A mission statement supports the achievement of the company’s vision as it helps different people (stakeholders) in a firm to share a common vision.
A mission statement is a statement of the business’s core aims, short description of the business’s overall goals and its broad short-term and long-term objectives. It is a written declaration of the underlying purpose of existence and its core business values.
A mission statement states what the business organization currently does, therefore it is about the present. It shows ‘Who we are as a business and what we do every day’ to describe the business activities toward the outside world.
Why are mission statements important?
Having a mission statement means being able to have a clear purpose. It provides a sense of direction for the whole organization, guides decision-making process for management and unifies all employees within the organization.
As the mission statement is a statement of the business’s core aims, it is written in a way to motivate employees, attract investors and stimulate interests from the local community.
It also often placed throughout the business to reinforce certain corporate culture upon employees at all times in the hopes of achieving the overall vision.
Examples of mission statements
Here are some examples of mission statements for popular business organizations:
EXAMPLE 1: The mission statement of BT Group is ‘To be the most successful worldwide telecommunications group.’.
EXAMPLE 2: The mission statement of Microsoft is ‘To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.’.
EXAMPLE 3: The mission statement of Google is ‘To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’.
EXAMPLE 4: The mission statement of this website Super Business Manager is ‘Making business education accessible to everyone in the world through providing high-quality business resources for CEOs, directors, business managers, business owners, investors, entrepreneurs, business journalists, business teachers and business students in order to improve business knowledge and managerial skills for making better decisions.’.
EXAMPLE 5: The mission statement of Merck is to ‘Provide society with superior products and services by developing innovations and solutions that improve the quality of life and satisfy customer needs, to provide employees with meaningful work and advancement opportunities and investors with a superior rate of return.’.
Additional details about mission statements
Mission statements are not quantifiable, but written in sentences which make them qualitative. Unlike specific business objectives, the mission statement does not have any distinct time frame when it is going to be achieved. Even though a mission statement is expressed in words, it is very clearly defined and realistically achievable.
If you want to find the mission statement of a company, it is often best to look in the section entitled About Us or Company Information. The mission statement might also sometimes be called the ‘values’ of the company.
