- “A mission statement reveals the long term vision of an organization in terms of what it wants to be and whom it wants to serve.”( Fred David)
- “One-sentence statement describing the reason an organization or program exists and used to help guide decisions about priorities, actions, and responsibilities.”
- A well conceived mission statement defines the fundamental and unique purpose that sets a company apart from other firms of its type and identifies the scope of the company’s operations in terms of products offered and markets served.
- “Mission express/states the doing part of the vision.”
Examples of mission statements:
- The Rotary Foundation: To enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.”
- Nepal Investment Bank: To be the leading Nepali bank, delivering world class service through the blending of state-of-art technology and visionary management in partnership with component and committed staff, to achieve sound financial health with sustainable value addition to all our stakeholders. We are committed to do this mission while ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Benefits of Mission Statements:
- To ensure unanimity of purpose within the organization
- To provide a basis, or standard, for allocating organizational resources
- To establish a general tone or organizational climate
- To serve as a focal point for individuals to identify with the organization’s purpose and direction, and to deter those who cannot from participating further in the organization’s activities
- To facilitate the translation of objectives into a work structure involving the assignment of tasks to responsible elements within the organization
- To specify organizational purposes and then to translate these purposes into objectives in such a way that cost, time, and performance parameters can be assessed and controlled.
Components of mission statements:
- Customers—who are the firm’s customers?
- Products or services—what are the firm’s major products or services?
- Markets—geographically, where does the firm compete?
- Technology—is the firm technologically current?
- Concern for survival, growth, and profitability—Is the firm committed to growth and financial soundness?
- Philosophy—what are the basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and ethical priorities of the firm?
- Self-concept—what is the firm’s distinctive competence or major competitive advantage?
- Concern for public image—is the firm responsive to social, community, and environmental concerns?
- Concern for employees—Are employees a valuable asset of the firm?