When an organization has a mission. Mission and goals of the organization: common and different features. What is a mission

When creating a company mission, it is logical to familiarize yourself with examples of missions of well-known organizations. We have selected missions of Russian and foreign companies that are interesting in our opinion. They were structured by areas of activity.

But n do not copy, do not create a mission by analogy - this will worsen the climate in the company, at best it won't change anything. Mission is always individual.

EXAMPLES OF THE MISSION OF COMPANIES BY FIELDS OF ACTIVITY

Example missions for distributors, networks, merchants and e-commerce businesses

• Mission of ROSPECHAT: to be a link between publishers and readers.
• Mission Lenta: We work to make people in Russia live better and richer, saving their money every day.
• Mission Sportmaster: We make sports accessible! To develop a successful and efficient business by offering our Clients the optimal range of quality goods for sports and outdoor activities with the optimal level of service. Contribute to the improvement of the population in the countries of our presence, promoting the values ​​of a healthy lifestyle, sports and active recreation, improving the quality of life of our customers.
• SNS mission: To be the undisputed leader in the distribution of FMCG products in the CIS countries, providing customers with high-quality products and perfect service, acting in the interests of society and consumers, employees and shareholders.
• Mission Protek: Our goal is to take care of the beauty and health of people. We value the economic, social and ethical values ​​of society, honestly fulfill our obligations to people, partners, investors and the state, thereby setting business standards.
• Dixie's mission: Satisfy the daily needs of the majority of Russian citizens with the best value for money - Simple, Nearby, Neighborly
• Mission Lenta - We work to make people in our country live better and richer, saving their money every day.
• Mission of TERVOLINA: Quality, comfortable shoes and excellent service - to every customer!
• Walmart's mission: We save people money so they can live a better life.
• Mission of AUCHAN: To offer more and more buyers a wider range of quality goods at low prices.
• The mission of Leroy Merlin Vostok: Make it affordable for everyone to repair and equip their home
• Castorama's mission: to help buyers make their homes better and more comfortable, transform the laborious and costly process of repair and improvement into an interesting hobby accessible to everyone.
• IKEA mission: To improve the everyday life of ordinary people.
• Amazon's mission: to be "the most customer-conscious company on earth."
• EBay Mission: To provide a global marketplace where anyone can buy or sell almost anything.
• Alibaba's mission is to remove all barriers between buyer and seller.

Examples of missions of manufacturers of consumer goods

• Mission Baltika: We create a quality product that gives people the joy of communication, makes their life brighter and more interesting.
• Daria's mission: To free up consumers' time for a fulfilling life by producing high-quality, easy-to-prepare products.
• Luxlite mission: leadership in the Russian lighter market for a long-term partnership.
• JTI's Mission: Our mission is to build a strong international tobacco company that delivers maximum value to its shareholders, employees, consumers and society as a whole and strives to be a leader in its industry.
• Unilever's mission is to energize life. We meet people's daily needs for food and hygiene. Our brands help you feel great, look great and enjoy life more.
• Levi-Strauss Mission: We will bring to market the most beautiful and popular casual wear in the world. We will dress the whole world.
• Nike Mission: Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.
• Adidas Mission: Our mission is to be the world's leading sports brand. We achieve leadership through our vision - our passion for sport makes the world a better place. All our work is inspired by the passion for sport that drives us to improve ourselves and the world around us.
• Canon's mission is to help people realize the full potential of images.
• Gillette Mission: Every day, more than 800 million people around the world trust their faces and skin to Gillette's innovative razors and shaving products. We are committed to providing people with the very best personal care products, including deodorants and body washes. All designed to meet people's unique needs, helping them look great, feel good and perform at their best every day.

Food Service Mission Examples

• Mission Teremok: 1. We create a national catering network; 2. We must be loved by customers by offering national dishes of a new generation: pancakes, cereals, stews and kvass, with the best taste in Russia; 3. Our products should be available to the majority of the Russian population; 4. We will always be glad to see people of all ages with us; 5. We must give people joy, pleasure.
• McDonald's Mission: To be our customers' favorite place to eat or drink. And the formula for achieving this goal is one long-standing McDonald's formula: KKCh and D, which means Quality, Service Culture, Cleanliness and Availability.
• Mission of KFC: Bring joy to life.

Examples of missions of companies in the automotive industry

• Mission of AvtoVAZ: We create high-quality cars for our customers at affordable prices, bringing stable profits to our shareholders, improving the well-being of our employees and increasing the value of our business for the benefit of the Fatherland.
• GAZ mission: To produce commercial vehicles that guarantee the customer the benefits of the purchase due to uncompromising quality and reliable impeccable service, provided by the highest competence of personnel, partner suppliers, innovations in production and products.
• Mission of URAL: Satisfying the needs of society in vehicles with a gross weight of 12 to 44 tons and creating conditions for maintaining the performance of vehicles during operation.
• KAMAZ mission: KAMAZ, built by the whole country, is the basis of transport security and the heritage of Russia. Anticipating needs, we deliver automotive technology and signature service to help customers achieve inspiring goals. KAMAZ is a socially responsible partner, acting for the sake of the long-term interests of shareholders and the well-being of employees.
• Ford Mission: We are a global family and proud of our heritage of providing personal freedom of movement for people around the world.
• Toyota mission: To give our customers the pleasure of high quality Toyota vehicles. We are responsible for every vehicle we sell. We create an environment in which Toyota professionals use their years of experience and knowledge of advanced Toyota technology to meet the needs of our discerning customers. The Company's mission is to maximize customer satisfaction by providing reliable and safe TOYOTA products and providing a network of high-quality service and qualified service.
• BMW Mission: The BMW Group is the world's leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.
• Harley-Davidson Mission: We make people's dreams come true with our experience building the very best motorcycles!

Examples of missions of companies in the field of high technology, electronics

• Rostelecom's mission: More opportunities for everyone. Rostelecom creates more opportunities for people, both through its services and through the implementation of projects and initiatives that touch on topics important to society. Telecommunications can change and improve people's lives, and this is exactly what Rostelecom strives for in relations with everyone who comes into contact with the activities of our company.
• The mission of Uralvagonzavod (manufacturer of the ARMATA tank): Strengthening the defense capability and development of the transport infrastructure of the Russian Federation by creating high-tech innovative products for military, special and civilian purposes.
• Apple's mission: Apple makes Mac computers the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple continues the digital music revolution with its iPod and iTunes. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store and is shaping the future of mobile media and computing with the iPad. (Mission of Apple Computer, Inc. at the beginning of its activity was formulated as follows: We offer computers of the highest quality for people all over the world).
• Microsoft Mission: Our Microsoft mission is to help people and businesses around the world reach their full potential. To achieve this goal, talented, energetic, bright and creative people are required, with the following virtues: integrity and honesty, enthusiasm, openness and respect, willingness to solve complex problems, self-criticism and responsibility.
• Samsung Mission: We use the company's human and technological resources to create products and services of superior quality, thereby contributing to the improvement of the global state of society.
• Lenovo Mission: For those who do! At Lenovo, our vision is that Lenovo will create personal devices that inspire more people, inspired by our own culture, and through which we build a business that is respected around the world. This Vision guides us on our mission to become one of the world's greatest technology companies. We will accomplish this through: Personal Computers, Convergence and Culture.
• IBM Mission: We strive to be leaders in the invention, development and manufacture of the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, storage systems and microelectronics. We turn these technologies into value for our clients with professional solutions, service and consulting services around the world.
• Mission of XEROX: Distribution of knowledge by means of documents.
• Sony's mission: We are a group of young people who are endowed with enough energy for an endless creative quest.

