For this assignment, you are asked to research and collect three samples of a mission statement and vision statement and provide a summary of how you feel these can become elements of a strategy for companies to gain competitive advantage.
Your paper should be in three distinct sections noting the identified company in each respective part. You will provide an example of the mission statement and vision statement for each company. Then you will examine the mission and vision statement as it relates to strategic planning for the organization and how it results in a competitive advantage.
Length: 5pages, not including a cover page and reference page
References:Include at least 5 (at least 2 from the library that you have located) scholarly resources.
Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.
Side note: my professional background: *I am a Franchise Business owner of a Tutoring Company *I am in the process of finishing my book that will be published in a couple of months ** Currently a Forbes Council Member and Forbes publishes my articles on a monthly basis on topics on business and education that I write about * Married with two small kids * a Board member for various organizations * looking to have my get my Doctoral degree to help my goals with my Business/Motivational Speaker business that I plan on launching in a couple of years and the doctoral degree will allow me to charge more for my consultation services.
Week 3 – Assignment: Examine Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning for an Organization
Companies communicate their mission and vision statements in a written form to show a company’s purpose and strategic direction. The statements answer the critical questions: who are we? What are our values” and where are going? Companies with a clear mission and visions statements appear to understand their direction and their sources of value as they strive to be competitive in their respective markets. Organizations with clearly communicated and understood mission and vision statements tend to perform better than those without these two important elements. David et al. (2016) posit that properly conceived mission and vision statements support customer value for better performance. Kirkpatrick (2017) adds that formerly stated mission and vision add value to the company since they provide the strategic direction and strategies to achieve stated goals. Thus, all companies regardless of their type, size, or industry should have a mission and vision statement as part of their strategic management and performance. Although they operate in different sectors, mission and vision statements are key to gaining competitive advantage and strategic performance for Apple Inc., Walmart, and JetBlue.
Apple
Apple is one of the leading global tech companies with headquarters in California. Apple is a global brand due to its innovative solutions to technology needs for companies and individuals. The company has positioned itself strongly in one of the most competitive markets globally through the production of quality products. Apple’s mission is “to bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.” Tim Cook, in a 2009 manifesto indicated its vision as “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing” (Apple Mission Statement and Vision Statement, 2021). The company’s vision and mission indicate that it seeks to bring to the market innovative and unique products. The firm focuses on providing products that no other brand can rival. As a result, Apple has remained a successful brand in the global tech market delivering solutions sought by individual and corporate consumers.
Relation to Strategic Planning
Companies should understand their business internally and externally before creating the mission and vision statements. Besides, if they realize that the current mission or vision does not reflect their business strategic direction, they ought to change. The typical case in this aspect is Apple, which Engel (2018) reveals changed its mission statement after realizing that the originally proposed by Steve Jobs was outwardly focused. The company’s mission and vision statements are its foundation for success and creating the most valuable business globally. They reflect the firm as a model of innovation and elegance in design, which creates a competitive advantage in one of the most competitive sectors globally. They create an environment that supports the brand, identified as the leading business strength for the global giant. They provide a source of competitive advantage by motivating employees to achieve them and contribute to innovation. They are part of the firm’s generic strategy and intensive growth strategy defining its competitive advantage. The drive has enabled Apple to remain on top of other tech giants, such as Samsung, Google, and Amazon.
Walmart
Walmart is one of the most successful companies in the retail market in the United States and globally. The multinational, headquartered in the United States, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, runs a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Walmart has created a successful brand globally due to its effective strategic planning, including its mission and vision statements. Walmart is summed up as “helping people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores and through eCommerce.” Its mission statement reads, to “make every day easier for busy families” (Walmart Mission Statement and Vision Statement, 2021). The management defines “busy families” as the bull’s eye of the corporate strategy. The company recognized a need for convenience in the retail market and responded to it by creating a customer-focused brand, which remains the primary basis for its success locally and globally.
