Mission of a commercial organization. Mission of the organization: requirements, development procedure, examples. Goals and objectives of construction

Strategic planning is characterized in the same way as planning, with the only difference that the decision-making process is based on a clearly formulated strategy and strategic goals for the functioning and development of the organization. As a process, strategic planning can be built into a specific technological chain, schematically shown in Fig. 4.1.

Rice. 4.1 - Technology of the strategic planning process

Strategic planning starts with development mission of the organization.

Mission - it is the purpose and raison d'être of the organization for its owners and employees, customers and business partners, the environment and society as a whole. The mission reveals the difference between the organization and similar ones, and this difference is then formed and implemented in the strategy of its functioning and development.

The mission should reflect the following characteristics of the organization:

Targets, i.e. what the organization's activities are aimed at and what it aspires to in its long term;

The scope and market in which the organization sells its product;

The philosophy of the organization as expressed in the values ​​and beliefs it adopts.

These characteristics form the image of the organization, its organizational culture and ability to survive in a competitive environment.

The mission gives the subjects of the internal and external environment a general idea of ​​the organization, what it is striving for, what means it is ready to use; contributes to the internal unity of the organization and the formation of its corporate spirit; creates an opportunity for more effective management of the organization, since it is the basis for setting its goals and strategies, allocating its resources; reveals to the employees of the organization the meaning and content of their activities.

Below is one example of the mission statement of the American company Sun Banks.

“The company's mission is to contribute to the economic development and well-being of the communities served by the company by providing citizens and businesses with quality banking services in a manner and to such an extent that it meets high professional and ethical standards of providing fair and appropriate returns to the company's shareholders and fair treatment of the company's employees. ".

And here is how the mission of the department of a higher educational institution that produces managers can be formulated: “Our mission is to fill the gap in the training of managerial personnel for enterprises that manufacture products or work in the service sector, formed by the change in management functions in the developing system of market - competitive relations, through the introduction of educational technologies that ensure continuous creative and practical development, which are the guarantor of getting graduates a decent job and adequate financial remuneration, as well as creating an infrastructure for continuous business education and management consulting, in which not only the staff of the department, students and its graduates, as well as a society of business people.

Many leaders do not burden themselves with the development and formulation of the mission of the organization, considering it obvious to themselves. Often, the mission is understood as the need to make a profit, which is rather an internal problem of organizations. Henry Ford, well aware of the importance of profit, defined the mission of the Ford company as providing cheap transportation to society, believing that with such a formulation, profit would hardly pass by.

At one time, American railroads were unable to remain highly competitive and profitable, because the management of these companies defined their mission in terms of rail, not transportation.

A completely different example of mission-building in the transportation business comes from the name of a Yale student. The mission of the organization, formulated by him in the 60s. in the thesis, it sounded like ensuring the delivery of small parcels and parcels across the country within a day. Since the realization of such a mission could only be achieved through the creation of airlines, the cost of transportation increased by 40 times.

Could there be any future hope of a successful business with such a mission statement and direct competition with such powerful companies at the time as UPS and the American Postal Service? However, the author of that "strange" work, Frederick W. Smith, in the mission he formulated, intuitively foresaw the needs of society for the rapid delivery of small parcels. In the short period after he created the Federal Express corporation, it brought in $600 million a year, and the president in the very first year of managing this company had a salary of $58 million. in year

The mission of the organization must be commensurate with its size. When applied to small enterprises, it should be realistic and will not be a mistake if the mission of a small organization as a supplier fits into the mission of a larger parent company.

The formulation of the mission, and, consequently, strategic behavior, is strongly influenced by the value orientations of top management (theoretical, economic, political, social, aesthetic and religious). A well-known specialist in the field of strategic planning, I. Ansof, states: “... behavior is not free from the influence of value orientations; both individuals and organizations show a preference for certain types of strategic behavior, even if this means losses in terms of results.

"To work for a better life, a better world for all" is the slogan of the Japanese corporation Omron. "We don't sell our products, we meet the needs of society." However, it must be remembered that behind the shiny facade of the company, from the eyes of the uninitiated, such priorities as survival, growth and development are hidden in the name of the main motivation factor - profit.

