Elements of Corporate Strategy - Essay Example

Corport Strtgy ky spct of orgniztion ldrship is nticipting th futur. It is th rsponsibility of th mngr/ldr to hlp "nvision" n orgniztion tht is rsponsiv to xtrnl nd intrnl, chnging forcs nd conditions. Or, s Bn Frnklin's grndmothr rportdly sid, "Look bfor, or you will find yourslf bhind" s wll s "If you don't know whr you'r going, ny pth will gt you thr." (Boj, Gphrt, Thtchnkry, 2001:18). Givn th rising dmnds for srvics nd th prssurs to rspond instntnously to nw problms public orgniztions cnnot rly on ny on tool. Rthr, ths tools nd to b incorportd into plnning procss tht crts rthr thn rcts. Visioning nd stting up mission mbrcs ch of ths tools to hlp bring bout mor dsirbl futur. Currnt ppr dls with th qustion of orgniztionl mission nd dfins it s n importnt tool for shping businss objctivs nd sing th prioritis, strtgis nd plns of compny. mission sttmnt is n orgniztion's vision trnsltd into writtn form. It mks concrt th ldr's viw of th dirction nd purpos of th orgniztion. For mny corport ldrs it is vitl lmnt in ny ttmpt to motivt mploys nd to giv thm sns of prioritis. Mission of n orgniztion is succinct nd inspiring sttmnt of wht th orgniztion intnds to bcom nd to chiv t som point in th futur, oftn sttd in comptitiv trms. Mission rfrs to th ctgory of intntions tht r brod, ll-intrusiv nd forwrd-thinking. It is th img tht businss must hv of its gols bfor it sts out to rch thm. It dscribs spirtions for th futur, without spcifying th mns tht will b usd to chiv thos dsird nds. Th corport succss dpnds on th mission rticultd by th chif xcutiv or th top mngmnt. For mission to hv ny impct of th mploys of n orgniztion it hs to b convyd in drmtic nd nduring wy. Th most ffctiv missions r thos tht inspir, usully sking mploys for th bst, th most or th grtst (Cmpbll, Twdy, 2000:15). Givn th cclrting rt of chng w r xprincing in our fmilis, our orgniztions, nd our communitis, w cnnot fford to wit for chng to com to us tomorrow. Using visioning, w cn gnrt th futur tody. Visioning nd stting up mission involvs ths four ky stps, with thir cntrl qustions: 1. Mission sttmnt. This nswrs th most fundmntl qustion: Why do w xist Mission sttmnts dfin public orgniztion in trms of its xprtis nd srvics, its constitunts nd stkholdrs, its impcts nd outcoms. 2. Cor vlus. Onc dfind, ths nswr th nxt qustion: Wht do w bliv in Cor vlus rflct wht th orgniztion blivs in, wht it is committd to, nd wht it wishs to b known for. 3. vision. Th visioning procss trnslts cor vlus into ctions by nswring such qustions s: Wht do w wnt to bring bout Wht diffrnc do w wnt to mk Wht do w spir to Wht lgcy do w wish to lv bhind Unlik mission sttmnt, vision sttmnt is not bout wht locl govrnmnt dos; it is bout wht it hops to do. 4. Strtgic plnning. In this procss of dsigning bluprint to chiv th mission nd vision, its contribution is to outlin th orgniztion's gols, with th strtgis nd tctics th orgniztion will us to clos th gp btwn tody nd tomorrow. Strtgic plnning nswrs qustions such s: How do w gt thr from hr Wht do w do nxt Vision is th criticl lmnt tht givs lif, brth, nd mning to th mission sttmnt, th cor vlus, nd th strtgic pln. Visioning is procss by which community of popl coms togthr to wrstl with ths qustions. Strtgic plnning mks sns only if w r willing to sk strtgic qustions. This concption of strtgic plnning is criticl to public gncis nd govrning bodis bcus of th nd to involv