Mission
Introduction and Alignment
This discussion assignment engages you with inter-active critical thinking on the subject of developing a comprehensive mission statement and its effectiveness in achieving organizational success. As you participate in future discussions within your organization on the critical process of developing mission statements, this exercise will help to develop your skill set.
Upon completion of this assignment you should be able to:
- Analyze a business situation from multiple perspectives.
- Explain key concepts related to strategic management, including the concept of competitive advantage.
Resources
- Textbook: Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach (ISBN0-13-344479-1)
Instructions
- Review Chapter 2 and table 1-2 on page 18, "Seventeen Guidelines for the Strategic-Planning Process to be Effective" in our textbook. Focus on competitive advantage in your review of this material. (table 1-2 attached)
- Locate and review at least one of the references listed under Notes at the end of Chapter 2 through OCLS databases or find other sources to add to this discussion. (notes attached)
- Example: Review John Pearce's article (Under Notes on page 57 of Chapter 2), "The Company Mission as a Strategic Tool," etc.
- When researching OCLS databases, the key words, "mission statement" and "vision statement" will yield considerable results. Incorporate the result of your research within your posting using the proper in-text citation and reference.
- Respond to the following:
- Discuss why you think organizations that have a comprehensive mission statement tend to be high performers?
- Does having a comprehensive mission cause high performance?
- What causes a strong correlation?
- How does broad management support in the development stage contribute to the ultimate success of an organization's mission?
Process to TABLE 1-2 Seventeen Guidelines for the Strategic-Paning -RATEGIC MANAGEMENT Be Effective t, it shoul¦.-1 N. a people process more than a paPer parnocicess. '. It should be a learning process for all managers employees. 3. It should be words supported by numbers rather than numbers supported by words. 5. It should vary assignments, team memberships, meeting formats, and even the planning calendat 4. It should be simple and nonroutine. 6. It should challenge the assumptions underlying the current corporate strategy. 8. It should welcome open-rnindness and a spirit of inquiry and learning. It should welcome bad news. 9. It should not be a bureaucratic mechanism. 10. It should not become ritualistic, stilted, or orchestrated. 11. It should not be too formal, predictable, or rigid. 12. It should not contain jargon or arcane planning language. 13. It should not be a formal system for control. 14. It should not disregard qualitative information. " 15. It should not be controlled by "technicians. 16. Do not pursue too many strategies at once. 17. Continually strengthen the " ood ethics is good busing " • ess policy.
It is a critical mistake for managers to pursue too many strategies at the same time, spreading the firm's resources so thin that all strategies are jeopardized. Strategic decisions require trade-offs such as long-range versus short-range .( ations or maximizing profits versus increasing shareholders' wealth. There are ethl too. Strategy trade-offs require subjective judgments and preferences. In many cast of objectivity in formulating strategy results in a loss of competitive posture and pi( Most organizations today recognize that strategic-management concepts and techil enhance the effectiveness of decisions. Subjective factors such as attitudes toward cern for social responsibility, and organizational culture will always affect strateg Lion decisions, but organizations need to be as objective as possible in coning factors. Table 1-2 summarizes imnort.f sider
or the environment. We encourage positive partnerships and understand that the maintaining profitability, and continually investing 1/4,,,,itinments, by continually Progress transform, and expand our business is vital f©r continued sustainabil-_ leader in the global airline industry. New and Improved Mission Statement for Delta Air Lines
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-Peter Drucker.. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, and Prth lc: eS (New York: Harper & Row, 1974), 61. . Andrew Campbell and Sally Yeung, "Creating a Sense of Wits,;ion„- Long Range Planning 24. no 4 (August 1991 ): 17. Charles Rarich and John Vitton, -Mission Statements lake Cents."" Journal IV' Buviness Strategy 16 (1995): 11. A ko, hristopher Bart and Mark Baetz. -The Relationship Between Mission Statements and Firm Performance: An ,xploratory Study.- Journal of Management Studies 35 199S): 823: -Mission Possible,- Business Week (August 999): F12. R. King, and D. I. Cleland, Strategic Planning and coliev (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1979), 124,: Ian Dumaine. -What the Leaders of Tomorrow See, 3rtirme, July 3, 1989. 50.
6. "How W. T. Grant Lost $175 Million Last Year," Business Week, February 25, 1975, 75. 7. Drucker, Management, 88. 8. John Pearce II, "The Company Mission as a Strategic Tool," Sloan Management Review 23, no. 3 (Spring 1982): 74. 9. George Steiner, Strategic Planning: What Every Manager Must Know (New York: The Free Press, 1979), 160. 10. Vern McGinnis, "The Mission Statement: A. Key Step in Strategic Planning," Business 31, no. 6 (November-December 1981): 41. 11. http://ezinearticies.comnElements-of-a-Mission-Statement&id.3846671.