The Mission Statement

A mission statement is a statement that expresses a businesses core aims. It is to be simple enough for public to understand, and written in a way that stimulates interest of outside groups and motivates the workers. A good mission statement should include the following:

·        What the company does.

·        Whom do they do it for.

·        What is the benefit.

A good mission statement should not be too vague and broad to apply to any company, but it should also not be too complicated, making it hard to form an opinion about the company.

Below are three examples of a companies’ mission statements.

The Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney is a company that controls the global entertainment and Media Networks, Parks and Resorts and Consumer Products. They dominate the field with a wide range of business activities including theme parks, television broadcasts or internet businesses.

Mission Statement
"The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world."

This mission statement of this company is very specific with their mission statement. It tells you that Walt Disney is a company in the field of entertainment and wants to be the most innovative and creative in presenting you with information and products. This mission statement gives you many points which you can analyze, as we can see if their company is on the right track. It provides specific details that apply to the company, but still makes the public "feel good" about the organization from what they read. It provides with little hints of its vision statement, or plans for the future, but then again we cannot accept a big corporation to lay all of its cards on the table.  

Microsoft

Microsoft is an software company that provides a wide range of technology services and products. It is one of the leading "computer" companies, well-know for the operating system of Windows and The Microsoft Office. 

Mission Statement
"At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible."

This mission statement, compared to the one of Walt Disney, is a little bit more vague. It fails to inform us what the company does. Although we all probably know what type of business Microsoft is and what it contributes to, the company's mission statement is less specific, and it we would not know it had anything to do with software or computers, without our previous knowledge.  However, we can analyze this statement on the company's efficiency to help other companies work to the fullest potential, and reflect good values to make their mission possible. Never the less, this statement would be categorized amongst the weaker ones, as it does not provide the reader with much specific detail, nor an aim of what the company wants to be in the future. 

MetLife Inc 

MetLife is an insurance institution that  offers retirement products and prepaid legal plans for individuals, or groups, offering international insurance, and serving countries in Latin America and Asia as well as the US.

Mission Statement
"The capable team of MetLife's Customer Response Center (CRC) shares a common mission - that all customers are "Met for Life." By balancing the efficiencies of new technologies with the personal touch of highly trained and motivated professionals, we are able to deliver solutions and services that exceed our customers' expectations. We thereby earn their loyalty."

This mission statement is by far the most direct, well explained and persuasive above all mentioned. When you give people details, and not just vague information, they end up more convinced and with stronger positive feelings towards your company. It clearly explains what the company does, and for whom they do it. It gives you the possibility to disagree with it, however, it makes you "feel good" about the company, and with the added detail, not question it. It does not say that it wants to be the leader of insurance of the world, however it visions the future to be filled with trained and motivated employees, that exceed customer expectations and help gain even more trust and respect for the business. This mission statement provides more specific detail, which results in motivation of workers to work better and harder for the company, as well as people to buy their product and invest in them.