Relation to Strategic Planning
Walmart stands out as one of the companies with the most compelling mission and vision statements. The management understood the need for a proper strategic direction for the company and created a goal-oriented path for the management and employees. Desmidt (2016) supports the idea by arguing that organizations should have a clear goal to keep employees and other stakeholders on the right path instead of operating in a goal ambiguity environment. Focusing on the mission and vision statement, the company has managed to give the customer what they want and value for their money to gain a competitive advantage. The mission and vision statements reflect the customer-focused nature of Walmart, which underscores its source of success in the retail sector. Besides, the company offers good-quality merchandise at affordable prices, borrowing from its strategic direction since it was founded in 1962. The mission and vision statements produced a competitive advantage by ensuring the lowest possible prices, guaranteed satisfaction, and customer-focused services. Walmart maintains the focus of helping its customers to save money, a mission that has created a loyal customer base over the years.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways is a North American-based low-cost airline, whose headquarters is in Long Island, New York. The award-winning airline is one of the most successful in the United States and globally. The company’s mission is “to bring humanity back to air travel”, which it accomplishes through the delivery of value, service, style, and comfort. The mission relates to the company’s focus on people, customers, and employees, together known as “crewmembers.” The focus is based on its vision, which is “to provide the best rates for its clients for every destination” (JetBlue Mission Statement, Vision Statement Analysis, and Core Values, 2020). The mission and vision statements have provided the strategic direction and success for the recently established airline. The company was established in 1999 but has become one of the leading domestic airlines in the US. For example, the mission and vision statements reflect the competitive rates that attract customers to continue returning for more services.
Relation to Strategic Planning
JetBlue must have carefully considered the vision and mission statements to build such a successful company within very few years. The success reflects the ideas that Kirkpatrick (2017) proposes. According to the author, the vision statement drives change and improvement in the organization. They provide a strategic direction through the input of transformational leadership.
For JetBlue, the focus on people reflected in the mission and vision statements underscores its success within a few years. Besides, it creates the basis for competitive advantage by providing affordable services. The company’s vision and mission statements reveal the strategic direction founded on two things. First, the company aims at providing competitive rates to customers to build trust and loyalty. Secondly, the company provides flight services to all destinations in the S, hence, covering a wide range of customer bases. The popularity and competitiveness of JetBlue have grown due to the two success factors evident in its mission and vision statements. The mission and vision statements relate to its strategic direction since they reflect specifically what the company does.
Conclusion
The analysis of companies with the most compelling vision and mission statements reveal their role in competitive advantage and business success. Apple Inc., Walmart, and JetBlue operate in completely different industries, but reveal the value of mission and vision statements in their strategic direction. The statement reveals the company’s purpose and the path towards its future growth. A business can only succeed if the management understands what the company is all about, its value, and where it is going. Research supports the claim that successful companies have compelling clearly stated and documented vision and mission statements that guide strategic decision-making. The success of the three case studies provide models for current and new companies to carefully consider their mission and vision to gain a competitive advantage. The management should read through the two and relate them to the organizational objective to determine whether they support current and future business operations. If not, they should change and improve them. Basically, the mission and vision statements should change to reflect internal and external changes as revealed in Apple Inc., Walmart, and JetBlue.
References
Apple Mission Statement and Vision Statement In A Nutshell (2021). Retrieved from https://fourweekmba.com/apple-mission-statement-vision-statement/#:~:text=Apple%20mission%20is%20%E2%80%9Cto%20bringing,products%20and%20that’s%20not%20changing.%E2%80%9D
David, F. R., David, F. R., & David, M. E. (2016). Benefits, Characteristics, Components, and Examples of Customer-Oriented Mission Statements. International Journal of Business, Marketing, & Decision Science, 9(1).
Desmidt, S. (2016). The Relevance of Mission Statements: Analysing the antecedents of perceived message quality and its relationship to employee mission engagement. Public Management Review, 18(6), 894-917.
Engel, M. L. (2018). Crafting the Ideal Mission Statement for your Organization. Leader to leader, 2018(87), 7-12.
JetBlue Mission Statement, Vision Statement Analysis, and Core Values (2020). Retrieved from https://www.astrogrowth.com/blog/jetblue/
Kirkpatrick, S. A. (2017). Toward a grounded theory: A qualitative study of vision statement development. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 18(1), 87-101.
Kirkpatrick, S. A. (2017). Understanding the role of vision, mission, and values in the HPT model. Performance Improvement, 56(3), 6-14.
Walmart Mission Statement and Vision Statement In A Nutshell (2021). Retrieved from https://fourweekmba.com/walmart-vision-statement-mission-statement/
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