The mission is also identified with such a concept as "corporate credo". Credo means belief, views, fundamentals of the worldview. The corporate credo consists of the main strategic goal and value system of the corporation, which includes the interests of the main communication groups of external and internal environments, which include consumers whose needs the organization seeks to satisfy through the production and marketing of its products and services, suppliers of all types of resources, shareholders and investors ; employees of the organization, contact audiences, including the whole society as the general public.

In addition, the interpretation of the mission in the broad and narrow senses is possible.

Mission in a broad sense is a formulated philosophy, mission and reason for the existence of the organization. Philosophy determines the values ​​and principles of the behavior of the team in production, economic, financial, economic, marketing, communication and other activities in selected markets.

The purpose allows you to form the type of organization (commercial, non-commercial, state or municipal unitary) and develop specific activities that the management system plans to implement to translate philosophical ideas and ideas into the reality of market relations in a long-term period of existence of at least five years.

Mission in the narrow sense- this is the formulated reason for the creation and activities of the organization. In other words, the mission is considered as a statement that reveals the meaning of the organization's existence and contains features that distinguish this organization from similar ones positioned on the same market of consumers of products and services.

The difference between these interpretations lies in the fact that in the first case, although the general philosophical meaning is reflected, the distinctive features of the organization, the degree of its uniqueness in the industry and territorial markets in comparison with competitors are more specifically characterized.

The mission of an organization is its philosophy, long-term strategic vision of the business, key values ​​and beliefs. The mission is based on those characteristics of the company that are its strengths and can make it successful in the market. The mission of the enterprise is a platform for setting strategic goals, sets the general vector of business development and allows you to correctly prioritize. In the article we will consider a modern approach to the concept of mission, analyze its role and significance in enterprise management, dwell on the main elements of the mission and dwell on the process of developing such a global company philosophy.

Mission: Definition, Meaning, Functions

As we have already said, the concept of the mission is a global strategic vision for the development of business in the industry. At first glance, this concept may seem too feigned and ephemeral. But it's not. The mission has a clear role and meaning in the organization, it serves to fulfill clear functions. A correctly established mission allows you to set a strict framework for working in a company, contributes to the development of corporate culture and spirit, helps you set priorities correctly and determine a product development strategy.

Speaking of, are there certain types of missions? We can say this: each company defines its strategic vision and philosophy in its own way, it depends on the values ​​in society, on the level of market development and the company's ambitions. It is impossible to structure all existing missions into a certain system. But, you can develop several levels of the mission: the level of a separate trademark (brand) and the level of the whole company, enterprise or organization.

The process of developing a company mission is quite simple. No need to treat it like something supernatural. The mission is simply an effective and proven tool used in management to focus the efforts and resources of the company.

The role of the mission in practice

The most important thing to understand about the main meaning of the mission in the organization: it is a "compass" for business, sets the general vector of enterprise development; defines the nature and key principles of doing business; dictates the norms of behavior for the employees of the organization and forms the corporate culture; is a good PR tool.

Do you know the theory and are looking for practical application?

Attributes of a Successful Mission

There are 6 main elements of a successful mission in an organization: talks about improving the life of the buyer, builds on the unique characteristics of the product, is unambiguous, easy to remember, realistic and unique in its kind. Check with our checklist if your company's mission has the components described above:

Mission Development Stages

In world practice, the process of defining and formulating a company's mission goes through five successive stages:

• Prepare an analysis of the current mission of the product, service or company
• Write down detailed answers to the questions: What does your company do and for whom? What key consumer needs does your product satisfy? What are the key success factors for your product?
• Shorten the resulting answers, leaving only the keywords
• Summarize the resulting information in one sentence
• Conduct a verification analysis of the latest mission statement

Ready solutions

We have a ready-made template with which you can easily apply the theoretical knowledge of this article in practice. You can download a sample for developing the mission of your organization or product in the section.

That is, the mission is understood as a statement that reveals the meaning of the organization's existence, in which the difference between this organization and similar ones is manifested.

Typically, the definition of the mission of the organization pursues the solution of the following tasks:

• identify the area of ​​active actions of the organization and cut off the development paths that lead nowhere;
• determine the basic principles of competition;
• develop a common basis for developing the goals of the organization;
• develop a concept of activity that inspires the employees of the organization.

