Leveraging Organizational Performance through Effective Mission Statement

Abstract

The mission statement is a critical and an integral part of the organization as an entity and the operating plan, which has become a unique vehicle through which the organization in the business world, articulates it strategic intent to exist, survive, grow and how it relates with stakeholders around it and including the wider society. The important question to ask is whether or not the existence of a mission statement is associated with or influences organizational performance? The findings from the various studies which explored this relationship appear rather inconclusive. Adopting a qualitative research approach, this study critically explored the essential link between a mission statement and organizational performance. The study established that the potential power of an effective mission statement in leveraging organizational performance was derived mainly from the fact that a mission statement is the starting point of the organization's entire planning process, which serves as the basis for the formulation of objectives and strategies appropriate to the organization's overall purpose and legitimate its existence. The study proposed that organization should strive to improve its mission statement as well as communicate same effectively to create mutual expectations among stakeholders.

Influence of Strategy Formulation Drivers on Strategic Performance

“…The negative relationship between company mission and strategic performance may be due to poor communication or employees are not aware of the company mission during strategy formulation. The results from this study negate the findings of other several researchers who found a positive and significant association between mission and organisational performance, (Sandada, 2014;Mosoma, 2014;Ekpe et al, 2015;Forbes & Seena, 2006;Sidhu, 2003). However, the findings from this study support the previous studies that found no positive and significant relationship between mission and performance (Bart & Baetz, 1998;O'Gorman & Doran, 1999;Vandijck et al, 2007).…”

“…Odita & Bello (2015) concluded that the mission dimension of strategic intent has a significant and positive relationship with organisational performance in the banking industry in Nigeria. Ekpe et al (2015) observed that firm mission is positively related to organisational performance. Studying eighteen not for profit hospitals, Forbes & Seena (2006) found a robust evidence of the impact of mission statement on performance.…”

Leveraging the organizational mission statement to communicate identity, distinctiveness and purpose to primary and secondary stakeholders during COVID-19

“…Deephouse goes further by arguing that mission statements also serve crucial internal and external roles. To date, the vast spectrum of existing studies in mission statement research explores important topics such as the influence of organizational size (O'Gorman and Doran, 1999; King et al , 2014a, b); corporate identity (Leuthesser and Kohli, 1997, 2015); the reflection of trends in ethics and corporate social responsibility (Jung and Pompper, 2014; King et al , 2010; Wilburn and Wilburn, 2014, 2015; Fifka et al , 2018); global initiatives and international comparative analysis (Mion et al , 2021; King et al , 2011, 2014b; Mas-Machuca et al , 2017; Panda and Gupta, 2003; Sengupta and Sahay, 2017); the importance of stakeholder representation (Bartkus and Glassman, 2008); the link between organizational performance and effective mission statements (Atrill et al , 2005; Bart and Baetz, 2002; Baetz and Kenneth, 1998; Bart et al , 2001; Bart and Hupfer, 2004; Ekpe et al , 2015; Germain and Cooper, 1990; Green and Medlin, 2003; value creation (Zerfass and Viertmann, 2017); member motivation and implementation (Rey and Bastons, 2018) and ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizational mission statements (Swenor and Meeks, 2019; Ortega et al , 2020). The breadth of existing mission research also spans a broad cross-section of specific industries and sectors including research of mission statements for commercial airlines (Law and Breznik, 2018; Kemp and Dwyer, 2003); cruise lines (Penco et al , 2017); health-care organizations (Bart, 2002; Bart and Hupfer, 2004, Kamran and Cin, 2020); educational services organizations and institutions (Bayrak, 2020; Yob et al , 2016; Lineham, 2013; Woodrow, 2006; Davis et al , 2007; Genç, 2012; Palmer and Short, 2008); non-profit organizations (Bart, 2000; Macedo et al , 2016; Pandey et al , 2017; Kirk and Nolan, 2010; Sheehan, 1996); public organizations (Desmidt, 2016) and philanthropic organizations (Kesberg and Keller, 2021).…”

“…In addition to delineating strategic intent for its existence across all levels, mission statements relate to both internal and external stakeholders and are sensitive to employees, customers, the general market and wider society in order to survive, thrive and achieve higher performance (Anitsal et al, 2012(Anitsal et al, , 2013Cochran et al, 2008;Alegre et al, 2018;Mullane, 2002). Notably, effective mission statements provide organizations with a focus and a strategy for the future and a sense of direction and purpose which in times of change and growth can be an anchor and a guide in decision-making (Ekpe et al, 2015). Similar claims are historically prevalent in mission statement research, with the mission statement often noted as an essential first step in the strategic management process (Drucker, 1974;David, 1989;Staples and Black, 1984;Pearce, 1982;Abell, 1980;Bartkus and Glassman, 2008).…”

Occupational health: the impact of occupational stressors on job productivity

“…There are numerous methods to measure the effectiveness of an organisation. According to scholars, effectiveness is measured by a simple strategy: if the mission, goals, and objectives are met, that company is efficiently running (Ekpe, 2015;Jurevicius, 2013;William, 2012). Several studies on occupational stress and productivity have been conducted in Sri Lanka (Aroosiya & Ali, 2016;Ehsan & Ali, 2019;Silva & Thilakasiri, 2014).…”