Introduction
An organization’s mission and vision help to define its organizational culture. This is because they assist all the stakeholders to become aware of the purpose and values that the organization holds. An organization’s mission and vision therefore call for the development of a strategy that would in the long run assist the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. For such a strategy to be successful, there is a need to develop a strong organizational structure which would in turn lead to a smooth integration of the people within the organization and with the external environment (other stakeholders). Therefore, the role of an organization’s leadership in guiding such a process is critical. The leadership of the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEOCBD) has taken a proactive approach by developing statements of the organization’s mission and vision as well as its goals and values.
Goals, Mission, Vision and Values
One of the programs run by the JPEOCBD is the Medical Countermeasure System Project (MCS). According to Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan (2010), a mission statement helps to communicate an organization’s rationale for existence. The mission of MCS is “to provide U.S military forces and the nation safe, effective, and innovative medical solutions to counter CRBN threats” (JPEOCBD, 2015). The mission clearly states the purpose of the organization in a brief and clear manner. The vision of the Medical Countermeasure System Project is “To ensure there is a U.S military force that has a full medical countermeasure capability to fight and win in any Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CRBN) battle space worldwide” (JPEOCBD, 2015). A vision provides an aspirational outlook of an organization (Hill & Jones, 2008) and as such forms the pillar of its strategy. To this end, MCS’s vision clearly states the aim that the program seeks to achieve in the future and as a result, sets the tone for the values and organizational structure needed to achieve the same in the future. The organizational chart of the primary leaders is an illustration of the ambitions set by the vision statement.
While having a vision and mission is critical, anchoring the two based on goals and objectives provides a metric with which to evaluate the rate of success (Hill & Jones, 2008). As a result, the set goal of the MCS is “to coordinate civilian and military partners in developing innovative, integrated medical solutions across the continuum of care, from vaccinations to diagnostics to therapeutics. MCS also collaborates with related Federal agencies and works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to secure product licensing” (JPEOCBD, 2015).
Organizational values set the standards that guide the conduct of an organization’s stakeholders, which in turn influences its organizational culture. Creativity and passion are therefore important values for any organization as they help in the attainment of the organization’s mission and vision (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010). This is especially the case for MCS and the entire JPEOCBD, which are involved in highly technical tasks. As a result, the value system of the organization is given as employing the best practices in providing the Department of Defense and its partners with a comprehensive collection of biological products that are thoroughly characterized, of the highest quality, adaptable, and traceable from source to application (JPEOCBD, 2015).
Communication is an important aspect if an organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values are to be achieved and adapted by all the stakeholders especially the employees. As such, an effective communication channel is necessary. For JPEOCBD employees, the information is publicly available and can be accessed at any time from its website. It is also provided to new employees through a welcome book once they join the organization. The information is also available on SharePoint.
Responsibilities of Key Leaders and How They Tie into MCS’s Mission, Vision and Values
A clearly defined leadership structure is important (Schein, 2004). There are five major product managers each with a well-defined and specific role. Leaders within such an organization structure help in the process of integrating people and the external environment with the ultimate aim of assisting the organization achieve its goals and objectives (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010). The key leaders in MCS and their roles as provided for by the organizational chart are listed below:
Joint Product Manager for Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program is responsible for ensuring that the country has enough stocks of vaccines that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that the Warfighter and the nation at large are protected from biological threats.
Joint Product Manager for Chemical Defense Pharmaceuticals role is to ensure that the nation and the Warfighter have access to vital medicines needed for countermeasure against any CBRN threats. The manager also ensures that the medicines have been approved by the FDA.
Joint Product Manager for BioDefense Therapeutics is responsible for providing the nation’s military and its people at large with therapeutic solutions primarily against any biological threats facing the nation.
Joint Product Manager for Diagnostics role is overseeing the development diagnostic mechanisms to ensure early diagnosis and effective treatment for Warfighter in the event of being exposed to any CBRN threat.
Joint Product Manager for Advanced Development Manufacturing Capability is responsible for developing the nation’s ability to “develop medical countermeasures against any chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats” (JPEOCBD, 2015).
Despite each product manager playing a different role, the common underlying purpose is to support and protect the Warfighter as anchored in MCS’s vision and mission statements. By overseeing the development and production of licensed vaccine systems, the Joint Product Manager for Joint Vaccine Acquisition Programs contributes to MCS’s mission of providing medical solutions to counter CBRN threats. The ability to provide vaccinations as part of the integrated medical solutions is one of the primary goals of the program. The lifesaving medicines provided by the Joint Product Manager for Chemical Defense Pharmaceuticals contributes in fulfilling the mission of providing effective medical solutions. This is especially the case given that the emphasis is on affordability which serves to achieve the goal of ensuring there is a continuum of care.
One of the primary missions of MCS is to provide medical solutions for biological threats. The Joint Product Manager for Bio-defense Therapeutics achieves this by providing therapeutic solutions to the Warfighter and the nation. While most of the efforts are geared towards protection against CBRN threats, there is always the likelihood that a threat may claim some casualties despite the preventive measures. Therefore the Joint Product Manager for Diagnostics (in providing diagnostic services) contributes to the overall mission of keeping the nation and the Warfighter safe from such threats. The Joint Product Manager for Advanced Development Manufacturing Capability in developing medical countermeasures against CBRN threats plays a part in keeping the nation and the Warfighter safe, which is the primary purpose of MCS.
Conclusion
There is a need for an organization’s mission, vision, goals, and values to be clearly defined in order to enable it to come up with an effective structure and strategy (Schein, 2004). The strategy should reflect on the various roles that leadership plays and how they tie into the organization’s mission and vision. The MCS program is an effective illustration of an organization with a coherent structure which ultimately creates the necessary conditions for the attainment of its goals and objectives as set out by its values, mission, and vision statements. The key leaders have various responsibilities that complement each other, and all that is done for the purpose of attaining the vision, mission, and objectives of the organization. For that reason, integration and teamwork are important in the ecosystem of JPEOCBD.
References
Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B (2010). Principles of Management. Newyork, Flatworld
Knowledge.
Hill, C., & Jones, G. (2008). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Mason, South
Western Educational Publishing.
Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEOCBD) (2015). JPM
Medical Countermeasure Systems (MCS). Jpeocbd.osd.mil Retrieved June 29, 2016 from www.jpeocbd.osd.mil
Schein, E, H (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
Online Retrieved June 29, 2016 from http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_2/ORGANIZATIONAL%20CULTURE%20Organizational%20Culture%20and%20Leadership,%203rd%20Edition.pdf