th public nd numrous stkholdrs in ny plnning procss. Public officils cn us visioning s mns of furthring strtgic convrstion mong citizns nd stkholdrs bout th kind of socity nd futur thy wish to build. In so doing, officils not only crry out thir dministrtiv rsponsibilitis but lso contribut to th dmocrtic wll-bing of thir constitunts. Mission or Purpos is prcis dscription of wht n orgniztion dos. It should dscrib th businss th orgniztion is in. It is dfinition of "why" th orgniztion xists currntly. ch mmbr of n orgniztion should b bl to vrblly xprss this mission. dditionlly, ch prson nds mission for his or hr lif. Th lignmnt of lif mission with your orgniztion's mission is on of th ky fctors in whthr mploy is hppy with work nd workplc. If thy r incongrunt, mploy is likly disstisfid with work choic. For th vst mjority of compnis, hving wll-dfind visions nd mission sttmnts chngs nothing. Th xrcis of crfting thm is complt wst of tim nd tlnt if visions nd mission sttmnts r usd for nothing but bing publishd in th nnul rport nd displyd in rcption r. "On of th chif rsons for th filur of missions to chiv th dsird objctiv is th nivt of most compny mngrs nd xcutivs. Nothing hppns by mgic". To b bl to nrgiz mploys to work towrds corport objctivs, missions should b mor thn sign on th wll. xcutivs nd mngrs should liv thm, b sn living thm, nd constntly communict thm to thir mploys. vry mploy hs to mk sur you to kp strtch of orgniztionl mission, communict it constntly, nd kp linking th vnts of tody to prsonl vision, undrscoring th rltionship btwn th two. Wrrn Bnnis, notd writr on ldrship, sys: "To choos dirction, n xcutiv must hv dvlopd mntl img of th possibl nd dsirbl futur stt of th orgniztion. This img, which w cll vision, my b s vgu s drm or s prcis s gol or mission sttmnt." t Gnrl lctric th vision is 'W bring good things to lif'. Th Ford Motor Compny vision is 'to bcom th world's lding consumr compny for utomotiv products nd srvics' (Jons, Khnr, 2000:40). mission sttmnt should b short nd concis sttmnt of gols nd prioritis. In turn, gols r spcific objctivs tht rlt to spcific tim priods nd r sttd in trms of fcts. Th primry gol of ny businss is to incrs stkholdr vlu. Th most importnt stkholdrs r shrholdrs who own th businss, mploys who work for th businss, nd clints or customrs who purchs products nd/or srvics from th businss. Whn dvloping mission sttmnt it is ndd to rmmbr thr spcific lmnts tht mk th mission itslf n fficint wy to xprssing th rl orgniztionl ntur. Thy r s follows: 1) Wht: Wht customr or clint nds th orgniztion xists to fill (not wht products or srvics r offrd) 2) Who r th primry udincs th orgniztion xists to srv 3) How dos th orgniztion crry out its businss (its styl, ctivitis, nd mthods) It is importnt tht th mission sttmnt b clr nd undrstndbl nd brif nough tht most popl cn rmmbr it. Mor spcificlly, th following kys r providd in blow in ordr to mk n ffctiv mission (Clgg, 1999:3) 1. t is most bsic, th mission sttmnt dscribs th ovrll purpos of th orgniztion. 2. If th orgniztion lcts to dvlop vision sttmnt bfor dvloping th mission sttmnt, sk "Why dos th img, th vision xist -- wht is it's purpos" This purpos is oftn th sm s th mission. 3. Dvloping mission sttmnt cn b quick cultur-spcific, i.., prticipnts my us mthods rnging from highly nlyticl nd rtionl to highly crtiv nd divrgnt, .g., focusd discussions, divrgnt xprincs round dydrms, shring storis, tc. Thrfor, visit with th prticipnts how thy might lik to rriv t dscription of thir orgniztionl mission. 