The organizational mission and vision together form an important management
instrument that expresses the soul of the firm and indicates what the organization
stands for, for which purpose it exists on earth, what its primary goal is, where it
wants to go to, how it plans to reach there (based on their values), and on which
important points should everyone concentrate (i.e. key success factors or critical
success factors). They form the collective ambition of the organization, and have an
important impact on the bond of employees to the organization and their
performance.
A successfully formulated collective ambition shows people how their activities
contribute to the whole, whereby they work together on the goal of the organization,
which will lead to higher performances. As a result, they get a feeling of pride that
they are making a useful contribution towards something that is worth it. This only
works if they believe that management has a long-standing commitment to it.
The organizational mission and vision give direction to a firm and functions as a
compass and a road map. The convincing propagation of an active, inspiring,
recognizable, challenging, fascinating mission and vision which touch people and
create feelings of solidarity usually lead to more effort, satisfaction, and commitment.
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After all, such a common ambition inspires creativity, motivates and mobilizes
people, gives them energy, and leads to better performance.
An organization will be successful if it succeeds to create a sense, a meaning that
releases energy in people, raises involvement and puts people in movement.
Mission and vision as management instruments also offer the possibility of creating
unity in the behavior of employees, to make employees feel proud of their
organization, to let them focus on the relevant activities which create value for
customers, and to eliminate non-productive activities.
Thus, by liking the organizational vision to core values, it strengthen the onemindedness
of the employees, and favorably influence their behavior and
organizational culture. By sharing these values, a group becomes a team and a
company becomes a community. The core values determine what approach is used
to realize the vision. They determine how they treat each other, and how we see our
clients, personnel, the community, and our suppliers. Values in an organization
usually inspire commitment, loyalty and devotion in all parts of the organization.