There comes a point when an organisation becomes becomes big enough and enough people have their own ideas of how things should be done that standardisation is required.
This is why policy is initially written to standardise working practice. However some may compare this to a composer writing music, its not. The practice was there in some shape or form initially. Then comes the policy review and re-review and re-re-review etc.
Some people just then begin to review policy and once they change one another needs rewritten, until all they do is rewrite policy. It eventually gets to the stage where the walls are covered in memo’s, like as if that was the intended paper. The inbox is full of amendments and shelves of files appear.
Policy has a time and a place and it should be noted that practice takes prescedent.
Posted by theofficeinthestoreroom 