Expressing organisational purpose Flashcards
STRATEGY AND ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE
What is the purpose of an organisation and why is it so important?
What is the traditional view of commercial corporate purpose?
What is the problem with this? (2)
The purpose is the fundamental reason why an organisation exists
(If do not understand the purpose, how can an appropriate strategy be devised?)
Traditional view = to generate profit (very money-centric, and all other aims, objectives and goals will be similarly money-centric)
problem = such a static perspective fails to consider either people or time:
(1) People will always skew and personalise the focus = individuals will have a slightly different vision of the future, and different personal goals
(2) Time is a significant aspect of all strategic thinking = always have a number of ‘ifs’ or presumptions surrounding (even the relatively near future is uncertain)
STRATEGY AND ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE
Organisational purpose has to be segregated and viewed from what 3 different time dimensions?
These are best defined through a series of questions to be posed by the strategist. Name 4 for each.
- PAST
(1) What can we learn from the history of the organisation?
(2) Have there been previous definitions of purpose and strategy?
(3) What has been used to benchmark progress?
(4) How has success been measured and recognised? - PRESENT
(1) What are today’s values?
(2) Is the prevailing culture likely to be oblivious to change, in need of change, or resistant to change?
(3) What are the restraining forces and parameters of today?
(4) How is success measured today? - FUTURE
(1) What needs to change, and why is there a need for change?
(2) Are the strategic views of different key players disparate or aligned?
(3) How far ahead can we realistically visualise?
(4) What will be the success measures of the future?
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC VISION - THE TATICAL PLAN
What is the tactical plan?
What does it emanate from and what is it the result of?
Each person in each organisation is making their own individual contribution in their own individual way to the operation of the organisation. This is definable under what 3 core functions?
Adjust may be a lengthy and time-consuming process, but this will depend on what? (3)
= describes what is happening now, ‘today’, in the operation of the business, at this very moment in time
emanates from the consideration of the ‘future’ that has taken place as part of the development of strategy and is the result of the tactics that are derived in the review process
- Implement = fulfilling tasks that are required to achieve the required and expected operational results.
- Monitor results = understand whether it is working as expected.
- Adjust = within the predefined parameters of the current tactical plan people are empowered to make adjustments to enable the task to be completed to allow the plan to be implemented
depend on the enormity of the change, the potential impact of the strategy and the size and culture of the organisation
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC VISION - THE TATICAL PLAN
Everything that sits outside the current tactical plan can be defined as what?
Bennis and Nanus (1985) suggest that ‘vision’ is a what?
What does vision need to do?
Lynch (2015) recommends that the concept of strategic organisational vision needs a wider consideration than that supported by Bennis and Nanus. What is his suggestion?
What does this lead to? (2)
part of the strategic vision of the organisation
Bennis and Nanus (1985) = a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organisation
Vision needs to move the organisation beyond its current restrictions and parameters.
Lynch (2015) = Vision is a challenging and imaginative picture of the future role and objectives of an organisation, significantly going beyond its current environment and competitive position
2 different dimensions and timeframes for the concept of vision:
(1) anything that changes the current tactical plan and its parameters
(2) something bold, big and challenging.
(these are simply different ends of the same dynamic, and both require equal consideration)
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC VISION - THE TATICAL PLAN
In summary, vision is a fundamental aspect of the development and challenging of strategy. Expand on this. (5)
- It starts the process – there is an awareness of the need for change.
- It requires a challenge to the purpose – the organisation might be fulfilling the purpose today, but what about tomorrow?
- It challenges the existing perceived boundaries.
- It requires more than just an extension or replication of the current picture.
- It provides a challenge for the people involved, and this becomes an iterative process
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
What is the difference between organisational vision and mission?
Maccoby (2017) discusses the need for an organisational mission to be emotionally driven. What does this mean?
What are the 6 core aspects of human emotion that need to be considered in the shaping and development of meaning within organisational mission?
Organisational vision will identify a picture of the perceived outcome – what does it look like?
Organisational mission will define the rationale and the values – why does it look like that?
He suggests that it is the emotionally charged needs and values of the people involved in the process that need to be shaped into a motivational value system = give the mission an underlying drive and commitment from the core players.
- Survival = the basic human instinct of defence of oneself and one’s group.
- Relatedness = the human need to interact and work with others.
- Play = the drive to explore and innovate.
- Information = the desire to understand and learn.
- Dignity = the need to feel a part of the whole and recognise our individual role.
- Mastery = the requirement to feel in control of at least part of what we do.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
Mission takes the organisational purpose from the brain to the heart. The concept of mission requires a belief in what?
There is a human need to do what?
What are the 2 objectives within a mission statement.
in the perceived outcome
to clarify and write down organisational mission in a ‘mission statement’, with the (1) external objective of declaring the organisational purpose to the world at large, and (2) the internal objective of ensuring that employees have an understanding of the organisational mission and purpose.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
What are the 5 core traits Lynch (2015) identifies that tend to sit within a mission statement?
