MISSION,

VISION
AND
VALUES
© Maris G. Martinsons
KEY CONCEPTS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MISSION VALUES
Purpose & Business Scope Beliefs & Principles of Conduct

VISION Implicit → Explicit

Goals & Objectives

SITUATION
SWOT analysis → priority issues

STRATEGY
Formulation & Implementation

PERFORMANCE
Evaluation & Control
KEY CONCEPTS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MISSION
Purpose & Business Scope

VISION
Goals & Objectives

SITUATION
SWOT analysis → priority issues

STRATEGY
Formulation & Implementation

PERFORMANCE
Evaluation & Control
 MISSION STATEMENT

◆ Why do we exist? (as an organization)

◆ provides a SENSE OF PURPOSE
◆ States what we do ( Business Scope =
Products x Markets) and why we do it

CLASSIC “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”

Henry Ford’s single-minded mission was to

“provide affordable cars to the mass market
profitably by making use of economies of scale”
overcame the technological, financial and
organizational obstacles to initiate mass
production and to fulfill the mission
 GOOD MISSION STATEMENT =
Key Market + Contribution + Distinction
A mission statement should identify:
➢ key market (who are your customers?),
➢ contribution (what do you do?), and
➢ distinction (what makes you different?)

2 more exemplars:
◆ To organize the world’s information and make it
universally accessible and useful.

◆ To provide any customer a means of moving people

and things up, down, and sideways over short
distances with higher reliability than any similar
enterprise in world.
 BROAD OR NARROW MISSION ?

MISSION serves as:

BOUNDARY for what (not) to do – Business Scope
BEACON for what is at the core of our enterprise

BROAD NARROW
Education Professional education in HK
Transportation Overnight package delivery
Travel & tourism EMBA study tours to China
Beverages Soft drinks distribution

Should be NARROW enough to clarify what you are doing

but provides many beverages, not just soft drinks
(Minute Maid, Dasani, Georgia coffee, etc.)
 EVALUATING A MISSION STATEMENT
from Christopher Bart (2008) personal communication
◆ Short – aim for less than 30 words
◆ Clear – able to guide decisions and focus actions
◆ Recallable – stakeholders should be able to recall
your mission statement, otherwise they will not use it
◆ Explainable – easy to communicate; can be fully
explained in one minute or less
◆ Attractive – it should evoke positive emotions and
attract people to your organization
◆ Maintainable – solid to provide a foundation yet flexible
enough to accommodate expansion and enhancement
To provide reliable and affordable mobile phone
services in Latvia.

Contribution Distinction Market

for more info, see www.corporatemissionsinc.com
LOGO CHANGE FOR LMT IN 2013
MISSION STATEMENTS – SCREAMing GOOD
To improve the quality of human life
by helping people to avoid, prepare for,
and cope with emergencies.

To help our clients make distinctive,

lasting, and substantial improvements in
their performance and to build a great
firm that attracts, develops, excites, and
retains exceptional people.

To provide all our guests with memorable

experiences that combine entertainment
and education, while inspiring life-long
learning and conservation advocacy.
KEY CONCEPTS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MISSION
Purpose & Business Scope

VISION
Goals & Objectives

SITUATION
SWOT analysis → priority issues

STRATEGY
Formulation & Implementation

PERFORMANCE
Evaluation & Control
 FROM MISSION TO VISION *

Communicate the vision in a

clear and exciting manner

Develop a strategic vision that

provides a direction for the future

Use the mission statement

as a starting point

* Mission precedes vision, commonly but not always

 VISION STATEMENT

◆ What do we want to achieve?

Where are we going? Where do we want to be?
“if you don’t know where you are going,
any road will take you there”
◆ Clearly and concisely depicts a better FUTURE
Aims to:
◆Express INTENT
◆ Show noble ASPIRATION
“to build a cathedral”,
not merely “to lay stones”
◆ Motivate and challenge
employees + set clear DIRECTION for effort
 VISION STATEMENTS: NEEDED OR NOT?

