The second important document is the Institutional Ethics Policy- I placed this item second because if the museum is following the mission and vision statement then the next thing it should be doing is putting the public’s interest first. The ethics policy should be built around the mission and vision statement. It is a supporting document that makes sure that when the museum is collecting items for the museum, they are doing things in an ethical way 

 

The third most important document is the Institutional Strategic Plan- once you have developed the vision and mission statement, and then have developed an Ethics Policy to support that it is time to figure out where the museum is going to from here. How will the keep the items in their collections, will they have rotating exhibit’s, how will they choose those exhibit’s. The museum must plan for the future and make appropriate goals and plans to reach those goals.  

 

The fourth important document are theHandbooks & Manuals.These documents help to support the other documents above. You cannot make a handbook or manual until you figure out why you need them. The handbooks and manuals can provide a reference for employment guidelines, what is expected of the board of directors and how to support the vision and mission statement. 

 

 

The fifth important document is theCollections Management Policy. The collections management policy. If there are not any artifacts in a museum, it would not even exist. A museum needs to have a plan on how to acquire the collections, how they will take care of the artifacts, and other details that might pertain to each individual exhibit. This policy will also help to decide what will happen if something happens to the collections either the artifact or just the popularity of the collection. 

 

The sixth most important document is the Emergency Preparedness. You never know when emergency am will come along Museums house priceless artifacts that cannot be replaced. If there is a robbery, natural disaster or just accidents museums need to be ready. The staff and board need to know that will happen next and adjust their plans accordingly. Also since you have visitors in your museum you need to have a plan on what to do if a disaster strikes while they are in the building so that they feel safe in an unsure situation. 

2.Institutional strategic planning

3.Institutional ethics policy 

4.Collections management policy 

5.Emergency Preparedness 

6.Handbook manuals

 

The order I choose seems the best to me. Every museum operates under the mission and vision statement they create for themselves. This creates a solid foundation to start developing the direction the museum will take and help form new goals and ideas. 

Strategic planning decides how the museum will function and what is needed to do it efficiently without hurting the experience of visitors. The mission and vision statement helps shape the strategic planning of the body and soul of the museum. In this process tours and exhibit ideas start to form as ways to get visitors into the museum. 

The ethics policy comes next to make sure that all of the things that were developed in the planning stage are done in a moral and ethical way to show respect to the displayed items.

Collections management policy relates to the direct care of the collections and the funds that will be used to do so. Also this policy helps keep records on the collections which includes how they acquired them. 

Emergency preparedness is important, but is not as import as making sure the museum has a vision, plan, and policies set in place first.

The handbook is last on my list because all of the work is already done and will be a lot easier to complete last. All the information above just needs to be compiled into the handbook. 

1.     The mission & vision statement

2.     Strategic planning

3.     The code of ethics

4.     The collections policies

5.     Disaster preparedness

6.     Handbooks & Manuals 

 I choose this order because I care more about big pictures of a museum’s development. Firstly, I believe that the mission and vision statement is the most important thing to confirm, the mission and vision statement of a museum is like a value or goal of a museum, and a museum need to confirm its goal first. 

Strategic planning is the second most important thing to do, strategic planning not only include culture improvement, also include business improvement, in the other words, museum need to cooperate with local economic parts. 

The code of ethics is important too, ethics is the only way to manage the employees and help managers to regulate employees’ behaviors. Code of ethics need to teach when a employee first enter the museum as a trainee

The collections policies are kind of same the ethics, but less important compare with code of ethics, because policies is kind like a punishment, which cannot insert a principle standard into employee’s mind

Disaster preparedness is less important than those, because I believe a museum rarely have disaster like fire, however, disaster preparedness is the fundamental of a museum, means that a museum need to have a clear hallway for guest to exit in case of emergency.

Handbooks and Manuals is the least important among all above, I believe it is a traditional way to introduce the museum, but now it is not necessary at all.

 

1. Mission Statement--the “heart of the museum,” this document is the single most important statement the museum can make. It states the fundamental purpose of the organization, and provides the basis for all decision-making and budgeting made by museum staff.

2. Strategic Plan--From its inception, an organization needs a strategic plan to develop its vision and goals, determine the steps needed to reach them, and assign responsibility. This plan implements the mission statement.

3. Institutional Code of Ethics--this one was difficult to rank. It honestly needs to be in the background of steps one and two as well, but I believe the organization needs the mission statement and strategic plan first in order to limit what elements need to be considered for the code of ethics; otherwise ethical considerations can be too broad. However, in moving from what I would call the necessary “planning” documents to what I would call “implementation” documents, I believe a code of ethics needs to underlie everything that comes after.

