Company Mission

Strategic planning usually starts with determining the mission of the business, which identifies why it exists, clarifies of who it serves, and expresses of what it hopes to achieve. Although style and content of mission statements varies enormously, the basic questions that are addressed through missions are

What business are we really in?

What type of business do we want to be?

What is our target market?

What inspires us?

Following is a nice introduction of the mission statement of Nissan Motor Manufacturing Limited. In this statement, they clarify their business and targeting market along with their inspirations.

“As a company we aim to build profitably the highest quality car sold in Europe. We want to achieve the maximum possible customer satisfaction and ensure the prosperity of the company and its staff.

To assist in this, we aim to achieve mutual trust and cooperation between all people within the company and make NMUK a place where long-term job satisfaction can be achieved. We recognise that people are our most valued resource and in line with this spirit believe that the following principles will be value to all…”

However mission statements do not necessarily need to be long and totally independent of the company’s size, type or success. Some other companies may choose simpler, shorter and very clear statements. Following is the mission statement of IBM Corporation.

“Our goal is simply stated. We want to be the best service organization in the world.”

Although their statement was very brief, there are many people who believe that grand design voiced by former CEO Learson was primary reason for that great success of IBM.

By issuing mission statements, companies are able to communicate their objectives and values to the various stakeholders’ groups. They may even also influence behaviour and attitudes of employees, although this has been debated as anecdotal evidence suggests that many employees have not in fact read their organization’s mission statement.