Essay Writing Service http://StudyHub.vip/AN-ANALYSIS-ON-THE-MISSION-AND-VISION-S 👈

1. 1
AN ANALYSIS ON THE MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS
OF SPORTS CLUBS AND BUSINESSES: THE CASE OF TURKEY
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emet GÜREL
Ege University, Faculty of Communication,
Department of Public Relations and Publicity
Ege Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Ege Üniversitesi Kampüsü 35100 Bornova - İzmir
Phone: ++ 90232 388 40 00 Ext: 1564 Fax: ++ 90232 388 67 58
E-mail: emet.gurel@ege.edu.tr
Lecturer Dr. Merba TAT
Yaşar University, Vocational School
Public Relations and Publicity Program
Yaşar Üniversitesi Meslek Yüksekokulu
Selçuk Yaşar Kampüsü Üniversite Caddesi No: 35-37 Ağaçlı Yol 35100 Bornova - İzmir
Phone: ++ 90232 411 53 35 Fax: ++ 90232 411 50 20
E-mail: merba.tat@yasar.edu.tr
Key Words: Mission, Vision, Sports, Sports Club, Sports Business, Content Analysis.
Objective: In the new world order shaped by the catalyzation of the globalization process, sports is going through a big
transformation and positioning itself as an activity with a heavy economic aspect. Thus, today sports is an important
sector that functions under the efficiency of the network of commercial relationships and abides to a large extent by the
rules of the free market economy. All of the actors and organizations of the sector act in a profit/benefit-oriented
manner. Therefore, it is necessary for sports clubs and businesses to adopt modern principles of business management
and to become institutionalized. The purpose of this study is to analyze sports clubs’ mission and vision statements,
which are indicators of their corporate and professional management approaches, and to examine what values they
contain. The analysis in question contains clues pertaining not only to sports clubs and business but also to the sports
industry.
Method: The study is to investigate to what extent sports clubs’ and businesses’ mission and vision statements
approach their ideal form, in other words, to what extent they include the necessary components of a mission and
vision statement. The study was designed qualitatively and implemented using the content analysis method. The
research sampling consists of the sports clubs from Turkey’s most popular sports of football, basketball and volleyball
which competed in their respective first leagues during the 2010-2011 season. Data pertaining to the sports clubs’
mission and vision statements were obtained from the clubs’ own corporate websites. The data collection from the
sports clubs’ websites was performed during March 2011.
Study’s Contribution to the Literature: Industrializing and growing its economic volume, sports is one of the main
orientations of management science. Sports organizations, just like other organizations, operate in accordance with the
general principles of business management. Sports business and management benefit from the disciplines of business
and management, but also have their specific boundaries and conditions. Because it’s a relatively new area and

2. 2
literature, the insufficiencies regarding national and international research on sports businesses are apparent. In this
context, this analysis on the mission and vision statements of Turkish sports clubs and businesses has the characteristic
of being one of the forerunner studies.
1. INTRODUCTION
In today’s highly competitive business environment, organizations have to be more strategic in their thinking and act
more professionally compared to the past. This increases the relative importance of vision and mission statements as
instruments of strategic management. Mission and vision statements are important for the efficient and effective
functioning of an organization, for agreement between the leaders and employees of the organization concerning goals
and principles, for increased motivation to reach organizational goals and objectives, and for the improvement of the
perception of excellence concerning the organization. Well-formulated and efficient mission and vision statements
ensure the continuity of organizational life cycle and bring competitive advantage by differentiating the organization
from others. In this context, healthy functioning and competitiveness of an organization depend not only on having
mission and vision statements, but also on having these statements duly prepared.
2. MISSION and VISION
Mission and vision, two concepts central to contemporary management approaches, are closely associated and
frequently confused concepts. Mission is a present-oriented, relatively more concrete concept that is defined in relation
to time and space and that defines critical processes. Vision, on the other hand, is a tomorrow- or future-oriented,
relatively more abstract concept that is independent of time and space, and that defines decision making criteria (Gürüz
and Gürel, 2009: 37). Vision captures the imagination of the organization and provides a focus for efforts. A mission
establishes the guidelines of how the business fulfills its vision (Bart and Bontis, 2003: 14).
Developing mission and vision statements are popular management tools in strategic management. Strategic
management is concerned with basic decisions about what the organization is now and what it is to be in the future
(Morden, 2007: 14). Strategic management process includes strategy formulation, strategy implementation, evaluation
and control phases. Developing a mission statement is a critical first step in the strategy formulation phase which
enables to formulate strategies to fit the environmental dynamism by clarifying the external conditions in light of
organizational strengths and weaknesses (Pearce and David, 1987: 109; Hunger and Wheelen, 2001: 2-6).
2.1. Mission
Mission, which is the basis of strategic planning and strategic management, states the raison d'être of an organization
and the main activities it carries out. As such a mission statement is a clear definition of organization’s business.
Through a clear definition of mission, realistic business objectives can be set as mission defines the purpose of the
organization in terms of its enduring sense of its reason for being. Stating the organization’s reason for being, mission
clarifies what type of a business the organization perceives itself to be. The mission states, among others, either some
or all of the following: industry and the specific sector of goods or services the business operates in, the goods and/or
services it offers, consumer and market needs, and technological requirements (Dobson and Starkey, 2004: 10; Eren,
2005: 20).
From the point of view of business management, mission can be defined as a common value and a long-term duty to be
carried out that distinguishes the organization from similar organizations and that is designed to provide orientation and
meaning to the members of the organization (Dinçer, 2007: 10). Contributing to the strategic management process,
mission guides the resource allocation process in a more focused manner, balances the interests of competing
stakeholders, holds the organization together through shared values and standards of behavior, makes the routine
decision making process easy and makes positive contribution towards the organizational performance (Bart, 2001:
322; Bart et al., 2001: 32; Joyce and Woods, 2002: 69; Doğan, 2008: 95; Jeyarathnam, 2008: 17). In the formulation an
effective mission statement, the components and the length of the statement are important. Component criteria and
length considerations should only provide guidance without causing rigid constraints and stifling the creativity. The
length of the statement shouldn’t be too broad or narrow and use enough words to define the reason for being (Friesen
and Johson, 1995: 197; Malphurs, 1998: 71).

3. 3
A well formulated mission statement can give the sense that organization is sure about where its headed. If it includes
the components required for an effective statement, strategies can be derived from it. There are various views regarding
the appropriate content of a mission statement. Several researchers (Kotler, 1984; Want, 1986; Pearce and David, 1987;
David, 1989; Botterill, 1990; Klemm et al. 1991; Campbell and Young, 1991; Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Piercy and
Morgan, 1994; Baetz and Bart, 1996; Morris, 1996; O’ Gorman and Doran, 1999; Analoui and Karami, 2002; Sufi and
Lyons, 2003; Biloslavo, 2004; Bart, 2007) recommend that certain components be included in a high quality mission
statement. These researchers and their views on the components that should be included in a mission statement, as
reviewed by Köseoğlu and Karabulut, are as follows:
Table. 1. Different Views on the Components of Mission Statements Need to Have
Researchers Components
Kotler
(1984)
-History of the business, -Managers’ and owners’ preferences, -Environmental factors,
-Current resources and unique capabilities.
Want
(1986)
-Purpose, -Principles of the business goals, -Shared identity, -Business policies and
common values
Pearce and David
(1987)
-Specification of Customer and Market goals, -Principles concerning goods or services,
-Geographical location, -Main technologies used, -Development, -Continuity and
profitability, -Philosophy, -Main competence, -Public image.
Klemm, Sanderson and
Luffman (1991)
-Long-term goals of the business, -Long-term strategic goals and performance in
specific processes, -Time-specific targets, -Geographical extension and industrial
practices
Campbell andYeung
(1991)
-Goals of the business, -Strategy, -Shared values, -standards of behavior.
Piercy and Morgan
(1994)
-Philosophy of the organization, -Product-market area, -Basic values of the
organization, -Success criteria.
Baetz and Bart
(1996)
-Financial goals, -Non-financial goals, -Values, beliefs and philosophy of the
organization, -Definition of business success, -Definition of the strategy of the
organization, -Customers.
Morris
(1996)
-Customer niche to be served, -Customer needs to be served, -How these needs will be
served.
O’Gorman and Doran
(1999)
-Continuity, -Product and/or services, -Customers, -Geographical location,
-Philosophy, -Quality, -Main competence, -Public image, -Customer/Market,
-Suppliers, -Key technologies.
Analoui and Karami
(2002)
-Long term profitability, continuity, development, -Customer satisfaction, -Key
technologies, -Market, -Philosophy and values, -Product and service quality, -Public
image, -Geographical location, -Main competence, -Suppliers.
Biloslavo
(2004)
-Product and/or services, -Customers, -Quality, -Geographical location,
-Customer/Market, -Public Image, -Continuity, -Environment, -Philosophy, -Main
competence, -Key technologies, -Suppliers.
Bart
(2007)
-Statement of purpose, -Statement of values/beliefs, -Service to specific customers,
-Unique identity, -Customer satisfaction, -Competition/power difference,
-Product/service offerings, -A clear target for competitiveness, -Desired public image,
-Concern for employees, -Specific standards of behavior, -Community, -Vision
statement, -Desired position in competition, -Specific non-financial targets, -General
business-level goals, -Stakeholders, -Business area, -Competition strategy, -Specific
financial goals, -Definition of technology, -Suppliers, -Continuity.
Source: Mehmet Ali Köseoğlu and Elif Temel Karabulut; “Sektörlere Göre Misyon İfadelerinde Kullanılan Öğelerdeki
Farklılaşmalar: İMKB Şirketleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma”; Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi;
9 (2); 2009; p. 73.

