Importance of Mission and Vision Statements in Organizations

Discuss about the Analysis of Strategic management for MBA.

In this day and age, competition amongst organizations has developed to unfathomable levels. It is so much that, the core existence of an institution lies on whether it has set its priorities right in so far as its strategies are concerned. This has prompted a shift in operations from business management to strategic management (Syrett, 2012).

According to (Dess, 2012), strategic management is, the actual analysis of decisions, development and implementation of the major organizational goals, and initiatives for the purposes of creating and maintain competitive advantage.

There have been a lot of studies done on business strategy and their subsequent elements. From those studies it is apparent that, for good strategy formulation and implementation, it is important to have a clearly defined, well structured and properly communicated mission statement, vision statement, and organizational goals. (Bedanta, Samarjeet & Chungyalpa, 2017).

This report will therefore, try to scrutinize whether, these elements which are vital in strategic management of organizations have been implemented in three identified universities, and in the instance of their implementation, are they properly structured to fit the overall organizational strategy of those institutions vis-à-vis the competitive environment they operate in. 

This report mainly targeted three universities namely; Abu Dhabi University (ADU), Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart Universities (HBMSU) and lastly University of Sharjah.

Abu Dhabi University (ADU), is an institution of higher learning based in UAE, Abu Dhabi with additional campuses in Al Ain and Dubai. It was established in 2003 and has an enrollment of 7,542 as at fall of 2017. With a graduation rate of 75% between fall of 2011 to fall of 2017: their numbers of alumni have reached over 9000 and only in the last 3 consecutive years. They can be accessed online at https://www.adu.ac.ae/.

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart Universities (HBMSU) just like ADU is an institution of higher learning located in UAE, Dubai. It was founded in the year 2002 and has employed between 100-499 employees. They have a website which is https://www.hbmsu.ac.ae/about/hbmsu-in-brief

Lastly the University of Sharjah is also an educational institution located in UAE, Sharjah, its website is www.sharjah.ac.ae/. It was founded in 1997, significantly earlier than the previous two. As per the 2015-2016 records it has employed 604 which is an increment from the 466 it had 5 years ago. It boasts of having enrolled 13811 as compared to 9688 in a similar period five years ago. 2301 students graduated from the university in 2014-2015 periods; a substantial increase when compared to 2009-2010 where they only had 1468.

Evaluation of Mission and Vision Statements of Three Universities

From their profiles, it can be seen that University of Sharjah has provided an in depth information, detailing their employee turnover numbers, and student enrollment numbers. They have further structured this information in a clear, well elaborated manner and easily understood, thus symbolizing transparency (Villeneuve, 2014). This is contrary to the other two institutions, which either has not provided their employee numbers, or numbers of students enrolled.

An organizations vision can be described as a futuristic declaration of what the main institutional purpose is and its aspirations (Oman, 2015). Looking at it in a different dimension, it can be said that the vision statement tries to elaborate what the organization wants to become based on its mission statement.

A good vision statement is supposed to be clear, challenging, and future focused. It is also supposed to clearly state the organizations purpose which can be easily communicated by the top management to all the stakeholders. It should also indicate the desired goals for the organization. (Ansoff, 2014)

The vision statement of Abu Dhabi University is an internationally recognized university for quality education and applied research that drives economic and social development in the region and beyond.

From this vision it can be seen that it explains what the organization is and it shows its position, but it doesn’t clearly explain the aim of the university or what it wants to be in the future. From the nine components, the mission was able to clearly define six of them.

 From the data collected, the vision is not attractive or inspiring to the stakeholders. It was also reported that the aim of Abu Dhabi University is missing and did not exist in the vision. Ultimately the vision statement was recorded as being poor.

HBMSU vision is to lead the smart learning innovation for re-engineering the future of education aimed at the advancement of individuals, organizations, and society. This vision clearly shows a precise future target that is unique, ambitious, challengeable and motivational. It is a powerful vision that portrays an interest by the institution to gain competitive advantage.

The data collected with regards to the vision statement of HBMSU, it was seen that the vision clearly elaborated their aim. It  was also attractive enough to inspire and motivate its stakeholders. It is a vision that clearly elaborates the intentions of the institution and clearly paint a picture of what they intend to achieve. For these reasons, the vision statement of HBMSU was considered as being quite good.

