VISSION & MISSION

1. Vision Statement

Definition. Vision is a statement that expresses organization’s ultimate objectives.

Understanding the tool. It is very important for any organization to have clear and attainable
long-term vision; the statement that guides every chief executive, manager or employee in achieving
the same organizational objective. A vision statement asks ‘What does our business want to
become?’ and usually is a one sentence, inspirational, clear and memorable statement that
expresses company’s desired long-term position. It motivates employees to make extra effort and
usually results in higher performance. Because money rewards only partly motivates employees, it is
important to use other tools such as vision statement to increase their motivation.
The statement also indicates what resources, competencies and skills will be needed to achieve the
future objective. This way it guides decision-making and resource allocation more effectively.
Vision is closely related with a term ‘strategic intent’ – a desired leadership position that is currently
unachievable due to the lack of resources and capabilities.
Difference between vision and mission statements. Vision and mission statement are often
developed and used together for the same purpose. This confuses many people into thinking that
vision and mission could be used interchangeably, when actually they can’t.

Differences between vision and mission

VISION MISSION
Purpose
Tells what an organization aims to achieve. States what a company is currently doing.
Answers the question
What do we want to become? What do we do?
Includes
 Customers

 Products/Services

 Markets

 Technology
 Objectives
 Concern for survival
 Values
 Philosophy

 Self-Concept

 Concern for public image

 Concern for employees

Future or present time?
Talks about the future Talks about the present
To whom it is developed?
Employees, customers, suppliers, distributors,
Employees of the company
partners and communities
Which one is created first?
Developed first Developed only when vision is available

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 Differences between vision and mission
VISION MISSION
How often does it change?
Product-oriented missions change every time
Rarely changes because it takes years to achieve
when a company decides to venture into a new
most of the objectives
product market.

There are clear differences between the two statements that should not be neglected.

Benefits. Not all the visions are equally good. Some of them are very generic or focus on financial
objectives and as a result, poorly motivates employees. But if a company puts enough efforts in
creating vision statement, it results into following benefits:
 Motivates and inspires employees
 Provides one purpose to work for
 Sets the stretch goals (goals that are impossible to achieve with current resources and
capabilities)
 Guides managers in effectively allocating resources
Writing the statement. Creating a vision is an important first step in strategic management
process. We identified these steps and guidelines to help you write an effective statement.
Step 1. Gather a team of managers, employees and shareholders. Vision is the statement that must
be understood by employees of all levels. As many people as possible should be involved in the
process because involvement leads to stronger commitment to company’s vision. After choosing
the people that will be involved you should also distribute several articles to them about what is
organization’s vision and ask everyone to read them as a background.
Step 2. Ask everyone to write their own version of vision. The next step is to ask everyone to write
his or her own version of the statement and submit it to the responsible team. After receiving
the statements, the team should try to combine draft vision out of all the submissions. This is
also a great opportunity to resolve any conflicting views about firm’s ultimate objective.
Step 3. Revise the statement and present the final version. The draft statement should be
distributed to the members again for their last revision. Upon receiving the feedback, the final
version of the vision should be created and presented to every employee.
Don’t forget that a vision should be a one sentence clear, inspirational and memorable statement.

Vision statement examples. The best way to learn creating a vision is to look at the currently
available good and bad examples.
"Good" vision statement examples:
 Chevron: To be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and
performance.
 Feeding America: A hunger-free America.
 Habitat for Humanity: A world where everyone has a decent place to live.
 Microsoft: A computer on every desk and in every home.
 Save the Children: Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival,
protection, development and participation.
"Bad/Poor" vision statement examples
 General Motors: To design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles. (Best in what? GM should
have specified their objective)
 Ikea: At Ikea our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. (This is
impossible to achieve)
 Samsung: Inspire the World, Create the Future. (The statement is too vague and doesn’t set
any objectives)

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  Toyota: Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives around the world
with the safest and most responsible ways of moving people. Through our commitment to
quality, constant innovation and respect for the planet, we aim to exceed expectations and
be rewarded with a smile. We will meet our challenging goals by engaging the talent and
passion of people, who believe there is always a better way. (It is too long and sounds more
like a mission than a true vision)

2. Mission Statement for Success

Definition - Mission statement is a description of what an organization actually does – what its
business is – and why it does it.[1]
Understanding the tool, Often called the “credo”, “philosophy”, “core values” or “our
aspirations”, organization’s mission is the statement that defines its core purpose or reason for
being. [2] It tells who a company is and what it does. According to P. Drucker, often called the father
of modern management, a mission is the primary guidance in creating plans, strategies or making
daily decisions. It is an important communication tool that conveys information about organization’s
products, services, targeted customers, geographic markets, philosophies, values and plans for
future growth to all of its stakeholders. In other words, every major reason why company exists must
be reflected in its mission, so any employee, supplier, customer or community would understand the
driving force behind organization’s operations.
There are two types of statements:[1] 1) customer oriented missions, 2) product-oriented
missions.