4. 4
2.2. Vision
Vision, another important concept in strategic management and a complement of the concept of mission, is an
important management instrument that focuses on the future. Its aim is to create the desired future for the organization
by combining current facts and desired conditions. As such, “vision is the imagined future for the business” (Koçel,
2005: 130). As a view of an organization’s future, vision represents a statement of intent to move to an improved
condition or towards a desired state of being (Witcher and Chau, 2010: 31). Vision provides guidance about what core
to preserve and what future to stimulate progress toward. To facilitate the pursuit of organizational excellence, vision
statements should be clear and inspiring, make sense in the relevant community, be stable but constantly challenged
and changed when necessary, and provide interested people with a sense of direction (Peters, 1988). While formulating
a vision statement there is no rule requiring that it must be contained in a single sentence. The statements need to use
enough words to clearly explain what the vision means.
Vision states the purpose of the organization, its future goals, and the basic values to be observed when reaching these
goals. Vision statements, which define what the organization aims to achieve, point to the desired future, and provide a
road map, consist of the three basic components of mission, goals and objectives, and values. According to Ülgen and
Mirze (2010: 181), mission is the reason for being of an organization and is formulated to give it a direction and
provide it with a meaning. Goals refer to what the organization aims to achieve, and values state what is important for
managers and employees alike in reaching these goals. These three components should reveal how the organization as
a whole should conduct to accomplish major milestones along the way for achieving the organization’s vision
(Sabrautzki, 2009: 3).
Figure. 1. The Components of an Effective Vision
Source: Hayri Ülgen and S. Kadri Mirze; İşletmelerde Stratejik Yönetim; 5th Edition; Beta Basım Yayım; İstanbul;
2010; p. 182.
3. AN ANALYSIS ON THE MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS OF TURKISH SPORTS CLUBS AND
BUSINESSES
Sports games turned into an industry as a result of the increasing importance of sports in today’s changing world, and
they became another economic sector. This qualitative change and development created an economy of its own, and
led, with the help of globalization, to the emergence of what we can call the sports industry. In this process, sports
clubs played an important role as economic units.
Sports clubs are under pressure to follow contemporary management rules. The only way for sports clubs to have
sound economies and sound managements is to become institutionalized and to manage the future and the competition
by taking strategic action. In this context, strategic management concepts and practices are crucial for sports clubs and
Mission
Values
Goals and Objectives Vision

5. 5
businesses that are in the process of becoming professionalized. Mission and vision statements, with the function of
helping to bridge between the present and the future, can bring many benefits to sports clubs and businesses like any
other business including raising funds, maintaining and building trust and loyalty among the stakeholders, creating and
ensuring positive attitudes and perceptions, attracting and maintaining investors, increased performance and financial
improvement (Bart et al., 2001: 32; Morgan and Summers, 2005: 24; Bartkus et al., 2006: 93).
3.1. Aims of the Study
Mission and vision are two important concepts in the business management literature, with many studies conducted on
mission and vision statements. However, a review of the literature shows that there is a lack of studies on the mission
and vision statements of sports clubs, which are also expected to follow contemporary business administration and
management principles. This study focuses on the sports industry to fill this gap in the literature, and aims to provide
an analysis of the vision and mission statements of Turkish sports clubs and businesses as indicators of
institutionalization and strategic management, and to examine the degree to which they approximate theoretical ideals.
The findings of the study would serve as indicators of the organizational and professional management approaches of
the sports organizations under study, and provide insights into the general situation of the sports industry.
3.2. The Scope and The Sample of the Study
This study is on sports clubs and businesses competing in football, basketball and volleyball first leagues in Turkey in
the 2010-2011 season. Table 2 provides a detailed list of these sports clubs and businesses, based on data gathered
from the official websites of the Turkish Football Federation, Turkish Basketball Federation and Turkish Volleyball
Federation.
Table. 2. Turkish Sports Clubs Competing in Football, Basketball and Volleyball First Leagues in Turkey in the
2010-2011 Season
Football Basketball Volleyball
Male Female Male Female Male Female
 MKE (Makine
Kimya Endüstrisi)
Ankaragücü
 Medical Park
Antalyaspor
 Beşiktaş A.Ş.
 Bucaspor
 Bursaspor
 Eskişehirspor
 Fenerbahçe
 Galatasaray A.Ş.
 Gaziantepspor
 Gençlerbirliği
 İstanbul
Büyükşehir
Belediyespor
 Kardemir Demir
 Adana
İdmanyurduspor
 Ataşehir
Belediyespor
 Bucaspor
 Düvenciler
Lisesispor
 Gazi
Üniversitesispor
 Gölcükspor
 Konak
Belediyespor
 Marmara
Üniversitesispor
 Medical Park
Antalyaspor
 Trabzon
İdmanocağı
 Aliağa Petkim
 Antalya
Büyükşehir
Belediyespor
 Banvit
 Beşiktaş Cola
Turka
 Bornova
Belediyespor
 Efes Pilsen
 Erdemir
 Fenerbahçe
Ülker
 Galatasaray Cafe
Crown
 Medical Park
Trabzonspor
Basketbol
 Alanya
Belediyespor
 Beşiktaş Cola
Turka
 Fenerbahçe
 Galatasaray
Medical Park
 İstanbul
Üniversitesi
 Mersin
Büyükşehir
Belediyespor
 Panküp Kayseri
Şekerspor
 Samsun
Basketbol
 Tarsus
Belediyespor
 Arkasspor
 Beşiktaş
 Çankaya
Belediyespor
 Fenerbahçe
 Galatasaray
 Halkbank
 İstanbul
Büyükşehir
Belediyespor
 MEF Okulları
 Maliye Milli
Piyango
 Tofaş
 Torul Gençlik
 T.C. Ziraat
Bankası
 Beşiktaş
 Dicle
Üniversitesi
 Eczacıbaşı
Vitra
 Ereğli
Belediyespor
 Fenerbahçe
Acıbadem
 Galatasaray
Medical Park
 IBA Kimya
Ted Kolejliler
 İller Bankası
 Karşıyaka
İzka İnşaat
 MKE
Ankaragücü