Abu Dhabi University

The University of Sharjah has its vision as follows; “The University of Sharjah is recognized as beings among the most reputable and comprehensive universities in the Middle East. It is known for its excellence in teaching and learning, research, and sustainable academic programs that provide quality services to the community and contribute to the well-being of society”. From this it can be seen that, the institution describes itself in the current situation, and there is no specific goal they want to achieve, which actually fails the test of a good vision statement.

This vision statement from the information gathered was considered as being quite long and not easily memorable. It also lacked a powerful phrase that can not only evoke the emotion of the reader, but also inspire the stakeholders. From this, the vision statement of University of Sharjah was seen as poorly drafted.

According to (Hafford-Letchfield, 2010), a mission statement is a document which summarizes the core aims and values of an organization. There are nine key components in a mission namely; the kind of products and services the organization offers. The core values of the organization, its targeted customers, the region or market to be covered, financial objectives, the employees of the organization, its technology, the organizations image, and finally its strategic financial objectives (Gallinero & Otig, 2017)

When both the Mission and vision statements are properly used by the organization, they can; aid in communicating the actual purpose of the organization to all its stakeholders, help develop a measurement of success by evaluating the set goals and objectives against the actual performance (Eldridge, 2016), and lastly they can help the organization in strategy development (Djordjevic, 2014).

The mission of Abu Dhabi University is to produce highly qualified career-oriented graduates in alignment with regional and global needs through excellence in teaching, student learning, faculty scholarship and engagement in community development.

From this mission statement it can seen that it clearly describes its targeted customers, which are highly qualified career-oriented graduates. The mission statement also properly describes the services it offers which is to produce highly qualified graduated. By indicating that it targets both regional and global needs, its market can be clearly seen. It is to be noted however, that the institutions technology is not mentioned in the mission statement. Its philosophy and strategy for growth are fairly mentioned. The mission statement also describes Abu Dhabi University as one that aims to produce highly qualified career-oriented graduates, which actually portrays it in positive light. The institution has also elaborated clearly its distinctive competence and its employees in the mission statement.

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart Universities

The mission statement of Abu Dhabi University clearly explains to the reader the nature of business activity done by the institution. It can also be termed as being quite clear, and is free of vague terms. It also be plainly seen the goals that this mission seeks to achieve which are realistic and fully in tune with the capabilities of the university. It was however portrayed that The perceptions of the mission statement were quite common and not unique which didn’t offer the university any completive edge.

HBMSU mission statement indicates that they are an academic enterprise which enables knowledge creation and application through innovation, disruption, and transformation. We provide unique life-long learning opportunities, intellectually stimulating learning experiences and diverse community of faculty, staff, learners, and alumni.

From the mission statement, on the components perspective, it has clearly defined who the university’s customers are i.e. faculty, staff, learners, and alumni. The mission statement has also elaborated the services offered being to offer life-long learning opportunities intellectually stimulating learning experiences. It was also seen that strategic profitability, key competence, and the organizations values were well elaborated. The employees namely the faculty and staff were also captured in the mission statement. However, it is to be noted that the targeted market of HBMSU was not indicated in its mission statement. Despite touching on knowledge creation and application, through innovation, there is no clear mention that the institution is employing smart technology in their educational services. Public image as a characteristic was also barely mentioned in the mission statement, as it was noted that it didn’t capture the social or environmental concerns.

Overall the mission was able to tell the reader what is the nature of business activity is, the goals that the mission seeks to achieve which were termed to be quite ambitious. The goals that this mission seeks to achieve are realistic and fully in tune with the capabilities of the university, and there is compatibility and consistency of the mission statement with the aspirations of the university’s’ vision.

The University of Sharjah mission statement indicates that, the institution fosters a culture of critical inquiry in a diverse learning environment which leads to the discovery, creation, and dissemination of knowledge. The University is committed to providing its students with an education and life-long learning experience of the highest quality through the provision of a comprehensive platform of excellent academic and professional programs, promoting creativity, innovation in research and scholarship, and enhancing the personal, social, academic, and career development of all students. The university serves the socio-cultural and economic needs of the community and the society in the UAE and beyond.

University of Sharjah

It was seen from the mission statement that the university’s Customers and services were clearly captured and well elaborated. The market was also captured being UAE. however, it was somewhat vague when it mentioned “beyond”, which can denote quite a number of geographical locations. Despite the technology being mentioned, the exact kind of technology to be used was not clearly defined. Profitability, philosophy, self-concept and Public image were fairly captured in the university’s mission. It was noted that employees were not captured at all in the mission statement.