Customer-oriented missions. Customer-oriented missions define organization’s purpose

in terms of meeting customer needs or providing solutions for them. They provide more
flexibility than product-oriented missions and can be easily adapted to changing
environment. For example, Nokia’s statement “connecting people” is customer-oriented. It
does not focus on mobile phones or smartphones only. It provides a solution to customer
needs and could easily have worked 50 years ago, and will continue to work in the future. It
also gives more strategic flexibility for the company. In Nokia’s case, it may start providing
VoIP software to allow calls to be made over the internet and its mission would still be valid.
Product-oriented missions. Product-oriented missions focus on what products or services
to serve rather than what solutions to provide for customers. These statements provide less
flexibility for the company because most products have short life cycle and offer limited
market expansion. The company that defines its business as “providing best health insurance
products” may struggle to grow to other insurance product categories.

For a mission to be effective it must include the following 9 components:[2]

1. Customers. Who are your customers? How do you benefit them?
2. Products or services. What are the main products or services that you offer? Their
uniqueness?
3. Markets. In which geographical markets do you operate?
4. Technology. What is the firm’s basic technology?
5. Concern for survival. Is the firm committed to growth and financial soundness?

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 6. Philosophy. What are the basic beliefs, values and philosophies that guide an
organization?
7. Self-concept. What are the firm’s strengths, competencies or competitive
advantages?
8. Concern for public image. Is the firm socially responsible and environmentally
friendly?
9. Concern for employees. How does a company treat its employees?
Why creating a mission is important? Many studies have been conducted to find out if
having and communicating mission statement helps an organization to achieve higher
performance.[3] The results were mixed. Some studies found positive relationship between
written statements and higher organizational performance, while other studies found none
or even negative relationship. One of the reasons might be that most of the companies
create mission statement only because it’s fashionable to do so and little effort is made to
actually communicate that mission to its stakeholders. David [2] argues that if an organization
constantly revises its mission and treats it as a living document, it achieves higher
performance than its competitors.
Nonetheless, all of the authors agree that mission brings the following benefits [3][4]:

Informs organization’s stakeholders about its plans and goals;

Unifies employees’ efforts in pursuing company goals;

Serves as an effective public relations tool;

Provides basis for allocating resources;

Guides strategic or daily decision making;

Shows that a company is proactive.

Writing a mission. Creating a mission statement is an important first step in clearly

identifying your business’ reason for being. It’s hard to do it right. Therefore, we identified
these steps and guidelines to help you write an effective statement.
Step 1. Gather a team of managers, employees and shareholders. Mission is the
statement that must be understood by employees of all levels. Involving more people will let
you find out how each of them sees an organization and its core purpose. In addition,
employees will support organization’s mission more if they will be involved in the process of
creating it.
Step 2. Answer all 9 questions for effective mission. Many practitioners and academics
agree that a comprehensive statement must include all 9 components. Only then creating a
mission can benefit a company. At this stage, try to honestly answer all the questions and
identify your customers, markets, values etc. It may take a lot of time but it’s worth it.
Step 3. Find the best combination. Collect the answers from everyone and try to combine
one mission statement out of them. During this step, you can make sure that everyone
understands company’s reason for being and there are no conflicting views left.

Following guidelines (all taken from various studies) should also be helpful in writing an
effective mission statement:

‘Public image’, ‘concern for employees’, ‘philosophy’ and ‘customers’ are the most
important components of a mission;

‘Citizenship’, ‘teamwork’, ‘excellence’ and ‘integrity’ are the values used most often
by the companies with effective missions;

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 
Influential statements include words such as: ‘communities’, ‘customers’,
‘employees’, ‘ethics’, ‘global’ and ‘quality/value’; [4]

Statement should be customer-oriented;

Use less than 250 words;

Be inspiring and enduring.

NOTE! Every mission must be communicated to organization’s stakeholders to have any

positive impact. It must be constantly revised and adjusted to meet any changing situation.
MISSION STATEMENT EXAMPLES
The best way to learn creating an influential mission is to look at the existing examples. In the
following table, we provide 3 mission statement examples and examine them using the previous
guidelines.

