Managing Service Delivery
In the literature concerning leadership, vision has a variety of definitions,
all of which include a mental image or picture, a future orientation, and
aspects of direction or goal.
Vision provides guidance to an organisation by articulating what it wishes to attain. It serves as "a signpost pointing the way for all who need to understand what the organisation is and where it intends to go" (Nanus, 1992). By providing a picture, vision not only describes an organisation’s direction or goal, but also the means of accomplishing it. It guides the work of the organisation. Seeley (1992) describes vision as a "goal-oriented mental construct that guides people's behaviour." Vision is a picture ...
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they plan to accomplish? Why are they doing this? Vision therefore does more than provide a picture of a desired future; it encourages people to work, to strive for its attainment. For public sector leaders who implement change in the product or service they deliver, vision is "a hunger to see improvement" (Pejza, 1985).
As important as it is to know what vision is, it is also important to know what vision is not. Nanus (1992) states that vision is not "a prophecy, a mission, factual, true or false, static, or a constraint on actions." Fullan (1992) warns against visions that blind and states that there is a tendency for "overattachment to particular philosophies or innovations."
To assist leaders in developing an appropriate vision, Nanus (1992) maintains
that the "right vision" has five characteristics:
? attracts commitment and energises people,
? creates meaning in workers' lives,
? establishes a standard of excellence,
? bridges the present to the future, and
? ...
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extends our understanding of vision and its role in changing programs because the vision reflects the type of program that is being implemented.
SHARED VISION
In addition to providing a picture of the future, a vision inspires people to work to make it come true. It motivates people to join the campaign to realise the desired vision. A leader's efforts to develop a shared vision have been described as "bonding" by Sergiovanni (1990): leader and followers with a shared set of values and commitment "that bond them together in a common cause" in order to meet a common goal. "A vision is little more than an empty dream until it is widely shared and accepted" (Nanus, 1992).
Many ...
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"Managing Service Delivery." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 5 Jul. 2004. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Managing-Service-Delivery/10578>
"Managing Service Delivery." Essayworld.com. July 5, 2004. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Managing-Service-Delivery/10578.
"Managing Service Delivery." Essayworld.com. July 5, 2004. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Managing-Service-Delivery/10578.
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