Examples of missions of telecommunications and IT companies

• Yandex mission: Help people solve problems and achieve their goals in life.
• Google's mission: To organize the world's information and make it accessible and useful everywhere.
• Beeline's mission: we help people get the joy of communication, feel free in time and space.
• MegaFon Mission: MegaFon will unite Russia by breaking down barriers and developing communications to become the clear choice for everyone. MegaFon proceeds from a special attitude to the company's social mission, which is to create conditions for people to communicate, without taking into account borders and distances.
• Mission of MTS: We are working to make MTS the best operator for our customers. We want every person who comes to the MTS salon, calls our call center, uses the company's services, to like being an MTS client. Thanks to reliable communication, MTS provides customers with the opportunity to build and improve their lives, to constantly develop. All MTS resources are aimed at making the life of MTS customers richer, more interesting and filled with new opportunities thanks to the company's services.
• Yota's mission: to be a leading developer and provider of innovative mobile services that will change the perceptions and experiences of people in the field of communication, entertainment and information consumption even one iota.
• Tele2's mission: Our goal is to challenge, act quickly and offer a wide range of Internet-based services at an affordable price.
• Youtube's mission is to provide quick and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.
• Mission of Facebook: To enable people to communicate and make the world more open and connected.
• Twitter's mission: To enable everyone to share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.

Examples of missions of companies in the oil and gas industry

• Gazprom's mission: the most efficient and balanced gas supply to Russian consumers, fulfillment of long-term gas export contracts with a high degree of reliability.
• The mission of Rosneft is innovative, environmentally friendly and cost-effective satisfaction of society's need for energy resources. Thanks to a unique resource base, a high technological level and a team of dedicated professionals, the Company ensures sustainable business growth and increased shareholder returns. Our activities contribute to social stability, prosperity and progress of the regions.
• Mission Lukoil: We were created to turn the energy of natural resources for the benefit of man.

Examples of bank missions

• Mission of Sberbank: We give people confidence and reliability, we make their lives better by helping them realize their aspirations and dreams.
• Mission Opening: We help our clients, employees, contractors and even competitors realize their financial opportunities.
• Mission of The Bank of New York: We strive to be the recognized global leader and partner of choice in helping our clients succeed in a world of rapidly evolving financial markets.
• Citibank's mission is to be a trusted partner for our clients, providing them with due responsibility for financial services that contribute to sustainable development and economic progress. For the benefit of clients, our company invests in sound assets, provides them with loans, arranges payments and provides access to capital markets. With over 200 years of experience, we help our clients meet their toughest challenges and make the best use of opportunities. We are Citi, a global bank, connecting millions of people in hundreds of countries and cities.

Examples of missions of state institutions and non-profit structures

• Mission of the Russian University of Cooperation: Providing high-quality education that meets international standards; the formation of a highly moral personality with modern professional and other competencies in demand; real scientific achievements on the basis of the Russian University of Cooperation, meeting the needs of society, the state and the individual; mobile and dynamic learning that flexibly responds to global changes and ensures the rapid development of the economy of Russia and the countries of the world, contributing to the development of career management skills for young people.
• Mission of the Volunteer Service of the State Hermitage Museum: Raising a sense of responsibility for the preservation of cultural heritage.
• CIA Mission: We are the eyes and ears of the nation, and sometimes its invisible hand. We achieve the mission in the following way:

Gathering only the necessary intelligence.

Providing up-to-date, objective and comprehensive analysis on time.

Perform protective actions against the President of the United States to prevent threats or to further US political goals.

Service mission examples

• Aeroflot mission – We work to ensure that our customers can quickly and comfortably cover long distances, which means they can be mobile, meet more often, work successfully and see the world in all its diversity. We give our customers the opportunity to choose thanks to an extensive route network and to various airlines of the Group: from a low-cost airline to a premium airline.
• Mission of RZD: The mission of RZD (Russian Railways) is to meet the market demand for transportation, increase operational efficiency, improve service quality and deep integration into the Euro-Asian transport system. RZD brand mission: We are the most important part of the global system for the movement of people, goods and technologies. We work for clients, we contribute to the unification of peoples, we integrate Russia into a single economic space. Our solutions are based on a unique infrastructure, the skills of a team of high-level professionals and innovative technologies.
• Mission of Freight One: To provide the best quality of transport and logistics services on the market. Be a leader. To make railway transportation of goods affordable and attractive for the client.
• Mission Disneyland: We work to ensure that adults and children spend more time together.
• Mission of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain: Relentless care and providing maximum comfort to every guest.
• Mission of the New York Public Library: To inspire lifelong learning, spread knowledge, and strengthen our communities.

Examples of missions of consulting companies

• Mission strategic decision: We strengthen the Fatherland, helping to develop business!
• Mission of McKinsey & Company: Our mission is to help our clients make individual, lasting and meaningful improvements in their operations and build a great firm by attracting, inspiring and retaining the most exceptional people.
• Mission of The Boston Consulting Group: The mission of our company is based on the following simple principles. We analyze, we learn and then we act. We bring together people who can challenge conventions and bring about the very transformations that are needed. We help clients develop the right competencies and achieve long-term benefits. And we shape the future. Together.

Examples of missions of companies in the metallurgical industry

• RUSAL mission: To become the most efficient aluminum company in the world, which we and our children can be proud of. Through the success of RUSAL - to the prosperity of each of us and society.
• Mission of Metalloinvest: Providing the buyer with high quality metal with the provision of the highest level of service.
• Mission of the Cherepovets Iron and Steel Works: To be leaders in creation.
• Mission of the United Metallurgical Company: Manufacture of metallurgical products and products for the fuel and energy complex that best meet the needs of customers due to the optimal ratio of price and consumer properties.

MISSION is the most important goal of the company. The reason for the existence of any organization. foundation for successful development. Use mission examples from successful companies, but create your own mission. Every organization is unique.

Each organization pursues its own goals and objectives. They are classified by periods of time: short-term (or operational), medium-term, long-term. Organizational goals, goals of specific units and individual goals can be distinguished. There are goals tied to numbers (for example, a 15% increase in output compared to last year), and goals without quantitative indicators (getting feedback from production workers). The mission of the organization includes the goals of all types that face the company.

What is the mission of the organization

Mission- this:

• the main purpose of the organization;
• the basic concepts on which the enterprise is built, and the features that distinguish a particular organization from others;
• basic definitions that answer why and why this organization conducts its activities.

Mission- this is the general goal of the company, all the tasks of which are aimed at its implementation.

Mission of the organization reveals the essence of the enterprise and helps to answer the question of what is the main common purpose of the organization. The mission is not a narrow concept, it implies the disclosure of all long-term plans and capabilities of the enterprise.

Not all companies have a mission, some small and medium-sized businesses, such as beauty salons, service stations, candy stores, make profit, increase profitability and competitiveness as a top priority. Small commercial organizations are set to get results at the current time and are not ready to develop a long-term strategy. It is also difficult to define the missions of municipal institutions: as a rule, they are subordinate to higher authorities and adhere to the established tasks. The presence of a mission is characteristic of large businesses, holdings and groups of companies, although its search often becomes the main problem of long-term planning.

Consider 3 types of mission.

mission– Gives a succinct idea of ​​the main lines of business, customer needs, distinguishing features and public utility; reveals the main goals of creating an enterprise and its functioning.

Mission Orientation– a complete concept, specification of working principles, credo, orientation, company policy. This is the philosophy that guides the top management of the organization and its employees. A presentation form that reveals the organization's rules of conduct in relation to partners and customers.

Mission Policy- the concentration of the main goals of the development of the enterprise, the formulation of the organization's strategy both in the present and in the future.

An organization can reach new heights, achieve great results with the awareness and understanding of its mission. New horizons will open, the vision of many points that were previously ignored will change. Who are we working for? How competitive are we? What can distinguish us from others, what are our strengths and weaknesses? What development path do we see in the future? What will help us to follow the chosen mission and achieve our goals?

The mission of the organization is the main part of any plan for the strategic development of the enterprise. It is she who forms the main goal of the organization. The first step in starting the activity of any firm is to define the mission that the management of the organization designates. Over time, due to the expansion of production, coverage areas, the introduction of new units, the mission fades into the background and is forgotten.

When forming the mission, the interests of the following groups of people should be taken into account.

Organization owners- since they receive profit from the activities of the enterprise, they are most interested. Despite the economic situation in the organization, the owners are concerned not only with short-term goals, but also with development in the future.

Enterprise employees- the mission helps to ensure that employees comply with basic norms (wages, working conditions, social guarantees), as well as satisfy the needs associated with climbing the social ladder (personal development, promotion, power).

Consumers- users of the company's products or services for a certain cost, which is assigned by the organization. Thus, these products help to meet the needs of customers.

