5 halimbawa ng payak na pangungusap:

1. Maganda ang panahon.

2. Ang bagyo ay paparating na.
3. Si Juan ay handa na.
4. Ang kalamidad ay mapinsala.
5. Ang mga Pilipino ay nagtutulungan.

Ang halimbawa ng payak na pangungusap ay halimbawa ng payak na

pangungusap na may simuno at panaguri

1. Gusto ni Bob na sumali sa paligsahan ngunit nahihiya siya.

2. Pupunta ako sa Japan at bibili ako ng mga pasalubong doon.
3. Bukas, mag-aaral ako sa bahay sa umaga at pupunta ako sa palengke ng
hapon.
4. Ginawa ko ang aking asignatura habang natutulog ang aking bunsong
kapatid.
5. Nais ni Jonalyn na sumayaw nang sumayaw samantalang nais ni Gino na
kumanta nang kumanta.

 5 halimbawa ng hugnayang pangungusap:

1. Bibigyan kita ng tsokolate kung mag-aaral ka nang mabuti.

2. Gusto kong manood ng sine pati kumain ng keyk.
3. Gaganda ang ating buhay kapag naging malinis ang ating kapaligiran.
4. Nakapasyal kami sa ibang bansa dahil sa pag-iipon ng aking kuya.
5. Gusto kong bumili ng laruan subalit hindi sapat ang aking ipon.
 Mga 5 Halimbawa ng Langkapan na Pangungusap

1. Makinig sa mga pangaral ng guro at mag-aral ng mabuti para sa iyong sariling

kinabukasan.
2. Darating ang panahon na kailangan mong mag-isip at magdesisyon ng wais
dahil marami ang umaasa sa iyong desisyon.
3. Dahil sa mga nangyayaring krimen sa bansa, kailangang kumilos ang
pamahalaan at gumawa ng mga hakbang na nakakatulong sa paglutas nito.
4. Gumawa ng marangal at tumulong sa mga kababayan na naapektuhan ng
lindol dahil ito ang nararapat na gawain tuwing may kalamidad.
5. Siya ay isang taong mapagmahal at mahabagin sa mga mahihirap na
palaging tumutulong sa lahat ng oras ng pangangailangan.

Konotasyon at Denotasyon
Ang denotasyon ay kahulugan ng mga salita na matatagpuan sa
diksyonaryo.
Ang konotasyon ay pansarili o malalim na pagpapakahulugan sa isang salita.
Mga Halimbawa
Aso
(D) Napakalaki ng asong nag-aabang sa puno ng pinto nina Aling Lorna.
(K) Si Luis ay parang aso na naghahantay sa sagot ni Marta.
Bato
(D) Si Luisa ay nanguha ng mga bato sa ilog upang ihanay sa harapan ng
kanilang bahay.
(K) Bato na ang damdamin ni Lucas para sa mga kaibigan matapos siyang
gawan ng hindi maganda ng mga ito.
Bola
(D) Tumalbog sa malayo ang bola na nilalaro ng bata.
(K) Magaling mambola si Berting kaya marami sa kanya’y nabibighani.
Tambol
(D) Malakas ang tunog ng tambol na dala-dala ni Juan noong parade.
(K) Parang tambol ang dibdib ni Joan noong siya’y magtatalumpati.
Hangin
(D) Ang lamig ng simoy ng hangin wari’y sasapit na ang taglamig.
(K) Parang hangin na Nawala ang mag-aaral ni Binibining Santos.

Ano ang Parirala?

Ang parirala ay isang salita o lipon ng mga salita na hindi nagpapahayag ng

buong diwa.

Halimbawa:

mainit na panahon
ang magkaibigan
Maamoy na prutas

Denotasyon - Literal ang kahulugan.

Konotasyon - Malalim ang kahulugan ng salita.

Bola

denotasyon : laruan na hugis bilog

konotasyon : matamis na dila

Pusang itim

denotasyon : uri ng hayop na nangangalmot, kulay itim at ngumingiyaw

konotasyon : nagbabadya ng kamalasan

Buwaya

denotasyon : Hayop

konotasyon : Pulitiko

itim

Denotasyon : Kulay

Konotasyon : Kamatayan

Posporo

Denotasyon : bagay na panindi

Konotasyon : ilaw

Kawayan

Denotasyon : damo

Konotasyon : matayog

Rosary

Denotasyon : bagay

Konotasyon : banal

Pambura

Denotasyon : bagay

Konotasyon : kamalian
Pusong bato

denotasyon : walang puso

konotasyon : matigas ang kalooban

Kamay na bakal

denotasyon : bakal ang kamay

konotasyon : paghihigpit

Bugtong anak

denotasyon : anak na bugtong

konotasyon : nag-iisang anak

Nagsusunog ng kilay

denotasyon : sinusunog ang kilay

konotasyon : nag aaral mabuti

Umusbong

denotasyon : paglaki o pagtubo ng halaman

konotasyon : kinalakihan o lumaki

Bola ng kanyon

denotasyon : Ang bola ng kanyon

konotasyon : matigas ang ulo

Balitang kutsero

denotasyon : balita ng kutsero

konotasyon : gawa gawang storya o chismis

Nagpantay ang paa

denotasyon : pantay ang paa

konotasyon : patay na

Iyak pusa

denotasyon : umiiyak ang pusa

konotasyon : iyakin

Buhay alamang

denotasyon : buhay na alamang

konotasyon : mahirap

Pagputi ng uwak

denotasyon : pumuti ang uwak

konotasyon : hindi na matutuloy o hindi mangyayari

Basang sisiw

Denotasyon : Sisiw na basa

Konotasyon : Batang kalye

Gintong kutsara
Denotasyon : Kutsara na ginto

Konotasyon : Mayaman na angkan

onsept
ong
Papel
Lengguwahe
sa
Accountancy:
Komparatibon
g Pananaliksik
sa
Kahalagahan
saPaggamit ng
Wikang Ingles
at Wikang
Filipino
sa Accountanc
y
1.
 
Rasyonale:Ang
accounting
o accountancy
ay ang pagsukat,
pagpoproseso
atkomunikasyon
ng impormasyon
tungkol sa mga
etalidad
ng ekonomiya
tulad ngmga
negosyante
at korporasyon
(Wikipedia).
Kadalasang
nahihirapan ang
mgaaccountant
sa pag intindi ng
mga termino na
nagagamit sa
accountancy.
Madalasrin ang
pagkakaiba ng
lengguwahe ng
mga termino na
ginagamit
ng ibat-
ibangkompanya
na napapasukan
ng
mga accountant.
Rumeresulta ito
sa malingpagkaka
unawa ng mga
transaksyon ukol
sa mga termino
at nagkakaroon
ngmaling
pagkakalagay at
pagkakalista ng
mga datos.Mags
agawa kami ng
pananaliksik ukol
dito upang
aming malaman
angangkop na
dapat na
gamiting wika
sa pag-aaral ng
accountancy na
lubhangmahalaga
para sa mga
magiging
accountant sa
hinaharap.
Magiging gamit
ito ngmga mag-
aaral ng
accountancy
upang mas
mapagtuunan
nila ang mga
terminong
accountancy sa
wikang dapat
nilang gamitin.2.
 
Layunin:Pangkala
hatan:Malaman
ang angkop na
wikang dapat
gamitin sa pag-
aaral ng
accountingTiyak:
1)
 
Mapatunayang
mas magagamit
at mas mahalaga
ang wikang
Ingles sapag-
aaral
ng accounting.2)
 
Maipaliwanag at
maisaad ang
kahalagahan ng
paggamit ng
wikang Inglessa
accounting.3)
 
Maipagkumpara
ang kaligiran ng
paggamit ng
wikang Filipino
at wikangIngles
sa accounting
Ipaliwanag ang kahalagahan ng pananaliksik sa akademya

Mahalagang saliksikin ng lubusan ang akademya. Dito mahuhubog ang kaisipan at pati na din ang
pagkatao at kaalaman ng isa. Malaking tulong ng mainam at maayos na akademya sa pag-aaral. Kung
hindi magiging maayos ang kapaligiran sa pag-aaral, makakaapekto ito sa mismong mga estudyante.
Maaaring ang iba sa kanila ay tamarin o mawalan ng gana. Kaya napakahalagang masaliksik muna ang
mga akademya.

ananagutan ng Isang Mananaliksik

By Elcomblus Staff -October 10, 2020403

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Bilang isang nagsisimulang mananaliksik, kailangan mong malaman ang iyong mga katangian at
kapasidad upang maisagawa ito nang maayos at mahusay. Bago mo suongin ang isang bagay na katulad
ng pananaliksik, kailangang mabatid mo muna ang mga bagay-bagay na dapat mong maisagawa upang
magtagumpay ka sa iyong layunin.
Ano nga ba ang dapat tandaan sa isang maayos at makabuluhang pananaliksik?

Katangian

Bilang isang mananaliksik, kailangan mong taglayin ang sumusunod na mga katangian dahil ang mga ito
ay makatutulong para maging maayos at organisado ang iyong magiging produkto.

Malakas ang loob

Mapanuklas

Matiyaga

Masinop

Masistema

Mapamaraan

Mahusay magsiyasat

Disiplinado

Magaling makipag-usap

Obhetibo, walang kinikilingan

Tungkulin at Pananagutan

May mga bagay na dapat isaalang-alang ang mga mag-aaral na manana-liksik na tulad mo na
nakatutulong upang higit na maging maayos ang gagawing pananaliksik.

Matapat na tinutugunan ang mga gawain sa pananaliksik. Halimbawa nito ay ang matapat na
pangangalap at pag-uulat ng mga datos. Hindi maaaring mag-imbento ng mga datos. Kadaiasan, bahagi
ng pananaliksik ng mga mag-aaral ang magpas(9got ng sarbey; inaasahan na ang sarbey ay “sadyang”
pinasagutan sa mga respondent at kung anuman ang kinalabasan ng sarbey na ito ay ang siyang dapat
na iulat.

Obhetibo. Inilalayo ang iyong personal na hangarin o intensiyon sa paksa o isyung sinasaliksik. Ang
mananaliksik ay walang pagkiling sa resulta ng kanyang pag-aaral. May mga pagkakataon na taliwas ang
resulta ng pag-aaral sa inaasahan. Kung magkaganito man, hindi ito dapat manipulahin.

Maingat sa anumang pagkakamali at malayo sa kapabayaan. Kinikilatis nang mabuti ang mga nabuong
gawain. Tinitingnan kung wasto ang mga nailipat na datos. Kinikilala ang mga may-akda na pinagkunan
ng impormasyon. Malinis at maayos ang pagkakasulat ng mga salita at impormasyon, kung kaya’t
mahalaga ang paulit-ulit na pagbabasa (proofreading) upang maiyos ang kahinaan ng pananaliksik na
papel.

Bukas ang isipan sa mga puna at bagong ideya. Ang mga mag-aaral na mananaliksik ay tumatanggap ng
mga suhestiyon at puna. Para sa kanila, ito ay magpapaganda at magpapabuti pa ng ginawang
pananaliksik.

