T has recently been appointed as the new Chief Executive of PV Company which manufactures cosmetics and toiletries. She has spent the first three months meeting with her senior management team, employees and customers of the company to set up how PV is currently perceived by some of its various stakeholders. The discussions with the dissimilar groups have revealed that there seems to be a great deal of confusion on what PV Company stands for. It is apparent to T that there are many inconsistencies in the priorities and objectives across the dissimilar departments of the company. T has determined that immediate action is required to establish a clear mission for PV Company.

To start the process, T intends to run a series of events at which the mission will be discussed with different groups of employees.  She has asked for your help in preparing for the first workshop session. Specifically, she has asked you to put together a presentation with the aim of helping the various audiences to understand why it would be advantages for PV Company to have a clear mission.

Discuss the points you would include in the presentation on the benefits of having a clear mission for PV Company.

The mission basically provides a broad statement of the overriding purpose of PV Company in terms of the products and services it gives. It is also concerned with the scope and boundaries of the company's operations in product/market terms. The mission should, thus, be used to guide the company's current strategic decision making, articulating what PV Company does and who the organisation is for; in other words its raison d'être. It should reflect the company's core values in line with the values and expectations of the several stakeholders.

The development of a mission is an important element in the strategic planning process, in that PV Company's objectives should be set to support the mission. The advantages of this would  help to provide a basis for consistent strategic and operational planning. It could assist in translating PV Company's purpose and direction into objectives suitable for assessment and control.