Business partners- persons interested in cooperation with this enterprise, building long-term relationships in order to receive assistance, resources, benefits or other benefits from such an alliance.

local community– for this group, the opportunities provided by the organization are of great importance: these can be new jobs, development of the region, charity, improvement of living conditions or protection of environmental facilities. If an enterprise provides financial support, builds schools, kindergartens and reduces the unemployment rate, then the level of interest in it among the local population increases several times.

Unions- act in defense of the rights of employees in labor relations, defend the socio-economic interests of members of the organization.

State- is aimed at obtaining taxes from the activities of the enterprise to improve living and working conditions, develop infrastructure and benefit society and business, commercial organizations.

One of the main criteria of the organization's mission is to meet the needs of all the above-mentioned groups of people. The percentage of reflection of interests in the mission of each of the groups directly depends on the characteristics of the enterprise, field of activity, size, geographical location. The greatest influence on the mission of the organization is exerted by the owners, the personnel of the enterprise and consumers. Therefore, when defining the mission of the organization, the interests of these particular groups of people must be taken into account.

Most organizations have clear mission statements. The formulation of the mission of the organization is the definition of the main goal of the enterprise, the global tasks that the company sets for itself. The mission statement is one of the important tools in ensuring the company's activities, it determines the direction of the enterprise development, coordinates the actions of employees, giving them more freedom, but also unites them to improve the performance set for the organization.

Often, when defining their type of activity, organizations rely on the type of products produced (“composite pool manufacturers”) or applied technologies (“developers”). However, the mission statement must first of all satisfy the needs of the market.

At first glance, there is nothing complicated in the formulation of the mission of the organization, but if we consider examples of the activities of some enterprises in the domestic market, it turns out that many managers have not fully understood the concept of the mission and cannot apply it in managing the company both to achieve short-term goals and in perspective.

Mission objectives of the organization

1. First of all, the mission reveals the company's policy, its goals, rules of conduct, credo for those who are not part of it. It also forms the perception of the organization by society, creates an image and idea of ​​itself and its activities.

2. The mission unites the company's employees, forms and maintains the corporate culture. Promotes teamwork to achieve common goals:

• the mission reveals to the staff the main goal, the meaning of the company's activities, thereby directing all employees in one direction to improve the performance of the organization;
• the mission helps the staff consider themselves part of the organization and becomes a reference point in the conduct of activities for those employees who position themselves as part of the team;
• the mission dictates the norms of behavior in the company, acts as a powerful HR tool. It is with the help of the mission that employees are told about the policy, motto and values ​​adopted in the organization.

3. With the help of the mission, it is possible to increase the efficiency of company management, this is facilitated by a number of reasons:

• the mission is the basis of the organization's activities, it forms the goals and objectives, avoiding conflict between them. It sets the vector of development, marks the boundaries and develops a development strategy;
• helps to correctly allocate all the company's resources, forms a record of their use to support the company's activities;
• reveals to employees the purpose of their activities and provides additional opportunities for motivating staff.

The mission is not a clear plan of action for the organization, it is a guide to the use of resources, it does not contain details. The mission defines the nature and principles of doing business, acts as a "compass" and indicates the norms of behavior of employees.

The mission should be clear and understandable to both the subjects of the external environment and its participants: owners, employees, business partners. The mission statement cannot be interpreted in different ways, it must have a single meaning, which at the same time provides an opportunity for a creative approach and development of the company.

Expert opinion

With an increase in the number of employees, the mission needs to be fixed

Dmitry Persheev,

General Director of Garant, Moscow

The mission of the organization "Garant" is as follows: "Providing comprehensive professional legal support with the help of modern information technologies." The company adheres to its mission from the very beginning, from product standards to market promotion. The company's mission was not formed immediately. "Garant" began its activities when a clear definition of the mission had not yet been given. The founders of the company created a mission in their minds and, over the years, formalized it.

When the company began to develop and grow rapidly, the number of employees and partners in other regions increased, and it became necessary to formulate and consolidate the mission of the organization. Today "Garant" is an organization with more than 200 partners in other cities, and the total number of employees exceeds 8 thousand people. In such a situation, a common understanding of the company's goals, its philosophy and development vector is necessary, each employee must support the rules of conduct and company policy and follow them. In the mid-1990s, the owners realized how much the organization needed a mission, more precisely, that the time had come to put it on paper and present it officially to everyone. The company has a certain algorithm for hiring a new employee, he is necessarily given a personal copy of the "Personnel Regulations", which describes in detail the mission of the organization, its credo.

What is the organization's strategic mission?

The basis for defining the mission of the organization are key definitions that answer a number of questions. They are the basis, the implementation of which will ensure its strengthening, as well as contribute to the introduction of the necessary changes and modernization for successful development.

First question: " What?» When answering it, try to rely on the definition of the type of product being produced in order to match the present and future. The answer to this question shows the competence of the company now and the direction to which it aspires. The product description should not be too broad, but at the same time, its definition should not be too limited. For example, the description “Our company makes cakes” applies to a small organization with limited resources and no long-term development plan. And the phrase "Cooking of any complexity" for a particular organization will be too broad and not accurate. The most acceptable option in this case would be "Cakes of any complexity in assortment and to order", such a description shows the available capabilities of the organization and determines the direction for further development.

Next question: To whom? It means: "Who is our target audience?" With this question, we segment our place in the market, for whom we produce products, who is our end consumer. The target audience is not the organization's customers, but the end customers who purchase our product for their own purposes and to meet their needs.

"Coverage area" - the territory covered by the organization's activities. It is of great importance for the sale of products, since it determines what percentage of the market the company can cover. Small businesses develop and operate within the region of existence, they do not have enough resources and capacity to qualify for federal coverage. The right decision would be to conduct business in your territory, where your consumers are located. And in the course of expanding the organization, increasing the number of employees, equipment and scale, the mission and development strategy of the organization will change.

The formulation of an enterprise activity plan, the implementation of short-term and long-term goals that will help increase efficiency, is accompanied by the question: “ How?» It will help highlight your strengths, what makes you superior to your competitors.

The three questions above will help you define your place in the marketplace and shape how your organization is perceived by customers and business partners. Most of the large Russian companies that have been on the market for a long time use the concepts of “experience”, “traditions” and “guarantees”, which have been formed during their activities. For beginners, the image of a modern, developing and innovative organization that will not repeat the mistakes of the previous generation is more suitable. This perception by the external environment must be constantly reinforced, updated information on the site, provide examples of their work, so as not to create a negative image among potential customers.

The choice of the mission of the organization and the requirements for its formulation

The mission statement of the organization should be clear, it is not necessary to use both a broad general description and a narrow definition of its activities.

For the mission of the organization, the following is important.

• be realistic. For example, a small transport company should not position itself as a major international carrier whose purpose is to monopolize the market.
• To be specific. The mission should meet the standards and goals of a particular company. Organizations often use generic language to market or create a certain image, which leads to loss of orientation of the organization. For example, a mission that sounds like "Our goal is to become a leading manufacturer in the market, providing a high level of quality of products at the lowest cost" is faceless and contradictory. It is suitable for many organizations and does not meet the goals of a particular company. So, it is not suitable as a guide to action.
• Based on specific features. Let's say an organization is developing microchips using innovative technologies, but entering this market will not help this company demonstrate all its features, distinctive features and capabilities that competitors do not have.
• Stimulate. The mission is to motivate the employees of the company. Its wording should be understandable and arouse interest among people. You should not define the mission and goals of the organization as the growth of revenue, products or services sold. All these are the results of the enterprise, and they are not related to the philosophy of the company. For staff, the main factor is awareness of the significance of their activities for the end user. As an example, consider two large corporations: IBM and Apple. At the time of growth in sales at IBM, its president made a speech that the corporation plans to increase profit growth by 2 times over the next years. Apple acted differently: they declared that their main goal for the same period is to ensure the availability of computer innovations in every home.

The mission statement of the organization is the long-term goal of the enterprise and the vector of its development.