 

The three remaining documents are factual, operations-based documents which always relate back to the three above. Here, I have opted to put the document related most closely to museum objects ahead of the one related to museum staff and the one that museum staff needs to know, but they are sort of interchangeable:

4. Collections Management Plan--the document about how to handle museum objects.

5. Emergency Response Plan--I put this here, because I believe it must be in place before the last document can be adequately prepared---but it could easily be #4, as collections management must also consider emergency response.

6. Board and staff handbook--the document about how to handle museum staff (simply put).

 

Overall, the mission statement, strategic plan, and code of ethics are broad, vision-based documents that must be developed first in order to underlie everything the organization does. The collections management plan, board and staff handbook, and emergency response plan are more factually-based implementation documents to govern operations.

      I.         The mission and vision statement. 

This document acted as the heart of museum. It’s a guide that lead the entire museum system and ensure the system are developing on the right track.

    II.         Institutional code of ethics

I put this as the second most important core document because its show the right way of how to implement their goal. Run the museum ethically could align with their mission and vision statement better since a museum should serve from public interest. 

  III.         Strategic planning

After building a solid foundation of what is a good museum and how people should use it in the right way, people should start to think how to grow and looking toward future.

 IV.         Collections policy

I think this core document should be in this order because it related with the daily operation and management. It’s crucial for all the museum to stay in organized and perform well. 

   V.         Disaster preparedness

Disaster preparedness is also important because it’s s backup plan that allows museum to minimize their damage when unexpected circumstances happened.

 VI.         Handbooks and manuals

I put this one in the last since this document has no directly impact on the museum mission and associated with how staff use this to help others to better understand museum. 

     Then, the Institutional Strategic Plan should be developed. Once you know what your purpose is, then you can create the strategic plan, how you are going to get it done, your strategy. How do you meet the purpose and goals of the museum and communicate the big idea.

     Thirdly, the Collections Management Policy should be developed. Now you know the big idea and what collections are needed for accession to meet this need. Now you have these items a step by step procedure or guideline needs to be developed and followed by everyone every time to care for these collections. 

     After that, you need Handbooks and Manuals to be developed for employees to follow. It is important for each employee performing a task at the museum to understand their role and how their role works in the operation of the museum.

     Following the Handbooks and Manuals, the Institutional Ethics Policy needs to be developed. Now that everyone understands their roles and jobs they need to be reminded of their expectations in their roles.

     Lastly, but very importantly is the development of Emergency Preparedness. This will explain who is responsible for what, how to respond should an emergency occur. Knowing everyone is responsible for the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of an emergency. 

2.       Institutional Strategic Plan

3.       Institutional Ethics Policy

4.       Collections Management Policy

5.       Emergency Preparedness

6.       Handbooks & Manuals

Firstly, the Mission and Vision Statement is the most important element for a museum because it is the heart of the museum.  The mission statement states the fundamental purpose of a museum, and a vision statement is the museum’s expectation for its future operation. 

Secondly, the Institutional Strategic Plan comes the next because it sets small goals for the museum in next 3 to 5 years to achieve based on the museum’s current situation. This means that the strategic plan can help the museum achieve its overall goal based on incremental improvements. 

Thirdly, the Institutional Ethics Policy is essential because it shows the transparency of the institution towards the public. The museum makes a commitment to the public that the staffs are working in ethical practice through this policy. 

Fourthly, the Collections Management Policy is vital because it states the information about the collections. Museums are supposed to pay attention to its collections and put a lot of efforts to store and protect them because they are an important component of museums. 

Additionally, the Emergency Preparedness is also crucial because unexpected circumstances may happen at any time and museums are not only liable for the collections but also liable for the visitors. Therefore, having a clear plan beforehand can provide staffs calmer when accident happens and minimize the damage.

Lastly, the Handbooks & Manuals are also significant because it contains policy and procedures for museums to better operate although it seems ordinary. I put this in the last because I think this documents can be accomplished after all the five documents above have been completed. 

I decide mission and vision statement is the most important point is because it is the basic mission and purpose of a museum. It influence the fundamental role of the museum development in the community. Everything is based on the mission statement. What’s more, vision statement focus on the future development of the museum, which seeks the long-term improvement.

2.    Collections Management Policy

I play the collections management policy in the second is that the vital role of a museum is collections. Without the excellent collections management, it is difficult for museum employees to manage and organize the objects of the museum, and ensure the security of those collections. 

