Mission-Aligned Communications - Management
Need help with assignment will supply all references and reading material also need rewrites and Turnitin report as well
● Teams with better connections discovered and transferred the
knowledge they needed within the organization.
● Managers with “better connections” (inside and outside the
organization) spotted and developed more opportunities for
their departments or organizations.
● Project managers with better network connections were more
successful in reaching project goals within time and financial
parameters.
Research shows that most project communities start as small
emergent clusters organized around common interests or goals.
Usually these clusters are isolated from each other. They are
very small groups of 1–5 people or organizations that have con-
nected out of necessity. Many of these small clusters are found
in underdeveloped communities. If these clusters do not organ-
ize further, the community structure remains weak and under-
producing. Without an active leader who takes responsibility
for building a network, spontaneous connections between
groups emerge very slowly, or not at all. We call this network
leadership role a “network weaver”. Instead of allowing these
small clusters to drift in the hope of making a lucky connection,
the weaver actively creates new interactions between the clus-
ters. Through this activity, useful community structures emerge
(Krebs and Holly, 2002).
5.2 Creating a communications strategy
All communication is associated with initiating some form of
action or behaviour. Communication is generally one of three
types (Table 5.1). At its simplest level, top-down communi-
cation is used to instruct, control, and direct impersonally.
Top-down communication is commonly associated with hierar-
chically structured, centrally driven organizations in which
decisions are taken without too much consultation at the lower
operating levels within the hierarchy. Feedback is not a require-
ment though team briefings are usually undertaken by middle
managers.
In contrast to top-down communication, the purpose of two-way
communication is to create the conditions under which people
freely contribute more to the achievement of the goals of the
organization. Two-way communication is associated with partic-
ipatory styles of management, best practice, and the alignment
of project goals and personal goals.
Communication – the leadership interface
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EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 8/15/2021 1:55 PM via SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIV
AN: 189617 ; John McManus.; Leadership : Project and Human Capital Management
Account: shapiro.main.eds
Three-way communication that is downward, upward, and lat-
eral are a feature of “project organizations” in which people are
encouraged to cross barriers to get the information they need to
do the job.
In creating a communication strategy for project management,
it is sensible to ask who in the organization (and outside the
organization) will be affected by the project. It could be
argued that communication delivers most when everybody
owns it. Deciding who has a stake in the project and the com-
munication process falls invariably to the project manager.
The more complex the project, the more you need to involve
stakeholders.
Catering for different stakeholders involves developing good
communication channels between the project and its stakeholder
community. One method of achieving this is through the
appointment of a communication liaison officer. This person acts
as a focal point for channelling information from and to the proj-
ect identifying and administering communication training and
preparing project and stakeholder reports.
5.2.1 Communicating with project
stakeholders
During the lifecycle of a project, it is highly unlikely that the
expectations of all stakeholders will be met. Therefore, the
project manager must somehow ascertain which stakeholders
should be satisfied. Since stakeholders have the ability to
positively or negatively influence the outcome of a project, com-
Leadership: Project and Human Capital Management
104
Table 5.1 Types of communication
Type of communication Explanation
Downward communication The process is management owned and controlled and is
used to pass information down through the
organization
Downward and A two-way flow of information is exchanged between
upward communication management and operating staff – ownership of the
process is sometimes shared
Downward, upward, and There is a free exchange of information across the
lateral communication organization
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municating and integrating stakeholder expectations is essential.
Specific organizational and project strategies used to integrate
stakeholders will differ, depending on the issue and the group’s
potential to cooperate or threaten the project.
In developing communication strategy, the project manager
needs to consider that each stakeholder has the ability to both
threaten and cooperate, the objective of the strategy must be to
reduce the threatening element and increase the cooperative
behaviour of the stakeholder. It is important to realize that the
stakeholders’ potential to act and their willingness to act are
not directly related. Therefore, when looking at communica-
tion or involvement strategies, it is important to examine not
only strategies addressing stakeholders who are positively dis-
posed towards a project but those who are negatively disposed
towards a project as well. Some strategies may only be appro-
priate for a stakeholder with a specific disposition towards the
project, that is, positive or negative. In other cases, a given
strategy may be appropriate for either type of stakeholder, i.e.
both. As shown in Table 5.2, there are several different strate-
gies for different types of stakeholders. Each strategy is not
mutually exclusive; some are appropriate for more than one
type of stakeholder group.
In cases where stakeholders cannot be communicated with, due
to their negative disposition towards the project, alternative
communication strategies should be developed. Such strategies
may attempt to change the stakeholder group’s disposition or
minimize its negativity. Strategies to undertake this change
may require the project to use bridging stakeholders to “com-
municate” on behalf of the project with these negatively dis-
posed stakeholders. In cases where stakeholders’ expectations
cannot be met or changed, the firm will at least be able to
develop contingency plans to minimize any potential harm
(Polonsky, 1995).
5.2.2 Communication participation
and collaboration
As discussed in Chapter 3, many project decision-making
processes include a stakeholder participation stage. In this stage,
project managers disseminate information and request the stake-
holder feedback and input. This may be accomplished through
meetings, the submittal of written comment, or various sorts of
forums and other outreach activities. Following this stage, the
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106
Leadership: Project and Human Capital Management
Table 5.2 Stakeholder communication strategies
Type View Strategy
Mixed blessing These stakeholders are One appropriate strategy for mixed-
extremely important, for blessing stakeholders is to integrate
they have the ability to them into the project strategy
cooperate with the project development process. This will
or threaten the ensure that the objectives of the
achievement of the stakeholders are included in the
project objectives strategy as it is formed and thus
will not require a later
“redevelopment” of strategy
Supportive These stakeholders have This group may require extremely
the ability to be cooperative innovative strategies to be
with the project, but have developed in order to diffuse
little ability to threaten its negatively disposed stakeholders
activities within the group
Nonsupportive These stakeholders have the Use collaborative strategies, for
ability to threaten the example, Joint Project Boards.
project activities, but have Using a collaborative strategy
little ability to cooperate minimizes the potential of
with the project threatening behaviour form and
organization. increases its cooperative behaviour
Governmental bodies are
often considered to be
nonsupportive
stakeholders
Marginal These stakeholders have Interest may change over time and
little ability to threaten the therefore the potential for
project activities or to cooperation or threat may change.
cooperate with the project. Under such circumstances a
This group may have little collaborative strategy minimizes
interest in the project the potential for threatening
activities at a given point behaviour
in time
Bridging One definition of the term One positive strategy would be to
bridging stakeholders is have open communication channels
all groups who forward with the bridging stakeholders.
their own ends as well as This would allow projects to
to serve as links between “influence” the bridging group’s
other stakeholders actions and therefore indirectly
affect the “influenced” groups’
expectations or behaviour towards
the project itself
(Source: McManus 2002; adapted from Polonsky, 1995).
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Competency
In this assignment, you will demonstrate mastery of the following competency:
· Produce various communications aligned to the mission and brand of an organization
Scenario
You work as a training manager for a small restaurant, Pasta Amore. The restaurant is opening a new location in Suburbia, Somewhere; in addition, the company would like to draw attention to its expanding online presence. This location expansion may present an opportunity to do that as well. The restaurant owner, Laura Morelli, would like you to present a communication strategy with clearly defined communication goals for the next year. She emphasized the importance of ensuring that the presentation is aligned with the company style guide to ensure cohesiveness of various communications.
Company Overview
Pasta Amore serves authentic Italian cuisine in a warm, welcoming, family-friendly environment. The restaurant owners are from an Italian background, and they have a strong appreciation for Italian food and traditions that bring families together over a delicious homemade meal.
Pasta Amore Style Guide
Prior to beginning this project, Laura has asked you to review the company style guide, which includes the following information:
1. Mission statement
1. Vision
1. Logo and usage information
1. Color palette information
1. Primary typography information
1. Image use guidelines
Target Audience Information
New Restaurant Setting
The communications team has already created an audience segmentation table based on demographic information about the restaurant’s new location:
Audience Segment Description
Age Range
Income Range
Education Level
Family Life
Additional Information
Up and Coming
25–44
Upper-middle
College graduate
Mixed
· Includes recent college graduates
· Healthy, active lifestyle
· Homeowner/renter mix
· Mid- to above-average technology use
Growing Neighborhoods
25–45
Low-middle
Mix
Couples with kids
· Ethnically diverse
· Experience working in retail or service industries
· Mix of renters and homeowners
· Mid- to above-average technology use
Retired
55+
Upper-middle
Some college
Children moved out
· Traditional values
· Appreciate practicality and simplicity
· Typically homeowners
· Mid- to low-level technology use
· Ethnically diverse
Delivery Approaches to Consider
Here are some tools to consider, but feel free to propose new ideas and tools to get the word out about the restaurants new location.
1. Social media
1. The company currently uses Facebook and has a business page where it regularly post specials and interact with the community.
1. The company does not currently use other social media, but it is open to expanding its reach.
. Free local newspaper (Suburbia Weekly Buzz)
2. Suburbia Weekly Buzz is a weekly local newspaper that covers news about city politics, entertainment, and community interests. The newspaper allows paid advertisements and features for businesses. It is available for free at local businesses, including restaurants and grocery stores. It is well-known and read by a diverse audience.
. Paid local newspaper (City Gazette)
3. The daily newspaper is available in stores and offers digital subscriptions to its online edition.
3. Readers are mostly middle-aged to older adults.
. Company website/blog
4. The company has a simple website with its mission in the “About Us” section, as well as hours and a menu. Stakeholders are open to expanding resources on the website to better connect to the community and build brand awareness, if the website would be an appropriate communication platform.
Economic Environment
1. Suburbia already has one Italian restaurant that markets itself as “fine Italian dining.” It is located on the outskirts of town and is very expensive. The restaurant appeals mostly to older, wealthy people in the community.
1. The area is in a phase of significant economic and middle-class growth. The city is located in an area with many old textile mills that are being bought and converted to office space by technology companies. This is creating jobs and stimulating the local economy.
Directions
Your task is to create a communications strategy presentation to internal stakeholders using the company style guide. The presentation should represent the company’s brand and mission, and will discuss ways that you apply those in the development of a communication strategy.
1. Adherence With Brand Mission and Style Guide: Pasta Amore considers its style guide a valuable company asset, and it is important to Laura that the style guide continues to inform communication on all levels of the company.
1. Develop presentation elements in alignment with the company style guide, including communicating information in a way that is appropriately aligned with the corporate voice and mission presented in the style guide.
1. Discuss the role of the mission statement and corporate voice for informing communication approaches. Provide specific details in speaker notes.
1. Communication Goals and Strategy: Laura has asked that you include communication goals that consider Pasta Amore’s mission, vision, and corporate voice. The communication goals should clearly reflect and align with those elements.
1. Introduce your communication strategy for executing communication goals and explaining alignment to the company mission and brand ideals. Provide specific details about the elements of the mission that will appeal most to specific target audiences.
1. Create communication goals that clearly connect to the company mission statement. In the speaker notes, explain the purpose of the communication goals for meeting the company’s strategic initiatives and alignment with company mission and vision.
1. Identify specific decision-making methods that will inform the company’s communication goals, considering how the company’s mission and vision appeal to the targeted audience.
. Delivery Methods: Laura has asked that you identify communication channels and provide examples of how the company will maintain mission and brand consistency across the channels that you identify. Specifically, consider logo usage and verbiage that supports the company mission and corporate voice.
2. Determine communication delivery approaches and appropriate platforms, such as suggested media channels and advertising locations. For each delivery approach and platform, consider both the target audience and the mission and vision.
2. Describe approaches to engage with the target audience in a way that is aligned with the brand mission. For each platform indicated, identify the target audience. Provide specific details and rationale in speaker notes.
2. Describe examples of communications across various media channels in alignment with the company’s mission and brand. Consider timing, text, and images that should be included for advertisements and social media posts.
2. Discuss tactics used to frame corporate voice and mission strategically to the targeted audience. Consider specific themes should be used in communications to provide a consistent experience. Provide supporting details in speaker notes.
What to Submit
Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:
Communications Strategy Presentation
Your presentation should use the logo, color palette, and typography indicated in the style guide. It should communicate strategic communication goals, including examples of style guide-aligned communications that reflect the mission and brand of the organization. The presentation should be 8 to 10 slides in length. Use speaker notes to describe your ideas in more detail. Within the presentation, provide examples of how you would communicate information.
Supporting Materials
The following resources will support your work on the project:
Citation Help
Need help citing your sources? Use the CfA Citation Guide and Citation Maker.
Pasta Amore Style Guide
Review this document to begin learning about the company and to inform your project.
Project Rubric
Communications Strategy Presentation
Which Resources Can Help?
Develops presentation elements in alignment with the company style guide, including corporate voice and mission style guide elements
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Mission Statement and Brand
·
Unit Resources: Crafting Goals and Creating Messaging
Discusses the role of the mission statement and corporate voice for informing communication approaches, and provides specific details in speaker notes
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Methods to Inform Communication Strategies
·
Unit Resources: Crafting Goals and Creating Messaging
Communication Goals and Strategy
Which Resources Can Help?
Introduces communication strategy and explains alignment to the company mission and brand ideals; provides specific details about the elements of the mission that will appeal most to specific target audiences
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Methods to Inform Communication Strategies
Creates communication goals that clearly connect to the company mission statement, and uses speaker notes to explain the purpose of the communication goals for meeting the company’s strategic initiatives and alignment with company mission and vision
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Mission Statement and Brand
Delivery Methods
Which Resources Can Help?