The mission cannot vary periodically; its formulation should not reflect all the changes that occur in the external economic environment. In cases where the mission of the organization does not correspond to the image of the company, negatively affects the perception of the company among customers, does not reflect its policy, its ideals - it must be changed. Similar actions were taken by many global corporations, including Kodak or Siemens, who had to make another mission due to friction with external actors.

Expert opinion

If the mission of the company suits others, your company does not carry anything special.

Boris Polgeim,

founder, main shareholder and strategic manager of Aqua Logo and Business Class, Moscow

When defining the mission of your organization, ask yourself about the characteristics of your company, what can it offer to the external environment that other organizations cannot? What are your company's competitive advantages? Will the economic situation change in the absence of your company in the market? How can your company be useful to society, what is special about you?

If your mission can also apply to other companies, then your company is no different from the rest. The mission of the organization should reflect the philosophy of the organization, there is no need to generalize it, thereby reducing its value, as well as to drive it into a narrow framework. Consider the unofficial mission of the Aqua Logo organization - it sounds like "Bring beauty to people by creating aquariums." If the phrase “creating aquariums” is removed from the mission, the meaning will change, the wording will become general, but due to the lack of specifics, the organization has more opportunities to increase the range of activities. Now the company is also engaged in reservoirs. When a manager decides to take a course for the development of an organization, his task is to correctly determine the mission. It should be clear and give room for conquering other areas of development.

As for the organization "Business Class", whose activities are aimed at teaching business processes, its mission could be as follows: "We know how to teach." But the mission of the company lies in the principle of "Effective Efficiency Learning". It shows a different view of the activities of the organization, reveals the ideology of the company. "Business Class" effectively teaches its students efficiency. Accents are correctly placed in it, they indicate the main principle and peculiarity of the company. When the definition of the mission is approached with a full understanding of what they want to reflect, they get real results, not a corporate motto.

Formation of the mission of the organization: 2 approaches

Can be distinguished two approaches to define the mission:

• wide;
• narrow.

In a broad sense the concept of the mission of the organization is the credo and the main goal of the organization. Considering the mission in this vein, we can present it as a standard concept, in which there are no references to the type of product, target audience, and so on.

The meaning of the mission is shown through the philosophy, rules and norms of conduct, standards and policies of the company, laid as a foundation, and reflected in the company's activities.

Example.

The mission of one of the design bureaus is as follows: "Our main goal is progress in science and technology, an increase in the number of innovative developments, jobs, and also the protection of nature."

A broad approach to mission definition directs the organization towards specific results related to strategic development due to the benefits of producing a wide range of products; covering most of the market and all types of customers; manifestation of breadth of views during the management of the company.

With a narrow approach the mission of the organization is a specific definition that reflects the main purpose of the company, which distinguishes the organization from others.

Example.

The mission of the company (AVPK) Sukhoi: “The Sukhoi Aviation Complex aims to manufacture military and civil aircraft of the highest quality, including the Su and Be brands, aimed at meeting the needs of the Russian state.”

With a narrow approach, the mission focuses on a specific range, products, a clearly defined target audience, or plans that contribute to meeting the needs of the company. This option helps to increase management performance by increasing the specificity that uses the clearest ways to implement strategic plans.

Therefore, using this approach, we can consider the mission of the organization as a stable definition, which shows the purpose of creating and implementing the activities of the enterprise, separating it from all others.

When the mission is defined correctly, it not only reveals the main goal of the organization, but also emphasizes the distinctive features, principles that are unique to a particular company.

Who should develop the mission of the organization

To form the mission, the company's management must appoint a competent person who can convey the main meaning of the organization's existence.

To find out the attitude of employees of different skill levels in the territory of the Russian Federation to the mission of the organization, a special survey was developed. Each manager was asked to answer a series of questions concerning such aspects as the role of the mission in their companies, how well the employees of the enterprise are familiar with the mission, and whose responsibilities should include its creation and development.

Below are the results of the last question in percentage terms.

• Creating a mission is the task of top management (50% of respondents).
• The best option is to involve third-party consultants (14% of respondents).
• This is a function of another specialist (31% of respondents).
• The formation of the mission is the responsibility of the entire staff of the company, but with the help of invited specialists (5% of respondents).

To sum up this study, the best option for developing the mission of the organization is to involve in this process all the management links of the company, which will be able to clearly indicate the meaning of the organization's existence. At the same time, the results of such work should be controlled by the involved specialists who have a sufficient level of competence in this matter.

Many people believe that the definition of the mission is the task of the top management of the organization, since only these employees can correctly identify it and the level of their competence allows them to independently form the mission of the organization. This is one of the key mistakes in defining the mission and purpose of the organization.

Another drawback of this approach is the non-acceptance by the company's personnel of a solely developed mission, which in turn can lead to misunderstanding between the manager and employees or escalate and result in direct clashes. Also, a manager cannot draw up a strategic plan without a perspective, having only a subjective idea of ​​the company's position in the current time.

The situation is similar with the involved consultants: they cannot form the mission of the organization without involving the management and personnel of the company in their work, because they do not have complete information, and are not immersed in the process, as a result of which they are not familiar with the specifics of the work and other details.

Step-by-step development of the mission of the organization

Stage 1.Understanding the need for a mission.

The formation of the mission of the organization is not just another process to create a certain image of the company or a new trend in business. This is a labor-intensive event that reflects the main long-term goal of the organization, the direction of its development. A correctly formulated mission of the organization's strategy is an important point for achieving results, assistance in managing and stimulating staff, shaping the company's image among competitors, and perception among consumers. Therefore, the management of the organization needs to:

• understand the importance of long-term planning, otherwise there is no point in thinking about the formation of a mission;
• be ready to invest your knowledge, efforts, time, take a direct part in the development of the mission of the organization;
• having the necessary experience and qualifications to develop the mission (if the manager has a desire to form a mission, there is an understanding of what it is for, but lacks competence, it is worth considering the option of a hired specialist who has the necessary skills and knowledge, and is also ready to provide examples of successfully implemented cases).

Stage 2.Formation of a working group.

For the successful development of the mission, it is necessary to select competent performers. It is worth attracting managers of different levels to the working group and uniting them with one goal. You need to instruct them to monitor the market, find examples of the missions of successful corporations, and pay special attention to companies similar to yours. In the course of this study, a foundation will be formed, a long-term plan for the future will be outlined, which can be used to create the mission of the organization.

Stage 3.Identification of the distinctive features of the organization.

To form the mission and purpose of the organization, the manager must think objectively, evaluate his company from the point of view of an external subject. It is necessary to highlight your competitive advantages, which are in demand among consumers, and, based on this information, draw up a strategic plan for the development of the company (see Table 1).

Table 1. Product and market-oriented business concepts

Stage 4.Communicating the mission to employees.

The staff must clearly understand the concept of "company mission", its purpose and what is the meaning of it. Only in this case, the organization will be able to achieve its goals and be accepted by consumers.

There are several ways to interpret the mission of an organization for staff. The success of each of them also depends on the size of the company. In global corporations, it is customary to hold meetings, seminars with the involvement of top management. Meetings are held in small and medium-sized businesses. The mission and development strategy of the organization can be hung in the common lobby as a tool to maintain the internal corporate culture. Companies often resort to distributing special materials, which include such theses as:

• introductory word from top management, explaining the purpose and principles of the organization;
• philosophy, creed, motto of the enterprise, as well as rules and norms of behavior.

Many organizations have begun to use such materials - a printed manual, where all the above theses are clearly described.

This type of information delivery is convenient for management, and also guarantees a positive response among employees, which will undoubtedly affect both the attitude of staff towards the organization and its reputation in the external environment.

Stage 5.Environment accounting.

The mission of the organization not only affects the owners and employees, it also affects the entities surrounding the company, including partners, customers, the municipality and others. During the formation of the mission, it is important not to forget about this. Mission development should be determined by 4 types of audiences.

• Public - how the organization is useful to society, what it can offer.
• Client - whether it satisfies the demand on the market.
• Organizational (for employees) - whether it meets the needs of the system in the field of activity of the company.
• Entrepreneurial (for business partners) - whether it meets the goals and objectives that are aimed at the growth of the organization, whether the requests of owners and shareholders are satisfied.

Most of all, this method is used among companies involved in industry and finance. Their activities are directly related to the well-being of the cities where they are located. Often industrial enterprises harm the environment.

