Phantom policies are policies, programs, or initiatives that fail to address successfully the issues they were created to solve. Phantom policies are policies that have some effect, however, not in the ways intended, or not to the extent that the policymakers intended. This paper will discuss the phantom policy as a management tool. The study will be focused on how organizations and governments can employ symbolic policy instruments to mollify various stakeholding groups, as well as managing political, social, and administrative challenges. It is argued that phantom policy as a management tool exists in between effective policy and no policy at all. The study will examine the ways in which the vagueness, ambiguity, and limited scope of policies can be used by policymakers and administrators to mask the lack of significant action and attempt to achieve policy effectiveness at the same time. The potential benefits, as well as the costs, of phantom policies will be discussed. In particular, it will be argued that such policies might create leeway for political wrangling, however, they can also undermine the trust of the public, as well as overall administrative effectiveness. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the ways in which phantom policies contribute to, as well as impede upon contemporary governance and policy analysis. By providing a theoretical background of phantom policy, this study will contribute to a better understanding of the processes of public policy formulation and implementation, and how these processes can be improved.