Vision and mission statements
After analysing the situation that the organisation is in, the first step in the planning process is to write or change the organisation’s vision and mission statements.
What is an organisation’s vision?
An organisation’s vision states what the owner(s) and other people in the organisation (usually managers and staff) want everyone to focus on. It is the purpose of the organization: the way it wants to achieve its goals, as well as a dream to aim for.
example
A corner dairy’s vision statement might be: ‘To be the most profitable dairy in the suburb’. The vision should be realistic. The dairy could want to be the best in its town but it would not be realistic to want to equal a national chain like Countdown, Woolworths or Pak ‘n Save.
Why is a vision important?
In his book, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge argues that having a shared visionof what is wanted by an organisation helps an organisation learn and improve. The vision is shared if everyone in that organisation has contributed to its creation and is committed to make it work.
Mission statements
A mission is like a reason or purpose. It answers the question ‘What business am I in?’ Mission statements are sometimes called ‘purpose statements’ because they explain an organisation’s reason for being.
example
For the same corner dairy the mission statement might read: ‘To supply a wide range of groceries and other products to the local residents for longer each day than the local supermarket does’.
Why are mission statements important?
An organisation needs to be very clear about its purpose. For example, in the past some failing railway companies, when asked what business they were in, replied ‘the railroad business’. This limited their focus to railway cars and lines. In reality, they were in ‘the transportation business’, and missions that spelled this out might have helped them strategise accordingly. They need to be fully aware what is happening in the whole transportation sector. If they had broadened their mission statements, they may have survived.
Strategies
Strategies can be small or large.
Larger strategies are about how an organisation’s vision can be achieved. They should answer questions such as:
- What direction should the organisation take?
- Should the organisation just improve what it already does?
- Should it change its products or its customers?
- Should it add other products to its range?
When you know the answers to these questions, you can decide on the goals and objectives for the organisation.
example
Petra, a hardware store owner, decides that the store’s vision can be achieved by widening its customer base. It can do this by expanding its range and reducing its prices. To do this it will join a cooperative buying system.
Goals and objectives
Moreover, as the business environment changes often, it’s best to review and update the goals and objectives regularly.
After deciding what direction the company needs to go in, the organisation should decide how to get there. One way to do this is to develop goals and objectives.
What are goals and objectives?
The words ‘goals’ and ‘objectives’ are sometimes used to mean the same thing. Usually, though, a goal is a high-level aim, and an objective is a statement describing how the goal can be met. Never rely solely on broad goal-statements of intent when planning: always provide further details in objectives that are measurable, time-defined and specific.
example
A goal for Hemi’s sportswear business might be ‘to establish a new product in the marketplace by end of 1st quarter 2 years from now’. One of the more specific objectives to get there might be ‘to complete the design phase by 2nd quarter this year [Research Manager responsible]’
Why are goals and objectives necessary?
Organisations need goals and objectives to achieve. Goals and objectives give managers and staff something to compare their achievements with.
Can sections of an organisation have their own goals?
Yes. In fact, it is very important that sections within a large organisation have their own goals and objectives to aim for, and assess progress against. It is very important, though, that the goals of a section of an organisation match the goals and objectives of the organisation as a whole.
Tasks, actions and resources
Goals and objectives are how the vision will be achieved. Tasks are how the goals and objectives will be achieved.
example
A goal of a corner dairy is to always have the items that local residents want. The dairy therefore has an objective to get a good stock management system. Tasks supporting this objective could include:
- finding good suppliers
- finding out what residents want
- ordering enough goods to meet demand before the next delivery.
Note: Tasks can be very basic. They can include, for example, opening the shop every morning and securely closing it every night.
What should a task include?
The details of tasks are:
- who will do it?
- when will it be done?
- how will it be done?
- what resources will it be done with?
When you get to this level of planning, involving how things will be done and with what, you are really talking about organising. The boundary between planning and organising at this level is not very clear!
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