Portfolio Activity Unit 1: Walmart and Amazon mission statement analysis – Portfolio Activity Unit 1 – Studocu
Portfolio Activity Unit 1
According to Kotler and Keller (2012), “Goals indicate what a business unit
wants to achieve; strategy is a game plan for getting there. Every
business must design a strategy for achieving its goals, consisting of a
marketing strategy and a compatible technology strategy and sourcing
strategy.”
An organization’s mission statement should
Clearly outline the main purpose of the organization, and what they
do.
Mention plans by organizations on achieving the mission statement
Mention audience of the mission statement.
Clearly outline the value organization provides
For this Portfolio Assignment provide answers to below questions:
- Amazon Mission statement is “To be Earth’s most customer-centric
company, where customers can find and discover anything they might
want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest
possible prices.”
Is this mission statement market-oriented, product-oriented,
production-oriented or futuristic? Why?
- The purpose of strategic planning is to find ways in which an
organization can best use its strengths to take advantage of opportunities
within the environment.
In the past, Wal-Mart mission statement was, “We deliver low prices, every
day.” Currently, Wal-Mart’s corporate mission is “to save people money so
they can live better.”
Using the knowledge from strategic formulation and unit’s reading,
provide a possible reason for review of Wal-Mart’s mission
statement.
- Take a moment and reflect on the topics introduced in this Unit.
Formulate at least one question that arose while you were reading
the material and completing the assignments.
Was there anything in this Unit that surprised you or caught your
attention? Explain.
For assistance with reflective writing, read How to Write a Reflective
Paper.
The Portfolio Assignment entry should be a minimum of 500 words and
not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use
ideas from the readings or other sources.
In my understanding, an ideal mission statement is an explanation of company’s existence providing a clear
view of what it does either in terms of product business or providing services. According to Investopedia, “A
company’s mission statement defines its culture, values, ethics, fundamental goals, and agenda. The statement
reveals what the company does, how it does it, and why it does it.”[1]
If we analyze Amazon’s mission statement, which is “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers
the lowest possible prices.”[2]- this statement clearly summarizes what customers should expect from the
company in terms of product line and price point of view. As being a pioneer in online retailing sector, Amazon
targets the customers by offering affordable options for all sorts of products directly delivered to customer’s
door for convenience. Therefore their mission statement is effectively emphasizes its online business being both
market and product- oriented.
However, in terms of being futuristic, the mission statement could have been more specific about providing little
more detail on what the company is striving to achieve in future in the long run.
Again, by achieving a perfect strategic plan considering the opportunities in the market along with taking the
resources in account and after doing situation analysis, a company can evolve it’s mission statement to a better
version.
For instance, in the past, Walmart mission statement was, “We deliver low prices, every day.” Currently,
Walmart’s corporate mission is “to save people money so they can live better.”[3]
Here, Walmart made an amendment in their mission statement in response to the changes in competitive
environment of the retail industry. While the previous statement emphasizing on providing low prices only, the
current one not only accentuate the low price by stating ‘save people money’ but also comprehend about
improving customers life by saving money.
In present day while life is getting more expensive in every aspect, Walmart’s mission statement provides people
assurance of saving some money for better life.