, reviewers, versions,
coverage, status, review frequency and process, and governance. A policy without these
parameters is useless. Without this provenance, policies cannot provide principles-based
governance on what the organizations aims to do.
5. Publicise
a. Relates to the delivery and internal publicization of the policy. It can be about selecting
the right people (that have undergone right level and depth of training if necessary) to
deliver the policies the correct way; the policy being acknowledged by the individuals
and have started to apply the policy, given their responsibilities.

References
Collins English Dictionary. (2021). Definition of 'policy statemnt'. Retrieved from Collins
English Dictionary.
Duff, V. (2019, March 03). What Is a Policy Statement? Retrieved from bizfluent:
https://bizfluent.com/about-5527229-policy-statement.html
Walwyn, H. (2016, July 13). What Makes a Good Policy: Five Watchwords. Retrieved from
Prism Clarity: https://prism-clarity.com/2016/07/makes-good-policy-5-watchwords/