FedEx mission. "FedEx Corporation will produce superior financial returns for its
shareowners(5) by providing high value-added(7) logistics, transportation and related
information services(2) through focused operating companies. Customer(1) requirements
will be met in the highest quality manner appropriate to each market segment served(3).
FedEx Corporation will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its
employees(9), partners and suppliers. Safety will be the first consideration in all
operations(9). Corporate activities will be conducted to the highest ethical and professional
standards.(6)"
FedEx mission lacks the answers about technologies (4) and social responsibilities (8),
which is one of the key characteristics that have to be in successful statement. It also lacks all
the values pointed out in the guidelines that are used by successful companies in their
statements. It is also product-oriented.
Intel mission. "Delight our customers(1), employees(9), and shareholders(5) by
relentlessly delivering the platform and technology(2,4) advancements that become
essential to the way we work and live."
Intel’s mission is poor because it lacks 4 components: markets(3), philosophy(6), self-
concept(7) and public image(8). It is customer-oriented but does not use any of the top 4
values and is too short.
Toyota mission. Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives around
the world(3) with the safest and most responsible(6) ways of moving people(1). Through our
commitment to quality, constant innovation(4,7) and respect for the planet(8), we aim to
exceed expectations and be rewarded with a smile. We will meet challenging goals (5) by
engaging the talent and passion of people(9), who believe there is always a better way.(6)
Toyota has only missed to mention its products. Their mission is customer-oriented,
inspiring and enduring but it doesn’t clearly mention its customers or social responsibilities.
Sources
1. Rothaermel, F. T. (2012). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, p.
34-37
2. David, F.R. (2009). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 12th ed. FT Prentice Hall, p. 83-
94
3. Williams, L.S. (2008). The Mission Statement. A Corporate Reporting Tool with a Past, Present,
and Future. Journal of Business Communication Vol. 45, (2), pp. 94-119
4. King, D.L., Case, C.J., Premo P.M. (2010). Current Mission Statement Emphasis: Be Ethical and
Go Global. Academy of Strategic Management Journal Vol. 9 (2), pp. 71-87

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5. Wikipedia (2013). Mission Statement. Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_statement
6. Mission Statements.com (2013). Mission Statement Examples. Available at:
http://www.missionstatements.com/
Starbucks Company
https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/starbucks-company-profile
MAERSK LINE, LTD
http://www.maersklinelimited.com/about/about-maersk/mission-values/

MISSION /VISION EVALUATION: Toyota

http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/vision/
Vision: Through improvements of conventional technology, as well as pioneering efforts in the
application of new technologies, Toyota is taking great steps to develop eco-cars which will help us
become a low carbon society.
Company Background – Profile
http://www.toyota-global.com/company/profile/overview/
Name Toyota Motor Corporation
Logo
Industries served Automotive
Geographic areas
Worldwide
served
Headquarters Japan
Current CEO Akio Toyoda
Revenue ¥ 18.583 trillion (2012)
Profit ¥ 283.55 billion (2012)
Employees 300,747 (2012)
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Chrysler Group LLC, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co.,
Main
General Motors Company, Honda Motor Company, Nissan Motor, Tata Motors,
Competitors
Ltd., Volkswagen AG and many other automotive companies.
Toyota Mission - Global Vission statement 2017
http://www.toyota-global.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_global_vision_2020.html
Mission Evaluation
Does it include...?
Customers Products/ Services Markets
Yes No Yes
Technology Concern for survival Philosophy
Yes Yes Yes
Self-concept Concern for public image Employees
Yes Yes Yes
Does it mention values like...? Customer or product-oriented?
Citizenship Teamwork Customer-oriented
No No
Score
Excellence Integrity
Yes No 3.4/4.5

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Comments:

