Components of a Company Mission

A good mission statement focuses on containing a limited number of objectives, emphasizing the main policies and values ​​of the company, and defining the core competencies of the company.

A mission should include:

Industry Scope: The industry or range of industries in which a company will operate.

For example, DuPont operates in the industrial market; Dow operates in the industrial and consumer markets; and 3M focuses on almost any industry where money can be made.

Products and scope of application of these: The range of products and applications that a company will supply. For example, St. Jude Medical aims to "serve physicians around the world with high-quality cardiovascular care products."

Competence: The range of technological and other competencies that a company can handle. Japan's NEC has built its core competencies in computing, communications and components of support for the production of laptops, desktops, televisions and other items electronic

Market segment scope: The type of market or customers a company will serve. For example, Porsche makes expensive cars only for the luxury market and licenses its name for high-quality accessories.

Vertical reach: The number of product levels from raw material to final product and distribution in which a company will participate. At one extreme are companies with a large vertical reach; at the other extreme are companies with low or no vertical level (generally companies that outsource design, manufacturing, marketing, etc.)

Geographical scope: The variety of regions or countries in which a company will operate it. At one extreme are companies that operate in a specific city or state. At the other extreme are multinationals such as Unilever and Caterpillar, which operate in almost every country in the world.

A company must redefine its mission if that mission has lost credibility or no longer defines an optimal course for the company. Kodak redefined itself from a motion picture film to an imaging company. Sara Lee redefined herself by outsourcing manufacturing and became solely a brand marketer. The corporate mission provides guidance for different business units of the company.