Mission objectives is a vision of what an organization should be or stand for. They should reflect the interests of all groups of influence or various groups of people, one way or another connected with the activities of the organization and involved in the process of its functioning (owners, managers, employees and workers, consumers, suppliers, banks, government agencies, local governments, public organizations, etc.).

1. The history of the emergence and development of the organization, its traditions, achievements and failures, the current image.
2. Existing style of behavior and way of action of owners and managers.
3. Resources, i.e. everything that an organization can manage: cash, recognized product brands, unique technologies, employee talent, etc.
4. , representing the totality of all factors that affect the organization's ability to achieve its goals with the help of selected strategies.
5. Distinguishing characteristics of the organization.

For example, the mission of the Marriott Hotel Company is formulated as follows: "We strive to be the best in the world in providing accommodation and food for our customers by encouraging staff to provide customers with extraordinary services and to protect the interests of shareholders."

Following the above rules is a very difficult task. This is one of the main reasons why not all organizations have well-defined missions, and some simply do not have them.

Organization goals

The main initial base for the formation of the goals of the organization - and innovation. It is in these areas that the values ​​of the organization are located, for which the consumer is willing to pay. If an organization is not able to meet the needs of consumers at a good level today and tomorrow, then it will not have a profit. In other areas of activity (production, personnel, etc.), goals are valuable only to the extent that they improve the organization's ability to meet customer needs and implement innovations (innovations).

There are six types of goals:

1. Achievement of certain indicator values market share.
2. Innovation Goals. Without the development and delivery of new services, an organization can very quickly be knocked out by competitors. An example of this type of goal would be: 50% of sales should come from products and services introduced in the last five years.
3. Resource goals characterize the organization's desire to attract the most valuable resources: qualified employees, capital, modern equipment. These goals are marketing in nature. Thus, organizations compete to attract the most capable university graduates, retailers compete for the best location of outlets. As a result, the achievement of such results creates the prerequisites for the implementation of other tasks.
4. Performance Improvement Goals. When personnel, capital and production and technical potential are not used efficiently enough, then the needs of consumers will not be satisfied enough, or this will be achieved through excessive expenditure of resources.
5. Social Goals are aimed at reducing the negative impact on the natural environment, at helping society in solving problems of employment, in the field of education, etc.
6. Purpose of obtaining a certain profit can only be established after formulating previous goals. is something that can help raise capital and encourage owners to share the risk. Profit is therefore better seen as more of a restrictive goal. The minimum profitability is necessary for the survival and development of the business.

Organization and Marketing Performance Indicators

The definition of activity goals and their evaluation are directly related to the choice of appropriate ones.

Very often, such an indicator is considered. In doing so, it is assumed that profit maximization is the main goal of the organization.

1. Profit maximization is the formal goal for which an organization exists. The one who has invested is not interested in specific projects, but in profit.
2. Profit is the ultimate reward for working efficiently and creating value for consumers.
3. Profit is a simple and understandable criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of business decisions. This is the main criterion for choosing the best solutions.

When profit maximization is considered as the main and only goal of the organization's activity, then this approach should be considered simplified both from a theoretical and practical point of view. The organization seeks to achieve, rather than the maximum level of profit. Often this value of profit acts as a restrictive goal when formulating goals focused on consumers and innovations.

Profit maximization as an evaluation criterion when considering alternative strategies can be used as a first approximation in finding the best solutions. Other criteria should be taken into account in the subsequent stage of the analysis.

The choice of the criterion for the effectiveness of the activities of a non-profit organization

First of all, it should be noted that along with organizations that live off their profits, there are also non-profit organizations. The choice of a school or a hospital as a criterion for the effectiveness of the activity contradicts the very idea of ​​​​creating such organizations. However, profit can be one of the indicators of the effectiveness of the self-supporting component in the activities of non-profit organizations.

Below we will only talk about organizations that live off their production and economic activities, which will be called companies.

Despite the predominant use of profit indicators to measure business success, they have certain disadvantages. First, in practice, profit indicators can be manipulated quite easily and simply by managers in order to obtain falsified results. A variety of and, moreover, completely legal methods of depreciation accounting for inventory valuation, accounting for research and development costs, foreign currency transfers, and in particular many options for registering new acquisitions, can turn losses on individual accounting items into large reporting profits and vice versa.

