MGT599 MODULE 1 SLP

Trident University International Stuart I. Keiner MGT599 Module 1 - Session Long Project Dr. McGee

MGT599 MODULE 1 SLP MGT599 Module 1 SLP Mission and Vision Statement

Mission Statement 1) Why does your organization exist or the purpose of the company. (McNamara, 2009) Purpose (Unknown 1, 2007; McNamara, 2009) 2) What is your product? (McNamara, 2009) 3) Who are your customers? (McNamara, 2009) 4) Visionary goals that guide future opportunities. (Unknown 1, 2007; Unknown 2, 2007) 5) Unchanging ideals, core ideology, values (Unknown 2, 2007)

The mission statement ideally would be a short concise statement that clearly defines the purpose of the company. I feel that these five criteria are important because they lay out the underlying framework of the company. You find out what the company is there for, what they produce or sell, who their primary customer is, what goals they have, and what values they live by. Not that ever mission statement has to have every aspect of these criteria, but they make for a comprehensive overview of the company. (McNamara, 2009) In short it describes what the company does best every day. (Rosa, 2011) For example, Skypes mission statement, Skypes mission is to be the fabric of real-time communication on the web is extremely short and only focuses on a few of these criteria, while Apples mission statement, Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. in more in depth and covers more criteria.

MGT599 MODULE 1 SLP Vision Statement 1) Short (Heathfield, 2009), Brevity (Dywer, n.a) 2) Has a summary statement at the beginning. (Dywer, n.a)

3) Unambiguous language that provokes emotions and is clearly understandable (Dywer, n.a) 4) Abstract and challenging (Kirkpatrick, 2008) 5) How your vision will be accomplished (Unknown 3, 2007)

The vision statement describes the long-term future outlook of the company. It establishes the framework for the employers, customers and suppliers so they not only know where the company should be heading but also know how they are going to get there. Not too short that it that it does not fully explain what you want it to say, but not too long that the true meaning is lost in the text. Though it may typically be prepared by senior level executives with advanced business degrees its language should not be in business language and written to that level of knowledge. It should be in a verbiage that everyone can easily relate to and stirs up emotions that inspire them to strive to reach the companies vision. The vision should not provide an end-game for the company, but rather challenge them to reach a goal that may never be fully attainable. This keeps the employees motivated to keep searching striving to accomplish the vision as best in their ability as possible. Additionally will provide them some direction as to how they will reach for the vision.

Comparison of Mission and Vision Statement

Though they are similar, for instance stating what you do and who you do it for and the statements being done in a fairly short amount of words, they do serve a different purpose. I think it is so eloquently stated by Rosa on Lifehack.com; your mission is what you do every day, and your vision

MGT599 MODULE 1 SLP

is what the future looks like because you do that mission so exceedingly well. The vision statement goes further than the mission statement in one aspect by stating how you go about business to reach the companies goal, but additionally by inspiring everyone to want to reach those goals. I believe that many companies fail to separate and clearly define their Mission Statement from their Vision Statement. I did an internet search of just the simple words as company xs mission statement and company xs vision statement and they seem to quit often get grouped into the same result. Both the mission statement and the vision statement serve a purpose and should be different however, they have to be carefully formulated and not just put on paper without real meaning behind them.(Rosa, 2011)

MGT599 MODULE 1 SLP References

McNamara, C. (2009). Developing Your Strategic Plan. Authenticity Consulting, Retrieved from http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/sp_mod/str_plan.htm Unknown 1 (2007). The Strategic Planning Process. QuickMBA, Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ Unknown 2 (2007). The Business Vision and Company Mission Statement. QuickMBA, Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vision/ McNamara, C. (2009). Basics of Developing Mission, Vision and Values Statements. Authenticity Consulting, Retrieved from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm Heathfield, S. (2009). Build a Strategic Framework: Mission Statement, Vision, Values, About.com, Retrieved from http://humanresource.about.com/cs/strategicplanning1/a/strategicplan.htm Dywer, K., The Components of a Good Vision Statement, Change Factory, Retrieved from http://www.changefactory.com.au/articles/business-strategy/the-components-of-a-goodvision-statement/ Kirkpatrick, S. (2008). How to Build a Better Vision Statement, Academic Leadership Live, Vol 6, Iss 4. Retrieved from http://www.academicleadership.org/article/how-to-build-a-bettervision-statement Unknown 3 (2007). Write A Vision Statement That Works, Re:Focus, Retrieved from https://sinekpartners.typepad.com/refocus/2007/06/writing_a_visio.html Rosa (2011), Whats the Difference Between Mission and Vision?, Lifehack.com, Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/what%E2%80%99s-the-differencebetween-mission-and-vision.html