The upcoming discussion will update you about the difference between the mission and objectives of a company.
Difference between the Mission and Objectives of a Company
“A business is not defined by the company’s name, statutes, or articles of incorporation. – It is defined by the want the customer satisfies when he buys a product or service. To satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business. The question ‘what is our business?’ can, therefore, be answered only by looking at the business from the outside, from the point of view of customer and market.”
So, it can be stated that a key feature of an organisation’s mission should focus on the broad class of needs that the organisation is seeking to satisfy (external focus), not on the physical product or service that the organisation is offering at present (internal focus).
Organisation’s mission is one of the four basic components of the strategic planning process. Mission is how a company defines its identity. Mission provides a statement to insiders and outsiders on what the organisation stands for, and it conveys the grand design of the firm and also conveys what it wants to be. Adler put it ‘a company’s definition of itself is at the root of its success.
Only the company with unobstructed vision can use the strategic weapons with maximum effect’.
Again, mission can include a range of subjects—from economic to ethic. Mission is stated in broad terms and tends to have a long life. For instance, one company identified its mission as follows: ‘To strive for greatest possible reliability and quality in our products’.
Another said, its mission was ‘To be recognised as a company of dedication, honesty, integrity and service.’ When taken seriously, such missions have powerful influence over company plans and activities.
The basic difference between a company’s missions and objectives is that missions identify the underlying design, aim or thrust of a company whereas objectives identify specific desired results to be achieved—mostly in absolute terms of sales, profits, margin, return on investment and market share. Mission is qualitative in nature and may be expressed as a grand design.
Objectives are usually stated quantitatively, i.e., in specific numbers and/or percentages of growth, Conceptually, the development of corporate objectives (whether overall or specific) is the next logical step to achieve the corporate mission.
The mission of an organisation (be it a business, a church, a hospital, a college or university), when determined by its founders or owners or board of directors, is value based and reflects the vision of the founder members.