Question

2- Explain the difference between a firm's vision and its mission. How might these impact the actions of an organization?

Answer 1

A clear and lucid outline of a firm's vision and its mission is one the most important factors which motivates employees and attracts customers. They are a summary of the goals and purpose for the existence of the firm.

Although people tend to blur the line of difference between the two, it is important for a firm to have both a vision and a mission. Let's see some differences between vision and mission of a firm:

The major difference between vision and mission is the difference between 'tomorrow' and 'now'-

The vision is what the firm wants to do in the future. It is about what the firm wants to be and where it aims to be. The vision is the guiding principle which gives direction to a firm. It lays down why a firm exists and where it wants to be in the future it is about giving hope and taking steps to reach its desired position. The vision should be realistic and achievable, only then would the workforce be really able to carry out its task fulfill their tasks.

The mission is what the firm does in the present, which will surely lead to the fulfillment of its vision. The mission of a firm discusses about what is being done now. A mission talks about what a firm does and what differentiates it from others in the market. There is no doubt that a clear and achievable mission leads to an increased zeal and motivation in the employees to complete the mission and reach the envisioned goal.

For example: If we consider Google; its mission is to arrange data around the world and make it easily accessible and helpful. Its vision is to give access to the world's data in a single search. It can be said that Google has been successful in fulfilling both its mission and its vision.

A vision and mission thus give a quick and clear view about the organization and help understand the reasons for its existence. They enable any outsider to understand the motives of the company and also motivate its own employees to work towards fulfilling the vision and mission of the firm.

Actions of an organization are based on the vision and the mission that it has laid out. Ultimately, all that an organization does is act in way which leads to the fulfillment of the present mission and the future vision. It is thus logical and right to say that the mission and the vision guide the action of the organization.