May paggalang sa Intelektuwal na pag-aari kung kaya’t kinikiiala ang awtor o sumulat ng impormasyon
at ideya. Ito ay binabanggit ayon sa pangangailangan. Hindi inaangkin ang gawa ng iba at hindi tahasang
kumokopya.

Mapagkakatiwalaan ang mananaliksik sa mga kasunduan. Halimbawa, kapag ibinilin ng respondent na

itago ang kanyang katauhan, ito ay dapat sundin at igalang. Gayundin ang iba pang bagay na hiniling sa
mananaliksik na maging confidential.

May paggalang sa mga kasamahan. Karaniwan ang pangkatang gawain sa pagbuo ng pananaliksik.
Mahalaga ang pagkakaroon ng bukas na komunikasyon upang mapag-usapan ang isyu na kinahaharap.
Tanggapin ang gawa ng iba lalo na kung ito ay kapaki-pakinabang. Kung hindi naman, daanin sa maayos
na usapan. Alamin at pagtulungang ayusin ang kahinaan sa output ng kasamahan.

Responsable sa lipunan. Tandaan na ang pananaliksik ay may layuning magdulot ng kabutihan. lwasan
ang mga isyung sisira sa imahen ng isang tao, samahan, o institusyon. Kung hindi naman maiwasan ang
paglalahad ng negatibong isyu, maging obhetibo at responsable sa paglalahad.

Hindi nagtatangi ng mga kasamahan o kamag-aral, ni ng kasarian, relihiyon, kultura, lahi, at iba pang
salik na maaaring sumira sa kahusayan at integridad ng ginagawang pananaliksik.
May kahusayan. Inaasahan na ang mananaliksik ay hindi eksperto sa pagsulat at pagbuo ng pananaliksik
kung kayalt naroon ang paggabay ng guro. Gayumpaman, inaasahan na aayusin at pagbubutihin niya ang
gawa. Tandaan, ang anumang pagsisikap na ibinibigay sa pananaliksik ay magdudulot ng positibong
bunga.

Etika ng Pananaliksik

Pananagutan ng isang mananaliksik ang pag-iwas at pag-iingat sa plagiarism o pangongopya ng gawa ng

iba. Samakatwid, kailangan niyang maging matapat sa kanyang isinusulat at mapaninindigan niya ang
anumang kinalabasan ng produktong ginawa niya sa lahat ng oras.

Malawak na ang daan ng komunikasyon dahil sa teknolohiya. Buks na ang pinto sa lahat ng sources o
sanggunian. Gayumpaman, kailangan pa rin ng isang mananaliksik na ipakilala at ipabatid sa kanyang
mga mambabasa ang pinagmulang sanggunian ng anumang datos na isinama niya sa kanyang ginawang
pananaliksik.

Matapos maaprobahan ang batas kaugnay ng Intellectual Property Rights, mahalaga ang mahigpit na
pagsunod sa mga probisyon nito upang makaiwas sa anumang kasong sibil at kriminal na maaaring
kahantungan ng isang mananaliksik.

Narito ang ilang matatawag na Etika ng Mananalisik.

Paggalang sa karapatan ng iba. Kung gagamitin bilang respondent ang isang pangkat ng mga tao anuman
ang antas na kinabibilangan nila, kailangan ang kaukulang paggalang, o respeto sa kanilang karapatan.
Hindi maaaring banggitin ang kanilang pagkakakilanlan kung wala silang pahintulot. Kung gagamit
naman ng hayop sa pag-aaral lalo na sa larangan ng agham, kailangang iwasang sila ay masaktan o
mamatay.

Pagtingin sa lahat ng mga datos bilang “confidential”. Kinakailangang tratuhin ang lahat ng datos at
detalye na nakuha mula sa sarbey, interbyu, o anumang paraan na confidential. Nasa sariling
pamamaraan ng mananaliskik kung paano niya ilalahad ang kabuoan ng mga detalyeng ito.
Pagiging matapat sa bawat pahayag. Nararapat na matapat at naaayon sa pamantayan ng pagsulat ang
anumang pahayag sa kabuoan ng sulating pananaliksik. Hindi maaaring baguhin ang anumang
natuklasan para lamang mapagbigyan ang pansariling interes o pangangailangan ng ilang tao. Hindi
maaaring gumawa at gumamit ng mga pekeng datos.

Pagiging obhetibo at walang kinikilingan. Dapat ay walang kinikilingan ang isang mananaliksik.
Kailangang matapat niyang mailahad ang resulta ng kanyang pananaliksik nang walang pagkiling sa
sinuman. Dapat ay maging obhetibo siya sa lahat. Kinakailangang maibigay kung ano taiaga ang
nararapat para sa isang tao, pangkat ng mga tao, institusyon, at iba pa na sangkot sa kanyang ginawang
sulating pananaliksik.

What Is a Vision Statement?

Sean Peek

Sean Peek

Business News Daily Writer

Updated May 07, 2020

Writing a vision statement can be a daunting task even for the most articulate entrepreneurs. These tips,
steps and examples will help you construct a meaningful vision statement.

Writing a vision statement for your business is a daunting task. For one thing, it must define your
company and, more importantly, its future. For another, you don't want it to be relegated to a forgotten
poster hanging in the office lobby.

A powerful vision statement stays with you, such as Disney's "to make people happy" or Instagram's
"capture and share the world's moments." If you are intentional in your efforts and committed to doing
the hard work, you can create a vision statement that encapsulates your organization's core ideals and
provides a roadmap to where it wants to go.

What is a vision statement?

Similar to a mission statement, a vision statement provides a concrete way for stakeholders, especially
employees, to understand the meaning and purpose of your business. However, unlike a mission
statement – which describes the who, what and why of your business – a vision statement describes the
desired long-term results of your company's efforts. For example, an early Microsoft vision statement
was "a computer on every desk and in every home."

"A company vision statement reveals, at the highest levels, what an organization most hopes to be and
achieve in the long term," said Katie Trauth Taylor, CEO of writing consultancy Untold Content. "It serves
a somewhat lofty purpose – to harness all the company's foresight into one impactful statement."

Why does this matter? Research shows that employees who find their company's vision meaningful have
engagement levels of 68%, which is 18 points above average. More engaged employees are often more
productive, and they are more effective corporate ambassadors in the larger community.

Given the impact that a vision statement can have on a company's long-term success and even its
bottom line, it is worth taking the time to craft a statement that synthesizes your ambition and mobilizes
your staff.

A vision statement versus a mission statement

Before determining your vision statement, you need to understand what it is not. It should not be
confused with a mission statement. Those statements are based in the present and designed to convey
why the business exists to both members of the company and the external community.

Vision statements, on the other hand, are future-based and meant to inspire and give direction to
employees of the company rather than customers.

"The vision is about your goals for the future and how you will get there, whereas the mission is about
where you are now and why you exist," said Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls, a
global strategic marketing consulting firm. "The vision should motivate the team to make a difference
and be part of something bigger than themselves."
"While a mission statement focuses on the purpose of the brand, the vision statement looks to the
fulfillment of that purpose," added Jessica Honard, co-owner of North Star Messaging + Strategy, a
copywriting and messaging firm that serves entrepreneurs.

Although both mission and vision statements should be core elements of your organization, a vision
statement should serve as your company's guiding light.

"A vision is aspiration. A mission is actionable," said Jamie Falkowski, managing director at marketing
and communications company Day One Agency.

Who shapes your vision?

The first step in writing a vision statement is determining who will play a role in crafting it. In a small
business, it is simple enough to gather the insight of every member of the organization. In a larger
operation, you may need to be more selective while still ensuring that you capture a range of employee
voices.

To accomplish this, Brandon Shockley, director of research at branding and marketing firm 160over90,
recommends hosting a series of workshops with key stakeholders who represent a cross-section of your
organization. You can assemble teams to create alternate versions of the statement and receive
feedback from the rest of the company.

Falkowski also suggests individual stakeholder interviews as an effective way to encourage candor
among all invested parties and to gather real and honest feedback. Employees can identify common
themes and describe the organization's future in words or pictures as a basis for a vision statement.

How to use your vision statement

You should determine early on where your vision statement will appear and what role it will serve in
your organization. This will make the process more than a mere intellectual exercise, said Shockley. It is
pointless to hang a vision statement in the lobby or promote it on social media if it is never truly
integrated into company culture.
"The vision business statement should be thought of as part of your strategic plan," said Shockley. "It is
an internal communications tool that helps align and inspire your team to reach the company's goals."

As such, a vision statement should be viewed as a living document that will be revisited and revised.
Most importantly, it must speak directly to your employees.

"If your employees don't buy into the vision, you'll never be able to carry it out," said Keri Lindenmuth,
marketing manager with the Kyle David Group, a web and tech solutions provider. "The vision statement
should be something your employees believe in. Only then will they make decisions and take actions
that reflect your business's vision."

One way to help employees take ownership of the vision is to hold company workshops and
brainstorming sessions. In these meetings, encourage employees to identify ways they can incorporate
the values of the vision statement into their day-to-day jobs. You can then acknowledge and reward
employees when they are caught living the vision.

How to write a vision statement

Creating the perfect vision statement may seem like an overwhelming task, but it does not have to be.
You don't have to reinvent the wheel to develop a powerful vision statement. Instead, use the
information you already have to guide your work, suggests Alison Brehme, founder of Virtual Corporate
Wellness, a provider of employee health and wellness programs.

"A company's mission, purpose, goals and values are all involved in the creation of a company vision,"
Brehme said. "Weave these concepts and beliefs into your vision statement."

Lindenmuth advises also looking at the vision statements of your competitors to determine how you can
differentiate your business from theirs.

A vision statement should be concise, no longer than a sentence or two. As Falkowski says, you want
your entire organization to be able to quickly repeat it and, more importantly, understand it. However, a
vision statement needs to be more than a catchy tagline. "[It] can be smart and memorable, but this is
for your team and culture, not for selling a specific product," Falkowski said.
Don't fret if you feel that a short vision statement doesn't fully express the intricacies of your vision. You
can create a longer version, but it should not be the one you broadcast to the world.

"Let's be honest – most business leaders, not to mention boards of directors, won't be able to sum up
their vision in a pithy sentence or two. That's OK," said Shannon DeJong, owner of brand agency House
of Who. "Have a full-length version of your vision for the leadership's eyes only. Think of the long
version as your reference guide to why you're in business in the first place."

You can start by mapping out your business's most audacious goals, Taylor suggested. "Reviewing your
long-term goals in a collaborative setting will help you then zoom out on what your organization and the
world will look like if you achieve them. That zoomed-out view of your success is really the heart of your
vision statement."

Taylor said her team established a foundational understanding of their company vision by asking probing
questions about the core of the business, such as what deliverables they most enjoyed working on, the
partners they loved working with and the atmosphere they hoped to create when collaborating.

"It's important to start with the big questions – after all, this type of statement establishes your
organization's vision for what impact your business makes on the world," said Taylor.