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving

the goal before this decade is out, of landing a man on the
moon and returning him safely to earth”
- U.S. President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961.
speaking to Congress in a Message on Urgent National Needs

Lou Gerstner after being hired as CEO in 1993:

“the last thing IBM needs right now is a vision”
instead … a strategy was devised for each business
by the late 1990s, was a turnaround success

"Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the

vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly
drive it to completion." --- Jack Welch (2007)
 EVALUATING A VISION STATEMENT
adapted from Kotter (1996) Leading Change
“There is a fine line between a vision and a hallucination. Other
people have to understand your vision and support it. Otherwise,
you are wasting everyone’s time.” – the CEO of one my 1st clients

Suggested criteria:
◆ Clear & concise – easy to communicate; explain in <1 minute
◆ Imaginable – conveys a mental picture of the future
◆ Attractive – appeals to different stakeholders

◆ Ambitious yet Realistic – challenging but attainable

◆ Focused yet Adaptable – clear enough to guide decision making
but general and flexible enough for innovation and adaptation

similar to Mission Statement criteria

but oriented to the future
what you aim to achieve
VISION STATEMENTS – EXEMPLARS

to be Earth’s most customer-centric

company, where customers can find
anything they might want to buy online.

to create the most compelling car

company of the 21st century by driving
the world’s transition to electric vehicles

to become Asia’s most admired airline by

- ensuring safety comes first
- providing service “straight from the heart”
- encouraging product leadership
- delivering superior financial returns
- providing rewarding career opportunities
KEY CONCEPTS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MISSION
Purpose & Business Scope
?
VISION
Goals & Objectives

SITUATION
SWOT analysis → priority issues

STRATEGY
Formulation & Implementation

PERFORMANCE
Evaluation & Control
 MISSION STATEMENT in 2010

The mission of the City University of Hong Kong is

◆ to nurture and develop the talents of students
and create applicable knowledge in order to
support social and economic advancement.
The University
◆ offers professionally oriented programs to provide students with quality higher
education of international standing.
◆ strives to create a learning ambience with diverse cultural backgrounds and to
enhance students’ acquisition of useful knowledge, skills and analytical
abilities through innovative pedagogy & a holistic learning environment.
◆ anticipates and responds to the needs of industry, commerce and the
community by engaging in applied research, and uses the results of such work
to directly benefit Hong Kong and beyond.
◆ considers research and teaching as inextricably linked. Research informs
teaching, which includes the provision of research opportunities to our
students.
◆ enhances its strength through pursuing collaboration in teaching and research
with other institutions of higher education.
◆ encourages staff and students to serve the community through partnerships
with Government, business, industry, professional and other sectors
 since 2015

To nurture and develop students' talents and to create

applicable knowledge for social and economic advancement.

City University of Hong Kong aspires to become a leading global

university, excelling in research and professional education.

1. Student success in academic achievement and career development.

2. Excellence in learning and research, technology innovation and
knowledge transfer.
3. Benefit to the social and economic well-being of Hong Kong.
4. Accountability in the use of public resources.
5. Global outreach and international competitiveness.
 MISSION STATEMENTS OF
FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTS

HUMAN RESOURCES
To contribute to the success of the organization by helping to
attract and retain high quality staff, to develop effective leaders
and work teams, and to maximize the potential of individuals.
CORPORATE SECURITY
To provide services for the protection of corporate personnel
and assets through preventive measures and investigations.

COMPUTER SERVICES CENTRE

To create and maintain a computing environment
conducive to the pursuit of organizational excellence and
quality management; to provide quality professional services;
and to ensure effective use of computing resources
 CityU LOGOS
1984 ↓ 1994→
FAMOUS CORPORATIONS CHANGE LOGOS
POORLY PLANNED LOGO CHANGES

Kyrgyzstan flag

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

KEY CONCEPTS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MISSION VALUES
Purpose & Business Scope Beliefs & Principles of Conduct

VISION
Goals & Objectives

SITUATION
SWOT analysis → priority issues

STRATEGY
Formulation & Implementation

PERFORMANCE
Evaluation & Control
 CORPORATE VALUES

How do we conduct business?

What do we believe in?
What behaviors do we
encourage (or discourage)?

