Three blind men once set out on a journey in search for better life. Despite having no one to guide them to their destination, they started their journey. But shortly thereafter, they fell into a ditch, one after the other. This incidence is not far from our work today. When employees are oblivious of the company’s vision and mission, they are botched by nothingness.
A well known and practiced mission and vision statement is a recipe for success. It not only defines the organization’s accomplishments but it also provides employees with directions to help them develop plans and look for opportunities for improvement. Amos Zikusooka, a career educator and lecturer at Makerere University says that when employees are unaware of the company’s mission and vision, work assignments become a routine and they lose morale.
“Employees feel excluded and their skills developments are not in line with their goals and aspirations,” Zikusooka says.
When the worse comes to the worst, the company may as well dissolve. But why let this happen when the answer can be found in the employees acquitting themselves with the vision and mission statement of the company!
Too often, strategists develop vision and business mission statements only when the organization is in trouble. Of course, it is needed then. Developing and communicating a clear mission during troubled times indeed may have spectacular results and even may reverse decline. However, to wait until an organization is in trouble to develop a vision and mission statement is a gamble that characterizes irresponsible management.
“It is quite tough to meet the expectations of the workers but with a mission that they have to accomplish at the back of their minds, they are able to work with full conviction and give their 100% leading to the production of outstanding results,” he adds.
Rehemah Kasule, the Chief Executive Officer of Century
Marketing Company who doubles as a certified adviser consultant for Enterprise Management Development said that a vision and mission tells you in a few words whether or not an organization is for you or not.
“A good vision statement elevates the energy, enthusiasm and self-esteem of everyone in the company by directing and maintaining focus on the broader picture,” Rehemah said.
However this only happens when the company is for you. She emphasizes that it is important for the employees to have them at the back of their minds in whatever they do because they need to be motivated by their work so that they may help the company achieve its full potential.
So key is it to have the mission and vision at your fingertips to avoid misdirection. All ignorance and lack of practice makes a company a dull one. Let these be a blueprint to flying the company beyond the ordinary horizons to the superior horizons.
An organization that fails to develop a vision statement as well as a comprehensive and inspiring mission statement loses the opportunity to present itself favourably to existing and potential stakeholders.
All organizations need customers, employees, and managers, and most firms need creditors, suppliers, and distributors. The vision and mission statements are effective vehicles for communicating with important internal and external stakeholders. The principal value of these statements as tools of strategic management is derived from their specification of the ultimate aims of a firm.
