Mission Statements - Free Essay in Strategic Management

A mission statement is a brief statement that summarizes the goals of a company, its values, and its core operational principles. The mission statement is usually targeted towards employees, shareholders, customers, and the environment in which the company or organization operates. A good mission statement should satisfy the target audience and should paint a clear picture of the organizations value and beliefs. In designing a mission statement, the organization should take into consideration the opinions of the key shareholders or stakeholders. This is because the various stakeholders all have expectations of the organization they have invested their resources in and want them fulfilled.

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Therefore it is necessary for a company to have a good mission statement. A good mission statement is defined by various features. Firstly, it provides insight into the overall strategy of the organization. The overall strategy of the organization depends on the strategic management techniques employed by the organization. A primary feature of creating a strategy, as employed by strategic management techniques, is understanding the stakeholders in the organization and their expectations. Strategic management involves directing an organization to achieve its goals both in the long term and in the short term (Abraham, 2012). It is important to understand the shareholders expectations when creating a strategic plan for the organization. As a result, a mission statement is a vital item in management because it reminds the members working of an organization of the destination they are expected to arrive at in terms of goals and expresses to the shareholders the intent of the organizations leadership concerning the shareholders expectations (Abraham, 2012).

For instance, Nikes Mission Statement is, Our mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. In order to live up to its mission statement, Nike will have to develop products that live up to or exceed athletes expectations. Consequently, when developing their organizational strategy, product development, the production process, and marketing will be put under critical focus. In essence, Nikes mission statement is a good mission statement based on the fact that it gives athletes who are the target customers a glimpse of the companys objectives. Moreover, shareholders are aware of the goals of the company which ultimately lead to profitability. On the other hand, Home Depots mission statement also satisfies the criteria of addressing the stakeholders concerns and the customers concerns.

In addition, a good mission statement defines who the customers of the organization are and what the company is doing to satisfy their needs. Nikes mission statement directly states their target customers as the athletes. On the contrary, Home Depot has a generalized statement that does not clearly define its customers. Furthermore, Nikes mission statement declares their intention to inspire and provide innovative solutions to athletes in their quest for peak performance. A good mission statement also focuses more on the customer than the product. Nikes mission statement clearly emphasizes this concept. The customer is placed first and their needs are considered the core concern of the company. However, Home Depot does not emphasize on the customer but rather on their range of products and prices.

Furthermore, a good mission statement explains how the company will serve its customers. Nikes mission statement is a good mission statement because it details that Nike aims at providing innovation to its customers. As a result, customers will have a clear picture of the suitability of the company to their needs. Similarly, Home Depot also promises excellent services to its customers that includes cost effective services.

Nikes mission statement also fits in the current market. The athletic field has turned highly competitive. Athletes require products that will aid their performance positively. Consequently, innovative solutions as proposed by Nikes mission statement are a relevant idea to the current market situation. Home Depot on the other hand has a broad scope on their mission statement that does not clearly refer to how they plan to cope with the current market needs.

A good mission statement should highlight and be based on the companys key competencies. Nikes mission statement promises to deliver innovation. Nike has invested millions of dollars in research and development to ensure they develop products of high quality for the market. In addition, Nikes mission statement is realistic. It does not promise to provide products that are impossible to develop. Home Depot on the other hand, also has a mission statement that is in line with its values. Home Depot offers a wide selection of products and therefore need to focus more on their broad scope of customers. In addition, the workers at Home Depot know the decisions they have to make have to satisfy the customer foremost.

Lastly, Nikes mission statement is specific, short, sharply focused, and memorable. It does not contain any unnecessary or meaningless words (Jones & Hill, 2010). Subsequently, it can be easily remembered. O the other hand, Home Depot has a long mission statement that is a lot of trouble to remember. Moreover, Home Depots mission statement is not clearly focused.

In conclusion, Nikes mission statement is better than Home Depots mission statement. The conclusion arises from the basis of length, relevance to the current market, the conciseness of the statement, the ability to define the target customers and the ability to memorize. Nikes mission statement consequently adheres to more aspects of a good mission statement than Home Depots statement.

References

Abraham, S. C. (2012). Strategic management for organizations. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Jones, G. R., & Hill, C. W. (2010). Theory of strategic management: With cases. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.