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Mission Statements In The Strategic Management Process Marketing Essay

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Marketing
Wordcount: 1669 words Published: 1st Jan 2015

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Making a strategy is not simple like making a decision to buy a mobile phone or a computer. Such an undertaking requires a rigorous planning. In a five years study of high growth companies and their less successful competitors, W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborne (1998) found that the reason why some companies achieve sustained high growth in both revenues and profits lies in the way each group approached strategy . According to W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborne, strategies play a vitally important role determining the success of a company. But where does a strategy come from? “Strategy, then, are means the ends to a company” (John L Thompson, 2001), it is the result of the strategic management process which including strategic analysis, strategy creation and choice as well as strategy implementation.

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Although different companies have different strategies, but one thing is certain, ‘each company has a direct and broad purpose, which should always be clear, articulated and understood, and which sometimes will summarize in the form of a mission statement’ (JohnL Thompson, 2001). Many companies refer mission statement as a road map and “mission statements are widely seen as necessary in helping a company from its identity purpose and direction” (Lance Leuthesser and Chiranjeev Kohil). In writing a mission statement, nevertheless, how many aspects should be emphasized in order to have it made sense? And what is the relationship between mission statement and strategic management process?

This essay aims to discuss a statement that writing a mission statement is to create a brief description of what an organisation wants to focus on and accomplish and then examine the role that mission statements play in the strategic management process. It is divided into two parts, while in the first part, examples of some companies are provided to support whether this statement covers the partly or totally aspects about mission statements. Then, in the second part,

2.0 Write effective mission statements (approx 1500 – 2000)

Peter Drucker (1973) said that a business is not defined by its name, statutes, or articles of incorporation but by the business mission. Only a clear definition of the mission and purpose of the organization makes possible clear and realistic business objectives. It seems that nearly every company has its mission statement and they can be found in various places. Sometimes in advertising campaigns, like Nike once put its mission statement “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world” (Nike) in advertisement posters, or sometimes in an annual report like Adidas, which writes its mission statement “the Adidas group strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sports and a porting lifestyle” (Adidas) in the annual report and so on. In order to have mission statements made sense, however, how many aspects need to be focused on?

There exists a statement that writing a mission statement is like to create a brief description of the things that a company wants to focus on and accomplish. Perhaps, the answers to this statement are open and to some extend, it may be right. Fred R. David illustrated that David and Cochran (1987) reported eight key elements included in mission statements which can be generally concluded as: identify customers, product or service, location, technology, concern for survival, philosophy, self-concept, and public image. Clearly, even though the components of the companies that in different fields may vary from each other, the eight key elements have almost covered the areas that organizations are willing to target and achieve.

Here are some examples of mission statements of several companies, the firs one is about Amazon whose mission statement is “to centre on the one thing that’s always been most important – the online Amazon.com customer.” (Amazon)Another one is the Skype which says its mission is “to be the fabric of real-time communication on the web.”(Skype) Also, the mission statement of Western Wear is “to offer quality, name brand western wear in an assortment of sizes and styles to accommodate all varying body styles and shapes.” (Western Wear) and Best Buy says “Our formula is simple: we’re a growth company focused on better solving the unmet needs of our customers-and we rely on our employees to solve those puzzles. Thanks for stopping.” (Best Buy) It is sure that these mission statements are short but concise and clearly articulate the components that companies want to focus on, which just as David and Cochran outlined contain customers, products or service, technology, employees, to name but a few.

The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”(Walt Disney Company).

On the other hand, there is a view that mission statements need not always to explain the things that a company wants to focus on and accomplish. Lance Leuthessser and Chiranjeev Kohi (1989) demonstrated some mission statements which were simple and did not contain any specific components. Like “Attitudes For Success” (City National Corp) and “To Build A Castle” (Circus Circus Enterprises, Inc.) He also recommended that “there is, however, an understandable reason for the lack of detail: It takes a good deal of explaining and brings to life the vague generalities of expressing a firm’s mission with specific examples.”

“The mission statement of the Starbucks is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”(Starbucks) this is a typical example of a general mission statement without any targeted components. Besides, it even contains some big words like “to inspire and nurture the human spirit”. Honestly speaking, Starbucks may not really want to lift up human spirit, instead what it really wants to persuade is to earn profit But these do not stop Starbucks to become a multi-national company has a large market share and accepted by people worldwide.

3.0 Examine the role of mission statements in the Strategic Management process

Strategy means the ends to a company, it is the result of the strategic management process which including strategic analysis, strategy creation and choice as well as strategy implementation. During this process, several aspects like expectations of stakeholders, environment both external and internal or short-term and long-term plan should be taken into account. Perce and Roth (1988) once said a mission is the “foundation upon which decision makers can build corporate strategic planning process.” In the light of this statement, mission statement plays an important role in the strategic management process.

It is not rare that managers apply various kinds of strategies to maintain the constant development of an organization. Obviously, strategies are means to the ends. They are the results of strategic management process which “includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and managing strategy in action” (Gerry Johnson, et, al, 2008). In order to make competitive strategies, it is necessary to consider those factors including strategic planning, goals setting, environment and strategic capability analysis as well as change management.

3.1 The role mission statements play in stakeholders

Taking the expectations of stakeholders into account is one of the key aspects in the strategic management process. It is necessary for a company to understand “who should the organization primarily serve and how should managers be held responsible for this.”(Gerry Johnson,,,, 2009)Broadly defined, the key stakeholders of a company are customers, employees, shareholders and suppliers.

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The mission statement of Apple, for example, is to “bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.” Here, students, educators and other consumers are customers. It is no doubt that one of the factors that determines the success of Apple, a leader company in IT industry, is its ability to satisfy customer’s needs via both products and services. Just like it has written in the mission statement, it aims to provide the best personal computing experience.

Customers are a group of people consume the products or services that a company provides. In some ways, they determine the company’s rise and down. Because of this, companies pour out all their efforts to win as many customers as they can. One way is via mission statements, for they believe “mission statements identify the value that a firm’s product provides to customers” (Fred R. David.1989).

In terms of employees, who make a great contribution to the development of a company, a sound mission statement helps . Employee benefits statements pertain to job security, opportunities for advancement, and superior compensation. According to Lance Leuthesser and Chiranjeev Kohil (1989), Many mission statements include a commitment to providing an atmosphere in which employees can grow, feel a sense of accomplishment.

Stakeholder and ms

Strategic capability and ms

Environment and ms

Cultural and historical and ms

Summary/conclusion (500 words MAX)

Appendices

 

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