Stage 6.Compliance with the reality of the mission of the organization.

There are three criteria that make a mission realistic. They will help to balance the expectations of management and the present state of affairs in the organization. It should be checked to what extent the mission of the organization meets these points.

• Does the mission correctly show the rules, philosophy and aspirations of the enterprise?
• Is the mission based on the identity of the organization?
• Does it meet the needs of the external environment?

When developing a mission, it is worth referring to the experience of other companies, such research can help in compiling your own.

Expert opinion

Employees must be aware of the mission of the company

Vadim Kotelnikov,

General Director of Congress-Prom-Invest, Moscow

The mission of the organization is of great importance as a tool for motivating staff. When employees do not know what the mission sounds like, their activities turn into a routine, there is no incentive to work proactively for the benefit of the company, they are limited only by their functionality. In the East, it is customary to say that you need to make a lot of efforts, but you can achieve your goals only by putting them in the right direction. And you also need to clearly understand what you want to achieve, and work in this direction. Goals should be high, motivate and inspire people.

The company's management, in particular the CEO, not only translates the mission statement of the organization, but also conveys its meaning and content. His area of ​​responsibility includes the definition and interpretation of the mission as a tool to stimulate employees. Unfortunately, not all domestic organizations pay due attention to this fact.

In the course of the study on the definition of the duties of a leader among the Russian-speaking and other population, the following answers were received:

• our compatriots noted that it is important for them the ability of a leader to motivate people, raise corporate spirit and inspire for better results;
• for residents of foreign countries, the main thing is a clear idea of ​​the company's activities and its further development.

It turns out that Eastern wisdom teaches us that the task of a leader is to inspire his subordinates to be proactive, and not just direct them in the right direction. Therefore, the situation is already changing.

The mission of the organization and its life cycle

Consider the entire life cycle of a mission.

• Search for the components of the mission that make up its definition.
• Formulation of the meaning and possibilities of the mission.
• Deepening and substantiating the role of the mission of the organization, combining its form and content.
• Balance and development.
• Obsolescence, end of life.

The beginning of the mission is the emergence of several theses that reflect the path of development and advancement, a strategic plan for several years ahead, or an understanding of the picture in the long term, or activities to achieve the goals, as well as the fruits of the work and their significance for the company.

There is a practice when all theses have already been formed, but have not yet been brought together. They usually lack a common thesis or standards of work and behaviour. They can appear both in specific people and in a group of people, often in an unexpected way. Among large corporations, the statistics show that the intuitive approach turned out to be more successful than the measured moves that were made after analyzing the experience of past years.

There are many ideas, some of them remain ideas, not having time to become the main idea of ​​the mission of any organization. Many of them have not been implemented for a long period of time. You can perceive them as missions, but they do not have an "addressee". These include such as "environmental protection", "improvement of working conditions" and others.

When developing a mission, it is necessary to take into account the following factors that can determine its capabilities:

• correlation of the mission of the organization and the reasons for its creation;
• correlation of the mission and results, the achievement of which is a priority;
• correlation of the achieved results of the company with the market and the mobility, flexibility inherent in it.

The refinement of the mission of the organization takes place taking into account the data of these correlations, a complete assessment of the situation within the organization. Both the current situation and plans for the future are taken into account without excessive pessimism. After that, the mission is determined to be in a state of equilibrium. She inspires the staff, guides them with a common idea and gives confidence in a successful result. The coat of arms, anthem and other symbols can be considered a mission at the state level. Their main difference is that the mission has a limited life cycle, it changes over time or takes on a different form.

Closer to the end of its life cycle, the mission practically does not introduce innovations and changes into the strategic plan for the future, but only reinforces the existing methods of solving problems, established processes in building communications. It gradually becomes obsolete, its purpose becomes irrelevant, it pulls the organization back. And then the mission just ends its activity.

This outcome is found among the missions of many companies. And their existence ceases along with the organization.

Examples of missions of major global companies

Below we will consider the missions of world business leaders who have firmly taken their place in their segment and are considered successful corporations.

1. The concept of the mission of the Yandex organization: "Help in solving problems on the way to your life goals."
2. The vision of the Swedish company IKEA: "We work to make your every day better."
3. Disneyland defines its main goal as: "We are designed for parents and children to spend as much time together as possible."
4. Mary Kay's Mission Statement: "We work to make every woman happy with her life, using only high quality products, and to be able to build her career, become a consultant with her own work schedule and achieve everything she dreamed of."
5. As for the mission statement of the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru, it is as follows: “Our company stands for environmental protection. We understand its importance for the whole world and therefore use technologies that do not harm the environment, people and the planet as a whole.”
6. Sberbank's mission: “We work so that people live better, can fulfill their dreams and desires. Our organization provides guarantees and inspires confidence.”
7. Unilever's vision: "We believe that business should expand without harming the environment and society, it should increase the positive aspirations of society."
8. Domestic companies also set a course to define their mission. For example, telecommunications giant Rostelecom defines its mission as follows: “We develop and provide new services to help make people's lives better.”
9. Megafon's mission: "We erase borders, we unite people regardless of their location."
10. Lukoil Fuel Company sees its main goal as follows: “Our main task is to achieve the best results in the development of our organization, to improve the lives of our employees and people in the world. We try to expediently use natural resources for the benefit of society.”

Information about experts

Dmitry Persheev, General Director of Garant, Moscow. Garant is one of the largest Russian information companies. The Garant company and the system of the same name created by it have been awarded numerous awards and diplomas of specialized exhibitions and professional competitions. The partner network includes more than 250 centers in our country and abroad. The company employs more than 7.5 thousand employees in 200 cities of Russia. Today, the range of services provided is expanding: seminars for clients, legal consultations, and professional magazines are being published.

Boris Polgeim, founder, main shareholder and strategic director of Aqua Logo and Business Class, Moscow. Aqua Logo was founded in 1995. Specializes in aquarium interior design. The number of employees is about 300 people. Turnover - several million US dollars per year. At present, it is the largest company of this profile in Russia. The company "Business class" is engaged in business training for managers. The number of employees is 20 people. Clients - about 500 heads of small and medium-sized enterprises. Turnover - about 1 million dollars a year.

Vadim Kotelnikov, General Director of Congress-Prom-Invest, Moscow. The field of activity of the company "Congress-Prom-Invest" is the support and development of innovative business. Year of foundation - 2000. Number of employees - 50 people, capitalization - 50 million US dollars.

Determining the mission of the enterprise is the first step in developing a marketing plan. There are many concepts of the mission of the organization.

The mission of the organization expresses the philosophy and meaning of its existence. It usually details the status, declares the principles of work and provides the most important characteristics of the organization. In management theory, the mission is considered as a very important statement of management, reflecting the socially significant intentions of the organization, as well as giving an idea of ​​​​the scope, key goals and principles of work, and markets that are in the focus of the organization's interests.

The mission of the organization sets the orientation for its employees, customers, investors, suppliers. The mission makes the enterprise a firm and equips with the principles of strategic behavior, includes a vision of the future state of the organization, its business and the main orientation of achieving success, as well as an entrepreneurial culture, policy, ethical principles of management. The mission is a complex goal, it includes both internal (for example, improving productivity) and external (for example, related to competition) guidelines for the organization's activities, thus expressing the essence of the success that the organization should achieve.

O.S. Vikhansky defined the mission of an organization as “a formulated statement as to why or for what reason an organization exists, i.e., a mission is understood as a statement that reveals the meaning of the existence of an organization, in which the difference between this organization and its similar ones is manifested.” A correctly defined mission, although it always has a general philosophical meaning, nevertheless, necessarily carries something in itself that makes it unique in its kind, characterizing exactly the organization in which it was developed.

The mission is the reason for the existence of the enterprise. The mission is determined in the process of strategic planning, it is the main strategy of the enterprise, in accordance with which all other activities are built. Its adoption makes it possible to clearly define the purpose of the activity of this enterprise and does not give managers the opportunity to focus on personal interests. The mission of the organization is the social benefit that the organization intends to bring (or already brings) to others.