6. 6
Çelik Karabükspor
 Kasımpaşaspor
 Kayserispor
 Konyaspor
 Manisaspor
 Sivasspor
 Trabzonspor
A.Ş.
 Trabzonspor
A.Ş.
 Maltepe Yalıspor
 Mersin
Büyükşehir
Belediyespor
 Olin Edirne
 Oyak Renault
 Pınar Karşıyaka
 Tofaş
 Türk Telekom
 Botaş
 Burhaniye
Belediyespor
 Ceyhan
Belediyespor
 Nilüfer
Belediyespor
 Vakıfbank
Güneş Sigorta
Türk Telekom
Source: Compiled March 22, 2011 from http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=198,
http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=1000, http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/index.asp, http://www.tbl.org.tr/beko/
fikstur.asp, http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/fikstur.asp?sezon=2010-2011#, http://www.voleybol.org.tr/fikstur/ index.
php/voleybol/fikstur/2011/1/E, http://www.voleybol.org.tr/fikstur/index.php/voleybol/fikstur/2011/1/B.
The table shows that there were 18 clubs competing in the male football league and 12 in the female football league, 16
clubs competing in the male basketball league and 12 in the female basketball league, and 12 clubs competing in the
male volleyball league and 12 in the female volleyball league. There were a total of 30 clubs in football, 28 clubs in
basketball, and 24 clubs in volleyball. As Table 3 shows, all of these clubs and businesses were included in the study.
Table. 3. Sports Branches and Sports Clubs under Study
Sports Branch Total Number of Clubs Number of Clubs Under Study
Football 30 30
Basketball 28 28
Volleyball 24 24
In the data collection phase of the study, corporate web sites of the sports clubs and businesses in the sample were
surveyed to see if they included mission and vision statements. Corporate web sites are interactive environments
through which organizations communicate with their customers and provide information about themselves and the
products and/or services they offer. Web sites that foster communication and interaction are effective managerial tools,
and they can provide a competitive advantage to businesses when effectively designed. Corporate web sites are formal
sites operated under the control of the management of the organization, and frequently represent the organization’s
strategic intent to use internet in order to share information, facilitate transactions, communicate with different
stakeholders and improve customer service. In any given website with an accessible design, the following content are
presented; basic contact information, products/services information, company information-company history, company
strategy, code of ethics, values, objectives, mission, vision, philosophy-, significant data -employees, stock market
value, sales etc.-, media center, client services and career menu (Hwang et al., 2003: 11; Sweeney, 2006: 5; Acosta and
Cerdan, 2008: 78; Llopis et al. 2009: 174). Data from the web sites of sports clubs and businesses were collected in
March 2011. Table 4 reports the 82 sports clubs included in the sample, and their web sites.
Table. 4. Sports Clubs and Businesses that Make Up the Sample of the Study and Their Web Sites
Football (Male) Web Site
MKE (Makine Kimya Endüstrisi) Ankaragücü http://www.ankaragucu.org.tr
Medical Park Antalyaspor http://www.antalyaspor.com.tr
Beşiktaş A.Ş. http://www.bjk.com.tr
Bucaspor http://www.bucaspor.org.tr
Bursaspor http://www.bursaspor.org.tr
Eskişehirspor http://www.eskisehirspor.org.tr
Fenerbahçe http://www.fenerbahce.org
Galatasaray A.Ş. http://www.galatasaray.org
Gaziantepspor http://www.gaziantepspor.org.tr

7. 7
Gençlerbirliği http://www.genclerbirligi.org.tr
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor http://www.ibbspor.com
Kardemir D. Ç. Karabükspor http://www.kardemirkarabukspor.org.tr
Kasımpaşaspor http://kasimpasaspor.org.tr/
Kayserispor http://www.kayserispor.org.tr
Konyaspor http://www.konyaspor.org.tr
Manisaspor http://www.manisaspor.org.tr
Sivasspor http://www.sivasspor.org.tr
Trabzonspor A.Ş. http://www.trabzonspor.org.tr
Football (Female) Web Site
Adana İdmanyurduspor -
Ataşehir Belediyespor http://www.atasehirbelediyesisporkulubu.com
Bucaspor http://www.bucaspor.org.tr
Düvenciler Lisesispor -
Gazi Üniversitesispor http://www.gazispor.gazi.edu.tr/branslar/bayanFutbolTakimi
Gölcükspor -
Konak Belediyespor -
Marmara Üniversitesispor http://marmaraspor.org
Medical Park Antalyaspor http://www.antalyaspor.com.tr/Genclik_Gelistirme_Birimi/bayan-takimi
Trabzon İdmanocağı http://idmanocagi.com/bayanfutbol.asp
Trabzonspor A.Ş. http://www.trabzonspor.org.tr
Maltepe Yalıspor http://www.maltepeyalispor.com
Basketball (Male) Web Site
Aliağa Petkim http://www.aliagaspor.org.tr
Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyespor http://www.antalyabasketbol.com
Beşiktaş Cola Turka http://www.bjk.com.tr
Banvit http://www.banvitbasketbol.com
Bornova Belediyespor -
Efes Pilsen http://www.efesbasket.org
Erdemir http://www.erdemirspor.net
Fenerbahçe Ülker http://www.fenerbahce.org
Galatasaray Cafe Crown http://www.galatasaray.org/basketbol/erkek/takim.php
Medical Park Trabzonspor Basketbol http://www.trabzonsporbasket.com
Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyespor http://www.mersin.bel.tr
Olin Edirne http://www.olinedirnebasket.com
Oyak Renault http://www.oyakrenaultspor.org/index.php/basketbol
Pınar Karşıyaka http://www.kskbasket.net
Tofaş http://www.tofasbasketbol.com
Türk Telekom http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr/basketbol.asp
Basketball (Female) Web Site
Alanya Belediyespor -
Beşiktaş Cola Turka http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr/yfs.php?kat_no=81&akat_no=10&tumu=E&k_id=4
Fenerbahçe http://www.fenerbahce.org/basketbolbayan
Galatasaray Medical Park http://www.galatasaray.org/basketbol/bayan
İstanbul Üniversitesi http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/iusbk/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti
cle&id=55&Itemid=62
Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyespor http://www.mersin.bel.tr
Panküp Kayseri Şekerspor http://pankupspor.com
Samsun Basketbol http://www.samsunbasketbol.com/sbk
Tarsus Belediyespor http://www.tarsusbelediyespor.com
Botaş http:// www.botasspor.org/
Burhaniye Belediyespor -
Ceyhan Belediyespor - (Under construction)
Volleyball (Male) Web Site

