NSG 6620 mission, vision and value congruence
Give an example of what happens when a nurse administrator's values do not align with the organizational mission and vision, evaluate a real organization's statement for clarity, explain how you would familiarise staff with it, and write one for a nursing department.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 13, 2026
Four tasks, one of them a deliverable
The first task asks what happens when values do not align, and the strongest answers describe operational consequences rather than the administrator's feelings about the mismatch. Misalignment shows up operationally: a nurse administrator who does not believe in an organisation's growth strategy will resource it half-heartedly, communicate it without conviction, and be read accurately by staff who then disengage too. It shows up in decisions that quietly contradict stated priorities, in inconsistent messaging across the executive team, in initiatives that stall without anyone opposing them openly, and eventually in turnover — of the administrator, or of the staff who took their cue from them. Give one concrete example and trace it all the way through to an effect on people or on outcomes, because the evaluation criterion is about the example rather than about the concept of alignment in general, and an abstract answer will not satisfy it.
The middle two tasks are evaluation and application. Judging whether a real mission and vision statement provides clarity of direction means testing it: does it distinguish this organisation from any other, does it tell someone what to do differently on Monday, and could you tell whether it was being achieved? Many statements fail all three, and saying so with a rationale is a better answer than praising a statement you found. Familiarising subordinates with it is about repetition in context rather than a poster: referencing it when decisions are explained, in orientation, in performance conversations, and in how new initiatives are justified. The final task is a deliverable rather than a discussion point: write an actual mission and vision statement for a researched nursing department, remembering that a mission states present purpose while a vision describes a future state you are working towards. Comment on two peers, as the criteria require separately.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Trace value misalignment through to operational and staffing consequences.
- 02Evaluate a mission and vision statement against tests of distinctiveness and actionability.
- 03Distinguish mission as present purpose from vision as future aspiration.
- 04Describe how organisational direction is socialised through routine practice.
- 05Draft a mission and vision statement for a defined clinical department.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01One example of what happens when a nurse administrator's values are not congruent with the mission and vision.
- 02A located mission and vision statement from a real healthcare organization.
- 03A judgement, with rationale, on whether it provides clarity of organizational direction.
- 04How you would assist subordinates to become familiar with the statement.
- 05An original mission and vision statement for a researched department of nursing.
- 06Comments on the postings of at least two peers.
Misalignment, evaluation, socialisation, drafting
When values do not align
One example traced from the administrator's belief to a staffing or outcome effect.
A real statement, located
The organisation, the statement, and where it was found.
Does it give direction?
Tested for distinctiveness, actionability and measurability, with a rationale.
Familiarising subordinates
Orientation, decision rationales, performance conversations and initiative justification.
Drafting for a nursing department
A researched department, with a mission of present purpose and a vision of future state.
Real statements, and what makes one useful
Recommended databases
- AONL
- American Nurses Association
- Real health system websites
- South University Online Library
- Course readings
Search sequence
- 1.Locate your own or another organisation's mission and vision statement and copy it exactly.
- 2.Test it: could another organisation use it unchanged?
- 3.Read AONL competencies on strategic management for the administrator's role.
- 4.Research a specific nursing department's scope before drafting for it.
- 5.Draft the mission and the vision separately, then check they are not the same sentence.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies
American Organization for Nursing Leadership · 2024
The strategic management competencies expected of a nurse administrator.
- 02
Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice
American Nurses Association · 2021
The professional standards a departmental mission statement must be consistent with.
- 03
2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses
American Nurses Association · 2025
The obligations that come into tension when personal values and organisational direction diverge.
- 04
Quality Improvement
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2025
How organisational goals are translated into measurable departmental aims.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Describing misalignment as personal discomfort rather than operational consequence.
- Praising the located statement without testing it against any criterion.
- Answering the familiarisation question with posters and emails alone.
- Writing a mission statement that is indistinguishable from any other organisation's.
- Confusing mission with vision, or merging them into one sentence.
- Skipping the drafting task, which is the only produced deliverable.
Submission checklist
- One concrete misalignment example is traced to an effect.
- The located statement is quoted with its source organisation.
- The clarity judgement has a stated rationale.
- The familiarisation method involves routine practice, not just communication.
- An original mission and a separate vision statement are written for a named department.
- Two peer comments are posted.
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.