Accounting for the non accountant - unit 2
- 1. • A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a firm, organisation or person. It states the sole reason for an entity’s existence. A written declaration of an organisations core purpose and focus which generally remains unchanged over time. • These objectives are quantified and defined as targets. The strategic objectives for a commercial organisation will include one or more financial objectives. 2. Mission Statements
- 2. Firms like Tesco, that enjoy long-term success, are focused businesses. They have a core vision that remains constant while the strategies and practices adapt to a changing world. 2.1 Mission Statements – Tesco case study
- 3. Tesco’s vision consists of five elements which outline the sort of company it aspires to be: 1. Wanted and needed around the world 2. A growing business, full of opportunities 3. Modern, innovative and full of ideas 4. Winners locally whilst applying skills globally 5. Inspiring, earning trust and loyalty from customers, our colleagues and communities. The vision, mission statement and goals are interrelated and state what an organisation is seeking to achieve whereas the strategies and tactics show how it will achieve them. Tesco case study
- 4. There is no standard format, but they should all possess the following elements: • Flexibility. - This is to accommodate change in a dynamic business environment. • Brevity. – Easy to understand. Straight to the point. • Distinctiveness. - To make the firm stand out 2.2 Mission Statements – Structure
- 5. Mission statements can play an important role in the planning process. a) Plans should outline the fulfilment of the organisation’s mission b) Evaluation and screening. The mission acts as a yardstick by which plans are judged. c) Implementation of strategy. Mission affects the implementation of a planned strategy in the culture and business of the firm 2.3 Mission Planning – Structure
- 6. Problem Comment Ignored in practice The inherent danger of a stated mission is that it will be ignored, and an organisation may pursue objectives that are not consistent with its stated mission Public relations Mission statements sometimes are merely for public consumption, not for internal decision making. Post hoc' Missions are sometimes produced to rationalise the existence of the organisation to a particular audience. In this case what an organisation actually does is assumed to be a mission. Full of generalisations Mission statements full of generalisations such as 'great' 'big' and 'major' are in danger of becoming nothing more than a wish list. 2.4 Limitations of mission statements
- 7. Organisations can be departmentalised on a functional basis for marketing, finance, production etc, a geographical basis, e.g. Africa, EU, USA, a product basis. Organisation structures often feature a variety of these types, as hybrid structures 2.5 Organisation Structure