8. 8
Arkasspor http://www.arkasspor.com
Beşiktaş http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr/yfs.php?kat_no=100&akat_no=4&tumu=E&k_id=5
Çankaya Belediyespor -
Fenerbahçe http://www.fenerbahce.org/voleybol
Galatasaray http://www.galatasaray.org/voleybol/erkek
Halkbank http://www.halkbankspor.org.tr
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor http://www.ibbspor.com
MEF Okulları http://www.mef.k12.tr/01kurumsal/16spor_klubu/voleybol.asp
Maliye Milli Piyango http://www.mmpsk.org.tr
Tofaş http://www.tofasspor.com/default.aspx
Torul Gençlik http://www.torulgenclerbirligispor.com
T.C. Ziraat Bankası http://ziraatbankvoleybol.webnode.com
Volleyball (Female) Web Site
Beşiktaş http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr/yfs.php?kat_no=100&akat_no=2&tumu=E&k_id=5
Dicle Üniversitesi -
Eczacıbaşı Vitra http://www.eczacibasisporkulubu.org.tr
Ereğli Belediyespor http://www.ereglispor.net
Fenerbahçe Acıbadem http://www.fenerbahce.org/voleybolbayan
Galatasaray Medical Park http://www.galatasaray.org/voleybol/bayan
IBA Kimya Ted Kolejliler http://www.tedkolejlilersk.org.tr
İller Bankası http://www.illerbankasisporkulubu.org.tr
Karşıyaka İzka İnşaat -
MKE Ankaragücü http://www.ankaragucu.org.tr
Nilüfer Belediyespor http://www.niluferbelediyespor.com
Vakıfbank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr
As of March 2011, there were a total of 82 sports clubs and businesses competing in football, basketball and volleyball
first leagues in Turkey. Of these, 71 had corporate web sites, and 10 did not. At the date of the data collection, the web
site of one of the sports clubs under study was under construction. All male sports clubs and businesses competing in
football had corporate web sites, however, 4 of the female sports clubs and businesses did not have corporate web sites.
In basketball, 1 male sports club and 2 female sports clubs did not have corporate web sites, and the web site of 1
sports club was under construction. In volleyball, 1 male sports club and 2 female sports clubs and businesses did not
have corporate web sites.
Table. 5. Access to the Web Sites and Mission and Vision Statements of Sports Clubs and Businesses Competing
in Football, Basketball and Volleyball First Leagues in Turkey in the 2010-2011 Season
Has a web site 71
Does not have a web site 10
Web site is under construction 1
3.3. Method
This study examined the mission and vision statements of sports clubs and businesses competing in football, basketball
and volleyball first leagues in Turkey in the 2010-2011 season, using content analysis and a qualitative design. First,
the literature on business and management was reviewed to identify the components that mission and vision statements
need to have.
As aforecited, the literature regarding the appropriate content of a mission statement has focused on identifying the
components of a mission statement and suggested what the preferred elements should be. Many of the studies on the
components of mission statements of businesses from various sectors use the nine components of mission identified by
Pearce and David (1987). The framework of analysis to be used in examining the mission statements of sports clubs
and businesses was thus based on the nine components of mission that Pearce and David identified in their study of
businesses operating in manufacturing and service sectors. These components, which provide a practical framework for
the creation and assessment of an effective mission statement, are detailed in Table 6.

9. 9
Table. 6. Components of an Effective Mission Statement
Customers Who are the organization’s customers?
Products / Services What are the organization’s major products and services?
Location / Markets Where does the organization compete?
Technology Is technology a primary concern for the organization?
Concern for Survival, Growth and
Profitability
Is the organization committed to economic objectives?
Philosophy What are the basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and philosophical priorities
of the firm?
Self-concept What is the organization’s distinctive competence or major competitive
advantage?
Concern for Public Image Is the organization responsive to social, community and environmental
concerns?
Concern for Employees Are employees considered to be a valuable asset of the organization?
Source: John A. Pearce and Fred R. David (1987). “Corporate Mission Statements: The Bottom Line”. Academy of
Management Executive. 1 (2), pp. 109-116.
The other main focus of the study, vision, was also intensively studied in the literature and many suggestions have been
made as to the components it needs to contain (Collins and Porras, 1996; Lipton, 1996; Ülgen and Mirze, 2010). A
commonly accepted view is that the vision statement of an organization needs to consist of the mission, goals and
objectives, and values of the organization. Thus, the vision statements of the sports clubs and businesses under
consideration were evaluated using a methodology developed on the basis these three components.
Table. 7. Components of an Effective Vision Statement
Mission What’s our business, what it wants to be?
Goals and Objectives What’s to be accomplished by when if the company is to attain its mission?
Values How managers and employees should conduct themselves, how they should do
business and what kind of organization they should build to achieve the mission?
Characteristics that mission and vision statements need to have were placed on an evaluation matrix formed on the
basis of the findings in the literature. For mission and vision statements of each of the sports clubs and businesses in
the sample, this matrix was filled out by coding either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ reflecting whether the statement in question had the
evaluation criterion or not, and a content analysis was carried out. Table 8 reproduces the evaluation matrix used.
Table. 8. Evaluation Matrix for Mission and Vision Statements
Yes No
M 1 Customers
M 2 Products / Services
M 3 Location / Markets
M 4 Technology
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability
M 6 Philosophy
M 7 Self-concept
M 8 Concern for Public Image
M 9 Concern for Employees
V 1 Mission
V 2 Goals and Objectives
V 3 Values
3.4. Limitations of the Study

10. 10
This study focuses on 71 sports clubs and businesses that competed in football, basketball and volleyball first leagues
in Turkey in the 2010-2011 season and that had corporate web sites. As such, this study is limited in that it examines
the mission and vision statements of sports clubs and businesses competing in first leagues only, and is based on the
information reported in their corporate web sites.
3.5. Findings and Interpretation
As part of the study, mission and vision statements of a total of 71 sports clubs and businesses that had corporate web
sites were examined. It was found that only 5 of these sports clubs and businesses had mission and vision statements.
The remaining 66 clubs and businesses did not have mission and vision statements.
Table. 9. Access to the Mission and Vision Statements of Turkish Sports Clubs and Businesses Competing in
First Leagues in the 2010-2011 Season
Has mission and vision statements 5
Does not have mission and vision statements 66
Findings of the study were classified under three headings on the basis of the sports branches under consideration and
interpreted. Mission and vision statements reported and analyzed in this section of the study are original statements
made by the clubs and businesses themselves. Mission and vision statements of the sports clubs and businesses that had
English web sites were quoted from their English originals, and the mission and vision statements of the clubs that
reported these on their Turkish sites only were translated to English. Turkish originals of the statements translated to
English were reported in footnotes.
3.5.1. Findings Concerning Mission and Vision Statements of the Football Clubs and Businesses
Of the 30 football clubs and businesses that competed in the First League -Süper Toto Super League- in the 2010-2011
season, 26 had corporate web sites. Of these, only three contained mission and vision statements. Beşiktaş Sports Inc.,
Fenerbahçe Sports Inc. and Galatasaray Sports Inc. were the football clubs and businesses that had mission and vision
statements in the 2010-2011 season.
Table. 10 . Access to the Mission and Vision Statements of Football Clubs and Businesses that Competed in the
First League in the 2010-2011 Season
Has mission and vision statements 3
Does not have mission and vision statements 23
Beşiktaş Sports Inc.
The mission and vision statements of Beşiktaş Sports Inc are reported on the Turkish version of their corporate web
site*
. These statements can be translated to English as follows:
 Mission: “To train intelligent, agile and ethical athletes and sportsmen for Turkish sports following the advice
of our Great Leader Ataturk, to contribute to the successes of the Turkish national team, and to build sports facilities to
reach these goals.”
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Beşiktaş Sports Inc., which consists of 28 words, is as follows: “Büyük Önder
Atatürk’ün hedef gösterdiği doğrultuda Türk sporuna zeki, çevik ve ahlaklı sporcu ve spor adamlarını yetiştirmek, Milli takımın
başarılarına katkıda bulunmak, amaca ulaşmak için spor tesisleri yapmaktır”. The Turkish original of the vision statement of
Beşiktaş, which consists of 72 words, is as follows: “BJK camiasının tüm mensuplarının koşulsuz mutluluğunu sağlayacak sportif
başarı ve hizmetleri sunmak üzere gerekli kaynakların sağlanması için yönetme, yönlendirme ve koordinasyon faaliyetlerimizin
yerine getirilmesi 1903-2009 dönemini kapsayan bir asırı aşkın köklü geçmişi, şanlı tarihi olan Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulubü’nün
ulusal ve uluslararası alanlarda camiamızı ve ilkelerimizi başarı ile tanıtmak ve haklı gururumuz olarak temsil etmek için sportif
başarıların yanı sıra ekonomik başarısını da en üst seviyeye çıkarmak amacıyla profesyonel yaklaşımlar çerçevesinde
yönetilmesidir” (http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr/haberler.php?h_no= 8410&xl=yazi&l=h, 22.03.2011).

