What would happen if policies were not adhered to?

What would happen if policies were not adhered to?
A "policy" is very much like a decision or a set of decisions, and we "make", "implement" or "carry out" a policy just as we do with decisions. When a company creates a policy its setting up an across company"decision. These policies are normally signed off at the highest level of a company. Policies do have a "shelf life" and should be reviewed on a regular basis. When the business operation is no longer following policy an assessment of the policy is required as is the adopted new decision being used. When polices go in one direction and the operation goes the other confusion occurs and can lead to serious issues. I.e. If a policy states that the business will do X and its actually doing Y and for some reason a serious incident occurs which may have a legal out come then the business will have uncomfortable questions to answer as to why there is not significant control in place.