Risk-Adjusted Mission Value: Trading Off Mission Risk for Mission Value

This article develops a decision-theoretic methodology for the risk-adjusted mission value (RAMV) for selecting between alternative missions in the presence of uncertainty in the outcomes of the missions. This methodology permits trading off mission risk for mission value, something that probabilistic risk analysis cannot do unless it explicitly incorporates both mission value and risk aversion of the project management. The methodology, in its complete implementation, is consistent with the decision theory known as expected utility theory, although it differs from conventional decision theory in that the probabilities and all but one of the utilities are not those of the decision maker. The article also introduces a new interpretation of risk aversion. The methodology is consistent with the elementary management concept concerning division of labor. An example is presented for selecting between discrete alternatives-four landing sites on Mars. A second example is presented for selecting among a set of continuous alternatives-a comet flyby distance. The methodology is developed within the context of scientific missions, but the methodology is equally applicable to any situation requiring outcome value judgments, probability judgments, and risk aversion judgments by different constituencies.     

Mission statements

Mission statements now seem to be an obligatory part of a company's portfolio of literature along with a statement on environmental policy and a brochure selling the company to graduates. But what are mission statements for? How do you know if you have a good one? And can they be harmful? These are questions I have been researching on and off for 10 years.     

The relationship between vision strength,leadership style,and context

This investigation examined the relationship between leadership style and the content of vision tapes produced in a comprehensive leadership workshop with community leaders. The transformational leadership style of 141 leaders positively predicted the inspirational “strength” of their vision statements, as reflected in the level of optimism expressed in the videotaped presentation of their visions. Organizational size was related to vision strength and moderated the relationship between passive leadership style and vision strength.     

愿景、战略与和谐主题的关系研究

针对企业目前所面临的战略规划与执行难以统一的现实情况,提出在组织管理领域中愿景、战略与和谐主题中任何单一的概念,都无法圆满解决这一现实问题,因而需要澄清现有概念间的联系.本研究从三个概念的内容、作用、环境依赖性更迭特性和可替代性几个方面展开深入分析,提出三者并非截然分开或相互对立的,为了更好地指导管理实践有必要把它们整合在一个分析框架之中,并提出了愿景、战略与和谐主题的相互关系模型.文中最后还运用案例研究分析了一家集团公司发展历程,论证本文所提出的概念模型.     

Developing a manufacturing vision

The concept of a manufacturing vision is introduced as a company specific, commonly shared, holistic picture of the way in which future manufacturing in the company will function. First is presented what a manufacturing vision is, and then is presented a five-step framework in which such a manufacturing vision may be developed. A manufacturing vision is regarded as a bridge between the mission, goals, and strategies of an industrial enterprise and the detailed design of a manufacturing system. Such a bridge may ensure that manufacturing is able to make a relevant strategic contribution to developing and sustaining the competitiveness of the company and may serve as a guide for innovation and integration of the various elements of a manufacturing system. The paper rests on action research projects in more than ten industrial companies, and the experiences gained are discussed in a section on issues related to the development process including experimentation without fear of losing face, participation and involvement of managers and employees, and finally the outset for a manufacturing vision. To give an example of a manufacturing vision the paper also very briefly introduces a case of a medium-sized supplier of welded parts and equipment for a number of different industries.     

Creating a corporate vision

Work on strategy has only recently been paying attention to the role of vision in the strategic management process and the possible relationship between vision and concepts as creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship. Analysis, however, has not been uniform in defining the core issues itself or in positioning vision within the overall strategic management construct. Even worse, the inter-relationship between vision and other concepts like leadership and entrepreneurship was only casually treated. This article is an attempt at putting strategic vision within one consistent conceptual frame. A frame that would encompass a definition, a set of attributes, an input and output flow and an operationalization dimension. The article relies heavily on contemporary work on strategy, entrepreneurship, creativity, leadership and organization. Illustrative cases are drawn from recent business (and non-business) histories of business organizations.     

Corporate strategy and entrepreneurial vision

The author here describes her conception of strategic vision from the basis of which she has developed a successful business using information technology and a scattered work- force working from their own homes or from a neighbourhood work centre. She defines her term ‘corporate planning by vision’ and outlines its strengths and weaknesses.     

