HSN 544 Mission AND Vision Statements Lecture Notes PDF

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HSN 544 MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS LECTURE NOTES Mission and vision statements define an organizations' purpose and direction. These statements embody the very essence of the organization's culture. The question asked, "Is it possible to work for an organization that has a different philosophy than your personal philosophy?" My honest response is, there are many of "us" who work for organizations whose philosophy is juxtaposed to our own. Those of "us" who do, are merely functioning in our positions, and possibly either lack the drive for growth, experience conflict in many instances, or inhibits the patient expectations as guided by the organizations statements. However, if you have been out of work for any length of time and your personal resources have begun to dwindle your first priority is to find a position as quickly as possible that will allow you to pay your bills. I was working in the Corporate sector and making what I clearly describe as "real" money. I never anticipated that one sunny day in the month of September the fall of the Twin Towers would forever change my life, my potential and for a few weeks while the shock subsided, my motivation. The point-of-sale advertising agency that I loved closed its doors and as a result of the closing my future, and the future of approximately 35 other staff with mortgages, tuition payments for themselves and their children, credit card debt, etc. I don't know about other cities, but as far as New York is concerned, the cost of living is extremely expensive and Unemployment benefits barely pay the utility bills. I budgeted my severance pay as long as I could and then I found it necessary to withdraw monies from my savings account and 401K. At the end of six months my financial boat was about to capsize and I needed to find employment. A small ad in a local newspaper steered me in the direction of the employment that I currently have even though I had to manage a continuation of the financial "drought" in my household. I was forced to take a $20,000 pay cut that I have not made up to this day. The agency did not give health care benefits until you completed a 90-day probationary period. I was forced to carry COBRA because of my own medical challenges and the need for my medications (with a co-pay). When I received an appointment for my interview I nearly skipped down the street. The idea of potential employment after the hit my household had taken was enough for me. I was very fortunate and when I left the agency that day I had a brand new job. My situation was desperate at best and I did an excellent job of selling myself and they hired me on the first interview. The HR Coordinator was calling my references while I completed my interview. Fortunately, I left my previous employers in a reputable manner and each one gave me a four star reference. I did not know the extent of my new assignment until I was sitting at my desk. This week's assignment about the difference between our philosophy and that of the organization is very timely because my ideology was at the opposite end of the spectrum. It is 13 years later and I have never looked back. Everyday I am grateful for the opportunity to advocate for a population that is often alienated from family and friends at the end of the day when I leave my office I feel a sense of accomplishment. The simplest way to establish a clear directional path toward the mission statement is to promote it starting from the top. When an organization's administration and management act consistently

within the confines of the mission statement and their character represents the values of the company, then they are assuring institutional integrity. The mission statement is an institution's formal, public declaration of its purposes and its vision of excellence. Ideally it contains enough specificity for determining whether alternative educational and institutional practices could advance the mission. The mission statement is the necessary condition for many different individuals to pull together through a myriad of activities to achieve central shared purposes. It seems essential that the mission statement of any educational institution include a description of the education that is envisioned for its students. The length of the mission statement--whether a single sentence or several paragraphs--is not critical; what is important is that the mission statement should be as long as necessary to articulate the most basic purposes of the institution. When planning a curriculum one must look at the vision and direction that the organization wishes to go. The vision is a compelling sense of the future direction of the facility that should be widely shared and inspire commitment. There is also a mission statement, which is a written declaration defining the school's educational purpose. Educational aims might be included in the mission statement or listed separately. Together with the vision and mission they provide focus and guidance on what the priorities are. The strategic plan gives practical direction to the vision, mission statement and aims. What are the considerations of an educator when planning educational program/orientation/preceptor programs/etc? In relationship to curriculum design the initial steps of the educator include identifying the students (e.g. young adult or mature adult learner), an assessment of his or her academic ability, effective communication between student and educator, and meeting or exceeding the goals and objectives of the students for a positive outcome. The curriculum design should promote longterm sustainability and play a critical role in aligning the student with the mission, vision and core values of the organization where they are employed. Feedback will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students and serve as a source of reliable information in the development of a competent, high skilled staff. How does mission influence education/curriculum design? The mission expresses the purposes, values and principles of the organization. Therefore, the curriculum design should reaffirm the mission statement which will affect the viability and visibility of an organization. Finally, the curriculum design should identify the critical needs and these needs should be adddressed in the education component to create a result-based target goal for each organization initiative. Mission influence education/curriculum design because the foundation of student leaning is through curriculum design which is to improve student learning. The overall context is to align educational and curriculum design that outline what is to be taught and the road map that is needed so that the students will learn the informative outlined. The standard mission outline the methods that are expected to fulfill the requirements that enhance the students learning. Which