Ultimately the mission statement for University of Sharjah was considered to having defined properly the nature of business activity undertaken by the university, the goals that this mission seeks to achieve are realistic and fully in tune with the capabilities of the university. The downside was that it was long and there were no key elements. It was also noted that the mission statement did not give the institution a competitive or new perceptions.

Goals are an essential part of strategic management. they are actually strategic achievable objectives or targets that the management of an organization establishes to outline the expected outcomes and steer employees’ efforts towards their realization (Royer, 2013).

There are several benefits of setting goals, including; effective use of time and resources, clarity on decision making, clarity of focus, ease of communication within the organization just to mention a few (Schmidle, 2011) 

From the information gathered, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart Universities (HBMSU) had their goals focused on Leadership, adoption of enterprise thinking, development and sustenance of portfolio of innovative programs of the 21st century, acquisition  and retention of talent and  advancement of knowledge creation,:

HBMSU has powerful goals which link the mission characteristics with their objectives. They consider their employees as an important asset and then mentioned them clearly in goal # 4.

HBMSU should mention in their goals something about updating their programs since they are smart university. They should care about continuous improvement and development in smart application in order to link this with mission characteristics that related to technology. Moreover, they also included social responsibilities to society and community such as sponsorship and support the social activities. If they do so, this will be linked to Public Image characteristic.

From the data provided the goals of Abu Dhabi University are focused on; creation of conducive learning environment, meeting stakeholders needs, academic excellence, operational excellence, financial sustainability, promotion of culture and learning environment.

Conclusion

Abu Dhabi University focuses more on its customer and the services they provide. The most component included in the goals of ADU is their customers and how to satisfy their needs. But in their goals employees aren’t mention clearly as they are the main source of providing education at the excellence level to students.

The goals of ADU are aligned with its mission; both of them focus on their customer, product and the market.  Technology is not mentioned in both mission and goals.

University of Sharjah had its goals focused on; research, expansion of graduate studies programs, promotion of excellence in teaching, recruitment and retention of talented and diverse students, scholars and staff, promotion of personal, social, academic and career growth of all students, strategic partnerships and development of effective and efficient academic and administrative processes

Most of the objectives are set according to the mission statement for instance; research, scholarships, community service, quality teaching, and infrastructure development directly mirror the mission statement.

There are some aspects not mentioned such as the roles of alumni are not featured in the mission and they not mentioned clearly kind of technology in the goals.

Analytically, the goals of the university are largely related to its mission and vision of providing quality education through infrastructural development, innovation, and research.

The university needs to refine its mission statement to capture some of the goals excluded or align its objectives to mirror the declaration.

The Results:

From the information given, HBMSU obtained the first rank. Its vision statement it obtained 28 points and 70 on its mission statement. The report indicated one of the core advantages of HBMSU was that the organization was focused on smart learning innovations, future of the individuals, organization and the communities. This learning system was considered to be distinct and different from the other two mentioned universities. The university also had a precise future target that aimed at developing individuals with ambitions, challengeable and motivational values. That was one of the specialties of the organization

The ADU obtained the second rank with an overall of 14 on its vision statement and 65 points on its mission. The mission statement of Abu Dhabi University was attractive and clear, but the vision was weak and wasn’t considered to inspire the readers on what their future aim was.

The third position was taken by University of Sharjah. The university had on 18 points its vision and 55 on its mission. Although the vision and mission of the university were clear, they were too long, segmented, and do not paint a future for the university. Moreover, it was established that employees and other stakeholders were not likely to memorize them or their components with clarity the result is employees and stakeholders were not able to align their daily actions to the overall goals of the university.

It is important for the three universities to consider clearly researching their vision and mission statement and ensure the same statements resonate with the environment they operate in. carefully structured mission vision and goals can help organizations gain competitive advantage.(Tavana, 2014).

It is also important for the universities when setting goals not to set unachievable goals for this can be a demotivating factor to the employees (REES, 2017)

The suggested mission statement for HBMSU is: We are an academic enterprise which enables knowledge through innovation, disruption technology, and transformation. We provide unique life-long learning opportunities, intellectually stimulating learning experiences and diverse community of faculty, staff, learners, and alumni. Contribute to society through the pursuit of education and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

The suggested mission statement for ADU is: to prepare a highly qualified graduates in alignment with regional and global needs for dynamic careers through knowledge creation by providing quality teaching, research and innovative programs by a highly qualified faculty members.

