African Journal of Economic and Management Studies

How do high-performing organizations define their mission in Ghana?

William Phanuel Kofi Darbi,
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AJEMS
3,2 How do high-performing
organizations define their mission
in Ghana?
184
William Phanuel Kofi Darbi
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Accra, Ghana

Abstract
Purpose – High performing firms have been associated with “quality” mission statements defined by
the choice of components. In an attempt to extend our knowledge in order to give more legitimacy to
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these claims and also provide more local and relevant reference for Ghana-based firms, the purpose of
this paper is to investigate, through a component analysis, how high-performing Ghana-based firms
define their mission.
Design/methodology/approach – Mission statements of 50 of the Ghana Club 100 firms, primarily
extracted from the official web sites, Initial Public Offer prospectuses and annual reports of the firms,
were subjected to content analysis which evaluated and scored the mission statements based on the
occurrence of 20 specific components.
Findings – The paper found that high-performing Ghana-based firms define missions to include
components that the literature uses to measure quality; and these are similar to those of the UK,
Canada and Ireland. Based on the ranking of the components, three categories were identified: the
imperatives, the highlights, and the adjuncts.
Research limitations/implications – The paper lumped together all firms irrespective of industry
or sector. There is, therefore, the need to conduct further research to identify possible industry or
sectoral differences, for better insight and relevance.
Practical implications – Ideas generated in this paper provide a guide to practitioners and firms
regarding how they can develop mission statements, drawing on experiences of high-performing
Ghana-based firms.
Originality/value – This is the first attempt to study how high-performing Ghana-based firms
define their mission and hence is a major contribution to the scarce if not non-existent Africa-specific
studies. It also provides a more prescriptive approach to crafting mission statements by proposing
hierarchies of the components of mission statements.
Keywords Ghana, Corporate governance, Mission statements, Mission statement components, Strategy,
Strategic management, Ghana-based firms
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Defining an organization’s mission is thought to be the beginning of an appreciation of
its purpose ( Jauch and Glueck, 1988); after all, organizations have underlying reasons as
to why they exist. The design school of thought of strategic management, which is
widely accepted as the most common way by which strategy develops in organizations,
gives credence to mission and vision statements as starting points in the strategic
African Journal of Economic and management process. Mission statements are one of the valuable tools used by firms in
Management Studies an attempt to achieve high performance (Bain and Company, 1996).
Vol. 3 No. 2, 2012
pp. 184-203 To say that mission statements have become critical to organizational success is an
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited understatement; in fact they have become an embodiment of all functioning
2040-0705
DOI 10.1108/20400701211264992 organizations to the extent that texts, scholars and practitioners of business strategy
 see them more or less as defining the organization. Organizations that do not define High-performing
their missions are becoming rare. van der Walt et al. (2004) in a South African study organizations
found that more firms are having mission statements now than before and suggested it
is an indication of the increasing importance businesses attach to this strategic in Ghana
management concept. The overwhelming belief in the fact that mission statement get
results notwithstanding, skeptics still abound (Goett, 1997; Simpson, 1994; Krohe,
1995; Mosner, 1995). These opposing views to the strategic relevance of mission 185
statements seem to be easing. There appears to be a gradual shift towards convergence
on the theme that mission statements truly matter; much is owed to the contributions
of the body of empirical studies conducted over the last decade and a half. Most of the
empirical works during this period attempted to make a case for mission statements by
employing various strands of research as follows:
Investigating the relationships between mission statements and well defined
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performance outcomes like turnover, profitability/return on equity, profit margin

(Sufi and Lyons, 2003; Wheelan and Hunger, 1998).
.
Investigating the impact of mission statements on organizational performance in
various contexts – industry/sector-specific (Sufi and Lyons, 2003; Karami, 2001;
Analoui and Karami, 2002; Forbes and Seena, 2006), country-specific (Strong,
1997; Bartkus et al., 2004), institutional or organizational-specific (Bart and
Hupfer, 2004; Bart, 2007) to make the findings more specific, relevant and
acceptable.
.
A more curious strand of research is currently engaged in dissecting mission
statements into components and studying the implications of the varied
emphasis placed by organizations on the components so a “good quality”
mission statement can be delineated based on these components (Sufi and Lyons,
2003; Strong, 1997; Bart and Hupfer, 2004).

Research indicates that high performing firms share common components among their
mission statements (Orwig and Finney, 2007). How then do high-performing organizations
define their mission? Sufi and Lyons (2003) defined a good quality mission statement as
one that scored high on the basis of the presence of ten most frequently discussed and
important components. His study found a statistically significant correlation between
“quality” mission statements and annual turnover for instance. Following on from Orwig
and Finney’s (2007) and Sufi and Lyons’s (2003) findings, one can hypothesize that the best
performing firms in Ghana have and share “quality” mission statements. Consequently, an
empirical investigation of how these firms actually define their mission was undertaken
with the following research objectives in mind.

Research objectives
.
To first investigate how the best performing firms in Ghana define their mission
by analysing the components of their mission statements.
.
Second, to find out whether mission statements of the best performing firms in
Ghana reflect propositions in the literature regarding “quality”.
.
Third, but a more overarching objective is to contribute to the
context-constrained school of thought on mission statements research by
investigating mission statements in the Ghanaian business context to generate
 AJEMS more local, relevant and actionable knowledge as suggested and investigated by
3,2 Burr (1995), Gergen (1999), Khademian (2000) and Bart and Hupfer (2004).

