What is the role of the Mission in strategic management?

Résumé du document

In the business world, one that is becoming evermore difficult to be competitive, organisations strive to find other ways of gaining a competitive advantage over one another. Organisations need to think about processes that allow them to find back a correct level of competitiveness amongst the others. Those processes can be defined as strategies that are made in short-term or long-term perspectives and that help organizations to achieve objectives. Strategic management is used to fulfill this advantage and becomes a company's key solution. There are several steps and components in strategic management, the Mission being one of these. We will discuss and emphasize the place and role of the mission in this complex process. It is apparent that J. Argenti does not agree that the mission should be the first step in the strategic management process. However, the majority of other authors believe that the mission of a company or an organisation does come first, preceding all other steps as the basis of the strategic management process and its implementation.

Extraits

[...] What is the role of the Mission in strategic management? am alarmed and astounded that they textbooks on strategic management] state that mission should precede the corporate planning process . ' John Argenti, ‘Practical Corporate Planning'. Discuss the idea that mission may not necessarily be the first step in the strategic management process and explain the role played by mission in that process. Introduction In the business world, one that is becoming evermore difficult to be competitive, organisations strive to find other ways of gaining a competitive advantage over one another. [...]

[...] Argenti's theory on the mission's placement not appearing prior to the strategy, but also realize that the mission can constitute quality material to be further elaborated on. This is in some degree the organisation's strategy. J. Argenti's model also deals with another characteristic of the mission statement. One of the main postulates of his model is that “mission statements are surely like strategy statements, they are supposed to guide a company's strategic decisions over the next few years”. Defining a mission before creating a management strategy means that the mission statement and the mission have a short-term perspective. [...]

[...] Kay (1993), the mission cover objectives in both corporate and business strategy. The mission statement is intended to provide a link between the broad objectives of the firms (which may not focus exclusively on profit maximization, or may assert concern for other stakeholders) and its specific commercial activity”. One needs to use caution while explaining the concept and definition of the “objective” as it is very different than the one associated with the mission. According to G. Johnson and K. [...]

[...] The mission is the result of an accurately stated analysis and gives organisation reachable, long-term goals. Bibliography Books Thompson, John. L., Strategic Management, awareness and change, 3rd edition, International Thomson Business Press Harigopal, K., Management of Organizational Change, Leveraging Transformation, SAGE Kay, John, Foundations of Corporate Success, Oxford University Press Johnson, Gerry and Scholes, Kevan, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th edition, FT Prentice-Hall Alkhafaji, Abbass F., Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment, Haworth Press Lamb, R. Boyden, Competitive strategic management, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Drucker, Peter, Management: Tasks, responsibilities and practices, New York, Harper & Row Hill, Charles W.L. [...]

[...] The Mission “provides the context within which intended strategies are formulated and the criteria against which emergent strategies are evaluated” and strategic decisions flow from the mission statement”(Charles Hill and Jones Gareth, 1995). The Mission should precede the strategic management process in order to give it accurate direction and acts as the basis for strategy development and implementation. Real and precise objectives can only be achieved when an accurate and long-term mission is established (P. Drucker, 1994). A mission has to be made following the ‘Basic Strategic Planning Model' to help guide a company in the right direction towards a positive future. [...]