Policy making
Terms of reference
By terms of reference, we mean the policies and procedures a board sets for its own activities. Policies are the rules and regulations that govern the activities of a board. The terms of reference might include answers to these questions:
* How often will the board meet?
* Will the meetings be formal, with an agenda, minutes, and rules of order?
* Who will chair the meetings?
* How involved will the board be in the operations and supervision of the newsletter?
* What kind of relationship will the board have with readers?
The answers to these and similar questions will define the policies of the board. You also might consider the policies of the organization as a whole, and how they fit with the policies of the board.
Procedures refers to the way the activities will be performed. For example, will someone take minutes of the meetings? Will they be distributed afterward?
In general terms, policy refers to what, and procedure refers to how. The setting of terms of reference probably doesn't need much attention in most organizations, since the board's management style will come to reflect the culture of the organization, regardless of the terms of reference.
Implementation
Whether you're planning a new publication or revitalizing an existing one, you'll want to meet objectives generated in the strategy stage. And moving from strategy to operations introduces many questions and issues that might not have been apparent to the strategists. Strategy provides a direction, but not specific policies and programs for day-to-day operations.
We can illustrate this with a hypothetical example from a distribution warehouse that is starting a newsletter for employees. In this example, we take an objective (one of a number of objectives) from the overall strategy, then develop policies and tactics that lead to fulfillment of that objective.
A. Objective (developed by a management team):
* Increase employee receptiveness to technological change.
B. Policies (developed by the editorial board):
* Allocate about two pages of each issue to technology, especially new machines and materials.
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©Robert Abbott, 2007 All Rights Reserved