- The nature of the business = what business are we in and what business should we be in?
- A focus on the perceived needs of the customer or consumer = what needs are we trying to satisfy?
- The values and beliefs of the organisation = what drives us?
- An element of sustainable competitive advantage = what gives us confidence in our viability?
- The reasons for our existence = what underpins our approach to life and business?
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
How does Johnson (2017) identify the difference between the internal and the external role of a mission statement? (4)
Argenti (1989) aligns his approach to mission statements with that of Johnson’s external perspective. What does he suggest?
by suggesting an interaction between strategic drivers (internal and external) and the ethical stance (legal minimum and ideological) of the organisation:
(1). internal & legal minimum = secretive (keeping to self)
(2). internal & ideological = evangelical (spreading the word)
(3). external & legal minimum = regulation procedure (keeping others happy)
(4). external & ideological = politics (trying to satisfy all, all of the time)
(the internal approach being derived from the internal human feelings, the external approach being derived from perceived expectation)
suggests that mission statements are more to do with public relations (the image of the company that the directors wish to portray) than with corporate strategic planning.
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
What tool did Campbell (1991) develop and why?
Explain this model? (4)
Ashridge Mission Model = to identify and challenge the core drivers and rationale behind an organisation’s mission.
- The purpose needs to describe why the company exists.
- The values need to describe what the company believes in, and who it is within the company that believes in this.
- The standards and behaviours need to identify how the company operates in order to maintain the values of the purpose.
- The strategy must be viewed, developed and driven holistically across the organisation, recognising its competitive position and USP
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC MISSION - THE RATIONALE
How can the McKinsey 7S framework be used regarding mission?
What is at the centre of the framework?
How are the other 6S split?
What did McKinsey suggest about each group?
Do all 7S have an equal weighting when being used to interpret different aspects of an organisation and its strategy?
used to challenge the organisational mission
centre = ‘shared values’ of the organisation, with 6 surrounding factors being separated into hard and soft areas.
Hard areas = strategy, structure, and systems
Soft areas = skills, staff, and style
the hard elements are much easier to identify and manage than the softer elements, although the softer elements will be the foundation of the ethics of the organisation and its employees.
Yes = this aligned approach would be required to challenge the mission and the mission statement of any particular organisation
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES - INTENTIONS & ACTIONS
What are objectives?
What are organisational goals?
In many organisations, and many texts on strategy, the terms goals and objectives are used interchangeably. How did Mintzberg (1994) distinguish between the 2 terms?
What are the strategic objectives of an organisation?
Objectives = a range of criteria that identify and clarify differing aspects of the vision and mission’
Organisational goals = ‘specific and definable outcomes that enable identification of progress towards achieving the objectives’
suggested that an ‘objective’ is a goal expressed in the form by which its attainment can be measured – e.g. a goal may be to cut costs, but the objective would be to reduce the overall budget by a certain percentage
The strategic objectives of an organisation take the vision and mission and attempt to place these into a series of organisational statements and outcomes
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT - TAKING A HOLISTIC VIEW
The purpose of dividing the development of strategy into different, manageable sections is to help with the focus. Often these different aspects – vision, mission, objective, goals, etc. – will be the responsibility of different people or teams
within an organisation.
What is crucial?
Name an example.
crucial that there is also a holistic picture that aligns all of the different aspects
BAE Systems does this at a high level, but this gives the board a clear picture of the governance oversight required, and probably also helps to drive the internal culture of BAE
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - ‘SMART’ THINKING
One frequently used method of focusing on the specific attributes of the strategic objectives is the use of the acronym SMART. Why?
What does SMART stand for?
What is the purpose?
When does a problem always arise?
‘SMART thinking and SMART objectives lead to SMART results
Interpretation of the letters will vary depending upon the writer, the tutor and the situation; the following are suggestive:
S – specific
M – measurable
A – attainable
R – realistic
T – timely
Purpose = to provide a structure through which a series of criteria can be assessed, considered and challenged.
problem always arises when such a tool is used in a purely generic manner and not aligned with the particular circumstances of an organisation and its individuals
ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE - ‘SMART’ THINKING
It is important to recognise that the strategic objectives of the organisation will not always be financial. Why?
Why has the concept of ‘triple bottom line’ developed?
What does this suggest? / What are the 3 core areas of strategic objective?
How does the International Integrated Reporting Council take this further?
CA2006 requires all companies (other than small companies) to discuss the financial and non-financial indicators of the organisation within their annual strategic report; these need to be SMART
The increasing importance of the environmental stakeholder and the need for organisations to consider their longer-term sustainability
TBL = suggests that an organisation should be looking at 3 core areas of strategic objective = (1) financial performance, (2) addition of value to shareholders and stakeholders, and (3) the impact of the organisation upon the economy, environment and society
(The interaction of all three of these areas is fundamentally important in maintaining a positive organisational reputation)
IIRC = actively encourages organisations to view their strategic objectives and produce their annual report and accounts in an integrated manner
