In the Session Long Project, we will create a "strategic toolkit" which, once assembled, will allow you to undertake strategic planning and implementation projects in any organization. Upon successful completion of the Module 1 SLP, you will be able to use your SLP to assess the mission and vision statements of any company. The goal of the SLP is one of skill-building—that is, in each module we will focus on developing a skill for a different phase of the strategy-making process. Throughout this course, you should complete the SLP before you complete the Case. However, before you begin to address the SLP assignments, read the Background materials thoroughly.
Required Reading:
Welch, J., & Welch, S. (2008). State your business: Too many mission statements are loaded with fatheaded jargon. Play it straight. Businessweek, 4066 (80). Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from
https://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-01-02/state-your-business
Session Long Project:
In this module, you will be learning what constitutes good mission and vision statements. You will also be developing a list of criteria for evaluating such statements. You will then use these criteria to evaluate a corporate vision and mission statement in the Case. Finally, you will be comparing your two lists for commonalities and differences.
Keys to the Assignment
The key aspects of this assignment that you must cover in your 3- to 4-page paper are:
• Step One: Read the Background materials and conduct additional research about writing mission and vision statements. You may rely solely on the websites in the Background materials or supplement them if you wish. You will find that there are a great many opinions on what constitutes a "good" mission statement. Your job is to identify five criteria that you believe are crucial to devising good mission statements.
• Step Two: Research the Background websites dedicated to writing vision statements. Again, you may supplement them if you wish.
Identify five criteria you think are critical to good vision statements.
• Step Three: In a 3- to 4-page paper:
o List the five criteria you have chosen for mission and vision statements (i.e., five each). This can be a bulleted list.
o Justify your choices. Explain why you think each individual criterion is important.
o Critically compare the commonalities and differences between your two lists. Be sure that you address this requirement with appropriate depth.
o Be sure to have introduction at the beginning of paper and a conclusion at the end