Determines communication delivery approaches and appropriate platforms based on targeted audience information, includes suggested media channels and describes approaches to engage with the audience in a way that is aligned with the brand mission, and provides specific details and rationale in speaker notes
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Crafting Goals and Creating Messaging
Describes approaches to engage with the target audience in a way that is aligned with the brand mission, identifies the target audience for each platform indicated, and provides specific details and rationale in speaker notes
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Crafting Goals and Creating Messaging
Describes examples of communications across various media channels in alignment with the company’s mission and brand, and considers timing, text, and images that should be included for advertisements and social media posts
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Methods to Inform Communication Strategies
Discusses tactics used to frame corporate voice and mission strategically to the targeted audience, and considers specific themes that should be used in communications to provide a consistent experience
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Unit Resources: Mission Statement and Brand
General
Which Resources Can Help?
Clearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling; shows understanding of audience and purpose
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Academic Support
Lists sources where needed using citation methods with no major errors
☐ Mastered
☐ Not Yet
·
Citation Help
Unit Resources: Mission Statement and Brand
Web Page
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Mission statement should find customers and improve profits: [Final Edition]
Norman, Jan. Calgary Herald; Calgary, Alta. [Calgary, Alta]. 02 Jan 1996: C.3.
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A mission statement should help find customers and increase profits, say local entrepreneurs who have taken the time to write mission statements for their own companies.
``Your mission statement should put a framework around your business and give you direction, says marketing consultant Gerry Foster of Laguna Beach, Calif.
``A mission statement clarifies your purpose and reason for being in business, says Michelle Bergquist, an Irvine, Calif., business-plan expert.
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It is crucial for small firms, expert says
SANTA ANA, Calif.
A lot of businesses wander aimlessly.
They have talented owners, good products or services and large potential markets. What they lack is a clear idea why theyre in business.
They need a telephoto lens to focus their skills and limited resources on one object in the huge economic universe.
They need a mission statement.
A mission statement should help find customers and increase profits, say local entrepreneurs who have taken the time to write mission statements for their own companies.
Most business owners are reluctant to write a mission statement because theyre not quite sure what one looks like. Gee, thats for Fortune 500 types, isnt it?
``Your mission statement should put a framework around your business and give you direction, says marketing consultant Gerry Foster of Laguna Beach, Calif.
``A mission statement clarifies your purpose and reason for being in business, says Michelle Bergquist, an Irvine, Calif., business-plan expert.
``A mission statement . . . declares what business youre in, who your customer is and the fundamental reason the customer buys from your organization, says Bill Birnbaum, a Costa Mesa, Calif., business-strategy consultant.
These three pros help people write mission statements for their companies. Note their specialties: marketing, business plans, business strategy.
While mission statements are becoming popular with major corporations, they are critical for small entities, Bergquist says.
``I can only tell you how my company has benefited by having our mission statement, she says. ``It keeps us from heading down the wrong path, like getting into other ventures before were ready.
Bergquist recently helped Newport Beach, Calif., travel agents Rosemary and Dudley Hall write a business plan for their three related companies, Travel Services through Andante, Enchanting Honeymoons and Dive With Dudley.
Their mission statement, which is part of their business plan, focuses on a desire to help people plan special trips, such as a honeymoon, rather than just any old trip, Dudley Hall says.
``As a result of becoming focused, we have increased our business 100 percent in the past year, he says.
Gaining focus was also the reason Diane Chapman wrote a mission statement for her writing and speaking company, Words To Your Advantage in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
``When you have a small business, everyone is constantly asking you to pursue additional entrepreneurial opportunities because `you seem like such a motivated self-starter, she says.
``Its important to communicate just how you built your business: by focusing on the one or two things that your talents guide you to do.
A mission statement can set a company apart from its competitors, says Mark Delp of Mechanical Mann in Laguna Hills, Calif.
``The mission statement has had a very positive impact on the way customers perceive us, because it shows we understand what our customers are looking for in a mechanic, and (few) other automotive repair shops have mission statements, he says.
Clients are put at ease by the mission statement of J&R Marketing in Laguna Niguel, Calif., says owner Ralph Woolbright.
The statement specifies that the company helps small businesses with management and marketing without high costs. ``Once people know they can get help without the high fees, they are willing to let someone help them . . . and these clients pass the word, he says.
(Copyright 1995, Orange County Register)
*** Infomart-Online ***
Word count: 572
(Copyright The Calgary Herald)
Put your purpose in writing; a mission statement can give your company the focus it needs for survival and growth.
Authors:
Nelton, Sharon
Source:
Nations Business. 1994, Vol. v82, Issue n2, pages. 4
Publisher Information:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1994.
Publication Year:
1994
Subject Terms:
Haworth Inc. -- Management
Mission statements -- Management
Furniture industry -- Management
Description:
Corporate mission statements can help a company form an identity. Mission statements define what a company does and reflects its operating philosophy and future goals. Haworth Inc, a furniture manufacturer, has a mission statement that has evolved as the company has expanded into world markets.
ISSN:
0028-047X
Rights:
Copyright 1994 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 1994 U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Accession Number:
edsbig.A14994457
Database:
Business Insights Global
Translate Full Text:
PUT YOUR PURPOSE IN WRITING
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Section:
MANAGING
A mission statement can give your company the focus it needs for survival and growth.
When Richard G. Haworth succeeded , his father as president of Haworth, Inc., in 1976, one of the first things he did was see to the creation of a mission statement, called The Haworth Creed, summarizing the companys standards and goals.
At the time, the Holland, Mich., manufacturer of office furniture had 250 employees and $14 million in annual sales. Today, the company has 7,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of more than $800 million.
While having a mission statement isnt the only reason for Haworths impressive growth from a small company to a global one, its leaders believe a mission statement provides a focus for a company--whether its size.
We feel a mission statement lays it right out there as to the kind of company we are and what our principles are and what our objectives are and how we want to work, says Gerald B. Johanneson, who succeeded Richard Haworth as president in January, when Haworth became chairman.
Early last year, Haworth introduced a revised mission statement called Our Principles, modernizing and simplifying the language so that it is more readily understood around the globe. Haworth now has facilities in more than 20 countries and has 800 dealers worldwide.
Many business owners agree that a mission statement is the tool that can get everyone in the company going in the same direction. Just as important, developing a new or revised mission statement forces managers to think strategically
Its a very helpful process in that it makes you sit back and focus on things outside the day-to-day, filling-the-order kind of mentality, says Alan Blazar, president of Blazing Graphics, a graphics production company in Cranston, R.I. The process makes you look at whats happening in your industry, he explains, and gives an opportunity to look at the long-term situation.
According to Burt Nanus, author of Visionary Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 1992), a mission statement defines what an organization has been established to accomplish, delineating products and markets and, in some instances, going further to state a companys creed or values, its operating philosophy, or its mayor goals.
While some business leaders, like Johanneson, use vision and mission statement interchangeably, others do not. Blazar says Blazing Graphics mission statement, conceived in 1992, expands on the 10-year-old companys original vision of bringing various graphics trades--design, engraving, photography, and printing--under one roof to service the high end of the advertising market and of being the best graphic-arts producer in the industry bar none. The new mission statement is broader, calling, for example, for creating an environment that will be both personally and professionally fulfilling.
Blazing Graphics, which employs 75 people and brings in $8 million in annual revenues, was a 1993 state honoree of the Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative. The initiative is a program sponsored annually by the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Nations Business to recognize small companies that have overcome challenges and emerged stronger.
Developing a mission statement helped I turn around Healthtex, an ailing childrens-clothing company that was purchased by VF Corp. in 1990. A year after the purchase, says Healthtexs president, Gary F. Simmons, the companys managers felt they needed to put in writing what Healthtex wanted to do and who its target customers were. The statement in part reads: Healthtex will be the most responsive kidswear company in understanding and meeting the needs of targeted consumers and retailers with basic and basic fashion everyday playwear that lasts.
The company, based in Greensboro, N.C., identified its primary customer as a mother of children, newborn to 6 years old, who shops for everyday playwear in middle-market department stores and national childrens specialty chains. Healthtex also determined specifically what kinds of clothing the company would make.
The goal here is that everybody--be it a machine operator, a designer, or the head of human resources--is thinking in a similar vein, Simmons says. It doesnt mean they all think alike, but at least they all have a central core belief of what this companys trying to achieve.
Healthtex has experienced 40 percent growth in each of the past ; two years, and its annual sales range from $100 million to $150 million. We now are a profitable company and are now moving forward very nicely, Simmons says. The mission statement has helped, he says, by getting different groups of people within the company to focus on a strategic direction.
Gerald Johanneson says Haworth, Inc., has been able to win new business as a result of its mission statement. When potential corporate clients visit Haworth headquarters, Haworths presentations to them include a discussion of the companys mission by company officers. As a result, some visitors decide to place an order because they think Haworth is the kind of company they want to do business with. Johanneson says.
He sees the mission statement as a key communications tool. When a business is small, he says, it tends to attract entrepreneurial employees--people who have their own mission, so to speak, or their own agenda. And the owner or manager, believing everyone knows what he or she thinks, may be under the impression that communication is better than it actually is. In such a situation, Johanneson says, a mission statement can make the companys purpose and objectives clear and give everyone in it something to relate to.
Healthtexs Gary Simmons also points out that a mission statement enables different groups within a company--marketing, finance, merchandising, human resources, and the like--to have not only a similar vision but also similar expectations. In his company, for example, the finance people know that because of the kind of product the company makes and the kind of customer it has targeted, margins will be reasonable and markdowns will be few.
Because it speaks to helping clients achieve their goals, Alan Blazar says, his companys mission statement has helped create a partnering attitude instead of an adversarial relationship between Blazing Graphics and its customers.
The experiences of these businesses show that a company can benefit when its focus is sharpened by a mission statement. If you think a mission statement might be helpful to your business, here are some suggestions to consider in creating one:
Invite ideas from others. Alan Blazar wrote his original draft himself before passing it around to his supervisors for comments and then rewriting it. But if he had it to do over again, he says, he would first ask his supervisors for their ideas as well as suggestions from all their employees.
Taking the second approach, he says, would more accurately reflect the entire company rather than just what the boss thinks. Once the boss has written a mission statement, he points out, employees hesitate to contradict or change it.
Offer a purpose around which employees and others can rally. So advises Charles Garfield, an expert on peak performance, in his book Second To None (Business One Irwin, 1992). Mission statements are never about bottomline goals (though they directly affect the bottom line), he writes. Profit is not a value around which employees are likely to rally. Instead, he says, your statement should incorporate values that are worthy of your employees best efforts.
A mission statement, Blazar says, sends a message to employees, suppliers, and customers as to what the purpose of the company is aside from just making profits.
Consider the ripple effect that your statement will have on company policy and behavior. Simmons has found that having a mission statement assists in decision making at Healthtex. For example, if a proposed product doesnt fit the corporate strategy or cannot meet the quality standards embodied in the mission statement, Healthtex wont produce it.
Outgrowths of Haworths new mission statement have included the issuance of policy statements affirming the companys commitment to a diverse work force and to the environment.
Let your statement reflect current direction as well as lay the groundwork for the years to come. In many respects, writing a mission statement is committing to paper what you already know about your business and its purpose. At the same time, it serves as a guideline for the future.
As Simmons explains, if you are starting a company, you dont develop the mission statement first. You have to determine who your customers are, why you are selling to them, what channels you will use, and other matters before you devise your mission statement, he says.
Encompass your companys culture. In addition to being a statement about strategic direction, a mission statement sets down the values that a companys managers hold dear. Honor God in all we do is the first point in the mission statement of another state Blue Chip enterprise, Lunar Productions, Inc., a Memphis, Tenn., corporate-video production company with seven employees and $800,000 in annual sales. Because hes a Christian, says Geordy Wells, Lunars president, he wanted to include that point to reflect that the company abides by honest, ethical business practices.
Companies express their values in their mission statements in a variety of ways. A Southern car-rental company includes ending world hunger as part of its mission, for example, and a Midwest hospitality firm states that it wants customers to experience a quiet spot in the country because of the owners conviction that God desires all His creation to live in harmony.
Keep your audiences in mind. They may include employees, shareholders, family members, suppliers, customers, your community, and others. Your statement has to communicate to each group.
You may find, as Haworth did, that as the marketplace becomes increasingly global, you will face the challenges of communicating effectively in different cultures and languages. Haworths principles are now available in Spanish, French, German, and Italian as well as English, including a special English version for the British market.
Be brief. Lunar Productions mission statement is a mere 41 words. At about 440 words, the revised Haworth mission statement is about 120 words shorter than its predecessor. Haworths officers had found that when they made presentations on the old mission statement to employees and customers, they would lose their audience because the statement was just too long and had too many sections--11 in the old version, compared with four in the new. By shortening and simplifying the statement, Johanneson says, it more clearly states exactly what our focus is.
Review your statement periodically, and revise it as necessary. If you change your strategy, you must change your mission statement, Simmons says. They tie together. Healthtexs mission statement is reviewed once a year as part of the companys annual strategic-planning process, but Simmons says that its probably better to review the mission statement informally even more often.
The mission statement is not something thats set in stone, Alan Blazar says. The mission keeps changing and growing as we grow.
Once you have created your mission statement, put it to use. Blazing Graphics displays its mission in every department as well as in its lobby and has published it as an advertisement in a trade magazine.
Some companies make a discussion of their mission statements part of the orientation for new hires. Others use theirs as a means to educate such constituents as customers, dealers, suppliers, stockholders, and their communities.
If people just talk about a mission statement and dont use it, creating it is a waste of time, Gary Simmons says. If you really use it, then its something that I think is wonderful.
~~~~~~~~
By Sharon Nelton
THE MISSION STATEMENT
Blazing Graphics, Cranston, R.I.