11. 11
 Vision: “Carrying out management, orientation and coordination activities to provide the necessary resources
for sportive success and services that will unconditionally please all members of the BJK community, and to
professionally manage Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club, which has a long and glorious history spanning more than a century
from 1903 to 2009, with the purpose of achieving the highest levels of sportive as well as economic success to promote
our community and principles in national and international platforms and to represent it with well-deserved pride.”
Table. 11. Evaluation of the Mission and Vision Statements of Beşiktaş Sports Inc.
Yes No
M 1 Customers X
M 2 Products / Services X
M 3 Location / Markets X
M 4 Technology X
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability X
M 6 Philosophy X
M 7 Self-concept X
M 8 Concern for Public Image X
M 9 Concern for Employees X
V 1 Mission X
V 2 Goals and Objectives X
V 3 Values X
The mission statement of Beşiktaş Sports Inc. is a single sentence consisting of 39 words. In terms of effectiveness, the
statement contains five of the nine criteria an ideal mission statement needs to have. These are products/services,
location/markets, philosophy, self-concept, and concern for public image. The phrase “following the advice of our
Great Leader Ataturk”, states the philosophy of the business. The section on “training intelligent, agile and ethical
athletes and sportsmen, contributing to the successes of the Turkish national team, and building sports facilities to
reach these goals” indicates a concern for public image. The emphasis on “Turkish sports” corresponds to the
location/markets criterion, and the emphasis on “training intelligent, agile and ethical athletes and sportsmen”
corresponds to the products/services criterion. In addition, “contributing to the success of the Turkish national team”
and “building sports facilities” are indicators of the self-concept of the business.
The vision statement of Beşiktaş Sports Inc., which is a single sentence consisting of 83 words, has all three elements
that an ideal vision statement needs to have. The section on “Carrying out management, orientation and coordination
activities to provide the necessary resources for sportive success and services that will unconditionally please all
members of the BJK community” indicates goals and objectives, the sections on “Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club, which has
a long and glorious history spanning more than a century from 1903 to 2009” and “promoting our community and
principles in national and international platforms and to represent it with well-deserved pride” indicate values, and the
section on “achieving the highest levels of sportive as well as economic success” indicates mission. Although it has the
specified criteria, the vision of Beşiktaş Inc. is not an ideal one because of its length which makes it difficult to
remember.
Fenerbahçe Sports Inc.
The mission and vision statements of Fenerbahçe Sports Inc. are reported on the Turkish version of their corporate web
site*
. These statements can be translated to English as follows:
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Fenerbahçe Sports Inc., which consists of two sentences and 40 words, is as
follows: “Şirket bugünkü yapısıyla Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü’ne ait olan gelirlerin önemli bir kısmını kapsayan, TV yayın hakkı,
stadyum gelirlerinin bir kısmı, reklam, sponsorluk, isim hakkı gibi gelir kaynaklarına sahiptir. Fenerbahçe Sportif’in misyonu bu
gelirlerin çoğaltılması, yaygınlaştırılması ve yeni gelir kaynaklarının yaratılmasıdır”. The Turkish original of the vision statement,
which consists of a single sentence and 21 words, is as follows: “Faaliyetlerinin gelecekte de başarıyla sürdürülerek Kulübe ve

12. 12
 Mission: “With its current structure, the company has various sources of revenue such as TV broadcast rights,
a portion of the stadium revenues, sponsorships, and naming rights, which make up a significant portion of the
revenues of the Fenerbahçe Sports Club. The mission of Fenerbahçe Inc. is to increase and diversify these revenues
and to create new sources of revenue.
 Vision: “Continuing successful activities in the future, and always being an exemplary organization in capital
markets by providing stable income to the Club and to the investors”.
Table. 12. Evaluation of the Mission and Vision Statements of Fenerbahçe Sports Inc.
Yes No
M 1 Customers X
M 2 Products / Services X
M 3 Location / Markets X
M 4 Technology X
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability X
M 6 Philosophy X
M 7 Self-concept X
M 8 Concern for Public Image X
M 9 Concern for Employees X
V 1 Mission X
V 2 Goals and Objectives X
V 3 Values X
The mission statement of Fenerbahçe Sports Inc. consists of two sentences and 58 words. The mission statement is in
the second sentence. The first sentence explains the reasons the company was founded. Without the first sentence, the
second sentence does not make any sense to the readers. However, in its current form, the mission statement is too long
and contains unnecessary information. The ideal thing to do for Fenerbahçe Inc. would be to connect the two sentences
and to formulate a simpler mission statement. In terms of effectiveness, the mission statement of the company contains
only one of the nine components that an effective mission needs to have: the concern for survival, growth and
profitability. The section of the mission statement on “increasing and diversifying these revenues and creating new
sources of revenue” obviously states the goals of the Fenerbahçe Inc.
The vision statement, which consists of a single sentence and 26 words, has all the elements of an effective vision
statement. The section on “continuing successful activities in the future” refers to the mission, the section on
“providing stable income to the Club and to the investors” refers to goals and objectives, and the section on “always
being an exemplary organization in capital markets” refers to values.
Galatasaray Sports Inc.
The mission and vision statements of Galatasaray Sports Inc. are reported on the Turkish version of their corporate web
site*
. These statements can be translated to English as follows:
yatırımcılara istikrarlı gelir sağlayan, sermaye piyasasında bugün olduğu gibi daima örnek bir kuruluş olmaktır”
(http://www.fenerbahce.org/pic_lib/2009-10-FR-9-KY.pdf, 22.01.2011).
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Galatasaray Sports Inc., which consists of a single sentence and 18 words, is as
follows:“Galatasaray Sportif, medya, sponsorluk, lisanslı ürün ve reklam haklarının parasal değerini en üst düzeye çıkarmak
misyonuyla faaliyet göstermektedir” (http://www.galatasaray.org/sportif/hakkimizda/pages/misyon. php, 22.03.2011). The Turkish
original of the vision statement, which consists of a single sentence and 14 words, is as follows: “Hızla gelişen medya ve eğlence
sektörlerinde sahip olduğu payı artırmak, Galatasaray Sportif'in vizyonunu oluşturur” (http://www.galatasaray.org/sportif/
hakkimizda/pages/vizyon.php, 22.03.2011).

13. 13
 Mission: “Galatasaray Inc. operates with the mission of increasing the monetary value of media, sponsorship,
licensed products, and advertising rights to the highest level possible.”
 Vision: “Increasing its share in the rapidly developing sectors of media and entertainment is the vision of
Galatasaray Inc.”
Table. 13. Evaluation of the Mission and Vision Statements of Galatasaray Sports Inc.
Yes No
M 1 Customers X
M 2 Products / Services X
M 3 Location / Markets X
M 4 Technology X
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability X
M 6 Philosophy X
M 7 Self-concept X
M 8 Concern for Public Image X
M 9 Concern for Employees X
V 1 Mission X
V 2 Goals and Objectives X
V 3 Values X
The mission statement of Galatasaray Sports Inc. consists of a single sentence and 24 words. It contains only one of the
nine criteria an ideal mission statement needs to have, the concern for survival, growth and profitability. This concern
is expressed in the phrase “increasing the monetary value of media, sponsorship, licensed products, and advertising
rights to the highest level possible”. This mission does not have all the elements of an ideal mission statement but is in
line with the reason for the foundation of Galatasaray Inc. The web site of the company openly states that the company
was founded because of the need for a professional brand marketing firm that would translate Galatasaray Professional
Football Team’s successes, unprecedented in the history of the Turkish football, to commercial revenue.
The vision statement of Galatasaray Sports Inc., which consists of a single sentence and 18 words, has only one of the
three elements of an effective vision statement. The section of the vision statement on “Increasing its share in the
rapidly developing sectors of media and entertainment” states goals and objectives.
Besides the mission and vision statements so far examined, football academies and sports schools of Bucaspor male
football team and Gazi Üniversitespor female football team have mission and vision statements, although the teams
themselves do not. The mission and vision statements of these organizations can be accessed through the web sites of
Bucaspor Sports Club and Gazi Üniversitespor Female Football Team.
Bucaspor Football Academy, founded in 2007, trains prospective professional footballers for the Bucaspor Club and
provides youth setup services. The English version of the official web site of Bucaspor Football Academy has the
following mission statement (http://www.bucagenc.org/eng/sabit.asp?i=2, 22.03.2011):
 Mission: “Taking benefit from the science and technology, Bucaspor Football Academy has adopted the task
to coach the professional footballers with superior qualifications who can take part at the international
arena representing the Turkish youth and this service shall be rendered for the public benefit especially for Bucaspor
and young national teams” .
The mission statement of Bucaspor Football Academy contains explanatory details. These explanations detail the
mission statement and state how the mission is to be achieved. The vision statement of the Academy, similarly detailed
and published on the English version of the official web site, is as follows:
 Vision: “The fundamental vision for us is to be a well-known football academy having the great contributions
in permanent accomplishments of our country at international platforms thanks to superior young footballers to be
raised proudly by our academy”.

