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Forming Business Policy and Developing Strategy

Every enterprise has a vision and mission, which are usually based on the purpose for which it was established.

Every enterprise has a vision and mission, which are usually based on the purpose for which it was established. They’re a concise way to showcase a company’s principles and values that are, in the business world, called, “policy.” Policy describes a direction and the activities of an organization. Within these, strategy execution guidelines are often covered, such as a rule on how to make a management decision. The policy provides a solid foundation for the implementation of corporate objectives and goals while supporting the vision and mission of the organization. 

In this Forming Business Policy and Developing Strategy course, you’ll be introduced to elements of business policy and what it should address within the strategic business management domain. You’ll also learn why and how to keep a business policy effective and explore the final stage of strategy implementation and what’s needed to do it successfully. Finally, you’ll understand the specific objectives of a business policy to maintain an organization’s effectiveness and efficiency.

Learning Objectives

  • Discuss the components of business policy
  • Construct strategic objectives and goals
  • Explain strategy implementation structure, culture, and controls
  • Analyze the business and strategy connection

Author: Joseph Raynus

Duration: 11m · 4 lessons
Level: Advanced
Language: English

What You'll Learn

  • Discuss the components and elements of a business policy
  • Construct strategic objectives and goals and learn how to pursue them
  • Explain strategy implementation structure, culture, and controls
  • Analyze the connection between business and strategy
  • Identify what a business policy should address within the strategic business management domain
  • Examine why and how to keep a business policy effective

Key Takeaways

  • Every enterprise has a vision and mission based on the purpose for which it was established, and these reflect the company's principles and values, called policy in the business world.
  • Policy describes the direction and activities of an organization and often covers strategy execution guidelines, such as rules on how to make a management decision.
  • Policy provides a solid foundation for implementing corporate objectives and goals while supporting the organization's vision and mission.
  • Strategy implementation has a final stage that requires specific elements to complete it successfully.
  • A business policy has specific objectives aimed at maintaining an organization's effectiveness and efficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

The course introduces the elements of business policy and what it should address within the strategic business management domain, explains why and how to keep a business policy effective, explores the final stage of strategy implementation and what's needed to do it successfully, and covers the specific objectives of a business policy for maintaining organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

What will I learn to do by the end of the course?

You'll be able to discuss the components of business policy, construct strategic objectives and goals, explain strategy implementation structure, culture, and controls, and analyze the business and strategy connection.

What lessons are included in this course?

The course includes the following lessons: Elements of a Business Policy; Setting and Pursuing Objectives and Goals; Implementing Policy-Informed Strategy; and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

What is business policy according to this course?

Business policy describes the direction and activities of an organization. It is a concise way to showcase a company's principles and values and often covers strategy execution guidelines, such as a rule on how to make a management decision, while supporting the organization's vision and mission.

Transcript

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(soft music) In these lessons you'll learn what good business policies should address. You'll also learn about the scope of successful business policy within which decisions can be taken by employees. Business policies are the guidelines developed by an organization to govern its actions. They define the limits within which decisions can be made and deals with the acquisition of resources with which organizational goals can be achieved. Business policy is designed to communicate guidance for decision making and integrate knowledge, functional experience, and complex interactions, into different levels of management. The necessary function of senior management in every organization is to establish a management process, which is built on organizational objectives and policy. Business policy also serves as a guide and roadmap to create awareness and direction for the management of any organization. Policy establishes relationships between organization objectives and management's decision making. It ensures that organizations deliver better products, within a framework and encourages, promotes, and improves performance attainment in an organization. Policy also provides the bedrock for vision and mission statements of a business organization. Along with the corporate objectives and goals. There are certain points that help a business policy remain effective. First, it's best if the policy is clear and specific. Otherwise, implementation of the policy can be difficult and may fail. Policies help establish organizational behavior, and support the culture of the organization. A clear policy can minimize conflicting situations and provide unambiguous direction for strategy execution. Policies are most successful if they're flexible, proactive, and actionable. It's suggested that a policy anticipates the future rather than only reacting to events after they unfold. A flexible and proactive policy helps organizations act in advance of shifting market demand, as well as be able to alter their organizations in response to changes. Policy can also provide direction and support innovation. This can provide motivation for employees to be creative and initiate critical thinking. Organizations with an innovation policy often perform much better on the market, than those that don't. Being able to measure your policy can be very helpful. An example of measurable policy, is how many new products and services organizations develop over a certain period. So, if we were to look at 3M and point out the company's measurable data, we could see how they've received 100,000 patents over the years, to develop thousands of products and sell them in about 200 countries worldwide. It's suggested that policies are used to help build entrepreneurial culture within a company, which can result in employees becoming more entrepreneurial and creative. Senior managers can help build this culture by designing policies that are proactive, actionable, innovative, and measurable. Policy is best when it's based on, and provides a clear link to organizational objective, which specify the goals to reach competitive advantage in a marketplace.

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