1.0 Mission
The purpose of the mission statement is helping to define the business, services or products, and the customers. Through a mission statement, the organisation is allowed to differentiate itself from other competitors in the market by answering the questions of what does the firm do, who does the firm target to satisfy, and what benefits do they achieve. Mission statements identify and build relationships between the staff and the customers, mission, the organisation as self, co-workers, and the suppliers (Crans, Gaich & Hisscock 2009, p. 44). The existence of the organisation is explained through the company’s mission. The mission statement is the manifesto which provides a distinction from other companies in the market, provides it with an identity and at the same time proclaims to the external environment the purpose of carrying specific activities. Through a mission statement, the personnel and the management are kept together to realise the defined goals. The organisation can find and utilise the available resources to reach the objectives via the mission (Groscurth 2014, p. 1). The mission statement of the organisation should define the future of the business and what needs to be done to satisfy the customers. The statement should comply with the strategies and vision of the firm. Mission defines credibility, reliability, and consistency of all the actions that the organisation has developed to reach the set goals. While missions are considered vital for gains in the long-term and the survival of the company, a well-stated mission guides the firm on how to share resources equally. The mission declaration aims at balancing the competitive demands of the shareholders (Altıok 2011, p. 63). In combination, all these aspects of the mission statement are vital in building a competing edge for the company. Successful implementation of the mission means improved productivity from the employees and attracting more consumers while retaining older customers. As a result, the company can compete with rivals competitively and for a long duration.
On the other hand, the vision statement in an organisation describes the future regarding how it will look after the mission has been achieved. The vision is the preferred future that a firm seeks to become and it ought to include realistic information, attractive, and credible for both employees and customers. Payne (2008, p. 253), state that organisational strategies aim at focusing energies of their staff on the vision of the corporate. A vision that is plausible energises people and attracts commitment while at the same time developing meaning in the life of the employee. Importantly, a vision that is thought efficiently through provides a bridge between today and the future while ensuring the establishment of a standard for excellence. Vision is not a dream that cannot be achieved rather than something that is realistic and worth pursuing. The strategic vision should be real concerning technology, the market, the competition, regulations, economy and the societal conditions that the firm has the likelihood to face when executing the mission. The vision statement provides the organisation with a good planning projection, which helps in achieving synergy and motivation for the firm. The management and the developers of strategy should ensure that the vision is shared among the employees. If all the staff within the organisations believe in the vision, applicability becomes easy considering that the spirit of teamwork is created. Vision statements that are identified to be best have wordings that clarify the direction and path the business wants to take. The challenge in developing a vision statement is thinking creatively in terms of preparing the company for future survival. Taking into considerations the current nature of the global marketing place where changes are expected increasingly, vision statements should not be fixed. Thus, vision explanations should be meaningful, encouraging, comprehensive, and reachable. Visions ought to make employees appreciate and value the company and at the same time develop a healthy organisational culture. Employees should feel that the vision adds value to their daily operations (Altıok 2011, p. 62).
Finally, guiding values or principles are a platform that nurtures specific behaviours that the organisation desires. Some of the universal values that guide organisations include ensuring that the interests of the customers in every transaction are of foremost concern. Organisations should place themselves in the shoes of the customers to provide a unique perspective of how the company deals with customer issues and what they expect. Open and honest communication is vital for the elimination of misunderstanding and miscommunication that can hinder the provision of excellent customer service. Additionally, organisations should be guided by professional, personal, and ethical conduct. Of importance according to Kenny (2014, p. 2) is that the company purpose is not the guiding values, mission or vision.
Gaining an advantage in competition requires consistency in the operations of the organisations. Consistency contributes to efficiency and effectiveness. In this sense, the vision, mission and guiding values becomes a critical component of the organisational culture. A culture that is based on innovativeness, excellent customer services, and employee satisfaction contributes towards ensuring an organisation stands out from the rest of the market.
1.1 Culture
According to Odagiu (2011, p. 412), organisational culture may be considered an asset or liability depending on how it is utilised in the company. Research shows that most companies with a thriving organisational culture have had their employees troubled in understanding the culture in comparison to the firms with a relaxed culture to fit in. Therefore, it is crucial for the company or the human resource managers to focus on the culture as it helps in improving the performance of the organisation (Boyle 2008, p. 9).