Blazing Graphics will provide you with the most effective visual communication attainable. We will help you achieve all of your goals while providing you with the greatest value both seen and unseen.
Here at Blazing Graphics we will take the time to do things right. We do this by controlling the entire graphic arts process. This enables us to better coordinate each job while providing a higher level of service.
Our mission is to ensure exceptional quality by opening up communication between crafts normally separated and at times adverse to one another.
Here at Blazing Graphics we have committed ourselves and our resources to being on the forefront of technology.
Creative technical know-how is the single most critical determinant of economic competitiveness.
Its our real belief that together we can create an environment that will be both personally and professionally fulfilling for all the people who make up the Blazing Community.
PHOTO (COLOR): Solicit ideas from employees when devising a mission statement, urges Blazing Graphics president, Alan Blazar; center, here with the companys general manager, Mark Worall, left, and color supervisor Ray Gagne.
OUR PRINCIPLES
Haworth, Inc., Holland, Mich.
Haworth, a family company, is a world leader in the contract furniture industry. Our vision is to be world class in the eyes of our customers at creating well-designed, effective, and exciting work environments. The principles upon which Haworth was founded and continues to operate are presented in this statement. The success of our company testifies to their enduring value.
Haworth competes enthusiastically in a free enterprise system. Our style is aggressive and our practices honest; our conduct is legal and ethical. We are motivated by a fair return on investment and are committed to strengthening the company through reinvestment. We believe that customers will be attracted by what we offer and this will ensure our continued success.
Customer Satisfaction
To completely satisfy our customers is our primary mission. We listen to our customers and understand their changing needs. We achieve their satisfaction by quickly translating their needs into products and services that are world class and that emphasize quality, design, innovation, and value. We are convinced that the success of our business depends on satisfied customers. We believe that our customers are best served through a strong dealer network. Haworth dealers aggressively represent us and offer a range of complementary professional services to our customers. Our dealers collaborate with us to forge customer-satisfying teams. Our dealers are also our customers, and we are committed to their satisfaction.
The People Of Haworth
Haworth members are the most important resource of our company. The diversity of their races, genders, talents, and personalities enables us to be more innovative, dynamic, and flexible. Our members endorse the practice of continuous improvement, believing it offers the best path to pride in their work, greater job security, customer satisfaction, and success for our company. Our corporate culture offers a participative environment that supports teams and individuals. Haworth encourages member development and achievement through recognition, rewards, and opportunities for career growth.
Dedication To Quality
In order to achieve total customer satisfaction, Haworth methods of operation are shaped by our dedication to quality. Corporate-wide quality initiatives result in superior products and services for our customers. At Haworth we combine smart thinking with hard work to eliminate wasted time, effort, and materials. Our philosophy of continuous quality improvement is embraced by suppliers and dealers. They share our commitment to total customer satisfaction and quality. With them, we create a seamless flow of quality products and services to the end user. Our philosophy of quality includes the preservation of our environment and the protection of resources. Our pursuit of quality extends to our communities, where we build for the future by investing in the quality of life.
PHOTO (COLOR): Haworths updated statement reflects the furniture makers emergence as a global company, says its president, Gerald Johanneson.
MISSION STATEMENT
Lunar Productions, Inc.. Memphis, Tenn.
Honor God in all we do. Provide excellent and affordable corporate video audio/visual and broadcast production services to our valued clients.
Communicate with our clients and fellow employees as effectively as we communicate with our audiences.
Make a fair profit.
PHOTO (COLOR): Getting people focused on the same goal is one function of a mission statement, says Geordy Wells, right, president of Lunar Productions.
THE MEDIA FOR YOUR MESSAGE
Say your mission statement is completed. Now what?
Before you can actually make use of it, it needs to be put into some medium to carry the message. And businesses are very creative about this.
You can be, too.
The statement devised by Healthtex, a Greensboro, N.C., childrens apparel company is so short that it has been put on a plastic card that can be easily carried in a wallet.
Blazing Graphics, a Cranston, R.I., graphic-arts production company, has turned its mission statement into a colorful, eye-grabbing poster--fitting for a company that depends so much on the appeal of visual images.
Haworth, Inc., has printed its mission statement in an elegant, 8 1/2-by-11-inch, trifold, quality-paper brochure--a step up from the two-color, one-sided sheet that the Holland, Mich., office-furniture manufacturer used to use.
ATS Telephone & Data Systems, Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., chose videotape as a means to communicate its mission statement Just under six minutes in length, the video features corporate managers discussing the four short elements of the mission statement:
· Honor God (follow the golden rule);
· Deliver innovative business communications with more than expected value (go the extra mile for the customers, providing quality and not waiting for the competition, explains one executive);
· Inspire our employees to grow to their potential; and
· Make a fair profit.
One ATS executive notes that honoring God is at the top of the list while making a profit is at the bottom. But the tape acknowledges that, just as a human being has to breathe, a company has to make a profit in order to exist.
You need not limit yourself to just one medium for your mission statement. You can use posters, cards, fliers, slides, and just about anything you can name. CDROM, anyone?
Copyright of Nations Business is the property of US Chamber of Commerce and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
CEOs and development of the meaningful mission statement
Analoui, Farhad; Karami, Azhdar. Corporate Governance; Bradford Vol. 2, Iss. 3, (2002): 13-20. DOI:10.1108/14720700210440044
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Developing a mission statement has been considered a crucial factor in the formulation of business strategy in organisations. Mission statements have become a management tool most commonly used by chief executive officers (CEOs) over the last decade. An exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed strategically critical to the success of an enterprise is the development of a meaningful mission statement. This article explores the perceptions of CEOs of their mission statement in SMEs. It is based on the findings of recent research in 508 firms in the electrical and electronic industry in the UK. The study, amongst other things, investigated the existence and content of the mission statements and, accordingly, it determines the relationships between a SMEs development of a meaningful mission statement and selected performance outcomes of the firm.
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Keywords Top management, Strategic planning, Company performance, Small- to medium-sized enterprises, United Kingdom
Abstract Developing a mission statement has been considered
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a crucial factor in the formulation of business strategy in organisations. The mission statement promotes a sense of shared expectations in employees and, not surprisingly, it has recently been regarded as increasingly important in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the electronic industry. One major reasons for this is the growing complexity and dynamic competitive environments in which these enterprises have operated and managed to find themselves. Mission statements have become a management tool most commonly used by chief executive officers (CEOs) over the last decade. One exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed strategically critical to the success of an enterprise is the development of a meaningful mission statement. This article explores the perceptions of CEOs of their mission statement in SMEs. It is based on the findings of recent research in 508 firms in the electrical and electronic industry in the UK. The study, amongst other things, investigated the existence and content of the mission statements and, accordingly, it determines the relationships (if any) between a SMEs development of a meaningful mission statement and selected performance outcomes of the firm.
Introduction
Paying attention to mission statement is becoming a growing concern for the CEOs of small- and medium sized enterprises, especially in the electronic industry in the UK. One major reason for this is the increasingly complex and dynamic competitive environments in which SMEs nowadays find themselves. One strategic exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed critical to the success of a SME is the development of a meaningful mission statement. Mission statements, as a result, have become the management tool most commonly used by senior executives over the last decade. Yet, the empirical study of the strategic aspects of SMEs operation and CEOs have remained relatively neglected. Present research is a response to this need. It focuses on the SMEs in the British electronic industry and seeks to determine the relationships (if any) between a SMEs development of a mission statement and selected performance outcomes. More specifically, the research attempts to examine:
* the existence of mission statements and their purposes within the targeted firms;
* their content; and
* the relationship between firms mission statements and their performance in the British electronic industry.
Literature: a brief review
Strategy formulation is often referred to as strategic or long range planning and is said to be concerned with the development of a SMEs mission, objectives and strategies (Foster, 1993). It has been contended that the first step in the process of strategy formulation is defining the corporate mission (Lyles et al., 1993; McKiernan and Morris, 1995; Wheelen and Hunger, 1998). The mission statements therefore stand to promote a sense of shared expectations amongst employees and communicate a public image of the firm to important stakeholders and groups in the companys task environment (Germain and Cooper, 1990). The literature on mission statements in large firms and SMEs is both of a descriptive (Ackoff, 1987; Falsey, 1989; Campbell et al., 1990; Pearce and Robinson, 1994; Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2000) and prescriptive nature (Pearce, 1982; Want, 1986; Pearce and David, 1987). There seems to be an overwhelming consensus, however, that the development of business missions are fundamental to the survival and growth of any business (Levitt, 1960; Churchill and Lewis, 1983; Smith and Fleck, 1987; Falsey, 1989; Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2001 a; Analoui and Karami, 2002). For instance, Falsey (1989) illustrated that companies with mission statements expressing a sense of responsibility to the community have performed well over a sustained period of time. He concludes that those companies that had endured for at least one generation and had prepared a written set of principles stating their philosophy had higher levels of performance. It is further argued in the literature that the benefits organisations derive from mission statements address many of the organisational and leadership (Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2001 b) problems that characterise growing and developing SMEs (Simpson, 1994). A mission statement, therefore, allows the firm to articulate a strong vision for the organisation and to communicate that to its growing number of employees and professional managers (Analoui, 2000). The mission statement can also increase the firms legitimacy with old and new stakeholders such as financial institutions.
A fear of decreasing levels of customer service often prevents the entrepreneur from delegating day-to-day customer support activities. A mission statement focused on customer values can lead to creation of a customer service culture and increased levels of customer satisfaction as a result (Karami, 2001). More recently, the debate has been extended to questioning the benefits and usefulness of mission statements (Piercy and Morgan, 1994; Simpson, 1994). Those who oppose mission statements do so on the grounds that they are empty public relations initiatives; that mission statement formulation and implementation are a lot more difficult than the literature makes them out to be; and that companies with a good business mission do not need to compress their aims into a statement (Germain and Cooper, 1990; Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Rarick and Vitton, 1995; Analoui, 2002). Ackoff (1987, p. 30) has observed that most mission statements ... consist largely of pious platitudes. Calf ree (1993) also argues that messages about growth and profitability (Churchill and Lewis, 1983) are better communicated to Wall Street than to those within the organisation upon whom the organisations decision-making depends. Simpson (1994) also observes that mission statements are often vapid, such as we love our customers, we love our shareholders, we love our employees and are often disconnected from the true capabilities and strengths of the firm. It should not therefore come as a surprise to suggest that the results of two recent studies carried out in the field of SMEs (Pearce and David, 1987; OGorman and Doran, 1999) are of some significance. The study by Pearce and David (1987) is regarded as the first empirical attempt to investigate the relationship, if any, between the mission statement and organisational performance in 500 SMEs. It was discovered that higher performance firms seem to have a comparatively more comprehensive mission statement. Finally, in contrast to the above findings, elsewhere OGorman and Doran (1999) have concluded that high growth SMEs do not necessarily benefit from having a more comprehensive mission statement than low growth ones.
Methodology and scope of the study Sample
In this study, the sample of 508 firms has been drawn randomly from the small- and medium-size manufacturing enterprises in the electronic industry in the UK. The companies were identified using the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) based on satisfying two main criteria:
(1) having up to 250 employees; and
(2) having less than 50 million turnover in the last financial year.
These two criteria have been used widely in literature in defining and distinguishing SMEs from other firms (Hertz, 1982; Preston et at., 1986; Smith and Fleck, 1987; Smith, 1998).
Data collection and analysis
The main research instrument employed was a survey questionnaire. Data were collected via mail surveys from 132 (for a 27 percent response rate out of 508 firms) CEOs of the SMEs of the electronic manufacturing industry in the UK. A personalised cover letter which explained the aims and objectives of the research and provided assurances regarding the confidentiality of data accompanied the questionnaire. Managing directors were urged to personally participate in the survey. To minimise response bias, the participants were also provided with pre-addressed envelopes to enable them to return the completed questionnaires directly to the researchers. Both qualitative
Figure 1
and quantitative research methodologies were applied and consequently a comprehensive range of data was collected. Attention was paid to the purpose, the existence and contents of the mission statements. CEOs of the firms were asked to indicate whether or not their firms have developed a mission statement and, if so, what the purpose of having a mission statement was and accordingly what the content of it was. Moreover, CEOs were further asked to indicate how effectively they believed that the formal mission statement impacts on their firms performance.
In this research the company performance, a variable, was measured by self-reported ratings of the respondents concerning the indicators of the achievements of the intended outcomes, including financial performance and implementation of plans within the expected time and predicted cost. A five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (low extent of success) to 5 (high extent of success) was applied. The self-reporting nature of the performance utilised in this study has been widely employed in similar empirical enquires (Smith, 1998; Rangone, 1999).
Findings and discussion
In order to analyse the data and consequently discuss the results, the collected data were summarised using descriptive statistics. Of the 508 CEOs who were canvassed 132 personally completed and returned the questionnaires: a response rate of 27 percent. Descriptive data analysis shows that the majority of respondents (n = 116, 88 percent) were male, while only 12 percent of respondents (n = 16) were female. The respondents minimum number of total years of work experience was eight years and the maximum was 42 years (see Figure 1). Also, 73 percent of respondents reported that they have had formal management training. The number of employees of the firms varied from a minimum of 16 to maximum of 250).
As noted earlier, the criteria employed for measuring the firm size were the number of employees and annual turnover of the firms. Accordingly, the amount of turnover of the firms in the last financial year was between 1.25 million and 50 million.
