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Policy
A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making. Policies to assist in subjective decision making usually assist senior management with decisions that must be based on the relative merits of a number of factors, and as a result are often hard to test objectively, e.g. work-life balance policy. In contrast policies to assist in objective decision making are usually operational in nature and can be objectively tested, e.g. password policy.The term may apply to government, private sector organizations and groups, as well as individuals. Presidential executive orders, corporate privacy policies, and parliamentary rules of order are all examples of policy. Policy differs from rules or law. While law can compel or prohibit behaviors (e.g. a law requiring the payment of taxes on income), policy merely guides actions toward those that are most likely to achieve a desired outcome.Policy or policy study may also refer to the process of making important organizational decisions, including the identification of different alternatives such as programs or spending priorities, and choosing among them on the basis of the impact they will have. Policies can be understood as political, managerial, financial, and administrative mechanisms arranged to reach explicit goals. In public corporate finance, a critical accounting policy is a policy for a firm/company or an industry that is considered to have a notably high subjective element, and that has a material impact on the financial statements.
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Policy (noun)
The art of governance; political science. 14th–18th c.
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Policy (noun)
A state; a polity. 14th–16th c.
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Policy (noun)
A set political system; civil administration. 15th–19th c.
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Policy (noun)
A trick; a stratagem. 15th–19th c.
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Policy (noun)
A principle of behaviour, conduct etc. thought to be desirable or necessary, especially as formally expressed by a government or other authoritative body. from 15th c.
“The Communist Party has a policy of returning power to the workers.”
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Policy (noun)
Wise or advantageous conduct; prudence, formerly also with connotations of craftiness. from 15th c.
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Policy (noun)
Specifically, political shrewdness or (formerly) cunning; statecraft. from 15th c.
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Policy (noun)
The grounds of a large country house. from 18th c.
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Policy (noun)
Motive; object; inducement.
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Policy (noun)
An illegal daily lottery in late nineteenth and early twentieth century USA on numbers drawn from a lottery wheel (no plural)
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Policy (noun)
A number pool lottery
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Policy (verb)
To regulate by laws; to reduce to order.
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Procedure (noun)
A particular method for performing a task.
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Procedure (noun)
A series of small tasks or steps taken to accomplish an end.
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Procedure (noun)
The set of established forms or methods of an organized body for accomplishing a certain task or tasks.
“Ensure that you follow procedure when accessing customers’ personal information.”
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Procedure (noun)
The steps taken in an action or other legal proceeding.
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Procedure (noun)
That which results; issue; product.
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Procedure (noun)
A subroutine or function coded to perform a specific task.
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Procedure (noun)
A surgical operation.
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Policy (noun)
a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual
“it is not company policy to dispense with our older workers”
“the government’s controversial economic policies”
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Policy (noun)
prudent or expedient conduct or action
“a course of policy and wisdom”
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Policy (noun)
a contract of insurance
“they took out a joint policy”
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Policy (noun)
an illegal lottery or numbers game
“he swore that he had never played policy in his life”
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Procedure (noun)
an established or official way of doing something
“the police are now reviewing procedures”
“parliamentary procedure”
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Procedure (noun)
a series of actions conducted in a certain order or manner
“the standard procedure for informing new employees about conditions of work”
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Procedure (noun)
a surgical operation
“the procedure is carried out under general anaesthetic”
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Procedure (noun)
another term for subroutine