Finally The University of Sharjah has the following as its the suggested mission: The University of Sharjah exists to offer quality education and life-long learning experience through research, teaching, strategic community partnerships, technological infrastructure, competent employees, and education programs to students from the UAE, the Middle East, and internationally.

Challenges and limitation:

During data collection, there are several challenges and difficulties that were encountered. it was actually a challenge when it came to collecting data as some university refused to give us details about the enrolled and graduated students and also other details about their ex-mission and vision. Comprehensive data on employee turnover was also not shared by some universities.

There was a challenge in understanding of clear criteria of each mission and vision. This was due to lack of a standard methodology of formulation. This prompted further clarification from the institution and at times it was actually was consumed a substantial amount of time.

There was also a limitation o time when preparing this report, however our group members were able to put in place acceptable timelines to help in tracking of progress. Frequent meeting was also encouraged for the purposes of discussing main vital points and doing group tasks in order to simplify the communication. And increase efficiency in carrying out the activities pertaining to this report.

Conclusion

In conclusion just as Djordjevic, (2014). Puts it, it is important to appreciate the benefit of having properly elaborated vision, mission and goals in organizations as a strategic tool. Clearly communicating the same to all stakeholders can also a major boost in resource mobilization, motivation of employees and staying true to organizational agenda (Johnsen, 2015). When formulating the mission statement, it has vital to consider the major components for the mission to carry the weight it deserves.

Communication of core organizational values is also key in ensuring that the all stakeholders are on the same page in so far as realizing the organizational goals are concerned (“Values in Corporate Governance: Ownership Values”, 2016).

References

Ansoff, H. (2014). Strategic management. [Place of publication not identified]: Palgrave Macmillan.

Bedanta, B., Chungyalpa ,W., & Samarjeet, B. (2017). Crafting Strategic Objectives: Examining  the Role of Business Vision and Mission Statements. Journal Of Entrepreneurship & Organization Management, 06(01). https://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2169-026x.1000205

Dess, G. (2012). Strategic management. New York: McGraw-Hill-Irwin.

Djordjevic, B. (2014). The Nature of Strategic Management. Archives Of Business Research, 2(4), 28-39. https://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.24.178

Eldridge, J. (2016). Sociology of organisations. [Place of publication not identified]: Routledge.

Flanigan, M. (2016). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture in Strategic Enrollment Management. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, 4(3), 117-129. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sem3.20090

Gallinero, W., & Otig, V. (2017). Extent of Dissemination, Awareness, and Acceptability of the Revised LDCU Vision, Mission, and CAS Objectives among Students and Faculty. Liceo Journal Of Higher Education Research, 12(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.7828/ljher.v12i1.968

Hafford-Letchfield, T. (2010). Management and Organisations in Social Work. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.

Johnsen, Å. (2015). Strategic Management Thinking and Practice in the Public Sector: A Strategic Planning for All Seasons?. Financial Accountability & Management, 31(3), 243-268. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/faam.12056

Kasabov, E. (2014). Compliance business and its customers. [Place of publication not identified]: Palgrave Macmillan.

oman, V. (2015). Company Vision and Organizational Learning. Dynamic Relationships Management Journal, 4(2), 51-60. https://dx.doi.org/10.17708/drmj.2015.v04n02a04

REES, G. (2017). STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. [Place of publication not identified]: SAGE PUBLICATIONS.

Royer, S. (2013). Strategic Management and Online Selling. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Schmidle, T. (2011). Performance Management. Public Performance & Management Review, 35(2), 370-389. https://dx.doi.org/10.2753/pmr1530-9576350206

Seefeld, K. (2015). The Role of a Scholar Practitioner in Strategic Enrollment Management. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, 3(1), 29-40. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sem3.20059

Syrett, M. (2012). Successful strategy execution. London: Profile.

Tavana, M. (2014). Developing business strategies and identifying risk factors in modern organizations. Hershey, Pa: Business Science Reference.

Values in Corporate Governance: Ownership Values. (2016). Innovative Journal Of Business And Management, 5(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.15520/ijbm.vol5.iss1.43.pp20-24