Honard advises asking questions that reflect the eventual scale and impact your business will have when
constructing a vision statement. These are a few of the questions she uses in guiding clients to identify
their vision statement:

What ultimate impact do I want my brand to have on my community, my industry or the world?

In what way will my brand ultimately interact with customers and clients?

What will the culture of my business look like, and how will that play out in employees' lives?

"Once you've answered these questions, you've created a roadmap between your present and your
future," said Honard.
Don't be afraid to dream big once you gather all the information and get down to writing. Don't worry
about practicality for now – what initially looks impossible could be achieved down the road with the
right team and technologies. Work on shaping a vision statement that reflects the specific nature of your
business and its aspirations.

Shockley said there is nothing wrong with a vision statement that is daring, distinct or even
disagreeable. "If a vision statement sets out a generic goal that anyone can agree with, it is likely to
produce mediocre results. A goal like 'delivering an exceptional experience' applies equally to a hospital,
bank or fitness club."

If you're interested in taking your vision one step further, Taylor suggests creating a brand vision board.
A vision board includes your company's tagline, a "who we are" statement, a "what we do" section, a
business vision statement, an overview of your ideal clients, client pain points, your content mission
statement, advertising, products and SEO keywords.

"A vision board serves as a one-page business plan that anyone in a company can reference quickly to
remember the key concepts that drive the work," said Taylor.

Vision statement templates and resources

If you are still stuck on how to create a vision statement and cannot afford to hire professional help, you
can easily access a host of downloadable worksheets and templates that offer a framework for
developing a vision statement. These five worksheets can help you refine your vision statement:

Smartsheet: Vision statement worksheet

Diggles Creative: Brand vision worksheet

Whole Whale: Nonprofit vision and mission statement worksheet

Lone Star College System: Worksheets for developing mission and vision statements

Khorus: Mission, vision and values worksheets

These free resources offer step-by-step instructions to help you identify your company's key values,
priorities and goals, bringing you closer to articulating your unique vision. You can use them yourself or
collectively with your staff.
20 examples of inspiring vision statements

Checking out some memorable and distinct vision statements may be all the inspiration you need to
write your own. Here are some of the best.

Amazon: "To be Earth's most customer-centric company where customers can find and discover
anything they might want to buy online."

Ben & Jerry's: "Making the best ice cream in the nicest possible way."

Caterpillar: "Our vision is a world in which all people's basic needs – such as shelter, clean water,
sanitation, food and reliable power – are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way, and a company
that improves the quality of the environment and the communities where we live and work."

Google: "To provide access to the world's information in one click."

Habitat for Humanity: "A world where everyone has a decent place to live."

Hilton Hotels & Resorts: "To fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality."

IKEA: "To create a better everyday life for the many people."

Intel: "If it's smart and connected, it's best with Intel."

LinkedIn: "Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce."

Oxfam: "A world without poverty."

Patagonia: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement
solutions to the environmental crisis.”

Prezi: “To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.”

Samsung: "Inspire the world, create the future."

Smithsonian: "By 2022, the Smithsonian will build on its unique strengths to engage and to inspire more
people, where they are, with greater impact, while catalyzing critical conversation on issues affecting
our nation and the world."

Southwest Airlines: "To become the world's most loved, most flown and most profitable airline."

Sweetgreen: "To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food."

TED: "Spread ideas."

Walgreens: "To be America's most loved pharmacy-led health, well-being and beauty company."

Warby Parker: "To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially
conscious businesses."

Wyeth: "To lead the way to a healthier world. By carrying out this vision at every level of our
organization, we will be recognized by our employees, customers and shareholders as the best
pharmaceutical company in the world, resulting in value for all."

Tips for crafting your vision statement

A vision statement should stretch the imagination while providing guidance and clarity. It will inform
your company's direction and set priorities while challenging your employees to grow. Above all, a vision
statement must be compelling – not just to the high-level executives of your company, but to all
employees.

Often, the hardest part of creating a vision statement is coming up with wording that truly defines your
values and shines a light on your corporate identity without sounding too vague. A specific and unique
vision statement is a good place to begin distinguishing your business from the rest of the industry.

"Vision statements should demonstrate how the world will be different now that your business is in it,"
said DeJong. She believes there needs to be legitimate passion behind a vision statement in order for it
to be effective. "So many leaders play it too safe with their vision, and this is a big mistake when it
comes to developing a brand people actually care about."

Based on our expert sources' advice, here's a quick recap of what to do when formalizing a vision
statement that reflects the uniqueness of your organization:

Project five to 10 years in the future.

Dream big and focus on success.

Use the present tense.

Use clear, concise, jargon-free language.

Infuse it with passion and make it inspiring.

Align it with your business values and goals.

Create a plan to communicate your vision statement to your employees.

Prepare to commit time and resources to the vision you establish.

Your completed vision statement should offer a clear idea of your company's path forward. Honard said
that many of her clients have used their vision statements to direct their overall plans for the future. For
example, they've adopted new marketing initiatives to move them closer to their vision, pivoted their
focus to clearly reflect their desired outcome, or doubled down on one particular aspect of their brand
that is working in service of their vision.

Visions don't need to be set in stone

Now that you know all the rules of creating a vision statement, there is only one lesson left to learn:
Sometimes you need to break some of the rules in your company's journey to define its own vision.

Many companies benefit from having a vision statement right from their inception, but maybe that's not
the case for yours. If you have a very young company, it is perfectly acceptable not to commit to one
specific vision from day one.

"Getting too tied into one master statement can really mess with the learning and creation process in
the early stages," said Sonia Langlotz, CEO and founder of marketing and communications collective
Round Twelve. She encourages her clients to write a vision statement every month, save the previous
drafts, and see what sticks and what doesn't over time.

"After the first year, you can look back and see how much you have evolved," Langlotz said. "What parts
or words within the statement stuck around and what was dropped? Those key words tend to end up
being major brand pillars you can always come back to and eventually become part of the brand ethos."

Tying yourself down to a particular vision statement in the early days of your business may limit your
opportunities for growth or blind you to the need for change.

"At the end of the day, trust your gut, test and check, look at the analytics, invest in the feedback your
customer is giving you," Langlotz said. "If you aren't willing to step outside of your initial vision for your
business, you might miss a huge opportunity!"
Regardless of how many years you have been in business or how long you have had your vision
statement, you are not stuck with it. Don't be afraid to change it, even if you spent time and money
developing it, if it stops feeling right.

DeJong recalls how her agency developed a new vision statement a few years ago that just didn't fit.
"While the words sounded beautiful and it seemed accurate, our vision was simply too intangible to lend
itself toward a mission that felt real." As a result, she reworked her vision to better align with her brand,
and she couldn't be happier with it.

"Having a tack-sharp, specific vision has helped me and my entire team double down on our efforts,
think more creatively, and feel more motivated every single day," she said.

Above all, your vision statement should be a constant reminder to you and your team that the end goal
is bigger than the everyday. This message is an important one to hold on to, especially on the most
difficult days.

Paula Fernandes contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Some source interviews were
conducted for a previous version of this article.

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How to Write a Good Vision Statement, Step-by-step and with Examples

by Tom Wright, on Jun 25, 2020 10:00:00 AM

A vision statement is the anchor point of any strategic plan. It outlines what an
organization would like to ultimately achieve and gives purpose to the existence
of the organization. A good vision statement should be short, simple, specific to
your business, leave nothing open to interpretation. It should also have some
ambition.

This comprehensive guide will take you through the entire process of writing a
good vision statement, with examples and resources to help along the way.

Let's start off by reminding ourselves of what our end-game looks like in terms of
our finished plan:
 What is a Vision Statement for?

Here's a quick reminder of what we're trying to achieve when writing a good
vision statement (not everything will apply to every organization, but you'll get the
gist...)

 Creating the pinnacle of the funnel, which every significant action we do going
forward will ultimately be contributing towards.
 A memorable and inspirational summary that describes our reason for existence
as an organization - one that will help to motivate existing employees and even
attract high-quality new ones.
 A succinct statement about what our organization is trying to achieve to help third
parties such as investors or the media better understand us.
 A 'limiter' that helps us to rule out certain opportunities which do not ultimately
contribute to our vision.

This article is part of our mini-series 'How To Write A Strategic Plan'. You can
download our free 'How To Write A Strategic Plan' eBook which contains all of the
articles from the series.

We've also incorporated this strategic planning process into our strategy

software which you can try free of charge here. Cascade walks you through a
guided strategic planning process with real-time analysis and feedback to
help you create an effective strategy.

Download eBook: How To Write A Strategic Plan

Your complete guide to writing a great strategic plan. The eBook will walk you
through every step in the process from an inspiring Vision, through to your KPIs
and Projects.
DOWNLOAD EBOOK

You can also find the individual articles here:

1. How To Write A Strategic Plan: The Cascade Model

2. How to Write a Good Vision Statement (This Article)
3. How To Create Company Values
4. Creating Strategic Focus Areas
5. How To Write Strategic Objectives
6. How To Create Effective Projects
7. How To Write KPIs

You can use these guides either alongside a free trial of Cascade Strategy (our
cloud-based strategy platform) or standalone.

What a good Vision Statement SHOULD be:

There are a few common rules that pretty much every good Vision Statement will
follow:

1. They should be short - two sentences at an absolute maximum. It's fine to

expand on your vision statement with more detail, but you need a version that is
punchy and easily memorable.

2. They need to be specific to your business and describe a unique outcome that
only you can provide. Generic vision statements that could apply to any
organization won't cut it (see our examples below for more on this point).

3. Do not use words that are open to interpretation. For example, saying you will
'maximize shareholder return' doesn't actually mean anything unless you specify
what it actually looks like.

4. Keep it simple enough for people both inside and outside your organization to
understand. No technical jargon, no metaphors, and no business buzz-words if at
all possible!

5. It should be ambitious enough to be exciting but not too ambitious that it seems
unachievable. It's not really a matter of time-framing your vision, because that will
vary by organization, but certainly, anything that has a time-frame outside of 3 to
10 years should be challenged as to whether it's appropriate.

6. It needs to align to the company values that you want your people to exhibit as
they perform their work. We talk more about company values in this article - but once
you've created those company values later on, revisit your Vision to see how well
they gel.

Following these rules should give you a pretty good starting point for creating a
good vision statement. To help refine things further, we'll now look at some
examples of vision statements that did not follow these rules. We've also created
a free PDF eBook that you can download: 100 of the World's Greatest Vision
Statements.

Some not-so-good Vision Statements (and why)

Here are some examples of real-life vision statements that in our opinion, could
do with a little tweaking. For each one, we'll try to justify our thinking...

Our company vision is to make every brand more inspiring and the world more
intelligent.
Well, this one gets a tick on the 'ambitious' test if nothing else. But.....is it realistic
that 'every brand' will use the services of this company? How about 'making the
world more intelligent.' Let's try to quantify what that might actually look like. Or
let's not. Because it's impossible. Not to be too harsh though - there are strong
elements here; 'making brands more inspiring' makes a lot of sense and has
some depth.

