Policies Of Businesses......

Policies can take different forms, depending upon whose policies they are, and what they refer to.....
They may be public or private, official or unofficial, expressed or unexpressed. Some common types of policies:

Policies of businesses.
All businesses, from the smallest mom-and-pop corner store to the largest multinational corporation, have official and unofficial policies about the ways they do business. Among most businesses' policies are:

   
 Hiring policies. Some businesses may favor minority applicants, for instance, while others may pay no attention to racial or ethnic background, or actively avoid hiring minority applicants. Some may try to hire workers from the local community, while others may simply look for anyone with the appropriate skills.
   

 Compensation. Starting salary, regular raises, stock options, and fringe benefits all fall into this category. Compensation policy - including the difference between the pay of those at the bottom and those at the top of the company - reflects the business's view of employees' importance.

    

In the 1950's, even in major corporations, the CEO seldom made more than ten or 15 times what the lowest-paid employee made. By the 1990's, some CEO's of major corporations were making hundreds of times as much as the corporations' lowest-paid employees, sending lower-paid workers a clear message about their value to their employer.

    

Employer-employee relations. Company policy about how workers are treated may have a major influence not only on the company itself, but on the community in which it's located. Generous benefits, workplace education, promotion from within, and the encouragement and rewarding of workers' initiative are all evidence of respect and concern for the workforce, and - in the case of a town's major employer - can create a community climate of harmony and shared purpose.
    

Employer-community relations. Again, especially in the case of a major employer, a business's relationship with the community can have a profound effect on both. Some businesses try to be good citizens, supporting community services, offering employees paid release time to work on community projects, and responding to community concerns about such issues as pollution. Others ignore the needs and wishes of the community entirely, often poisoning the atmosphere - literally and figuratively - both within the business and outside it.
    

Business practices and ethics. Illegal and unethical practices are the result of policies, just as community-friendly stances are. We are currently all too aware of corporate executives whose concern for their own finances leads them to "creative" bookkeeping and illegal dealings. Businesses, in the name of profits, can act legally but unethically - failing to deliver on promises made to a community, for instance, pressuring suppliers for discounts or services, or, as John D. Rockefeller did, forcing local competitors out of business.