A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by the Board of or senior governance body within an organization whereas procedures or protocols would be developed and adopted by senior executive officers. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making. Policies to assist in subjective decision making would usually assist senior management with decisions that must consider the relative merits of a number of factors before making decisions and as a result are often hard to objectively test 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.

Der Begriff Policy bezeichnet die inhaltliche Dimension von Politik.

Les politiques publiques (ou stratégie publique) se définissent comme un ensemble d'actions coordonnées, mises en œuvre avec pour objectif d'obtenir une modification ou une évolution d'une situation donnée.

En policy är en avsiktsförklaring och riktlinjer för att styra beslut och uppnå önskade mål. Termen används främst inom privata och offentliga organisationer och företag. EU:s regionala utvecklingsperspektiv och Carterdoktrinen är exempel på policydokument. Policyer skiljer sig mot lagtexter då en lagtext kan förbjuda och förhindra ett visst beteende eller en viss handling (exempelvis finns det lag som kräver att man betalar skatt) medan en policy endast vägleder mot de handlingar som troligast ger önskat resultat.

Con il termine policy si intende la politica pubblica, "reale", contrapposta alla politics che invece indica i meri rapporti di forza su basi ideologiche tra forze politiche e leaders. I due significati non sono traducibili in italiano perché nel nostro vocabolario entrambi i significati ricadono sotto il termine generico di "politica", la differenziazione del termine infatti è di origine statunitense e della cultura locale fortemente pragmatica.