Leadership Skills

Organizational Rules

Every organization has rules. Some may be written, and other rules may be less obvious. Organizational rules guide the day-to-day operations and activities within a specific organization. Some rules are designed to enforce federal, state, or local laws, whereas other rules help managers and employees understand and enforce expectations, roles, responsibilities, and behaviors.

Company Rules

These are the overarching rules for the company. Some written organizational rules might outline organizational hierarchy with department and individual roles and responsibilities; reporting practices; hiring practices; organizational mission, goals, or philosophy; code of conduct; customer service; hours of operation; and communication processes.

Managerial Rules

A few managerial rules include union contracts, vacation and sick leave policies, work schedules, dress code, evaluation procedures, conflict resolution procedures, promotions, meeting procedures, and safety procedures. Managerial rules allow managers and supervisors to work with employees consistently and fairly with day to day tasks and requests.

Rules and Workplace Culture

There may be differing levels of rules within any organization, and those may be categorized as follows:

• Formal, written rules: These types of rules are generally written, distributed to new employees, posted, and referenced in performance evaluations or disciplinary actions. An example would be maintaining confidentiality because that is required by federal laws.
• Formal, unwritten rules: These rules are communicated verbally about how work is accomplished and people community. Generally, these rules relate to the organizational culture of working together as a team or being a loyal employee.
• Informal, unwritten rules: These rules are those that allow for behaviors and actions that are contrary to the written rules, but yet, the behaviors will be allowed. An example would be an employee who uses flex time when the job description clearly states the working hours.