Mission statement

A mission statement, a type of statement of purpose, is a which is used to communicate the purpose of an organization. Although most of the time it will remain the same for a long period of time, it is not uncommon for organizations to update their mission statement; this generally happens when an organization evolves. Mission statements are normally short and simple statements which outline what the organization's purpose is and are related to the specific sector an organization operates in.

Properly crafted mission statements serve as filters to separate what is important to an organization from what is not, clearly state which markets will be served and how, and communicate a sense of intended direction to the entire organization. A mission differs from a vision in that the former is the cause and the latter is the effect; a mission is something to be accomplished whereas a vision is something to be pursued for that accomplishment. Other designations of the "mission" concept may include "company mission, "corporate mission", or "corporate purpose".

The mission statement should guide the actions of an organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated". It is like a goal for what a company wants to do for the world.

According to Dr. Christopher Bart, a commercial mission statement consists of three essential components:

A personal mission statement is developed in much the same way that an organizational mission statement is created. A personal mission statement is a brief description of what an individual wants to focus on, wants to accomplish and wants to become. It is a way to focus , actions, behaviors and decisions towards the things that are most important to the individual. Moreover, it can be a part of an overall personal statement that an individual makes when applying for a university or a job.

The sole purpose of a mission statement is to serve as your company's goal/agenda, it outlines clearly what the goal of the company is. Some generic examples of mission statements would be, "To provide the best service possible within the banking sector for our customers." or "To provide the best experience for all of our customers." The reason why businesses make use of mission statements is to make it clear what they look to achieve as an organisation, not only to themselves and their employees but to the customers and other people who are a part of the business, such as shareholders. As a company evolves, so will their mission statement, this is to make sure that the company remains on track and to ensure that the mission statement does not lose its touch and become boring or stale.

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