Provide maximum value for our shareholders whilst helping our customers to fulfil
their dreams.
This 'vision' could pretty much apply to any company, anywhere (it's an insurance
company in this case - but would you have guessed that?). It's sort of like saying
'Our Vision is to succeed as a business'. Not wrong - but certainly not inspiring or
unique.

Last one...

We are committed to achieving new standards of excellence by providing

superior human capital management services and maximizing the potential of all
stakeholders - clients, candidates and employees - through the delivery of the
most reliable, responsive....[and it goes on, but that's probably enough]...
It would be quite hard to write a vision statement filled with less tangibility and
more subjectivity than this one. 'New standards of excellence'. 'Superior human
capital management'. 'Maximizing the potential'. There are simply far too many
buzzwords, intangibles, and vagueness here for this to be either memorable or
inspiring.

We are of course being rather harsh. But hopefully, the above examples illustrate
well some of the pitfalls to avoid when creating your own vision.

What is the Process of Writing a Good Vision Statement?

There are literally hundreds of articles out there that give examples of bad and
good vision statements. There's also plenty of articles that give a high-level
overview of what to consider when creating your own. However, what we noticed
was lacking was a concrete process to go through to help you create one. As
such, we've outlined a process that we have used with clients in Cascade that
might work for you too.

There are plenty of great vision statements out there that will not conform to the
process below. But if you're struggling or just need a place to start, then hopefully
this will help.

Step 1: Define what you do as an output

Start by being exceptionally clear about what it is your organization actually does.
Be careful to remain 'output focused' rather than 'input focused'. For example,
Microsoft famously had a vision statement to Put a Microsoft powered computer
on every desk in the world (slightly paraphrased). Strictly speaking what
 Microsoft 'do' is make computer software, but for the purposes of their Vision,
they looked forward to the actual outcome of this process - i.e. computers on
desks.

Let's look at some other hypothetical examples:

 A bakery makes bread. But the outcome is consumers enjoying that bread.
 A consulting company gives advice. But the outcome is the success of others
based on that advice.
 A government department does...lots of things. But the outcome is better lives for
the citizens they serve.

Whilst this process may seem obvious - you would be surprised by how rarely
organizations actually go through this process in a formal, written way. Doing so
will take you a long way towards creating your vision statement - BUT it's not
enough alone! If it was, all bakeries, for example, would have the same vision
statement - which is hardly inspiring!

Step 2: Define what unique twist your organization brings to the above
outcome
Very few products or services these days are truly new - most are more like
reinventions of something that exists already, but with a different approach, focus
or spin.

At some point in your organization's lifespan - someone will have believed that
the reason that THIS organization would be successful where others have failed,
was because of.........something.

You need to define that something!

Let's take our bakery example. So far, our vision statement is looking pretty
generic, along the lines of customers enjoying our bread. But why will they enjoy
our bread MORE than the bread from the place next door? Is it because we use
centuries-old traditions passed through generations of our family? Because we
only use premium grade locally sourced ingredients? Whatever your unique
selling point is - let it shine through in your vision statement.

Step 3: Apply some high-level quantification

A common problem with a not so good vision statement is ironically, that it's too
visionary! With no possible end in sight (or a totally unrealistic one) - the initial
inspiration derived from a good vision statement can quickly turn to frustration or
even cynicism among employees and customers.

That said - don't be too specific or apply specific metrics at this stage (they will
come later in our planning process).

Sticking with our bakery example, we might want to refine our target audience to
'every customer who walks through the door'. That's fine, or maybe we want to
be bolder: 'every customer within walking distance of a store'.
The quantification we apply could also be industry specific. If you're a B2B - are
you shooting for SMEs or multinationals for example?

Step 4: Add relatable, human, 'real world' aspects

OK, your vision statement by this point should be getting pretty close to finished.
But one final trick you can apply to help make it even more memorable is to add
a real-life aspect. This will allow people to conjure up a solid mental image to
associate with your vision statement. Let's look at an example - which of the
following statements is likely to be more memorable:

a) To have every working person in the world using Microsoft product.

or...

b) A Microsoft powered computer on every desk.

I would argue that (b) is more memorable because as I read this, I'm actually
visualizing a computer (in my case) sitting on a wooden desk in a room. There's
nothing wrong with (a) but it's highly conceptual and thus difficult to transform into
a mental picture. Let's look at another example:

Ensure that every customer who leaves our store, does so smiling.
Here, using the word 'smiling' as opposed to 'happy' is powerful, because it
conjures a mental image of a person smiling.

It won't always be possible to bring this level of tangibility to a good vision

statement - but if it is, I would strongly encourage doing so.

How To Write

A Vision Statement

Similar to the situation with Corporate Mission Statement, there is also a lot of confusion, even among
large companies, as to exactly what a Corporate Vision is, and how it should be stated.

Corporate Vision - Defined

The corporate vision of an organization is the desired "future state" of the organization and/or the
environment it affects, stated at the highest corporate level.

A vision statement is a projected "view of the future" as the organization would eventually like to see
itself.

An organization should have a single corporate vision statement.

Contrary to what some so-called experts have claimed, a corporate vision is NOT a goal. Goals are
specific, quantifiable outcomes that an organization targets in attempting to achieve the objectives and
thus pursue the mission of an organization. For more on goals, objectives and mission, click here

A vision statement is a broad declaration of overall intent to eventually achieve a widely acknowledged
state of existence - an aspiration for the future. As such, once formulated a corporate vision statement
will normally remain unchanged for years.

Typical vision statements would read like this:

"Our corporate vision is for our brand to be the number one clothing brand in the mens sportswear
manufacturing business, worldwide."

"The corporate vision of XYZ Corporation is to be the acknowledged world leader in the design and
manufacturing of large jet engines for aircraft."

"The ultimate vision of this organization is to be recognized as one of the major influencers of improved
highway safety in the State".

Here is the published corporate vision statement for a manufacturing company:

"Our vision is to be universally recognized as the market leader in the management of and execution of
all our activities."

Here is the corporate vision posted online by a major software development company:
"Our overall aspiration is to become the most admired business software and services provider in the
world."

Writing Tip:

When drafting a corporate vision statement always think in terms of a single statement that sums up the
long-term aspiration of the organization. It's vision of the future for itself.

INTRODUCTION TO

COMPANY ASPIRATIONS

IT’S KNOWN AS “the domino effect”: one object tumbles, and everything else falls

into place.

Unfortunately, in life, things are hardly ever this simple – particularly in the business

world. It’s rarely one thing alone that sets a company on the right path to world

domination, but instead a culmination of factors that come together in just the right

way. A great product helps, of course, but more than a few businesses with great

product ideas have failed to reach their full potential.

So what’s the secret? Talk to leaders from most successful startups, and you’ll inevitably

find that one of the keys involved having the right group of people, all moving in

the same direction toward clearly defined goals. This is where the development of

company aspirations comes into play.

The only question is how to get there.

During the early years of a company’s life, the founders and senior leaders generally

focus on product development and customer development. During this period of

formation, the team is working out its basic product, initial value proposition, market

focus, and go-to-market approaches. Once the product and customer development
has reached a reasonable point of maturity, the team then begins to turn its attention

toward company development.

One of the best steps an organization can take at this point is to become an aspirationsdriven company
(also referred to as mission-driven or vision-driven). An aspirationsdriven company is one whose leaders
make clear the organization’s mission, vision,

values, and priorities.

These aspirations, in turn, serve as a guide for all employees and market participants

involved with the company.

To be truly effective, aspirations have to be more than just words on paper. The

management team must be committed to expressing and living the aspirations on a

daily basis. This eBook is designed to show leaders who are ready to identify, express,

and live their company aspirations where to begin.

“Know your core competencies

and focus on being great at

them. Pay up for people in your

core competencies. Get the best.

Outside of the core competencies,

hire people that fit your culture −

but are cheap.” MARK CUBAN

Owner, Dallas Mavericks

Chairman, HDNet

COMPANY ASPIRATIONS

DEFINED

Put simply, your aspirations are what you aim to be as a company. They are the longestterm and most
aggressive goals for your business. Your aspirations can be organized in
many different ways, but most frequently are set as your mission, vision, values, and

priorities.

The ultimate goal of identifying, expressing, and living your company aspirations is for

everyone in and around your organization to embrace and act in a manner consistent

with those objectives. Essentially, you reach your aspirations by living your aspirations.

As mentioned before, your aspiration goal can be broken down into mission, vision,

value, and priority goals:

� Mission Goal — All of the people in your organization understand your company’s

purpose, and work toward realizing that purpose in their daily work. Essentially,

you are answering the question, “Why are we building this organization?”

� Vision Goal — All of the people in your organization understand what you

want your company and customer set to “look like” in the long term, and they

use this understanding to both motivate and guide their work. Essentially, you

are answering the question, “What are we aiming to achieve?”

� Value Goal — All of the people in your organization work in a manner that is

consistent with your values and principles. Essentially, you are answering the

question, “How should we act?”

� Priorities — All of the people in your organization understand your priorities if

there is ever any conflict between individual aspirations.

Aspirations serve as a guide to everyone inside and outside of your organization for

explaining who you are, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there.

But aspirations are a confused idea in most companies. Some think of aspirations as

a poster to motivate employees. Other companies have senior managers who believe

that aspirations are for the “troops” but not for them.
These issues, and others, have led the vast majority of companies to develop very poor

aspiration practices, and most people to have a general disregard for or disbelief in

the practice. Clearly, these approaches do not meet the goals of true aspirations and

the poor approaches used by other companies make it much more difficult for you to

implement the proper practices.

Company aspirations are often – but should not be – confused with “product

aspirations,” “brand aspirations,” “customer aspirations,” “business unit aspirations,”

“functional aspirations,” “employee aspirations” or any other aspirations that can be

developed for a specific initiative or around a specific stakeholder. Company aspirations

are different in that they are the umbrella over all the other aspirations.

“For young companies, it’s critical

to build a team with character, core

values, and integrity. Find people

who have different strengths and

experiences than you, but whose

styles are complementary. Defining

your company mission and values

from the start will help ensure that

your team remains focused on

the company’s core vision as your

business grows.”

SCOTT DORSEY

CEO, ExactTarget

Business Benefits of Company Aspirations

As your company grows, it’s important to communicate who you are to new and

existing employees and other stakeholders, which company aspirations help you do.

Company aspirations help everyone in the company guide their activities, behaviors,

and decisions. When aspirations are well expressed and baked into a company’s

culture, they help you:

ƒ Hire the people who best fit your aspirations

ƒ Help the “right-fit” people know that you are the best company to work for

ƒ Help the “wrong-fit” people know that your company is not the right

company for them

ƒ Inspire your staff

ƒ Separate staff that are not aligned with your aspirations

ƒ Give guidance for the millions of activities, behaviors, and decisions that

are made in your company every week

ƒ Enable your product market participants to understand where you’re

going, why you exist, and what is important to you

ƒ Inspire your product market participants to purchase and use your products

and services

An aspirations-driven company gives people, both inside and surrounding the

Defining and articulating your vision, mission and values

It’s all about ‘the big picture’. Visualising and articulating what it is that your institution exists to achieve
(its ‘mission’) and what defines its character and ethos (its ‘values’).