Existence of a mission statement and its purpose
In order to explore why SMEs have a mission statement, it would be useful to compare the results of this study with the results of a similar study which has been carried out in large firms. Baetz and Bart (1996) worked on the issue of developing mission statements in 135 large Canadian organisations. The results demonstrated that mission statements have been, by and large, used by 86 percent of the firms involved in the study. They reported that the main reasons for having mission statements in large firms were to:
(1) guide the strategic planning system;
(2) define the organisations scope of business operations/ activities;
(3) provide a common purpose/direction transcending individual and department needs;
(4) promote a sense of shared expectations among all levels of employees, thereby building a strong corporate culture (i.e. shared value); and finally,
(5) guide leadership style (Baetz and Bart, 1996, p. 528).
In the case of SMEs the role of entrepreneurs in developing mission statements cannot be ignored (Germain and Cooper, 1990; Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Analoui, 2000; Karami and Analoui, 2001). CEOs were asked to indicate whether or not their firms have developed mission statements, and if so what was the main reasons) for that. The results showed that the majority of the firms (n = 104, 78 percent) do have formal developed mission statements, while only 25 respondents (19 percent) reported that they have not had formal mission statements in their organisations. Only 2 percent of the respondents (n = 3) left the above question unanswered (see Figure 2).
Our findings support the results of the previous studies. For instance, in Byars and Neils (1987) survey of 208 firms, 68 percent indicated that they had a mission statement. Also, in Davids (1989) survey of the Business Week 1,000, 41 percent indicated that they had a mission statement.
Accordingly the respondents were asked to indicate the reasons for having a mission statement. The results showed that the mission statements were being used in SMEs for different reasons. The main purposes of having mission statements, based on the respondents priority, are as follows:
* developing and planning business strategies;
* increasing profit and growth rate;
* promoting a sense of shared expectations between the entrepreneur and all employees; and to
* provide clarity of direction for the employees and managers/entrepreneurs.
These results are also in accordance with the findings of OGorman and Dorans (1999) study of mission statements in small- and medium-sized businesses. We found that, in small businesses, like large firms, a formal mission statement generally is regarded and used as an important tool for strategic planning. In SMEs mission statements were more related to strategy formulation rather than implementation of business strategies. Also, SMEs use mission statements for increasing their profit and growth within the industry.
While based on the results of the Baetz and Barts (1996) research in large firms, the second reason for having a mission statement is to define the organisations scope of business operations/activities. Promoting a shared thinking and expectation among owner managers/entrepreneurs and employees is another reason for having a mission statement in SMEs. Finally, providing clarity of direction for the firm is seen as being of the last of the four top reasons for having mission statements in SMEs.
The content of mission statements
It has been argued that a good mission statement tends to capture an organisations unique and enduring reason for energising stakeholders to pursue common goals (Rarick and Vitton, 1995; Bart, 1998; Karami, 2001). It is also envisaged that it will enable a more focused allocation of organisational resources. Bart (1988) based on his findings, provided the content of what he thinks a good mission statements ought to be (1998). Other empirical studies have attempted to define and analyse the content of mission statements in either large firms or small- and medium-sized enterprises (Preston et al., 1986; Campbell, 1993; Bart, 1998) using different approaches. Table I illustrates a sample of major studies involved in identifying and analysing the components of mission statements. Pearce and Davids (1987) research, for example, is probably the very first attempt to empirically identify the content of mission statements. They identified the specification of target customers and the markets as the highest in terms of frequency, and the identification of the firms desired public image as the lowest frequency in turn.
Figure 2
Baetz and Bart (1996), in their study of mission statements in 135 Canadian firms, developed a number of categories for analysing the statements using grounded theory approach. Concerning the content of the mission statements, they contended that:
... the typical mission statement contained: essentially only one financial objective (e.g. to enhance profitability and long-term value), or none at all; one or two non-financial objectives (e.g. to provide challenging work environment); one value/belief/philosophy statement (e.g. to be a responsible company); the organisations definition of success (e.g. meet or exceed customers expectations); the organisations number one priority; a definition of the organisations strategy (i.e. a definition of specific products, specific markets and two bases for competing) and reference to one stakeholder (typically the customer) (Baetz and Bart, 1996, p. 528).
Accordingly, OGorman and Doran (1999), in their recent study, found that the mission statement in SMEs tends to place more emphasis on concern for survival, product or services, and the concern for the customers. Their findings is similar to that of Pearce and David (1987). It was also discovered by OGorman and Doran (1999) that the least important components of mission statements in SMEs are those which relate to customer/market, concern for suppliers and the core technology.
In comparison to the previous studies, we decided to identify the components of the firms mission statement based on the the CEOs perception and priority. This method is very similar to the methodology employed by previous researchers (Rarick and Vitton, 1995; OGorman and Doran, 1999; Bart, 2000; Karami and Analoui, 2001). Thus, the respondents were asked to list the components of the mission statements of their firms. An analysis of the data shows that the CEOs of the firms involved in the survey emphasised on long term profit, survival and growth as the first priority in their mission statements (74 percent). In this respect, a similar result has been reported by Baetz and Bart (1996) for financial objectives (46 percent); and OGorman and Doran (1999) for concern for survival (72 percent). These findings contrast with the results of our research which shows that the CEOs placed emphasis on 11 concern for supplier (9 percent) as the least important to them (see Table II). Based on the analysis of the data collected, generally, a mission statement in a SME typically contained: long term profit, survival and growth; customer satisfaction; core technology; market; company philosophy and values; product and services quality; public image; geographic domain; self-concept; and concern for suppliers as main concerns for the CEOs involved.
Table I
Table II
The customer satisfaction component of the statement, which was the third most frequent (64 percent) in OGorman and Dorans (1999) study, was the second most frequent component (67 percent) in our study. More especially, the core technology component which was regarded as the fourth most frequent in Pearce and Davids (1987) study in the USA, and ranked as non in OGorman and Dorans (1999) study in Ireland, was the third most frequent in our survey. Perhaps the technology intensive nature of the electronic industry could be considered as an important factor in our case. On the other hand, the data analysis shows that the three least important components of the mission statements were; geographic domain, self-concept, and finally the concern for suppliers.
Mission statements and firms performance
It has been argued that one of the reasons for the lack of consistent guidelines concerning the development of mission statements is that researchers have not attempted - or have not been able - to empirically link their recommendations to the firms performance (Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Analoui, 1999; Bart, 2000). As noted earlier, the study by Pearce and David (1987) was probably the first attempt to empirically investigate any potential relationship between mission statement and firm performance. They demonstrate that a relationship does exist between selected mission statement components and one measure of performance, that is to say, high versus low performing Fortune 500 companies. The end results are that:
* higher performing firms have comparatively more comprehensive mission statements; and
* corporate philosophy, self-concept, and public image are especially important components to be included in mission statements.
In addition they contend that their findings provide a realistic portrayal of the components used in corporate mission statements. Two years later, David (1989) performed a content analysis of the mission statements of 75 Business Week 1,000 firms and tried to investigate the possibility of a link between mission statements and the firms performance. He measured the firms performance in terms of gross earnings, return on investment (ROI), and earnings per share (EPS). The results of the study showed that there was no significant relationship between mission statement and firm performance. Similarly, Klemm et al. (1991), in their study of mission statements of 59 top companies from the Times 1,000, found no significant differences in performance (measured in terms of employee turnover and profits) between them. In contrast, there have been several other successful attempts at linking mission statements to firm performance. For instance, Bart and Baetz (1998) found significant correlation between selected mission content items (i.e. financial objectives, values, purpose business strategy and length) and such performance measures as return on sales, return on assets, percentage change in sales and percentage change in profits. More recently, OGorman and Doran (1999) investigated the relationship between mission statement and firm performance in Irish SMEs. They reported that:
... high-growth SMEs do not have more comprehensive mission statements (ones that exhibit more of the eight components) than low-growth SMEs ... this study suggests that including company philosophy, self-concept, or public image in a mission statement does not improve a firms performance. Neither more comprehensive or high content mission statements are more likely to be correlated with high performance (OGorman and Doran, 1999, p. 64).
In our study, we examined CEOs perceptions of the importance of having formal mission statements on the firm performance. The majority of respondents (n = 89, 67 percent) considered a written and formal mission statement as an essential factor in increasing firm performance. Only 3 percent of respondents (n = 4) believed that having a mission statement does not play a significant role in developing firm strategies and achieving its objectives. In order to analyse the impact of the mission statement on firm performance, the firms responding to our survey were ranked into three categories based on their performance, namely high performance, moderate performance, and low performance. This method already has been used largely in similar research (e.g. Campbell, 1993; Smith, 1998; OGorman and Doran, 1999; Analoui, 2000). From all 132 firms involved in the survey, 52 were ranked in the top performing quartile (high performance), 41 in moderate performance, and 39 were ranked in the lowest performing quartile (low performance). We excluded the firms with moderate performance and consequently compared the percentage of the high-performer with that of the low-- performer firms. As illustrated (see Table III), the high and low performance SMEs are compared for each of the ten components used in their mission statements.
It is therefore concluded that high performance firms seem to place more stress on long term profit, survival and growth (91 percent), customer satisfaction (82 percent), core technology (76 percent) and geographic domain (69 percent). Interestingly, in comparison low performance firms tend to place more emphasis on long term profit, survival and growth (83 percent), core technology (73 percent), and product and service quality (64 percent). Both low and high performance firms place less emphasis on concern for suppliers (high 17 percent, and low 12 percent).
The results of this study are in line with the findings of OGorman and Dorans (1999) work, indicating that high performance firms do not necessarily have a more comprehensive mission statements than the low performing firms. In comparison with the previous studies, we found that, respondents emphasised on one additional component included in the firms mission statements, namely core technology. Perhaps it is because of the dynamic nature of the electronic industry and that the firms seems to have concentrated on developing relevant technology.
Managerial implications
Briefly, in this article we have explored the perceptions of CEOs of mission statements and their components in small and medium sized enterprises within the electronic industry. Attempts have been made to shed light on the existence, purposes, and differing contents of mission statements on the one hand and their relationships with the firms performance on the other. The major implications of this study are as follows:
* Since CEOs are the prime candidates for the development of the mission statements and the formulation of related polices within their firms, it is prudent that their perceptions and views, no matter how subjective, are taken into consideration. Only the senior managers involved can best explain their own thoughts, interests and rationale for adopting a particular stand in relation to mission, content and adopted strategies for their realisation.
* The mission statements seem to have been used for varying and different reasons. Different benefits have been reported to be accrued from having mission statement for SMEs. For instance, the mission statement is perceived as being necessary for developing and planning business strategies, increasing profit and growth rate of the firm, and promoting a sense of shared expectations among entrepreneurs and employees alike. Therefore, it can be confidently recommended to the practitioners in the industry that they ought to develop a mission statement if they have not done so yet.
* Based on data analysis, generally, a typical mission statement in an SME may contain: long term profit, survival and growth; customer satisfaction; core technology; market; company philosophy and values; product and services quality; public image; geographic domain; self-concept; and concern for suppliers. However, particularly in the electronic industry, the core technology component which has not been included in the literature, has been considered as being amongst one of the top three components of mission statements. Accordingly it is proposed that the practitioners in the electronic industry are encouraged to consider these findings when developing and/or reviewing their mission statements.
* By and large, increasingly the firms performance is being positively related to developing mission statements. The blind adoption of strategic management models used in large firms, including the development of a mission statement, is perhaps inappropriate for SMEs. Even with a mission statement specifically developed for SMEs, it may or may not have an impact on firm performance. In this respect, a more considered view would be to suggest that a firm must have a clear sense of direction, that is simply
Table III
possessing a clear mission since in SMEs, in general, the technical aspects of the entrepreneurs strategic awareness can play a significant role in determining the nature of the mission statement used within the SMEs. Thus, it can be suggested that not only it is necessary to develop mission statements equally, it is important to provide clarity of direction for the human resources of the firms involved.
* Finally, it is crucial to widely disseminate and clarify its intended purposes to the human resource of the firm in order to secure their psychological acceptance and their commitment to the realisation of its component aims. Without such an attempt, mission statements stand as an isolated cosmetic effort which is largely developed for its own elegance rather than its workability.
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References
References
References
Ackoff (1987), Mission statements, Planning Review, Vol. 15, pp. 30-31.
References
Analoui, F. (1999), Eight parameters of managerial effectiveness: a study of senior managers in Ghana, The Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 36-9.
Analoui, F. (2000), What motivates senior managers: the case of Romania, The Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 324-6.
References
Analoui, F. (2002), The Changing Patterns of Human Resource Management, Ashgate, Aldershot.
Analoui, F. and Karami, A. (2002), How chief executives perception of the environment impacts on company performance, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 290-305.
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AuthorAffiliation
Farhad Analoui and Azhdar Karami
AuthorAffiliation
Farhad Analoui is Reader in Human Resource and Management at the Bradford Centre for International Development, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK. Azhdar Karami is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the Tabriz University, Iran.
Copyright MCB UP Limited (MCB) 2002
CEOs and development of the meaningful mission statement
Analoui, Farhad; Karami, Azhdar. Corporate Governance; Bradford Vol. 2, Iss. 3, (2002): 13-20. DOI:10.1108/14720700210440044
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Developing a mission statement has been considered a crucial factor in the formulation of business strategy in organisations. Mission statements have become a management tool most commonly used by chief executive officers (CEOs) over the last decade. An exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed strategically critical to the success of an enterprise is the development of a meaningful mission statement. This article explores the perceptions of CEOs of their mission statement in SMEs. It is based on the findings of recent research in 508 firms in the electrical and electronic industry in the UK. The study, amongst other things, investigated the existence and content of the mission statements and, accordingly, it determines the relationships between a SMEs development of a meaningful mission statement and selected performance outcomes of the firm.
