The Managerial Role in Communicating Mission and Values

In converting mission statements into action, upper managerial levels create policy statements. Policies cover a wide range of actions or decisions; however, they are crucial for guiding change and maintaining focus on the organization’s mission and values.

Controlling interaction:

Policy statements specify how management and em­ployees will work together in the organizational structure. A policy will express a value or specify conduct. A value might be “fairness” when a policy addresses a grievance procedure or the intent of the company to pay employee health insur­ance premiums. A policy relating to customer service may direct employees to be courteous at all times.

Clarifying policy with procedure:

Employees are expected to follow policies. In order to implement policies effectively, procedures must be carefully devel­oped and articulated. A procedure for courteous customer service may be as de­tailed as providing the employee with scripts that cover the initial contact with the customer.

Determining the extent of policy coverage:

All situations cannot be covered in policies. Policies are guidelines and the intent are to be considered.