A review of previous mission and mission statement components research

Since the introduction of the concept of mission and mission statements into business
practice and literature, a myriad of definitions and descriptions have come up.
186 A consensus is yet to be reached amongst authors and managers as to the exact meaning
and use of mission and mission statements. Fundamentally mission statements define
either explicitly or implicitly the organization’s purpose (Drucker, 1973; Hill and Jones,
2001; Bart, 2004; Bart et al., 2001; Gibson et al., 1990). Mission statements are supposed to
capture the overriding purpose of an organization in line with the values and
expectations of stakeholders and should typically answer the simple questions: “what
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business are we in?” or “why do we exist?” Answers to these questions encapsulate all
the myriad of definitions and explanations given to mission statements.
The body of literature and research supporting the relevance of mission and vision
statements to organizations far outweighs the opposing view; probably there is a
considerable attempt by academics and practitioners to legitimize a long-standing
tradition. This crusade has triggered in its wake empirical studies of all forms to make
a case for the need and relevance of mission and vision statements. A study by Rigby
(1994) rated mission statements second of all used tools particularly because they are
perceived to be a useful ingredient in organizational integration, which gets everyone
focused on objectives and working together to pull in the same direction. Numerous
studies have also delineated this “rally-around the flag” type of contribution that
mission and vision statements make (Klemm et al., 1991; Coulson-Thomas, 1992;
Raynor, 1998).
A stream of mission and vision statement research has linked the development of
mission and vision statements to the foundations of survival and growth of any
business (Analoui and Karami, 2002; Falsey, 1989; Smith and Fleck, 1987; Churchill
and Lewis, 1983; Levitt, 1960).
There also seems to be an overwhelming consensus that mission and vision
statements are communication tools for both internal and external stakeholders; they
portray organizational image and uniqueness. Lynch (2000) made a strong case for
mission and vision statements as tools for communicating organizations’ uniqueness in
terms of ownership, resources or environmental circumstances. For example, managers
of Hilton hotels believe their mission statement contains elements that distinguish it
from other businesses (Mullane, 2002). According to Germain and Cooper (1990) these
statements communicate the public image of a firm to important stakeholders and
groups in the firm’s task environment. Internally mission and vision statements are
believed to communicate desirable attitudes, work ethics, cultures, values that
employees can operationalise in their choice of actions and inactions. Karami (2001)
suggested that a mission statement focused on customer values can lead to the creation
of a customer service culture and increased levels of customer satisfaction. According to
Bartkus et al. (2004) the primary role of a mission statement is to communicate the
strategic direction of the organization to stakeholders in order to guide strategic
planning. In a study of the USA, Japanese and European businesses, motivation and
inspiration of employees strongly featured as the second most important objective for
mission statements (Bartkus et al., 2004); mission statements are deemed relevant to the
 extent that they deliver high levels of motivation and inspiration to employees. Some High-performing
authors like Bartkus et al. (2004) have studied and have attempted to establish organizations
independent outcomes – satisfaction, behaviours, motivation, commitment,
performance and inspiration, etc. as impacts that mission and vision statements in Ghana
might have on employees (Mullane, 2002; Forbes and Seena, 2006). The majority of
authors however have modeled a set of dependent relationships that should ultimately
lead to improved performance. Bart et al. (2001) found that mission statements could 187
positively affect employee behaviour which had a direct effect on firm financial
performance and this could only happen when there is commitment and also when
internal policies/programs are aligned and derived from the statement. Hussey (1998)
explained the “interdependent theory” and posited that objectives are derived from
vision, linked to the measurement of corporate progress, cascaded down to personal
performance. Matejka et al. (1993) believed mission statements could induce desirable
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behaviours if it they are first clearly communicated and reinforced through the reward
system; yet another dependent relationship they stated was the need for the mission
statement to be shared among employees before it could be effective as a behavioural
guide. In the views of Peters and Waterman (1980), shared ideology is a primary source
of motivation for employees, which then drives behaviour and then performance.
Results from empirical research that have attempted to establish some relationship
between mission statement components and firm performance are mixed; partly
resulting from the specific aspects of firm performance studied by the various
researchers. For instance Pearce and David (1987) demonstrated that higher performing
Fortune 500 firms have comparatively more comprehensive mission statements and
attempted to use their findings to portray what corporate mission statements should
look like. In contrast to Pearce and David’s (1987) finding, O’Gorman and Doran (1999)
concluded that more comprehensive mission statements are not correlated with high
performance in a study of Irish small and medium-scaled enterprises (SMEs). He found
out that high-growth SMEs do not have more comprehensive mission statements (ones
that exhibit more of the eight components studied) than low-growth SMEs. This
position has also been corroborated by Analoui and Karami (2002). Bart and Baetz
(1998) found significant correlation between selected mission statement components
(length, purpose, business strategy, values, financial objectives) and performance
measures such as return on assets, return on sales, percentage change in sales and
profits. However, using different performance measures, David (1989) found in a
content analysis study of 75 Business Week firms that there was no significant
relationship between mission statement and firm performance in terms of gross
earnings, return on investment and earnings per share.
The existence of a link between mission statements and their components to aspects
of firm performance will however continue to be a matter of discourse because
managers still cognitively assert to this relationship. Analoui and Karami (2002) found
in a study that CEOs’ overwhelmingly supported this construct; where 67 percent of
respondents perceived that mission statements and their components are essential in
increasing firm performance. Bart and Baetz (1998) also documented significant
performance differences between organizations with “satisfactory” versus “non
satisfactory” mission statements. Indeed most recent investigations (Bart, 2002, 2004;
Bart and Hupfer, 2004; Sufi and Lyons, 2003; Wheelan and Hunger, 1998) support the
position that mission statements get results. The body of research thus far that support
 AJEMS the correlation between mission statement components and firm performance are
3,2 compelling, moreover depending on the measures of performance studied a case can
always be made for the existence of some relationship inferring from evidence from the
literature.
Drawing on earlier citations (Bart et al., 2001; Hussey, 1998; Matejka et al., 1993)
a school of thought that suggests the existence of mediating elements in the relationship
188 has emerged. This has led to the popularity of research that attempts to establish the
indirect influence of mission components on firm performance. Care must therefore be
taken not to assume that incorporating particular components in a mission statement
will automatically guarantee high performance. The moderating variables rest on the
premise that specific components can and must provide the much needed attitudinal
leverage and policy impetus in a mutually reinforcing manner for desired outcomes to be
realized. Invariably high performing firms are expected to be at the fore-front of such a
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craft and the components of their mission statements may be a good starting point.
The emerging belief therefore is that “any thing will do” attitude towards designing
mission statements is unacceptable and can affect firm performance. In all the studies
by various researchers, reference was made to academic work which proposes key
components that make an effective mission statement. Some of these components
required to make quality mission statements which in turn may translate into high
performance are outlined in Table I.
Strong (1997) in an earlier study that investigated how UK firms define their
mission identified a focus on three elements of strategic intent-strategic direction,
stakeholder concerns and strategy success factors. These three elements revealed by
Strong (1997) however are either similar to or proxies of what has been advocated by
other authors (Table I). Rather than broadly categorizing mission statements in that
fashion, the paper takes a more prescriptive stance by proposing hierarchies of the
components of mission statements. Purposefully, the paper seeks to prescribe which
components need prioritization as against those that are not often included by high
performing firms based in Ghana.

