Deck 6: Defining Future Direction of the Organization

Question 1

Explain the concept of "strategic direction". What purpose does it serve in the strategic planning and management process?

Answer 1

$\bullet$ An organization's "strategic direction" is a lodestar for all its strategic activities. It ensures that those activities, plans, and decisions are working in synchronization with each other to move the organization along a single coherent path. As strategic plans are chosen and implemented, the decision makers will constantly refer to the expressed "strategic direction" to make sure that they are on course. Without a strategic direction, the organization is likely to wander aimlessly through its competitive market place, waste resources and time, and perform at lower levels.

Question 2

Through what means does an organization express its future direction? Where would someone look to find a description of that direction?

Answer 2

$\bullet$ After careful deliberation of many people inside and outside the organization, its future strategic direction must be expressed in writing in a traditional series of documents. They are the Mission Statement (the current purpose for the organization's existence, what it does and does not do), the Vision Statement (a description of a future state that the organization is trying to create for itself), the Values Statement (guidelines for employee behavior as they conduct the operational and strategic activities of the organization), and the Strategic Objectives (more specific and practical description of the strategic initiatives the organization proposes to take over the next few years in moving toward its vision). Most organizations make all these documents publicly available.

Question 3

At what levels in the organizational structure is it possible to define future direction?

Answer 3

$\bullet$ There is value in defining future direction at every level of an organization, all the way down to the individual employee. At the very least, a multi-SBU corporation must have a strategic direction for the management of its portfolio of SBUs, each SBU or freestanding business must have a strategic direction, and there is a good argument for each functional area in a business preparing strategic direction documents.

Question 4

Who is responsible for defining an organization's future direction? Describe a model process by which an organization could prepare a definition of its direction.

Question 5

Explain the terms "mission" and "vision" and distinguish between them.

Question 6

Under what circumstances should an organization consider changing its mission statement?

Question 7

What are the characteristics of a good mission statement?

Question 8

Explain your views on the role of social responsibility in the missions of health care organizations.

Question 9

Under what circumstances should an organization consider changing its vision statement?

Question 10

What are the characteristics of a good vision statement?

Question 11

What is the practical purpose of a statement of organizational values?

Question 12

List five values that a retail pharmacy might adopt.

Question 13

Explain the concept of "strategic objectives". Describe three strategic objectives that a community hospital might adopt.