AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPING MISSION STATEMENTS Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPING MISSION STATEMENTS Jim L. Grimm, Illinois State University James B. Spalding, Jr., Bellarmine College ABSTRACT The purpose of this experiential activity is to provide students in beginning or more advanced courses, or other business-learning participants, with a better understanding of the role of an effective mission statement in formulating competitive strategy. More specifically, it is designed to enable the participants to exploit the opportunity to develop and evaluate mission statements. INTRODUCTION Recently renewed focus on developing and implementing effective competitive strategies has highlighted the importance of the organization’s mission statement. It is increasingly recognized that the mission statement should show the organization’ s true function; that it provide direction and boundaries for growth; and that it give a basis for market definition and segmentation, as well as for resources allocation. To assure that managers are directed toward being market-driven, rather than product-driven or otherwise more internally misdirected, primary importance should be given in the mission statement to the basic consumer need to be fulfilled, the core market to be targeted and served, the core business/product to be provided, and the distribution, promotion, and technology strategies essential to satisfying those needs. An activity is offered below for consideration in teaching topics related to the development and evaluation of mission statements. EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITY: DEVELOPING & EVALUATING MISSION STATEMENTS An organization’s mission defines its purpose by specifying what it does or can do, in order to satisfy basic needs of target markets. The organization’s management is accordingly guided toward objectives and strategies which are consistent with and serve the stated mission. To develop a mission statement, or to evaluate an existing one, managers should seek appropriate answers to such guideline questions as the following: Does the mission statement: • depict accurately the organization that leaders and employees are building? • enable an employee to define his or her job in the organization? • provide a direction for the future of the organization without limiting it? • define the business domain? Equally importantly, the business domain of an organization, or of one or more of its component strategic business units (SBUs), is defined by identifying: • the basic consumer needs to be satisfied; • the potential customer groups to be served; • the core business or core product to be offered; • the distribution, promotion, and technology strategies necessary to satisfy those needs. Assignment: In light of these mission statement guidelines and business domain considerations, evaluate the two mission statements in Scenario 1, then complete the assignment through all three scenarios. Scenario 1 Consider the mission statements of Jones Environmental Services and Smith Earthsavers, Inc.[fictitious names], two firms providing services to companies with environmental pollution problems. 275 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 Mission of Jones Environmental Services Jones Environmental Services exists to solve pollution-related problems of organizations in any market through state-of-the-art technology. Mission of Smith Earthsavers, Inc. Smith Earthsavers, Inc. is driven by a commitment to total quality management and a set of distinctive competencies. Smith Earthsavers, Inc. will: • Delight our customers by delivering excellent products and service. • Commercialize innovative technologies to attain an industry leadership position. • Empower employees to achieve work excellence, to commit themselves to customer satisfaction, to contribute to the welfare of their communities, to grow personally, and to be rewarded for their contributions. • Exemplify the highest standards of ethical behavior, environmental responsibility, health, and safety. • Generate sustainable, superior rewards for our investors. First, which of the mission statements do you prefer? Second, explain why you preferred this mission. Then, consult the above-mentioned guidelines and evaluate each mission statement stating explicitly how well each mission statement defines the business domain of the organization. Scenario 2 You are a strategic planning consultant to a firm that provides services to companies with environmental pollution problems. You begin to develop a mission statement to define the business domain, conforming to the above-mentioned evaluation guidelines. The format that follows will assist you in defining the firm’s business domain. You may need to expand this format to assimilate ideas related to the other evaluation guidelines. To satisfy [Basic Consumer Need] of [Market to be Served] by providing [Core Business or Core Product] through [Distribution/Promotion/technology] Scenario 3 GUST, Inc. is a small firm in Louisville, KY that specializes in removing underground gasoline storage tanks. GUST has been providing this service for the last ten years. A recent law in Kentucky requires removal of all underground gasoline storage tanks and any surrounding contaminated soil at sites of former gas stations. This legislation also requires that existing gas retail outlets must repair/remove all existing underground storage tanks that leak or have leaked and remove any soil contaminated by leaks or spillage. Firms which specialize in such removal must meet special rules and regulations in Kentucky to be approved to continue offering removal of underground gasoline storage tanks and the surrounding contaminated soil. Write a mission statement that defines Gust Inc.’s business domain, using Scenario 2’s format. INSTRUCTOR’S NOTES Available on request. REFERENCES CITED IN PAPER Available on request. 