Vision and Mission Statements Strategic planning

Based on the situation at Saint Francis de Sales Schools, the organization is suffering from a lack of vision and confusion with regards to its mission. There is not enough forward-looking perspective in the organization; the school has continuously been resting on its laurels instead of planning for the future (Klag, Giroux & Langley, 2012). Instead of focusing on the changes in the society and how the school should adopt to meet them—such as the rise of technological advancements in the Digital Age, and the demands of demographic shifts—the school has instead dithered away without growing its list of donors or building for tomorrow.
Therefore, vision statement for Saint Francis de Sales Schools should be: To be the number 1 leader in secondary school academic performance and all-around accomplishment in England.
The mission statement for Saint Francis de Sales Schools should be: 1) To form well-rounded students by adopting a balanced approach to creating a Catholic environment while providing students with a well-rounded curricular and extra-curricular programs; 2) to provide students with an environment in which they can form and establish life-long friendships; 3) to provide students with attractive physical facilities; 4) to incorporate technology into the curriculum and learning environment in a meaningful and supportive way so that students can develop top-notch technological skills and knowledge that they can use to further their advancement in whatever field they choose to pursue in adulthood; and 5) to raise funds through donors and institutions by communicating the mission and vision statements of the school, touting its past record, and promoting an ideal depiction of where the school is heading in the 21st century to help students achieve their dreams and prepare them to attain their ambitions.
Criteria
Vision Statement
The criteria for establishing a quality vision statement should be based on possibilities instead of probabilities (Kim & Mauborgne, 2002). The reason it is called a vision statement is because it is meant to give people a big vision—an ideal depiction of what the company aims to be. The criteria for a strategic vision should be:
1. It provides a picture of where the organization should be in 5 to 10 years—what it should look like, what it will have achieved, and where it will be going from there.
2. It should represent an ideal situation for the organization—an all-the-dreams-have-come-true type of image: in other words, the strategic vision statement should represent the height of the organization’s accomplishments—the peak of the mountain, the goal that might seem impossible to some but not to a true visionary.
3. It should clarify the direction in which the organization has to go; there should be no confusion or ambiguity about where the organization is heading when the vision statement is read.
4. It should be phrased in such a way that stakeholders and workers have a sense of the macro—the big picture, the larger purpose of the organization.
5. It should offer guidance for managerial decision-making, shaping the organization’s strategy and impacting how the organization is run from that point on (Kouzes & Posner, 1996).
Mission Statement
The criteria for establishing a quality mission statement should be:
1. It should be informative—this means it should give a sense of the organization’s most meaningful objectives and goals—not goals that are 20 years off but goals that the organization aims to work on right now and over the course of the next few years.
2. It should be simple and specific—the mission statement should not be burdened by too many details but should rather list the points that the organization intends to aim for so as to improve itself and increase the benefits accrued by stakeholders of the organization.
3. It should be memorable—the statement should be tidy and one that sticks in the mind of the public so that people can easily recall what the organization is all about; this helps to build the organization’s brand and create a sense of trust and respect between the organization and the public.
4. It should be achievable and measurable—the goals of the mission statement should not be so far out there that they are unrealistic; on the contrary, the organization should possess the means to reach the goals and success should be something that can be measured easily.
5. It should be able to achieve stakeholder buy-in—the mission should be attractive to stakeholders, prompting them to believe in the organization and what it is offering to the public.
Measuring the Statements
Based on the criteria provided, the organization’s mission and vision statements for the most part measure up well enough to help the school rejuvenate itself and start planning for the future. As Mullane (2002) points out, the mission and vision statements must address issues that are relevant to the company’s overall daily operations—otherwise they have no purpose or significance.
