* Explain the links between new equipment and external forces of change.
* Whenever possible, include the comments of knowledgeable managers and employees.
* Measure knowledge of new technology, and attitudes toward it, in an annual survey.
C. Tasks (for the June issue, as planned by the editor)
* Do a story on the new packaging machine installed in April, explaining what it does and why it is better than the machine it replaced.
* Get a photo of an employee using the machine.
* Add an abstract of a magazine article that explains the importance of good packaging.
* Ask Supervisor Jane Smith to explain the importance of the increased capability. Interview salesperson Fred Brown about how it will increase customer satisfaction.
This hypothetical example shows how an objective becomes increasingly specific, eventually generating concrete operational instructions. Note that when the objective was formulated, there was no reference to how it would be achieved through the newsletter; in fact, it may not even have been exclusive to the newsletter. Perhaps the objective was developed as part of a general communication strategy for the organization, and affected all communication and educational systems.
Policies, on the other hand, do relate specifically to the newsletter; it would be difficult to imagine them being used in any other area. Unlike objectives, policies provide guidelines, priorities, and procedures the editor can use in her planning and assignments. However, they do not specify how the work will be done. Policy issues might include
* Guidelines on what subject matter will or will not be covered
* Allocation of space among various subjects, and the placement of subjects (such as the front page or center spread)
* Management approval - specifying what subjects need approval, and by whom, before publishing
* Equity - specifying, for instance, that a newsletter serving several locations of the same company will give an equal amount of editorial space to each location
* Criteria for the general appearance of the newsletter, if appearance is critical. For example, an architectural firm might want right margins justified (even) rather than ragged, because of the implicit message that justification sends
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