Defining the Firms Mission and Social Responsibility

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• Defining the Firms Mission and Social
  Responsibility

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What is a Company Mission?
The fundamental purpose that sets a firm apart
from other firms of its type and identifies the
scope of its operations in product and market
terms
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Characteristics of a Mission Statement

• Embodies the business philosophy / image
• May Indicate
• firms principal product or service areas
• primary customer needs the firm will attempt to
  satisfy

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Example Mission Statement
Intels core mission is being the building block
supplier to the Internet economy and spurring
efforts to make the Internet more useful. Being
connected is now at the center of peoples
computing experience. We are helping to expand
the capabilities of the PC platform and the
Internet.
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Example Mission Statement
Our mission is to connect more people and
organizations to information in more innovative,
simple, and reliable ways than any other
networking company in the world.
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Newest Trends in MissionComponents

• Sensitivity to customer wants
• The customer is our top priority!
• Emphasis on extensive product safety programs
• Concern for quality
• Quality is job one! (Ford)
• New philosophy quality is the norm

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Newest Trends in MissionComponents

• Statements of company vision

Managements job is not to just see the company
as it is.but as it can become.
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Example Mission and Vision Statement
Our mission is to connect more people and
organizations to information in more innovative,
simple, and reliable ways than any other
networking company in the world. Our vision of
pervasive networking is of a world where
connections are simpler, more powerful, more
affordable, more global, and more available to
all.
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Responsibilities of theBoard of Directors

• To establish and update the company mission
• To elect the companys top officers CEO
• To set broad company policy and set company
  objectives
• BUT problems
  can arise

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Agency Theory

• Involves separation of owners (principals) and
  managers (agents) of a firm
• Potential exists for owners wishes to be ignored
• Involves delegation of decision-making authority
  by owners to managers
• Potential agency costs can include
• Agency problems
• Actions taken to minimize agency problems

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Corporate Social Responsibilitys Effect on
theMission Statement

• In developing mission statements, managers must
  identify all stakeholder groups and weigh their
  relative rights and abilities to affect the
  firms success
• Some companies are proactive in their approach to
  CSR, making it an integral part of their mission
  (e.g., Ben and Jerrys ice cream)
  http//www.benjerry.com/
• Others are reactive, adopting socially
  responsible behavior only when they must (e.g.,
  Exxon after the Valdez incident) exxon