Although the vision and mission are important to the strategic planning of a business and much time and effort are spent on their formulation, they aren’t used as planning instruments. The purpose of this paper was to determine whether management understands the vision and mission as complementary concepts and whether they use them effectively in the planning process. This study was conducted by sending questionnaires to businesses in the Gauteng Province where most SMEs in South Africa are situated. Findings confirmed that the majority of businesses, especially small businesses, can distinguish between and have visions and missions, but do not apply them optimally in strategy implementation. Recommendations include that businesses should have a written vision and mission statement, which should be communicated effectively and applied in planning and strategy implementation.

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The importance of a vision and mission for small, medium-sized and large businesses

Mars on $300K a Day : The Mars Exploration Program

This thesis explores the Aeneid, Virgil’s foundation epic of the Latin canon, from a values-based leadership perspective, which is defined as the moral foundation underlying stewardship decisions and actions of leaders. The Aeneid was originally written to enhance the political legitimacy of the Augustan principate, deliver a cohesive national identity, and extol traditional Roman virtues—all of which were deemed critical to the peace, prosperity and effectiveness of the Roman imperium. Further, this study reviews the epic in its historical context, codes the themes of its key leadership lessons, and employs a mixed-method research framework to juxtapose the leadership lessons identified to the demands of modern leadership. Specifically, the Aeneid is analyzed to juxtapose the resonant leadership elements of vision, culture and values—and their corresponding equivalent Roman themes of fatum, pietas, and virtus. Whether viewed qualitatively or quantitatively—in the first century BCE Rome of Virgil or across modern sectors (i.e., for profit, non profit, government)—results from this study suggests that rather than bowing to the illusion that current events (e.g., globalization, communication, computing) are beyond ancient insights, this study affirms the unequivocal relevance of the

/pdf/is-the-aeneid-relevant-to-modern-leadership-3mok3f2pqo.pdf

Is The Aeneid Relevant to Modern Leadership

This paper explored the Aeneid, Virgil’s foundation epic of the Latin cannon, from a values-based leadership perspective, which is defined as the moral foundation underlying stewardship decisions and actions of leaders. Specifically, we juxtaposed the resonant leadership elements of vision, culture and values – and their corresponding equivalent Roman themes of fatum, pietas, and virtus. Using a thematic analysis approach, we coded the following eight values: integrity, good judgment, leadership by example, decision-making, trust, justice/fairness, humility, and sense of urgency. We found that while the Aeneid extols prototypical values, the epic instructs that truly effective leadership is not about being a monochromatic prototype. Rather, the epic reveals that the essence and privilege of effective leadership demands reflection on the dynamic relationship between the leader and the led towards a better, envisioned future.

Values-Based Leadership: Enduring Lessons from the Aeneid

In this brilliantly conceived, practical book for managers, Dan Thomas shows how general managers can take advantage of core management processes-what he terms management's "five freedoms" -- that make the most difference between success and failure. Thomas, who has been an entrepreneur, educator, consultant, and manager, has devoted over twenty years to studying the strategy, structure, and systems of successful companies. He explains how managers can exercise their five freedoms to choose the right business, create the right strategy, implement the right systems, design the right organizational structure, and get the right people. The single most important freedom for management, Thomas argues, is to choose the "right business." He suggests that there are great businesses and lousy ones, and managers should choose a business with growth, profit, and diversification potential to drive shareholder wealth. Next, Thomas shows how, even in those businesses with a lower potential for success, creating the "right strategy" can produce superior results. Companies such as Wal-Mart in the otherwise faltering discount retail industry and Southwest Airlines in the ailing passenger airline business are cases in point. Management's third freedom, developing the "right systems," is illustrated by examples from successful companies such as Frito-Lay, and unsuccessful companies such as Micropolis, that have employed different types of information, incentive, and decision-making systems. Thomas discusses management's tendency to look for "quick fixes" through changes in "organization structure" that promise overnight success. He explains that realigning a company's organizationalstructure, the fourth freedom, must be based directly on the strategies being employed in the business, not the latest fad. The fifth freedom-getting the "right people" -- is perhaps the biggest concern of top management. Thomas illustrates how general managers who have exercised their first four freedoms effectively do not have much difficulty in getting and keeping the right people. By providing techniques that allow managers to assess a person's skills and motivation, Thomas enables managers to exercise their fifth freedom by matching these assets to the business, its strategy, systems, and structure.

Dan R. E. Thomas

Papers

Business Sense: Exercising Management's Five Freedoms