ARCHIVED

This content was archived in November 2014

About this guide

Published: 5 September 2012

Updated: 8 November 2012

This guide is designed to help ensure the main strategic ‘building blocks’ common to most institutions
are fit for purpose. It’s all about ‘the big picture’. Visualising and articulating what it is that your
institution exists to achieve (its ‘mission’) and what defines its character and ethos (its ‘values’). But it is
not just about describing the here and now. It also represents your opportunity to look to the future, to
define your aspirations and to describe the type of organisation you wish to become (its ‘vision’).

There is often a careful balancing act to be performed. Lofty statements of idealism may encourage a
certain (perhaps justified) cynicism about the process, but at the same time it is important to aspire and
inspire and to create a shared image of what your institution stands for and where it wants to be. By
doing so you avoid wasting time and resources by pulling in a dozen different, perhaps even
contradictory, directions and pursuing unnecessary courses of action.

Recognising and resolving these tensions are an inherent element for success and will depend not only
on the appropriateness of the statements agreed upon but, equally crucially, how they are arrived at in
the first place and how they are communicated to the institution as a whole. All of these are topics
addressed during this guide, part of our Increasing strategic effectiveness suite of resources.

"There was a clear consensus that mission, vision and values were clearly defined in the infoKit. There
was also consensus that the process was clear and in the correct order."

Rohan Slaughter, Head of Technology, Beaumont College

The importance of concepts over terminology

It would be easy in a resource such as this to allow discussions (or indeed arguments) over terminology
to dominate proceedings and to prevent proper progress being made. As with all things, it is, of course,
important that there is clarity over what is being referred to, otherwise there can be no understanding;
but, by the same token, this does not mean that everyone must agree with every term chosen in order
to make use of this guide.
Terms such as ‘mission statements’, ‘vision’ and ‘values’ are not fixed and absolute and it is inevitable
that what one institution may currently think of as a ‘vision’ may be construed by another as part of
their ‘values’. Likewise, the content of one institution’s ‘mission statement’ may be remarkably similar
to another’s ‘value set’. This really doesn’t matter – call each what you will according to what you
believe will have the greatest resonance for your institution. What does matter are the concepts which
these various terms describe and the importance of ensuring that each are addressed appropriately –
whatever they may be called.

So please bear this in mind when reading the rest of the contents of this guide and focus on the
underlying concepts, rather than the relative suitability of the particular name that we have chosen to
define it by.

The institutional experience

"We had to take account of the mission, vision and values of our parent organisation. It may be the case
that these areas are outside of the remit of the people using the kit1 – this needs to be made clear when
using the kit by whoever is coordinating the use of the kit so that time is not wasted trying to change
what cannot be changed – however mapping ‘what this means for us’ was a useful exercise.

The question we asked was: 'Given the values of our parent organisation what is the unique contribution
that Beaumont College can bring?'. We thought the section on mission, vision and values helped clarify a
number of issues for the team and in completing the exercises focussed people’s attention on ‘future
talk’ which was energising and helpful. It brought to light shared assumptions which were interesting to
articulate given the different range of experiences of different team members.

The exercises also brought to light the complexity of aligning the college's strategy with that of the
parent organisation. Going through the process helped to reinforce once again the importance of clarity
in this key area, particularly with regard to governance. A particular point of interest to the principal was
feeding back to governors on the use of the infoKit and how sophisticated the process was and how it
had already begun to develop confidence and competence in the leadership team in handling concepts
like mission and vision."

Beaumont College

Footnotes
Reference to infoKit, as this guide was originally labelled on the Jisc infoNet website

What is a mission statement?

A mission statement defines in a paragraph or so any entity’s reason for existence. It embodies its
philosophies, goals, ambitions and mores. Any entity that attempts to operate without a mission
statement runs the risk of wandering through the world without having the ability to verify that it is on
its intended course.1

Without a mission statement (or a statement/set of principles which conforms to this definition but
which may be known as something else), the organisation risks wandering ‘off mission’ and wasting time
and resources trying to achieve things which are at best peripheral and at worst irrelevant to the
objectives it should be trying to achieve.

Some may argue that the mission for all further and higher education institutions is simple and self-
evident: to provide good quality teaching and learning for its students and to conduct valuable research.
But already the flaws in this simplistic response are evident. Not every institution pursues an active
research agenda (particularly in further education), whereas for others it represents the focal point of
their international reputation and one of their main streams of income.

Likewise, although hopefully all institutions would place a high value on teaching and learning, their
approach to conducting this may differ markedly: whereas some institutions may view their role as
being to nurture and develop academic excellence, others may consider it their priority to equip
students with the vocational skills and training required to prepare them for the job market.

In many respects, the mission statement reflects the ultimate distillation of the strategic activity of the
institution. If the course of action being considered doesn’t seem to conform to the mission statement,
serious questions should be asked about whether this is really something that the institution should be
involved with. If, after due consideration, the answer is still ‘yes’ it may well be that your mission
statement should be updated to reflect this new change of direction or expansion of remit, but given the
‘high-level’ nature of mission statements it stands to reason that such changes will rarely be necessary
(perhaps once or twice a decade) – any more than this and it suggests that your mission statement is
defined at too detailed and low a level.
The rise to prominence of the ‘business and community engagement’ (BCE) agenda as a ‘third stream’ of
institutional activity is a good example of the kind of major shift in policy and remit which may have
required an amendment to some institutional mission statements in recent years.

Example mission statements

We aspire to be a dynamic, global, enterprising university. We will work in partnership with external
organisations through our research and engage our students as partners in a community of learning.

Coventry University

To contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest
international levels of excellence.

University of Cambridge

To advance and diffuse knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the
example and influence of its corporate life

We have a simple mission, “Success for our Students”, and do everything possible to ensure that you
receive the very best education and training.

Herefordshire College of Technology

Each of the above examples say something specific about the institution in question and avoid
meaningless platitudes by not only stating what it is that they strive to achieve but how they intend to
achieve it. It is this that gives each its distinctiveness and ties it specifically to the institution in question.

An interesting exercise might be to separate the statements from the institutions and to determine how
easy you feel it would be to correctly marry them up given what you know about each institution. When
reviewing or redefining your own mission statement this exercise can be taken a step further by
including your own mission statement along with these examples and asking colleagues or focus groups
to choose which they feel is most representative of your institution. If few successfully manage to
recognise your institution from your mission statement this may indicate that it does not sufficiently
capture the essence of your organisation.
Footnotes

www.missionstatements.com

The characteristics of a good mission statement

Mission statements come in all shapes and sizes: from the short and pithy to the comprehensive and
verbose; and from the vague and general to the specific and measurable. There are no absolutes,
ultimately it is what is right for your institution, its staff and its stakeholders that is the only criteria that
really counts.

For no matter how well written it may be, how succinct or worthy, simple or complicated, it will only be
effective if it is generally considered to be an accurate and useful summary of your organisation and if it
‘says something’ to its stakeholders.

General principles

That said, there are some general principles that it may be worth bearing in mind when defining a new
mission statement, or reviewing a current one.

Make it as succinct as possible

A mission statement should be as short and snappy as possible – preferably brief enough to be printed
on the back of a business card. The detail which underpins it should be mapped out elsewhere.

Make it memorable

Obviously partially linked to the above, but try to make it something that people will be able to
remember the key elements of, even if not the exact wording.

Make it unique to you

It’s easy to fall into the ‘motherhood and apple pie’ trap with generic statements that could equally
apply to any institution. Focus on what it is that you strive to do differently: how you achieve
excellence, why you value your staff or what it is about the quality of the student experience that sets
you apart from the rest.
Make it realistic

Remember, your mission statement is supposed to be a summary of why you exist and what you do. It is
a description of the present, not a vision for the future. If it bears little or no resemblance to the
organisation that your staff know it will achieve little.

Make sure it’s current

Though it is not something which should be changed regularly, neither should it be set in stone. Your
institution’s priorities and focus may change significantly over time – perhaps in response to a change of
direction set by a new vice-chancellor or principal, or major changes in government policy. On such
occasions the question should at least be asked: ‘does our current mission statement still stand?’

It may be useful to re-read the examples cited in the mission statement section in the light of this list
and to assess if and how each demonstrate these qualities.

Hopefully, if your mission statement conforms to the above principles it should stand a good chance of
fulfilling its objectives, but there are no guarantees – especially if, no matter how well worded – it is not
accepted by the broader institutional community. For if your institution as a whole, or significant
elements of it, reject your mission statement wholesale its value is effectively lost and it will forever
remain a slick, but essentially meaningless, set of words. The main mitigation against this risk is likely to
stem from the way in which your mission statement, along with your vision and values are formulated,
communicated and disseminated – topics addressed elsewhere in this resource.

The institutional experience

"On the basis of reflection at senior management level, followed by some small-scale ‘reality-check’
testing in a small number of staff teams, we identified a mission focused around the concepts of
promoting, developing, supporting.

The proposition is that these words reflect the scope of our activities over the student lifecycle from
initial enquiry to final award (promoting the university; promoting educational aspiration; developing
life and learning skills, developing employability, supporting students, etc).
We considered whether the three concepts were in a linear or circular relationship and toyed with a
number of different layouts. On the final strategy document, the mission appears as follows, alongside
an image which is intended to reflect the importance of team working, collaboration and partnerships
(as expressed elsewhere in the strategy)."

University of Sheffield

How to identify and agree your mission statement

This section deliberately focuses on how to identify and agree your mission statement and not on who
should be involved in this process. Questions regarding who should be involved and how it should be
coordinated represents a different set of challenges entirely and are broadly the same regardless of
whether forming your mission statement, vision statement or values. As a result this guidance is
included at the end of this stage and is designed to encompass all three.

Before getting embroiled in the details of precise wording and phrasing your most important task is to
have successfully identified the major elements by which you wish to define your institution’s raison
d’être. Examples of what we mean by an ‘element’ include such things as ‘international reputation for
research’, ‘leading edge facilities’ or ‘excellence in vocational training’. They represent the nub of what
you feel represents the best of your institution and what it strives to achieve.

During this process it may help to ask yourselves the following questions:

What are the first 5 words that spring to mind when asked to describe your institution?

What is it that you do best?

What makes you different?

What would you like others to think of you?

The next stage in the process is likely to be one of shortlisting, only possible if accompanied by a
considerable degree of discussion, compromise and trial and error. It should be fairly easy to move from
the original long list to a shortlist of real contenders, simply by discarding those elements which received
only very limited support, or which are only slight variations on others. Moving from a shortlist to the
final number of agreed elements may prove a trickier proposition, not least because they may all be
worthy entrants which, if length were no issue, would all be included.
Here is where a process of prioritisation may prove useful. Ranking each element in terms of its
perceived importance to the institution serves two purposes: Firstly, it makes it possible to define a cut-
off point, beyond which otherwise worthy elements will not make the final cut (ie ‘we are only going to
include the top 4 elements that we have listed’, for example). Secondly, it starts to give some shape to
the statement itself by dictating the logical order in which each element should be described, with logic
dictating what you consider to be the most important element coming first.

