According to management guru Peter F. Drucker, every organization - business or not - has a “theory of the business” that consists of assumptions about, among other things, the organization’s mission, or purpose. However, while missions are fundamental and critical, they are often forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood. Drucker points out that as this happens, the organization becomes “sloppy”, “cuts corners”, “begins to pursue what is expedient rather than what is right” and stops thinking and asking questions.
Consistent with this point, practical experience with and research on causal factors indicate that strong vision, mission and philosophies that are clearly articulated, defined, and understood by members are associated with constructive behavioral norms. In contrast, vision, mission and philosophies that are poorly defined, communicated, and understood tend to be associated with passive/defensive and aggressive/defensive cultures.
Similarly, with respect to mission, vision and philosophies, practical experience and research also show that strong customers service orientation is positively related to strong constructive norms and is negatively related to defensive norms, particularly passive/defensive. That said, vision, mission statements and company philosophies alone do not determine the direction of operating cultures. Though, philosophies or methods such as customer experience, agile, lean, six sigma, total quality management, quality of work life, and human-centered design theoretically should drive operating cultures to be more constructive, this does not necessarily happen. Specifically, when other causal factors are promoting strong defensive behavioral norms, these norms interfere with and limit the successful implementation of philosophies and overpower the more positive norms they would otherwise engender.
A new mission, vision and or philosophy can be undermined by the existing culture - or instead, can inspire and enable leaders to make changes that will foster new norms and expectations.
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Experience and research show that organizations that attempt to implement the new agreed-upon mission, vision and or philosophy, and in this regard “trying to create a participative culture in a dictatorial manner” whereby managers continued to give orders and demand loyalty are therefore not successful. As well as when employees do not recognize how their own behavior continued to reinforce a culture that they described as “hierarchical” and “contentious.”
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However, it is only when management and employees realize how their own behavior affect the culture, that things really can start to change. By recognizing and addressing the role of individual mindsets and organizational culture in the implementation of a new vision, mission and or philosophy, management and employees can better enact the espoused mission, vision, philosophy and values. In turn, effective embedment of the organizations mission, vision and or philosophy enable organizations to realize benefits along multiple criteria, including exceeding organizational goals as well as improving employee - and customer satisfaction.
It is observed that nearly 80% of success regarding the implementation of organizations mission, vision and or philosophy rely on changing the mindset of organizational leaders!
Experience and research show that realizing a mission, vision and or philosophy requires more than just words. Successful implementation also depends on the skills and qualities of leaders and managers (reflected in their thinking and behavior) as well the structures, systems, and technologies they put in place to support the mission, vision and or philosophy itself and the constructive norms that make it real.
Source: ‘Creating Constructive Cultures; Leading People and Organizations to Effectively Solve Problems and achieve Goals, by J. L. Szumal and R.A. Cooke.
Blog written by: Sherwin M. Latina May 12, 2021