Mission clearly formulated and shared by all employees of the enterprise:

• - defines the goals of the enterprise: it becomes clear why it was created. This allows you to concentrate on achieving the main goal without wasting energy and resources;
• - encourages employees to work together to achieve this goal. The loyalty of employees to the organization increases, a strong team is formed that shares the views and principles of the organization. An employee begins to work not only for a salary, but also “for an idea”;
• - helps in planning: the mission serves as a starting point for the development of strategic and tactical plans; thus, conflicting goals are removed, conflicts and loss of resources are excluded;
• - allows you to stand out from competitors: the formation of a mission is a good reason to think again and decide how your company differs (of course, for the better) from competitors' companies.

Mission management functions include:

• 1. Combining the goals, experience and knowledge of people so that, on the one hand, they work effectively, and, on the other hand, they do it with desire and pleasure. This feature is called group projection.
• 2. Combining individual forms of perception and evaluation of various acts, technologies and other features of the production of knowledge (products, services ...). This feature is called advanced synchronous adaptation.
• 3. Management of the development of concepts, strategies, general systems and principles of labor regulation, projects of new decision-making technologies in business communication between representatives of different cultures of knowledge. This function is to provide functional equivalence.
• 4. Activation of creative, rationalization, initiative activity of employees. This feature is called cognitive activation.
• 5. Activation of the emotional, social, behavioral, leadership potential of employees. This function is personal mobilization.
• 6. Internationalization, corporatization and globalization of organizational relations and staff development. This feature is called interpersonal stabilization.

If the company does not have a clearly defined mission, then this entails:

• - inconsistency: in the event that the enterprise does not have a single direction of development, a situation often arises when various projects and programs are inconsistent and conflict with each other;
• - difficulties in planning: if you do not know in which direction your enterprise should develop, it is difficult for you to make any plans, since there is no benchmark to strive for;
• - formation of a negative image (inside the enterprise and outside it). If no one can explain to customers, partners and employees why the company operates in the market, this undermines its credibility. As a result, this can lead to a gradual cooling of relationships with partners and customers. Employees, not understanding why they work, begin to experience dissatisfaction and a desire to change jobs.

The mission helps to determine what the company actually does: what is its essence, scale, prospects and directions of growth, differences from competitors. At the same time, it focuses on the consumer, and not on the product (service), since the mission of the organization is most often determined taking into account the purchasing interests, requests, needs that are satisfied by the organization. The role of the mission of the organization is that it establishes a link, orients in a single direction the interests and expectations of those people who perceive the organization from the inside, and those who perceive it from the outside. The mission allows you to orient or even subordinate the interests of "internal" people in relation to the organization to the interests of "external" people. By defining what the organization was created for, the mission gives meaningfulness and purposefulness to the actions of people, allowing them to better see and realize not only what they should do, but also why they carry out their activities.

There are several main tasks for the solution of which the mission of the organization is intended:

• 1) make explicit what the firm exists for and establish a framework for defining and ensuring consistency in its objectives;
• 2) determine how this organization differs from others operating in the same market;
• 3) create a criterion for assessing the need to perform all the actions carried out at the enterprise;
• 4) coordinate the interests of all persons associated with the firm (owners, management, staff, customers, suppliers, etc.);
• 5) contribute to the creation of a corporate spirit, including expanding the meaning and content of their activities for employees.

The mission is necessary for employees to justify their daily "going" to work, so that the employee reconciles his personal interests with the interests of the organization in which he works; managers at all levels to facilitate the management of employees; customers to realize that the company does not just make money, but tries to satisfy their needs, takes care of them.

What is a mission

Typically, the management of a company is faced with the problem of choosing among several goals and objectives, such as ensuring the profitability of the company, growth, the cost of capital of shareholders, meeting the needs of consumers, etc. As a rule, the choice of one of the goals leads to the fact that the management concentrates on one direction and the fulfillment of obligations to only one group interested in the company's activities. Thus, there is a “depreciation” of other interested groups.

Typically, the following main interest groups are distinguished:

table 2

In addition, the main interest groups may also include public authorities, suppliers, society, expressing expectations in relation to the company that are different from the expectations of other groups.

Thus, one of the main tasks of the company's management is the coordination of various and partly conflicting interests. There are several approaches to accomplishing this task, one of which is to write a company mission statement that describes the objectives of the organization and its main characteristics.

Mission:

Mission Value

The development of the mission is the starting point of any improvement in the management system, since the definition of the mission is necessary in order to identify what the main task of the enterprise is and to subordinate any activity of the enterprise to its decision.

The mission is intended to solve the following main tasks:

• Explicitly state what the company exists for and establish a framework for defining and ensuring consistency with its goals.
• Determine how the company differs from all other companies operating in the same market.
• Create a criterion for assessing the need to perform all the actions carried out in the company.
• Coordinate the interests of all persons associated with the organization (owners, management, staff, customers, etc.).
• Contribute to the creation of a corporate spirit, including expanding the meaning and content of their activities for employees.

The formation of the mission allows you to determine why a particular organization exists, and this definition usually does not change throughout the entire life cycle of the organization. The development of a new mission usually leads to the creation of a new enterprise.

“…The answer to the question “Who are we, what do we do and where are we going?” determine the course the firm should take and help develop a strong identity. What the company is going to do, and what it wants to become, in a general sense is the purpose (mission) of the company.

Mission Definition

Definition

A mission definition can consist of the following main elements:

Definition of the area of ​​competition

The industry direction includes a list of areas of economic activity in which the company is going to work. The consumer direction determines the range of customers that the company will serve. The geographical direction characterizes the countries and regions in which the company could operate, whether it will be multinational or will it work in a geographical “niche”.

Strategic intent or vision

The strategic vision of the company involves the definition of those key indicators that the company seeks to achieve in the future. Usually it is formulated as follows: "We strive to ...". The strategic vision can describe both quantitative and qualitative indicators that determine the main directions of the company's development. As a rule, the strategic vision serves to motivate the employees of the company. In addition, the strategic vision allows the subjects of the external environment (customers, partners, contractors) to assess the company's intentions regarding further actions in the market and the prospects for the development of relationships.

Competence of personnel and competitive advantages

The mission defines the essence of corporate values. These include the specific knowledge and skills a firm possesses that enable it to offer its customers the best products and services. For example, an emphasis on technological innovation, high quality products and services, pricing, engineering solutions.

Key Interest Groups

The mission defines the groups of individuals and organizations, cooperation with which contributes to the prosperity of the company, establishes their requirements and formulates the priorities of the work of managers.

In addition, an expanded mission statement may include:

• list of main activities;
• the main competitive advantages that are planned to be achieved;

  and also (for internal use):

• the main competitive shortcomings that are planned to be eliminated in the first place.

The mission can be formulated both in the form of a single phrase, and in the form of a multi-page policy statement of the company's management, which reflects all aspects of coordinating the interests of various groups and the main characteristics of the company. Different versions (short and extended) can be used for various purposes - as a representative document for inclusion in the company's annual report to shareholders, as an intra-company founding document, etc. (See the section “Mission Statement Examples”).

Mission Creation Process

An important condition for formulating the mission is its understanding and acceptance by the majority of the company's employees. This will ensure that the goals and interests of individuals involved in the activities of the company will be subordinated to the goals of the company as a whole.

Therefore, it is highly desirable to involve all key employees of the company in the process of developing the mission. These are senior management, heads of structural subdivisions (divisions, departments) and leading specialists.

Below is one of the options for organizing work to develop a mission for an existing enterprise:

1. Conducting an introductory meeting to explain the goals and objectives of the work.
2. Questioning of key employees of the company.
3. Processing questionnaires and presenting analysis results (multiple mission statements).
4. Clarification of the main provisions.
5. Choice of final mission statement.
6. Holding a meeting to present the results of the work.

If for some reason it is impractical to involve all key employees in these works, you can limit yourself to involving only top managers (general director and his deputies). In this case, the procedure remains the same, but is carried out faster and with less work.