Most organisations consider having a culture which satisfies the demands of the workers. Through research findings, researchers have developed factors which show the relationship between organisational culture and the company performance. The following were considered to be the primary attributes to the success of the firm; income generated from the company, the volume of sales made, the prices of products and the market (Ahmed and Shafiq 2014, p. 2). Rather than organisational rules, culture is one of the best ways to control and manage the employee behaviour.
To understand and manage organisational culture, the leaders have to undertake various measures which will ensure that there is a positive impact on the corporate performance (Ahmed and Shafiq 2014, p. 2). First, the employees have to co-operate fully and know the climate for change as created by the leader. Thus, it means that the culture can only be more significant if it is applied to the right departments which need change or are tied to specific organisational issues. The culture will help to minimise these issues and improve the morale of the employees in the department hence improving corporate performance (Johnson, Whittington, and Scholes 2011).
The best way to lead is to act as a role model or a champion to the other employees. The effectiveness of organisational culture management is highly determined by the behaviours of the leaders. Leaders should act as “champions” in understanding the cultural meaning that they should show their followers to adhere to the organisational culture. Employees should be punished or rewarded depending on how they implement and promote organisational culture considering that the better the familiarisation, the higher the organisational performance. When employees are fully engaged and empowered to the system, the leaders can adequately manage the culture and achieve organisational goals as one unit(Odagiu 2011, p.414).Partnerships among the employees need to be monitored and well controlled to get the best out of every individual. Therefore, it is essential to consider teamwork as one of the most critical aspects in helping new workers to understand the organisational culture. Nevertheless, collaboration helps the company to come up with unique cultural traits which improve the relationship between the workers and the employer hence contributing positively towards organisational performance.
A critical factor in setting up the organisational culture is to track and follow the cultural change among the employees to ensure that there are no issues or challenges negatively affecting the overall performance of the company. The best way to promote a winning culture to the employees is by introducing reward schemes in the company for recognising the most outstanding workers which motivate others to improve their work-rate to be rewarded (Idowu 2016, p.17).
In an aim to get a better understanding of organisational culture Johnson, Whittington, and Scholes, (2011) explains that culture can be divided into four ‘types’ or models. First, there is an internal process model which involves communication and management of information, therefore, creating stability and control in the company. The model also consists of the implementation of specific rules which must be understood by the workers to address technical matters which affect organisational performance. Secondly, there is the open system model which involves readiness and adaptability to ensure that all the workers achieve growth, external support and resource acquisition. The model is also known as the developmental culture since it helps the innovative leaders maintain positive organisational development. In this case, the employees understand that their employers are risk takers, entrepreneurs and that their rewards have to come after being linked with their positive personal initiatives to improve the company.
The other model which positively influences organisational culture is the human relations model which involves training of employees and the development of human resources to utilise cohesion and improve morale. Most organisational managers consider this model since it requires teamwork and groups, therefore, ensuring that the workers uphold and come up with new organisational traits which encourage them to achieve the goals set. Finally, the rational goal model is available in the organisation to help the leaders to plan and set objectives which will improve the efficiency and productivity of the company (Boyle 2008, p. 9). The organisations which use this model solely focus on their production and organise their employees and managers towards accomplishing specific tasks. A good understanding of organisational culture helps individuals working for the company to know why there are specific managerial reforms in the organisation and the impact they have on them and the overall production of the firm.
1.2 External Environment
In analysing the external environment, the most famous tools amongst organisations are PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal, and Environment) and Porter’s Five Forces. PESTLE analysis is a tool used for scanning the external macro-environment of a firm. Often, companies use it to understand the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environment from which the firm operates in. It can be used to make an evaluation of the market decline or growth and depict areas that an organisation should provide special attention. To achieve the effectiveness of this tool, companies should undertake the analysis regularly and systematically for purposes of identifying trends to incorporate to the strategy for a competitive edge. As mentioned earlier, six factors are commonly assessed using this tool. First, political considerations analyse the political situation of the country where the business operates. At the same time, it reads the world political cycles that have a high likelihood of affecting the business and country (Kolios, and Read 2013, p. 5025). Some of the political factors that should be assessed include government policies, the stability of government, tariff and tax laws, and entry mode regulations. The second factor is economics, involves all the economic determinants within a state, and includes interest rates, inflation rates, credit accessibility, fiscal policies, and rates of unemployment (Kolios, and Read 2013, p. 5026). Thirdly, the PESTLE tool assesses the social factors. In every country, dissimilar mindsets exist, and they have an impact on the business as they can affect the sales made by a firm. Some of the social factors that should be evaluated include cultural implications, social lifestyles, educational levels, and wealth distribution (Kolios, and Read 2013, p. 5028).
