Chapter 20:Understanding mission, aims and objectives

Chapter 20:Understanding mission, aims and objectives

1. Mission Statement: a qualitative statement of an organisation's aims. It uses language intended to motivate employees and convince customers, suppliers and those outside the firm of its sincerity and commitment.

   • Examples: Disney's mission statement is "to make people happy", Microsoft's mission statement is " taking the internet, combining it with great software and turning that into the most powerful tool of all time.". British Airway's mission statement is" the undisputed leader in world travel."
   • The Definition of Mission Statement:

2. Why use a mission statement?

   • For large, diversified company, a mission statement is useful for defining what the company is trying to do in a way that all staff can understand and identify with..

3. Firstly, company needs to start from the top and get everyone involved in thinking about the mission statement. Secondly, once the statement is defined and understand by the senior management, it needs to be disseminated effectively throughout the organisation, ensuring everyone within the company understands what the organisation is doing.

   • Factors to consider in producing a mission statement:

4. Problems with mission statement:

   • <1>. Containing idealistic values that have no meaning in practice and are simply part of a PR strategy. <2>. Do not provide a clear signal as to how the purpose, values and strategy should guide employees' standards and behaviour. <3>. It does not necessarily add value and can do serious harm. <4>. it needs to match what is actually happening in the company and should be checked for any hidden meanings or negative implications before being placed into the public domain.

5. The definition of corporate aims

   • Corporate aims: the long-term intentions of a business.

6. The definition of corporate objectives

   • Corporate objectives: targets that must be achieved in order to meet the stated aims of the business.
     • Key corporate aims and objectives: <1>.Survival <2>. Profit.<3>. Growth. <4>. Diversification. <5>. Market standing. <6>.Meeting the needs of other stakeholders.

7. The definition of stakeholder

   • Stakeholder: an individual or group with a direct interest in the activities and performance of an organisation.

8. Win-Lose: It is when the company is having a fixed pot of benefits to share out among all groups. if one gains more, another one gains less.

9. Win-Win; It is when the company is having a grow pot of benefits, thus all groups gain more.