THE ROLES OF MISSION, VISION AND VALUE IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

When economies are healthy and businesses are doing well, it is easy for managers to become complacent and not pay attention to long-term direction. Healthy economic conditions can be forgiving of such inattention. When the economy changes and the business environment becomes more competitive, those companies which have established a tradition of long-term goals in conjunction with short-term planning are the companies which survive and even prosper. Companies which ignored that aspect of their business find that the increased competition for resources, customers and market share does not long tolerate poor or no planning. This research considers the strategic management process and the roles that mission, vision and values play in that process, and examines how each of these components affects branding, as well.

The mission takes on the issue of what the company is today, and what it will be in the future. Many companies put the mission statement into writing and use it as the overarching principle by which the company operates. This mission statement can be made available to employees, investors, creditors, customers and any other stakeholders associated with the organization. Ideally, all activities undertaken by individuals within the organization are in support of the mission statement. Because of this, the statement should be clearly stated, concise and broad in scope (Thompson

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chieve with regard to financial performance (the relationship between debt and assets, for example). Ratio analysis can be a useful tool for measuring financial position and developing objectives, and value chain analysis (determining the value added by each process) can also be brought into play here. Strategic objectives are those objectives that the company establishes in order to build up the competitive position of the company and the general place that the company occupies in the market. Long-range objectives are to be reached within three to five years, or each year on an ongoing basis. Short-range objectives are those which are to be achieved in one year or less, and are developed in order to reach the long-range objectives. After objectives have been set, a strategy can be developed in order to reach the performance objectives. Strategies are the plan by which the objectives will be achieved. Where objectives state what the company wants to accomplish, and the mission states what the company does, the strategy presents how the company is going to reach the objectives and achieve its mission. Strategies are developed and presented through the use of a strategic plan. This plan presents the company's mission and dir
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