Mission and vision statements: Coca-Cola versus Wal-Mart

Strategic Toolkit: Mission; Vision Statement

Strategic Toolkit: Mission and Vision Statements

Business "toolkits" ideally contain Mission Statements and Vision Statements, along with other tools. While the Mission Statement is a concise declaration of why a business exists, the Vision Statement is a more elaborate assertion of what the business sees, hears and does to achieve the optimum outcome. The Coca-Cola Company's Statements vs. Wal-Mart's Statements reveal wordy, imprecise uses of these tools vs. pointed but hyper-abbreviated applications of the same tools.

Elements of a Good Mission Statement

A Mission Statement is concise, clear and tells why your business exists. According to Kapenda, "if your mission statement can't fit on the back of your business card, then you need to go back to the drawing board" (Kapenda, 2008).

4. Contrast of Coca-Cola vs. Wal-Mart Mission/Vision Statements

Contrasting Coca-Cola's Mission/Vision Statements with those of Wal-Mart show Coca-Cola's poor examples and Wal-Mart's hyper-abbreviated and apparently incomplete use of the Mission/Vision Statement tools.

Coca-Cola's Mission Statement is:

"Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. To refresh the world...To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...To create value and make a difference" (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010).

By Kapenda's reasonable standards, Coca-Cola's Mission Statement is far too wordy and long, unless the Coca-Cola business card is the size of a 4x6 photo. Furthermore Dwyer's standards for Vision Statements also apply because many companies' names could be placed within Coca-Cola's Mission Statement, which uses generic "business speak," does not distinguish Coca-Cola and has very little genuine meaning.

Coca-Cola's Vision Statement is:

"Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth. People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization" (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010).

Many companies' names could be placed within that statement and work just as well