3.    Institutional Strategic Plan 

With the success of the collections management, more audience will be attracted which means the museum has future. Therefore, based on vision statement, institutional strategic plan should be make. It makes future plan in details and ensure each step that the museum should improve.

4.    Institutional Ethics Policy

After the basic construction of the museum is completed, transparent institutional ethics policy should be built. It is important that the museum should conduct affairs and avoid conflicts in an ethical.

5.    Emergency Preparedness

Compared to other components, it is less vital to develop a museum. However, emergency preparedness is indispensable for a museum. The prevention of the emergency, the safety of the objects, the specific plan for each employee, and the response and recovery when face a emergency should be formulated.

6.    Handbooks & Manuals

The last thing should be handbooks, because it is an improvement of bettering the museum instead of building a museum. I think it’s not as essential as other components listed above. Handbooks helps staffs and volunteers clear their mission and tasks, and it gives a guideline for operating a museum.

 

2.      Next, I would develop the institutional code of ethics so that the museum can ensure that everything is done in good faith and legally. 

3.     After that, I would develop the collections management policy so the museum could determine how to deal with objects and artifacts. It’s also very important that documentation is done correctly with all of the objects coming in. 

4.     I would develop handbooks and manuals after this to ensure that all staff is on the same page when it comes to procedures. This would also  help to ensure that everyone is held to the same set of standards. 

5.     Next I would develop the emergency preparedness documents in order to ensure that all the objects and people that are now in the museum are taken care of in case of emergency. 

6.     Finally, I would develop the institutional strategic plane. I would do this one last because it takes time to see the direction that the museum will take, and much of that is dependent on the documents that come before it. 

1.       Mission and Vision Statement 

It is the basic element for a museum because it is the core of a museum. The mission statement is the fundamental purpose of a museum, and the vision statement is the museum’s expectation for its future development. 

2.       Institutional Strategic Plan 

It sets the next small goals based on the museum’s current situation. This means that the strategic plan can help the museum achieve the goals based on incremental improvements. 

3.       Institutional Ethics Policy 

It shows the transparency of the institution towards the public. The museum makes a commitment to the public that the staffs are working in ethical practice through this policy. 

4.       Collections Management Policy 

It emphasizes the collections of a museum. Museums are supposed to pay attention to its collections and put a lot of efforts to store and protect them. 

5.       Emergency Preparedness 

 It means that museum responsible for collections and visitors because unexpected circumstances may happen. The Emergency preparedness can protect them and minimize the damage. 

6.        Handbooks and Manuals 

It contains policy and procedures for museums to better operate. It is useful for the future corporation of museum. 

Collection Management Policy

Handbook & manuals

Institutional ethnic policy

Emergency preparedness

Institutional Strategic plan

 

First of all, mission and vision statement are most important part because this is the heart of museum.

 

Secondly, I pick collection management  policy because when we claim mission statement, we also understand what collections we need and how to manage them and protect them.

 

Thirdly, handbook & manuals for museum workers is also important because we should start operation after we claim the statement. We must have handbook and manual for employees before we start operation.

 

Fourthly, I choose institutional ethic policy because this promotes  the public good over self-interest. It should be reviewed regularly. Board, staff, and volunteers should sign an acknowledgement of the code each year, along with an acknowledgement of any known conflicts of interest. 

 

After that, I choose emergency preparedness because we are now already done the prepared work and start receiving visitors. Now, we should consider safety and emergency for both collections and visitors.

 

Finally, I choose institutional strategic plan because the museum is functionally working. Next step is to make it improve and consider long-run strategies.

 

Second is the strategic planning since it shows the goals for the future of the museum and people need to know what’s the museum’s current situation so that they can set steps to reach goals.

 

Next one is collections management policy. Visitors come to museum is to see the collections so it’s essential for museum to take care of their exhibits. Without the collections, people won’t go to the museum.

 

The forth one is the institutional code of ethics. That’s the obligation to the mission. I think it’s very important because the ethics lead staff in museum to do the things in a right way.

 

Disaster preparedness come to the next. It’s not very crucial since the museum will seldom happen this situation but we also need to prepare for this because safe is the foundation of a building.

 

Last one will be the handbooks and manuals. Once other steps have been prepared, the museum can create the handbooks and manuals for people to understand the systems or collections of a museum.

2. Institutional Strategic plan
3. Institutional ethnic policy
4. Collection Management Policy

5.  Handbooks and manuals

6. Emergency preparedness

Mission statement is an obvious number one because essentially is the purpose of the museum and the vision represents the organization as a whole.