Establishes the PRINCIPLES to

guide business practice

Encourages a SHARED IDENTITY

◆InternalCULTURE
◆External REPUTATION / IMAGE
 VALUES SHAPE “CULTURE”

SHARED ORGANIZATIONAL
VALUES POLICIES

CORPORATE
CULTURE

ENCOURAGE / WORK
DISCOURAGE ENVIRONMENT
ACTIONS
“HOW WE DO THINGS HERE”
TREATMENT OF
STAKEHOLDERS
The pursuit of our mission is influenced by a set of
core values - the standards that guide interactions with
fellow Yahoos, the principles that direct how we service our
customers, the ideals that drive what we do and how we do
it. Many of our values were put into practice by two guys in
a trailer long ago; others reflect ambitions as our company
grows. We strive to achieve all of them every day.
Excellence Teamwork
Innovation Community
Customer Fixation Fun
Excellence:
We are committed to winning with integrity. We know leadership is hard won and should
never be taken for granted. We aspire to flawless execution and don't take shortcuts on
quality. We seek the best talent and promote its development. We are flexible and learn
from our mistakes.
Teamwork:
We treat one another with respect and communicate openly. We foster collaboration
while maintaining individual accountability. We encourage the best ideas to surface
from anywhere within the organization. We appreciate the value of multiple perspectives
and diverse expertise.
Innovation:
We thrive on creativity and ingenuity. We seek the innovations and ideas that can
change the world. We anticipate market trends and move quickly to embrace them. We
are not afraid to take informed, responsible risk.
Community:
We share an infectious sense of mission to make an impact on society and empower
consumers in ways never before possible. We are committed to serving both the
Internet community and our own communities.
Customer Fixation:
We respect our customers above all else and never forget that they come to us by
choice. We share a personal responsibility to maintain our customers' loyalty and trust.
We listen and respond to our customers and seek to exceed their expectations.
Fun:
We believe humor is essential to success. We applaud irreverence and don't take
ourselves too seriously. We celebrate achievement. We yodel.
 STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2025
VISION, MISSION AND VALUES
 CORE VALUES
1. Excellence
City University of Hong Kong is committed to building excellence throughout its educational,
research & outreach programmes, involving every unit of the institution and every member
of the CityU community. This pursuit of excellence is driven by our respect for knowledge,
our passion for learning, and our concern for human well-being.
2. Honesty
Honesty and high ethical standards will inform all actions of CityU as an academic enterprise
dedicated to scholarship, discovery and creativity. These standards are the hallmark of our
success as a leading university and support our commitment to excellence.
3. Freedom of Enquiry
The freedom and responsibility of all faculty and students to engage in critical enquiry,
intellectual discourse and academic debate is vital to the advancement of the frontiers of
knowledge and the pursuit of higher truths. Within CityU, academic faculty are expected to
take the lead in promoting the rational debate of ideas and constructive problem-solving
based on academic values and priorities.
4. Accountability
A sustained commitment to openness and accountability is critical to CityU’s success as a
public institution of international standing. The best interests of CityU are served by creating
and maintaining structures that ensure accountability at all levels and by raising quality
through continuous improvement.
5. Civility and Collegiality
Fostering civil dialogue, promoting collegial exchanges and cultivating mutual respect are
essential to our healthy development as an increasingly diverse and vigorous community
of students, alumni, faculty and staff. These values support a robust academic culture
which nurtures our academic enterprise and intellectual life.
CORE VALUES OF AMERICA’S TOP TECH FIRMS

ETHICS /
CORPORATE
CITIZENSHIP (6)

EXCELLENCE (6)

INNOVATION /
THINKING BIG (5)

FAIRNESS /
GENEROSITY (3)

OPENNESS (3)
 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS
CAN ALSO APPLY PERSONALLY

◆ MISSION = Be a healthy & fit professor/consultant

◆ VISION = To teach & publish research until 20xx

◆ VALUES = Eat right, Exercise regularly, Live well

◆ GOALS = Strengthen muscles, maintain weight,

Build up physical stamina (endurance)
◆ OBJECTIVES = 10%↑ in Repetition Max by xx, …

◆ STRATEGY = Sports/exercise 3x/wk, XYZ diet, ...

Your mission / vision / values / brand image (online) ?

MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES

THE
END
© Maris G. Martinsons