From here on in it’s a question of phrasing, reviewing and rephrasing until you are happy with the end
result. In many respects the process of defining the final wording of your mission statement is akin to
writing poetry, with no word wasted or included without good reason, plus a similar need for the text to
scan and flow as smoothly as possible. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to end up with a series of worthy, but
disjointed and unconnected statements where, instead, what we are looking for is for the sum of the
whole to be greater than its parts.

It is also worth paying particular attention to the range of adjectives used throughout the statement to
ensure that you have not inadvertently slipped into unjustifiable hyperbole: are all your facilities really
‘world class’? Do you really have an ‘international reputation’ for research? etc. Focusing instead on
what you believe to be most important to your institution, rather than simply repeating or trying to
better well-worn generic claims should help in this regard. As ever, it is advisable to avoid jargon and to
use plain English and short sentences wherever possible to ensure that your message is not weakened
or lost.

As the above guidance implies, it is our view that the mission statement should be an accurate summary
and reflection of the institution and what it strives to achieve as it is. Where it strives to be in the future
is something which should be defined in its vision – as described in future sections. However, it may be
that in certain exceptional circumstances – for example following the granting of university status or
other such major changes – that it is necessary to also take a more future-focused approach to defining
your new mission statement and perhaps looking to some of the goals identified during the formation of
that vision to help craft a mission statement that describes how you see the new mission of the
institution going forward, rather than simply reflecting the past you have left behind. Such complexities
help remind us that individual circumstance and operational necessity may often require a more
pragmatic and less clear-cut approach than it is possible for us to describe in this guidance.

Although crafted with longevity in mind it is also important to periodically review your mission
statements to check that they are still current and valid. This may be particularly relevant after the kind
of major organisational change mentioned above, but may also be required simply due to the passage of
time and the gradual impact of change. A scheduled review process, perhaps annually or every few
years can help ensure its continued relevance, always starting with an assessment of the statement as it
currently stands and whether each element is still accurate and helpful. If there are aspects of it which
should be removed or altered following the rest of the guidance in this section should help you to
identify what they can most usefully be replaced with.

What is a vision statement?

"Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of
the desired outcome"

John KottEr

If your mission statement can best be described as a reflection of the fundamental purpose or purposes
of your institution your vision statement should complement and enhance this by providing a
description of where you hope this purpose will lead. In essence it represents a description of what and
where you want to be. As such it is a statement of aspiration, not necessarily of fact and represents a
vision of the type of organisation that you are striving to become and the high level goals you are hoping
to achieve. Given these characteristics it is clear to see why an institution has need for both a mission
statement and a vision statement as integral and complementary parts of its strategic framework; whilst
at the same time re-emphasising the importance of ensuring a common thread and congruence
between the two.

It is also worth reiterating the suggestion given earlier not to get too preoccupied with terms and titles.
Some institutions may well interpret the objectives of the mission and vision statements in slightly
different ways, or perhaps even combine the two requirements into one statement. What matters most
is the consideration and articulation of these descriptions of the institution’s character and direction:
less how you choose to label them.

Example vision statements

"Our vision is to be renowned as a forward thinking, enterprising and business engaged university. We
will be known for providing a high quality and cutting edge learning experience, for research which has a
real world impact and for being a catalyst in economic and social transformation. We will build on our
existing strength to attain an international reputation as a leader in applied design and creativity and in
healthcare and active lifestyles"

Sheffield Hallam University

“Our vision is to be the UK’s best knowledge and learning partnership university”

University of West of England

“McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means
providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every
restaurant smile”

McDonald’s

“To be the most creative organisation in the world.”

The BBC

Why do you need a vision statement?

Organisations need to know where they are heading and what they are trying to accomplish and to state
this clearly for getting there is dependent on the efforts of a large number of people – not all of whom
can just be assumed to instinctively know what the collective goal is.

An institution’s vision statement is thus an articulation of its major goals and ambitions. The
organisation which does not articulate its vision for the future will not necessarily fail, indeed it may
continue to ‘tick over’ quite nicely, but nor is it likely to thrive. It stands less chance of growing,
expanding and improving because it has no clear idea of what direction or form this growth, expansion
or improvement should take. Not every good idea can be funded and not every opportunity pursued.
Without a clear idea of where the institution is heading there is no sound basis for prioritising these
decisions, resulting in an institution which is paddling as hard as it can, but making little real progress.

The institution’s vision statement establishes another aspect of the ‘big picture’. As such, it should be
possible to trace a link back to it from all other levels of institutional planning and goal setting.
Repeatedly asking the question: ‘how does this help us achieve our vision?’ when setting departmental
and faculty-level objectives should help reinforce these links.
Your vision should also be a constant and visible element of your recruitment and selection processes,
appearing as part of your initial job advertisement and application pack. By doing so you make a public
claim about where you, as an organisation, are heading and therefore the type of people you need to
make this happen. Pursuing this idea further, asking candidates either during the written application or
interview stage to demonstrate how they would help the institution to achieve it can help ensure that all
new staff are aware of the institution’s stated vision and are able to play their part in achieving it.

What makes a good vision statement?

"The quality of your vision determines the creativity, quality and originality of your ideas and solutions.
A powerful vision statement should stretch expectations and aspirations helping you jump out of your
comfort zone."

Time Thoughts Website

As with the mission statement, there is no simple right or wrong answer and ultimately what counts is
its appropriateness and suitability for the institution and where it is on its own particular ‘journey’.
However, as with the mission statement, it is possible to define some general principles of good practice
which it may prove useful to consider when revising your current vision statement, or drafting a new
one.

Be inspirational

The vision statement is supposed to challenge, enthuse and inspire. Use powerful words and vivid
phrases to articulate the kind of institution you are trying to become. This is your chance to lift your
institution’s gaze above the grind of day-to-day gripes and problems and to focus attention on ‘the
bigger picture’ and the potential rewards that await

Be ambitious

If you set your sights on being ‘within the top 10′ the chances are that the best you will come is 10th. If
your real aim is to hit the top 5, why not say so and go for broke? What targets you set and how high
you aim will, in themselves, also say something about you as an organisation. Ambitious, perhaps even
audacious targets will help create the impression of an organisation that is going places, that aims high
and demands high standards from its staff and students in a way that comfortable, ‘middle-of-the-road’
benchmarks will not
Be realistic

This may sound odd following on immediately from a call to ‘Be ambitious’, perhaps even contradictory,
but it is an important part of the balancing act that is required. For just as the purpose of the vision is to
inspire and enthuse, it is equally important that this ambition is tempered by an underlying sense of
realism. People need to believe that what is envisaged is actually achievable; otherwise there is no
reason for them to believe or buy in to it. It is perfectly possible to be both ambitious and realistic and it
is through successfully marrying these two forces that the best vision statements will be formed. Stating
that you will become ‘ranked in the top 3 in the student satisfaction league table within 5 years’ may be
both ambitious and realistic if you currently sit at number 7, but sound far less convincing if you
currently reside at number 57

Be creative

Albert Einstein once said that ‘imagination is more important than knowledge'.1 Of course, there is
nothing wrong with saying that you will ‘deliver world-class learning and teaching standards but it is
probably a safe bet that at least a dozen other institutions will be saying the same thing. Just as a
commercial company may need to think creatively in order to identify gaps in the market, so too you
may need to think imaginatively about what your vision is and how you describe it to help stand out
from the crowd

Be descriptive

Unlike with your mission statement, there is no pressure to pare your vision down to the bone. Of
course you want to be concise (indeed many of the best examples of memorable visions to tend to be
so), but there is no need to enforce an arbitrary limit on its length. Take as much space as you need to
get your vision across

Be clear

As with your mission statement it pays to avoid jargon, keep sentences short and to the point and use
precise, uncluttered language. Otherwise you risk diluting or losing your message amongst the
background ‘noise’

Be consistent

Though bearing in mind their different purposes, there should still be an element of continuity between
your mission and vision statements, or at least some careful thought and discussion given as to why this
is not the case. At the same time, the vision need not be constrained by the current remit of the mission.
Perhaps the institution is keen to explore new areas in the future: to become the region’s conference
venue of choice, for example, in which case this would need to be reflected in the mission statement in
due course.

Footnotes

“What Life Means to Einstein : An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck” in The Saturday Evening Post
Vol. 202 (26 October 1929), p. 117 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

How far ahead should you look?

If your vision statement looks to the future, the question needs to be asked: how far into the future
should we be looking?

If you look too far ahead it can seem too distant and remote: perhaps even beyond the period that most
of your staff are even envisaging staying at the institution and thus being considered largely irrelevant
by them. The flip side of this is that by looking too close to the present day you do not leave yourself the
time required to achieve what should be quite ambitious and challenging goals.

So far as it is possible to define a specific ‘ideal period’ we suggest five years to usually be about right

To a certain extent any notion of an ‘ideal period’ will be influenced by the type of institution you are
and the nature of the vision you have defined for yourself. For example, a heavily research orientated
institution with strong industry links might need to take a longer term perspective than one that is
focused more, say, on teaching for vocational purposes. However, so far as it is possible to define a
specific ‘ideal period’ we suggest five years to usually be about right. Five years is far enough into the
future to allow for profound change to be accomplished, but is near enough at hand for it to generate
the momentum and focus required to influence strategic activity within the institution.

At the very least, we would advise reviewing your vision statement every 3-5 years – even if this is just
to confirm that it is still relevant and useful – or in the light of any major changes affecting your
institution or the sector at large, such as a change in government or a radical change in government’s
strategic priorities.
How to identify your vision?

As with the guidance on mission statements, this section focuses on the how. The who is addressed at
the end of this guide.

The following techniques may help you to identity and shape a suitable vision for your institution.

Do your research

There is little point in striving to excel in something that nobody wants. This is not an easy task. Not only
are you operating in a crowded and competitive marketplace, but it can also be difficult to predict now
what might be in demand in five years time. Techniques such as scenario planning or some of our
participatory approaches may be as close as you can get to a crystal ball in this regard.

Be imaginative

Try to visualise the organisation you wish to become. Think about and/or articulate what it will be like to
work or study at. Perhaps try using creative approaches such as describing a fictional person’s ‘journey’
or ‘storyboard’ through this new institution, or graphical metaphors to help visualise it. Anything which
helps people to think outside of the constraints of how things currently are and to envisage how they
might wish it to be.

Be bold

Avoid the temptation of letting where you are now necessarily dictate your vision of where you want to
be. Your vision statement should be proactive, not reactive and focused on new horizons, not retreading
the same well worn ground.

