Chapter 2 - Generating strategic options: Mission, vision, values and stakeholders Flashcards
What is a mission?
Fundamental objectives of an entity expressed in general terms
Basic purpose of the organisation
What is a mission statement?
Published statement, apparently of the entity’s fundamental objectives. This may or may not summarise the true mission of the entity.
What are the purposes of a mission statement?
Communicate to all stakeholder groups
Help develop a desired corporate culture
Assist in strategic planning
What are the criticisms of mission statements?
May not represent the actual values of the organisation
Often vague
Often ignored
May become quickly outdated
What is a vision statement?
Indentifies the ideal position that the company wants to reach within the medium to long-term. Longer term aspirations of the organisation
What doe the values of the organisation describe?
Core ethics or principles which the organisation will abide by.
What purposes does the appropriate values service to an organisation?
Guide staff behaviour
Demonstrate integrity and accountability to external stakeholders
Set the organisation apart from its competitors
Reduce the risk of inappropraite behaviour from staff
Set the culture of the organisation
What are objectives?
More specific and seek to translate the mission into a series of mileposts to follow
What should objectives be?
SMART
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timed
What are the typical issues that arise from objectives?
Important that goal congruence is achieved
Difficult to prioritise multiple objectives
More complex when some objectives are hard to quantify
Mixture of financial and non financial objectives
Danger of short-termism
What are primary objectives?
Major, overriding objectives of the organisation. Relate to the organisation as a whole and the needs of its stakeholders.
What are secondary objectives?
Directly relate to the various strategies that the organisation needs to adopt in order to meets its primary objective
What two sets of interests must be in mind when developing mission and objectives?
Interests of those who have to carry them out - managers and staff
Interest of those who focus on the outcome - shareholders, customers, suppliers
What is a strategic network?
Collection of different organisations that are seperate in legal terms but work collectively to achieve long term strategic advantage
What is a strategic platform?
Means by which the transfer of goods or services between provider and consumer can take place
