A method and computer program product for detecting a policy conflict in a managed system includes examining a plurality of policy rules for overlapping policy targets, in response to finding no overlapping policy targets, reporting that the policy rules do not conflict, and in response to finding overlapping policy targets, examining the plurality of policy rules for at least two rules having a same condition and a same event, and, in response to not finding at least two rules having a same condition and a same event, reporting that the policy rules do not conflict.