Professional Documents
Culture Documents
belief that the investment is good and the price will rise. these issues, allowing it to create a fit between its resources
Nevertheless, the person selling that same stock believes and the demands of the competitive situation.
the opposite, so only one of these people will be correct. The steps to be taken in a situational analysis are
Thinking of it in these terms will make an investor a real- largely agreed upon, though there does exist some debate
istic and conservative player. as to whether one starts with a mission statement or with
SEE ALSO Investments; Securities and Exchange Commis- an analysis of the state of the organization. Those who
sion; Stock Exchanges; Stock Indexes believe that a mission statement is the logical starting
point argue that management must first think carefully
and creatively about the future direction of the company
B I B L I O G R A PH Y
Campbell, Allan B. (2004). Conquering stock market hype. New
if they are to create and implement effective objectives. In
York: McGraw-Hill. this way, managers can choose their own vision of what
Dalton, John M. (2001). How the stock market works (3rd ed.). the company ought to be rather than be unduly affected
New York: New York Institute of Finance. by company history or industry exigencies. On the other
Fontanills, George A., and Gentile, Tom (2001). Stock market hand, managers may want to have a keen understanding
course. New York: Wiley. of the history and current performance of a company as
Kelly, Jason (2003). The neatest little guide to stock market invest- well as important industry factors so as to craft a strategic
ments. New York: Penguin. vision that is attainable in terms of organizational compe-
Stav, Julie, and Adamson, Deborah (2000). Get your share: The tencies and industry dynamics. While both sides have
everyday woman’s guide to striking it rich in the stock market. merit, this article discusses the state of the organization
New York: Berkeley Books. first.
derived from the external market situation and require MISSION STATEMENTS
some response from a company if it is to perform well. Having thoroughly understood an organization’s internal
Opportunities can arise in many areas, including geo- and external environment, managers establish a mission
graphical expansion, new technologies, and changing cus- statement to create a five- to ten-year vision of the com-
tomer preferences and tastes. Only when a firm has (or pany. A mission statement documents the service or prod-
can hope to acquire) the specific skills needed to seize uct the company provides to the marketplace and the
upon some option does it become an opportunity for the unique way in which it distinguishes itself from other
company. companies. It also indicates the target group of customers
Whereas opportunities are chances to be seized, that the company serves.
threats can be thought of as concerns that are largely out- An example of this type of mission statement is pro-
side of the organization’s control but have the potential to vided by Courtyard by Marriott. It indicates that Court-
disrupt its operations. Probably the biggest threat to many yard by Marriott is serving economy- and quality-minded
companies is their competition. Other sources of threats frequent business travelers with a premier, moderately
include foreign economic crises such as the Asian flu that priced lodging facility that is consistently perceived as
spread in the latter part of the 1990s, government regula- clean, comfortable, well maintained, attractive, and
tions, natural disasters, and so forth. In creating strategic staffed by friendly, attentive, and efficient people. This
objectives, management prepares contingency plans to mission statement indicates the product and service pro-
vided to the target customers and the way in which it will
minimize the impact of its most serious threats.
be done.
In addition to conducting a SWOT analysis and can-
Mission statements serve several purposes in strategic
did performance review, the executive team may use sev-
management. First, they provide direction for the organi-
eral other tools to acquire a better understanding of its
zation. As a firm engages in its strategic planning process
current situation. They may, for example, identify those
it compares its objectives with the path it has set for itself.
forces in the industry that are causing the nature of com- If any of the goals suggest a deviation from the purpose of
petition to change for all competitors. One example the organization, managers must decide if the goal is suf-
would be the publicizing of the link between cholesterol ficiently important to warrant a change in the mission
and heart disease that made many consumers more aware statement. Otherwise, the objective might be dropped.
of the amount of fat in foods. This change made it impor- With this in mind managers are typically careful to write
tant for many food manufacturers to either lower the mission statements that are broad enough to encourage
amount of fat in their products or to introduce fat-free or growth but specific enough to give direction.
low-fat versions of those products. These forces that A second purpose of mission statements is to create a
change the nature the way companies compete in an shared sense of purpose and inspiration among employees.
industry are known as driving forces. In some organizations, employees are required to memo-
Another tool used by managers in conducting a state- rize the mission statement so that they will understand
of-the-organization review is an analysis of key success fac- what is appropriate behavior and what is not. For this rea-
tors. In this analysis managers examine those things that son, most mission statements are relatively short so that
all companies within a given industry must do well if they the purpose of the company remains clearly in the minds
are to survive. These might include rapid service for the of its employees. Furthermore, many companies seek the
fast-food industry, producing large numbers of vehicles so input of their employees in creating a mission statement
as to offset the high cost of specialized equipment in the so as to create a document that is owned by all.
