Problem 1. What is strategic management? What are the roles of mission and vision statements in strategic management? Can an organization have a successful strategic plan without effective mission and vision statements? Why or why not?
Problem 2. Select a small business that you may want to start (Restaurant). What is strategic management and planning? Why would a strategic plan be important to the success of this business? How are the four functions of management relative to creating and implementing a strategic plan?
Problem 3. You say that a company needs a mission statement from day one, yet there are a lot of small businesses that get started without even having a strategy in place. All they're focused on is meeting the day-to-day customer needs and making sure the bills are paid at the end of the month. Many of these small businesses remain successful enough to stay in operation for years without ever having a mission, a vision, or a strategic plan. So when does a mission become necessary? Is it when the organization reaches a certain number of employees? If the owner decides that they want the business to grow? If you want to take the company public?
Problem 4. A company can have an successful strategy without having an effective mission or vision statement. Does that create any problems for the employees if the strategy is telling them to do one thing and the mission and vision are telling them to do another? Over time, companies will often shift their strategies to keep up with a changing marketplace. Do the mission and vision need to change with the strategy?