Depending on how much you rely on your website as a business tool and how much you use the Internet, especially email, it may be very useful to establish policies and guidelines about the use of those tools.
E-business policy statements are high-level statements about the aims and intention of particular aspects of e-business. They state the overall approach that the business is taking to, say, e-commerce.
An e-business policy might be a brief document that makes statements about your organisation's general approach and aims.
Policies then need guidelines and procedures that direct individual staff in their day-to-day use of the Internet. These might be in the form of step-by-step procedures or statements about what can be done online and what is discouraged or even not allowed.
This table indicates the areas of e-business for which policy statements and practical guidelines might be created and suggestions as to what they might include.
| Aspect of e-business |
Policy - for the business |
Practical Guidelines - for individual staff |
| management |
importance to the business, management structure |
who, procedures, budget, evaluation |
| integration of e-business into the overall business |
why integrate and expected outcomes |
what aspects, timeframes, scope, who is responsible |
| website content |
expected quality and results |
scope, tone of material, exclusions, quality control |
| staff use of the Web |
purpose and outcomes |
when, who has access, restrictions |
| staff use of email |
purpose and outcomes |
when, who has access, restrictions |
| information management |
define information, why manage it |
what information, how to archive |
| e-security |
purpose, importance |
procedures when online and in the office |
What to do
Use this table as a starting point for determining what aspects of your e-business require a policy statement and guidelines or procedures. Refer the drafting of these to those managing your e-business. Consultation with staff is important in drafting and finalising guidelines and procedures because they know what works and what doesn't and they have to implement them.
There are many e-business policies and guidelines published by government departments that may prove useful examples to follow when developing yours.
Managing - Internal policies and guidelines 