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Keywords Top management, Strategic planning, Company performance, Small- to medium-sized enterprises, United Kingdom
Abstract Developing a mission statement has been considered
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a crucial factor in the formulation of business strategy in organisations. The mission statement promotes a sense of shared expectations in employees and, not surprisingly, it has recently been regarded as increasingly important in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the electronic industry. One major reasons for this is the growing complexity and dynamic competitive environments in which these enterprises have operated and managed to find themselves. Mission statements have become a management tool most commonly used by chief executive officers (CEOs) over the last decade. One exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed strategically critical to the success of an enterprise is the development of a meaningful mission statement. This article explores the perceptions of CEOs of their mission statement in SMEs. It is based on the findings of recent research in 508 firms in the electrical and electronic industry in the UK. The study, amongst other things, investigated the existence and content of the mission statements and, accordingly, it determines the relationships (if any) between a SMEs development of a meaningful mission statement and selected performance outcomes of the firm.
Introduction
Paying attention to mission statement is becoming a growing concern for the CEOs of small- and medium sized enterprises, especially in the electronic industry in the UK. One major reason for this is the increasingly complex and dynamic competitive environments in which SMEs nowadays find themselves. One strategic exercise that both academics and practitioners have deemed critical to the success of a SME is the development of a meaningful mission statement. Mission statements, as a result, have become the management tool most commonly used by senior executives over the last decade. Yet, the empirical study of the strategic aspects of SMEs operation and CEOs have remained relatively neglected. Present research is a response to this need. It focuses on the SMEs in the British electronic industry and seeks to determine the relationships (if any) between a SMEs development of a mission statement and selected performance outcomes. More specifically, the research attempts to examine:
* the existence of mission statements and their purposes within the targeted firms;
* their content; and
* the relationship between firms mission statements and their performance in the British electronic industry.
Literature: a brief review
Strategy formulation is often referred to as strategic or long range planning and is said to be concerned with the development of a SMEs mission, objectives and strategies (Foster, 1993). It has been contended that the first step in the process of strategy formulation is defining the corporate mission (Lyles et al., 1993; McKiernan and Morris, 1995; Wheelen and Hunger, 1998). The mission statements therefore stand to promote a sense of shared expectations amongst employees and communicate a public image of the firm to important stakeholders and groups in the companys task environment (Germain and Cooper, 1990). The literature on mission statements in large firms and SMEs is both of a descriptive (Ackoff, 1987; Falsey, 1989; Campbell et al., 1990; Pearce and Robinson, 1994; Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2000) and prescriptive nature (Pearce, 1982; Want, 1986; Pearce and David, 1987). There seems to be an overwhelming consensus, however, that the development of business missions are fundamental to the survival and growth of any business (Levitt, 1960; Churchill and Lewis, 1983; Smith and Fleck, 1987; Falsey, 1989; Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2001 a; Analoui and Karami, 2002). For instance, Falsey (1989) illustrated that companies with mission statements expressing a sense of responsibility to the community have performed well over a sustained period of time. He concludes that those companies that had endured for at least one generation and had prepared a written set of principles stating their philosophy had higher levels of performance. It is further argued in the literature that the benefits organisations derive from mission statements address many of the organisational and leadership (Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2001 b) problems that characterise growing and developing SMEs (Simpson, 1994). A mission statement, therefore, allows the firm to articulate a strong vision for the organisation and to communicate that to its growing number of employees and professional managers (Analoui, 2000). The mission statement can also increase the firms legitimacy with old and new stakeholders such as financial institutions.
A fear of decreasing levels of customer service often prevents the entrepreneur from delegating day-to-day customer support activities. A mission statement focused on customer values can lead to creation of a customer service culture and increased levels of customer satisfaction as a result (Karami, 2001). More recently, the debate has been extended to questioning the benefits and usefulness of mission statements (Piercy and Morgan, 1994; Simpson, 1994). Those who oppose mission statements do so on the grounds that they are empty public relations initiatives; that mission statement formulation and implementation are a lot more difficult than the literature makes them out to be; and that companies with a good business mission do not need to compress their aims into a statement (Germain and Cooper, 1990; Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Rarick and Vitton, 1995; Analoui, 2002). Ackoff (1987, p. 30) has observed that most mission statements ... consist largely of pious platitudes. Calf ree (1993) also argues that messages about growth and profitability (Churchill and Lewis, 1983) are better communicated to Wall Street than to those within the organisation upon whom the organisations decision-making depends. Simpson (1994) also observes that mission statements are often vapid, such as we love our customers, we love our shareholders, we love our employees and are often disconnected from the true capabilities and strengths of the firm. It should not therefore come as a surprise to suggest that the results of two recent studies carried out in the field of SMEs (Pearce and David, 1987; OGorman and Doran, 1999) are of some significance. The study by Pearce and David (1987) is regarded as the first empirical attempt to investigate the relationship, if any, between the mission statement and organisational performance in 500 SMEs. It was discovered that higher performance firms seem to have a comparatively more comprehensive mission statement. Finally, in contrast to the above findings, elsewhere OGorman and Doran (1999) have concluded that high growth SMEs do not necessarily benefit from having a more comprehensive mission statement than low growth ones.
Methodology and scope of the study Sample
In this study, the sample of 508 firms has been drawn randomly from the small- and medium-size manufacturing enterprises in the electronic industry in the UK. The companies were identified using the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) based on satisfying two main criteria:
(1) having up to 250 employees; and
(2) having less than 50 million turnover in the last financial year.
These two criteria have been used widely in literature in defining and distinguishing SMEs from other firms (Hertz, 1982; Preston et at., 1986; Smith and Fleck, 1987; Smith, 1998).
Data collection and analysis
The main research instrument employed was a survey questionnaire. Data were collected via mail surveys from 132 (for a 27 percent response rate out of 508 firms) CEOs of the SMEs of the electronic manufacturing industry in the UK. A personalised cover letter which explained the aims and objectives of the research and provided assurances regarding the confidentiality of data accompanied the questionnaire. Managing directors were urged to personally participate in the survey. To minimise response bias, the participants were also provided with pre-addressed envelopes to enable them to return the completed questionnaires directly to the researchers. Both qualitative
Figure 1
and quantitative research methodologies were applied and consequently a comprehensive range of data was collected. Attention was paid to the purpose, the existence and contents of the mission statements. CEOs of the firms were asked to indicate whether or not their firms have developed a mission statement and, if so, what the purpose of having a mission statement was and accordingly what the content of it was. Moreover, CEOs were further asked to indicate how effectively they believed that the formal mission statement impacts on their firms performance.
In this research the company performance, a variable, was measured by self-reported ratings of the respondents concerning the indicators of the achievements of the intended outcomes, including financial performance and implementation of plans within the expected time and predicted cost. A five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (low extent of success) to 5 (high extent of success) was applied. The self-reporting nature of the performance utilised in this study has been widely employed in similar empirical enquires (Smith, 1998; Rangone, 1999).
Findings and discussion
In order to analyse the data and consequently discuss the results, the collected data were summarised using descriptive statistics. Of the 508 CEOs who were canvassed 132 personally completed and returned the questionnaires: a response rate of 27 percent. Descriptive data analysis shows that the majority of respondents (n = 116, 88 percent) were male, while only 12 percent of respondents (n = 16) were female. The respondents minimum number of total years of work experience was eight years and the maximum was 42 years (see Figure 1). Also, 73 percent of respondents reported that they have had formal management training. The number of employees of the firms varied from a minimum of 16 to maximum of 250).
As noted earlier, the criteria employed for measuring the firm size were the number of employees and annual turnover of the firms. Accordingly, the amount of turnover of the firms in the last financial year was between 1.25 million and 50 million.
Existence of a mission statement and its purpose
In order to explore why SMEs have a mission statement, it would be useful to compare the results of this study with the results of a similar study which has been carried out in large firms. Baetz and Bart (1996) worked on the issue of developing mission statements in 135 large Canadian organisations. The results demonstrated that mission statements have been, by and large, used by 86 percent of the firms involved in the study. They reported that the main reasons for having mission statements in large firms were to:
(1) guide the strategic planning system;
(2) define the organisations scope of business operations/ activities;
(3) provide a common purpose/direction transcending individual and department needs;
(4) promote a sense of shared expectations among all levels of employees, thereby building a strong corporate culture (i.e. shared value); and finally,
(5) guide leadership style (Baetz and Bart, 1996, p. 528).
In the case of SMEs the role of entrepreneurs in developing mission statements cannot be ignored (Germain and Cooper, 1990; Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Analoui, 2000; Karami and Analoui, 2001). CEOs were asked to indicate whether or not their firms have developed mission statements, and if so what was the main reasons) for that. The results showed that the majority of the firms (n = 104, 78 percent) do have formal developed mission statements, while only 25 respondents (19 percent) reported that they have not had formal mission statements in their organisations. Only 2 percent of the respondents (n = 3) left the above question unanswered (see Figure 2).
Our findings support the results of the previous studies. For instance, in Byars and Neils (1987) survey of 208 firms, 68 percent indicated that they had a mission statement. Also, in Davids (1989) survey of the Business Week 1,000, 41 percent indicated that they had a mission statement.
Accordingly the respondents were asked to indicate the reasons for having a mission statement. The results showed that the mission statements were being used in SMEs for different reasons. The main purposes of having mission statements, based on the respondents priority, are as follows:
* developing and planning business strategies;
* increasing profit and growth rate;
* promoting a sense of shared expectations between the entrepreneur and all employees; and to
* provide clarity of direction for the employees and managers/entrepreneurs.
These results are also in accordance with the findings of OGorman and Dorans (1999) study of mission statements in small- and medium-sized businesses. We found that, in small businesses, like large firms, a formal mission statement generally is regarded and used as an important tool for strategic planning. In SMEs mission statements were more related to strategy formulation rather than implementation of business strategies. Also, SMEs use mission statements for increasing their profit and growth within the industry.
While based on the results of the Baetz and Barts (1996) research in large firms, the second reason for having a mission statement is to define the organisations scope of business operations/activities. Promoting a shared thinking and expectation among owner managers/entrepreneurs and employees is another reason for having a mission statement in SMEs. Finally, providing clarity of direction for the firm is seen as being of the last of the four top reasons for having mission statements in SMEs.
The content of mission statements
It has been argued that a good mission statement tends to capture an organisations unique and enduring reason for energising stakeholders to pursue common goals (Rarick and Vitton, 1995; Bart, 1998; Karami, 2001). It is also envisaged that it will enable a more focused allocation of organisational resources. Bart (1988) based on his findings, provided the content of what he thinks a good mission statements ought to be (1998). Other empirical studies have attempted to define and analyse the content of mission statements in either large firms or small- and medium-sized enterprises (Preston et al., 1986; Campbell, 1993; Bart, 1998) using different approaches. Table I illustrates a sample of major studies involved in identifying and analysing the components of mission statements. Pearce and Davids (1987) research, for example, is probably the very first attempt to empirically identify the content of mission statements. They identified the specification of target customers and the markets as the highest in terms of frequency, and the identification of the firms desired public image as the lowest frequency in turn.
Figure 2
Baetz and Bart (1996), in their study of mission statements in 135 Canadian firms, developed a number of categories for analysing the statements using grounded theory approach. Concerning the content of the mission statements, they contended that:
... the typical mission statement contained: essentially only one financial objective (e.g. to enhance profitability and long-term value), or none at all; one or two non-financial objectives (e.g. to provide challenging work environment); one value/belief/philosophy statement (e.g. to be a responsible company); the organisations definition of success (e.g. meet or exceed customers expectations); the organisations number one priority; a definition of the organisations strategy (i.e. a definition of specific products, specific markets and two bases for competing) and reference to one stakeholder (typically the customer) (Baetz and Bart, 1996, p. 528).
Accordingly, OGorman and Doran (1999), in their recent study, found that the mission statement in SMEs tends to place more emphasis on concern for survival, product or services, and the concern for the customers. Their findings is similar to that of Pearce and David (1987). It was also discovered by OGorman and Doran (1999) that the least important components of mission statements in SMEs are those which relate to customer/market, concern for suppliers and the core technology.
In comparison to the previous studies, we decided to identify the components of the firms mission statement based on the the CEOs perception and priority. This method is very similar to the methodology employed by previous researchers (Rarick and Vitton, 1995; OGorman and Doran, 1999; Bart, 2000; Karami and Analoui, 2001). Thus, the respondents were asked to list the components of the mission statements of their firms. An analysis of the data shows that the CEOs of the firms involved in the survey emphasised on long term profit, survival and growth as the first priority in their mission statements (74 percent). In this respect, a similar result has been reported by Baetz and Bart (1996) for financial objectives (46 percent); and OGorman and Doran (1999) for concern for survival (72 percent). These findings contrast with the results of our research which shows that the CEOs placed emphasis on 11 concern for supplier (9 percent) as the least important to them (see Table II). Based on the analysis of the data collected, generally, a mission statement in a SME typically contained: long term profit, survival and growth; customer satisfaction; core technology; market; company philosophy and values; product and services quality; public image; geographic domain; self-concept; and concern for suppliers as main concerns for the CEOs involved.
Table I
Table II
The customer satisfaction component of the statement, which was the third most frequent (64 percent) in OGorman and Dorans (1999) study, was the second most frequent component (67 percent) in our study. More especially, the core technology component which was regarded as the fourth most frequent in Pearce and Davids (1987) study in the USA, and ranked as non in OGorman and Dorans (1999) study in Ireland, was the third most frequent in our survey. Perhaps the technology intensive nature of the electronic industry could be considered as an important factor in our case. On the other hand, the data analysis shows that the three least important components of the mission statements were; geographic domain, self-concept, and finally the concern for suppliers.
