The most important aspect of a vision statement is its ability to explain the company’s goals or desired status. Thus, it should be not only convincing but also inspiring or inspired. On the other hand, a mission statement is a short but comprehensive definition of what an organization does or is doing to achieve the desired status. It tells the people the business that it carries out or the industry of its specialization. In this paper, an inspiring vision is chosen from Pepsi Inc. It seeks to explain the contents of the vision statement and why it is inspiring. In addition, the paper will make a comparison between an inspiring vision statement and a non-inspiring vision statement from another company (Coca Cola Company) to show the need for an inspiring or inspired statement.
The vision statement developed by Pepsi, one of the largest soft drink and beverage conglomerates in the world, is an example of the most inspiring statements in the corporate world. It states that the responsibility of the company is to ensure that it continually improves all the aspects of the world. It states that the company has a major responsibility in improving the social, economic and environmental aspects of the world. It says that the reason for doing this is to “create a better tomorrow than today” (The Pepsi Inc., 2014). It also aims at building shareholder value by making the company a sustainable organization.
There are three aspects that make this vision statement both inspiring and inspired. First, it is worth noting that the statement informs the public that the company is concerned with social welfare- it wants to improve the world. It mentions the environment, social and economic aspects of the world. In fact, these are some of the major issues facing the modern world. For instance, environmental concerns and global warming are some of the major issues that are facing society.
Various societies believe that the corporate world should be the most actively involved in the process of resolving environmental problems. Secondly, the statement argues that the company seeks to benefit society in general through its business culture. In fact, this is an indication that the company is committed to involving itself in corporate social responsibility. The statement ends with the recognition of the importance of its shareholders (the owners). The arrangement of this statement is inspiring because it starts with an assurance of the society that the company is part of their society. It also indicates that it is a part of the solution to the social, economic and environmental problems. It ends with by recognizing its business. Although the company aims at making profits, it also seeks to improve the social welfare of the people.
On the other hand, the vision statement developed and used by Coca Cola Company, Pepsi’s major business rival, is less inspired and less inspiring. Unlike Pepsi’s statement that starts with recognizing the society and the world, Coca Cola’s vision statement begins with an explanation of its business intention “our vision describes what we need to accomplish … in order to achieve growth and sustainability”. It then proceeds to recognize the major factors that contribute to organizational business achievement. Here, it starts with “the people”, arguing that it wants to achieve a good place to inspire more workers (The Coca Cola Company, 2014).
Thirdly, it recognizes its partners, where it mentions customers and suppliers. Then, the statement recognizes the social and environmental problems facing the modern world. It argues that the organization wants to be a responsible citizen by providing support to the global society. The statement also states its major aim of making profits, which says that the need of the company is to ensure that it achieves long-term returns to its shareholders. It ends with a statement on productivity, which says that the company wants to be effective, lean and fast-moving towards achieving productivity.
I find this mission, not inspiring or inspired. This is not because of its meaning, but because of its arrangement. The statement starts by recognizing its needs instead of the needs of the people or society. It fails to convince the readers and the world in general that it is part of society. It goes directly to show the world that it is only interested in making profits rather than being part of society. It should inform the public that it is an active member of the society and an employer of an effective strategy for corporate social responsibility. In the beginning, it fails to show the public that it is part of the solution to the major social, cultural and environmental problems facing its customers. These issues are only mentioned after the company has expressed its interest to make profits.
References
The Coca Cola Company. (2014). Our company: Our vision, mission and values. Web.
The Pepsi Inc. (2014). Our mission and vision. Web.