mission and vision of a company

 mission and vision of a company

We explain what is the mission and vision of a company, with clear examples. In addition, what are the differences between both concepts.

The mission and vision of a company must be formulated jointly.

1. What is Mission and vision?

The concepts of Mission and Vision refer in a general way to the set of objectives that a person or group can try to achieve . Both concepts are means to achieve a state that is considered desirable.

The mission is the reason or reason for being by an organization , a company or an institution. This motive focuses on the present , that is, it is the activity that justifies what the group or the individual is doing at a given moment.

For example :

• "Your mission as an official is to properly manage state resources."
• "The mission of the company is to improve the quality of automobiles."

The mission of a company. It depends on the activity that the organization carries out, as well as the environment in which it is located and the resources available to it. If it is a company, the mission will depend on the type of business in question, the needs of the population at that time and the market situation.

More in: Mission .

The vision of a company.  On the other hand, it refers to an image that the organization poses in the long term about how it expects its future to be, an ideal expectation of what it expects to happen. The vision must be realistic but it can be ambitious, its function is to guide and motivate the group to continue with the work.

For example :

• "His vision as an official is to find a new and efficient way to manage state resources."
• " The vision of the company is to become the producer of better quality cars in the local market ."

The vision depends on the present situation , the present and future material possibilities as perceived by the organization, the unexpected events that may occur and the mission itself that has already been plated.

Both concepts  play an important role as psychological and organizational aspects in any long-term strategy, be it business, political, personal, etc.

Once you have a specific goal, both concepts allow you to situate yourself in the present ( mission ) and project yourself towards the future ( vision ) from the rational plane, since it allows to link means and ends, and also from the emotional one, since it allows you to inspire and incentivize to act even in unfavorable situations.

They must be formulated jointly , since it is important that they are coherent with each other, and that they foresee the situations that may occur within the proposed term. Do not forget that both are part of a strategy, and serve the purpose of achieving the same goal.

For example :

If a large state-of-the-art company plans to grow and expand, it can be proposed as a Mission to  provide customers with state- of-the-art technology while maintaining leadership in the area.
This allows us to organize the resources of the company to ensure that the quality of its products is maintained (through quality control , training and education of its employees, to study the situation of the market and other companies, etc.) .
But the Vision thought to the future must take into account that in the area of technology , scientific and technical development can render obsolete the technologies that the company produces in a few years, so a realistic and coherent vision with its mission would be to reach the leadership in technological innovation , which allows not only to remain a leading company, but quickly adapt to any change that may be in the technological field.  

It can help you: Values ​​of a Company .

2. Differences between mission and business vision

Unlike the mission, the vision is more a projection to the future.

The mission is the main reason or reason of existence of an organization , defined in a precise and feasible way. It is the path through which the leaders of the company or organization will realize the great vision.

The mission must contain the following information , not in the future but in the present:

• What is the organization doing?
• Who is the recipient of your products / services?
• You want to do? How will you help your customers?

(*) Some authors state that they must also identify where the company is going, and how it will be in the following years.

Unlike the mission, the vision is more a projection to the future , the aspirations of the organization, of a utopian nature, and more generic than the mission, which makes it less precise and less concrete.

The vision marks a final goal of where the organization wants to go in the future. Although the mission and vision are defined differently, both must necessarily be related and be consistent.

For example , the vision of a technology company may be to revolutionize communications technologies to improve the quality of life of people, something that will surely never end.

3. Example: Mission and corporate vision of Apple

• Apple's mission  Contribute to improve the lives of our clients, modifying their ways of working, learning and communicating, through delicate personal computing products and innovative services.
• Apple's vision  To improve the quality of life of our clients, through three pillars: professionalism, technology and trajectory, in order to be recognized as the leading company in information, communication and entertainment technologies.