The other factor is the technological aspect. Currently, the level of technology in business is advancing continuously which is profoundly influencing how businesses operate and compete. Performing environmental analysis on factors associated with technology will enable firms to understand the recent changes within the market considering that it alters by an hour. What should be evaluated includes the rate of technological advances and obsolescence and discoveries. In addition to this, the PESTLE tool evaluates the legal factors that affect the business operations and include product regulations, competitive regulations, health and safety regulations, and patent infringement among others (Kolios, and Read 2013, p. 5031). The final factor that the PESTLE tool evaluates is factors associated with the environment. Changes in climate can affect how the business trades. Some of the environmental factors that should be assessed include weather and climate, geographical location, disposal of waste, as well as consumption of energy (Kolios, and Read 2013, p. 5032). Strategic management requires information from the PESTLE analysis to be considered useful. A combination of these two allows organisations to monitor factors that affect the business operations and at the same time seek new opportunities. A diagram of the PESTLE analysis is shown in the appendix.
The second tool utilised by organisations for external environmental analysis is Porter’s Five Forces. The quintessence of formulating strategies is to cope with the level of competition within the market. The state or level of competition within a market depends on five forces namely the supplier power, buying power, competitive rivalry, the threat of new entry, and the threat of substitution. The collective strength that these forces have determines profit potential available in the industry. For organisations, the corporate strategic goal is positioning itself in a position within the industry where it can be able to defend itself from these forces or influencing them to gain favour. By an organisation understanding how these forces impact the profitability and revenue in the market, a strategy can be developed to enhance the long-term profits. According to Porter, firms should position themselves in markets where the forces are weak, and at the same time instil changes into the forces. The first force is the supplier power which assesses how easy suppliers drive the price of services or products and is determined by the number of suppliers, the product or service uniqueness, the strength and size of the supplier, and the cost of switching from a supplier to another (Porter 2008, p. 27). Secondly, the buyer assessment determines the possibility of buyers driving the prices down and often dependent on how many buyers are in the market, switching costs and the importance of the buyer to the firm (Porter 2008, p. 27). The capability and number of competitors in the industry determine the competitive rivalry. The market can lose attractiveness if there are many competitors offering products and services which are undifferentiated. On the other hand, the threat of substitution is determined by the availability of substitute products in the market. The final force is the threat of new entrants where if a market is profitable and has no barriers to enter there will be an influx of new organisations (Porter 2008, p. 29). The Porter’s five forces diagram is shown in the appendix.
1.4 Performance Measurement
In prosperous and efficient organisations, employees are evaluated regularly during working hours to ensure that the process of performance measurement operates in accordance to the goals, strategy, and objectives set by the company (Holloway, Lewis and Mallory 2016, p. 303). Therefore, the progress towards these goals is measured and monitored while getting feedback from both the employers and employees on the effectiveness of the system. In most companies, high standards are set to ensure that the employees work to the best of their ability to get close or accomplish the tasks given (Teas 2004, p.24). However, the organisation takes care of the employees by training them and helping them improve their skills which enables them to reach these targets. Results, behaviours and accomplishments are recognised after or during the evaluation process to ensure that the workers get motivated and make them aware of the trust the company has in them.
Organisations have to be competitive, more efficient and effective to make more sales and be more productive than competitors and hence the reason organisational leaders carry out performance evaluation to make sure that there is consistency in performance (Caiden 2003, p.41). Supervisors and other human resource managers have to conduct performance evaluation process efficiently to ensure that productivity is optimised to go hand in hand with the company strategies. Importantly, evaluation should be carried out in a way that is fair to the employees and the managers.
Through performance evaluation, the organisation can monitor its progress towards achieving individual goals. The human resource managers can only make decisions regarding their employees which is either punishing or rewarding them after evaluating them(Grafton, Lillis, and Widener 2010, p.697). Performance evaluation is a critical aspect which contributes to the improvement of performance. While assessing the work done in the organisation, the manager should communicate the expectations of the company to the employees to ensure that everyone is aware of the areas to improve and the strategies to employ in an aim of reaching specific targets (Teas 2004, p.31). The only way a company can be sure that performance evaluation is working is by realising and solving the challenges preventing improvement and productivity.
