Chapter 6 - Stakeholder objectives and mission statements

Mission statement
• Gives a general idea what the business exists to do and its purpose is to set this down for the
bene t of all stakeholders
• It is a qualitative statement, it can be used as a form of marketing and usually state the overall
aims of the business.

Aims/goals:
• More speci c than a mission
• Used as alternative terms for the main objective

Principle aims
- Survival
- Breaking even
- Share of market/growth
- Pro t (more long term)

Objectives:
• Achieve their main aims and goals by setting various speci c objective
• Provide a sense of direction for the business
• Use as a possible motivational force for all employees
• An aid to controlling existing and future operations in the busines
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 Strategic objectives: how a business plans to achieve its aims or goals; often a long-term approach

Tactical objectives: the day-to-day (short term) objectives needed to ensure the strategic objectives
are achieved

Setting objectives: SMART

- Speci c —> important that everyone understands what the target is

- Measurable —> objective statement should contain a type of measurement to ensure that
success or failure can be measured
- Agreed —> agreement between different departments makes it more likely to be achieved
- Realistic —> important to be realistic to avoid employees becoming demotivated
- Time —> timetable specifying the period over which an objective is to be achieved. A time
constraint aids measurement and tends to focus people’s mind

Constraints:
• circumstances/business environment may hinder progress and in some situations may require a
complete change in direction

Internal External

Lack of nance to meet the chosen objectives Changes in the law that affect the operation of the
business

Poor communication within the business The state of the economy

A con ict of interests between departments within The behaviour of competitors

the business

An industrial dispute with the workforce The opinions and behaviour of external stakeholders

Changing objectives
• As circumstances change a business may need to adapt their objectives
• May alter depending on priorities and circumstances
• There could be a contingency plan in place to deal with extreme circumstance

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