What is the difference between Mission And Vision?

Mission helps convey a sense of purpose for a company’s management, employees, and customers. A guiding light for for all to follow. A vision is the set of goals for the future of the enterprise. To define the difference simply: “What are we here to do?” and “Where do we want to go?”. (Fernandes 2016). In recent news, Apple’s mission is to enrich people’s lives with well made, easy to use devices; Apple’s vision is to replace all of their user base’s headphones with Apple products. Mission is something you act on, vision is aspirational. Both statements are also directed to different audiences. Mission statements should be designed for everyone, from employees to shareholders to customers. Vision statements on the other hand are internally focused, a view into a future where the mission is properly fulfilled (Wichtner-Zoia 2012).

What role does Mission play in a company’s identity?

Mission statements are the bedrock of company identity. Mission is the foundation of how a company is viewed both internally and externally. It can inspire loyalty and motivation in a company’s employees, differentiate itself from its competition to its customers and give a sense of comfort and security to its shareholders. Mission statements are company identity, made tangible. As part of an annual report, mission statements may be the widest read corporate messaging available, giving companies a means of building their images to all of their constituents (Leuthesser & Kohli 1997).

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How does a company adapt its mission and strategy to reflect its new vision?

When adapting to a changing world, businesses must have fixed values and core ideologies. Analysing these along with where a company would like be in the future should help define new strategies. The mission should remain unchanged in all but the most extreme cases while guiding and focusing vision and strategy. By identifying lofty goals and a clear meaning of their impact once achieved, a company can begin to form its vision (Collins 1996). Once the mission has been fully assessed and the vision is formed, strategy must be implemented. By evaluating the business’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) it can begin to carve out its changing strategy.

4. How can a company’s strategy help in adapting to change?

An organization’s strategy is how it actually plans to adapt to change. Once mission is examined and a bold vision is in place, the strategy is the follow through. Adaptation should be the name of the game. Strategic planning gurus Onstrategy recommend quarterly strategy assessment and adaptation reviews to go alongside annual strategic reports and implementation (2016). Through thoughtful and decisive implementation of a business’s strategy the organization can help to ensure its mission is met, even in a changing world.

References

Collins, J. Harvard Business Review. (1996).Building Your Company’s Vision. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/1996/09/building-your-companys-vision [Accessed 10 Sep. 2016].

Fernandes, P. Business News Daily. (2016). What Is a Vision Statement?. [online] Available at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3882-vision-statement.html [Accessed 5 Sep. 2016].

Leuthesser, L. & Kohli, C. Business Horizons Kelley School of Business, Indiana University (May-June 1997) Corporate Identity: The Role Of Mission Statements

Onstrategyhq.com. (2016). [online] Available at: http://onstrategyhq.com/resources/strategic-planning-process-basics/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2016].

Wichtner-Zoia, Y. MSU Extension. (2012). “Mission” and “vision:” explore the difference. [online] Available at: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/mission_and_vision_explore_the_difference [Accessed 5 Sep. 2016].