Organizational Vision and Visionary Organizations

Upendra Gupta 28-NOV-12 Organizational Vision & Visionary Organizations (Summary) Purpose of the Article: In this article authors presents the importance of vision statement and framework that help any organization in order to achieve successfully and all stakeholders involved focus for targeting common goals. It also shows the importance and need of framework that’s required for organization vision. Most of the organizations focus on vision in order to fulfill their mission statement.
Normally all of these vision or mission statements contain so many inspirational words that attract not only employees but outsider investors as well. Organization Vision is something is that’s required compelling, guiding force for mission statement. Terminologies: * Guiding Philosophy: It’s the starting point of vision frame where organization vision focuses on decisions, policies and actions for all phase of evolution. It resides in the background, ever-present and in the woodwork and it is deep and serene. Core values and Beliefs: These are the organization’s basic precepts about what is important in business and life, how business should be conducted, its view of humanity, its role in society, the way the world works, and what is to be held inviolate. It may be focused about customers, people, products and management ; business. * Purpose: It is second part of guiding philosophy and in the woodwork of the organization and is not set or created as much as it is recognized or discovered. * Environment: It serves a moderating role in the translation of purpose into mission.
By its very nature, guiding philosophy is generated relatively free of current environmental conditions—it comes from within people. Missions, on the other hand, will be affected by the environment—they are affected by timing, trends, technology, and other external factors. * Tangible Image: Its second major component of vision framework. It is in the foreground, focusing people’s attention on a specific goal and also a bold, exciting, and emotionally charged. * Mission: It is a clear and compelling goal that serves to unify an organization’s efforts.

Mission can be set by 4 approaches: Targeting, Common Enemy, Role Model, and Internal Transformation. * Vivid description: It is an organization’s opportunity to express in detail what it will feel like to achieve their goal. It represents a vibrant, engaging, and specific description of what it will be like when the mission is achieved and provokes emotion and generates excitement. Major Findings or Arguments: * Report what was actually found to be true: Articulating an effective corporate vision can be difficult. However, it’s positively mentioned by author in the article.
He advised how and why vision and impudent goals are at the core of “the stable great company” and reveals the evolution of the visionary organization. He also describes a framework for expressing a vision for your company. There is significant relationship between visionary major components called guiding philosophy and tangible images. Both of the components also have other elements that pay a key role for vision framework. Author presented few examples like Giro sport design and Merck pharmaceuticals that shows real strength of core values and beliefs along with proper illustration of entire vision framework in actions.
Overall, guiding philosophy of the organization becomes operationalized in the tangible image, and it takes organization’s expected future environment into account. In Sense, environment serves a moderating role in the translation of purpose into mission. * Criticize them by your own thoughts: I believe that organization creates vision keeping in mind of people interest and deviate the purpose and mission organization supposed to achieve. Balancing act amongst all the components for vision frame needs to align keeping in mind of people, customers, about products and management & business.
Organization shouldn’t just concentrate on nice vision or mission statement but also focus on meeting the target by good mean. They should always keep in mind core values and beliefs as it’s important as per any individual perspective and affects a lot if not met under guideline. I also think that a unified organizational vision helps an organization may provide direction and purpose of our core values internally and externally, in a well-articulated and easily understood way Encourages team sprit by building loyalty through involvement and shared commitment
Organizations need to understand that mission should not be mixed with its purpose. Mission should have finite end line and purpose should be broader way to get next mission of the organization. Few of the organizations like ford and NASA had suffered where their mission met early and nothing was target for later. Authors mentioned that missions should not be limited by the constraints of strategic analysis. Its setting should be proactive, not reactive and strategic analysis should be done after not during the mission-setting process.
Without a strong vision, strategic plans might not be properly executed since there is no guiding principle or over bending plan. Methodology As part of the understanding the vision, total 75 organization of small or big, young or Old and for-profit and not-for-profit are chosen that have influenced the development of vision framework. 20 of them are picked up by CEOs of top leading companies for the study that has most visionary organizations that have behaved in visionary ways over long periods of time.
Complete analysis done based upon vision provided and achieved by most of the successful organization as how they established their vision and last for 100 years and so. Application of the research: I think this study will be helpful for the organizations who want to present facts through their vision or mission statements. It gives proper guideline how it may impact the organizational growth if vision framework components are properly aligned as per market needs and doesn’t satisfy truly organization common goals.
Nevertheless, it is clear without a vision statement, an organization’s performance and culture would be similar to a ship without a wheel. Organizational vision brings a sense of purpose to an organization. A vision statement acts like a filter which enables the people and management decide what to do and more importantly what not to do in their everyday work life. Questions: 1. How does organization vision gets impacted if leader of the organizations quits and original vision was prepared by him/her? 2.
What are the other features than vision framework that distinguish visionary organization? 3. Will this organization vision framework be applicable to each and every country in the world? If not then how will it differ? References: 1. Article 7 Collins_Vision_1991 2. http://www. leadershipreview. org/2008fall/article1_fall_2008. asp 3. http://www. scribd. com/doc/109265760/Correlation-Between-Organizational-Thinking-amp-Strategic-Vision 4. http://www. help4nonprofits. com/NP_Bd_MissionVisionValues_Art. htm