In 750-1,000 words atnalyze the mission, vision, and value statements for a heal
ID: 399693 • Letter: I
Question
In 750-1,000 words atnalyze the mission, vision, and value statements for a health care organization of your choosing. (Mission statements may sometimes be labeled as "purpose." If there are multiple statements for your organization, please use the one designated as a "mission" statement.)
State the mission and vision of the organization.
Critique the mission and value from the selected organization as a starting point for strategic planning and plan development, utilizing the criteria listed in Chapter 6 of the textbook. Does the mission have characteristics of a good mission statement according to the textbook? Does the vision have characteristics of a good vision statement according to the textbook?
From the text book:
ItIt should be short, about 200 to 300 words, definitely no more thana single page. Drafting a concise mission statement can pose a chal-lenge for many executive teams that are inclined to describe atlength the premise of the organization.•It should be memorable (one reason for the brevity). Key stake-holders, certainly the managers and employees, should be able toremember it, almost verbatim, and explain it to someone elsewithout hesitating. It should be stated in broad enough terms to allow for the genera-tion and consideration of feasible alternative objectives and strate-gies without unduly stifling management creativity. The generalityof language gives the firm flexibility in adapting to changingexternal environments and internal operations.•It should be expansive in a way that reconciles differences among,and still appeals to, an organization's diverse stakeholders(employees, managers, shareholders, board of directors, customers,suppliers, distributors, creditors, government regulators and payers,labor unions, competitors, public interest groups, communitygroups, media, and the general public). All stakeholders' claims onan organization cannot be satisfied with equal emphasis. A goodmission statement indicates the relative attention that an organiza-tion will give to the interests of different stakeholders.It suggests where managers should be looking for future opportu-nity, and steers them away from other areas. It provides a basis forgenerating and screening strategic options, and selecting specificstrategies to implement.•It highlights the points of differentiation with other businesses, par-ticularly competitors, and sets forth the basis for the firm's competi-tive advantage.•It arouses positive feelings and emotions about the organization andan individual's role within it. It attracts and deters potential staff. Itgives the impression that the firm is successful, knows what it isdoing, is professionally managed, has direction, and is worthy oftime, support, and investment.•It is communicated to, understood by, and embraced by all membersof the organization.•It is more pragmatic, with a more immediate purpose, than a visionstatement.
A vision could be viewed as a kind of "dream" that motivates anddrives the organization. It is definitely different from what theorganization has now and appears to be a significant improvement.The difference between the current reality described in the missionstatement and the idealized future described in the vision statementrepresents a significant "stretch" for the organization. The vision isbold and there is some uncertainty about whether it can be achieved. •However, the vision statement is grounded in reality and it is pos-sible. It reflects a solid understanding of the organization's resourcesand competencies, in the context of the opportunities and threatsthat exist in the external environment.•It will be challenging for employees to accomplish the vision. Theywill have to develop new abilities, dedicate themselves passionatelyto the effort, and perform at their very highest levels. A truly sharedvision gets employees excited, makes them feel proud to be part ofthe organization that is pursuing it. They want to tell their friendswhat they are doing.•All the firm's stakeholders find something appealing about thevision, an aspect of it that serves their interests. It is flexible and adaptable enough to allow managers and employees to display indi-vidual initiative in pursuing it. It is capable of being communicatedto all interested parties.
3.Identify the major organizational resources needed to accomplish the mission and vision. (Competency 1:3)
4.Identify strategies to effectively manage resources to fulfil the organization's mission. (Competency 1:4)
5.Describe the substance of an organization's strategic objectives and the contribution they make to the strategic planning process.
Explanation / Answer
CVS CAREMARK
CVS Caremark is the largest retailer of prescription drugs in the United States and the second largest pharmacy benefits manager. The company was founded about fifty years ago and has grown to the largest in the health care sector through acquisitions and diversification model of business. Today the company is in the process of expanding its reach to benefit maximum number of customers. Through this the company aims to become a fully integrated provider of health services. The major focus of the company was to provide an affordable and accessible range of health care services to its customers.
Mission statement
“Above all else…our mission is to improve the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high quality health and pharmacy services which are safe, affordable and easy to access.”
It should be noted that the mission statement of CVS begins with the words “Above all else”. It proves that the mission has powerfully exhibited the top focus and priority of the company. In a business point of view, the company’s sole aim is not only to generate returns and profits. In fact, profit generation is only one part of the business. According to CVS, the customers or patients are the top most priority and that is the reason the company has launched a wide range of products and services. The three elements that the mission statement focuses are the customers or people that the company values, quality of the services and finally the affordability and accessibility of the products and services.
Thus the mission of CVS is to provide affordable and accessible innovative and high quality health and pharmacy services for better care and health of their patients, thereby improving the lives of their patients. This implies that CVS has a customer-centric mission statement where its products and services can benefit its customers.
From a strategic point of view, the mission statement should help managers in resource allocation and should help to make decisions for their day-to-day business as well as long-term. Hence it should have clarity and be specific. For a critical point of view, CVS mission statement could also include their target customers, its competitive advantages. However, the mission statement of CVS is specific to an extent that it expresses the direction of the brand. Still certain critical elements like employees, organization culture seem to be sidelined from its focus.
Vision Statement
Vision statements point to the view of the future that the brand wants to become. They do not necessarily be a narrow, broad or specific to give a glimpse of the future and how to reach that point in future. The vision statement of CVS is
“We strive to improve the quality of human life.” As it shows, the vision is too short and not too specific. There are many ways to improve the quality of human life and it does not precisely state how the company is planning to improve the quality of human life.
From a critical point of view, the vision statement should be more specific and may also hint what kind of improvements the company is planning to bring into the lives of the people and how they would benefit the people in terms of health. Further, the vision also clearly express how the company views to position itself financially in the future. It can also incorporate employees, competition and CSR. Thus the vision statement partly falls short on some of the parameters of business. In short, a vision should act as a guiding light for the managers to take the organization to the right direction. It should help the managers identify if their steps and decisions are in the right direction.
In order to accomplish what is stated in the mission and vision statement, the organization should be well structured with all the essential resources mainly competitive and skilled employees, financial resources, support from local as well as governmental organizations, other stake holders like suppliers, logistics, infrasturucture and facilities are the resources that are needed to accomplish the mission and vision.
Strategies to manage resources to fulfill the organization's mission
1. Planning
Planning is very important to manage resources like money. Even form the beginning identify the resources required for each project and the estimate the amount of money required. This will help to wisely manage the resources and will be able to save money in the long run for achieving the mission and vision.
2. Do it in a structured and systemmatic way
Systemmatic approach means setting up the standards of performance and benchmarking the performance, allocating targets and responsibilities for the employees, training the employees, taking corrective measures, reporting and performance measurement and finally reviewing the performance.
3. Incorporate technology
Incorporating technology will speed-up the process and make the process more efficient. This will minimise the risk and errors and does not require manpower. In turn, the manpower can be utilised for other projects.
For example, Resource management softwares help in scheduling and managing the performance and productivity of the employees.