14. 14
A similar example can be found in Gazi Üniversitesi Sports Club. Founded in 1985, Gazi Üniversitesi Sports Club is a
female football club and its mission and vision statements are published on the Turkish version of the official web site*
.
These mission and vision statements can be translated to English as follows:
 Mission: “Our mission is to make sure that students and other members of Gazi University do their physical
training and sports activities according to the standards and in a planned manner, and to contribute to the creation of
a Sports Awareness and Culture.”
 Vision: “We are a club that has a creative and innovative management approach in line with the needs and
expectations of an organization that invests in sports, that sees sports as the most effective medium for reaching its
target audience, and that believes the only way to do so is to employ professionals and experts.”
3.5.2. Findings Concerning the Mission and Vision Statements of Basketball Clubs and Businesses
Of the 28 basketball clubs and businesses that competed in the First League -Beko Basketball League- in the 2010-
2011 season, 24 had corporate web sites. An examination of the web sites of these clubs and businesses showed that
only one had mission and vision statements. The male basketball team Tofaş Basketball was the only basketball club
that had mission and vision statements.
Table. 14. Access to the Mission and Vision Statements of Basketball Clubs and Businesses that Competed in the
First League in the 2010-2011 Season
Has mission and vision statements 1
Does not have mission and vision statements 23
Tofaş Basketball
The mission and vision statements of Tofaş Basketball are published on the Turkish version of the club’s corporate
web site*
. These statements can be translated to English as follows:
 Mission: “To provide sports education to young athletes with a contemporary understanding of discipline, to
provide an environment that answers their sportive, social, physical and mental needs so that superior athletes with
moral values and social responsibility can be trained, and to develop, implement and prepare the conditions for
training elite athletes for Turkish basketball and for the National Teams.”
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Gazi University Sports Club which consists of a single sentence and 25 words is
as follows: “Biz; Gazi Üniversitesi öğrenci ve mensupları için beden eğitimi ve spor etkinliklerinin planlı ve standartlara uygun
yapılmasını sağlayarak, Spor Bilinci ve Kültürünün oluşmasına katkıda bulunmaktır”. The Turkish original of the vision statement
of the club which consists of as single sentence and 40 words is as follows: “Spora yatırım yapan ve sporu hedef kitlesine ulaşmak
için en etkili mecra olarak gören; bunun tek yolunun da profesyonel ve uzman kişiler tarafından yapılacağına inanan kurumun
ihtiyaçları ve beklentileri doğrultusunda yaratıcı ve yenilikçi yönetim anlayışı ile hareket eden bir kulübüz”
(http://www.gazispor.gazi.edu.tr/hakkimizda.html, 22.03.2011).
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Tofaş Basketball, which consists of a single sentence and forty-nine words, is as
follows: “Sporcu çocuklarımıza; çağdaş disiplin anlayışı içinde, spor eğitiminin verilmesini sağlamak, ahlaki değer ve toplumsal
sorumluluk sahibi üstün nitelikli sporcular yetiştirilmesi için, sportif, sosyal, fiziksel ve zihinsel ihtiyaçlarına cevap verebilecek bir
ortam hazırlamak ve Türk basketboluna ve Mlli Takımlara elit sporcular yetiştirmek için programlar geliştirmek, uygulamak ve
gerekli imkanları sağlamak” (http://tofasbasketbol.com/yeni/default.asp?rsm=111011000000, 21.03.2011). The Turkish original of
the vision statement of Tofaş Basketball, which consists of a single sentence and thirty words, is as follows:“Milli ve manevi
değerlerini benimsemiş ve bu değerleri kendine rehber edinen, paylaşmasını bilen, takım ruhuna inanan, ruhen ve bedenen güçlü,
sağlıklı, kültürlü, iyi ahlaklı ve özgüveni yüksek sporcu çocuklar yetiştirmek”
(http://tofasbasketbol.com/yeni/default.asp?rsm=111012000000, 21.03.2011).

15. 15
 Vision: “To train young athletes who adopt our national and moral values and accept the guidance of these
values, who know how to share, who believe in team spirit, who are mentally and physically strong, who are cultured,
and who have good morals and high self-confidence.”
Table. 15. Evaluation of the Mission and Vision Statements of Tofaş Basketball
Yes No
M 1 Customers X
M 2 Products / Services X
M 3 Location / Markets X
M 4 Technology X
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability X
M 6 Philosophy X
M 7 Self-concept X
M 8 Concern for Public Image X
M 9 Concern for Employees X
V 1 Mission X
V 2 Goals and Objectives X
V 3 Values X
The mission statement of Tofaş Basketball consists of a single sentence and 59 words. Tofaş’s mission has four of the
nine characteristics an ideal mission statement needs to have. These are products/services, location/markets,
philosophy, and concern for public image. The sections of the mission statement on “providing sports education to
young athletes with a contemporary understanding of discipline” and training “superior athletes with moral values
and social responsibility” correspond to the criterion of products/services. The sections on “providing sports education
to young athletes with a contemporary understanding of discipline” and “providing an environment that answers their
sportive, social, physical and mental needs so that superior athletes with moral values and social responsibility can be
trained” refer, respectively, to the components of location/markets and philosophy. The section on “developing,
implementing and preparing the conditions for training elite athletes for Turkish basketball and for the National
Teams”, on the other hand, refers to the criterion of concern for public image as well as the criteria of location/markets
and philosophy.
The vision statement of Tofaş Basketball consists of a single sentence and 48 words. It has all the elements of an
effective vision statement. The emphasis on “national and moral values” indicates values; and the section on training
young athletes “who accept the guidance of these values, who know how to share, who believe in team spirit, who are
mentally and physically strong, who are healthy, who are cultured, and who have good morals and high self-
confidence” indicates goals and objectives as well as the criteria of mission.
Besides Tofaş Basketball, which has mission and vision statements of its own, Türk Telekom Sports Academy, a
subsidiary of Türk Telekom, which is a sports club competing in basketball first league, has mission and vision
statements. These statements are published on the Turkish version of the corporate web site of the club*
. The mission
and vision statements of the Academy, which provides youth setup services to Türk Telekom, can be translated to
English as follows:
*
The Turkish original of the mission statement of Türk Telekom Sports Academy which consists of a single sentence and 18 words
is as follows: “Şirketimizi Türk sporunda temsil edecek iyi birey, iyi öğrenci, iyi eğitimli insan ve iyi sporcu yetiştirmenin
programlarını geliştirmektir” (http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr alticerik.asp?id= 112, 21.03.2011). The Turkish original of the
vision statement of the Academy which consists of single sentence and 39 words is as follows: “Tüm ülke genelinde Türk
Telekomspor adı altında hizmet veren, yetenek kalitesi yüksek genç sporcuların sistemli çalışmalar sonucunda ortaya çıkarılması
ve yarının önemli bireyleri olan bu oyuncuları doğru ellerde geliştirerek, doğru program içerisinde profesyonel takımlarımızın ve
Milli Takımlarımızın hizmetine sunmaktır” (http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr/alticerik.asp?id=111, 21.03.2011).