expands the understanding of concepts and methods necessary to advance in a learning environment. According to Bart & Baetz (1998) "mission and vision statements play three critical roles: (1) communicate the purpose of the organization to stakeholders, (2) inform strategy development, and (3) develop the measurable goals and objectives by which to gauge the success of the organization's strategy." The Mission and Vision statements of the organization where I am employed express the purposes, core values and principles of the organization and consequently reaffirm the mission as outlined in the organization's Strategic Plan. In order to broaden allocation formulas and funding levels it is important to have a Mission and Vision statement that is essential for social services support. The organization has successfully provided a comprehensive array of services and established more efficient procedures to identify strengths and weaknesses to better position the agency and a continuum of care. Is it possible to work for an organization that has a different philosophy than your personal philosophy? It is possible to work for an organization that has a different philosophy than your personal philosophy. HIV/AIDS was originally diagnosed as the result of risky behaviors among same gender loving individuals. As an ordained clergyperson my religious denomination does not condone Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth and adult identities or relationships. The agency where I am employed was founded to provide direct services to people living with HIV/AIDS. Although this is a different philosophy than my personal philosophy my religious denomination did not take into consideration that an individual very close to me would die at the age of 42 leaving behind a young widow and two small children. Many years later an unexpected career change would serve as a reminder of this untimely death because I would subsequently find employment in a community-based HIV/AIDS service organization. In addition to my administrative responsibilities I serve as the faith-based liaison sharing my specific experiences and situations to educate the population that previously refused to address HIV/AIDS in health fairs or health-related forums. The importance of mission and vision statements exemplify a work environment where everyone is valued, professional and personal growth and opportunity is respected. These statements display outstanding values, that pride organizations in development that meet the community needs. Setting a foundation based on values that associates can follow so that their behavior display the organization core values. I think it is possible to work for an organization that has different philosophy than one's own personal philosophy. I think many organizations set their values measured to a standard guideline which is to serve to the fullest potential. However, some associates may not agree with an organizations methods that serve the people but they still work for the organization with some resentment for financial gain only. Take for example my current first job. It values; growth, clinical excellence, courtesy and caring, partners, healing environment, efficiency and resource stewardship. It's vision is realized when

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Patients, family and friends acknowledge their experience as "ideal patient care." Employees and volunteer look forward to coming to work each day.

This is a magnet status hospital and I've worked in this hospital for eight years and love the people I work with. We're like family. My second job values; compassion, integrity, excellence, teamwork, and wholeness. I've only worked in this environment for eight months but I love the team I work with so no doubt I'd stay for a while too. Both job mirrors my personal philosophy so going to work is a piece of cake because my personal life is in syn with my work environment. Personally I believe it's tough to work in an environment whose mission opposes your personal philosophy. From experience I've had three short jobs I only stayed in 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and two years because their personal philosophies contradicted mine. One of these jobs was a very prestigious and highest paying job of my career. At a blink of an eye, I would get bonuses anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 and not to mention when I traveled I doubled sometimes tripled my salary. I loved the high profile, highly political, challenging, and exciting lifestyle until one day I found out that I had to "dirty" my soul in order to survive and stay in this environment. I handed my noticed and within two weeks I walked away and never looked back. Because of that experienced, when I became a manager a very short time afterward, I was determined to uphold the most honest, fair, and highest integrity work place for my employees. I'm not naive to believe that the're people out there that need to compartmentalize in order to perform jobs that contradicts or are not in syn with their personal philosophies for example; military, intelligence community, medical care to hardened criminals, or criminal lawyers. These people have mastered the art of compartmentalizing in order for their professional lives not to spill over to their professional lives. I'm forever grateful to be a nurse where my choices of workplace and field is vast and competitive....