Mission statements and firms performance
It has been argued that one of the reasons for the lack of consistent guidelines concerning the development of mission statements is that researchers have not attempted - or have not been able - to empirically link their recommendations to the firms performance (Ireland and Hitt, 1992; Analoui, 1999; Bart, 2000). As noted earlier, the study by Pearce and David (1987) was probably the first attempt to empirically investigate any potential relationship between mission statement and firm performance. They demonstrate that a relationship does exist between selected mission statement components and one measure of performance, that is to say, high versus low performing Fortune 500 companies. The end results are that:
* higher performing firms have comparatively more comprehensive mission statements; and
* corporate philosophy, self-concept, and public image are especially important components to be included in mission statements.
In addition they contend that their findings provide a realistic portrayal of the components used in corporate mission statements. Two years later, David (1989) performed a content analysis of the mission statements of 75 Business Week 1,000 firms and tried to investigate the possibility of a link between mission statements and the firms performance. He measured the firms performance in terms of gross earnings, return on investment (ROI), and earnings per share (EPS). The results of the study showed that there was no significant relationship between mission statement and firm performance. Similarly, Klemm et al. (1991), in their study of mission statements of 59 top companies from the Times 1,000, found no significant differences in performance (measured in terms of employee turnover and profits) between them. In contrast, there have been several other successful attempts at linking mission statements to firm performance. For instance, Bart and Baetz (1998) found significant correlation between selected mission content items (i.e. financial objectives, values, purpose business strategy and length) and such performance measures as return on sales, return on assets, percentage change in sales and percentage change in profits. More recently, OGorman and Doran (1999) investigated the relationship between mission statement and firm performance in Irish SMEs. They reported that:
... high-growth SMEs do not have more comprehensive mission statements (ones that exhibit more of the eight components) than low-growth SMEs ... this study suggests that including company philosophy, self-concept, or public image in a mission statement does not improve a firms performance. Neither more comprehensive or high content mission statements are more likely to be correlated with high performance (OGorman and Doran, 1999, p. 64).
In our study, we examined CEOs perceptions of the importance of having formal mission statements on the firm performance. The majority of respondents (n = 89, 67 percent) considered a written and formal mission statement as an essential factor in increasing firm performance. Only 3 percent of respondents (n = 4) believed that having a mission statement does not play a significant role in developing firm strategies and achieving its objectives. In order to analyse the impact of the mission statement on firm performance, the firms responding to our survey were ranked into three categories based on their performance, namely high performance, moderate performance, and low performance. This method already has been used largely in similar research (e.g. Campbell, 1993; Smith, 1998; OGorman and Doran, 1999; Analoui, 2000). From all 132 firms involved in the survey, 52 were ranked in the top performing quartile (high performance), 41 in moderate performance, and 39 were ranked in the lowest performing quartile (low performance). We excluded the firms with moderate performance and consequently compared the percentage of the high-performer with that of the low-- performer firms. As illustrated (see Table III), the high and low performance SMEs are compared for each of the ten components used in their mission statements.
It is therefore concluded that high performance firms seem to place more stress on long term profit, survival and growth (91 percent), customer satisfaction (82 percent), core technology (76 percent) and geographic domain (69 percent). Interestingly, in comparison low performance firms tend to place more emphasis on long term profit, survival and growth (83 percent), core technology (73 percent), and product and service quality (64 percent). Both low and high performance firms place less emphasis on concern for suppliers (high 17 percent, and low 12 percent).
The results of this study are in line with the findings of OGorman and Dorans (1999) work, indicating that high performance firms do not necessarily have a more comprehensive mission statements than the low performing firms. In comparison with the previous studies, we found that, respondents emphasised on one additional component included in the firms mission statements, namely core technology. Perhaps it is because of the dynamic nature of the electronic industry and that the firms seems to have concentrated on developing relevant technology.
Managerial implications
Briefly, in this article we have explored the perceptions of CEOs of mission statements and their components in small and medium sized enterprises within the electronic industry. Attempts have been made to shed light on the existence, purposes, and differing contents of mission statements on the one hand and their relationships with the firms performance on the other. The major implications of this study are as follows:
* Since CEOs are the prime candidates for the development of the mission statements and the formulation of related polices within their firms, it is prudent that their perceptions and views, no matter how subjective, are taken into consideration. Only the senior managers involved can best explain their own thoughts, interests and rationale for adopting a particular stand in relation to mission, content and adopted strategies for their realisation.
* The mission statements seem to have been used for varying and different reasons. Different benefits have been reported to be accrued from having mission statement for SMEs. For instance, the mission statement is perceived as being necessary for developing and planning business strategies, increasing profit and growth rate of the firm, and promoting a sense of shared expectations among entrepreneurs and employees alike. Therefore, it can be confidently recommended to the practitioners in the industry that they ought to develop a mission statement if they have not done so yet.
* Based on data analysis, generally, a typical mission statement in an SME may contain: long term profit, survival and growth; customer satisfaction; core technology; market; company philosophy and values; product and services quality; public image; geographic domain; self-concept; and concern for suppliers. However, particularly in the electronic industry, the core technology component which has not been included in the literature, has been considered as being amongst one of the top three components of mission statements. Accordingly it is proposed that the practitioners in the electronic industry are encouraged to consider these findings when developing and/or reviewing their mission statements.
* By and large, increasingly the firms performance is being positively related to developing mission statements. The blind adoption of strategic management models used in large firms, including the development of a mission statement, is perhaps inappropriate for SMEs. Even with a mission statement specifically developed for SMEs, it may or may not have an impact on firm performance. In this respect, a more considered view would be to suggest that a firm must have a clear sense of direction, that is simply
Table III
possessing a clear mission since in SMEs, in general, the technical aspects of the entrepreneurs strategic awareness can play a significant role in determining the nature of the mission statement used within the SMEs. Thus, it can be suggested that not only it is necessary to develop mission statements equally, it is important to provide clarity of direction for the human resources of the firms involved.
* Finally, it is crucial to widely disseminate and clarify its intended purposes to the human resource of the firm in order to secure their psychological acceptance and their commitment to the realisation of its component aims. Without such an attempt, mission statements stand as an isolated cosmetic effort which is largely developed for its own elegance rather than its workability.
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References
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Ackoff (1987), Mission statements, Planning Review, Vol. 15, pp. 30-31.
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Analoui, F. (1999), Eight parameters of managerial effectiveness: a study of senior managers in Ghana, The Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 36-9.
Analoui, F. (2000), What motivates senior managers: the case of Romania, The Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 324-6.
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Analoui, F. (2002), The Changing Patterns of Human Resource Management, Ashgate, Aldershot.
Analoui, F. and Karami, A. (2002), How chief executives perception of the environment impacts on company performance, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 290-305.
Baetz, M.C. and Bart, CK. (1996), Developing mission statements which work, Long Range Planning, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 526-33.
References
Bart, CK. (1998), A comparison of mission statements and their rationales in innovative and non-innovative firms, International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 16 No. 1-3, pp. 64-77.
Bart, CK. (2000), Mission statements in Canadian not-for-profit hospitals: does process matter?, Health Care Management Review, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 45-63.
Bart, CK. and Baetz, M.C. (1998), The relationship between mission statements and firm performance: an exploratory study, The Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 36 No. 26, pp. 823-53.
Byars, L.L. and Neil, T.C. (1987), Organizational philosophy and mission statement, Planning Review, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 32-5. Calfree, D. (1993), Get your mission statement working!, Management Review, Vol. 82, pp. 54-7.
Campbell, A. (1993), The power of mission: aligning strategy and culture, Planning Review, special issue.
Campbell, A., Devine, M. and Young, D. (1990), A Sense of Mission, Hutchinson, London.
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Ireland, R.D. and Hitt, MA. (1992), Mission statements: importance, challenge and recommendations for development, Business Horizons, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 34-42.
Kakabadse, A. and Kakabadse, N. (2000), Leading the path: future role of IS/IT professionals, The Journal of Management Development, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 97-155.
Kakabadse, A. and Kakabadse, N. (2001 a), Essence of leadership, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 5 pp. 249-52.
References
Kakabadse, A. and Kakabadse, N. (2001 b), Dynamics of executive succession, Corporate Governance: The International Journal ol Effective Board Performance, Vol. 1 No. 3, p. 914.
Karami, A. (2001), Business strategy, environment analysis, and company performance: the evidence from the UK electronic industry, International Business and Economics Research Conference, CO, October 8-12.
References
Karami, A. and Analoui, F. (2001), Strategy, mission statement and firm performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), Small Business and Enterprise Development Conference, University of Leicester, Leicester, 29-30 March.
Klemm, M., Sanderson, S. and Luffman, G. (1991), Mission statements: selling corporate values to employees, Long Range Planning, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 73-8.
Levitt, T. (1960), Marketing myopia, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 38, pp. 24-47.
References
Lyles, M.S., Inga, J., Burdeane Orris and Kurako, D. (1993), Formalised planning in small business: increasing strategic choices, Journal of Small Business Management, pp. 38-50.
McKiernan, P. and Morris, C. (1995), Strategic planning and financial performance in UK SMEs: does formality matter?, British Journal of Management, Vol. 5, pp. 31-41.
OGorman, C. and Doran, R. (1999), Mission statements in small and medium sized businesses, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 59-66.
Pearce, J. (1982), The company mission as strategic tool, Sloan Management Review, Spring, pp. 15-24.
Pearce, J. and David, F. (1987), Corporate mission statement: the bottom line, Executive, Vol. 1 No, 2, pp. 109-16.
Pearce, J. and Robinson, R. (1994), Strategic Management: Strategy Formulation and Implementation, 5th ed., Irwin, Boston, MA. Piercy, F. and Morgan, N. (1994), Mission analysis: an operational approach, Journal of General Management, Vol. 19,
pp. 1-19.
References
Preston, R.A., Albaum, G. and Kozmetsky (1986), The publics definition of small business, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 24 No. 3.
Rangone, A. (1999), A resource based approach to strategy analysis in small-medium sized enterprises, Small Business Economics, Vol. 2, pp. 233-48.
Rarick, C. and Vitton, J. (1995), Mission statements make cents, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 16, pp. 11-12.
Simpson, D. (1994), Rethinking vision and mission, Planning Review, Vol. 22, p. 911.
References
Smith, J.A. (1998), Strategies for start-ups, Long Range Planning, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 857-72.
Smith, J.G. and Fleck, V. (1987), Business strategies in small high technology companies, Long Range Planning, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 61-8.
References
Want, J. (1986), Corporate mission: the intangible contribution to performance, Management Review, August, pp. 40-50.
Wheelen, TL. and Hunger, J.D. (1998), Strategic Management and Business Policy, 6th ed., Addision-Wesley, New York, NY.
AuthorAffiliation
Farhad Analoui and Azhdar Karami
AuthorAffiliation
Farhad Analoui is Reader in Human Resource and Management at the Bradford Centre for International Development, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK. Azhdar Karami is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the Tabriz University, Iran.
Copyright MCB UP Limited (MCB) 2002
Crafting Goals and Creating Messaging
This unit focuses on strategies for planning effective communication. While you will not be able to prepare for all the communications you will encounter, you can plan for most of them. The best communication will be unsuccessful if it is presented to the wrong audience or with the wrong goals. Additionally, there are multiple media channel options to choose from when deciding how your communication will be delivered, but not all are appropriate for each communication’s purpose. This unit explains the media channel options available and provides suggestions and considerations for selecting them. Lastly, strategies that have made other brands famous are presented for you to learn how to determine the best plan for effectively communicating your organization’s brand.