Performance evaluation contributes to positive strategies which makes the company to reach its objectives such employee loyalty, job satisfaction and strong employee retention (Holloway et.al 2016). The managers encourage their employees to grow and build the organisation into a competitive company. As a result, employees become loyal to the firm thus increasing productivity. Although performance evaluation might be a solution to many issues in the organisations, some leaders or human resource managers may not know how to implement various strategies and getting positive results from evaluation. Therefore, these managers may need training on measuring performance and how to prepare assessment forms which show the strengths and skills of employees together with the progress on achieving organisational goals(Caiden 2003, p.43). Performance evaluation enables the managers to know the capabilities of their employees and give them tasks according to their ability. Managers should act as coaches during performance evaluation such that they can provide advice on the strategies to use and how to fix errors and other challenges which they face in the organisation. Subsequently, leaders should make their expectations clear regarding short-term and long-term goals to ensure that the employees are always ready whenever evaluation occurs.
Performance evaluation assists in development planning and giving feedback regarding the current performances in the company (Mikolajczyk and Schmid 2005 p.1621). Most employees want to know the qualities they possess and their overall contribution to the company and advice on how they can become better. A majority of employees believe that performance evaluation is meant to make them improve their areas of work rather than being a tool for criticism. According to Teas (2004, p.20) performance evaluation can bring about the following benefits to the company; the firm can reduce expenses in specific departments such as the reduction of cost operation and project overruns.
The company is also able to get incentive earnings since the employees become motivated therefore increasing their performances (Holloway et.al 2016). During performance evaluation, the workers get to interact with the employer, therefore, growing their engagement since they are aware of their contribution to the company and their status among the leaders. Performance evaluation ensures that the employers monitor various parameters regarding their employees (Caiden 2003 p.36). Performance evaluation can make the company change its goals or objectives since it promotes flexibility, allowing leaders to change the assignments if needed. The best way to know the strengths and weaknesses of employees is through performance evaluation according to Mikolajczyk and Schmid (2005 p.1615). The employer knows the duration in which an employee can complete a task. In most companies, evaluations have performance standards; levels in which workers can perform specific duties to meet particular organisational objectives (Grafton et al. 2010, p.703).
1.5 Synthesis
The discussions above on organisational vision, mission, and values; understanding and management of organisational culture; analysis measures for reviewing external environment, and performance measurement can improve the quality management efforts of an organisation. The importance of a company to develop a vision, mission, and values is to define the strategic direction and at the same time seek to achieve a competitive advantage. Lack of the vision of the firm to have strong values that the mission aims to undertake diminishes the chance of the organisation becoming successful. Without the firm developing a vision, mission, and values that are critical towards strategy development, it becomes impossible to identify, explain, or distinguish itself to the customers and employees alike. Organisations that lack strategy are unable to predict and prepare for the future and hence have no direction. At the same time, a firm can use these aspects as a standard for quality management. Among the benefits of a having a strong vision, mission and guiding values in an organisation is helping the employees focus on the company objectives while leaving room for making relevant changes and innovation. The performance of the company improves when the vision, mission, and values complement each other towards achieving the set objectives. Gaining competitive advantage is dependent on the conduct of the employees. Motivated and satisfied employees have the willingness to do what it takes to satisfy the customer and address any concerns that might provide competitors with a chance to convince them to switch. When all employees share the vision, mission, and guiding values within an organisation it becomes ideal to achieve the goals set using the scarce resources available. Having guiding principles that recognise customers as important shareholders in the mission and vision of the company improves the market share as many consumers are assured of additional value after consuming a service or product. Importantly, adhering to these aspects provides an opportunity to provide products and services of the highest quality.
The culture of any organisation is critical towards productivity and performance. Thus, managing and understanding culture is an important step towards achieving effective organisational performance and management of quality. The culture of a company has been described as employees having shared beliefs, shared values, and perceptions (Tsai 2011, p. 1). The culture in an organisation is a reflection of the beliefs, values, and behavioural norms that employees use to provide meaning during their normal operations and has the capability to influence behaviour, attitude and eventually the productivity levels within the organisation. Understanding the culture of the company can help to prevent potential internal conflict as well as provide an opportunity for the management to design strategies that strengthen the quality of service provided to the customers. The concept of organisational performance is affiliated to the success and endurance of a company within a certain industry. In either a manufacturing or service industry, the computation of the firm’s performance is vital. The performance of the organisation is measured using a balance scorecard, which consists of four dimensions specifically, customer perspective, financial perspective, learning perspective and, internal business perspective. Comprehensively, performance can measure consistency, quality, and productivity among others (Ahmed, and Shafiq 2014, p. 2).An essential aspect of the Balanced Scorecard tool is the learning and feedback part where the company measures the strategic capability of the organisation based on the current performance. Mujeeb, Masood, and Ahmad,(2011, p. 79) note that the key to achieving good performance quality is having a strong culture. Consequently, considering the difference in the organisational culture, it is impossible to have same strategies yielding similar results for two companies operating in the same industry. A strong and positive culture can ensure that average skilled individuals improve their performance whereas having a weak culture can result to demotivating employees resulting to underperformance and hence no achievement. Thus, the strength of the organisational culture has a direct and active role in the management of performance.
