Mission Statement
An organization’s mission is analogous to a compass, guiding the organization to a destination (or vision) that will forever be pursued but never really reached. A mission statement defines an organization’s core purpose – or why they exist – and acts as a beacon for the work being done. The mission statement should be a cross between a memorable slogan and an executive summary. Starbucks’ mission statement is shown in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1. Starbucks Mission Statement (Starbucks.com, 2005).
Recommended Mission Statement
Starbucks mission statement could be more simple, clear and concise; it is not easily understandable, nor is it memorable. In this author’s opinion, Starbucks’ mission statement could do a better job of saying who the company is, what they do, what they stand for, and why they do it; additionally, their mission statement seems to be so lengthy that neither stakeholders, customers, nor employees will remember the mission statement. It is this author’s recommendation that Starbucks adopt the following mission statement: Starbucks will continue to grow by finding and delivering the world’s best coffee to the world’s best customers without compromising our world-class principles.