When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver Herbert M. Sancianco Abstract: When a product or service is advertised to generate an awareness and a purchase interest, it makes a promise of what it can do for its target market as it satisfies a need or want. The promise it makes describes the brand’s utilitarian benefit in a few chosen words. The promise is usually followed by a claim of superiority, which further sets it apart from competition. Making a claim is one thing, while delivering the sensory results or the experience is another. In a crowded product category, both statements are usually similarly expressed by all the players. When these do not match with the user experience, then the brand is in trouble. The reasons for the failure are traceable to the ad claim that is unbelievable or no longer credible, to the company employees who don’t support the claim in real terms, or to the product itself, which is the center of the problem. Keywords: Curiosity, Ineptitude, Miscommunication, Product shortcomings, Purchase attraction, Undelivered benefits, Unhappy customer experience There is always a reason for buying a product or contracting a service. There is always a need or want that needs to be satisfied or fulfilled. The first purchase and use determines what comes next—satisfaction to purchase again, to switch loyalties, or to forget it altogether. The frequency of purchase determines a brand’s market health and competitive advantage. The choice that is made of what brand name to purchase is usually influenced by an advertisement, a favorable endorsement from a friend or relative, a “door-to-door” salesman, a trusted professional, an attractive price offer, or the product promoter at a retail store. It sounds good, looks good, smells great, and feels right—these are the initial sensory reactions before the product is bought and consumed. Herbert M. Sancianco is a Philippinesbased professional marketer honed as a business educator, soft-skills trainer, market researcher, brand strategist, and corporate rehabilitator with over 40 years of experience. He has authored three business books on sales promotion, customer service, and corporate rehabilitation. He has just finished writing a fourth book on sales and trade management for FMCG products. He can be contacted at [email protected] © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-888-2 (2018) Expert Insights www.businessexpertpress.com When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver 2 Those who are very satisfied with the user experience are most likely to say (among several expressions), “best value for money,” “delicious food,” “terrific service,” “a very memorable experience.” Aside from these purchase influencers, the price tag, package size, attractive point-of-sale merchandising, sales promotion, or the ad hoc need to make a purchase likewise influence the buying decision. For every product idea that is born and formed, there is a utilitarian benefit that is promised to its target user. Product or service categories with many players are all vying for the same, if not higher purchase attention from each specified consumer demographic. Each competitor tries to outdo the other through various marketing strategies in convincing their target audience that they should be the only product of choice. Brand promises are translated in the advertising message tagline that follows the brand logo or is the eye-grabbing headline itself. The purchase interest is triggered by curiosity from that first contact point. A home delivery service, for example, promises, “Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free”—speed and convenience. A large retail service company says, “We got it all for you”—has the widest array of products and brands for sale. A top-ranking bank says, “We find ways”—customer service flexibility. A budget airline says, “Every One Can Fly”—affordable mass market air fares. Telco companies say, “The fastest and reliable broadband connection service”— communication reliability. But the question is, Who among the category players are able to clearly and consistently deliver their promise, and will have the perceptive competitive advantage in the mind of their target market even though their brand promises almost sound alike? And what will actually make one succeed on just the brand promise statement alone while the others will not? The key factor that will create the clear advantage is the sensory satisfaction of actual use or consumption and the delightful customer service experience. Consumers of today are typically nitpicky, impatient for great and fast customer service, curious for anything new (brand switchers), always on the look-out for “great deals” (the best price shopper), demanding for immediate customer service attention (the impatient customer), highly critical or opinionated (the customer service critic), and lifestyle conscious (the one-up socialite). They all expect the brand that they like or relentlessly love will continually deliver their promise of usage satisfaction. This is why a brand promise should be a thoroughly thought of set of words that exudes believability and the buyer’s conviction that he/she will be a gratified user. Brand promises are only as good as the product itself—its ability to emotionally and perceptively support the promise and deliver the utilitarian benefits it says it will. When an advertisement says, “Its finger-licking good,” it is the sensory taste of the product that makes the consumer “lick” the fingers after completely eating off the food on the serving plate. That is because it tastes delicious and satisfying, and not because the consumers like to lick the grease on their fingers to wipe it clean because there aren’t enough napkins available for example. The question for this promise is the reality check that the fingerlicking ritual happens every time. Another noteworthy advertisement comes from a leading retail company that proudly brags about its customer service promise “happy to serve” and brand promise “we got it all for you.” Nice and good statements, of course, that define that company and how it interacts with its customers. Strangely, this company has a pointed flaw in its customer service promise as they have a strict rule on the brown bags that are used to stow the goods bought when they are paid at the check-out counter. Many shoppers like me have found their brown bags to be of the thin grade that are not © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-888-2 (2018) Expert Insights www.businessexpertpress.com 3 When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver suitable to handle heavy loads and frozen foods that thaw away while in transit. They easily tear apart per my experience. Asking for a second bag that will serve as an inner lining to solve the problem is often met with resistance despite calling their attention to their customer service promise. A shouting match needs to happen before they would kowtow to my demand. Now tell me, Is that retailer delivering its brand promise? So why will a brand promise fail to deliver its commitment? The Advertising Tagline Is Overused and Worn-Out The brand team may not have been conducting any recent usage, attitude, and image consumer research that tells it what may be going wrong or right for the brand. If ever there was one undertaken, it would be likely an informal study done with friends or relatives that certainly is full of biased or misleading answers to a poorly prepared questionnaire. Moreover, the minimum respondent panel size is not observed. Hence, the results are neither credible nor statistically significant for its data outcome. Sadly, many small to medium-sized companies see research as an expense and not as an investment for the future. Some brand owners love the tagline very much since it is most likely that the words that made up the brand promise were crafted by the company head when the business was founded. Over time, the tagline outlived itself due to the evolving business environment and the changing lifestyle needs and wants of its target market. Penny wise, pound foolish, isn’t it? The Consumer Research Results Gave the Wrong Outcome Some brand promises are created as a result of a consumer research study that looked into the marketing landscape that the brand serves and makes a profit from. Some studies ask the right questions while others sadly don’t due to how the interview questionnaire was drafted and what the study is supposed to have as its key goals. The choice of either the qualitative or the quantitative study approach is the next curiosity of what was done right or wrong. Finally, the target respondent demographic profile and panel size may be a red flag for its gender choice, age group, socioeconomic class, civil status, work status, and the study area of interest. When the marketer confuses an objective from a strategy as a research query point, the resulting data will always be unable to convey the right promise where the integrated marketing communication strategy will evolve from. A strategy answers how an objective will be achieved. If there are different strategies that are on the table to favorably consider and the brand management team needs to validate what is the best among them, a qualitative focus group discussion approach will be the right methodology to arrive at with a winning idea. For example, a biased research question would specifically ask if a convenience store is a better or preferred point of purchase than a supermarket for the brand instead of investigating which of the sales channels are frequently visited to purchase the brand. The reason for this pointed question was perhaps due to the company’s inability and frustration to gain the nod of several sales channels to be its business partners who can reach the brand’s target market. It most likely believes that the convenience store channel will be able to solely support a brand’s aggressive sales growth and profit goals alone over time. And so the brand promise of product availability in this channel for the tagline “available in all convenience stores” may be a big statement to chew on, particularly if the sales team can’t totally assure complete channel supply coverage. © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-888-2 (2018) Expert Insights www.businessexpertpress.com When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver 4 The Frontline Service Staff Are Not Towing the Line There will be a lot of unhappy customers when the frontline service staff are not able to properly address their complaints because they were not well trained to handle such a task. They also don’t walk-the-talk that the brand promises these customers from its advertisements. Customer service plays the other key role in supporting the brand promise particularly for service-oriented companies. A customer service promise of excellent service may not be satisfied if the people delivering the promised service experience are not totally aligned with the attitude of providing the customer delight. When the business persona of the frontline staff are not in sync with the company’s brand promise, the brand image suffers. Loyal customers are very likely to stop patronizing that erring brand in favor of competition all because of the human relationship factor. Of late, several American airline brands have been at the spotlight for maltreating their passengers for trivial reasons. In one case, the passenger who happened to be of Asian origin and who refused to give up his seat for an overbooked flight was dragged out of the plane after being physically harmed. Ironically, the brand’s tagline harped on the word “friendly” in its advertising tagline. There are a lot of first-class and exclusive private island beach resorts around the world that cater to the rich and famous. Many pride themselves on the key word “private,” which is why they are very popular with the elite class. There are, however, some companies who fail in this regard. In this day and age of the internet and the smartphone, there will always be someone in the staff let alone the paparazzi who will be able to tarnish their company’s reputation for an exclusive photo of a celebrity guest caught, for example, making out in a romantic moment within the premises. Once posted in a social media website, the incriminating photo(s) are exponentially broadcasted and sometimes with the help of the tabloids that pick up the story. The hapless victims of this inappropriate incident will create a red flag that will seriously and negatively affect the company concerned even temporarily. Nevertheless, it will be a hard and expensive climb for that company to recover from its business losses as its brand promise and image got compromised. The Actual Product Is a Mismatch to the Brand Promise When the advertising visuals show a big product, it better be the reality because of the promise. Many food service companies are complicit in this regard. Their back-counter menu board usually shows large-sized and deliciously looking dishes for a price that many will perceptively see as value for money. However, the actual meal portion that is served belies the advertisement visuals that drew the purchase attention and attraction. In most cases, the meal presentation in the advertisement is not the same as the actual finished product. For example, a seemingly large bowl of salad with so many ingredients found in the printed or electronic advertisement is not the same as the real salad bowl size and contain the items when the dish is actually served. Over time, the phrase “value meal” is often seen as a misleading promise. That is because in order to keep the menu price at a perceptively acceptable number, the once touted “big value meal” shows a shrunken sandwich with a smaller drink portion. If the consumer doesn’t feel satiated (feeling full) with the meal that was paid for, then they will take their business elsewhere and most likely to the company’s direct competitor. If the questionnaire for a qualitative study approach is not done right to do a reality check for its sensory acceptance, then the whole promise is in © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-888-2 (2018) Expert Insights www.businessexpertpress.com 5 When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver question and the business performance will suffer the consequence of customer dissatisfaction. Too Much Is Promised Advertising taglines with superiority claims often fall short of what they promise to deliver. The internet service companies, or telcos as they are fondly called, are at the forefront of this tragedy. They always promise “fast internet speeds,” but sadly, this is not the reality because a basic problem is the connectivity itself in many market areas, and their alleged strong signal strength is not sustainable when connected at certain hours of the day. The get-rich schemes of multilevel marketing programs are notorious for this too. Many who were duped into this end up in the poorhouse because they didn’t read the fine print. A big-time Wall Street deal maker who made world headlines years ago went to jail and is serving a life imprisonment because of the so many well-heeled individuals and institutions who were duped in this Ponzi scheme. Despite this, many are still lured to this promise of overnight wealth for a small investment. This is because the program presenters are really good in convincing their would-be victims to part with their hard earned savings. Home appliances with the “lifetime guarantee” statement are often unable to keep that promise. In fact, the word “lifetime” when it was first used decades ago as an advertising hype drew a lot of positive attention and buying interest resulting in a hefty sales outcome. The manufacturer did not, however, say in the ad’s body copy how long is the implied lifetime. There is no way that an appliance will not malfunction if it is constantly used or overused. In several market research classes that I conducted in graduate school, when this brand promise statement was discussed, a huge philosophical debate ensued. Time and again the students were at first evenly divided over their views of this catchy phrase (pros and cons) as a brand promise and claim. But after conducting field research using the qualitative approach, the nays always won over the ayes because most respondents feel it is a dangling statement that needs substantiation. That is why in today’s appliance advertising, other product features are now highlighted to set a brand apart from the rest of competition. The words energy efficient or energy saver have now been the stronger verbiage to trigger purchase appeal with the performance stats backing it up. It’s Incredible to Be True Brands promising to be the “cheap, cheaper, or cheapest” may often create that perceptive disbelief, but likewise a curiosity to find out if it is true. Most brands taking this marketing approach to attract customers may also create unhappy customers because there will always be “the fine print.” These are the exclusion clauses or penalties that may just add a few more charges. Budget airlines are those that also come to mind. They really advertise very attractive round-trip fares, but that is only for the seat if you don’t read the fine print. That is because there is the booking fee, travel tax, seat preference charge, meals on board (if you decide to eat during the flight), and even an additional fee for a second or third hand-carried bag. These add-ons when summed up equate to an expensive ticket in the final analysis. It definitely was too good to be true. Many movie-goers love to watch blockbuster movies. These movies are exciting to watch, particularly for those who love an adventure or sci-fi flick. Hopeless romantics will swoon over cheesy love stories, while some others are attracted to very scary and blood-curdling horror thrillers. Movie trailers give a sneak-peek into the featured film so that the target audience can be drawn in droves to watch it after they have decided that they want to do so. © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-888-2 (2018) Expert Insights www.businessexpertpress.com When the Brand Promise Fails to Deliver 6 However, if some parts of the full-length movie will make the audience yawn, the hoped-for blockbuster status will not happen. The key words “tastier,” “more delectable,” or “mouth-watering taste” are the most emotionally sensitive words for a brand promise. Again, the sensory expectation is triggered when these are highlighted in a brand’s advertisement particularly when they are translated into very creative visuals. Those who are attracted to the promise will queue to buy and sample it out of curiosity. But if the sensory experience isn’t positive after the product is consumed, the initial euphoria will just suddenly drop like a hot potato if these promises do not deliver the claimed experience. An international ice cream brand comes to mind regarding this point. The marketers positioned the product at a premium level and showed in its quad-media advertisements how delectable it is given the celebrity endorsers it featured. Very lovely promo girls lugged around a portable dry-ice chest containing the goods for sale and were stationed in good high-traffic locations in key supermarkets and malls where they sold the product directly to the passing public. The product launch was a tremendous success. But after the buying surge of curious consumers reached its peak in the first month from its launch, the crowds suddenly thinned out. The many foodie critics in the crowd found the price was not right (too high by many account) and the taste was nothing out of the ordinary. The glitzy promo girls eventually disappeared with their portable dry-ice chests. The competitive advantage it once knew and made the rival brands nervous was then clearly lost. The product is still around but merchandised along with other rival brands in selected supermarket freezers in the ice cream category section. Competition Has a Better Promise Brands that don’t reinvent themselves over time are ripe for a newcomer to grab their market shares overnight. Leading brands who enjoyed for so long a very hefty competitive advantage are always challenged by either new players or rival brands that reinvented themselves to show more consumer benefits at a better price point. Moreover, the market leader may have been complacent for its own good as business growth remains to be on an uptrend and, of course, corporate profitability remains positive. Hence they don’t see the need to innovate as they believe their brand promise remains strong and positive. If a brand promise defines a brand with let say one enduring benefit, competition with more benefits at the same price point may suddenly appear tomorrow morning at the shelves with a more superlative tagline, thereby upstaging the market leader and making it look irrelevant. The newcomer will clearly succeed in this regard with their marketing smarts, well-funded marketing communication strategies and thereby surpassing the market leader’s market share standing. It may likely disappear from the market if it is unable to do something about the red flag and relaunch itself where it can effectively regain its competitive advantage. Remember, when a brand promise is made, an expectation is created with the audience it is communicating to. Catchy phrases and beautiful visuals are not enough to ensure a brand’s market success and longevity. The brand user will see through all the hype and determine whether or not the brand will continue to be around. Make sure that the brand can make a promise that it can deliver and then, as many marketing experts put it, “deliver more than what you promised.”
Presentation Is Everything: Communication Classics - Video - Films On Demand (snhu.edu)
Constructive Communications: Talking Your Way to Success - Video - Films On Demand (snhu.edu)
Choose Language
W H A T D O Y O U T H I N K ?
1 Consider the advent of artificial agents (‘intelligent search engines loaded
with consumer preference data’) in online shopping. What are the
implications for the management of marketing communications?
2 With ‘e-tail’ (online retail shopping) accounting for only a tiny portion
of total retail sales value, why all the attention?