16. 16
 Mission: “To develop programs for the training of good individuals, good students, well-educated people and
good athletes that will represent our company in Turkish sports.”
 Vision: “Finding, through systematic work, highly skilled young athletes all over the country who will wear
the Türk Telekomspor uniform, training these players, who are important people of the future, in the right hands, and
preparing them in the right program to serve our professional teams and National Teams.”
3.5.3. Findings Concerning the Mission and Vision Statements of Volleyball Clubs and Businesses
Of the 24 volleyball clubs and businesses that competed in the first league in the 2010-2011 season, 21 had corporate
web sites. An examination of the web sites of these clubs and businesses showed that only one, Arkas, had mission and
vision statements.
Table. 16. Access to the Mission and Vision Statements of Volleyball Clubs and Businesses that Competed in the
First League in the 2010-2011 Season
Has mission and vision statements 1
Does not have mission and vision statements 20
Arkas Sports Club
Mission and vision statements of Arkas Sports Club are published on the English version of its corporate web site.
These mission and vision statements are as follows (http://www.arkasspor.com/en/arkas-sports/history.html,
22.03.2011):
 Mission: “To make a contribution to the development of Turkish sports and to help raise up the next
generation of healthy sports enthusiasts, people that will be good examples for society”.
Arkas Sports Club also provides a road map to be followed on the basis of its mission. The mission-related goals of
Arkas detail the mission and are stated as follows:
- “Operating with this goal in mind, our club’s goal is to build a strong base of players by discovering young talent in
Izmir and in Turkey, train players so that they can play for Turkish National Teams at the highest level and to revive
the love of volleyball, which has begun to decline”.
 Vision: “To build a base of sportsmen and women that have adopted Arkas's philosophy and that can achieve
victories in Turkish Leagues and in Europe and ultimately become champions. To contribute to the success of the
Turkish National Teams”.
Table. 17. Evaluation Matrix for the Mission and Vision Statements of Arkas Sports Club
Yes No
M 1 Customers X
M 2 Products / Services X
M 3 Location / Markets X
M 4 Technology X
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability X
M 6 Philosophy X
M 7 Self-concept X
M 8 Concern for Public Image X
M 9 Concern for Employees X
V 1 Mission X
V 2 Goals and Objectives X
V 3 Values X
Founded in 2001, Arkas Sports Club is supported by Arkas Holding Company, a prominent Turkish company. Thus,
the awareness of the Club concerning mission and vision statements can be attributed to the corporate and professional

17. 17
image of Arkas Holding. The mission statement of Arkas Sports Club consists of a single sentence and thirty words.
The statement contains four of the nine criteria an ideal mission needs to have. These are products/services,
location/markets, philosophy and public concern. The section of the mission statement on “making a contribution to
the development of Turkish sports and helping raise up the next generation of healthy sports enthusiasts, people that
will be good examples for society’ refers simultaneously to the criteria of products/services, philosophy, and concern
for public image. The emphases in the mission statement on “Turkey” and “İzmir” correspond to the location/markets
criterion.
The vision statements, which consist of a single sentence and thirty-eight words, has all three elements an ideal vision
statement needs to have. The phrase “Arkas philosophy” in the vision statement refers to values, the section on
“achieving victories in Turkish Leagues and in Europe and ultimately becoming champions, and contributing to the
success of the Turkish National Teams’ refers to mission and to goals and objectives.
4.CONCLUSION
Mission and vision are prominent concepts in strategic management. Brought forward by contemporary approaches to
management and competition, they are commonly used and frequently confused concepts. In many accounts, the two
concepts are used interchangeably or inaccurately. This study showed that a great majority of Turkish sports clubs and
businesses do not have mission and vision statements. Of the eighty-two sports clubs and businesses that compete in
football, basketball and volleyball first leagues in Turkey, only five have mission and vision statements. From a
statistical point of view, we can say that only 4.1 percent of the Turkish sports clubs and businesses have mission and
vision statements.
The study also found that three of the five sports clubs that had mission and vision statements, namely Beşiktaş,
Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, were incorporated companies, and the remaining two, Tofaş Baketball and Arkas Sports
Club, were supported by two prominent Turkish companies, Tofaş Turkish Automotive Factory Inc. and Arkas
Holding. As such, we can argue that sports clubs make use of business concepts only when they are in close contact
with the business world. As these examples show, sports clubs develop an awareness about mission and vision
statements only when they are incorporated or when they exist in a highly competitive business environment. On the
other hand, Beşiktaş, founded in 1903, Galatasaray, founded in 1905, and Fenerbahçe, founded in 1907, are among the
oldest sports clubs in Turkey and they have certainly left their mark in the Turkish sports history. It is not surprising to
see that these three have a more professional approach to sports and adopt business concepts earlier compared to other
clubs. Named “The Big Three”, these clubs are pioneers in Turkish sports history, and not only with the sports
successes they achieved. They played in international tournaments earlier than other clubs did, became incorporated
earlier, and started institutionalization efforts earlier. Thus, it can be argued that they have formulated mission and
vision statements to comply with the Principles of Corporate Management published by the Capital Markets Board of
Turkey, SPK (Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu). Another interesting finding of the study was that the mission and vision
statements of these sports clubs and businesses were published only on the Turkish versions of their corporate web
sites. Only Arkas Sports Club published its mission and vision statements on the English version of its official web
site.
Another point worthy of note was that a number of academies and schools that provide youth step services to the sports
clubs had mission and vision statements, although the clubs they served did not have them. Bucaspor Football
Academy, Gazi Üniversitesi Sports Club and Türk Telekom Sports Schools were the primary examples of this
phenomenon. It can be argued that being a training institution results in having stronger awareness concerning
contemporary concepts and practices, and having goals and objectives and a road map for the future.
Although the literature suggests that effective mission and vision statements need to have all the elements mentioned
on the evaluation matrix, sports clubs and businesses that did have mission and vision statements did not follow this
advice. An examination of the mission statements of the five sports clubs and businesses showed that some of the
criteria an effective mission statement needs to have were not present on any of the mission statements studied. These
criteria were customers, technology and employees. None of the sports clubs and businesses mentioned the
‘customers’, that is to say, viewers and fans; the ‘employees’, that is to say, players, trainers, etc.; or the element of
technology that contributes to the operation of these businesses. On the basis of these observations, we can argue that

18. 18
sports clubs and businesses do not see themselves as structures consisting of the processes of input-transformation-
output.
The remaining six components of an effective mission statement were used, in varying amounts, by the mission
statements under study. Of these, philosophy was the most frequently used component. Four of the five sports clubs
and businesses stated their philosophy in their mission statements. Philosophy was followed by the components of
location/markets and concern for public image. Three of the five clubs and businesses mentioned these aspects in their
mission statements. The components of products/services, concern for survival, growth and profitability, self-concept
and concern for public image were used in the mission statements of two clubs and businesses. These components were
present in the statements but they were poorly presented. It can be argued that they were not represented in mission
statements with the diligence they deserve.
An examination of the vision statements of the five sports clubs and businesses in the sample showed that two of the
three components an effective vision statement needs to have were present in all vision statements. These were the
components of goals and objectives, and values. The component of mission, on the other hand, was present on the
vision statements of four sports clubs and businesses.
Table. 18. An Evaluation of the Mission and Vision Statements of Sports Clubs and Businesses Competing in
Football, Basketball and Volleyball First Leagues in Turkey
Yes No
M 1 Customers - 5
M 2 Products / Services 3 2
M 3 Location / Markets 3 2
M 4 Technology - 5
M 5 Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability 2 3
M 6 Philosophy 3 2
M 7 Self-concept 1 4
M 8 Concern for Public Image 3 2
M 9 Concern for Employees - 5
V 1 Mission 4 1
V 2 Goals and Objectives 5 -
V 3 Values 5 -
These findings show that a great majority of the sports clubs and businesses in Turkey do not have mission and vision
statements, and that the mission and vision statements that exist have problems in terms of meaning, content, language,
grammar and length, although they more or less follow the evaluation criteria. The mission statements examined failed
to clearly state the reason for being of their organizations, and the vision statements failed to present realistic and
exciting visions for the future. Mission and vision are among the most effective components of a strategic
management, and are high up on the agenda of contemporary business life. However, the mission and vision statements
examined seem to be mere formalities prepared to follow managerial trends. The inconsistencies they contain mean
that these statements fail to serve as effective mission and vision statements. Language and grammar mistakes they
contain give the impression that they were prepared in haste without due diligence. Some of the statements were duly
short, but they had a narrow scope failing to emphasize the strategic plan of the club/business in question, and others
were too long, trying to fit everything into a single sentence with grammar mistakes and inconsistencies. These
statements need to be reviewed, revised and improved in terms of their meanings, content, language, grammar and
length.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Acosta, Pedro Soto and Angel Merono Cerdan (2008), “A Framework for Comparing E. Busines and E. Government
Website Initiatives: An Empirical Study in Spain”, Studies in Computational Intelligence, Vol. 110, pp.73-86.

