Abstract

A mission statement refers to the corporate reasons for the existence of an organisation.(Solanki.K.,2021) .As a cooperate statement, it highlights the current position and the future scenario of an organisation in terms of philosophy, product market, pricing and customer service among others.”The mission statement is a critical and an integral part of the organization as an entity and the operating plan, which has become a unique vehicle through which the organization in the business world, articulates it strategic intent to exist, survive, grow and how it relates with stakeholders around it including the wider society”(Eneh.S., Inyang.B.,2015). With an effective mission statement, organizations can reveal to it’s stakeholders what the company does, how it does it, and why it does it. It’s natural for organizations to face challenges when leading teams and managing their projects. As such, this paper seeks to analyze how a company can use its Mission Statement to serve a dual purpose of helping employees remain focused on the tasks at hand, as well as encourage them to find innovative ways of moving toward increasing their productivity with the eye to achieving company goals. Also, this paper looks at how a company’s mission statement applies to its other stakeholders -distributors, suppliers, shareholders, and the community at large. Even more, this paper seeks to unveil why some companies develop a more specific mission statement that focuses on their unique function, while others adopt a company-wide mission statements that is broad enough to encompass every stakeholder.

Keywords:Mission Statement, Purpose, Objectives.

Most prospective investors refer to the mission statement to see if the values of the company align with theirs. For example, an ethical investor against tobacco products would probably not invest in a company whose mission is to be the largest global manufacturer of cigarettes. As a result, it is not uncommon for large companies to spend many years and millions of dollars to develop and refine their mission statements so as to fit stakeholders interests. For companies that seek to gain a competitive edge in a highly competitive environment, the important question to ask is whether or not the existence of a mission statement is associated with or influences organizational performance? According to recent related studies that critically explored the essential link between a mission statement and organizational performance, it was established that the potential power of an effective mission statement in impacting organizational performance was derived mainly from the fact that a mission statement is the starting point of the organization’s entire planning process, which serves as the basis for the formulation of objectives  appropriate to the organization’s overall purpose. “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 the organisation and if it ‘says something’ to its stakeholders.” (University of Sheffield publication, 2015)

Bellatrix Web Solutions Ltd Mission Statement

Bellatrix is an ICT solutions multinational company that offers technology services, including website creation and hosting, applications development, ICT consulting services among other IT related solutions . It is also one of the largest web solutions company in Africa. While some companies develop a more specific mission statement that focuses on their unique function,  others adopt a company-wide mission statements that is broad enough to encompass every stakeholder. As a web solutions provider company, Bellatrix falls under the latter category. Bellatrix Ltd believes that any solution will be effective only when it perfectly complements client’s existing business strategies, practices, structures and vision. Since each project is unique in its requirements, Bellatrix’s approach subsequently differs to match such customized needs. 

The statement above provides a broad enough scale of scope to explain what the company can do, and it is also inspirational – it’s all about empowering by offering them solutions to their unique needs. It is the kind of statement that people can get excited about and can rally behind. It also defines Bellatrix’s strategy, which is reaching out to the whole world and making an influence on all individuals and organizations through customized web solutions. Bellatrix’s mission statement points out the things that matter to the company which is to” listen to customers needs, then finding customized solutions”.

Bellatrix’s mission statement – “Tell us your needs-we will find a true solution”

For Bellatrix, being able to build an influential statement is the first step to business success because all strategies are developed and executed with a solid mission as the foundation. As such, the above mentioned mission statement guides Bellatrix’s management team in implementing strategies that help reinforce the company’s unique identity and goals.

This particular mission statement is important since it touches on various aspect of the organization mentioned below:-

Motivating employees
Inspiring customers
Strategic planning
Setting values
Understanding why a business exists

Principles That Make Bellatrix’s Mission Statement Stand Out

Mission statements are not one-size-fits-all, although there are some guidelines that can help companies craft effective mission statements that captures their purpose. The general rule for these statements is that they should not confuse the organization’s audience, because that defeats the core purpose of companies. However, here are some of the best characteristics common in the creation of effective mission statements that provide the parameters under which organizations can craft a statement that not only sells the what”, but also the why.Over the past operational years, Bellatrix has managed to improve its performance by creating an effective mission statement that stands out in todays highly competitive environment. To do this, this web solutions company has adopted these seven principles.

It is Feasible

Apart from being a wide-ranging goal, Bellatrix’s mission statement is achievable. This means that it should not be an impossible statement to stakeholders. The employees of Bellatrix find it feasible and credible. However, feasibility of this mission relies upon the availability of Bellatrix’s organisational resources. Often times, companies fall into the trap of crafting mission statements that are so grandiose and philosophical that they lose all touch with reality. On the other hand, Bellatrix’s Mission statements is grounded in what the company provides customers in the present. For instance, in another example, it was a mission of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to land on the moon during 1960’s, which was finally accomplished between 1960s and 1970s.

