{"id":624,"date":"2019-06-25T20:57:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T00:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessessentials\/chapter\/firm-vision-and-mission\/"},"modified":"2022-05-26T15:00:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T19:00:24","slug":"firm-vision-and-mission","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessessentials\/chapter\/firm-vision-and-mission\/","title":{"raw":"3.2 Firm Vision and Mission","rendered":"3.2 Firm Vision and Mission"},"content":{"raw":"

Firm Vision and Mission<\/h2>\r\nThe first step in the process of developing a successful strategic position should be part of the founding of the firm itself. When entrepreneurs decide to start a business, they usually have a reason for starting it, a reason that answers the question \u201cWhat is the point of this business?\u201d Even if an entrepreneur initially thinks of starting a business in order to be their own boss, they must also have an idea about what their business will do. Overall, entrepreneurs start businesses for a variety of reasons. A vision statement<\/span> is an expression of what a business\u2019s founders want that business to accomplish. The vision statement is usually very broad, and it does not even have to mention a product or service. The vision statement does not describe the strategy a firm will use to follow its vision\u2014it is simply a sentence or two that states why the business exists.\r\n

While a firm\u2019s vision statement is a general statement about its values, a firm\u2019s mission statement<\/span> is more specific. The mission statement takes the why<\/em> of a vision statement and gives a broad description of how<\/em> the firm will try to make its vision a reality. A mission statement is still not exactly a strategy, but it focuses on describing the products a firm plans to offer or the target markets it plans to serve.<\/p>\r\n

(Figure)<\/a><\/strong> gives examples of vision and mission statements for the Walt Disney Company and for Ikea. Notice that in both cases, the vision statement is very broad and is not something a business could use as a strategy because there\u2019s simply not enough information to exhibit out what kind of business they might be. The mission statements, on the other hand, describe the products and services each company plans to offer and the customers each company plans to serve in order to fulfill their vision.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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Vision and Mission Statements<\/div>\r\n
\"A<\/div>\r\n
(Attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC-BY 4.0 license)<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

An interesting thing to note about vision and mission statements is that many companies confuse them, calling a very broad statement their mission. For example, Microsoft says that its mission is \u201cto help people around the world realize their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Marketing Blender (2017). \u201cBest Examples of Company Vision and Mission Statements.\u201d http:\/\/www.themarketingblender.com\/vision-mission-statements\/<\/div>\r\nBy the description above, this would be a good vision statement. However, Microsoft\u2019s official vision statement is to \u201cempower people through great software anytime, anyplace, and on any device.\u201d\r\n
Ibid.<\/div>\r\nAlthough the second statement is also quite broad, it does say how<\/em> Microsoft wants to achieve the first statement, which makes it a better mission statement than vision statement.\r\n

Why are vision and mission statements important to a firm\u2019s strategy for developing a competitive advantage? To put it simply, you can\u2019t make a plan or strategy unless you know what you want to accomplish. Vision and mission statements together are the first building blocks in defining why a firm exists and in developing a plan to accomplish what the firm wants to accomplish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Exercises<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

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    \r\n \t
  1. What does a mission statement explain about a firm that a vision statement does not?<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. What are the similarities and differences between vision and mission?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Key Takeaways<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

    \r\n\r\nWhat is the difference between a firm\u2019s vision and its mission?\r\n