MISSION STATEMENTS AND VISION STATEMENT EXPLAINED

Mission statement and vision statements are two phrases that can either stand on their own or be combined as a single document usually called a statement of philosophy. For the purpose of this post, I will explain the two phrases differently.

MISSION STATEMENT

To start with, I will first of all explain what a mission is and how it is being formulated and then go further to give a working definition of the phrase ‘mission statement’.

Our environment is full of opportunities, threats and needs of people seeking solution. Those that grab the opportunities to meet the needs of the people do this with the aim of making profits to satisfy those that provides the finance or fund to meet the need of the people. Companies that do this employ the best hands that will deliver under serious constraints thereby reducing threats.

Now, those purposes that make a company go into business in the first place is the mission. This mission should be as unique as possible to set the company apart from its peers. A mission statement acts as a guide that keeps a company from going off-track.

FORMULATING A MISSION STATEMENT

In formulating a mission statement, a company needs to make her; beliefs, desires, and aspirations be reflected in her mission statement. An intelligent guess should be made on what the perceived shareholders would be asking of the company and an assurance that their needs will be met clearly stated in the mission statement. Mission statement should reflect the following areas:

• Profitability
• Satisfaction
• Technology
• Philosophy
• Solution to challenges
• Benefits to customers

Though there is no law requiring companies to have a mission statement, having a clearly drafted one will help the company achieve goal congruence in the long run as every internal stakeholder of the company will know what is expected of them at all time and work even smarter to achieve them.

VISION STATEMENT

A vision statement is a business philosophy that portrays the ambition of an organization. While a mission statement states the purpose of establishing a company, a vision statement states the height that the company wants to achieve

I have in the course of practicing as both a consultant and a professional accountant come across all sorts of documents termed ‘mission and vision statements’. I hope that this short and straight to the point article on what is a mission and vision statement has helped clarify this confusion a little bit?