It is Precise

The idea behind Bellatrix’s adage is that systems work better when it’s designers keep things simple, and the same applies to all mission statement. As such, shorter is better because companies want to convey the purpose and goal of their business in a way that is simple, clear, and easy to understand. The more words they use, the more likely it is that they will send out a garbled message to respective audience. In addition, an effective mission statement should be neither too narrow nor too wide. This is because a narrow mission statement will not be able to convey the operations performed by the organisation, while a wide mission statement will fail to define the organisational objectives and goals. For instance, for a soft drink manufacturing company, writing “manufacturing soft drinks”is too narrow, and writing “satisfying customers”is too broad. On the other hand Bellatrix’s Mission Statement is a good example, not too narrow, not too broad, but enough”Tell us your needs- we will find you a true solution”

It is Clear

Bellatrix’s mission statement is clear and memorable. When creating this mission statement, Bellatrix’s main question was, what are the key phrases and terminology that can be used in this mission statement to make it memorable? This doesnt mean that readers must be able to recite this mission statement in whole as if its a catchphrase, what it means is that people should be able to associate key aspects of the statement with Bellatrix company. This statement is clear because it states Bellatrix’s organisational goals so that it stimulates actions. Sometimes, organisations mislead the public by using superlative terms to emphasise their identities and features. On the other hand, a mission statement is beneficial only when it is stated in clear terms and leads to action. For example, just like Bellatrix’s, the mission statement of India Today “the complete news magazine”, is clear and memorable enough to stakeholders.

It is Encouraging

Another character of Bellatrix’s mission statement is that it embraces the expectations of a target audience for something they truly crave. Tell us your needs-we will find a true solution”is encouraging enough since it creates the expectation in Bellatrix’s customers that they will deliver superior customer service each and every time. Furthermore, this mission statement is capable of encouraging its employees, customers, and other stakeholders to feel valued by being a part of the organisation. As a result, this leads to enhanced skills and expertise in the employees as well as creating a sense of loyalty amongst stakeholders. Another example is Eureka Forbes, who’s statement encourages its employees to provide superior ‘customer service’ to the customers at their home as per their convenience”. Just like Bellatrix’s case, such a mission statement encourages increasesed customer loyalty towards the company.

It is Unique

Bellatrix’s mission statement is effective because it is distinct and unique in every sense from that of the competitors. This is because if all the companies which are in same business write their mission statements in the same way, it would hardly create a unique identity and a positive impact on the public. Even more, a peculiar Mission statements should never be generalized in such a way that any other company could steal what you wrote and use it as their own. This is why when crafting these statements, it was vital for Bellatrix to remember what makes this web solutions company different, unique, and special.

It Indicates Strategy

An effective mission statement is something that your marketing and product development teams can also use for motivation and direction. For example, lets look at Bellatrix’s mission statement, “tell us your needs-we will find you a true solution.”Here, concepts such as your needs”and find you a true solution “are all a marketing departments dream because they are sellable concepts. Furthermore, a strong mission statement should indicate the strategy to be adopted for achieving the long-term goals. More so, Bellatrix is a market-focused, process-centred organisation that develops and delivers web solutions to customers, consistently outperforms its peers, produces predictable earnings for it’s shareholders, and providing a dynamic and challenging environment for its employees. This indicates that Bellatrix focuses on market structure and policy as well as on the organisational processes.

It Specifies The Ways To Achieve Objectives

The mission statement of Bellatrix is efficient because it define the ways in which the organisational objectives can be achieved. This helps the organisation to determine the time-period in which it needs to accomplish these goals. Also, its important that companies avoid negative messages because mission statements are all about how your business solves a problem, fulfills a want or need, or makes life easier for your target audience. As indicated in the mission statement above, Bellatrix asks it’s customers to “Tell us your needs- we will find you a true solution”. This specifies a way to achieve it’s organizational objectives while satisfying it’s customers needs and prefernces.

Conclusion

Since a mission statement serves as a building block for everything that the organizational team sets to achieve, getting it right leads to stronger team dynamics in the workplace, more successful projects actualization, and satisfied customers. This means that if a company’s mission statement conforms to the seven principles discussed herein, it should stand a good chance of fulfilling its goals and objectives. However, there are no guarantees especially if the statement is not accepted by the broader institutional community. For if an institution as a whole, or significant elements of it reject a mission statement wholesale, its value is effectively lost, and it will forever remain meaningless-in which case the main mitigation against such a risk is likely to stem from the way in which the mission statement is formulated, communicated and disseminated. Last but definitely not the least, it is paramount to remember that the mission statement is the launchpad for the overall companys success since it summarizes what the organization seeks to achieve and serves as a constant reminder of it’s purpose. “When a company knows its mission, it feels confident about where its going, even through ups and downs.”Asana.T.,(2022).

References

Asana.T (2022)How to write an effective mission statement

            https://asana.com/resources/mission-statement-template: Open Access.

Eneh. S. & Inyang.B., (2015): Leveraging Organizational Performance through Effective           

            Mission Statement:https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ibr/article/view/52602:     

            Open Access.