The survey
A total of 50 mission statements from 50 of Ghana’s high performing firms
were sampled and analysed. The list of firms was compiled from the Ghana Club 100
which is an annual compilation of the top 100 companies in Ghana to give due
recognition to successful enterprise building by the Ghana Investment Promotion
Council (GIPC). According to the GIPC, the awards are about corporate excellence and
companies making it into the Ghana Club 100 are to serve as role models for the
private sector.
Mission statements of the 50 firms were primarily extracted from annual reports,
official web sites and Initial Public Offer (IPO) prospectus of the firms and were
subjected to content analysis which evaluated each mission statement. The frequency
of the appearance of various components and their proxies were identified and
measured. Strong (1997), Bart and Hupfer (2004) and Bart (2007) employed similar
approaches in earlier studies. All 50 mission statements were measured against 20 of
the most frequently discussed and important components that make up a “quality”
mission statement. Each mission statement was scored based on the existence of each
of these 20 components; a score of one mark was given to each of the 20 components.
 High-performing
Mission statement component Component advocates
organizations
Statement of overriding purpose of the Johnson et al. (2008), Sufi and Lyons (2003), Want (1986), in Ghana
organization Karami (2001) and Rarick and Vitton (1995)
Basic beliefs, philosophies, tenets, Fred (1996), Campbell and Tawadey (1992), Pearce (1982),
principles, values, aspirations of the Want (1986), Ackoff (1987), Raynor (1998) and Baetz and
organization Bart (1996) 189
Defining organization’s customers Abell (1980), Pearce (1982), Fred (1996) and Campbell and
Tawadey (1992)
Organization’s scope and boundaries in Johnson et al. (2008), McGinins (1981), Pearce (1982),
terms of specific products/services to be Campbell and Tawadey (1992), Fred (1996), David (1993)
offered and Baetz and Bart (1996)
Organization’s scope and boundaries in Johnson et al. (2008), McGinins (1981), Pearce (1982),
terms of markets and geography Campbell and Tawadey (1992), Fred (1996), David (1993)
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and Baetz and Bart (1996)

Organization’s commitment to financial Pearce (1982), Want (1986), Fred (1996) and Baetz and Bart
and economic objectives (1996)
Organization’s unique identity David (1989) and Want (1986)
Organization’s desired public image David (1989)
Technology employed defined David (1989)
Concern for leadership Want (1986), Collins and Porras (1991) and Campbell and
Yeung (1991)
Organization’s distinctive capabilities and Johnson et al. (2008), Lynch (2000), Pearce (1982),
basis for competitive advantage McGinins (1981), Ackoff (1987), Want (1986) and Baetz
and Bart (1996)
Desired competitive position to be Campbell and Yeung (1991) and Drucker (1973)
achieved or maintained over the long term
Specific behaviour standards for Campbell and Yeung (1991) and Want (1986)
employees to follow and practice
Stating one clear and compelling goal Collins and Porras (1991)
Defining specific non-financial objectives Ireland and Hitt (1992), Coats et al. (1991), Klemm et al.
(1991) and Collins and Porras (1991)
Concerns for creating value for Johnson et al. (2008), Abell (1980), Ackoff (1987), McGinins
shareholders (1981), Campbell and Tawadey (1992), Baetz and Bart
(1996) and O’Gorman and Doran (1999)
Concerns for creating value for employees Bates and Dillard (1991), Collins and Porras (1991), Wilson
(1992), Want (1986) and Medley (1992)
Concerns for satisfying suppliers’ needs Bates and Dillard (1991), Collins and Porras (1991), Wilson
(1992), Want (1986) and Medley (1992)
Concerns for satisfying society’s needs Bates and Dillard (1991), Collins and Porras (1991), Wilson Table I.
(1992), Want (1986) and Medley (1992) Mission statement
Organization’s commitment to long term Campbell and Tawadey (1992), Fred (1996) and O’Gorman components advocated
survival and growth and Doran (1999) by the literature

Finally, the most common components were identified by summing up the total
scores for each component for all 50 mission statements. The results gave us an
indication of how the 50 firms and thus high performing firms based in Ghana define
their mission.
The study recognized potential influences of subjectivity regarding the choice of
categories of components and their analysis which invariably questions validity and
reliability. In order to reduce these concerns; the author painstakingly reviewed the
mission statement research literature and isolated the most frequently and commonly
 AJEMS used categories of components with minimal independent judgment in their choice.
3,2 Independent judgment was exercised as far as the need to further breakdown some of
these categories in order to address concerns and recommendations made by earlier
mission statement research. Other major studies (Strong, 1997; Bart and Hupfer, 2004;
Bart, 2007) employed this approach and acknowledged the limitations.