The institution strategic plan would be next because in order to sustain a successful long lasting museum you need long and short term goals. It is also important to listen to what the public likes and based your strategy off that. 

The institutional ethnic policy would be next because it is very important for a museum to put their ethics first. The ethics is the basis of how your employees act and the mood of your museum.

Collection management policy is fourth. It is important to have solid collections because that is why visitors come. It essentially is the first attractable thing a visitor sees as well. 

The next is handbook and manuals, this is important for those who enjoy keeping items from museums or reading them while they go through. Helps them understand the concept of the museum. 

Emergency Preparedness would come last. Although this could be a very big disaster occurring, they are very unlikely, but very important.

 I think that the mission and vision statement should be created first because it is what the museum’s structure will be built off of. Everything in the museum will be created by following the mission statement.

2. Institutional Ethnics Policy 

 Moral standards should be one of the top things a museum should address first. This helps to avoid conflicts within the museum.

3. Collections Management Policy 

 Managing the collections is a very important job as it is the main reason why people come to the museum. This policy needs to be very clear to ensure that there is no mistakes made in organizing the collections. 

4. Institutional Strategic Plan

 This plan will help set up the museum by listing goals and expectations that the museum will strive to meet in the near future. This will help guide staff members as to what they are working towards.

5. Emergency Preparedness

 This is very important as it obtains to the safety of the visitors and the staff members. However, emergency's do not happen very often so it can be left till the last few things that the museum needs to plan.

6. Handbook and Manuals

 Handbook and manuals are necessary to ensure that employees know what they are doing, so no critical mistakes are made. It is also good to have all the information about the museum written down in one place.

Mission and vision statement are at the core of every museum and is the filter which all decisions should be made so this should be established first

2.    Institutional ethics policy

Second to mission and vision statement the ethics of a museum help to make all decisions and therefore should come early on in development 

3.    Collections management policy

Establishing a policy of managing collections is the next thing that sets up the foundation for the institutional strategic plan

4.    Institutional strategic plan

Finally, create a plan for the institution now that you have a solid foundation

5.    Emergency preparedness

6.    Handbook and Manuals

With everything in place you can now set rules and guidelines for staff 

6. Institutional ethics policy
Least important because museums/museum workers should be able to conduct themselves ethically without having to refer to a document, however there are always a few outliers and that is why this is still necessary.

1.     Mission and vision statement 

The mission and vision statement are the most important because those statement are foundations of a museum. They will determine the purpose of the museums and everything else will build up on the mission and vision statement. 

2.     Handbooks and manuals 

After drawing the big picture with missions and version statement, handbook and manuals provide details and outline the process. Handbook and manuals are necessary to giving guidance so employees know what they are doing and how the collections will be managed. 

3.     Institutional strategic planning 

For a long-term perspective, right strategic planning is important because it is determining the future of the museum. The strategic plan can help the museum achieve the goals based on incremental improvements. 

4.     Institutional ethics policy 

After the basic structure of the museum is established, transparent institutional ethics policy should be built. The institutional ethics policy determines the museums obligations for the public. 

5.     Collections management policy 

This policy should be the next step because it involves key components about the collection. This policy will address the details and procedures about collections. 

6.     Emergency preparedness 

Having an emergency preparedness is necessary for a museum because the museum want to manage the risk of any loss. While emergencies don't often occur, this document is less important comparing to others. 

2.    Collections management policy: The collection is the star of the show, and I think the policy should be ironed out sooner rather than later because it is so critical to the success of a museum.

3.    Emergency Preparedness: Museums deal with countless artifacts that are important to human culture, there’s no reason why any object should be needlessly at risk due to a lack of emergency policy.

4.    Ethics policy: I believe the first three documents listed serve as a basic foundation for a museum. The ethics policy should come after the more critical infrastructure is taken care of. The remaining documents can be built off of the ethics policy.

5.    Strategic Planning: In order to succeed, the museum needs a long-term strategy. This is extremely important, but is not as critical as the other ones listed above.

6.    Handbook and Documentation: Employees and people involved with the museum on a professional level need to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. This is an important set of documents, but should definitely be last because all of the documents listed before it need to be established before this document is truly useful.

