Corporate Vision

Vision Content Paper

Introduction
Vision “should be a guide, inspiring, directive, and large.” (Leading Authorities, 2009). “A vision is the preferred future, a desirable state, and ideal state. It is an expression of optimism. A vision is a general statement encompassing the direction an agency wants to take and the desired end result once it gets there. It is the vision of what those involved what their organization to become.” (Associatedcontent.com, 2007) In addition, a vision for an organization needs to be communicated in order to be effective and received the buy-in necessary to carry out its objective. This is also very true when there is a large and profound change the need to occur with the organization such as the one Victoria Hospital Redesign Initiative undertook. This paper will discuss the Victoria’s vision, mission, and strategy for achieving their vision and what they did well and what techniques they could have used to improve the goal.

The Vision
Victoria’s vision “was to provide a positive environment with effective results for patients, who would move through the various phases of care…in a seamless efficient fashion.” (Leban and Stone, 2008). This vision was integral to the sustainability of the hospital to exist in a highly competitive market. This vision was also required to offset the external environmental factor such as lack of funding by the government and raising cost in health care. In creating a more positive and efficient environment the current internal structure and other resources such as technology will need to be reexamine and redefined to fit into the Victoria’s new vision and mission. Dr. Frelick vision was clear and direct, that is, it wanted to re-engineer the hospital‘s processes, maximize its technology, and create other streams of revenue though entrepreneurial spirit. His vision received initial support, but later succumbed to scrutiny by the board of directors and some of his senior staff. To get full acceptance of his vision, Dr. Frelick, will have to persuade and stress the important of the vision to the survival of the organization.

Victoria Hospital’s Mission
The hospital mission’s statement “was to provide excellent, compassionate healthcare care for its community; to provide comprehensive health education; and to seek answers though health sciences research.” However, when Dr. Frelick became CEO, he modified the mission to “develop care plans across the continuum of care; develop new work processes to streamline operations and reduce costs; and focus on delivering quality care directed at meeting patients’ services need.” (Leban and Stone, 2008). This new mission statement helps to support his newly created vision he wanted to implement in order to push Victoria hospital into a better competitive position and profitability while provide excellent service to their patients.

Strategy for Vision Success
A strategic three point plan had been laid out by Dr. Frelick to achieve his vision for the hospital. His first strategy involved, “brining the organization structure into line with the way the hospital cared for patients.” (Leban and Stone, 2008). The second strategy required a change in the way they used their technology to meet expected patient outcomes, and deal with resources. The third strategy included entrepreneurial abilities to aid the vision. All three of these strategies requires a plan, therefore, Dr. Frelick assembled a team headed by senior management to develop the plan, thereby involving staff member in the plan. In crafting the vision, the teams brainstormed, developed a prototype interdisciplinary care teams, and developed specific guidelines by which the care teams would follow. Since communication is a key ingredient to get buy-in from everyone involved in the change, he also involved is senior staff in his vision from the beginning and “presented the goals, the strategy for implementation, and the financial targets to the board of directors for information and support.” (Leban and Stone, 2008). He held multiple planning sessions but only receive a modest amount of buy-in from his senior staff. He wasn’t persuasive enough to carry his vision to everyone. He attempted to directly ask for their support and leadership. However, this proved to be a weak approach because the levels of enthusiasm were not consistence. Dr. Frelick gave up too easy in stating the importance of this vision and didn’t align his vision with the hospital’s culture.

Lessons Learned
In developing and delivering a vision, a change leader must involve the organization’s staff in every facet. They should exercise persuasion to get buy-in for the vision by constantly communicating the vision and its plan over and over again. It is not enough to communicate and provide clarity for the change, but it must be aligned with the organization’s culture and provide a framework for the vision to receive feedback.
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References
Leading Authorities, Inc. (2009). “Charlotte Beers: Legendary Advertising CEO and Former Under Secretary of State”. Video. Retrieved Feb. 14, 2009 from < http://www.leadingauthorities.com/9367/Beers_Charlotte_detail.htm>.
Leban, Bill & Stone, Romuald . (2008). Managing Organization Change (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 44, 46
McConnell, Tocarra. (2007). “What is an Organization Vision?”. Published on Associated Content.com . Retreived Feb. 12 from (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/174387/what_is_an_organizations_vision.html?cat=31