190 Results and discussion

Table II shows the frequency of occurrence of the 20 mission statement components
studied, the percentage frequency with which each component was incorporated by the
50 firms surveyed and how each component ranked relative to the others. The study
delineated three broad hierarchies of mission statement components in order of
frequency thus importance to include the imperatives, the highlights and the adjuncts.
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The imperatives
The top five ranked components (Figure 1) can be described as vital in constructing
quality mission statements and thus constitute imperatives that no mission statement
should loose sight of. Learning from high performing firms in Ghana, these five
components discussed below must be given priority attention and prominence. The
imperatives seem to define broadly the firm, its purpose and distinctive capabilities.

Clear compelling goal

The number one component that all the mission statements captured was a clear and
compelling goal about where the organization is headed towards with all the mission
statement vocabulary. A popular view amongst researchers is that mission statements
must contain one clear and compelling goal (Collins and Porras, 1991). The specific

Component Frequency Percentage Ranking

1. Clear compelling goal 50 100 1st

2. Specific behaviour standards 47 94 2nd
3. Distinctive capabilities/competitive advantage 42 84 3rd
4. Specific products/services 40 80 4th
5. Statement of purpose 35 70 5th
6. Beliefs/philosophies/principles/values 33 66 6th
7. Unique identity 32 64 7th
8. Concern for employees 30 60 8th
9. Desired public image 29 58 9th
10. Non-financial objectives 26 52 10th
11. Concern for society 25 50 11th
12. Concern for leadership 21 42 12th
13. Desired competitive position 20 40 13th
14. Concern for shareholders 18 36 14th
15. Financial/economic objectives 15 30 15th
16. Technology defined 14 28 16th
Table II. 17. Specific markets/geography 13 26 17th
The components of 18. Long-term survival and growth 11 22 18th
mission statements of the 19. Defining customers 8 16 19th
50 firms studied 20. Concern for suppliers 2 4 20th
 High High High-performing
organizations
IMPERATIVE COMPONENTS Clear compelling goal in Ghana
(Define broadly firm, its purpose and Specific behaviour standards
capabilities) Distinctive capabilities
Specific products/services
Statement of purpose 191

Beliefs/philosophies/principles/values
Unique identity
Concern for employees
Desired public image
Order of priority

Order of priority
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HIGHLIHGT COMPONENTS Non-financial objectives

(Define specific objectives,
concerns and intents)
Concern for society
Concern for leadership
Desired competitive position
Concern for shareholders
Financial/economic objectives

Technology defined
ADJUNCT COMPONENTS Specific markets/geography
(Optional extras) Long-term survival and growth
Definition of customers
Concern for suppliers

Figure 1.
Priority-based framework
for crafting mission
statements
Low Low

objectives identified in the mission statements may be traced to this broad overarching
goal. All 50 mission statements studied highlighted this clear and unambiguous
compelling goal. This finding is consistent with Baetz and Bart (1996) who studied
135 large Canadian firms and observed that one of the five reasons for having mission
statement which is reflected as a component is to provide a common purpose/direction
transcending individual and departmental needs. In a related but comparative study,
Analoui and Karami (2002) found a similar reason in SMEs where providing clarity for
employees and managers/entrepreneurs was given priority as far as the purposes of
having mission statements are concerned. Granted that all players are on the same
page, energies will not be dissipated in opposing directions but pulled in the same
direction around a common ethos. Vanguard Assurance Company Limited depicts this
component in their mission as follows:
To provide prompt claim payment, competitive pricing and customer services to our clients.

Specific behaviour standards

This component ranked 2nd (Table II) and was incorporated by 94 percent of the firms
surveyed. This finding is clearly consistent with the mission statement literature
(Campbell and Yeung, 1991; Want, 1986); especially those that believe that vividly
 AJEMS defined and communicated mission statements nurtures desired levels of attitudes,
3,2 commitment and performance by employees. Almost every mission statement in the
study typically captured this component because most of the statements were spot-on
and clearly communicated to employees, the firms’ expectations regarding desirable
behaviours and conducts that are core to its identity, image, competitiveness and
survival. Employee behaviours and attitudes are largely believed to be critical in
192 moderating the mission statement component firm performance correlation. To the
extent that employees are influenced by the components to act, firm performance
should be affected. That of SG-SSB Limited states that:
Our mission is to create the preferred banking institution, which employs professionalism,
teamwork and innovation to provide quality products and services that best satisfy the needs
of our customers.
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Distinctive capabilities/competitive advantage

This component incorporates how firms wish to gain competitive advantage through
the development and configuration of resources and competences and thus is central
to the mission of every winning organization; a common view shared by many
researchers (Johnson et al., 2008; Lynch, 2000; Pearce, 1982; McGinins, 1981; Ackoff,
1987; Want, 1986; Baetz and Bart, 1996). Ranked 3rd, this component appears in
84 percent of mission statements studied. A reason might be that the majority of the
firms surveyed operate in the banking, insurance and telecommunication industries
which are highly competitive industries in Ghana. Pearce and David (1987) in a related
study that compared mission statements of higher financial performing Fortune 500
firms to those of lower financial performing ones found out that higher financial
performance firms gave “self-concept” (firms major strength’s and competitive
advantages) a special attention ranking it 3rd in the components of their mission
statements. It is also envisaged that this component will enable a more focused
allocation of organizational resources (Analoui and Karami, 2002). The following
mission statement by Ghana Commercial Bank inculcates this component:
To be the established leader in banking, satisfying the expectations of customers and
shareholders, providing a full range of cost efficient and high quality services through the
optimization of information technology and efficient branch network.