Strategic analysis has been defined as the process of conducting studies on the business environment of the organisation itself and within which it operates for purposes of formulation of strategy. The external analysis on the other hand is a process of identifying internal and external elements that have the capability of affecting the performance of the organisation. The analysis involves assessment of the level of opportunity and threat that the factors might have. The outcomes of the evaluations are later used in making informed decisions of aligning the firm’s strategies with the environment. In doing so, organisations can developed quality management strategies that seek to achieve quality effectiveness and efficiency. The global market is experiencing new changes daily often because of increased innovation and technological prowess. As a result, the level of competition has continuously become intense. While organisations can be able to control some factors, others are beyond being managed. Nevertheless, the critical aspect is ensuring that the market and environment are continuously analysed to learn new quality tactics for implementation.

1.6 Appendix

Figure 1 PESTLE Analysis
Source: Author

Figure 2 Porter’s five forces diagram
Source: Porter (2008, p. 27)

References
Ahmed, M. and Shafiq, S., 2014. The impact of organisational culture on organisational performance: a case study on telecom sector. Global journal of management and business research.
Altıok, P., 2011. Applicable vision, mission and the effects of strategic management on crisis resolve. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 24, pp.61-71.
Boyle, R., 2008. Understanding and managing organisational culture. Institute of Public Administration.
Caiden, N., 2003. Public service professionalism for performance measurement and evaluation. Public Budgeting & Finance, 18(2), pp.35-52.
Crans, F., Gaich, N. and Hisscock, E., 2009. Relationships drive transition al supply chain leaders. Healthcare Purchasing News, 33(7), pp.44-45.
Grafton, J., Lillis, A.M. and Widener, S.K., 2010. The role of performance measurement and evaluation in building organisational capabilities and performance. Accounting, Organisations and Society, 35(7), pp.689-706.
Groscurth, C., 2014. Why your company must be mission-driven. Gallup Business Journal, pp.1-1.
Holloway, J., Lewis, J. and Mallory, G., 2016. Performance measurement and evaluation. Sage Publications.
Idowu, O.E., 2016. Understanding Organisational Culture and Organisational Performance: Are They Two Sides of the Same Coin?. Journal of Management Research, 9(1), pp.12-21.
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K. 2011. Exploring Strategy, Text and Cases, 9th edition, FT/Prentice Hall.
Kenny, G., 2014. Your Company’s Purpose Is Not Its Vision, Mission or Values. Harvard Business Review. September 2014 (pg. 1-2).
Kolios, A. and Read, G., 2013. A political, economic, social, technology, legal and environmental (PESTLE) approach for risk identification of the tidal industry in the United Kingdom. Energies, 6(10), pp.5023-5045.
Mikolajczyk, K. and Schmid, C., 2005. A performance evaluation of local descriptors. IEEE transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence, 27(10), pp.1615-1630.
Mujeeb, E.M., Masood, M.M. and Ahmad, M.A., 2011. Relationship between organisational culture and performance management practices: a case of university in Pakistan. Journal of Competitiveness, 3(4).
Odagiu, C., 2011. Shaping Organisational Culture. The Impact On Performance. In International Conference Modern Approaches in Organisational Management and Economy(Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 411-415). Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania.
Payne, H. J., 2008. Targets, strategies, and topics of deception among part-time workers. Employee Relations, 30(3), 251-263.
Porter, M.E., 2008. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), pp.25-40.
Teas, R.K., 2004. Expectations, performance evaluation, and consumers’ perceptions of quality. The journal of marketing, pp.18-34.
Tsai, Y., 2011. Relationship between organisational culture, leadership behaviour and job satisfaction. BMC health services research, 11(1), p.1.