automotive industry, or having skilled designers in the Finally, mission statements are also external docu-
fashion industry. By understanding such factors, managers ments. They communicate to the outside world the values
are in a position to better allocate resources so as to per- and goals of the organization. Unfortunately, some com-
form well in the future. panies create mission statements as a marketing document
In addition to these tools, managers may also conduct and then fail to live up to that vision of themselves. For a
other types of analyses, including ones focused on cus- mission statement to be effective, it must be a living doc-
tomers, economic characteristics of the industry, supplier ument that motivates behavior.
relationships, and so forth. These analyses constitute a
first step in the strategic management process as organiza- EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT REVIEW
tional leaders attempt to understand the organization’s Once a company has carefully and frankly understood its
current situation so as to later be able to identify those situation and has spent time considering the appropriate-
strategic objectives most likely to improve performance. ness of its mission statement, it may choose to do a more
thorough review of the external environment. This envi- Committee Members: Virginia Moody, Dr. Etta,
ronment consists of industry, government, competitive, Erika Boerk (PR director), Sean Ortiz (Facilities
economic, political, and other factors that the organiza- Coordinator), and Tristan Roberts (Marketing)
tion cannot control but which may have an important Funding: $125,000
impact on the company. For example, the dietary supple-
Date Due: June 1, 20XX
ments industry in the United States spends large amounts
of money to keep abreast of the latest regulations issued by Strategies
the Food and Drug Administration. 1. Develop relationship with Dr. Yang (podiatrist).
Much of this analysis may be done within a “State of 2. Refurbish existing office space to accommodate
the Organization” report, but some companies choose to visiting physicians.
address it as a third step in the strategic planning process 3. Contract with local newspaper to advertise visits.
to ensure that they are not caught off guard by these
4. Find a dermatologist
important factors. While the organization cannot control
these forces, it can formulate responses that will minimize 5. Etc.
the potential damage or even put the firm in a better com-
In addition, each of the strategies could also be bro-
petitive position should the eventuality actually occur. ken down in similar fashion to include the person(s)
responsible, funds required, and due dates.
KEY OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
Having conducted the previous three steps, managers IMPLEMENTATION
have sufficient information to choose objectives that are Having created detailed objectives and strategies, an
most likely to match the internal capabilities of the firm organization may find that some internal adjustments in
with the exigencies of the external environment. Thomp- the way a firm is organized or in the competencies of its
son and Strickland (1998) state that “objectives represent workers are required to achieve those objectives. These
a managerial commitment to achieving specific perform- adjustments may be as simple as sending an employee to
ance targets within a specific time frame” (p. 36). While a seminar to better understand a new information process
drawing heavily on the previous three steps in the process, software or as complex as creating a new international
objectives rely even more particularly on the SWOT division to take advantage of overseas opportunities. This
analysis in enhancing certain strengths, overcoming spe- process requires the identification of those individual and
cific weaknesses, capitalizing on opportunities, and organization competencies needed to facilitate the accom-
addressing the threats. By creating such a fit between the plishment of the stated objectives.
demands of the industry and the skills and competencies In addition to serving as a guide to the form of the
of the organization, a firm increases its ability to compete organization, the objectives also serve as the basis of the
successfully in the marketplace. year’s budgets and performance standards. Having set the
funding requirements for each objective, these monies are
Firms may set specific objectives including such
added to the normal operating budget for each division so
things as increasing market share, decreasing customer
that they can fulfill these goals. Further, these objectives
complaints, cutting costs by 10 percent, or creating a
and strategies are added to the existing performance stan-
more effective food preparation facility. These broad dards for each division or department and become an
objectives are then broken down into specific strategies integral part of the performance evaluation of the individ-
that may, in turn, be broken down into even more specific uals assigned to each task. In this way the progress of each
action steps. It is important that objectives be written in a objective is tracked throughout the year and a specific and
way that clearly indicates the nature of what is to be agreed-upon measuring stick exists for each employee’s
achieved, the single individual responsible for the objec- performance.
tive, a committee to work on the project, funding Finally, it should be mentioned that in any strategic
assigned, and date to be completed. Based on these management process, but particularly in those taking
requirements, an objective for a rural hospital might take place in dynamic environments, situations change and
the following form: strategic plans require modification. While five-year plans
may remain relatively unchanged in some industries,
Objective 2: Increase revenues from visiting physi-
other industries may make major modifications monthly.
cians by $500,000. For this reason, most firms consider strategic management
Person Responsible: Virginia Moody (CEO) to be an ongoing process characterized by periodic