A mission statement describes the current scope and purpose of a business by elaborating who the company is, what it does and the reasons for its existence. A mission statement is therefore descriptive and identifies the products and services of a company, the needs of the customers that the company is trying to meet and the markets or customers served. Similarly, a mission statement gives the identity of a company (Gamble, Thompson & Peteraf, 2018). A mission statement, therefore, shows the reason why a business exists, the activities it is engaged in and the market it desires to serve. It is a sentence that describes the functions of the company, its competitive advantage and markets.
A developed mission statement conveys the purpose of an organisation in a language that is specific and capable of giving the business an identity (Gamble, Thompson & Peteraf, 2018). According to Ritson (2011), the mission of a company is a brief statement that expresses its purpose. A mission statement is, therefore, an enduring statement of intent that helps the management to establish the objectives and formulate strategies.
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The mission of a company is its reason for existing. Such a statement should be able to define the fundamentally unique activities that set an entity apart from its competition. It identifies the scope of the business by stating the products and services and the markets served by a company. Similarly, it includes the philosophy of an organisation concerning how it treats its employees and the manner in which it does its business (David, 2011). A mission statement should, therefore, describe the products, markets as well as the technical areas that a company emphasises on to reflect the values and priorities of the management.
A mission statement can be likened to a creed statement or a statement of philosophy or purpose. It shows what an entity desires to be and the market that it wants to serve. Such a statement should, therefore, describe the use of an organisation, its products and services, the customers, markets, underlying technology, concern for growth, self-concept, public image, employees, quality and philosophy (Hunger & Wheelen, 2014). A mission statement with these components adequately answers the question, what is the business of the company?
A mission statement should provide a clear indication of who the company is and what it does. Different companies state profit maximisation as their mission. However, such a mission is misguided since profit is just an objective and more of a result of what the organisation does. Profits are the intents of all commercial entities and not the fundamental of organisational business. A business makes profits through its current operations and by serving its target customers (Gamble, Thompson & Peteraf, 2018).
A mission statement communicates to the stakeholders of a company informing them where the company is headed and what it stands for. It, therefore, ensures unanimity in an organisation while establishing a basis for resource allocation. Similarly, the mission creates a tone of an entity while serving as the epicentre for people to identify with the purpose and direction of an entity (David, 2011). A good mission statement also helps in the translation of the company’s objectives into activities that can be assigned to employees.
Developing an organisational mission statement helps to identify divergent opinions held by the managers and such differences can be resolved in the process. Managers can, therefore, have a unity of direction and shared expectations. Similarly, the process of developing a comprehensive statement can consolidate the values of an organisation across interest groups and individuals (Wheelen & Hunger, 2008). A mission statement can also affirm the commitment of the company to take responsible actions with the aim of protecting and preserving the claims held by insiders.
A mission statement should be brief and articulated. Similarly, it should be broad enough to cover the business of an organisation but should not be too general. It should also inspire the reader to take action in addition to arousing positive feelings. A good mission statement should reflect the worth of a company and must be appropriate for its activities. Mission statements should also be unique, current, dynamic, enduring, establish a basis for guidance and should demonstrate customer orientation. The statement should declare the social policy and also emphasise the values, philosophy and beliefs of a company (David, 2011).
Company mission statements are inherited from the founder. Such statements can change over time depending on the circumstances. There are also instances when the CEO, committee of strategists or the board of directors formulate a mission statement (David, 2011). A company can also engage consultants, or the company can also hold brainstorming sessions. An appropriate technique to formulate a mission statement is to select different articles on mission statements and request the management to read them. The materials provide background information, and the managers can then prepare draft mission statements which can then be merged to a single document that can be sent to all managers who give their inputs that are used to finalise the mission.
Examples of well-stated mission statements that specify what a company does include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: "to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay." The following is another good example, "Singapore Airlines is a global company dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximising returns for the benefit of its shareholders and employees." Twitter mission statement's read "to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers."
A bad mission statement does not reveal the products and services neither does it give the identity of the company one example .of such a mission is Microsoft “To empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more." The mission does not indicate the product offering or the business that the company engages in. Similarly, it does not give the identity of the company.
References
David, F. (2011). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases (13th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.
Gamble, J., Thompson, A., & Peteraf, M. (2018). Essentials of strategic management (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Hunger, J., & Wheelen, T. (2014). Essentials of strategic management . Essex: Pearson.
Ritson, N. (2011). Strategic management . London: Ventus Publishing.
Wheelen, T., & Hunger, J. (2008). Strategic management and business policy . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
