Total Value Management ? Policy Assessments

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

 

This installment on Total Value Management (TVM) will take a look at corporate policy and present some guidelines for assessing their alignment with the TVM approach. Traditionally, policies have been the domain of the human resources, legal and risk management departments. Most large companies have an employee handbook with only a portion of the company?s policies included. The rest are typically guarded and coveted like they were precious wisdoms passed down through the ages.

So what does corporate policy have to do with TVM? Believe it or not, the policies of a company often set the tone for its culture. Policies set the framework and rules of conduct within a company. Unfortunately, most policies are sterile and send a message of "Edicts of Management". They are not value-delivery oriented and leave out the rationale for their existence.

As part of the TVM assessment process it is imperative to review and reengineer policies to be value-delivery focused. To assist in this effort I suggest that each policy comprise the following:

• Statement of Intent What is the reasoning and rationale behind the policy? This sets the context for the policy, makes it human.
• Statement of Value What value is being delivered and to whom? How does the policy support the vision of the company?
• The Policy This is the text of the policy
• Statement of Execution …

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