Look for synergies

Though people may articulate them in different ways, or chose to stress differing aspects, you may find
it useful to look beyond the differences and to identify those goals which, though on the surface appear
different, actually share the same roots or characteristics and whose realisation would represent
fundamentally the same achievement.

Be coherent
Check whether any proposed elements of the vision statement are possibly contradictory in nature.

Consideration of the above in as open, creative and constructive an environment as possible should help
to ensure that your vision is as broad, inspiring and challenging as possible and will, therefore, set the
right overall agenda for your strategic activity. Of course, the challenge is often how to achieve
consensus, especially across large, diverse and devolved institutions.

More information on who to involve in such discussions and how is covered later on in this resource.

The value of values

"It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are"

Roy Disney

Core values can best be described as operating philosophies or principles that guide an organisation’s
internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world.

So, if mission statements tell you what your institution currently exists to achieve and vision statements
articulate where you aspire to be, the purpose of stating your core values is to help define the type of
organisation you strive to be. As such they describe something of your culture, your ethos and your
priorities. They represent the how alongside the what and the where of your mission and vision
statements. Of course it is quite possible to combine your values within your mission statement to
achieve the same effect, but we feel that separating the two helps each to retain their specific purpose
and makes it easier for others within the institution to appreciate the contribution they are designed to
make.

As with all these high level strategic statements, their value only really emerges if and when they make
the leap from words to deeds. Your values should both reflect and inform the culture within your
organisation but will only do so if effort is made to ‘make them breathe’. This may include publicising
your values around the institution, including them within recruitment information, your prospectus and
other promotional material and running informal sessions on them for staff designed to encourage
reflection on what adhering to these values may mean to them on an individual level. Highlighting, and
perhaps even rewarding, particular teams or individuals who have made a positive contribution to the
life of the institution through acting in tune with a particular value can also be a powerful means of
emphasising that values are not just well meaning words, but an integral part of the life of the
institution.

Core values can help remind the organisation what is important to it and to make sure that these
qualities do not get lost, either in the middle of daily operations, or in pursuit of your vision. But in order
to be of such practical use it is vital that the values you define for your institution are specific and
meaningful to your institution. Agreeing sincere, yet bland and generic ‘motherhood and apple pie’ style
values which no one could argue with but which could equally apply to every institution is relatively
easy.

What is more difficult to achieve is to identify and agree values which are original, inspiring and specific
to your institution.

It must be said that all too often the values listed by further and higher education institutions do tend to
fall into the ‘motherhood and apple pie’ camp, full of well-worn phrases such as ‘Valuing diversity,
equality, inclusion and opportunity’, ‘Excellence in service delivery’ and ‘Respect for learners and staff’.

Contrast these with the following examples from the private sector which not only say something
specific and immediately recognisable about the organisation in question, but are also clearly reflected
in the way they conduct business.

Example organisational values

"Everything we do is underpinned by our core values of transparency, fairness and security. These are
the foundations which enable us to maintain our financial strength and deliver long-term good value"

Nationwide Building Society

"Focus on the user and all else will follow

It’s best to do one thing really, really well

Fast is better than slow

Democracy on the web works

You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer

You can make money without doing evil

There’s always more information out there

The need for information crosses all borders

You can be serious without a suit

Great just isn’t good enough"

Google

"our co-operative values

Self-help – we help people to help themselves

Self-responsibility – we take responsibility for, and answer to our actions

Democracy – we give our members a say in the way we run our businesses

Equality – no matter how much money a member invests in their share account, they still have one vote

Equity – we carry our business in a way that is fair and unbiased

Solidarity – we share interests and common purposes with our members and other co-operatives.

our ethical values

Openness – nobody’s perfect, and we won’t hide it when we’re not

Honesty – we are honest about what we do and the way we do it

Social responsibility – we encourage people to take responsibility for their own community, and work
together to improve it

Caring for others – we regularly fund charities and local community groups from the profits of our
businesses."

The Co-operative
What all of these have in common is their relevance to the organisation in question and the sector in
which they operate. As a result they are unambiguous, non-transferable and immediately recognisable
as part of the ethos behind the brand.

Can the same be said to be true for your values? Are they specific to your institution (or even your
sector?) or could they be applied with equal accuracy and relevance to another institution, or even
another type of organisation altogether?

Defining your values

As with your mission statement, your values should describe something of how your organisation
currently is, less what it wishes to become. That said, there is something aspirational about the notion of
values. A commitment to value ‘Excellence in service delivery’, however, is not a claim that all your
services are always faultless; it is a statement that as a principle you will not compromise on service
quality and that the pursuit of excellence will guide the decisions you make and the contracts you enter
into.

Defining your values should be a creative and collaborative process. Who and how to involve people is
addressed more fully in the next section but the general principles of obtaining as wide a representation
of views as possible and pursuing the most constructive and creative ways of capturing them are also
worth mentioning here. It is also a process which must be handled with sensitivity. Attempts to define
your institution’s values will inevitably touch on issues of individual ethics, morality and beliefs.
Encouraging such introspection is a valuable part of the process and an important one in making people
see the relevance of institutional values to them as individuals, but is also one which, if not handled with
tact and diplomacy could risk surfacing tensions and alienating rather than including people.

Reflecting on how those who come into contact with your institution viewed the experience can help
ensure that your values actually reflect your institution. Audit reports, staff and student satisfaction
surveys and the reflections of associated, but independent, people such as governors can all provide a
steer in this direction. Perhaps a strikingly high number of such sources make particular mention of the
friendly atmosphere, the commitment of staff or the quality of the facilities. In themselves these might
not represent ready-made values, but might lead the way to the underlying values which make them
possible.
Just as with your mission statement it is important that your values are supported by some sort of
evidence. For every value you identify it should be possible to point to several, hopefully many,
examples from all corners of the institution of that value in action: how it has influenced a decision that
has been made or positively contributed to an aspect of institutional life. Such a process can also be
used to help move beyond the general and hackneyed such as ‘respect for people’ towards something
more relevant and informative by encouraging you to reflect on how such respect has previously been
demonstrated or why it was given such a high priority in that particular circumstance and to what effect.
In doing so what may emerge is a far richer and more illustrative value that is routed in the reality of
your institution.

There need not be any self-imposed limit on the number of core values you define and you should
include as many as you feel are required to reflect your institution’s traits and priorities. A quick scan
through a random selection of college and university websites suggests that the average number of core
values listed is around six, with ten being the most and three the least. What matters most is that you
have captured the essence of what it is that makes you the institution you are.

Values are often described by one or two words (e.g. ‘student focus’, ‘high performance’, or
‘inclusiveness’). However, as in the example from the Cooperative included in the previous section, it is
often useful to further elaborate on this with a short accompanying sentence that can help define its
particular relevance or how it influences the work of the organisation. Once again this can help guard
against over-generalisation and provide the opportunity to demonstrate its roots and relevance to the
institution.

Other techniques used to help make the values memorable include the use of acronyms (with the first
letter of each value spelling out a central key word (eg 'respect').

Living the values

Once again, institutions must resist the temptation to treat the publication of their core values as the
end of the process. In order to be effective the values must be something shared, adopted and believed
in by the organisation as a whole – otherwise they represent just another hoop jumped through and just
another page on the website. It may well be worth regularly monitoring the views of staff and students
about the values, their relevance and what progress is being made towards them to reassure you that
they are continuing to serve a useful purpose.
Repeated examples of discrepancies between stated values and organisational behaviour are clearly
likely to dent enthusiasm for the values and belief that they mean anything. Sometimes such
discrepancies might not be immediately apparent but with a moments reflection it is easy to see how
some of the following examples could have a negative influence on people’s perception.

Offering reserved parking spaces for senior management whilst ‘believing in staff equality’

Closing down socially important, but unprofitable, courses whilst ‘behaving in the interests of society’

Banning all staff use of social networking sites (even during breaks) whilst ‘trusting our staff’

Preventing use of university facilities by local residents whilst ‘respecting our local community’

There may be perfectly good operational reasons behind each of these decisions, but, perhaps, a
moment’s pause to reflect on how the intended decision squares with the institution’s values may have
lead to an alternative approach being adopted. If not, and if your values are simply put to one side each
time circumstances dictate an alternative course is taken, perhaps you really should question whether
your stated core values are anything other than just fine, but ultimately meaningless, words.

As with your mission and vision statements, your values should be integrated into all relevant aspects of
institutional life. Obvious examples of where your values can play a useful role in reflecting and
reinforcing the essential nature of your institution include:

During the recruitment and selection process by informing potential applicants of the type of institution
they are considering joining and giving them the opportunity to reflect on whether they share these
values

During regular staff appraisal processes by incorporating the values into the criteria by which you assess
the performance of staff and set goals for the coming year

As part of the decision making framework employed by management by encouraging a consideration of

‘is the decision we are about to make in tune with our agreed values?’

Promoting the values through regular stories within college or university magazines about inspiring or
successful examples of staff and students ‘living’ the values, possibly combined with an annual award for
the individual or team who have done most to exemplify one or more value

The institutional experience

"In practice we tested the values using a combination of an exercise we described as ‘values in action’,
which was inspired by the ‘Living the Values’ guidance. This involved asking a selected group of staff
teams to translate the existing list of values into practical examples in their working life, and within their
experience of service delivery. Where this proved difficult we asked staff to suggest alternative words
and/or to identify gaps in the existing list.

Alongside this staff consultation exercise, I also convened a meeting with the president of our Students’
Union, to get some student input as to whether the values were those he and his sabbatical team would
expect to be espoused by a service department such as ours.

Among the helpful feedback received, an interesting debate emerged around the concept of
‘transparency’ – some colleagues believing this to be an important concept; others feeling it was a
meaningless management ‘buzzword'; some feeling concerned that it contradicted their professional
requirements around confidentiality; and the student view that it suggested an inappropriate degree of
openness which could lead to user concerns around trust.

The final product is a very straightforward list of eight words, which we have presented in simple
alphabetical order within the strategy."

University of Sheffield

Consultation

Senior managers often and rightly take the lead role in formalising the text of documents as high-level,
strategic and important as mission, vision and value statements. In some circumstances it may even be
formally decreed who has the authority to define such things, as is the case in many FE colleges where
the corporation is responsible for agreeing the mission statement.

But regardless of where the final responsibility lies there will be few institutions who do not consult with
staff, students and other stakeholders during this process. Taking creative and active steps to engage
with stakeholders through a variety of means not only increases the likely relevance and quality of the
‘end product’ but also starts the process of encouraging ownership and active engagement within the
concepts the statements define.
"The various environmental scanning exercises and consultation activities are likely to generate a large
amount of material, references, comments, and opinions. Skill is needed to précis and re-present these"

Andrew West, director of student services, The University of Sheffield

There is no one right way to undertake this process of consultation and engagement and, indeed, there
are significant advantages to employing several parallel approaches, each designed to achieve a specific
goal or to engage with a particular target audience. It will also depend on how far down the road of
engagement and consultation you wish to travel.

Some institutions may wish to only seek wider opinion once a range of options have already been
shortlisted, whilst others may see merit in proactively engaging stakeholders at a much earlier stage
when ideas are still being formed.

