The mission declares the purpose of a company and
serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.
According to Pearce, it distinguishes the organization from others of its type
and identifies the scope of its operations in product and market terms. Known
as "the starting point for a corporate identity program," mission
statements are described as having substantial influence over organizational
performance (Leuthesser & Kohli, 1997). As Bart and Tabone précis: "in
recent years, mission statements have become recognized in modern management
theory as one of the cornerstones of an organization. Mission statements are an
essential factor contributing to an organization's enduring success".
Mission statements are designed to attain three basic
purposes:
- to inspire and motivate organizational members to
higher levels of performance
- to guide resource allocation in a constant way
- to create a sense of balance among the competing and
often conflicting interests of various organizational stakeholders
Besides, mission statements deliver a sense of
direction, promote shared values amid employees and refocus an organization
during crises.
Bart and Tabone consider that the predominant purpose
for developing a mission statement is to improve firm performance.
The mission statement should be a concise
statement of business strategy and developed from the customer's perspective
and it should fit with the vision for the business, should answer three
questions:
What do we do? This question
should be answered by the real and/or psychological needs that are fulfilled
when customers buy the company’s products or services.
How do we do it? The answer
should encompass the physical product or service and how it is sold and
delivered to customers.
For whom do we do it? This answer
should comprise the company’s target client or customer.
What new values are brought? This question
is related to what makes this product or service unique.
It is not uncommon for organizations to update their mission statement and
generally happens when an organization evolves
A mission statement can be a motivational tool within
an organization, allowing employees to work towards one common goal that
benefits the organization and themselves. This can also help with factors like
employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees need to feel a sense of
purpose. Thanks to this sense they can focus more on their daily tasks and they
are able to realize the goals of the organization and their role.
While most of published literature on missions tends
to praise the benefits of well-articulated and implemented statements, there
are some authors like Coulon-Thomas, David, Klemm, Sanderson and Luffman who
argue against the value of a mission statement since they report that several
well-run companies succeed without one and avoid wasting the time needed to
formulate a coherent statement.
A generalized critic to most mission statements is
that they are too vague, having involved only a few of stakeholders and being
too replete of dull clichés.
On the other hand, Campbell and colleagues reported a
positive relationship between a company mission statement and firm performance,
as Medley and Wilson who claimed that the existence of a mission statement can
result in a 50% increase in organizational effectiveness.
Furthermore, a study conducted by Bart found that
greater satisfaction with the mission statement was connected with variables
assessing the mission's perceived degree of influence over organizational
member behavior, and that satisfaction with mission statements was associated
with specific components of statement. As a final point, Bart and Baetz found
that satisfaction with mission statements was positively related to firm
performance.
As an example of the theory exposed, some fashion
brands mission statements will be compared. To start with, Chanel mission statement is: "To be the Ultimate
House of Luxury, defining style and creating desire, now and forever."
Remaining true to the distinction of its tradition and its founder, the
mission statement keeps the legacy of the brand while successfully moving it
into the future.
On the other side, Inditex, fast fashion
company, has a very different mission statement. Amancio Ortega, the founder,
has two rules which guided the operations of the retail chain from the
beginning; these are the base of the mission statement: "Give
customers what they want, and get it to them faster than anyone else.”
Sources:
Sources:
Do Missions Accomplish their Missions? An Exploratory
Analysis of Mission Statement Content
and Organizational Longevity - The
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
·