Possible difficulties

Often in the literature it is indicated that the development of the mission should be carried out on the basis of an analysis of the external and internal environment:

“Factors to consider when developing a mission:

This is absolutely true, but it seems that in order to analyze the external environment, it is necessary to have a tool for filtering out unnecessary information (the so-called “irrelevant” information, that is, not related to the task at hand). Since the external and internal environment supply an almost unlimited amount of information, it is possible to extract the necessary information from it only using the so-called “filters”. The most useful of these is precisely the mission of the organization. Therefore, even before starting a purposeful analysis of the environment, it is necessary to formulate a preliminary mission statement and then refine it in accordance with the results of the mission development process. Preliminary wording can be obtained very simply - it is necessary to say in one sentence what the enterprise does or wants to do, for example, “sells apartments” or “produces building materials”.

Sometimes it turns out to be difficult, and sometimes impossible to formulate a mission organizations. This may indicate that company is unbalanced, that is, there are no common goals within the organization, the interests of various groups are in conflict, the company is “torn” between directions of development and the decisions made are not aimed at achieving corporate goals. Such a situation can also arise if there are several divisions of the company moving in different directions, like the heroes of I. Krylov's fable “Swan, Cancer and Pike”.

Determination of goals

The next step in the strategic management process is to define the organization's strategic goals. Determination of goals is a very important stage of planning, since all subsequent activities of the organization will be subordinated to the achievement of these goals.

Target - the specific state of the individual characteristics of the organization, the achievement of which is desirable for it and the achievement of which its activities are aimed at.

The goals of the organization are determined after receiving the mission statement, that is, the mission, on the one hand, makes it possible to establish what goals need to be set so that the activities of the enterprise correspond to its mission, and on the other hand, “cuts off” some of the possible goals.

Goal setting translates the company's strategic vision and direction into specific objectives related to the firm's production and performance. Objectives are the commitment of the managerial apparatus to achieve certain results in a set time.

Target classification

Different authors have different classifications. Approximately the same classification by time for which the targets are set. Usually distinguish long-term and short-term goals. The division of goals into short-term and long-term is of fundamental importance, since these goals differ significantly in content. Short-term goals are more specific and detailed than long-term ones. Sometimes intermediate goals are set between long-term and short-term goals, they are called medium-term.

Depending on the specifics of the industry, the characteristics of the state of the environment, the nature and content of the mission, each organization sets its own goals. For example, the film shows the classification of goals by functional areas:

Market targets(or external program goals): in the field of marketing and public relations, for example:

• Sales volume in physical and value terms.
• Number of clients.
• Market share.

Production goals(internal program goals) are a consequence of market ones. Includes everything that is necessary to achieve market goals (with the exception of organizational resources):

• Provide a certain volume of production (production volume = sales volume - existing stocks + planned stocks);
• Build a workshop (volume of capital construction);
• Develop a new technology (conducting research and development work);

Organizational Goals- everything related to the management, structure and personnel of the organization:

• Hire three marketers;
• Bring the average salary of employees to the level of the market leader;
• Implement a project management system.

Financial Goals- link all goals in value terms:

• Net Sales (from “Market Targets”);
• The amount of costs (from “production” and “organizational” goals);
• Gross and net profit;
• Profitability of sales, etc.

You can set goals in a different order: from financial to market and production.

In our opinion, this classification is distinguished by the simplicity of the conceptual apparatus. In addition, it ensures the coherence of goals, since the latter logically follow from each other (from market - production, then organizational and financial).

Hierarchy of goals

In any large organization that has several different structural units and several levels of management, a hierarchy of goals is formed, which is a decomposition of higher-level goals into lower-level goals.

Higher level goals are always broader in nature and have a longer timeframe to achieve. Lower-level goals act as a kind of means to achieve higher-level goals.

For example, short-term goals are derived from long-term ones, are their concretization and detailing, are subordinate to them. Short-term goals, as it were, set milestones on the way to achieving long-term goals.

The hierarchy of goals plays a very important role, as it establishes the "connectivity" of the organization and ensures the orientation of the activities of all departments towards achieving the goals of the upper level.

Goal Requirements

To determine whether strategic goals are formulated correctly, you can use a simple rule - the SMART principle. According to him, the goals should be:

• Specific (Specific);
• Measurable;
• Agreed (Agreeable, Accordant);
  1. with the mission of the company;
  2. between themselves;
  3. with those who have to carry them out.
• Achievable (Realistic);
• Defined in time (Timebounded);

Goal setting

The goal setting process involves four phases:

Identification and analysis of those trends that are observed in the external environment of the company.

Management should strive to anticipate the state of the external environment and set goals in accordance with this prediction. Goals should be formulated in such a way that, without absolutizing tendencies, they reflect them.

Setting goals for the organization as a whole.

It is important to determine which of the wide range of possible characteristics of the organization's activities should be taken as goals. The system of criteria used in determining the goals of the organization is also important. The decision on goals also always depends on the resources available to the organization.

Building a hierarchy of goals.

Determination of such goals for all levels of the organization, the achievement of which will lead to the achievement of individual units of corporate goals. It involves the construction of a “tree of goals”, in which a clear dependence “goal-means” is fixed.

Setting individual goals.

In order for the hierarchy of goals within the organization to become a real tool for achieving goals and objectives, it must be brought to the level of an individual employee. In this case, one of the most important conditions for the successful operation of the organization is achieved: each employee, as it were, is included in the process of joint achievement of the ultimate goals of the organization.

The goals set must have the status of law for the organization, for all its divisions and for all members. However, the immutability of goals does not follow from the requirement of compulsion. There are several approaches to the problem of changing goals:

• Goals are adjusted whenever circumstances warrant.
• Proactive change of goals. With this approach, long-term and short-term goals are set, after reaching short-term goals, new long-term and short-term goals are developed, etc.

One of the most important points that determine the process of setting goals in the organization is the degree of delegation of the right to make decisions on the goals of the lower levels of the organization. In practice, the process of setting goals in different organizations occurs in different ways. However, it is common that the decisive role in all cases should belong to the top management.

Examples of mission statements.

Here are some examples of mission statements from various operating organizations. In each formulation, only its essence (mission essence) is indicated, i.e. the wording is not expanded, but abbreviated.

For Russian enterprises, information is given about their location and the time the mission was developed.

Lucent Technologies.

We are dedicated to being the world’s best at bringing people together – giving them easy access to each other and to the information and services they want and need – anytime, anywhere.

We strive to be the best firm in the world that connects people by giving them easy access to each other, the information and the services they need anytime, anywhere.

Sharing Knowledge Through Documents

Sharing knowledge through documents.

We create and implement ideas in the field of development and promotion of goods and services to satisfy our customers' customers.

Center for Management Consulting "SOLUTION".

The mission of our company is assistance to managers and employees of Russian enterprises in making and implementing decisions aimed at improving enterprise management systems and creating conditions for their long-term successful development.

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When you pronounce the word "mission", some majestic epithets appear in your mind. It is associated exclusively with something global and large-scale. And what does modern management invest in the concept of "mission and goals of the organization"? Is this also something unimaginable or is it still an obligatory attribute of company management?

Definition

"Without a mission, no company can exist." These postulates are printed in all textbooks on marketing and management. This is based on philosophical reasoning that a company is created not for making a profit and making money, but for something noble, for example, improving the world order. From an economic point of view, such statements are absolutely not true: any entrepreneur wants to receive income from the invested funds and the effort expended. This is natural, normal and correct. But how will the consumer react if he is directly told: “I want to make money from you”? Most likely negative. But a softened wording, such as: "The mission and goals of the organization that I created are to satisfy the needs of customers and make me a profit," will suit everyone.

So, the mission is a kind of philosophical root cause of the company's birth, the definition of its features and differences from similar organizations.

contact groups

The management of the company should focus on solving several goals at the same time: making a profit, increasing the organization's assets, satisfying consumers, ensuring the interests of shareholders, etc. By focusing on one or two goals, managers lose potential customers or investors, staff loyalty falls, etc. As a result, the mission and goals of the organization are limited to elementary survival in a crisis. What do representatives of interest groups expect from the company?

• Shareholders are interested in the growth of dividends, the reliability of investments and the stability of the organization.
• Company managers want to receive not only monetary rewards for their efforts, but also power.
• Consumers need high-quality, but not very expensive goods and services.
• Employees of the company want to be confident in the future: salary stability, job satisfaction, etc.
• Lenders must be sure of the timely return of their funds and the receipt of interest.

