title: Developing organisational vision in general practice.
abstract: Vision is a fashionable but ill defined term in management circles. Nevertheless, it embodies a significant concept related to guiding an organisation from present realities, through opportunities and hazards, to a viable future. Until recently a typical general practice could assume a stable external environment, but now it is caught up in the uncertainties stemming from the NHS reforms. For such a practice to undertake effective strategic planning it will have to develop a vision connecting the present with aspirations for the future. While vision is usually considered to be an individual talent, it is possible to develop a collective organisational vision within a general practice, and the small size of general practices makes this relatively easy. The vision needs to be broad; it needs to be continuous; and its capacity to predict the future needs to be monitored.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Liverpool.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: al-Shehri
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D011216:Practice Management, Medical; D006113:United Kingdom