Products/services definition
David (1989) established that mission statements in high performing firms often include
nine literature derived and implemented components. The firms’ major products or
services are one of these components. There was overwhelming support for the inclusion
of products and services offered in the mission statements by the 50 firms studied with
80 percent of them including it in their statements. It was actually ranked the 4th most
incorporated component. This finding is very consistent to that of Strong (1997) who
observed similar high values in all sectors, with manufacturing (81 percent), service
(87 percent) and retail (71 percent). This is very necessary for strategic reasons- issues
regarding the strict definition of boundaries and scope decisions that corporate level
strategy makes. By strictly defining products and services, the organization is sure of
not straying into unknown grounds where they lack capabilities whilst giving
customers the benefit of identifying them with their products and services. Straying into
unknown territories may have grave financial and market positioning implications
 for the organization and this may largely account for the priority placed on this High-performing
component. A typical example is that of Ecobank Ghana Limited:
organizations
To provide its customers convenient, accessible and reliable banking products and services. in Ghana
Statement of overriding purpose of the organization
The extents to which the mission statements answer the basic question of “what
business are we in” were investigated. A mission statement usually conveys explicitly 193
this message in such a way that one may not have to know the name of the company,
yet be able to tell their kind of business mainly in terms of their core preoccupation.
Some mission statements are rather narrow and vague and thus obscure this message.
The inclusion of statement of purpose in the mission statement was found to be very
high with 35 of the firms representing 70 percent of firms (Table II) including it. It is
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critical for firms to clearly state their overriding purpose in order not to create any
confusion in the minds of management, employees and customers in terms of
expectations and purposes. According to Johnson et al. (2008), mission statements must
capture the overall purpose of the organization, which ideally, should be in line with
the values and expectations of major stakeholders. It has been pointed out in earlier
studies of SMEs by Analoui and Karami (2002) that firms prioritize this component
because it is believed that one of the focal purposes of mission statements is to promote
a sense of shared expectations among all levels of employees and the entrepreneur.
Employees and the entrepreneur are regarded as major stakeholders of the firm. The
following mission statement illustrates this:
The mission of Kasapreko Company Limited is to produce quality alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverages to satisfy consumers through the adoption of modern methods using a highly
motivated professional staff.

The highlights
The highlights (Figure 1) unlike the imperatives feature less frequently in the mission
statements and typically underscore specific objectives, concerns and intents that are
critical to the firms’ very existence. So whilst the component imperatives capture
broadly the firm, its purpose and distinctive capabilities the highlights narrow down to
more specific issues. Highlight components are a common feature for most of the
Ghana-based firms studied thus unless length or breadth of the mission statement is of
outmost concern, highlight components should be considered.

Organizational beliefs/philosophies/principles/values
All organizations are built on foundations. These foundations are shaped by the values,
beliefs, principles, philosophies of individuals and groups of people who founded those
organizations. This common view has been shared by many researchers (Fred, 1996;
Campbell and Tawadey, 1992; Pearce, 1982; Want, 1986; Ackoff, 1987; Raynor, 1998;
Baetz and Bart, 1996). The study ranked the inclusion of organizational beliefs,
philosophies, principles, values 6th out of the 20 categories of components studied.
Table II shows that 66 percent of firms studied included this component in their mission
statement giving some support to this position. Strong (1997) in a study of Times UK
1,000 firms observed that 32 percent of organizations surveyed included this
component and posited that this frequency somehow gives credence to the importance
of this component whilst Pearce and David (1987) in a related study that compared
 AJEMS mission statements of higher financial performing Fortune 500 firms to those of lower
3,2 financial performing firms observed that higher financial performing firms ranked
“basic beliefs, values, priorities” 1st in the components of their mission statements. It is a
useful ingredient in organizational integration which gets everyone focused and
working for what the organization is and stands for. Numerous studies have delineated
this “rally-around the flag” type of contribution that organizational beliefs, values,
194 principles and philosophies make (Klemm et al., 1991; Coulson-Thomas, 1992; Raynor,
1998). The Trust Bank Ghana Limited incorporates a clear and compelling goal as
follows:
.
to grow, manage and protect customer’s business- and financial assets;
.
to serve the customer better and faster;
. to conduct business in an ethical & responsible manner; and
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.
to create sustainable shareholder value.

Unique identity
This component ranked 7th out of the 20 components studied (Table II). It was mentioned
in 64 percent of mission statements thus representing a core component of mission
statements. It is no doubt that to be a winner, an organization has to develop a unique
identity, proposition and positioning that clearly distinguishes it from the lot. This is
usually expressed explicitly using the word “unique” or implied ones like “world class”,
“innovative”, “quality”, etc. This finding was inconsistent with results originated by a
previous study; Strong (1997) found only 18 percent mentioning quality and 16 percent
innovation in their mission statements. The inconsistency can be attributed to the different
approaches to the analysis of this component; Strong (1997) studied quality and
innovation as sole and separate components whilst this paper combined the two amongst
others as proxies for “uniqueness”. Since the high performing firms operate in highly
competitive industries in Ghana positioning the firms’ offerings is paramount to success.
A look at Quality Insurance Company’s mission statement illustrates this component:
Quality Insurance Company Limited is in existence to provide high quality insurance services
through innovative and superior products coupled with excellence in customer care.