The Vision Statement Meets the Criteria
The vision statement provided here identifies clearly where the organization needs and wants to be in the next decade: it wants to be the number 1 secondary school—not just in the school district, but in all of England. And what is the basis of that performance? All-around accomplishment, which is what stakeholders want. The school in the past has been known for focusing mainly on religious studies, whereas families today simply want their children to go to school in a Catholic environment. They are not necessarily interested in focusing so much of the curriculum on religion. Instead, they would rather see students learn more about technology and have more extra-curricular activities like sports or debate that can form them in a general manner (Klag et al., 2012). The school can satisfy stakeholders with its vision, which does meet the five criteria provided above.
First, it shows where the school wants to be in the five to ten years: it wants to restore its spot at number one. However, the vision is also ambitious as it seeks the top of the mountain, not just a platform in the foothills. Thus, the school is striving to be not just number one in the district but number one in all of England. This will make it attractive to families who are outside the district and who are thinking they want to come to the district to put their children in the school. This is an important feature of the vision because of the changes in population. The school needs to do what it can to attract families to the area.
Second, it provides an ideal situation: the school being number 1 in the country would be the best possible outcome and so it is the one the organization is shooting for and believes it has the tools to achieve. It shows confidence in the school’s character and drive and thus makes it a great vision statement.
Third, it gives direction on where the school wants to be heading. It shows that the school is not just willing to be competitive with local competition: rather, the school wants to be the best in England and wants to produce well-rounded students who can succeed.
Fourth, it does give stakeholders a sense of the big picture. The school has to change and look beyond the district if it wants to maintain its former glory: it has to grow and keep climbing the mountain. It should be full of life and well-phrased and the vision statement certainly is that.
Fifth, it provides guidance so that decision-makers know what they should be thinking about when they make important decisions for the organization. Will this help us to be number one in the country? Will this appeal to the most important families and be something that will bring the accomplished families to the school? These are the questions they will ask themselves when they focus on this vision statement and apply it to the everyday decisions they will make.
The Mission Statement Meets the Criteria
The mission statement is informative and shows what kind of students the school needs to start producing—well-rounded ones rather than ones who are primarily focused on religion. It shows what kind of environment the school needs to create, what type of facilities it needs to provide, and what it must be doing with technology. It also addresses the need to obtain more funding so that it can grow. Thus, it is a very informative mission statement.
It is also simple and not bogged down on details. It does not provide a step by step analysis of how each goal will be achieved, but rather simply explains what the goals are and why they are important. It is precise and specific but not endless worded and written.
Thus, it is also memorable and can stick in the mind easily. Anyone who reads this mission statement will realize that this is a school that is focused on becoming better and bigger in every way: it wants to re-orient its curriculum, it wants to build out its campus and renovate to bring in better facilities, and so on. The statement is not one that is going to be forgotten simply because it is highlighting such major goals that would cause anyone to stand up and pay attention.
Fourth, each of the goals is achievable and measurable. The funding it secures can be measured and should be achievable based on the school’s reputation and contacts. Developing a new curriculum and enhancing facilities will be easy once the funding is secured.
Fifth, the mission statement will promote stakeholder buy-in. Those who hear it will easily be able to believe in the school and its mission because the school has covered all the basic areas that need to be covered in order to appeal to stakeholders. The mission statement shows that the school is listening to what the people are saying and is responding to their needs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the vision and mission statements should promote the ideals and goals that the organization wants to achieve. It should show where the organization aims to be in the coming years and how it aims to get there. The mission statement and vision statement provided herein for Saint Francis de Sales Schools accomplish just that and meet all the criteria for what makes a strategic mission and vision statement.
References
Kim, W. C. & Mauborgne, R. (2002). Charting Your Company’s Future. Harvard Business Review, June 2002. Harvard Business School, Boston, MA
Klag, M., Giroux, H., & Langley, A. (2012). Strategic planning at Saint Francis de Sales Schools. International Journal of Case Studies in Management (Online), 10(2), 1-20.
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (1996). Envisioning your Future: Imagining Ideal Scenarios. Futurist, 30, 14.
Mullane, J. V. (2002). The mission statement is a strategic tool: when used properly. Management Decision, 40(5), 448-455.