Contact groups also include suppliers, government authorities, public organizations that advocate for the preservation of the planet's ecology, etc.

Therefore, the main task of management is to harmonize all the versatile and sometimes conflicting interests of the contact groups. Defining the mission and goals of the organization helps to cope with this task.

Meaning

No man can afford an aimless existence. Even if all material and spiritual issues are resolved (even by the previous generations of the family), people ask questions about the meaning of their existence. What then to say about companies that are initially created for some purpose. The formation of the mission and goals of the organization must be completed even before the creation of this very company. Since the initial investment, and the organizational structure, and the availability of technology and other resources are determined precisely by the mission. It helps to understand and solve the following problems:

• identification of differences between the company and analogues;
• creating a basis for ensuring the consistency of goals;
• creation of criteria for assessing the quality of not only goods, but also the work of the company itself;
• coordination of interests of all representatives of the contact groups;
• creation of a reliable support for maintaining staff loyalty.

That is, the mission and strategic goals of the organization make it possible to subordinate any activity of the company to the solution of the tasks set.

Mission Statement Algorithm

Like any process, the development of the mission and goals of the organization can be decomposed into elementary components: defining the boundaries of competitive activity, strategic vision of the company's management, identifying the necessary competence of personnel and describing the interests of contact groups.

As soon as the idea of ​​​​creating a company arises, the company becomes a player in the product market, that is, it begins to compete. Management should decide on the industry in which the enterprise will operate, consider the target consumer direction (describe the range of customers and their needs) and determine the geography of the market (local, state or global scale). The answers to these questions will paint the big picture and indicate the boundaries within which to work out the details of the mission and goals of the organization.

The company's management can draw up several types of this most important document. Expressed in one capacious phrase, the mission can become the company's slogan, accessible and understandable to everyone. How do well-known companies formulate the mission and goals of the organization? Examples are known to all of us: Apple Computers - "The highest quality computers for people around the world"; Nike - "just do it (just do it)" (implies that you just need to go in for sports and yourself); Facebook - "Enabling people to connect and make the world more open and connected."

But a multi-page volume, in which the sequence of actions of the entire team is described in the most detailed way to the smallest detail, can only be intended for internal use. In this case, the mission and goals of the organization must be critically evaluated. That is, in addition to competitive advantages. It is necessary to analyze the weaknesses of the company, as well as outline ways to eliminate them.

Who should formulate the idea?

Often the definition of the mission and goals of the organization takes a formal character. The owner of the company gives the installation, and at best the executive director draws up a document that remains unclaimed and misunderstood by all employees of the company. Of course, in this case, all the heights intended by the owner will not be reached.

To prevent this from happening, the mission, goals and objectives of the organization must be written collectively. That is, all heads of functional units, all heads of departments and leading specialists should be involved in the preparation of this document. Only such a "collective work" will create a truly worthwhile guide to action. Indeed, in this case, the interests of individual participants in the process will be coordinated and woven into the activities of the company.

Issues

In order for the mission of the organization and the goals of management not to look like a fantasy story, it is necessary to analyze the external and internal environment of the company. A detailed study of macro-environment factors will bring the performance as close as possible to the desired indicators. In addition, an objective real assessment of the situation on the market will give the company the opportunity to grow and function effectively. After all, only by critically evaluating your efforts, you can develop a strategy for activity.

However, in the modern world, information flows roll over us like a snowball, and it is very difficult to single out what is really necessary. Therefore, all incoming data should be filtered. You can determine the primary filters by formulating the mission in advance. To a certain extent, this situation can be called a vicious circle. But, as we already know, the mission, strategy and goals of the organization can be expressed in primitive sentences. What does the company do? manufactures children's toys. What are the company's goals? Recoup the initial investment in six months of work. At this point, it does not matter at all how realistic the goals are. The main thing is that filters for filtering out useless information have been obtained. And now we can begin to analyze the external environment.

If you can't formulate a mission

There are situations when the mission and main goals of the organization cannot be formulated. This is especially common when a company that has been operating for a long time, at the next expansion (or experiencing a crisis), decides to restructure. The first thing that experts say in such cases is that the company is unbalanced, there is no unanimity in it, each department “moves on its own”. A little less often, a similar situation can be encountered in cases where the company decides to expand. And it does not matter if a new direction is opened, or a product enters a new market.

It is necessary to analyze the mission and goals of the organization and adjust them in accordance with new data. Otherwise, the work of the company will perfectly illustrate Krylov's fable "The Swan, the Cancer and the Pike". Competitive advantages will be lost, and consumer loyalty will come to naught.

What is a goal

Defining an enterprise development strategy involves a clear formulation of the goals of both the entire company and its individual divisions. The concept of the mission and goals of the organization is always considered as a whole. After all, the goals of the company follow from the mission, and the timely and effective achievement of goals leads to the fulfillment of the mission. But still find out the definition of this concept.

The goal can be called any state of specific performance indicators of the company, which must be achieved within a certain time frame. That is, in order for the goal to be considered formulated, it is necessary to set the desired value of profit, for example, and set the period for which it must be received. Only in this case can we talk about the effectiveness of the mission and purpose of the organization.

Examples of setting goals, in which at least one of the named parameters is absent, we meet at every step not only in enterprises, but also in personal life: lose weight, build muscle, make money. All these are desires. The goal should sound like this: lose weight by 5 kilograms in 2 months, pump up the muscles of the arms in six months (here, however, you still need to clarify exactly how to pump up: to a certain volume of biceps or to “carrying your beloved with ease”), earn money honest labor to buy a yacht within five years. Only such a clear presentation of the final result within the specified time frame will allow us to work effectively. For companies, these restrictions are even more important. After all, it is necessary to coordinate all the resources of the company, perhaps redistribute them in order for the goal to be achieved.

To facilitate the control of the correctness of setting goals, you can use the SMART principle. This abbreviation is made up of the first letters of words that characterize the goals:

• specific - specific,
• measurable - measurable,
• agreeable - agreed (with the mission of the company, among themselves, with direct performers),
• realistic - achievable,
• timebounded - defined in time.

Classification

It would be wrong to say that there is a single system for classifying goals. Specialists find different characteristics by which they can be distinguished. Nevertheless, the mission, goals and objectives of the organization are most often associated with the time factor. Distinguish between long-term, medium-term and short-term goals. Looking ahead, let's say that in general terms, the mission is the long-term goal of the company, and the task is the short-term one. But let's take a closer look.

The fundamental difference between long-term and short-term goals lies in the accuracy of the wording. If for a long-term goal the statement “to take a leading position in the market” is normal, then for a short-term goal, clear constraints are needed, which we talked about a little earlier. The more specific and detailed the goal (in this case, it can be called a task), the higher the probability of its timely achievement.

Most often, to achieve a long-term goal, it is necessary to establish several intermediate ones. They are called medium term. Another fundamental difference between short-term and long-term goals is quantity. So, there cannot be many strategic goals: a maximum of two or three. There can be 40 or 100 operational tasks. That is why they are called tasks because they are very specific and the implementation of one will not lead to any result, but the totality of solutions will give the desired. This interconnectedness of goals is called a hierarchy and, simply put, it is a pyramid, at the base of which are multiple short-term goals, and at the top is the mission of the company.

Functional classification of goals

And yet, goal setting is classified not only by execution time. The most common is the functional division of tasks:

• Market goals affect such performance indicators of the company as the dynamics of sales, increase in the number of customers, expansion of market share, etc.
• Production goals are formulated to improve the work of the organization, ensure a given volume of production, expand production capacity, modernize technology, etc.
• Organizational goals are a consequence of the solution of the two previous types of tasks: they are aimed at restructuring the company and the need to attract more professional staff.
• Financial goals are designed to link together all previous tasks. They have a unified measurement system and calculate indicators such as gross income and profitability of the enterprise.

In what order the targets will be set (from market to financial or vice versa) does not matter. The consistency of all tasks and the possibility of mutual situational adjustment are important. It is possible that not all of the listed types of goals will be worked out by the firm. Their quality and quantity depends on the specifics of the industry in which the activity is carried out, on the state and aggressiveness of the external environment, on the mission, after all.