To what extent are mission and vision statements relevant for (a) major corporations, (b) small business enterprises, and (c) not-for-profit enterprises? What are the key differences?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The answer needs to unpack the purpose and underlying motives for creating such statements. As
noted in the text, scepticism exists in some quarters over their practical utility, and because there
may be an element of mere fashionability as well as possibly disingenuous intent. However, created
and used constructively, they can add coherence and direction to enterprise activities; as such, their
relevance is equally high for all kinds of enterprise. Arguably, the differences relate mainly to the
breadth and potential divergence of respective stakeholder interests. Small firms usually pursue the
mission and vision of the founder/proprietor or the small group of managers that jointly owns the
controlling stake. Here they may be understood but not necessarily written down. As enterprises
grow, they require greater formality; public corporations especially need to communicate with
multiple, substantial external audiences as well as clients and employees. For this reason, their
statements tend to be bland and uncontroversial. Not-for-profit enterprises often embrace genuinely
conflicting aims and objectives that make the construction of statements problematic or lowest
common denominators of aims.