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CHAPTER 1 • THE NATURE OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 11

BBDO, Cadbury Schweppes, General Motors, Ellie Mae, Cendant, Charles Schwab, Tyco,
Campbell Soup, Morgan Stanley, and Reed-Elsevier. This new corporate officer title repre-
sents recognition of the growing importance of strategic planning in the business world. 11
Strategists differ as much as organizations themselves, and these differences must be
considered in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategies. Some strate-
gists will not consider some types of strategies because of their personal philosophies.
Strategists differ in their attitudes, values, ethics, willingness to take risks, concern for
social responsibility, concern for profitability, concern for short-run versus long-run aims,
and management style. The founder of Hershey Foods, Milton Hershey, built the company
to manage an orphanage. From corporate profits, Hershey Foods today cares for over a
thousand boys and girls in its School for Orphans.

Vision and Mission Statements
Many organizations today develop a vision statement that answers the question “What do
we want to become?” Developing a vision statement is often considered the first step
in strategic planning, preceding even development of a mission statement. Many vision
statements are a single sentence. For example, the vision statement of Stokes Eye Clinic in
Florence, South Carolina, is “Our vision is to take care of your vision.”
Mission statements are “enduring statements of purpose that distinguish one business
from other similar firms. A mission statement identifies the scope of a firm’s operations in
product and market terms.” 12 It addresses the basic question that faces all strategists:
“What is our business?” A clear mission statement describes the values and priorities of an
organization. Developing a mission statement compels strategists to think about the nature
and scope of present operations and to assess the potential attractiveness of future markets
and activities. A mission statement broadly charts the future direction of an organization.
A mission statement is a constant reminder to its employees of why the organization exists
and what the founders envisioned when they put their fame and fortune at risk to breathe
life into their dreams. Here is an example of a mission statement for Barnes & Noble:

Our mission is to operate the best specialty retail business in America, regardless
of the product we sell. Because the product we sell is books, our aspirations must
be consistent with the promise and the ideals of the volumes which line our
shelves. To say that our mission exists independent of the product we sell is to
demean the importance and the distinction of being booksellers. As booksellers we
are determined to be the very best in our business, regardless of the size, pedigree,
or inclinations of our competitors. We will continue to bring our industry nuances
of style and approaches to bookselling which are consistent with our evolving
aspirations. Above all, we expect to be a credit to the communities we serve, a
valuable resource to our customers, and a place where our dedicated booksellers
can grow and prosper. Toward this end we will not only listen to our customers
and booksellers but embrace the idea that the Company is at their service.
(www.missionstatements.com)

External Opportunities and Threats
External opportunities and external threats refer to economic, social, cultural, demo-
graphic, environmental, political, legal, governmental, technological, and competitive
trends and events that could significantly benefit or harm an organization in the future.
Opportunities and threats are largely beyond the control of a single organization—thus the
word external. In a global economic recession, a few opportunities and threats that face
many firms are listed here:
• Availability of capital can no longer be taken for granted.
• Consumers expect green operations and products.
• Marketing has moving rapidly to the Internet.
• Consumers must see value in all that they consume.
• Global markets offer the highest growth in revenues.