What do you think of "mission statements?"?

Answer 1

A corporation has only ONE mission that everything else is secondary to: Make money for the shareholders and upper management.

They will do everything in their power to acheive this goal whether it confirms to their 'mission statement' or not.

A mission statement is often just a tool to motivate the lower echelon into thinking their main purpose is something other than that listed above.

Answer 2

True story.

I once worked in a company where there were three people crowded into a cubicle designed to house one.

The guy with the ultramarathon training beat the other two down the corridor on Day 1 of work, so he got the only actual desk; the other two used a small computer table and a long filing cabinet, respectively.

They shared one computer, a 486, in an era where Pentium IIs were already obsolete. (I have to underline: this was a company in very good financial shape.)

After six months, the company placed its Mission Statement on the wall in the reception area.

Principle #3: 'We shall endeavour to make every employee feel both valued and treasured.'




PS: There's a great Dilbert strip where the pointy-haired boss says: 'For years, we've been saying that people are our greatest asset. That's wrong. People are 9th.' WALLY: 'I'm not going to ask what finished 8th.' BOSS: 'Carbon paper.'

Answer 3

For an organization to not have one is a shame and will likely cause them to lose focus.

However, most mission statements are far too broad and try to state too many things. A mission is not a scatter shot and should not be phrased to address every possible need.

Answer 4

Conceptually it is good for a company to have one .. to give clarity and communicate it's purpose ....yada yada yada.

In reality once they are created the mission statement is often ignored and has little true value. This went through a big cycle of promotion by business consultants some years ago and has since diminished in visibility.

Answer 5

Generally, a mission statement is what the company wants you to believe that they are doing when, in fact, the only thing they are worried about is making enough money for the ceo and vp's to get that next fancy mercedes, or whatever other toy they want.

Answer 6

"Iraq asked AGAIN"? From YOUR article: "It was the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and publicly called for a withdrawal timetable" The "first time", is NOT "again". I've read your answers before and you are incapable of saying ANYTHING without throwing something false into it. Just 2 months ago the Iraqi Prime Minister was asking us NOT to leave until they could handle things on their own. His new position is a good sign that Iraq is gaining it's own strength. Also from your article: "Iraq's government has felt increasingly confident in recent weeks about its authority and the country's improved stability. Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in four years. The change has been driven by the 2007 buildup of American forces, the Sunni tribal revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and crackdowns against Shiite militias and Sunni extremists." At any rate, now that the request has been made (for the FIRST time), we'll see how it plays out.

Answer 7

The mission statement articulates the company’s purpose both for those in the organisation and for the public.

Answer 8

Its one of the most important areas of a business plan to summarize, "why am I in business?" ... Without a good mission statement, investors will ask, "why am I reading this darn thing?"

Answer 9

Everytime I read one it takes new a meaning espeically when you have or did work for the company. Its seems the larger the corporation the longer and more flowery they get. And also "like" when is this going to start happening around here?

Answer 10

I think they are made up by people who are paid WAY too much to sit around for hours, days, and weeks at a time to make up such useless drivel.

They have very little to do with the day to day operation of the business.