Fundamentals of Management, 8th ed

Chapter 3: Planning and Strategic Management

8 5

Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).

Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

---

Policies

As a general guide for action, a

policy

is the most general form of standing

plan that specifies the organization’s general response to a designated problem or situa-

tion. For example, McDonald’s has a policy that it will not grant a franchise to an indi-

vidual who already owns another fast-food restaurant. Similarly, Starbucks has a policy

that it will not franchise to individuals at all, instead retaining ownership of all Starbucks

coffee shops. Likewise, a university admissions office might establish a policy that admis-

sion will be granted only to applicants with a minimum SAT score of 1,200 and a rank-

ing in the top quarter of their high school class. Admissions officers may routinely deny

admission to applicants who fail to reach these minimums. A policy is also likely to

describe how exceptions are to be handled. The university’s policy statement, for exam-

ple, might create an admissions appeals committee to evaluate applicants who do not

meet minimum requirements but may warrant special consideration.