Mission Statement and
Supporting Information
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Template for: Mission Statement & Supporting Info
Mission Statement
The mission statement refers to the general goal and purpose of the
horizontal unit.
Business Objectives
Business objectives should be chosen from the full domain of possible
economic and non-economic contributions the horizontal unit intends to make to
its full complement of stakeholders. Objectives need to be clear, specific and
in priority order. In many companies, business objectives are too often little
more than a wish list indicating the desire to be the best in every way.
In practice, horizontal unit objectives should often begin with something
like "Perform activity X for businesses 1 and 2 such that...." or,
"Help businesses 4 and 5 reduce costs by....." or, "Help the
businesses of Division A by improving....."
Strengths
The strengths of the horizontal unit should be listed for several reasons,
including: to recognize achievement; to communicate a potential competitive
advantage for one or more of the SBUs; and to present a balanced image of the
horizontal unit to SBU managers and to corporate management. (The last case is
often a priority with horizontal unit managers who are frequently put in the
role of defending their unit's budget and performance. It is a common ritual in
many corporations for business unit managers to complain about the high prices
charged and the low level of service received from internal cost centers. In
those companies where teamwork is absent, the political weapon of choice used by
many SBU managers is the threat to use an outside vendor.)
Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities
The listing of weaknesses represents those things within the control of
the horizontal unit which need to be fixed in order to improve the results of
the unit.
Vulnerabilities represent additional internal and external factors that
might make it difficult for the horizontal unit to achieve its objectives.
Vulnerabilities serve as an early warning signal of potential danger. In
practice, listing vulnerabilities gives the horizontal unit an opportunity to
push the organization into action to prevent a problem from occurring, as well
as to warn management of a potential crisis ahead.
Internal Organizational Trends
The purpose of the paragraph on internal organizational trends is to list
expected trends within the corporate environment that might affect the
horizontal unit. Corporate restructuring and corporate relocation are two
examples of internal events that often affect performance.
External Trends
The purpose of this paragraph is to highlight external trends that affect
how the horizontal unit operates. For example, one or more information
technology trends are likely to affect the horizontal unit. Common sources of
information regarding external trends which affect procedures and practices for
performing the activities of the unit are the national and international
associations of professionals engaged in the same activities.
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