Mission: the values and expectations of those who most strongly influence strategy about the scope and posture of the organization (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington: Exploring Corporate Strategy).
Before setting about the preparation of a strategic plan, the management should consider the mission of an organization. Some have suggested that consideration and determination of the mission and its articulation into a statement of corporate mission constitutes the first stage in the strategic planning process and that therefore it is central to the whole planning process. Johnson and Scholes have suggested that ‘the mission of an organization is the most generalized type of objective and can be thought of as an expression of its raison d’être.’
Hierarchically, missions and objectives can be shown as follows.
The top level of management should be responsible for the preparation of a statement of corporate
mission. Consequently, the mission statement should incorporate the broad aims of the executive
management.
Elements of mission
The definition given above expresses several significant features of mission:
It concerns the scope of the organization, i.e. what it makes, where it operates.
It concerns the posture of the organization, i.e. its values such as making money and corporate social responsibility and where in the market it stands.
It is determined by the relative power of those able to influence the strategy process, i.e. stakeholders
Features of a Successful Mission
The Ashridge College model of mission (Campbell et al A Sense of Mission 1992) links business strategy to culture and ethics by including four separate elements in an explanation of the features of a successful mission.
(a) Purpose: Why does the organization exist? Who does it exist for?
– To create wealth for shareholders who take priority over all other stakeholders?
– To satisfy the needs of all stakeholders, including employees, for example?
– To reach some higher goal such as the advancement of society?
– To alleviate the poverty of the needy?
(b) Strategy: the competitive position and distinctive competence of the organization
(c) Policies and standards of behavior: the policies and behavioral patterns underpinning its work.
(d) Values: what the company believes in which is replicated in employees’ personal values.
