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Importance of Mission and Vision Statements

Topic: Company Missions
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The development of mission and vision statements is an essential component of the organization’s strategic management. Before its initiation, management should be aware of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses (Ginter et al., 2018). The creation of mission and vision statements involves asking a set of questions. It is valuable to get the responses of the principals as well as staff nurses and clerical workers: it gives a variety of perspectives (Huber & Lindell, 2021). The working group should include administrative and non-administrative employees who understand the “big picture” and be capable of looking at things from a leader’s perspective.

During the process of development, managers should ensure that every participant is committed. Major stakeholders should assess the current aspects of the organization’s success and their future perceptions. Ginter et al. (2018) suggest using a strategic thinking map to generate keywords. Then the group develops a draft and refines it. The last step is distributing the mission and vision statements among other important stakeholders to gain their support and feedback. Although internal stakeholders are more important in developing a mission and vision, external ones might affect an organization’s profit (Ledlow & Stephens, 2018). Therefore, it is crucial to think of conforming with the expectations of the external environment and the possible outcomes.

Stakeholders have different responsibilities in the organization’s mission and vision statements’ development. Managers must involve employees to create a sense of commitment, direct the communication process, ensure that stakeholders accept the statements (Ginter et al., 2018). Internal stakeholders should participate in the brainstorming or provide their feedback. Nurse leaders’ responsibility is to manage relationships due to the mission and vision, ensuring their department’s or unit’s performance complies with them (Huber & Lindell, 2021). The statements should be publicly posted to communicate to key external stakeholders the organization’s identity and purpose and gain their response.

The mission and vision are foundational to strategic planning in a health care organization for several reasons. Mission outlines the organization’s identity pointing out to the stakeholders of the organization and the duties towards them. Vision shows long-term goals and identifies the future of the organization. It helps prepare for innovations and forecast changes (Taiwo & Lawal, 2016). Well-formulated mission and vision statements should motivate employees, give a sense of purpose, and state the work direction. They also improve the company’s image and boost external relations (Alegre, 2018). In conclusion, strong mission and vision companies are more productive and competitive.

Summerlin Hospital, Las Vegas

Statement type Identify statement Identify key terms that represent the facilities’ goals Identify if the statement is a strong or weak representation of the organization. Explain why you think the statement is a strong or weak representation of the organization.
Mission “To provide exceptional quality patient care in a safe and compassionate environment that provides a positive healing experience for patients and their families” (Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, n.d., para. 8). Exceptional quality, safe and compassionate environment, positive experience Strong It is a strong mission statement because it gives explicit and concise employee guidelines and attracts patients. It includes target clients, specifies services (patient care), and values (quality, safety, etc.). Hence, it unambiguously explains whom they serve, what services they offer, what they want to be. This mission statement effectively defines the organization’s purpose and its uniqueness. It contains a distinct feature – a special attitude to patients and their families. It obtains the power to motivate employees and provide a shared sense of purpose. It also works towards enhancing external relations: many people dream of meeting a compassionate friend in their doctor. This mission statement distinctively shows the organization’s concern for its community. In addition, it provides a delightful picture. Keywords give the target auditory feelings of hope, calmness, and joy.
Vision “To be recognized as a community health leader distinguished by our people, quality, service, and dedication to patients and families. Our passion will be to deliver care in a patient and family-centered manner:
Every person
Every time
Every Day
Everywhere
Our care will be guided by the principles of respect, dignity, empathy and the emotional well-being of our patients” (Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, n.d., para. 10-15).		 Community health leader, people (staff), quality, service, dedication to people, patient and family-centered manner, every, respect, dignity, empathy, emotional well-being. Strong Summerlin Hospital’s vision statement is strong because it creates an inspiring image of a perfect healthcare organization: a leading company with the best professionals and services. This vision statement is excellent in the organization’s “big picture” description. It seems well-grounded as it also describes the desired conduct of their personnel. As their mission statement, it is also patient-oriented. It is a place where the friendly staff makes everything for satisfying patients’ needs. This place is so good that it resembles home. This vision statement evokes a strong positive emotional response. Moreover, it creates an atmosphere of significance. Therefore, it has the power to result in higher performance and could be used as a beacon for decision-making and goal setting.

Mountain View Hospital, Las Vegas

Statement type Identify statement Identify key terms that represent the facilities’ goals Identify if the statement is a strong or weak representation of the organization. Explain why you think the statement is a strong or weak representation of the organization.
Mission “We recognize and affirm the unique and intrinsic worth of each individual. · We treat all we serve with compassion and kindness. We trust our colleagues as valuable members of our healthcare team and pledge to treat one another with loyalty, respect and dignity. We act with absolute honesty, integrity and fairness in the way we conduct our business and the way we live our lives” (Mountain View Hospital, n.d., para. 1). Unique and intrinsic worth, compassion and kindness, valuable members, loyalty, respect and dignity, honesty, integrity, and fairness. Strong, but weaker than Summerlin Hospital’s mission statement. The mission statement is weaker than Summerlin Hospital’s mission statement because it seems rather generic. By the way, it could not be called utterly powerless because it could work. The mission statement specifies the stakeholders (patients, staff, business partners) and values (loyalty, dignity, honesty, etc.). It is instructive as it creates the guidelines for the team. In addition, it is unambiguous and could make an emotional bond with the organization. This mission statement also includes concern for public image, ethical priorities, and respect for employees. It is clear that the organization values its human resources. However, this mission statement does not contain exclusive strengths and features. Compared to Summerlin Hospital’s mission, it is all-embracing: it includes comments on proper patients’ treatment, relationships between colleagues and business partners. Still, a strong mission statement should distinguish an organization from a wide range of competitors. Therefore, it would be better to choose one unique strength to create a clear and compelling message.
Vision “To be the premier provider of exceptional care” (Mountain View Hospital, n.d., para. 2). Premier, exceptional care Strong, but weaker than Summerlin Hospital’s vision statement. I think that the vision statement is weaker than Summerlin Hospital’s because it is not so unique. It has certain pluses: this vision statement is inspiring, ambitious, and rather attractive. It is about excellence achieved through first-class customer care. It could be effective as it provides a meaningful general direction for the organization’s members. However, they should consider adding some details describing how to achieve the desired position – to become a premier provider. Therefore, it would be better if this vision statement specified the stated scope of the exception, setting comparatively small and attainable objectives or hint at the preferred staff’s behavior. In addition, this complementary information will provide a better understanding of the company’s purpose for both internal and external stakeholders. In that way, they will feel empowered and be more committed to the organization’s policy and principles.

References

Alegre, I., Berbegal-Mirabent, J., Guerrero, A., & Mas-Machuca, M. (2018). The real mission of the mission statement: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(4), 456-473.

Ginter, P. M., Duncan, J. W., Swayne, L. E. (2018). Strategic management of health care organizations (8th ed.). Wiley.

Huber, D. L. & Lindell, J. M. (2021). Leadership and nursing care management (7th ed.). Elsevier.

Ledlow, G. R. & Stephens, J. H. (2018). Leadership for health professionals: Theory, skills, and applications (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Mountain View Hospital. (n.d.). Mission & Vision. Web.

Summerlin Hospital Medical Center. (n.d.). About the Summerlin Hospital. 

Taiwo, A. A., & Lawal, F. A. (2016). Vision and mission in organization: Myth or heuristic device? The International Journal of Business & Management, 4(3), 127-34.