Organizational Direction Setting: Key Concepts and Definitions
Organizational Direction Setting: Key Concepts and Definitions
John N. Younker, Ph.D. Associates In Continuous Improvement
363 N Sam Houston Parkway East Suite 1100 Houston, Texas 77060 (281) 820-7877 - Office (713) 254-0475 - Mobile
jnyounker@aol.com www.johnyounker.com
Note: This material was originally published as "Direction Statement: A Bridge to Your Organization's Future," as one part of the American Productivity & Quality Center’s monthly publication, Manager's Notebook, Vol. 2, No. 2, Aug. 1985
Organizational Direction Setting: Key Concepts and Definitions
John N. Younker, Ph.D. The purpose of this paper is to provide a standard set of definitions and an explanation of terms that are frequently used in the setting of organization direction. NOTE: It is not about the process of developing direction statements; rather, it focuses on the content of such statements. The technology of organization direction setting is still relatively new and evolving. As a result, the terms describing the components of direction statements are not well standardized. Different academicians, consultants, and practitioners use them with various meanings. The words or terms that are used in your discussions on the subject of Organization Direction are not that important in and of themselves. However, to avoid miscommunication among a group that is attempting to collaborate in a direction setting effort, a set of common definitions and usage or terms is needed. It is very difficult to effectively communicate and consistently use clear terminology during the (re)design of an organization. If you can't be clear about what you are trying to do, it is very hard to learn from mistakes, to detect misdirected effort or to expect the members of your entire organization to be empowered and supportive and committed to your directions. The following terms and explanations are ones, which are typically used in direction setting (organizational planning). It is intended that the
John N. Younker, Ph.D. Associates In Continuous Improvement
363 N Sam Houston Parkway East Suite 1100 Houston, Texas 77060 (281) 820-7877 - Office (713) 254-0475 - Mobile
jnyounker@aol.com www.johnyounker.com
Note: This material was originally published as "Direction Statement: A Bridge to Your Organization's Future," as one part of the American Productivity & Quality Center’s monthly publication, Manager's Notebook, Vol. 2, No. 2, Aug. 1985
Organizational Direction Setting: Key Concepts and Definitions
John N. Younker, Ph.D. The purpose of this paper is to provide a standard set of definitions and an explanation of terms that are frequently used in the setting of organization direction. NOTE: It is not about the process of developing direction statements; rather, it focuses on the content of such statements. The technology of organization direction setting is still relatively new and evolving. As a result, the terms describing the components of direction statements are not well standardized. Different academicians, consultants, and practitioners use them with various meanings. The words or terms that are used in your discussions on the subject of Organization Direction are not that important in and of themselves. However, to avoid miscommunication among a group that is attempting to collaborate in a direction setting effort, a set of common definitions and usage or terms is needed. It is very difficult to effectively communicate and consistently use clear terminology during the (re)design of an organization. If you can't be clear about what you are trying to do, it is very hard to learn from mistakes, to detect misdirected effort or to expect the members of your entire organization to be empowered and supportive and committed to your directions. The following terms and explanations are ones, which are typically used in direction setting (organizational planning). It is intended that the