Concern for employees

Employees are considered as indispensable resources in strategic management especially
implementing strategy and thus must be acknowledged in mission statements. Being key
players, 60 percent of the mission statements studied expressed concern for employees
by acknowledging their role in how they wish to compete. For employees however
the more important concerns are how through rewards and motivation, skills and
career enhancement, enabling working environment, etc. they may achieve personal
development whilst contributing to organizational development. In a similar study of the
hospitality industry, Sufi and Lyons (2003) observed that 76 percent of the firms included
an employee care component in their mission statements whilst Strong (1997) found this
in only 35 percent of all organizations studied. Unlike the results of this study and
that of Strong (1997), the very high frequency observed by Sufi and Lyons can be
attributed to the fact that they studied firms in the hospitality industry exclusively and in
such high visibility service industries employees are very critical. Ghana Oil Company
Limited wishes to achieve its mission through amongst other things:
 Professionally trained, high quality, motivated workforce, working as a team in an High-performing
environment, which recognizes and rewards performance, innovation and creativity and
provides for personal growth and development. organizations
in Ghana
Desired public image
There seems to be a thin line between unique identity and public image but it is
worth highlighting the difference. Whilst the unique identity component addresses 195
customers primarily, the public image components extend to how the broader society
perceives the firm. Is it a corporate citizen? Is it environmentally and socially
responsible? Is it an investor in people, etc.? According to Pearce and David (1987),
high performing firms in the USA include concern for public image which asks the
question- what are the firm’s public responsibilities and what image is desired as one
of their eight derived mission statement components. Though they ranked this
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component 8th, this survey found out that 58 percent of firms illustrate their desired
public image in their mission statements; ranking 9th out of 20 components which
indicates its relevance in Ghana. The operations of multinationals still carry negative
connotations in developing countries like Ghana and since most of the firms are
multinationals, projecting a positive public image is crucial. This confers a lot of
good reputation unto the firm and the goodwill that results could become a unique
capability that underpins competitive advantage. M and G Pharmaceuticals Limited
captured this component in this fashion:
Our mission is to extend and enhance life through the provision of high quality pharmaceutical
products, at affordable rates, to the public. We seek to make a real difference in the lives of
people all over Africa, by providing innovative pharmaceuticals and other health care
products, as well as by supporting important health, educational and community initiatives.

Non-financial objectives
Researchers (Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Coats et al., 1991) believe non-financial objectives
are equally important even though they recognize that financial and economic
objectives are the nucleus of every organization. According to this survey, 52 percent of
the firms crafted their missions with this component. Non-financial objectives may be
thought of as competing if not in conflict with the financial and economic objectives;
however it turned out to be popular since a little above half of the firms studied
included this component. A good reason for its popularity among high performing
firms may be attributed to the fact that balanced scorecards are increasingly being
used to widen the scope of performance indicators. Baetz and Bart (1996) equally found
results in Canadian firms that are consistent with the assertion that non-financial
components are popular. Scancom Ghana Limited perfectly illustrates their desire to
achieve this balance in the following way:
Building shareholders’ value by ensuring maximum customer satisfaction through providing
latest telecommunication services, at the most economical rates while meeting its social
responsibilities as a good corporate citizen and providing growth prospects for its employees.

Concern for society

In order to secure the co-operation and support of the communities they serve and
the society at large, some mission statements incorporate a social/environmental
 AJEMS concern component. Among other things 50 percent of firms mentioned specifically
3,2 how society will benefit from their operations through conscious efforts and
investments they intend to make. They in some cases refer to a holistic strategic
management process that identifies, anticipates, satisfies and fulfills environmental
and social concerns (Strong, 1997). In contrast however, Strong (1997) reported only
16 percent in a related survey. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are
196 not new phenomena however the call and need for firms to respond has rather
received unprecedented attention in recent times; Strong (1997) associated this
component with the new millennium. Since a considerable number of the firms
studied are fairly new especially the rural banks, the relative high frequency recorded
by this study can be explained. Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited depicts this
component in this fashion:
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Our mission is to be Ghana’s most celebrated company. That means having first choice
brands that provides great times and drinking experience for every occasion. It means
building amazing relationship with employees and business partners that brings out the best.
Financially, it means enriching the communities in which we operate.

Concern for leadership

It is not uncommon to see firms infuse components like “the best”, “most innovative”,
“latest or most advanced technologies”, “the leader”, “most cost efficient”, “second to
none”, “most innovative”, “most preferred”, etc. Just about half of the firms (42 percent)
surveyed deemed it necessary to have this component in their mission statements.
Strong (1997) studied organization’s drive for dominance and leadership and found
even lower figures (25 percent for manufacturing, 20 percent for retail and 17 percent
for service organizations). The unique identity component could also be interpreted by
many to be a concern for leadership; however this component reflects a desire to take a
more dominant position. Taking a dominant position confers a lot of scale and first
mover advantages in an increasingly liberalized and deregulated emerging market like
Ghana. DHL Ghana Limited perfectly illustrates this concern in their mission
statement as follows:
DHL enhances the business of our customers by offering highest quality express and logistics
solutions based on strong local expertise combined with the most extensive global network
presence. Customers trust DHL as the preferred global express and logistics partner, leading
the industry in terms of quality, profitability and market share.

