> A reason can be argued against while a policy must just be followed.
And if you talk to people directing policy efforts (who are often not the ones writing, or even actively choosing, policy but generally are the ones formally signing off), you often don't have to dig very far to find that settling discussions is as important of a rationale for the policy as any of the others. This obviously conflicts with ideals like continuous improvement, but it's true lots of places including those with nominal commitments to continuous improvement.
And if you talk to people directing policy efforts (who are often not the ones writing, or even actively choosing, policy but generally are the ones formally signing off), you often don't have to dig very far to find that settling discussions is as important of a rationale for the policy as any of the others. This obviously conflicts with ideals like continuous improvement, but it's true lots of places including those with nominal commitments to continuous improvement.