4. Whn wording th mission sttmnt, considr th orgniztion's products, srvics, mrkts, vlus, nd concrn for public img, nd myb prioritis of ctivitis for survivl. 5. Considr ny chngs tht my b ndd in wording of th mission sttmnt bcus of ny nw suggstd strtgis during rcnt strtgic plnning procss. 6. nsur tht wording of th mission is to th xtnt tht mngmnt nd mploys cn infr som ordr of prioritis in how products nd srvics r dlivrd. 7. Whn rfining th mission, usful xrcis is to dd or dlt word from th mission to rliz th chng in scop of th mission sttmnt nd ssss how concis is its wording. 8. Dos th mission sttmnt includ sufficint dscription tht th sttmnt clrly sprts th mission of th orgniztion from othr orgniztions In just fw sntncs mission sttmnt nds to communict th ssnc of your orgniztion to your stkholdrs nd to th public. For xmpl: t th Dvlopmntl Studis Cntr w dvlop, vlut, nd dissmint progrms tht fostr childrn's thicl, socil, nd intllctul dvlopmnt. Whil nurturing childrn's cpcity to think skillfully nd criticlly, w lso striv to dpn childrn's commitmnt to prosocil vlus such s kindnss, hlpfulnss, prsonl rsponsibility, nd rspct for othrs - qulitis w bliv r ssntil to lding humn nd productiv livs in dmocrtic socity nothr xmpl of succssful mission sttmnt is th nxt: "Unitd Community Cntr is 501(c)(3) humn srvic gncy providing mrgncy ssistnc, dycr, socil srvics nd rcrtionl ctivitis for low-incom childrn nd fmilis t risk in innr city tlnt, Gorgi" ( Ptrs, Wtrmn, 2002:117). Oftn, howvr, orgniztions wnt to sy mor bout who thy r, wht thy r doing, nd why thy r doing it. Thrfor, nothr xmpl of mission sttmnt formt is illustrtd by th mission sttmnt dvlopd by th Forst Srvic. ftr brif sttmnt, th Forst Srvic uss thr pgs to lbort its mission, vision, nd guiding principls. xcrpts from th xpndd sttmnt includ: Th phrs, "cring for th lnd nd srving th popl," cpturs th Forst Srvic mission. s st forth in lw, th mission is to chiv qulity lnd mngmnt undr th sustinbl multipl-us mngmnt concpt to mt th divrs nds of popl. Nithr pproch is ncssrily th "right" on for your orgniztion. Wht is importnt bout your mission sttmnt is tht on guiding st of ids is rticultd, undrstood nd supportd by th orgniztion's stkholdrs, bord, stff, voluntrs, donors, clints, nd collbortors. Th vlu of mission sttmnt is high s it rminds mmbrs of thir bsic, ovrriding purpos, clrifis th rn in which th group oprts - cn hlp dtrmin how rsourcs r to b lloctd to diffrnt dmnds, hlps distinguish th orgniztion from othrs. Th purpos sttmnt clrly stts wht your orgniztion sks to ccomplish: Why dos your orgniztion xist Wht is th ultimt rsult of your work Purpos sttmnts usully includ two phrss: n infinitiv tht indicts chng in sttus, such s to incrs, to dcrs, to prvnt, to limint n idntifiction of th problm or condition to b chngd. n xmpl of purpos sttmnt is "to limint homlssnss." In dfining purpos, it is ssntil to focus on outcoms nd rsults rthr thn mthods: How is th world going to b diffrnt Wht is going to chng Thus, th purpos of mntl hlth counsling gncy would nvr b simply "to provid counsling srvics," for tht is dscribing mthod rthr thn rsult. Rthr, th purpos might b "to improv th qulity of lif" for its clints (Grgn, Thtchnkry, 2001: 220). Th businss sttmnt outlins th "businss(s)" (i.., ctivitis or progrms) your orgniztion chooss in ordr to pursu its purpos. Spcificlly, you