19. 19
Analoui, F. and A. Karami (2002), “CEO’s and Development of the Meaningful Mission Statement”, Corporate
Governance, 2 (3), pp. 13-20.
Baetz, Mark C. and Christopher K. Bart (1996), “Developing Mission Statements Which Work”, Long Range
Planning, 29 (4), pp. 526-533.
Bart, Christopher K. (2001), “Measuring theMission Effect in Human Intellectual Capital”, Journal of Intellectual
Capital, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 320-330.
Bart, Christopher K. (2007), “A Comparative Analysis of Mission Statement Content in Secular and Faith-Based
Hospitals”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, 8 (4), pp. 682-694.
Bart, Christopher K. and Bontis, Nick (2003), “Distinguishing between the Board and Management in Company
Mission Implications for Corporate Governance”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 361-381.
Bart, Christopher K., Nick Bontis and Simon Taggar (2001), “A Model of The Impact of Mission Statements on Firm
Performance”, Management Decision, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 19-35.
Bartkus, Barbara, Myron Glassman and Bruce Mcaffe (2006), “Mission Statement Quality and Financial
Performance”, European Management Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 86-94.
Biloslavo, Roberto (2004), “Web Based Mission Statements in Slovenian Enterprises”, Journal for East European
Management Studies, 9 (3), pp. 265-277.
Botterill, M. (1990), “Changing Corporate Culture”, Management Services, 34 (6), pp. 14-18.
Campbell, Andrew and Sally Yeung (1991), “Creating a Sense of Mission”, Long Range Planning, 24 (4), pp. 10-20.
Klemm, M., S. Sanderson and G. Luffman (1991), “Mission Statements: Selling Corporate Values to Employees”,
Long Range Planning, 24(3), pp.73-78.
Collins, James C. and Jerry I. Porras (1996), “Building Your Company’s Vision”, Harvard Business Review,
September-October, pp. 65-77.
David, F.R. (1989), “ How Companies Define Their Mission”, Long Range Planning, 22 (1), pp. 90-97.
Dinçer, Ömer (2003), Stratejik Yönetim ve İşletme Politikası, İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
Dobson, Paul and Starkey, Ken ( 2004), Strategic Management: Issues and Cases, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Doğan, Hulusi (2008), “Örgütlerde Vizyon ve Misyonların Çalışanlarca Kabulü ve Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi
Örneği”, Gazi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, Vol. 10, No..3, pp. 93-110.
Eren, Erol (2005), Stratejik Yönetim ve İşletme Politikası, 7th Edition. İstanbul: Beta Basım Yayım.
Friesen, Michael E. and James A. Johnson (1995), The Success Paradigm, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Morden, Tony (2007), Principles of Strategic Management, GB: Ashgate Publishing Company.

20. 20
Gürüz, Demet and Emet Gürel (2009), Yönetim ve Organizasyon -Bireyden Örgüte, Fikirden Eyleme, 2nd Edition.
Ankara: Nobel Yayıncılık.
Hunger, David and Thomas Wheelen (2001), Essentials of Strategic Management, USA: Prentice Hall Inc.
Hwang, Jang Sun, Sally J. Macmillan and Guiohk Lee, (2003), “ Corporate Web Sites as Advertising: An Analysis of
Function, Audience and Message Strategy”, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 10-23.
Ireland, Duane R. and Michael Hitt (1992), “ Mission Statements: Importance, Challenge and Recommendations for
Development”, Business Horizons, 35 (3), pp. 34-43.
Jeyarathnam, M. (2008), Strategic Management, India: Global Media.
Joyce, Paul and Adrian Woods (2002), Strategic Management: A Fresh Approach to Developing Skills, Knowledge
and Creativity, GB: Kogan Page Ltd.
Koçel, Tamer (2005), İşletme Yöneticiliği, 10th Edition. İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
Kotler, Philip (1984), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, Control, England: Prentice Hall.
Lipton, Mark (1996), “Demystifying the Development of an Organizational Vision”, Sloan Management Review,, Vol.
37, No. 4, pp. 83-92.
Llopis, Juan, Reyes Gonzalez and Jose Gasco (2009), “ Identifying Corporate Managerial Topics with Web Pages”,
International Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 172-179.
Malphurs, Aubrey (1998), Developing a Dynamic Mission for Your Ministry, USA: Kregel Publications.
Morgan, Johnson Melisa and Jane Summers (2005), Sport Marketing, Australia: Thomson.
Morris, R. (1996), “Developing a Mission for a Diversified Company”, Long Range Planning, 29 (1), pp. 103-115.
O’Gorman, Colm and Roslyn Doran (1999), “Mission Statements in Small and Medium Sized Businesses”, Journal of
Small Business Management, 37 (4), pp. 59-66.
Pearce, John A. and Fred David (1987), “Corporate Mission Statements: The Bottom Line”, Executive, Vol. 1, No. 2,
pp. 109-116.
Peters, Tom (1988), Thriving on Chaos, USA: Alfred A Knopf.
Sabrautzki, Stefan (2009), Strategies, Mission, Vision, Goals, Seminar Paper, Germany: Grin Verlag.
Sufi, Tahir and Howard Lyons (2003), “Mission Statements Exposed”, International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 15 (4/5), pp. 255-262.
Sweeney, Susana (2006), 101 Way to Promote Your Web Site, Canada: Maximum Press.
Ülgen, Hayri and S. Kadri Mirze (2010), İşletmelerde Stratejik Yönetim, 5th Edition. İstanbul: Beta Basım Yayım.

21. 21
Want, Jerome H. (1986), “Corporate Mission, The Intangible Contributor to Performance”, Management Review, Vol.
75, No .8, pp. 46-50.
Witcher, Barry J. and Vinh Sum Chau (2010), Strategic Management: Principles and Practice, Hong Kong: South
Western Cengage Learning.
-, (2011), http://tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/?kategori=verilst&ayn=dzn&kelime=misyon [Accessed 16.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/?kategori=verilst&ayn=dzn&kelime=vizyon [Accessed 16.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.arkasspor.com/en/arkas-sports/history. html [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.arkasspor.com/arkas-spor/hakkimizda.html [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.bjk.com.tr/tr/haberler.php?h_no=8410&xl=yazi&l=h [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.bucagenc.org/eng/sabit.asp?i=2 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.bucagenc.org/sabit.asp?i=2 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.fenerbahce.org/pic_lib/2009-10-FR-9-KY.pdf [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.galatasaray.org/sportif/hakkimizda/pages/misyon.php [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.gazispor.gazi.edu.tr/hakkimizda.html [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tbl.org.tr/beko/fikstur.asp [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/index.asp [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/fikstur.asp?sezon=2010-2011# [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tbf.org.tr [Accessed 21.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=198 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=1000 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://tofasbasketbol.com/yeni/default.asp?rsm=111012000000 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://tofasbasketbol.com/yeni/default.asp?rsm=111011000000 [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr/alticerik.asp?id=112 [Accessed 21.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.turktelekomspor.com.tr/alticerik.asp?id=111 [Accessed 21.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.tvf.org.tr [Accessed 21.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.voleybol.org.tr/fikstur/index.php/voleybol/fikstur/2011/1/E [Accessed 22.03.2011].
-, (2011), http://www.voleybol.org.tr/fikstur/index.php/voleybol/fikstur/2011/1/B [Accessed 22.03.2011].

22. 22