Mission statements: selling corporate values to employees

This article investigates the reasons for the increasing use of the Company Mission Statement. Using information from a survey of U.K. companies in 1989 it looks at the types of statements issued by companies, their content, usage, and value to managers. Of particular interest is whether the mission is primarily used for the motivation of staff, or for external image building. Related issues are the value of the mission drafting process in bringing managers together to agree common objectives and the use of a hierarchy of statements to reconcile internal and external stakeholders' interests. The conclusion is that the Mission, which includes a statement of company values, is an important tool for managers to assert their leadership within the organization.     

Leader vision formation and forecasting: The effects of forecasting extent,resources, and timeframe

Vision formation, and vision articulation, is held to be a central component of leader performance. Less is known, however, about the variables giving rise to viable visions. In the present effort, the impact of forecasting on vision formation was examined. Study participants were asked to write a speech describing their vision for a new school. Prior to writing this speech, participants were asked to forecast the outcomes of vision implementation. It was found that the extent of forecasting, along with forecasting of temporal and resources considerations, influenced the quality of vision statements. Forecasting was improved when people thought about causes, as opposed to goals, and implications, as opposed to facts. The implications of these findings for understanding leader performance in vision formation are discussed.     

中国管理学界的社会责任与历史使命

中国正处于一个伟大的历史变革时期,正面临着人类历史上,不论从任何尺度来说,都是规模空前的经济转型和社会公平的挑战,一方面取得了最迅速的经济增长,另一方面各种经济与社会矛盾显化,焦点与热点问题涌现,学界自然不能置身其外,不同的学界面对着不同的挑战.     

Microfinance,Mission Drift,and the Impact on the Base of the Pyramid: A Resource‐Based Approach

This article draws on resource‐based theory and the literature on strategic intent to develop a theoretical model that explains the concept of mission drift in microfinance institutions (MFIs). We argue that the differential strategic intents of commercially oriented, for‐profit, and socially oriented nonprofit organizations drive the acquisition of disparate resources and capabilities, which in turn drives distinct performance outcomes, including a focus on different markets within the overall base of the pyramid (BOP). The article suggests that it is the dynamic aspects of changing strategic intent and the consequent timing delays in the development of associated resources and capabilities that lead to various issues of mission drift. Finally, we suggest that cross‐sector alliances between for‐profit and nonprofit MFIs may benefit from the unique capabilities of both types of organizations and deliver the most and broadest impact on poverty alleviation in BOP markets.     

Perceptions of leader charisma and effectiveness: The effects of vision content,delivery, and organizational performance

This study examined the effects of vision content, delivery and organizational performance on perceptions of leader charisma and effectiveness. Subjects included 304 undergraduates who were presented videotaped speeches by a bogus CEO of a software company. A 2 × 2 × 2 design was employed in which message content (visionary/non-visionary), delivery (strong/weak), and organizational performance (high/low) were manipulated. A modified, 7-item version of Meindl and Ehrlich's (1988) Romance of Leadership Scale (RLS-D) served as a covariate. A MANCOVA analysis indicated significant effects of delivery, content, and organizational performance on both perceived leader charisma and effectiveness. The RLS-D was unrelated to either dependent variable as a covariate. The results suggest that strength of delivery is an especially important determinant of perceptions' of leader charisma and effectiveness. Although speech content and organizational performance cues likewise accounted for variance in these perceptions, their effects were at times offset by those of delivery.     

具有多阶段任务需求的温备份系统可靠性分析

实际工程中很多系统的任务都具有多个阶段,且不同阶段的外界环境及系统需求均可能发生变化,而工作元件可在任意阶段发生失效,为系统的可靠性分析与建模带来了挑战。为增加系统的可靠性,一种常用的设计方法是配置备份元件。针对多阶段任务下基于需求的温备份系统可靠性建模问题,首先提出了一种基于多值决策图的方法,其次给出了处于不同状态的元件可靠性计算公式,最后通过算例表明该模型适用于具有多阶段任务需求的温备份系统可靠性分析。