must nswr, "Wht ctivity r w going to do to ccomplish our purpos" For xmpl, thr r mny wys to work on th problm of homlssnss: to construct housing for homlss individuls to duct th public nd dvoct for public policy chngs to provid job trining to homlss individuls. ch of ths r diffrnt businsss, but thy my b diffrnt mns of chiving th sm purpos. Businss sttmnts oftn includ th vrb "to provid" or link purpos sttmnt with th words "by" or "through." For xmpl: "To limint homlssnss by providing job trining to homlss individuls." cutionry not: If th word "nd" is in your purpos or businss sttmnt, sk yourslvs, "r w rlly committd to both ids connctd by th word" nd, "or hv w simply not bn bl to ccpt tht on id is mor importnt" (Grgn, 2001) Whthr or not orgniztion nds th ovrll dirction providd by brod vision of th dsird futur or clrifiction of orgniztionl purpos dpnds on th dgr to which th plnning group hs or dos not hv clr sns of purpos. If thr is confusion bout th ovrll contxt you r oprting in nd th kind of futur you r working towrds, it will mk it difficult for popl to gr on gols nd mov forwrd to th ction stg. In such n vnt, it is likly tht fw hour spnt on vision or mission will b vry productiv. If, on th othr hnd, group is wll orgnizd nd knows "wht it is bout" thn thy my b bl to mov dirctly into community ssssmnt or gol-stting. To sum up, n orgniztionl mission sttmnt cn dvlop out of visioning ctivity, but is mor focusd in ntur thn vision. In community dvlopmnt contxt, th mission sttmnt my b for th plnning group tht is ttmpting to ctuliz th vision. In stblishd orgniztions, th mission sttmnt clrifis wht th orgniztion is or is striving to bcom. Obviously, chiving community-wid vision my rquir mny diffrnt orgniztions with vrying mission sttmnts. n orgniztion itslf, howvr, might choos to dvlop vision tht is brodr nd crts lrgr contxt within which it cn thn rfin its mission sttmnt. Bibliogrphy: 1. Boj, D. Gphrt, R. & Thtchnkry, T. (ds.). (2001). Postmodrn Mngmnt nd Orgnistion Thory. London: Sg Publictions. pp. 18-21. 2. Cmpbll, . & Twdy, K. (2000). Mission & Businss Philosophy. Oxford: Hinmnn. Pp. 13-15. 3. Clgg, S. (1999). Modrn Orgniztions, Orgniztion Studis in Postmodrn World. London: Sg Publictions. pp.1-3. 4. Fostr, T. (2003). 101 Grt Mission Sttmnts: How th World's Lding Compnis Run Thir Businsss. Hrts: Kogn Pg. 5. Grgn, K. & Thtchnkry, T. (2001). Orgniztion scinc s socil constrution: Postmodrn potntils. Journl of pplid Bhviourl Scinc, 32(4), 356-377. 6. Grgn, K. (2001). Orgnistion thory in th postmodrn r. In Rd, M. & Hughs, M. (ds.), Rthinking Orgnistions: Nw Dirctions in Orgnistion Thory nd nlysis. London: Sg Publictions, 209-226. 7. Jons, P. & Khnr, L. (2000). Sy it nd Liv it: Th 50 Corport Mission Sttmnts tht Hit th Mrk. Nw York: Doubldy. pp. 39-49. 8. Kiddy, C. (1997). Surviving in postmodrn world. Th 100 bst compnis to work for. In Kilduff, M. & Mhr, . (1997). Postmodrnism nd orgnistionl rsrch. cdmy of Mngmnt Rviw, 22(2), 453-481. 9. Kinchlo, J. & McLrn, P. (1994). Rthinking criticl thory nd qulittiv rsrch. In Dnzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (ds.), Hndbook of Qulittiv Rsrch. London: Sg Publictions. 10. McBrid, N., Lndr, R. & McRobb, S. (1997). Postmodrnist businss informtion mngmnt. Procdings of th 7th nnul BIT Confrnc, Mnchstr Mtropolitn Univrsity, Novmbr. 11. Ptrs, T. & Wtrmn, R.H. (2002) In Srch of xcllnc. Nw York: Hrpr Collins. P.112-117. Read More