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Organizational Context

Start with a deeper understanding of your organization. 

Defining Your Mission and Vision
What Groups of People Are Important
What Are Your Strengths
What Could Hinder Your Success
Introduction & Organizational Context - Interactive Module
Your Turn - Answer Your Organizations Key Questions 

Defining Your Mission and Vision

Decide what your organization wants to accomplish (your mission) and where your senior leaders want to take it in the future (your vision).
 

What does your organization want to accomplish?

Your Mission text with dotted line around words

The mission describes what your organization is attempting to accomplish.

It might define customers or markets served, distinctive competencies, or technologies used.

 

 

Your mission and vision set the stage for your decisions in all areas

Your vision and mission should be clear, concise, and compelling enough to guide and engage your workforce in accomplishing them. 

What does your
future state
look like?

Your Vision text with dotted line

Your organization’s vision describes its desired future state. 

 

Mission text in circle.
Arrows coming together and pointing down.

Leadership
Strategy
Customers
Data and Analysis
Workforce
Operations
Results
 

 

Vision text in circle.

 

Determine what groups of people are important for your organization’s success.
 

Customers?, Workforce?, Community? Suppliers?, Other Stakeholders? showing different people.

 

Dotted Line

These are the key groups of people you should communicate with and
listen to.

Your People Text

 

What Are Your Strengths? 


Understand the strengths that contribute to your organization’s success and ability to compete. Understand how to build on those strengths. 

  • Prepare the pipeline for potential employees in your industry by engaging and supporting the education community. 
  • Consider, for example, brand recognition, reputation for product/service quality and reliability, price leadership, innovation rate, leadership in your industry, recognition for customer service, agility, environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and/or community involvement. 
Dotted Line

The qualities, actions or conditions that enable your success. 

Your Strengths Text

 

What Could Hinder Your Organization's Success? 

Understand the internal weaknesses and external challenges that could hinder your organization’s continuing (or future) success. 

Internal Weaknesses

Retirements?
Turnover?
No Succession Planning?
Aging Equipment or Infrastructure?

Your Weaknesses Text
Two manufacturing employees reviewing data on tablet in factory.

External Challenges

Acquisitions?
Mergers?
Supply Chain?
Availability of Skilled Workers?

Your Challenges Text

Consider for example, your competitors, costs, changing market conditions such as mergers or acquisitions, new competitors, new or substitute products or services, technological changes, changing consumer preferences, the availability of a multi-skilled workforce, the retirement of an aging workforce, and/or a changing economic and regulatory environment. 
 

Interactive Module

Factory engineer looking through a manufactured part.
Credit: Hodoimg/Shutterstock

 

Introduction & Organizational Context

Online self-paced learning for each of the fundamental areas of the Foundations for a Successful Business.

View all modules.


Role-Model Best Practices

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control 
Baldrige Award Recipient

MFC's Performance-Driven Leadership System bases performance evaluations of senior leaders on objectives, goals, and metrics that are aligned with the strategic plan. Performance evaluation is weighted 70 percent on meeting commitments and 30 percent on behaviors related to the company's mission, vision, and values.
 


Role-model best practice are from award application at time of award.
Learn more role-model best practices from Baldrige Award recipients in all sectors.

Contacts

  • Baldrige Customer Service
    (301) 975-2036
    NIST/BPEP
    100 Bureau Drive, M/S 1020
    Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1020
Created May 1, 2023, Updated June 5, 2023