In business and life, the key to success is a strategic framework that will guide all actions and activities. This is especially true in organizations where the interests of diverse entities need to be aligned. Such a strategic framework, therefore, needs a concrete vision of the organization’s future, a mission that outlines what the organization or individual is doing, and a set of values to shape and guide all actions and activities (Gurley et al., 2015). According to Jindal et al. (2017), organizations whose employees understand the mission and vision of the company are significantly more profitable than those that do not. Furthermore, these employees, through employee engagement, benefits, and growth opportunities, increase their commitment to their organizations because they believe they are making a difference and contributing uniquely to the world around them. Note, however, that the key to achieving and sustaining these benefits lie in the role human resource (HR) management works. In other words, the success of the strategic framework (mission, vision, and values) is applied and monitored by HR.
Vision Statement
The vision statement for any organization is an attestation of the organization’s future. The vision is shared with all stakeholders, from employees to customers, vendors, and the government. As a result, the vision statement should align with these stakeholder’s expectations of the organization (Cady et al., 2011). Note that the vision statement can also serve as a point through which all employees commit. For instance, if the organization’s vision is to ensure that all children in a city or neighborhood have equal access to high educational materials and resources, it will determine how the HR department manages its current and future capabilities to achieve the vision. Therefore, a vision statement needs to be succinct, clear, and easily understandable, lest different stakeholders develop different views of the company’s future.
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Mission Statement
In contrast, a mission statement is about the present, where it clearly describes the organization’s current state. This is done by outlining the organization’s primary goals and objective. From the perspective of a human resource manager, the mission statement has a deeper meaning as if provides a framework for defining what the organization does, how it should be done, who does it and for whom. Therefore, while the vision statement mainly focuses on the organization’s long-term objectives, the mission statement encodes its short-term goals (Rey & Bastons, 2018). Note, however, that there needs to be a relationship and a plan that turns the mission statement to the vision statement. If the organization described previously is taken as an example, its mission statement would outline a current objective that meets the community’s needs, such as securing long-term funding for the schools and other needed infrastructure.
Organizational Values
At the end of the day, the work in the organization will be performed by humans. Though a lot of tasks are now automated by machines, the crucial aspects are still under human control. A good example is human resource management. No current technology can replace the roles played by HR departments in organizations. One of those roles is to define the organization’s values and monitoring compliance with the employees. Organizational values not only outline how the employees will interact with the customers, but also suppliers, vendors, the government, and other stakeholders (Cady et al., 2011). While the mission and vision statements can be abstract, values need to be concrete to minimize the chances of misinterpretation. This is especially true in large organizations where the HR departments need to align each employee’s personal values with the organizational values. If this alignment is absent, not only will the organization’s productivity and competitive advantage be lost, the company will also experience higher rates of turnover, which will affect its current and future operations (achievement of its mission and vision).
How HR Applies and Monitors the Strategic Framework
There are two main strategies that HR uses to apply and monitor the strategic framework. First, HR creates, implements, and sustains an organizational culture that embodies the mission, vision, and values. Through a well-defined and aligned company culture, employees do not need to remember the mission and vision statements. Instead, being part of the culture means that they embody the mission and vision of the organization. Furthermore, with the appropriate culture, the company can naturally screen and retain only employees whose values align with those of the organization. Note, however, while creating a company culture to apply the strategic framework appears to be ease, it is a highly complicated and time-consuming activity. Furthermore, the HR do not have full control over what the eventual culture will be. After all, culture is a dynamic construct that changes with the people who believe in it and practice it. Therefore, there is a deeper need for the HR to continuously monitor the company’s culture and when needed, steer it in the right direction. The monitoring can be done through constant feedback with the employees about what they think of the current situation and if they could change anything, what would it be and how.
The other strategy to pursue applying and monitoring the strategic framework is to create a concise and clear employee policy. Not only does the policy outline what is expected of the employees, it is transparent about the company’s monitoring policy. This should encompass what is monitored, where, and when it is monitored. The policy also outlines employee concerns like privacy and security should the information collected by the monitoring system end up in the wrong hands. Even more importantly, the HR policy, including the monitoring policy, should include a comprehensive explanation about why monitoring is needed in the first place. The monitoring is done to control activities such that the company benefits. However, the policy should be written in a language that aligns the company and employee’s needs. For instance, if there are higher cases of theft in the company, the monitoring policy can state that the video surveillance equipment installed is there to protect the company’s and employee’s property.
Note, however, that no single strategy is fully capable of applying the strategic framework. If HR uses culture to apply and monitor the strategic framework, it loses full power to control the outcome. On the other hand, if the HR department uses company policies, it gains the power but denies the employees the opportunity to impact the organization in meaningful ways. Therefore, a better strategy to apply and monitor the strategic framework is to combine both.
Conclusion
In summary, the key to success for organizations is a strategic framework that will guide all actions and activities. This is especially true in organizations where the interests of diverse entities need to be aligned. Note, however, that the key to achieving and sustaining these benefits lie in the role human resource (HR) management works. HR could apply and monitor the strategic framework by creating, implementing, and sustaining an organizational culture that embodies the mission, vision, and values. The other strategy to pursue applying and monitoring the strategic framework is to create a concise and clear employee policy. Note, however, that no single strategy is fully capable of applying the strategic framework. Therefore, a better strategy to apply and monitor the strategic framework is to combine both.
References
Cady, S. H., Wheeler, J. V., DeWolf, J., & Brodke, M. (2011). Mission, vision, and values: What do they say?. Organization Development Journal , 29 (1).
Gurley, D. K., Peters, G. B., Collins, L., & Fifolt, M. (2015). Mission, vision, values, and goals: An exploration of key organizational statements and daily practice in schools. Journal of Educational Change , 16 (2), 217-242.
Jindal, P., Shaikh, M., & Shashank, G. (2017). Employee engagement; tool of talent retention: Study of a pharmaceutical company. SDMIMD Journal of Management , 8 (2), 7-16.
Rey, C., & Bastons, M. (2018). Three dimensions of effective mission implementation. Long Range Planning , 51 (4), 580-585.