In in ideal world, a museum would develop all six core documents before it opened to the public, as all of the documents are essential to optimal museum operations and are interrelated and dependent upon one another. However, if the museum could only develop one at a time, I would suggest the following order: 

 

1.)    Mission and vision statements – because the mission statement is the “heart of the museum” and the vision statement guides the direction the museum wants to grow in the future, these core documents should be developed first as they serve as the foundation and guiding structure for the rest of the core documents and museum decisions to follow. The other core documents should be developed in a way that supports and furthers the mission of the museum. 

2.)    Institutional ethics policy – this core document should be developed second because the institutional ethics policy could guide critical museum business, such as how to ethically acquire or deaccession objects, what constitutes a conflict of interest for a board member, and the policies for addressing a staff member who violates said ethics policies, as well as guide the policies and procedures outlined in the handbooks and manuals of the museum. It is also important for the museum to begin its operations in an ethical manner and to present a show of transparency and openness to the community it serves. 

3.)    Collections management policy – this core document should be developed early in the museum’s inception because it is essential to determine how to and which objects to acquire for the collection as well as the policies and procedures for accessioning, documenting, describing, and displaying those objects. Although not all museums have collections management policies, it could create trouble down the line for a new museum if it acquires objects without such a policy and then does not have the appropriate procedures in place for deaccessioning or disposing of objects that do not serve its mission. This core document is more of a priority for object-focused museums, such as art museums. 

4.)    Emergency preparedness – although the chances of an emergency affecting a museum might be small, its impact could be so large that it is important to have an emergency preparedness plan in place to mitigate the impact of a disaster if one occurs. Such a plan needs to be put in place in advance and be well understood by staff so they are able to execute it quickly and efficiently in the event of a disaster. Additionally, since emergency preparedness plans are ultimately created to ensure the safety of museum visitors and employees, they are essential documents for responsibly operating a museum. If a museum is more likely to experience a disaster (e.g. located in an area prone to natural disasters or a potential terrorist target), this document will assume greater importance and it should be developed earlier. 

5.)    Institutional strategic plan – this core document should be developed after the mission and vision statements, which will guide the strategic plan. Although this document is listed fifth, it is still an essential document for guiding the museum’s day-to-day operations as well as longer-term planning. It will help the board and museum leadership set the actionable goals that will lead the museum to fulfilling its vision as well as create the measurable goals that will provide direction for the museum’s day-to-day operations, as outlined in its handbooks and manuals. 

6.)    Handbooks and manuals – after the “30,000 foot level” documents are developed, the handbooks and manuals should be developed to guide museum policies and procedures at a more granular level. Although a museum could technically function without handbooks and manuals, they will provide greater consistency across departments in the institution, greater mission alignment, and a more seamless visitor experience. Although some policies and procedures could be put in place before the opening of the museum, the handbooks and manuals should be updated once the museum starts functioning to take into account board member, employee, volunteer, and visitor experiences (e.g. a reimbursement policy outlined in the handbook may be too cumbersome in real life and is subsequently streamlined). 

1.       Mission/ Vision Statements

2.       Emergency Preparedness documents

3.       Collections Management Policy

4.       Institutional Ethics Policy

5.       Handbooks and Manuals for staff and board

6.       Institutional Strategic Plan

I would start with some form of a vision statement, and then at least a first attempt at a mission statement (which the board might later edit), because museums don’t exist without a vision and mission. 

Next I would have emergency preparedness documents ready to go. Emergencies can happen at any time, so it would be good to have a plan in place even before the museum starts to build its collection.

I would develop the collections management policy third. That way, there is a mission and vision guiding the accessioning process and an emergency preparedness plan to help protect the objects. Without any collection, there is not museum, so I would want the documents that guide how to build the collection to come pretty early in the process. I think it might be good to have a collection at least started before creating the board and hiring staff, since there is no use for a staff without a collection.

Fourth I would try to develop the Institutional Ethics policy. I think it would be good to have this in place before bringing on most of the board and staff. Museums exist for public good so ethics are key. I’d want to make sure I’m bringing on board members and staff who can unite behind this same code of ethics.

Before hiring most of the staff I also think it would be ideal to have handbooks and manuals ready to go for them. I’ve found it is easier to teach people how to do things the right way from the start than try to change processes later, so it would be good to have documents ready for onboarding staff and bringing in new board members.

I would make the institutional strategic plan last. I think it is just as important as the other documents, but it seems like a lot of the planning involved in it would be impossible to do before the museum exists. It would be hard to predict visitor numbers without a collection started. It would be hard to predict budgetary goal before having any staff hired. To me, the other documents seem to help guide in creating the museum. This document guides the museum in growing and succeeding once the museum has been created.