Business Strategy Paper
- Find the mission statements for the three companies you resonate with. Critique the mission statement using the checklist provided.
- Accurate Medical Diagnostics
“The Mission of Accurate Medical Diagnostics, LLC, is to provide unsurpassed, on site, rapidly delivered, diagnostic testing for the benefit of the patients we proudly serve. Our goal is to exceed the expectations of those we professionally serve and to set the standard by which all Mississippi Health Care Providers are measured.”
A mission statement should be brief but comprehensive and complete as much as possible. While AMD does a good job in making their mission statement brief, it is not as comprehensive or complete as it is supposed to be. The business, industry, or discipline that the company is in was not stated in their mission statement. Yes, it may be already a little obvious that they are in the medical field but it would always be better to specify the nature of the company in order to prevent confusion and misconceptions. Even though the company, in their mission statement, included their goal and the things that it should do to reach that goal, the rationale behind such goal and actions were not specified.
- Wal-Mart
This is probably the best example of a concise but full-of-thought mission statement. However, because of the over-conciseness of the mission statement, other essential components of an effective mission statement were missed. For instance, the products or services offered by the company were not mentioned; the nature of the business and its competitive advantage against other similar organizations were also not discussed. Of course, the company’s mission statement presents goals that are achievable and match the company’s competence but its mission statement collapsed because of focusing too much on its being brief.
- Apple Inc.
“Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.”
Apple did a good job in introducing the company to the prospective clients, stakeholders etc. It was able to present a good overall image of what the company is all about, an overview of its products and services, and the type of business it is in. If there is one thing that Apple forgot to include in their mission statement that would be their reflection of their competitive advantage against other companies.
- Let’s talk size. Some large multinational organizations eclipse the size of countries. They receive pressure to be good global citizens. But what about entrepreneurial venture? How does the small firm take on the challenge of the triple bottom line?
There are many international companies which, in terms of size, can be comparable to the size or in financial terms, buying power of some smaller developing countries. However, a significant number of these large multinational companies do not have a triple bottom line foundation. Triple bottom line is an organizational concept that was first coined during in 1994 by a British business owner named John Elkington. The Triple Bottom Line principle or simply TBL suggests that the performance of an organization should not only be measured one-dimensionally but three-dimensionally, using triple bottom lines: through profit and loss, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility. Meaning, a company’s overall value and performance should be based on the gains and costs of its monetary, social, and environmental efforts. Entrepreneurs and owners of smaller-scale businesses tend to adapt faster to these trends, the TBL, compared to their larger counterparts because as they grow, they could more easily incorporate strategies that could make the company growth and expansion in line with the concept of TBL. Larger companies on the other hand who used to focus only on the profit side of managing the organization would have to make a lot of adjustments and even suffer from budget cuts just to be a proponent of this now widely used concept.
- Find two excellent sources for each of the EPEST areas that you suggest any strategist can use regardless of its industry.
The local market is a broad definition that describes a population that requires a continuous supply of goods and services that companies would happily provide for a fee. The local market is usually the potential target for start-up business owners who want to start out small before going into the big league. Of course, the profit potential would not be as big as the multinational market but involving the business in the local market would definitely be less risky. The international market on the other hand is perfect for medium to large companies which were already able to establish its name locally and desire to go into the bigger league. The earning potential could be a few times as big as the local market’s which is why many smaller companies think that being able to enter the international market is one of the biggest developmental milestones. Consequently, the risk of losing, in case things get out of hand, would also be several folds higher. A skilled strategist can easily take advantage of these two and make something more out of a small or large-scale business, regardless of its industry.
References
AMD. (2012). AMD Mission, Values, and Vision. AMD.
Apple Inc. (2012). Apple's Mission Statement. Apple Inc. Frequently Asked Questions.
Walmart Stores. (2012). Our Mission. Walmart Stores Economic Overview.
