Mission statement
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A mission statement is a brief written statement of the purpose of a company or organization. Ideally, a mission statement guides the actions of the organization, spells out its overall goal, provides a sense of direction, and guides decision making for all levels of management.
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[edit] Content
Mission statements often contain the following:
- Purpose and aim of the organization
- The organization's primary stakeholders: clients, stockholders, etc.
- Responsibilities of the organization toward these stakeholders
- Products and services offered
[edit] Process
In developing a mission statement:
- Encourage as much input as feasible from employees, volunteers, and other stakeholders
- Publicize it broadly
- Limit to a few statements.
[edit] Stakeholder conflict resolution
The mission statement can be used to resolve differences between business stakeholders. Stakeholders include: employees including managers and executives, stockholders, board of directors, customers, suppliers, distributors, creditors, governments (local, state, federal, etc.), unions, competitors, NGO's, and the general public. Stakeholders affect and are affected by the organization's strategies. According to Vern McGinis, a mission should:
- Define what the company is
- Define what the company aspires to be
- Limited to exclude some ventures
- Broad enough to allow for creative growth
- Distinguish the company from all others
- Serve as framework to evaluate current activities
- Stated clearly so that it is understood by all
[edit] Wording
Some mission statements are complex, long, and very broad, for example:
| “ | Since its inception in 1982, La Unidad Latina has remained on the vanguard of political and community empowerment by developing influential leaders that strive to exert knowledge and power into its peers in order to attain mutual success. LUL is committed to academic excellence, leadership development and cultural enlightenment, enhanced by a diverse cognizant membership. LUL strives to preserve and promote an inclusive intellectual environment for its members, in addition to the general community.[1] | ” |
In contrast, some mission statements are simple and direct, for example:
| “ | To protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists while serving the needs of its members.[2] | ” |
The classic example of the mission statement is the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States:
| “ | We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.[3] | ” |
[edit] See also
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Look up mission statement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- strategic planning
- section on mission statements and vision statements
- statement of faith
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (August 2008) |
- Haschak, Paul G. (1998). Corporate statements: the official missions, goals, principles and philosophies of over 900 companies. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0342-X.
- Hughes K. et al. (2005). IT Fundamentals. Tertiary Press. Croydon, Victoria. ISBN 0-86458-488-1.
- Say It and Live It: The 50 corporate mission statements that hit the mark. Patricia Jones & Larry Kahaner. Currency Doubleday. New York, 1995. ISBN 9780385476300