Of course, companies that care about creating and maintaining a favorable image, first of all, proclaim missions that have a social sound and have a high attractive force for all groups of the company, and above all for its managers and employees. Without this, it is difficult to use such an important management tool as (corporate culture). True, there is an opinion that the goals of the mission belong to the category of so-called declared goals, "working for the public," and among the hidden, undeclared goals, the goal is to make a profit.

To a certain extent, this contradiction can be overcome if the company's goals are connected with the goals. Since the marketing plan directly sets the task of selling certain products in selected markets, the goal of such activities is to achieve the planned indicators of sales volume, profit, market share. At the same time, the priorities and values ​​of these indicators depend on the development goals of the company as a whole. Thus, the profit indicator naturally fits into the goals of the marketing plan, and the achievement of certain results contributes to the achievement of the company's more general goals.

Today, a company is required to be able to choose a multi-purpose perspective for itself and satisfy the needs of a wide variety of interest groups. The main task of the company's management is to reconcile these dissimilar and in many ways conflicting interests. Within a well-balanced company, the reconciliation of these interests is usually not difficult. One reason is that influence groups generally do not seek to maximize their interests, instead they just hope to get a satisfying outcome. In fact, leaders operate in the zone of tolerance. tolerance zone- this is the area of ​​effective functioning, within which the company satisfies the interests of all its key influence groups.

The second most important indicator after profit for many companies it is growth, turnover or value of assets. Some executives believe that there is a relationship between company size and marginal profitability. Until a company becomes a major player, they argue, it will be vulnerable to stronger competitors. Others point to a link between the size of a company and the pay of its executives.

Therefore, the multidimensional, rather than focused on 1-2 indicators, nature of determining the goals of the company's activities is becoming more widespread. As a result of this methodological reorientation, a multi-criteria approach to evaluating the performance of companies is becoming more and more widely used. Thus, Forbes magazine uses a ranking system for the top 500 US companies, which includes the following evaluation criteria: the average level of profitability over the past 5 years (their total market value and return on invested capital), sales growth rates, stock returns, as well as absolute values ​​of sales volumes , net income and profit share in the price for the last year.

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 they produce (“composite pool manufacturers”) or the technologies used (“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 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 Sukhoi company (AVPK) is: “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 involves 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 management of the company 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 can 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.

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 began to use similar 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. The 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.

PLAN

1 Concept of mission

2 Mission formation approaches

3 Functions of the mission and its significance

4 Mission as an attribute of an open system

5 Mission development

Bibliography

1. Mission concept

Over the past ten years, the term "mission" has become perhaps the most fashionable in the lexicon of European and American managers.

The ongoing numerous debates about the need for a mission and the benefits of it are purely philosophical in nature, and are similar to discussions about the need for strategic management and even consulting in general. Mission is one of the most controversial concepts in modern management. Some consulting gurus say that a mission is something without which any organization cannot be successful.

Others, such as A Jack Trout and Steve Ryvkin, in their highly acclaimed book The Power of Simplicity: A Guide to Successful Business Strategies, write bluntly: “The mission of organizations is nothing more than confusion, and the hype around corporate missions and vision is very much like the crowd’s admiration for the new dress of a naked king. The mission statements of most organizations have little to no impact on their business.”

Other researchers suggest, for the needs of strategic analysis and planning, instead of a mission, use the concept of a business idea (V.S. Efremov). The fourth states that the need to form their own mission arises in no more than 20% of business organizations (A. I. Prigozhin, President of the Association of Management and Organizational Development Consultants).

A mission statement is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a business to flourish. The mission is not a panacea, not a philosopher's stone, but just a workhorse of management.

At present, 90% of companies in developed countries have formulated their mission. Until quite recently, Russian entrepreneurs also treated the development of a mission only as a theory, something incomprehensible and unimportant, but everything in the world is changing. This also applies to changing the concept of "mission", its role and necessity in the organization and prosperity of the business.

Therefore, the mission of the company, like many basic concepts of modern management, is one of the important management tools, and does not have a single generally accepted definition, which, in turn, may be even better: there are no templates, there are unlimited possibilities.

There are many interpretations of this concept. Here are some of them:

“Mission is a strategic (general) goal that expresses the meaning of existence, the generally recognized purpose of the organization. This is the role that the enterprise wants to play in society” (L. Gitelman “Transformative Management”).