EXERCISE: NYK LINE

Company Profile
The Strength. NYK Line (HK) Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of NYK Line Japan that is one of the
Japan's World-class multinational shipping carriers serving the shipping industry with over 110 years.
As the Principal for NYK Line (HK) Ltd, NYK Line Japan continually upgrades its fulfillment capacity in
step with the growth and needs of its customer companies worldwide. In particular, NYK Line (HK)
Ltd experienced its exceptional growth and consistently excellent shipping service quality since its
inception in 1969.
Put it another way, NYK Line (HK) Ltd, that is a shipping carrier to be big enough to offer quality
shipping services, is able to know and treat each shipper and consignee with attention and respect.
As the local shipping industry grows more prosperous than ever, NYK Line (HK) Ltd looks for ways to
do things better. Even more, NYK Line (HK) Ltd celebrated its 30th year in Hong Kong in the year of
1999.
Comprehensive Range of Shipping Trade Lanes. NYK Line (HK) Ltd offers a comprehensive
range of "best in class" trade lanes operated by both Principals of NYK Line and TSK Line Japan that
give shippers and consignees the flexibility to choose the coverage that is most appropriate for
shippers and consignees' cargo traffic needs involving both imports and exports to and from Hong
Kong respectively.
Existence of the NYK Line worldwide network offices has enabled NYK Line (HK) Ltd to link up
cargo traffic of Hong Kong with major ports of the world. Trades lanes operated by both Principals of
NYK Line and TSK Line Japan mainly focusing on the needs of both shippers and consignees include:
North America, Europe, Latin and South America, Asia, Oceania (Australia and New Zealand)
The Subsidiaries. Specifically, NYK Line (HK) Ltd also has investments in privately held
companies of NYK Logistics (Hong Kong) Limited involving in container haulage, forwarding and
consolidating, warehousing, Sun Tay Kee Ltd associated with stevedoring activities, NYK Line (Macau)
Ltd. relating to "NYK Line (HK) Ltd" shipping business in Macau and Wang Foong Depot involving in
laden reefer/dry laden cargo storage to help deliver the best shipping services to all shippers and
consignees in Hong Kong.

"NYK LINE BUSINESS CREDO"

Mission to Society. Conscious of our mission to society to offer safe and high-quality services as a
logistics mega-carrier and cruise enterprise, we shall listen carefully to the wishes of our customers,
satisfy their expectations, earn their trust, and secure reasonable profits through proper business
operations. At the same time, we shall comply with our shareholders?expectations and communicate
closely with all stakeholders in an effort to foster the development of society.
Safe Voyages and Global Environmental Protection. We recognize that achieving safe passage
for our ships is our paramount task. Therefore, we shall attempt to improve existing safety measures
based on international safety standards and encourage the use of safe operating techniques. We also
recognize that the oceans are precious natural assets, and so we shall develop environmental policies
aimed at preventing marine pollution and preserving a sound global environment.
Reinforcement of Security Measures. To prevent the shutdown or inappropriate use of
international logistics networks as a result of illegal activities, and to prevent any improper access to

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information or leakage of information held in privacy by our company, we shall take measures to
ensure and maintain security.
Observance of All Laws and Regulations. We are aware that all commercial enterprises can
rightly be termed members of society, and as such, we shall make it our principle to act fairly,
observe all laws and regulations, respect the integrity of local cultures and customs, and perform our
business activities in compliance with a code of social ethics.
Exclusion of Antisocial Activities. We shall be resolutely opposed to any antisocial individuals or
organizations that threaten civil order and public safety.
Disclosure of Information and Communication with Society. We shall work to disclose
appropriate business information in an active, timely, and fitting manner, and similarly work to
communicate broadly and meaningfully with society.
Preservation of a Favourable Working Environment. We shall respect the diversity, personalities
and individualities of our company staff members, and endeavour to maintain a favourable working
environment for all.

NYK GROUP MISSION STATEMENT

http://www.nyk.com/english/profile/mission/mission/

Through safe and dependable Monohakobi (transport), we contribute to the betterment of societies
throughout the world as a comprehensive global-logistics enterprise offering ocean, land, and air
transportation.
Together with Our Customers. Through the use of our extensive skill and expertise and by
considering each business site to be of utmost importance, we always work to create new value so
that our customers will consider us a trusted and reliable partner.
Together with Our Shareholders and Investors. We aim to enhance our corporate value by being
financially responsible and by conducting business activities in an open, honest, and transparent
fashion.
Together with Society. As a good corporate citizen, we positively take on the tough issues that
challenge our society, such as concerns involving the preservation of our natural environment, as we
work for the betterment of the world that we inhabit.
Together with All Staff Members in the NYK Group. As a global enterprise that has the utmost
respect for diversity in the workplace and the spirit of challenge, we emphasize the development of
employee talents so that all staff members can take pride in their work and eventually fulfill their
dreams.

MISSION EVALUATION
Does it include...?
Customers Products/ Services Markets

Technology Concern for survival Philosophy

Self-concept Concern for public image Employees

Does it mention values like...? Customer or product-oriented?

Citizenship Teamwork Customer-oriented

Score
Excellence Integrity
/4.5

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Comments: