Policy Development And Its Applcations Flashcards
Procedures
A procedure is a series of actions that enable a policy to be put into practice. It is a step-by-step set of instructions. A procedure can also be used to provide a means of resolving a dispute brought about by a breach of a policy. Most organisations have procedures for paying accounts, handling grievances, preparing budgets, dealing with customer complaints etc.
Policy Development
PACDRAM
P- Problem, identify an issue or problem.
A- Analyse and research business environments.
C- Consult stakeholders.
D- Develop a draft policy for review by stakeholders.
R- Revise the policy
A- Approve and distribute the new policy
M- Monitor and evaluate the policy
Policy
A policy is a set of regulations, rules and procedures that essentially govern how an organisation is run and operates. A policy might be devised for anything, such as workplace bullying.
Outline the purpose of a policy.
A policy is a written statement that outlines the organisation’s stance on and approach to particular issues, that contains a procedure that defines how it will be implemented. Policies are designed to clearly define what needs to be done in regards to issues that arise in the day to day activities of an LSO such as Occupational Health and Safety or sexual harassment.
Swanston Airlines is a large-scale organisation providing ights to all capital cities in Australia. Swanston Airlines recently suffered a technology breakdown in its computerised ticketing system that led to customers not being able to book tickets, get seat allocations or board ights for 24 hours. This resulted in very unhappy customers who missed ights, were angry and argued with staff, and demanded refunds. The CEO of Swanston Airlines has called a meeting of senior management to review current policies and procedures in order to develop a new policy to better deal with customer relations in the future. Explain how two stakeholders, other than customers, could have been affected by the technology breakdown.
A stakeholder is an individual or group that interacts with the organisation and has a vested interest in its activities. One key stakeholder is the employees who work for the organisation who would have been significantly affected by the technology breakdown. Dealing with ‘very unhappy customers’ would have caused significant stress while customers being ‘unable to board flights’ would mean they could not do their jobs. As a result it is likely that morale and motivation will be very low, thus limiting their ability to be productive and satisfied at work.
Another stakeholder is the shareholders, that is, those who own shares of Swanston Airlines. The customer dissatisfaction and likely bad press caused by the technology breakdown could make the organisation less profitable, resulting in smaller dividends. This will be very frustrating and disappointing and could result in them selling shares or demanding that the organisation take immediate action to become profitable again.
Swanston Airlines is a large-scale organisation providing ights to all capital cities in Australia. Swanston Airlines recently suffered a technology breakdown in its computerised ticketing system that led to customers not being able to book tickets, get seat allocations or board ights for 24 hours. This resulted in very unhappy customers who missed ights, were angry and argued with staff, and demanded refunds. The CEO of Swanston Airlines has called a meeting of senior management to review current policies and procedures in order to develop a new policy to better deal with customer relations in the future. Justify a management style that would be appropriate for the management of Swanston Airlines to use when implementing its new policy.
An autocratic management style would be appropriate. This is where the manager makes decisions without staff input and informs staff of those decisions so that they can be enacted. This involves one-way communication and centralised decision making and would be best as it is very time efficient, with no time spent gathering feedback or suggestions from stakeholders. It also leads to less confusion about what needs to be done as the policy being implemented will be clearly outlined and communicated to the staff. While the autocratic style can result in low morale, a quick, effective response is needed so that the policy can be implemented efficiently to avoid poor customer relations. Furthermore customers will want to see immediate, decisive action taken and so a time efficient and firm approach will help them see that Swanston Airlines is taking the issue seriously and will work to fix it promptly and without confusion about what should be done.
Swanston Airlines is a large-scale organisation providing ights to all capital cities in Australia. Swanston Airlines recently suffered a technology breakdown in its computerised ticketing system that led to customers not being able to book tickets, get seat allocations or board ights for 24 hours. This resulted in very unhappy customers who missed ights, were angry and argued with staff, and demanded refunds. The CEO of Swanston Airlines has called a meeting of senior management to review current policies and procedures in order to develop a new policy to better deal with customer relations in the future. Describe one low-risk strategy and one high-risk strategy that Swanston Airlines could consider using
when introducing the new policy.
One low-risk strategy Swanston Airlines could use is training, that is, developing the skills of employees so that they can perform their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible. Showing the employees how to implement the policy and providing them with the skills they will need to do so will overcome any fears they have about the changes while preventing confusion from spreading. While more long term, low-risk strategies are considered more ethical. A high-risk strategy that could be used is threats, that is, telling employees that there will be some form of punishment if they do not go along with the change, for example that they will be dismissed if they do not implement the policy. While it is effective in the short term, high-risk strategies can cause disharmony and resentment among employees, and it may become less effective in the future.
Explain how each of the three levels of planning could be used to improve customer relations at Swanston Airlines.
Strategic planning is the long term planning, usually over 3 – 5 years. It is done by senior management team. This could be used to improve customer relations as one of their responsibilities is the vision and mission statement. For example, Swanston Airlines could change their vision statement to improve customer relations so that the whole organisation knows to improve on it and work on it.
Tactical planning is the flexible, adaptable medium term planning over 1 – 2 years. It helps to implement the strategic plan. This could be used to improve customer relations by having the responsibility to improve the ticketing system and overall technology at Swanston Airlines. This could improve customer relations through them having an easier and better experience when purchasing tickets from the airline. Operational planning is the short term, day to day planning that ensures the strategic and tactical plans are successful. This could be used by recruiting the right employees who have good communication skills and have what the organisation requires in terms of the new policy. In doing so they will have better interactions with customers, improving customer relations.
Distinguish between a policy and a procedure
A policy is a set of regulations and rules that essentially govern how an organisation is run and operates whereas a procedure is a series of actions that enable a policy to be put into practice. It is a step-by-step set of instructions. Policies are the rules made by management and procedures are the instructions to be followed by employees are in line with the policies.
