This has been one of the most intriguing learning assignments to date for me.<\/p>\n
I do not consider myself to be adept in the skill of foresight.\u00a0 When we have done development activities as a leadership team it has been clear that my personality is not one that naturally leads to being visionary.\u00a0 In growing as a leader I have attempted to work on these traits and skills in myself, and have learned to turn to others with these skills for their assistance so that we can capitalize on each others\u2019 strengths as a team.<\/p>\n
I know little, if anything about the corporations and businesses listed as examples \u2013 the US Postal Service, Canada Post, and Walmart, so I had to go looking for information.\u00a0 I was able to access a discussion paper<\/u><\/a> regarding the future Canada Post published in Sept 2016.\u00a0 I was also able to access a media release from October 2017 outlining Walmart\u2019s strategic plan<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/u>However, I really only have a surface understanding now of the current and projected future state of both of these organizations on which to form some opinions.<\/p>\n Canada Post has maintained a respected reputation in Canada.\u00a0 However, three major reviews of Canada Post have been completed by government since the 1980\u2019s, and in 2016:\u00a0 \u201cMany of the key challenges that were identified in previous reviews are still relevant today, if not more acute as a result of the digital disruption of postal services in developed countries\u2026\u201d (Bertrand, Hoeg, Hopson & McLaughlin, 2016, p. 13).\u00a0 One could argue that the need for three major reviews in that period of time with no appreciable change tells the story of an organization that has lacked foresight.\u00a0 The most recent discussion paper provides suggestions but for incremental change, not transformational change.\u00a0 However, though I don\u2019t have the knowledge or time to expand on this further, two factors that cannot be ignored in this discussion that the limitations imposed by the collective bargaining agreements and the legislation requirements of a crown corporation.<\/p>\n Walmart does not have a reputation as an innovative company, but I believe that they have done a fantastic job of anticipating the needs of their customers.\u00a0 Whereas they have been criticized for eliminating some products (fabric, fishing rods), they have replaced these with high frequency purchases and met customers\u2019 desire for one stop shopping by expanding to include groceries and bakeries.\u00a0 The partnership with McDonald\u2019s has made it convenient for families to shop over a meal period.\u00a0 I know from completing a recent survey that WalMart is moving to online ordering for customers to pick up their purchases when convenient, allowing customers to spend less time shopping and more time on what they value.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have a document or resource to reference, but I have been informed that WalMart has changed their initial approach on employee engagement.\u00a0 Certainly tensions with employees in Canada Post have been publicized.\u00a0 Employees who are loyal and committed to their organization are motivated to use foresight in their workplace (Malgeri, 2010). If we are to learn from companies like SouthWest airlines, foresight is not the only factor in success; companies do well when they adopt a servant leadership approach.<\/p>\n What personally challenged me was this statement in the Canadians value postal services but do not necessarily think about them often and in general assume they will always be provided.\u00a0 One could easily replace the words \u201cpostal services\u201d with \u201chealthcare services\u201d (Bertrand et al., 2016, p. 15).\u00a0 Having visited health care organizations in the US there is a requirement to have foresight, and urgency to remaining current and to continually improving because there is a competitive market. \u00a0I sense complacency in Canada because there is a dangerous assumption that public health care \u201c\u2026will always be provided\u201d.\u00a0 In writing this blog I am convicted to realize that I have partially adopted this complacent attitude, however, I would suspect that this is a pitfall for any of us working in any public sector role.\u00a0 What do you think?\u00a0 Is there a difference in innovation, foresight, planning between the public and private sectors?\u00a0 I welcome your thoughts.<\/p>\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n Bertrand, F. , Hoeg, K.T., Hopson, J., McLaughlin, M.\u00a0 (2016)\u00a0 Canada Post in the Digital Age:\u00a0 Discussion Paper 2016<\/em>.\u00a0 Retrieved from\u00a0https:\/\/www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca\/examendepostescanada-canadapostreview\/documents\/EPC-CPR_rpt-eng.pdf<\/p>\n Malgeri, J. (2010). Organizational foresight and stewardship.\u00a0 Public Manager, 39(4)<\/em>, 39-42.<\/p>\n This has been one of the most intriguing learning assignments to date for me. I do not consider myself to be adept in the skill of foresight.\u00a0 When we have done development activities as a leadership team it has been clear that my personality is not one that naturally leads to being visionary.\u00a0 In growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ldrs500","category-ldrs500-unit-9","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164\/revisions\/165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.twu.ca\/achsahs-springs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}