Vision and Mission Statements

1. VISION STATEMENT AND
MISSION STATEMENT

2. MISSION STATEMENT
 A Mission Statement defines the company’s business, its objectives and
its approach to reach those objectives.
 In other words, a mission statement is a short statement of why an
organization exists, what its overall goal is, identifying the goal of its
operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary
customers or market, and its geographical region of operation.
 It often includes a general description of the organization, its function,
and its objectives.

3. VISION STATEMENT
 A vision statement is a document that states the current and future
objectives of an organization. The vision statement is intended as a
guide to help the organization make decisions that align with its
philosophy and declared set of goals.
 This statement reveals the "where" of a business.
 A good vision statement should be short, simple, specific to your
business, leave nothing open to interpretation. It should also have
some ambition.

4. HOW MISSION AND VISION
STATEMENTS WORK
 Typically, senior managers will write the company’s overall Mission and
Vision Statements. Other managers at different levels may write
statements for their particular divisions or business units.
 Both mission and vision statements are often combined into one
comprehensive "mission statement" to define the organization's
reason for existing and its outlook for internal and external audiences
-- like employees, partners, board members, consumers, and
shareholders.

5. COMBINED EXAMPLES TO IDENTIFY
DIFFERENCES
 Company: Tesla
 Mission: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
 Vision: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century
by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.
 Why it works: What better word than “accelerate” in a mission to serve
as the driving force behind what Tesla does. While boldly stating “best
in the century” reflects loftier dreams in the vision.

6.  Company: Amazon
 Mission: We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices,
the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.
 Vision: To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy
online.
 Why it works: Amazon’s mission is cut-and-dry about what they offer
to customers. The vision takes the offerings farther, saying their
company will offer “anything” customers want.

7. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES-
MISSION STATEMENTS
Advantages of Having a Mission
Statement
 Mission statements are a way to direct
a business in the right direction
 They play a part in helping a business
make sound decisions which can be
beneficial to the revenue stream.
 They give clarity simply by putting
plans on paper.
Disadvantages to Having a Mission
Statement
 Mission statements can present a
problem if you spend too much time
fretting over what to say and how to
say it.
 Another disadvantage is if you end up
being unrealistic in what you promise
and then don't deliver on those results.

8. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES-
VISION STATEMENT
Advantages
 A clear vision statement acts as a unifying
force, and has a positive impact on
organizational effectiveness.
 A solid vision statement acts as a guide for
employee actions and decision making.
 Possibly the most significant benefit of a
clear vision statement is it can be
motivating and inspiring. When an
individual understands and aligns with the
core values and vision of the organization,
they are able to readily commit to, and
engage in, the organization’s efforts.
Disadvantages
 A vision statement that is full of business jargon
and buzzwords is ineffective because the words
do not carry meaning to everybody who reads
the statement.
 A vision statement that looks only at internal
measures of success, such as profits or market
share, is ineffective at inspiring employees to
work hard.
 A vision statement that is too generalized leaves
too many directions open and causes the
company's efforts to be scattered, which hinders
direct progress.
 Some companies have written a wonderful
vision statement but do not implement it.
Therefore, the vision statement is ineffective in
driving the company's day-to-day business and
decisions.

9. AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND
STRATEGIES

10. AIMS- MEANING
 An aim is where the business wants to go in the future, its goals. It is a
statement of purpose. For example, we want to grow the business into
Europe.

11. OBJECTIVES- MEANING
 Business objectives are the stated, measurable targets of how to
achieve business aims. For instance, we want to achieve sales of €10
million in European markets in 2004.
 Objectives give the business a clearly defined target. Plans can then
be made to achieve these targets. This can motivate the employees. It
also enables the business to measure the progress towards to its
stated aims.

12. FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CORPORATE
OBJECTIVES
 Corporate culture- This can be defined as the code of behaviour and attitudes that
influence the decision-making style of the managers and other employees of the
business. Culture is a way of doing things that is shared by all those in the
organisation.
 Size and legal form of the business- Owners of small businesses may be concerned
only with a satisficing level of profit. Larger businesses, perhaps controlled by
directors rather than owners, such as most public limited companies, might be more
concerned.
 Public sector or private sector businesses- State-owned organisations tend not to
have profit as a major objective. On the other hand, private sector organisations tend
to look at profit maximization as their sole objective.
 Well-established businesses- Newly formed businesses are likely to be driven by the
desire to survive at all costs – the failure rate of new firms in the first year of
operation is very high. Later, once well established, the business may pursue other
objectives like growth and market share.

13. CRITERIA FOR GOOD BUSINESS
OBJECTIVES
The most effective business objectives meet the following criteria:
 S – Specific – objectives are aimed at what the business does, e.g. a hotel
might have an objective of filling 60% of its beds a night during October,
an objective specific to that business.
 M - Measurable – the business can put a value to the objective, e.g.
€10,000 in sales in the next half year of trading.
 A - Agreed by all those concerned in trying to achieve the objective.
 R - Realistic – the objective should be challenging, but it should also be
able to be achieved by the resources available.
 T- Time specific – they have a time limit of when the objective should be
achieved, e.g. by the end of the year.

14. SOME IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES
 The main objectives that a business might have are:
 Survival – a short term objective, probably for small business just starting
out, or when a new firm enters the market or at a time of crisis.
 Profit maximisation – try to make the most profit possible – most like to
be the aim of the owners and shareholders.
 Profit satisficing – try to make enough profit to keep the owners
comfortable – probably the aim of smaller businesses whose owners do not
want to work longer hours.
 Sales growth – where the business tries to make as many sales as possible.
This may be because the managers believe that the survival of the business
depends on being large. Large businesses can also benefit from economies
of scale.

15. ALTERNATIVE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Alternative objectives:
 Ethical and socially responsible objectives – organisations like the Co-op or the Body
Shop have objectives which are based on their beliefs on how one should treat the
environment and people who are less fortunate.
 Public sector corporations are run to not only generate a profit but provide a service to
the public. This service will need to meet the needs of the less well off in society or help
improve the ability of the economy to function: e.g. cheap and accessible transport
service.
 Public sector organisations that monitor or control private sector activities have
objectives that are to ensure that the business they are monitoring comply with the laws
laid down.
 Health care and education establishments – their objectives are to provide a service –
most private schools for instance have charitable status. Their aim is the enhancement
of their pupils through education.
 Charities and voluntary organisations – their aims and objectives are led by the beliefs
they stand for.

16. STRATEGIES- MEANING
 Business strategy is nothing but a master plan that the management
of a company implements to secure a competitive position in the
market, carry on its operations, please customers and achieve the
desired ends of the business.
 A business strategy is a set of competitive moves and actions that a
business uses to attract customers, compete successfully,
strengthening performance, and achieve organisational goals. It
outlines how business should be carried out to reach the desired ends.

17. LEVELS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY

18.  Corporate level strategy: Corporate level strategy is long-range,
action-oriented, integrated and comprehensive plan formulated by
the top management. It is used to ascertain business lines, expansion
and growth, takeovers and mergers, diversification, integration, new
areas for investment and divestment and so forth.
 Business level strategy: The strategies that relate to a particular
business are known as business level strategies. It is developed by the
general managers, who convert mission and vision into concrete
strategies. It is like a blueprint of the entire business.
 Functional level strategy: Developed by the first line managers or
supervisors, functional level strategy involves decision making at the
operational level concerning particular functional areas like marketing,
production, human resource, research and development, finance and
on.

19. CHANGING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
 Some of the most significant reasons for businesses changing their objectives include the
following:
 An important senior manager responsible for international expansion might leave the
business which leads to focusing on growing the business in domestic markets until an
effective replacement can be found.
 The external competitive and economic environment may change.
 A business may have satisfied the survival objective by operating for several years and now
the owners wish to pursue objectives of growth or increased profit.

20. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHILE
REVISING OBJECTIVES
 Are the changes significant enough?
 Can the change in objectives be managed efficiently?
 What are the costs involved?
 What are the risks involved?