MISSIONS A mission statement answers the question, "Why do we exist?

" The following represent a list of mission statements for a number of well known companies. Low cost airline easyjets mission statement is: To provide our customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. To e ffect and to offer a consistent and reliable product and fares appealing to leis ure and business markets on a range of European routes. To achieve this we will develop our people and establish lasting relationships with our suppliers. Googles mission is to organize the worlds information and make it universally acces sible and useful. Starbucks mission statement is to Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of t he finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles wh ile we grow. eBays mission statement is to provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything. Amazons mission statement is to build a place where people can come to find and di scover anything they might want to buy online. The mission statement ensures some transparency for investors and employees alik e so they can have some confidence as to any potential use of their resources be they capital investment or labour. A mission statement is also designed to ensu re that all stakeholders are clear on the overarching purpose of the company so everyone can be focused on the same goals and objectives. When someone reads a m ission statement in a business plan they are looking to get a feel for the range of activities that the company will focus on, in other words its core purpose a nd what it stands for. GOALS Goals are about setting realistic, easily achievable steps in place towards fulf illing something that you want. It is unrealistic to turn your goals into pipe d reams and this will only put you off target. It is unfortunate, but pipe dreams rarely come to any kind of realization, but this is just the way it is! The rout ine of step-by-step goal setting is far more predictable, and the outcome more e asily measurable. Organisational goals explain how an organisation intends to go about achieving i ts mission. For example, a car manufacturer might identify its mission as increa sing market share and making a profit. Establishing goals of introducing a new m odel of car each year and providing the highest-quality spare parts to customers will enable it to achieve that mission. Benefits of organizational goals 1. Goals serve as guidelines for action, directing and channelling employee efforts. They provide parameters for strategic planning, allocating resources a nd identifying development opportunities. 2. Goals provide constraints in the organization. Choosing certain goals re duces discretion in pursuing other goals. Eg. The goal of maximising stockholder dividends immediately reduces financial resources available for expense account s. 3. Goals act as a source of legitimacy by justifying an organization s acti vities and existence. For new organizations the struggle for legitimacy is great . Maintaining legitimacy is easier but still, some organizations do lose legitim acy. For example imagine a hospital whose goal was to increase occupancy by perf orming as much surgery as possible. Such a goal would surely reduce its legitima cy. 4. Goals define standards of performance. To the extent that goals are clea rly stated, they set standards for evaluation. 5. Goals provide a source of motivation . By presenting a challenge and how to achieve it, organizational goals act as behavioural incentives. For example: the path-goal theory of leadership

OBJECTIVES Organizational objectives are long-range objec- tives. They serve as the goa ls for management in achieving the organizational mission. The type command er or squadron-level commanders set organizational objectives