Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements

Abstract

There exists abundant literature on business strategy topics. Yet very few of these examine the role of business mission and vision statements and their influence on strategic objectives. It is this apparent gap in the literature that this paper aims to cover. The paper aims at highlighting the importance of business vision and mission statements and how these dictate the strategic goals and objectives of the organization - both short term as well as long term.
The paper consists of three sections. The first section provides a quick overview of business strategy. The remaining sections discuss the mission statement and vision statement. It provides guidelines including templates on how to develop effective mission and vision statement. Finally, it applies the learning’s to a case study - that of a hotel. My aim is to highlight how the three - mission statement, vision statement, and strategic objectives - are intertwined. It is necessary to first define the mission and vision statement prior to defining the strategic objectives. The mission and particularly the vision statement provide the foundation upon which strategic objectives are framed.

Full text

Research Open Access
OMICS International
Perspective
Journal of Entrepreneurship &
Organization Management
J
o
u
r
n
a
l
o
f
E
n
t
r
e
p
r
e
n
e
u
r
s
h
i
p
&
O
r
g
a
n
i
z
a
t
i
o
n
M
a
n
a
g
e
m
e
n
t
ISSN: 2169-026X
Bora et al., J Entrepren Organiz Manag 2017, 6:1
DOI: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000205J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
*Corresponding author: Wangchuk Chungyalpa, Assistant Professor, Sikkim
Manipal Institute of Technology, Management Studies, Majitar, Rangpo,
East Sikkim 737132, India, Tel: 9679260992; E-mail: wgc.1976@gmail.com;
bedanta75@rediffmail.com
Recieved Sepetember 10, 2016; Accepted February 03, 2017; Published February
10, 2017
Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives:
Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J Entrepren
Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Copyright: © 2017 Bora B, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and
Mission Statements
Bora B1, Borah S2 and Chungyalpa W1*
1
Department of Management Studies, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, India
2
Department of Computer Applications, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, India
Keywords: Business vision statement; Business mission statement;
Strategic objectives; Strategic objectives alignment
Introduction
If we were to conduct a survey of small (especially micro) businesses
in India, majority of the businesses will reveal that they do not have
a vision and mission statement. Indeed, majority of these businesses
function without having a vision and mission statement and in some
cases even a working strategy. Although business textbooks emphasize
the importance of mission and vision statement, yet businesses seem
to place minimal importance on it. e role of the mission and vision
statement is not well understood yet it forms a integral part in strategy
development and formulation but rst we start by examining the
concept of strategy.
Business Strategy: An Overview
Craing and executing business strategy is the centrepiece of
managing an enterprise. While there is no single denition that denes
strategy, generally a company’s strategy is the plan of action that
determines the following:
• Its market position
• How it conducts its operation
• How it attracts and retains new and existing customers
• How it competes with other rms and
• How it achieves its organizational objectives [1].
One approach to understanding strategy is by examining its
purpose and scope.
Purpose
What is the strategy primarily designed to accomplish? is is one
of the key dierentiators. For example, a marketing strategy is designed
to achieve marketing objectives, likewise, a quality strategy is designed
to achieve quality objectives.
Scope
Scope refers to the breadth or boundaries of the strategy. Some
strategies such as business strategies are enterprise wide. It provides
direction for the entire rm. e functional areas of an enterprise
i.e. marketing, nance, human resource, information systems etc.
accordingly frame operational strategies on their part to support the
business strategy. Other strategies are much more focused and narrow
in scope. For example, promotional strategy to advertise and promote
events, programs, new product etc.
ompson and Strickland provides one of the best denition of the
various types of strategy used by organizations. ey talk of the strategy
pyramid. Essentially, they state that strategy exists at many dierent
levels. At the top of the strategy pyramid is the corporate strategy,
below it is the business strategy, below that the functional strategy, and
nally at the base of the pyramid is the operational strategy. is is
depicted in Figure 1.
Each level has unique objectives, stakeholders, and scope. e
corporate strategy is applicable to diversied rms with multiple
divisions i.e. business units. Since all the divisions fall under a single
rm, the corporate strategy is the overall strategy that encapsulates all
the rm’s business units. A corporate strategy is high level game plan for
the rm. It involves management at the highest level (executive level).
It deals with issues such as, which industries should the rm compete
in, how to improve the competitive position and protability of all its
various business units, which business units should be provided the
highest priorities in terms of resource allocation and investments etc.
Abstract
There exists abundant literature on business strategy topics. Yet very few of these examine the role of business
mission and vision statements and their inuence on strategic objectives. It is this apparent gap in the literature that this
paper aims to cover. The paper aims at highlighting the importance of business vision and mission statements and how
these dictate the strategic goals and objectives of the organization - both short term as well as long term.
The paper consists of three sections. The rst section provides a quick overview of business strategy. The remaining
sections discuss the mission statement and vision statement. It provides guidelines including templates on how to
develop effective mission and vision statement. Finally, it applies the learning’s to a case study - that of a hotel. My aim is
to highlight how the three - mission statement, vision statement, and strategic objectives - are intertwined. It is necessary
to rst dene the mission and vision statement prior to dening the strategic objectives. The mission and particularly the
vision statement provide the foundation upon which strategic objectives are framed.

Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J
Entrepren Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Page 2 of 6
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000204J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
e business level strategy is strategy levelled at the individual
business units. Business strategy is primarily aimed at businesses
long term competitive position in the marketplace. A business plan
is management’s plan of action and responses to ‘competitive forces,
economic trends, technological developments, buyer needs and
demographics, new legislation and regulatory requirements’ and other
important external factors that have an impact on the performance and
protability of the business [2]. For single business company, corporate
strategy and business strategy are the same.
Functional strategies are strategies designed at the departmental
level for example, production, marketing, nance, human resource
etc. It can also refer to major functional processes such as new product
development. Functional strategies are designed to achieve the
departmental objectives and goals. However, much like the business
level strategy, a functional level strategy must also support the overall
corporate and business strategy of the company.
Finally, at the base of the strategic pyramid is the operating strategy.
Operational strategy oversees two key areas:
Operational units of the organization: ese refer to units such
as plants, warehouse, distribution centres etc. Each unit requires a
unique strategy to oversee its operations. Such strategy should be
complimentary to the functional strategy under which the unit belongs
and the overall business strategy of the organization.
Operational tasks: refers to key activities such as materials
purchasing, inventory maintenance, logistics management, customer
returns processing etc. Each such task requires a unique strategy [2,3].
Developing Business Mission Statement
Developing a mission statement is the rst step in setting strategic
direction. A mission statement describes the company’s present
business scope. It identies ‘who they are’ and ‘what they do.’ e
mission statement identies the products and services being oered by
the company, types of customers it has, and technological and business
capabilities of the company. A mission statement is a description of the
current business of a company. e mission statement can be used as
the basis for deciding where a company is headed in the future.
A well-dened mission statement incorporates the following three
elements.
Customer needs i.e. what is being satised:
• Customer groups i.e. who is being satised
• Company’s activities, technologies and competencies i.e. how
the company goes about satisfying the wants and needs of its
customers.
A mission statement that incorporates all the above three elements
can be considered as a complete mission statement. It identies the
products and services currently being oered by the company as well
as the customer group.
Major tasks
• Identify the target customers
• Identify the core products and services oered by the business
• Identify the key activities and capabilities to support the
products and service oerings.
e following template can be used in framing the mission statement
of the company:
Business mission statement template
Business mission statement template is given in Table 1.
Applying Concepts to a Case Study
I start by completing the business mission statement template for
XYZ hotel. e template serves as a starting point in formulating the
mission statement (Table 2).
Figure 1: Strategy pyramid.

Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J
Entrepren Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Page 3 of 6
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000204J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
Having completed the above template, I now have enough materials
to create a mission statement for the organization. e template serves
as a vital input to the process. We should avoid creating a detailed
prole of the target customers or creating a detailed prole of the
products and service oerings at this stage. At this stage the idea is to
merely identify the target customer groups and dene the product and
service oerings in general. A more in-depth analysis and evaluation
can be done at a later stage.
Next, we frame the mission statement for the organization.
Mission statement for XYZ hotel
XYZ Hotel is dedicated to providing the best care and comfort for
our customers. We provide the best quality food and accommodation
arrangements for our guests. All our rooms are furnished with all the
necessary amenities including free Wi-Fi services and local area network
connection detailing various sightseeing places, local attractions,
eateries and much more. Each room commands an inspiring view of
the local landscape.
Our other services include event hosting service, restaurant service,
gi shop, sightseeing tours, and business services.
Our excellent infrastructure and world class service makes us an
excellent venue for weddings, birthday parties, graduation parties etc.
We delight in oering excellent in-house restaurant service with a
diverse menu and unmatched services. Our gi shops pride in carrying
the local handicras of the region. Each item undergoes stringent
quality control to ensure the best value for the price. Our delivery
service can guarantee delivery to all major metropolitan cities in India.
We provide insurance and warranty coverage for all gis bought from
our store. Our sightseeing services are designed with the customer
in mind. We oer unique packages designed specically to meet
the varying needs of our guests. Our eet of transportation vehicles
and our wide network with local businesses ensures a convenient
and hassle free trip. Our business services include amenities such as
video conferencing, printing, photocopying, and scanning services. In
addition, we oer various computers and workstations with the latest
technologies and congurations all connected to the internet via high
speed broadband connections. We strive to meet even the unexpressed
needs and wishes of our guests.
Developing Business Vision Statement
Next comes the vision statement for the organization. e vision
statement essentially species ‘where an organization is headed.’ It
provides long term direction to the company. A vision statement is a
very important strategic tool. A vision statement normally considers
the company position and situation ve years or more from today. It is
aimed at answering key questions such as:
• Where do we want to be ve years from hence?
• What new products and services should we be oering?
• What industry standing do we want to achieve?
• What are the changes in our target customers - which new
target customer groups should we focus upon?
Setting the vision statement is a precursor to setting objectives
and goals. It is the vision statement that dictates the company strategic
objectives and goals. Strategic vision is a reection of management’s
intentions and goals concerning the future of the organization. It is
a reection of how well the management have considered the future
of the company. Setting the vision statement requires analysing the
internal and external business environment. It is aimed at shaping the
business direction and path for the next ve years. It is also aimed at
understanding how its present business needs will change in the years
to come.
I. Target Customer Group
Name Description
II. Core products and service offerings
S.no Name Description Key activities and Capabilities
Table 1: Business mission statement template.
Target Customer Group
Name Description
Honeymooners/couples only Refers to newly and recently married couples. They consist of just the husband and wife without any children.
Nuclear Family/one to four kids Refers to nuclear family usually consisting of the husband, wife and children.
Joint family Refers to a joint family. A joint family is accompanied by the grandparents, relatives, friends and others.
Core products and service offerings
Name Description Key activities and capabilities
Honey moon suit Suit designed specically for honeymooners.
Infrastructure capabilities and Excellent service
Family suit Large suit consisting of twin beds where extra beds can be accommodated.
Designed for joint family and large families.
Double suit Standard double suit
Single suit Standard single suit
Catering service Catering service available for events Excellent service
Restaurant service Excellent cook and service
Rent a Hall For events i.e. weddings, birthdays, conferences etc. Infrastructure capabilities
Sightseeing services Local sightseeing service Excellent network
Gift (souvenir) shop Local handicrafts
Table 2: Business mission statement template for XYZ hotel.

Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J
Entrepren Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Page 4 of 6
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000204J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
Major tasks
e process of formulating strategic vision involves answering the
following sets of questions:
• What changes are occurring in the Market Arena and what
implications do these changes have for the business?
• What new or dierent customer needs should we be moving
to satisfy?
• What new or dierent buyers segment should we be
concentrating on?
• What new geographic or product market should we be
pursuing?
• What should the company’s business make up look like in ve
years?
• What kind of company should we try to become [2]?
In creating the vision statement for the organization, the following
template can be used to dene the vision statement. e template is a
summary of the important points to consider while formulating the
vision statement (Table 3).
Applying Concepts to a Case Study
Analysis of external environment is given in Table 4.
Vision Statement for XYZ hotel
We are committed to providing the best food and accommodations
for our local, national, and international customers. We want to be
specially remembered for our unique hospitality, tness and wellbeing,
sports adventure, and delectable cuisine. Our target is to become the
industry best in both national and international arena. To this end
our aim is to adopt eco-friendly and sustainable business practices;
deliver a healthy, safe, comfortable and secure experience; and provide
unparalleled user experience via seamless connectivity across devices
and platforms. Our goal is to oer the highest quality of customer
satisfaction.
Setting Strategic Objectives
Once the business vision statement has been dened, the next
step is dening the strategic objectives for the business. e business
vision statement is a key input to this process. e business vision
statement denes the strategic objectives and goals of the organization.
Setting strategic objectives transforms the strategic vision into specic
performance targets. Setting strategic objective is a key element of
craing strategy. It is a very important exercise to ensure that the
organization’s long term plans and goals are attained. It exhibits
management’s commitment to action and outcomes. All objectives
must meet the SMART criteria to be eective. e SMART methodology
is a widely-used technique to frame meaningful objectives. SMART is
an acronym that stands for:
S. No Topic Analysis
1 Current changes in the external environment
2 Expected (future) changes in the market environment
3 New or different customer needs
4 New or different buyer segments
5 New Geographic or product market
6Business make up ve years from hence
Table 3: Business vision statement template.
S No Topic Analysis
1Current changes in the
external environment.
• National tourism is picking up. The Indian
government and various state governments
are strongly promoting domestic tourism.
• International tourism is picking up.
• Eco friendly practices are becoming
standard among hotels i.e. renewable
energy sources and water conservation
(Jacobs, 2015).
2
Expected (future)
changes in the market
environment
• Wide use of internet technologies to support
business functions. Seamless connectivity
across platforms and devices (mobile
connectivity).
• Adoption of computer based information
systems to support business transactions.
3New or different
customer needs
• Customers today are tech savvy and self-
sufcient travellers.
• Customers are health conscious.
• Adventure sporting
4New or different buyer
segments
• Growing middle class with more disposable
income
• International clients
5New Geographic or
product market
• Opening hotels in the immediate surrounding
areas – popular tourist’s destinations.
6Business make up ve
years from hence
• Adventure sporting services
• Health and tness services
Table 4: Analysis of external environment.
Qualitative objective Quantitative objective
To improve customer satisfaction
and service provided by the
organization.
To decrease customer complaints/support
calls by 20%.
To increase repeat customer base by 25%.
Table 5: Qualitative vs quantitative objectives – a comparison.
Pillar
Building Block
of Business
Model
Description
Product Value Proposition
A Value Proposition is an overall view of a
company's bundle of products and services
that are of value to the customer.
Customer
Interface
Target Customer The Target Customer is a segment of
customers a company wants to offer value to.
Distribution
Channel Distribution Channel is a means of getting in
touch with the customer.
Relationship The Relationship describes the kind of link a
company establishes between itself and the
customer.
Infrastructure
Management
Value
Conguration
The Value Conguration describes the
arrangement of activities and resources
that are necessary to create value for the
customer.
Capability
A capability is the ability to execute a
repeatable pattern of actions that is necessary
in order to create value for the customer.
Partnership
A Partnership is a voluntarily initiated
cooperative agreement between two or more
companies in order to create value for the
customer.
Financial
Aspects
Cost Structure
The Cost Structure is the representation
in money of all the means employed in the
business model.
Revenue Model
The Revenue Model describes the way a
company makes money through a variety of
revenue ows.
Source: Reprinted from The Business Model Ontology: A proposition in a design
science approach by Osterwalder A [6]. Doctoral dissertation, University of
Lausanne p: 43.
Table 6: Four pillars and nine building blocks of the business model.

Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J
Entrepren Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Page 5 of 6
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000204J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
Objectives must be measurable. It is always a good practice to
quantify objectives rather than state it in qualitative terms (eg. Table 5).
Both the objectives refer to customer satisfaction and service.
However, the quantitative objective lists specic parameters by which
the objective can be measured and evaluated (Table 5).
Attainable
Objectives must be attainable that is, it must be achievable. us,
setting objectives requires careful assessment and understanding of
the capabilities of the organizational resources. Resources include all
tangible and intangible assets. Tangible assets include things such as
plant, equipment, machinery, tools, infrastructure, work environment,
human resource. Intangibles includes knowledge capability, skills
capability, innovation, change and adaptability, supplier relations etc.
Relevant
Objectives must be linked to the overall goals and mission of the
organization. Objectives that are misaligned with the mission and goals
of an enterprise will only result in confusion, misdirection, and waste
of valuable organizational resources.
Time bound
Each objective must have a stated time limit within which it must
be accomplished. is is important in evaluating whether organization
has been successful in achieving their objectives. Time constraints
must be set taking into ‘consideration the environment in which the
change must be achieved, the scope of the change expected, and how it
ts into the overall work plan’ [4].
It is vital to ensure that the strategic objectives are aligned with the
mission and vision statement of the organization. Objectives must be
set for key areas managers deem important to success. e key areas
can be categorized into two board areas (i) nancial performance (ii)
strategic performance. Strategic performance is in itself very broad and
can be narrowed down to specic sub areas.
One alternative in identifying key areas or areas of importance is
by examining the individual business model components. A business
model is an abstract representation of the business logic of a rm
[5]. One of the most comprehensive denition of business model is
provided by Alexander Osterwalder [6]. His denition of a business
model is comprised of four pillars - Product, Customer Interface,
Infrastructure Management, Financial Aspects. e four pillars are in
turn made of nine building blocks that together represent a business
model. Table 6 below shows the various elements within each of the
pillars along with summary description of the elements.
Major tasks
• Identify relevant areas - where strategic objectives need to be
dened.
• Dene strategic objectives. Use SMART criteria.
Applying Concepts to a Case Study
Example of strategic objectives of XYZ hotel is given in Table 7.
Conclusion
Business strategy development is largely viewed as a design and
plan in the implementation of resources of an organization. In framing
Customer specic objectives
OBJ 1 To achieve and maintain outstanding customer service such that customer complaints are near zero and customer satisfaction ratings are at least 4 or 5, all
within the rst 12 months of operation.
OBJ 2 To offer adventure sports such as trail hikes, mountain biking, paragliding, rafting, to our customers within the rst ve years of operations.
OBJ 3 To attract more international customers within the rst two years of operations.
Internal operations/strategic objectives
OBJ 4 To create strong information systems support of key business services and functions such that 90% to 100% of the core functions and services are supported
by information systems all within the rst 24 months of operation.
OBJ 5
To develop and implement well designed business process model that meet business requirement, goals, and objectives. The process model must include
well designed processes to cover all the core areas of the business. All the major (top priority) business requirements must be validated by the process model
within the rst two months of operation.
OBJ 6 To develop online capability to support hotel reservations such that online reservations account for 60% of the total revenues by the end of the third year of
operations.
OBJ 7
To develop online capability to provide customer support such that 80% of the target customers are informed about the online support facilities and at least
30% actively utilize the online support facilities. The customer support will provide services relating to customer query, customer feedback, customer grievance
redressal, customer discussion forums, FAQ etc.
OBJ 8 To develop online capability to support marketing and sales functions.
OBJ 9 To establish partnerships with other hotels in the area based on revenue sharing model.
OBJ 10 To establish partnership across industries i.e. with tours and travel companies, transportation service providers, etc.
People/Learning Strategic Objectives
OBJ 11 To achieve industry specic certications related to hotels within three years of operation.
OBJ 12 To develop strong brand recognition amongst the target customers such that 80% of the target customers are familiar with the company brand within the rst
three years of the company operations.
OBJ 13 To establish a knowledgebase of best practices within three years of operation.
OBJ 14 To obtain ISO 9001 certication in quality management within ve years of operation.
OBJ 15 To have a team of well trained staff within a year of operation
OBJ 16 To create a organizational culture that cherishes customer service, innovation.
Financial Strategic Objectives
OBJ 17 To realize 50% growth in gross revenues from different product and service offerings by the end of third year of operation.
OBJ 18 To ensure stable earnings during off season periods
OBJ 19 To decrease expenses by 5% and increase net prot by 10% annually.
Table 7: Example of strategic objectives of XYZ hotel.

Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J
Entrepren Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
Page 6 of 6
Volume 6 • Issue 1 • 1000204J Entrepren Organiz Manag, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-026X
strategies, most organizations perform a detailed examination and
assessment of the organization’s internal capabilities and limitations and
evaluation of the external environment. Developing business strategy
should begin with dening the mission statement and vision statement
of the organization. Many organizations place little importance on
dening the mission and vision statement prior to dening the strategic
objectives. e result is that their strategic objectives do not reect the
present and future realities of the organization. is paper aimed at
highlighting the importance of business mission and vision statement
to formulation of strategic objectives. All strategic objectives should be
considered in the light of the business mission and vision statement.
Only then will there be a proper alignment of business mission, vision,
and strategic objectives.
OMICS International: Open Access Publication Benefits &
Features
Unique features:
• Increased global visibility of articles through worldwide distribution and indexing
• Showcasing recent research output in a timely and updated manner
• Special issues on the current trends of scientic researc h
Special features:
• 700+ Open Access Journals
• 50,000+ Editorial team
• Rapid review process
• Quality and quick editorial, review and publication processing
• Indexing at major indexing services
• Sharing Option: Social Networking Enabled
• Authors, Reviewers and Editors rewarded with online Scientic Credits
• Better discount for your subsequent articles
Submit your manuscript at: http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/submission
Citation: Bora B, Borah S, Chungyalpa W (2017) Crafting Strategic Objectives:
Examining the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. J Entrepren
Organiz Manag 6: 205. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000205
References
1. Chungyalpa W, Bora B (2015) Towards Conceptualizing Business Strategies.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Approach and Studies 2: 73-83.
2. Thompson AA Jr, Strickland AJ (2001) Strategic Management (12thedn)
McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York, USA.
3. Wikipedia (2014) SMART Criteria.
4. Kean University (2014) SMART Objectives.
5. Chungyalpa W (2014) Towards Understanding Business Models. Journal of
Science, Technology and Management 7: 333-342.
6. Osterwalder A (2004) The Business Model Ontology: A proposition in a design
science approach.