Desired competitive position

The strategic management process stipulates that organizations develop clear
competitive positions in the markets in which they compete. About 40 percent of the
firms surveyed took account of the competitive positions they wish to stake out in their
mission statements. Desired competitive position could mean a lot of things such as
continuous improvements in cost position, customer satisfaction, quality, growth,
efficiency, productivity, etc. Baetz and Bart (1996) studied and ranked a related
component – organization’s definition of success (e.g. continually meeting or exceeding
customer expectation). High performance has always been associated with continuous
improvements and that has made this component fairly popular with high performing
firms. For instance, Maersk Ghana Limited and Interplast Ghana Limited, respectively,
wish to fulfill their visions by amongst other things through:
 “[. . .] Continuously reducing costs and increasing efficiency [. . .]” and High-performing
“Commitment to offer the best quality of products and services and to the continuous
improvements embracing all aspects of the company, from industry-leading product organizations
developments to new initiatives that fulfill emerging demands”. in Ghana
Concern for shareholders
Internal and external stakeholder values and expectations is a typical concern for 197
managing strategy. Whilst some firms choose to lump them together in the attention
given to them in the mission statement, some of them identify each separately especially
key players like shareholders. It is widely believed that “key players” concerns are
paramount since their interests in the firm’s strategies coupled with their high power to
influence those strategies make them key to success. The study reveals that 36 percent of
firms made mention of how they wish to create value for their shareholders; consistent
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with Strong (1997) who observed it in 38 percent of missions surveyed. The low
frequency in the appearance of this component can be attributed to the case mentioned
earlier where some firms rather lump together all stakeholders in their mission
statements. Campbell and Yeung (1991) suggested that some statements aim primarily
at meeting the needs of shareholders or owners whilst others aim at all influential
stakeholders. Some empirical works like those of Baetz and Bart (1996) and O’Gorman
and Doran (1999) studied this component using this approach. The following highlights
how the Upper Manya Krobo Rural Bank Limited shows concern for shareholders:
To offer high quality financial services to the rural communities in an efficient and competitive
manner, through a value-oriented workforce dedicated to enhancing shareholders’ value.

Financial/economic objectives
All organizations are committed to some financial or economic objectives and are thus
likely to include that objective in their mission statement. The statement of these
objectives is most important to stakeholders that have economic relationship with the
organization such as shareholders, suppliers, employees and partners however only
30 percent of the firms included it in their mission statements. This low percentage is
consistent with Strong (1997) who found 12 percent in manufacturing organizations and
24 percent in both service and retail organizations. It will also seem that because profit was
singled out in this study and that of Strong (1997), low frequencies were recorded. Baetz
and Bart (1996) instead reported 46 percent for this component. Other studies that merged
financial objectives with long term survival and growth found contrasting results by
recording very high frequencies (Analoui and Karami, 2002; O’Gorman and Doran, 1999).
This study is premised on the fact that financial/economic objectives in the shorter term
should be de-linked from longer term and sometimes disparate objectives. The following is
how a leading rural bank defines its commitment to financial/economic objectives:
The vision of the Ahantaman Rural Bank Ltd has been to become and remain the leading
rural bank in the country. It has therefore set itself to achieving a leadership position in terms
of shareholding and profit in order to ensure: customer, shareholder, staff and community
satisfaction, economic growth and employment generation in the bank’s catchment area.

The adjuncts
These may also be referred to as optional extras (Figure 1). The study showed that
these components are hardly incorporated into mission statements and thus come up
 AJEMS as add-ons. Thus, wining missions may be crafted without necessarily incorporating
3,2 the adjunct components in them; the best performing firms in Ghana do not see the
adjunct components to be particularly vital.

Technology defined
Technology plays a critical role in the choice and implementation of strategies
198 although only 28 percent of the firms studied mentioned the use of technologies in
competing. Since mission statements are supposed to inform and guide strategy, a clear
component that defines appropriate technologies is incorporated to reflect their role in
the choice and implementation of strategies. The results are mixed when compared
with previous research; Analoui and Karami (2002) found 76 percent in high
performance firms studied but attributed the high frequency to the nature of the
electronic industry that was studied. Piercy and Morgan (1994) ranked this component
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the fourth most frequent in a US study whilst O’Gorman and Doran (1999) ranked it as
the least prioritized in an Ireland study of SMEs. Perhaps core technologies are at the
heart of operationalising all mission statements, the reason most of the firms chose not
to mention or define them. Amalgamated Bank Limited incorporates it in this fashion:
We seek to become the leading technology-driven financial institution and market leader in
the provision of innovative, attractive, competitive, timely and customer focused services
tailored to customers peculiar needs through a team of well trained, developed and motivated
professionals.

Markets/geographical boundaries
This is equally important as the setting of boundaries for products/services offered; it is
important for strategic reasons. It provides the premise for current and future strategies
regarding where the organization competes at present and where it may be headed in
future in response to opportunities and threats. This also raises questions about
development of capabilities required in different markets and geographical areas. The
markets/geographical boundaries component did not attract the same attention as
compared to the products/services. In a related work, Analoui and Karami (2002)
concluded that high performance firms seem to place more stress on geographical
domain (69 percent) amongst other components. In contrast only 26 percent of firms
studied included this component. Most of Ghana Club 100 firms studied are subsidiaries
of foreign multinationals with their markets and geographical boundaries automatically
implied. The rest of the firms are indigenous SMEs that are primarily focused on the
Ghanaian market thus have their boundaries already cut out. Consistent with this study,
Klemm et al. (1991) in an empirical study of UK firms found out that this component was
not prioritized. It was ranked the last of all mission statement components incorporated.
Kingdom Books and Stationary Limited perfectly illustrates this component like this:
Our mission is to increase office efficiency in Ghana and West Africa by providing our clients
with modem office equipment, furniture and stationery at a competitive price, through our
well trained customer oriented personnel.