Writing Clearly
1.Choose the word that most clearly conveys
your meaning
English words generally have two types of meanings: a denotative
meaning (the descriptive dictionary definition of a word) and a
connotative meaning (the emotional impact of a word). The
connotation can be positive or negative. For example, the words
slender, thin, and skinny have the same denotative meaning, but
very different connotations.

2.Always follow this, that, these, and those with

a noun
o Unclear: I will take this. (This what?)
 o Clear: I will take this dog.
 
o Unclear: I do not want that. (Want what?)
o Clear: I do not want that book.

Writing Concisely
1.Eliminate unnecessary phrases and
redundancies.
o Correct: We will be home in ten days.
o Incorrect: We will be home in a period of ten days.

2.Use clear and straightforward language.

o Correct: I have noticed many weeds growing around the
building.
o Incorrect: It has come to my attention that there is a vast
proliferation of undesirable vegetation surrounding the
periphery of this facility. 

3.Write in active voice.

o Correct: This week, the committee decided to vote on the
issue.
o Incorrect: A decision to vote on the issue was made by the
committee this week.

4.Shorten wordy phrases.

o Correct: Jon will call me if he can go.
o Incorrect: Jon will let me know in the event that he can get
away and make the trip. 

5.Avoid starting sentences with "there is",

"there are", or "it is".
o Correct: Four officers report to the captain. 
 o Incorrect: There are four officers who report to the captain.

6.Eliminate extra nouns.
o Correct: Luis was interested in data processing.
o Incorrect: Luis was interested in the data processing field.

7.Eliminate filler words such as "that", "of", or

"up".
o Correct: I said I was tired.
o Incorrect: I said that I was tired.
 
o Correct: I stepped off the curb.
o Incorrect: I stepped off of the curb.
 
o Correct: I got on the ladder.
o Incorrect: I got up on the ladder.

Write Clearly and Concisely (Adapted from http://sites.ieee.org/pcs/communication-resources-for-

engineers/style/write-clearly-andconcisely)

What does writing clearly and concisely mean? Writing clearly and concisely means choosing your words

deliberately and precisely, constructing your sentences carefully to eliminate deadwood, and using
grammar

properly. By writing clearly and concisely, you will get straight to your point in a way your audience can
easily

comprehend.

Why should I write clearly and concisely? To succeed in your communication, you need to keep your
audience’s

attention, and your audience needs to read through documents effortlessly and with understanding. If
your writing

is difficult to follow, your readers may lose interest (and patience).

How do I write clearly and concisely? Several techniques can help you learn to write clearly and
concisely in

order to motivate your audience to read and respond favorably to your communication.

Choose your words deliberately

The words you choose can either enhance or interfere with your meaning and your audience’s
comprehension.

Follow these guidelines to develop a strategy for choosing the most effective words for your
communication task.

Avoid unnecessary “fancy” words; use straightforward words

Paul Anderson, in his book Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach, points to studies
that show users

comprehend straightforward words more quickly, even when they’re familiar with a more elab

aaaring makabuo ng iba't ibang pananaw sa larangan ng panitikan. Ang pagkakaiba ng ganitong
paghahaka ay nakabatay sa pinag-aralan at kakayahan lalo na sa karanasan sa buhay ng tao. Kawangis
nito ang bahagharing may angking sari-saring kulay. Ganyan ang buhay ng tao, iba't ibang gaan at bigat
ng mga tanging karanasan. Tumutulong ang panitikan sa pag-unlad ng buong pagkatao ng isang nilalang
dahil lumalawak ang kanyang kamalayan at pagpapahalaga sa sarili, sa kapwa, sa lipunan, at sa mundong
kanyang ginagalawan. Humihikayat ng malalim na pag-iisip ang panitikan dahil sa katangi-tangi nitong
anyo ng karunungang may mataas na antas ng kaisipan, saloobin o damdamin, at pananalita na
matatagpuan sa mga tekstong pampanitikan gaya ng mga sinaunang anyo ng kuwento (mito, alamat
salaysayin, at pabula), tula, dula, maikling kuwento, nobela, sanaysay, talumpati, at anekdota sa piling
lathalain man-sa pasalita o pasulat na kaanyuan. Ang mga akdang nakapaloob sa batayan at sanayang-
aklat na ito ay mabisang magagamit ng mga mag-aaral para sa talakayan at pagpapahayag ng kanilang
sariling kuro-kuro, saloobin, at pagsusuri. Maaaninag sa nasabing mga katha ang katangi-tangi, masining
at malikhaing paraan ng mga manunulat sa paglinang at paggamit ng wikang Filipino. Magaganyak din
ang mga guro at mag-aaral sa malikhaing pagsulat at masining na pagpapahayag. Sa pamamagitan ng
aklat na ito, nais naming palaganapin ang iba't ibang anyo ng panitikan-sa nilalaman, sa estilo, at sa
hinahangad na kakintalan-ang matapat na maakay ang mga mag-aaral sa isang landas ng buhay na
marangal, dakila, at makatotohanan at tuluyang magabayan sila ng kanilang mga guro na maging
matatag sa gitna man ng mga suliranin sa buhay, pagsubok, karukhaan, pangamba-nariyan dapat ang
mga kaisipang di magpapagupo sa mga magaaral na taas-noo pa ring makababangon at makalalakad na
may pagpapahalaga bilang mga Pilipino. Maikikintal sa pag-unawa ng mga mag-aaral ang kahalagahan
ng mga katha at akdang nakapaloob sa aklat na ito na magbibigay-daan para sa kanilang mabungang
kamulatan. Ito ang nais naming ibahagi sa mga mag-aaral bilang mga guro-isang uri ng panitikang
huhubog sa kanilang asal, karakter, at personalidad. Isang panitikang naghahandog ng pagkakataong
sila'y makibahagi, makialam, makisangkot, at mapasangkot sa iba pa. Mainam na ang mga guro'y
kasangkot sa buong katauhan ng mga mag-aaral-nag-aakay sa kanila sa tuwid na landas hanggang sa
sila'y tuluyang mapakilos at matatag na makatayo sa kanilang sariling paa at maging kasangkapan sa
maganda at makabuluhang pagbabago ng lipunang Pilipino.

ng Kahalagahan ng PanitikanThe Importance of LiteratureAng panitikan ay isang bagay na karamihan ng

mga tao ay nakasalamuha. Ito ay isang napakalapad atkamangha-manghang paksa. Ang pag-aaral ng
iba’t ibang uri ng literatura ay nakapagpapalawak ngimahinasyon at nakapagpapabuti sa paraan ng
pagbabasa at pagsusulat. Malaki ang kaugnayan ngpagbabasa sa pagsusulat dahil sa pagbabasa at
pagsusulat nalilikha ang magagaling na manunulat.Lampas sa mga batayang benepisyo, and pag-aaral ng
literatura ay nakatutulong upang maranasan namakita ang buong mundo.Mayroong patuloy na pag-
uusap tungkol sa mga ideya at halaga na nakatulong sa ating lipunan. Ang pag-uusap na ito ay
naipapakita sa gawa ng literatura. Ang bawat gawa ng panitikan ay nagtatanghal ng moralsa mga
magkakaibigang mata sa pamamagitan ng paraan ng iba’t ibang pananaw. Sa kwentong
“AngMangingisda,” Ponciano B. P. Pineda ay mabisang nailahad ang tungkol sa mga maaaring
kahihinatnan ngpaghahangad ng tagumpay gamit ang masamang pamamaraan. Ipinakita ng may-akda
na angpagkakaroon ng mabuting ugali ay ang tamang daan patungo sa tagumpay.Ang pagkamulat ng
kamalayan sa pag-aaral ng panitikan ay nakabubuo sa paglikha ng sariling paniniwala,opinyon at
pananaw ng isang tao. Ang mahuhusay na akda ay tumutulong para mapalawak angkaranasan ng isang
tao. Sa isinulat ni Emilio Jacinto na “Ang Ningning at Ang Liwanag” ay mabisa niyanginilarawan kung
paano nakikita ng tao ang katotohanan sa kahuwada; ang pagkahumaling ng tao sapanlabas na
kagandahan kaysa panloob.Salamin din ng literatura ang pagpapakita ng pagkakaiba at pagkakapareho
ng pamumuhay ng mga taosa iba’t ibang lugar. Dahil binibigyan tayo nito ng kaalaman tungkol sa iba’t
ibang kultura, pinahuhusaydin nito ang kakayahan natin upang makipag-usap sa iba. Sa kwentong “Isang
Matandang Kuba Sa Gabing Caño” ay nagpapakita ng paniniwala ng isang tribo sa Pilipinas. Ang pag-
alam sa iba’t ibangpaniniwalang ito ay makatutulong para maging bukas-isip tayo tungkol sa mga tao
kung sino ang mganaiiba nang sa gayon nakapagpapakita ang isang tao ng kanyang paggalang sa mga
paniniwalang ito.Daloy rin ng literatura ang pakikipag-isang damdamin sa iba at ang pagbibigay daan sa
pag-unawa sakung anuman ang kanilang nararamdaman sa isang sitwasyon o pangyayari. Ang
katotohanan, ito aymahabang tulay na nagdurugtong sa sangkatauhan.
sa sa kayamanan ng isang bansa na nagpapakilala sa kanyang pinagmulan ay ang panitikan. Dito
nasasalamin kung ano ang pinagdaanan nito simula noon hanggang ngayon. Ang pagsusuri ng anumang
panitikan ay mga batayan kung anu uri siya kabilang . Ang bawat isa ay may pagkakaiba base sa mga
gamit bilang instrument ng kasaysayan. Ipinakikilala ito bilang mga tanyag na pamana ng mga tao,
pangyayari, bagay at pamumuhay ng mga tao sa isang bansa. Ang pagpapanatili ng panitikan ay tanda ng
pagiging isang makatao, makaDiyos at makabansa.

Tanaga
Pera
Sa isang kisapmata
Gintong hawak ni ina
Nawala ng makita
Magagarang dalaga
Pagkabigo
Ang matamis na salita
Pait ang ibinunga
Binatang sumisinta
Lungkot ang nadarama
EDUKASYON
Gintong alay ni Ina
Armas na dala-dala
Ng binatang ulila
Pangarap ay nagbunga
Haiku
PANGARAP
Guro'y kapisan
Paglawig ng isipan
pinto'y nabuksan
MATA
Bituwing marikit
Sa lupa mapanglait
Sa taong pangit
MANUNULAT
Dilang makatas
Tinta ipinamalas
Makata'y lunas
Haiku:

Pagkawasak
Ang lungkot-lungkot

Tayo’y nagpapabaya

Nawasak  lahat.

Tanka:

Paglisan
Kay bilis ng panahon

Nang tayo’y nagkalayo

Nag-iisa sa dilim

Walang magawa,

Di pinapansin.

Tanaga:

Sumpaan
Tayo’y nagsusumpaan

Na di magakakalayo

Sana magpakailanman

Mananatiling buo.