276 Table of Contents Volume 25, 1998 Marketing Goes to the Movies Bringing Experiential Learning to a Principles of Marketing Course Investment Analysis Application Using In-house Spreadsheet Models SugarCoated Statistics: An Exercise for the First Day of Class Improving Undergraduate Student Involvement in Management Science and Business Writing Courses Using the Seven Principles in Action Establishment and Funding for Interuniversity / Multidisciplinary Student experiences The Prospects of Creative Teaching: A Discussion with Patricia Sanders The Simulation and Classroom Assessment Techniques Developments of Management Skill Assessment Games as Instruments of Assessment: A Framework for Evaluation The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Curricula Threshold Solo Competitor: A Management Simulation (V1.0) a Windows-Based. Play Alone, Total Enterprise Simulation and Assessment Instrument Toward An Understanding of One's self-concept Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Improving Student Perceptions and Simplifying Administrative Workloads The Expatriate an Assignment Orientation Game An Expatriate's Nightmare: An Experiential Exercise in Coping with Overseas Assignments Analyzing Experiential Exercise: Using the Scientific Method for Problem Solving The Second Component to Experiential Learning: A Look Back at How ABSEL has handled the Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Learning Predictive Models of Learning: Participant Satisfaction of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Accelerating Moral Development through Use of Experiential Ethical Dilemmas Ethical Dilemmas to use with Business Simulations to Teach Ethics The Class Approach in Behavioral Simulation in a Business Policy/Strategic Management course: A Progression toward Greater Realism An Exploration of the Emergence of Process Prototypes in a Management Course Utilizing a Total Enterprise Simulation How Organizations Are Improving Their Performance Utilizing Electronic Commerce: Examples From The Internet The Market Access Planning System (Maps): A Computer-Based Decision Support System For Facilitating Experiential Learning In International Business An Excel Workbook For Student Planning And Interface With A Simulation Game Design Of Multi-Media Based Pedagogy For Leadership Training Panel Discussion On Using The Internet For Courses Valuing And Enhancing Teaching: Sharing Tips Via The Web The Buddy Project: A Semester Long Project Aimed At Developing An Appreciation For Diversity Enhancing The Excitement And Learning Retention In The Classroom: The Power Of Magic The Supervised Management Internship: A Job Or Learning Experience Team Ware™ An Online Moderated Class Discussion Facility And Beyond A Neophyte Distance Educator's Experience Learning Management By Practicing Management: A Report Of Significant Student Service In 1997 Integration Of Academic And Service Learning: Students' Perceptions About Its Effects And Outcomes The Value Of Incorporating A Service Learning Component Into Course Content: A Presentation And Roundtable Discussion Business Games Teach: Thoughts on the Sources of Conflicting Conclusions on their Effectiveness Antecedents Of Learning In The Simulation: A Replication Using Student Journals To Enhance Learning From Simulations Technological Change And Intertemporal Movements In Consumer Preferences In The Design Of Computerized Business Simulations With Market Segmentation Integrating The Marketing Curriculum Using Collaborative Learning Teaching Time Management In A Sales Program: The Application Of A Computer Simulation Game Adapting Interactive Computer Simulations For Content Based Esl Instruction Multimedia And Student Expectations Synthesizing Data For Media Simulations Composing A Team Health Promoting Behaviors-A Decision Making Exercise Does it really Work? An Application of the Group Interaction Framework Administering the MIT Beer Game: Lessons Learned A Paperless Economy? Instructing Students on the Aspects of Successful Electronic Commerce Maximizing Learning Gains in Simulations: Lessons from the Training Literature Observing General Ability in a Total Enterprise Gaming Simulation FReach Teach: A Computer-Based System for Teaching Advertising Media Planning An Integrated Business Instruction System An Experiential Exercise you can Tinker With Experiential Exercises or Computer Simulations? Cash Flow Statements: Are They Important in Business Simulations? Holistic Cognitive Strategy in a Computer-Based Marketing Simulation Game: An Investigation of Attitudes Towards the Decision-Making Process Barnga: A Game on Cultural Clashes The Many Faces of Culture: Understanding Country and Corporate Culture Students' View of the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Assessing General Management Interest What is the Future of Business Gaming? Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise and Other Innovative Icebreakers An Integrated Approach to Behavioral Skill Development Career Focus: A Student and Business Learning Experience The Use of Concept Mapping in Teaching Strategic Management An Experiential Approach to Developing Mission Statements Business Games in Brazil-Learning or Satisfaction A Simulation within a Simulation: Job Layoff's and Emotional Reactions