3 What are the advantages and disadvantages for consumers/buyers and
providers, respectively, of the proliferation of media options?
4 What might be the symbolic value to a marketer and to a consumer
respectively, of a web presence for the provider?
5 As product and corporate branding efforts increase, arguably advertising
will have to be increased in volume and impact to promote and protect
brands against more competition in the minds of consumers and buyers.
How will this affect media-selection judgements?
6 ‘New media generally do not replace “old” media, they simply offer
another option.’ What implications does this have for marketing
communication managers?
7 Some selection criteria are degree of interactivity, content format, cost,
and availability. Examine several rather different media options and
identify realistic benefits and limitations for several communication
objectives.
8 Why is media selection a critical part of the marketing manager’s job?
9 What media options are available for the generative part of the marketing
process? How would you evaluate their effectiveness and efficiency?
10 Some people are today arguing that the media are not merely
‘communications channels’. What is meant by this?
S E L E C T I N G M E D I A190
D i s c u s s i o n t o p i c s
1. Who else has built a product brand with only direct mail? (Names that come to mind
include Reader’s Digest, Which? Magazine, and the International Masters Publishers (IMP)
series of specialist books. Pizza Express, for example, never advertise. Can you identify
others?)
2. What is the impact on direct mail for the adoption of the Internet?
3. Royal Mail clearly have a vested interest in direct mail. What is their response to Internet
advertising and trading?
4. What is the reason that the Royal Bank of Scotland is not able to build a strong brand?
5. What should they do next?
6. Does the consumer credit card finance market need regulating? (See the Cruickshank
Report).
7. Why are people in the UK so inert to the onslaught of promotional marketing messages?
(In 1999 more than 300 million mailing packs were sent to 21 million households).
Note: a The cooperation and assistance of Tim Lewis, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Dave Hawkins, the
Hawkins Innovation Network, in preparing this case history is gratefully acknowledged
Varey, R. (2001). Marketing communication : A critical introduction. ProQuest Ebook Central <a
onclick=window.open(http://ebookcentral.proquest.com,_blank) href=http://ebookcentral.proquest.com target=_blank style=cursor: pointer;>http://ebookcentral.proquest.com</a>
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2021-08-15 18:02:20.
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Brand Style Guide
COM 232: Desktop Publishing
© Southern New Hampshire University
2
Mission Statement:
To provide a warm atmosphere for your family where we
can share the traditional cuisines of Italy. Our food will
always be fun, fresh and filled with love.
Corporate Philosophy
3
Vision
Pasta Amore combines the cooking traditions
and ingredients of Italy with creativity,
providing a modern twist on timeless classics.
Our vision for the future is to grow and learn
along with our customers. In doing so, we aim
to provide an atmosphere that enables this
growth and fuels the passion that lives within
the essence of the brand.
The approach of Pasta Amore is to develop
our brand with the understanding of both
our culture and consumer insights. Within
our vision always lives the promise of inspiring
creativity, conversation and quality.
Corporate Philosophy
4
Logo and Usage
5
Logo
Our logo is at the heart of our brand. In
understanding how to represent the logo
you will effectively understand the brand
mission and personality.
Since our ingredients come first, we have
integrated the tomato to have the dual
meaning as the heart of our brand. It
translates well as a strong and recognizable
branding mark that can also be used on
other applications. The logo supports the
brand’s emphasis on family and establishes
a look representative of the company’s
current consumers while understanding its
future vision.
Logo and Usage
Alternate logo for horizontal
usage preferences.
6
Logo Size
When using the logo the proper spacing is
vital to ensure clarity and keep the logo free
from interruption.
Grid Guides
Sizing Guidelines
Logo and Usage
7
Logo Usage
Do not alter logo color. Do not substitute logo symbol.
Do not omit logo elements. Do not distort logo.
Do not place over distracting backgrounds.
Logo and Usage
8
Logo Color Options
The primary color palette consists
of Marinara Red and Leafy Green.
Marinara Red Leafy Green
Logo and Usage
9
Black and White logo options
Black and white variations can be used
as either standard or inversed.
Logo and Usage
10
Color Palette
11
Full Color Palette
The primary color palette consists
of Marinara Red and Leafy Green.
The secondary color palette is made up
of Wine, Espresso, Cafe, Cannoli
Pantone: 7449C
CMYK: 50 75 70 70
RGB: 60 31 28
Hex triplet: 3C1F1C
Pantone: 1815C
CMYK: 35 95 90 55
RGB: 95 19 18
Hex triplet: 5e1211
Pantone: Black 5C
CMYK: 50 75 60 50
RGB: 85 50 55
Hex triplet: 543136
Pantone: 5185C
CMYK: 45 80 70 60
RGB: 78 36 36
Hex triplet: 4E2424
Pantone: 4705C
CMYK: 40 60 75 30
RGB: 124 87 63
Hex triplet: 7b573e
Pantone: 7535C
CMYK: 15 20 25 0
RGB: 216 198 84
Hex triplet: d7c5b7
Marinara Red Wine Espresso
Leafy Green Cafe Cannoli
Color Palette
12
Primary Typography
13
Typography
Klinic Slab Book
Klinic Slab can be downloaded for free personal use from
http://www.losttype.com/font/?name=klinic
Goudy Old Style is part of your personal computer collection.
Goudy Old Style Regular
Goudy Old Style Italic
Goudy Old Style Bold
Klinic Slab Bold Italic
Klinic Slab Medium
Klinic Slab Book Italic
Klinic Slab Bold
Klinic Slab Medium Italic
Primary Typography
14
Image Use
For images you can use in projects (but not manipulate as per their terms of use)
we have access to several different resources through the library (ArtStor, etc.).
http://libguides.snhu.edu/c.php?g=92439&p=1484545
Outside of the Creative Commons search (https://search.creativecommons.org/)
there is a database from the University of Michigan that has been created for
students/teachers to use to manipulate (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/aict)
Image Use
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ach
e. Embedded Entrepreneurship
f. Three Social Entrepreneurship Models
g. Social-Founder Identity
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Outcomes
Subset 2. Indigenous Entrepreneurship Approaches (Outside of Canada)
a. Indigenous Australian Entrepreneurs Exami
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of these three) to reflect and analyze the potential ways these (
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Identify a specific consumer product that you or your family have used for quite some time. This might be a branded smartphone (if you have used several versions over the years)
or the court to consider in its deliberations. Locard’s exchange principle argues that during the commission of a crime
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aragraphs (meaning 25 sentences or more). Your assignment may be more than 5 paragraphs but not less.
INSTRUCTIONS:
To access the FNU Online Library for journals and articles you can go the FNU library link here:
https://www.fnu.edu/library/
In order to
n that draws upon the theoretical reading to explain and contextualize the design choices. Be sure to directly quote or paraphrase the reading
ce to the vaccine. Your campaign must educate and inform the audience on the benefits but also create for safe and open dialogue. A key metric of your campaign will be the direct increase in numbers.
Key outcomes: The approach that you take must be clear
Mechanical Engineering
Organic chemistry
Geometry
nment
Topic
You will need to pick one topic for your project (5 pts)
Literature search
You will need to perform a literature search for your topic
Geophysics
you been involved with a company doing a redesign of business processes
Communication on Customer Relations. Discuss how two-way communication on social media channels impacts businesses both positively and negatively. Provide any personal examples from your experience
od pressure and hypertension via a community-wide intervention that targets the problem across the lifespan (i.e. includes all ages).
Develop a community-wide intervention to reduce elevated blood pressure and hypertension in the State of Alabama that in
in body of the report
Conclusions
References (8 References Minimum)
*** Words count = 2000 words.
*** In-Text Citations and References using Harvard style.
*** In Task section I’ve chose (Economic issues in overseas contracting)"
Electromagnetism
w or quality improvement; it was just all part of good nursing care. The goal for quality improvement is to monitor patient outcomes using statistics for comparison to standards of care for different diseases
e a 1 to 2 slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on the different models of case management. Include speaker notes... .....Describe three different models of case management.
visual representations of information. They can include numbers
SSAY
ame workbook for all 3 milestones. You do not need to download a new copy for Milestones 2 or 3. When you submit Milestone 3
pages):
Provide a description of an existing intervention in Canada
making the appropriate buying decisions in an ethical and professional manner.
Topic: Purchasing and Technology
You read about blockchain ledger technology. Now do some additional research out on the Internet and share your URL with the rest of the class
be aware of which features their competitors are opting to include so the product development teams can design similar or enhanced features to attract more of the market. The more unique
low (The Top Health Industry Trends to Watch in 2015) to assist you with this discussion.
https://youtu.be/fRym_jyuBc0
Next year the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare industry will finally begin to look and feel more like the rest of the business wo
evidence-based primary care curriculum. Throughout your nurse practitioner program
Vignette
Understanding Gender Fluidity
Providing Inclusive Quality Care
Affirming Clinical Encounters
Conclusion
References
Nurse Practitioner Knowledge
Mechanics
and word limit is unit as a guide only.
The assessment may be re-attempted on two further occasions (maximum three attempts in total). All assessments must be resubmitted 3 days within receiving your unsatisfactory grade. You must clearly indicate “Re-su
Trigonometry
Article writing
Other
5. June 29
After the components sending to the manufacturing house
1. In 1972 the Furman v. Georgia case resulted in a decision that would put action into motion. Furman was originally sentenced to death because of a murder he committed in Georgia but the court debated whether or not this was a violation of his 8th amend
One of the first conflicts that would need to be investigated would be whether the human service professional followed the responsibility to client ethical standard. While developing a relationship with client it is important to clarify that if danger or
Ethical behavior is a critical topic in the workplace because the impact of it can make or break a business
No matter which type of health care organization
With a direct sale
During the pandemic
Computers are being used to monitor the spread of outbreaks in different areas of the world and with this record
3. Furman v. Georgia is a U.S Supreme Court case that resolves around the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unsual punishment in death penalty cases. The Furman v. Georgia case was based on Furman being convicted of murder in Georgia. Furman was caught i
One major ethical conflict that may arise in my investigation is the Responsibility to Client in both Standard 3 and Standard 4 of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals (2015). Making sure we do not disclose information without consent ev
4. Identify two examples of real world problems that you have observed in your personal
Summary & Evaluation: Reference & 188. Academic Search Ultimate
Ethics
We can mention at least one example of how the violation of ethical standards can be prevented. Many organizations promote ethical self-regulation by creating moral codes to help direct their business activities
*DDB is used for the first three years
For example
The inbound logistics for William Instrument refer to purchase components from various electronic firms. During the purchase process William need to consider the quality and price of the components. In this case
4. A U.S. Supreme Court case known as Furman v. Georgia (1972) is a landmark case that involved Eighth Amendment’s ban of unusual and cruel punishment in death penalty cases (Furman v. Georgia (1972)
With covid coming into place
In my opinion
with
Not necessarily all home buyers are the same! When you choose to work with we buy ugly houses Baltimore & nationwide USA
The ability to view ourselves from an unbiased perspective allows us to critically assess our personal strengths and weaknesses. This is an important step in the process of finding the right resources for our personal learning style. Ego and pride can be
· By Day 1 of this week
While you must form your answers to the questions below from our assigned reading material
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (2013)
5 The family dynamic is awkward at first since the most outgoing and straight forward person in the family in Linda
Urien
The most important benefit of my statistical analysis would be the accuracy with which I interpret the data. The greatest obstacle
From a similar but larger point of view
4 In order to get the entire family to come back for another session I would suggest coming in on a day the restaurant is not open
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition
After viewing the you tube videos on prayer
Your paper must be at least two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages)
The word assimilate is negative to me. I believe everyone should learn about a country that they are going to live in. It doesnt mean that they have to believe that everything in America is better than where they came from. It means that they care enough
Data collection
Single Subject Chris is a social worker in a geriatric case management program located in a midsize Northeastern town. She has an MSW and is part of a team of case managers that likes to continuously improve on its practice. The team is currently using an
I would start off with Linda on repeating her options for the child and going over what she is feeling with each option. I would want to find out what she is afraid of. I would avoid asking her any “why” questions because I want her to be in the here an
Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of using an Internet site as means of collecting data for psychological research (Comp 2.1) 25.0\% Summarization of the advantages and disadvantages of using an Internet site as means of collecting data for psych
Identify the type of research used in a chosen study
Compose a 1
Optics
effect relationship becomes more difficult—as the researcher cannot enact total control of another person even in an experimental environment. Social workers serve clients in highly complex real-world environments. Clients often implement recommended inte
I think knowing more about you will allow you to be able to choose the right resources
Be 4 pages in length
soft MB-920 dumps review and documentation and high-quality listing pdf MB-920 braindumps also recommended and approved by Microsoft experts. The practical test
g
One thing you will need to do in college is learn how to find and use references. References support your ideas. College-level work must be supported by research. You are expected to do that for this paper. You will research
Elaborate on any potential confounds or ethical concerns while participating in the psychological study 20.0\% Elaboration on any potential confounds or ethical concerns while participating in the psychological study is missing. Elaboration on any potenti
3 The first thing I would do in the family’s first session is develop a genogram of the family to get an idea of all the individuals who play a major role in Linda’s life. After establishing where each member is in relation to the family
A Health in All Policies approach
Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. At a minimum
Chen
Read Connecting Communities and Complexity: A Case Study in Creating the Conditions for Transformational Change
Read Reflections on Cultural Humility
Read A Basic Guide to ABCD Community Organizing
Use the bolded black section and sub-section titles below to organize your paper. For each section
Losinski forwarded the article on a priority basis to Mary Scott
Losinksi wanted details on use of the ED at CGH. He asked the administrative resident