The major policies that give an overall direction to operations are likely to be in the following areas

• Growth; growth policies give answers to such questions as these; how much growth should occur? How fast? Where? How should it occur?

• Finance; every business enterprise must have a clear policy for financing its operations.

• Organization; it answers practical questions-eg; How centralized or decentralized should decision making authority be? What kinds of departmental patterns are more suitable? How should staff positions be designed? Naturally, organization structures furnish the system of roles and role relationships that helps people accomplish objectives.

• Personnel; there can be many policies in the area of human resources and relationships. They deal with such topics as union relations, compensation, selection, hiring, training and appraisal, as well as with special matters such as job enrichment.

• Public relations; policies in this area can hardly be independent; they must support other major strategies and efforts. They must also be designed in light of the type of business, its closeness to the public, and its susceptibility to regulation by government agencies.

• Product of services; A business exists to furnish products or services. In a very real sense, profits are merely a measure- although an important one – of how well a company serves its customers. New products or services, more than any other single factor, determine what an enterprise is or will be. The key questions in this area will be summarized as follows;

What is our business?

Who are our customers?

What do our customers want?

How much will our customers buy and at what price?

What advantages do we have in serving customer needs?

What profits can we expect?

What basic form should our policy take?

• Marketing; marketing policies are designed to guide managers in getting products or services to customers and in encouraging customers to buy.

The planning process involves defining, communicating, applying and maintaining policies. The development of a policy can originate anywhere in an organization and should involve personnel who will be affected by the policy. They have valuable information for sound policy formation and can ensure that the policy will be implemented. Before writing a policy one must consider whether there are specific, recurring problems, how frequently they occur, whether they are temporary or permanent in nature, and whether a policy statement would clarify thinking and promote efficiency.

When policies are written, the purpose, philosophy, goals and objectives should serve as guides. It is advisable to have the policy statement reviewed and approved by superiors and the affected managers before the policy is formalized. Policies should be written in a specific, concise and complete manner that is easily accessible to all personnel to whom the policies apply. The manual will be well organized if policies are classified, noted in the table of contents, and indexed by topic.

Once a policy has been stated and approved, it is applied. Policy formation is a continuous process so the policy is continually reappraised and restated as necessary. Periodic analysis and evaluation of existing policies can suggest the need for revision. Personnel should be encouraged to help formulate, review and revise policies.

POLICY REVIEW FORM

Name of policy ————————————————

Date of review————————————————–

Reviewer ——————————————————–

(Name) (Service)

INSTRUCTIONS; Please circle the number that most accurately reflects your response to the following questions. Please check at the bottom your recommended action.

S.No.	ITEM	YES	NO	COMMENTS
1.	Is there a need for the policy?	1	2
2.	Is the policy relevant to this institution and staff?	1	2
3.	Is the policy consistent with Indiana university hospitals nursing services philosophy?	1	2
4.	Is the policy in conflict with any other hospital or nursing policies?	1	2
5.	Does the policy creates any inequities among hospital staff or patients?	1	2
6.	Is the policy reasonable?	1	2
7.	Is the policy clearly written so that anyone unfamiliar with the subject can understand it?	1	2
8.	Is the information accurate?	1	2
9.	Is the policy complete?	1	2

Additional comments;

————————————————————————————————————

RECOMMENDED ACTION;

– No action required – Revision required – remove from

Approved as written (changes attached) (justification attached)