Long-term growth and survival

This component was included because some organizations strategically state clearly
or implicitly the firm and its owner’s willingness to sacrifice short term
financial/economic returns for long-term sustainable growth and survival. The study
 revealed that 22 percent of firms included or implied long-term growth and survival in High-performing
their mission statements. The low priority given to this component perhaps is due to organizations
the popularity of non-financial components amongst the firms. Non-financial
components were mentioned by 52 percent of firms and these could imply and be in Ghana
taken to mean growth and survival in the long-term which is at the flip-side of profit or
economic outcomes. For instance that of Scancom Ghana Limited (look under
non-financial objectives component above) did not mention long-term growth and 199
survival categorically but included components that imply that. Other studies that
attempted to study this component (Analoui and Karami, 2002; Pearce and David,
1987) in contrast combined it with profit/economic components that resulted in higher
frequencies being recorded; this study however separated them for reasons stated
earlier. The following shows how Unilever Ghana Limited chose to highlight this:
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[. . .] we’re also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our environmental
impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business.

Customer definition
A focus of mission statements is the target customer (Pearce, 1982). Most of the firms
studied did not find it necessary to define in plain terms the customer/customers they
are targeting. Only 16 percent included their target customer/customers in their
mission statements. Very consistent with Baetz and Bart (1996) and O’Gorman and
Doran (1999) firms in Canada and Ireland do not prioritize the specification of target
customers. Our findings did not support those of Pearce and David (1987) who studied
large US firms though. However, almost all firms included customer oriented values
and principles. It was found that customer orientation is the main strategic competitive
tool for most organizations. In a related study Strong (1997) observed that 67 percent of
organizations did not simply mention the needs and wants of the customers, but also
focusing strategic intent on a customer orientation. It can be deduced from this and the
other studies that customer orientation in the form of how value would be created for
customers seem to be more of an important piece of information to customers. Firms
thus prefer to include customer orientation as a component to the definition of target
customers. First Allied Savings and Loans Limited perfectly illustrate customer
definition below:
To offer convenient access to efficient, innovative and responsive financial services to the micro
and small scale entrepreneur on a sustainable basis for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.

Concern for suppliers

Strong (1997) suggested that suppliers play a central role in the implementation of
strategic plans; however only 7 percent of mission statements made reference to
suppliers in an empirical study she conducted. Consistently, this study observed that
only 4 percent of firms made mention of this component in their mission statements.
Strong (1997) posited that if the firm has strong underlying principles and values about
their purchasing or sourcing behaviour, then that should reflect as a component in the
mission statement to articulate some level of commitment to and expectations from
suppliers. But Strong’s suggestion seem not to be the case in yet another study done by
Analoui and Karami (2002) where CEOs placed the least emphasis on “concern for
supplier” (9 percent). Suppliers though critical to the choice and implementation
of strategy, are largely categorized as stakeholders with high interest but wield low
 AJEMS power to exert their interests and expectations. Invariably they will be amongst the least
3,2 of stakeholders whose concerns are prioritized as components in mission statements.
Unilever Ghana Limited obviously shows concern for their suppliers in their mission
statement as follows:
We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to the same
standards as we do. Our Business partner code, aligned to our own Code of business
200 principles, comprises ten principles covering business integrity and responsibilities relating
to employees, consumers and the environment.

Conclusion
Indeed the study showed that high performing firms in Ghana have missions that
are clearly defined in statements and communicated in annual reports, IPO prospectus
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and official web sites. This may be attributed to the increasing importance that
organizations attach to the strategic management process mainly driven by results
from empirical research that have establish links between mission statements and
particular performance outcomes. Again the components of the mission statements of
the high-performing Ghanaian firms largely reflect those that the literature frequently
uses as a measure of good quality and they emphasise more or less similar components
as firms in Ireland, Canada and UK. Apart from the influence that local participation of
the subsidiaries and allies of multinationals from Europe and North America have on
these findings, the influence that the imitation of successful practices of firms from
these countries may equally be profound and manifest in the choice of mission
statements components in Ghana. Furthermore, European and North American texts
have been prevalent as reference materials for Ghanaian MBAs and managers for quite
a long time. The findings of this study should be relevant to firms that wish to
benchmark against high-performers in Ghana; nevertheless these results should be
treated with caution keeping in mind the limitations. Having mission statement
components that reflect those of high performing firms in Ghana does not
automatically and instantly translate into high performance. This notwithstanding,
the results revealed that high performing firms in Ghana define their mission by
prioritizing three components that include the imperatives which are given the highest
priority. The imperatives seem to define broadly the firm, its purpose and distinctive
capabilities. The highlights feature less frequently in the mission statements and
typically underscore specific objectives, concerns and intents that are critical to the
firms’ very existence. The adjuncts were incorporated as extras and are not usually
given priority over the imperatives and highlights.

Limitations and implications for further research

The author concurs with others who may be concerned about lumping together all
firms since this may not provide the best of insight for industry or sector specific cases.
There is therefore the need to conduct further research to identify possible industry or
sectoral differences for better insight and relevance. For future mission statement
component research to benefit practitioners better, it should focus on engaging
practitioners in understanding from their own perspectives what each component
included in their statements mean in an attempt to juxtapose their perceptions against
those of scholars. Future research with such a focus could result in some convergence
on a common mission statement related research agenda.
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Further reading
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., Hoskisson, R.E., Rowe, W.G. and Sheppard, J.P. (2002), Strategic
Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, Nelson Thompson Learning, Toronto.

About the author

William Phanuel Kofi Darbi, born and bred in Ghana, graduated in 2001 from the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana with a Bachelor’s degree in Natural
Resources Management. For two years he worked as a Science teacher in a secondary school in
Ghana before leaving for Staffordshire University in the UK to pursue graduate study. He completed
an MSc in International Strategic Management, with merit, in 2005. Following his graduation he
accepted a position as a Lecturer in 2006 at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public
Administration Business School, where currently he teaches business subjects. His research
interests are in the practical application and re-conceptualization of strategic management tools,
concepts, models and theories. William Phanuel Kofi Darbi can be contacted at: kdarbi@yahoo.com

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