“The mission (purpose) of an organization is the answer to the question, what is the company’s activity and what does it intend to do” (I. Mazur, A. Shapiro “Restructuring of enterprises and companies”).

“In the case of a broad understanding, the mission is seen as a statement of philosophy and purpose” (O. Vikhansky, A. Naumov “Management”).

"Mission = vision + creed". (H. Wissema "Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship").

The general goal, the meaning of existence, purpose, role, philosophy, foresight, creed - you can continue the list of concepts that are associated with the Mission of the company.

Thus, we can say that the Mission is a business concept that reflects the purpose of the business, its main goal. In contrast to the vision, the mission characterizes only the “real” of the organization: the type, scope of activities, differences from competitors, ignoring the prospects for business development.

The mission details the status of the enterprise and provides guidance for the development of goals and strategies at various organizational levels.

The modern market, economic conditions, competition mercilessly dictate their conditions, and for those companies whose goal is to conduct their business thoroughly, seriously and for a long time, the mission is an opportunity to organize more effective management. The mission, in the form of a qualitative statement, makes clear the overall purpose of the purpose and existence of the company. It is no coincidence that the mission is the basis for the development of strategies, the direction of the company's development. In addition, the mission as a long-term goal of the company allows you to reasonably distribute efforts and resources to ensure long-term business performance. Thus, the mission allows you to determine the direction, meaning and content of the activities of the staff and makes it possible to show their individual abilities, enables employees to realize their place in the company, quickly and clearly define the role and concentrate their efforts in accordance with the goals of the company. Thus, the mission contributes to the creation of a favorable climate in the company, since it expresses the principles, value orientations of the company, accepted by both management and employees.

Who needs a mission? Firstly, the mission is necessary for the employees of the company - to realize the sense of belonging and the importance of the work they perform, because the mission determines the meaning of the company's activities.

Secondly, the mission is necessary for managers at all levels - to facilitate personnel management.

Thirdly, the mission is developed for clients in order to perceive and realize that the company does not just make money, but takes into account and makes efforts to meet the needs of its consumers, takes care of them.

The main components of the mission:

Products or services that an enterprise produces, i.e. range of needs met.

Applied management technologies and functions, i.e. way to meet consumer needs.

Competitive advantages.

Philosophy of business.

The characteristics of the main components that determine the content of the organization's mission are given in Table. one

Table 1 - Components of the mission of the organization

The mission should be closely linked to the expectations of the so-called contact groups. Any firm has certain obligations to these groups, the principles of relationships with which form the basis of the philosophy of the organization. Each group has its own interests, which may conflict with each other:

large owners - the growth of their wealth, the stability of the business as a guarantee of income, an increase in the value of assets;

minority shareholders - momentary return on investments, ensuring their return;

employees - respect for their values ​​on the part of the company, stability and stability, guarantee of employment and wages;

consumers - the possibility of acquiring quality goods or services at affordable prices, their safety, after-sales service;

partners, suppliers and competitors - fulfillment of obligations by the company and its correct behavior in the market;

society as a whole - tax revenue, job creation, social security, reduced environmental impact, the formation of a stable socio-economic environment.

The mission (main idea) and entrepreneurial philosophy are necessary to establish the strategic goals of the company, as well as to win the trust of consumers and other contact groups so as not to cause a conflict of their interests.

2. Approaches to the formation of the mission

There are two approaches to understanding the mission:

In a broad sense, the mission is the philosophy and purpose of the organization. With this approach, the mission is defined in general terms without rigid reference to the range of products, consumer groups, etc.

Example: Mission of the development bureau:

“Our activity is aimed at preserving and developing the scientific and technical potential of the industry, maintaining a high level of development, creating new jobs and a production culture that preserves and protects the environment.”

A broad approach to the formation of the mission focuses the enterprise on achieving strategic advantages by creating opportunities for the production of a wide range of products (services); simultaneous coverage of many market segments and consumer groups; flexibility in managing the organization.

With a narrow approach, the Mission is considered as a statement that reveals the meaning of the existence of the organization, in which the difference between this organization and its similar ones is manifested.

Example: The mission of the concern (AVPK) "Dry":

"The Sukhoi aviation complex strives to produce competitive and high-quality military and civil aircraft, primarily of the Su and Be brands, which allow meeting the needs of the global market and the demands of the domestic state order."