MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

NAME SURNAME REG NO. MODE OF ENTRY

Tafadzwa Murungu R0645048 PARALLEL (4.2)

Kudakwashe G Chapanda R0645087 PARALLEL (4.2)

Edina Tengende R0645047 PARALLEL (4.2)

Question:

Evaluate the adequacy and relevance of vision and mission statement of any
organisation of your choice

Lecturer Mr. Mhonde

Due date 16 April 2010

Introduction

To choose a direction, a leader must first have developed a mental image of a possible and
desirable future state of the organization. This image is what we call vision. It articulates a
view of realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization, a condition that is better in
some important ways than what now exists, (Smit, 2002, pp128). According to Nickles et al
(2005) a vision is an encompassing explanation of why the organization exists and where it’s
trying to head. According to www.inc.com the vision should state what the founder
ultimately envisions the business to be, in terms of growth, values, employees, contributions
to society, and the like.

Every person has a unique combination of passions and values, shaping and defining who
they are, consciously or unconsciously. Once you find a compelling way to clearly articulate
your core value and the passions that put this core value into motion, you will create a
powerful tool that you can use as a decision criteria, a motivation or a standard to which to
live your life. This tool is your Mission Statement, (www.ezninearticles.com). Smit (2002,
127) defined a mission as an organisation’s character, identity and reason for existence. He
divided it into four interrelating parts, purpose, strategy, behaviour standards and values.

The relevance and adequacy of a mission and vision statement of an organisation is

determined by ability of these statements to meet the desired characteristics. Also in terms of
the vision statement the company must show that it is moving towards attaining that vision.
The mission statement must also reflect what the organisation is currently doing. The purpose
of this essay is to evaluate the relevancy and adequacy of the mission and vision statement of
Econet Wireless International.

Vision Statement

Econet Wireless International vision Statement - To serve by pioneering, developing and

sustaining reliable, efficient and high quality telecommunications of uncompromising
world class standards and ethics.

The implementation of new and advanced technology by Econet Wireless International for
example what is currently taking place in Zimbabwe shows that the company is moving
towards attaining high quality world class standards because advanced technology is linked to
quality. Recently the company invested US$ 500 million in new technology in Zimbabwe
thus heading towards attaining world class standards. Also in terms of pioneering the
company has done many innovative things or has pioneered in many activities for example:

 Econet was the first mobile cellular company in the world to introduce a mobile news
service of the BBC World News and South African Broadcasting Corporation news in
2004
 First mobile operator in Africa to introduce CNN news on cellular phone handsets in
2004
 First operator to introduce a duo-numbered SIM card which was launched in
Zimbabwe in 1998
 First operator from an emerging market to own a 3-G license in an OECD country in
New Zealand
 First African telecoms company to build an international satellite hub in the UK

 First mobile cellular company to introduce General Radio Packet Service (GPRS) in
Zimbabwe

 First mobile cellular company in Zimbabwe to introduce e-banking

 First mobile cellular company in Zimbabwe to introduce txt juice cards

 First mobile cellular company in Zimbabwe to introduce hot recharge

 First and only mobile cellular company in Zimbabwe to introduce electronic vouchers
distribution and it owns the transaction processing system that is used by
supermarkets to provide those services. Telecel and Netone pay econet for the use of
that system in supermarkets.

The above shows that the company is highly committed to attain its vision.

However the term “telecommunication” does not reflect what Econet Wireless International
is moving towards. This term is mainly limited to voice whilst the company is moving
towards attaining total communication. An example is the introduction of mobile internet
which is not directly linked to tele. There the best term to replace telecommunication is total
communication since tele is not reflecting what the company is heading to.
According to different theories a vision statement must be:

Future casting (www.mystrategicplan.com)

• Does our vision statement provides a powerful picture of what our business will look
like in 3 to 5 years from now?
• Is your vision statement a picture of your company’s future?

Econet Wireless International vision statement is picturing the company as a future world
class service provider and therefore the future casting characteristic is reflected in it.

Motivating ( www.icn.com and www.mystrategicplan.com )

• Does our vision statement clarify the direction in which our organization needs to
move?
• Does it clarify the future direction the company is headed?
• Does it clarify the customer focus our company should have? Does it clarify the
market position our company should try to occupy?
• Does is clarify the business activities our company it to pursue?
• Does is clarify the capabilities our company plans to develop?

• Inspire your team to make the emotional commitment necessary to

reach the future your vision lays out.

Moving towards serving the whole world is motivating. Econet vision statement shows
that it focuses all the people of the world. The business activities are clarified by the term
telecommunication services, although the term used is not adequately reflecting what the
company is actually heading towards. Reliable, efficiency, world class and high quality
are the capabilities reflected in the vision. This shows that the above characteristic is
reflected in the vision statement. However the above characteristic does not clearly
reflect the market position for example “market share leadership” or “ the best” can be
stated to show the desired market position.

Purpose-Driven
 • Does our vision statement give employees a larger sense of purpose?
• Is our vision statement worded in such a way that our employees see themselves as
“building a cathedral” rather than “laying stones.”

Inspiring

• Is our vision statement worded in engaging language that inspires and engages
people?
• Does it create a vivid image in people’s heads that provokes emotion and excitement?
• Does it create enthusiasm and pose a challenge that inspires and engages people in the
company?

Attaining world class standards as stated in the Econet wireless vision statement is a
challenging task and a very big milestone. Attaining world class starndards means ability to
serve the whole world therefore the above vision is very inspiring.

Capitalizes on Unique Competencies

• Does our vision statement build on our company’s core competencies?

• Does it build on our company history, customer base, strengths, and unique
capabilities, resources and assets?

Mission statement

Econet Wireless International Mission Statement- To provide international standard

telecommunication services to all the peoples of the world, beginning in Africa.

Econet Wireless is a diversified telecommunications group with operations in nine countries

in Africa, Europe and the East Asia Pacific Rim, offering products and services in the core
areas of mobile and fixed telephony services, Internet and satellite. The group is
headquartered in South Africa and runs each operation as a stand-alone entity with full local
board and management control. Econet currently has operations and offices in Botswana,
Burundi, Kenya, Lesotho, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK and Zimbabwe.
Therefore the above mission statement is reflecting what is on the ground as shown in this
paragraph.
The company is investing in new technology which has helped to improve its service quality
therefore meeting some of the international standards for example 3G technology.

According to www.blurtit.com, A mission statement should hold the following traits:

Stakeholders

Products and services

Self concept

Core values

Technology

Organisational culture

Clear and motivating

Stakeholders

According to www.findarticles.com a good mission statement should clearly show its

customers. Also Smit (2002) sates that “an effective mission statement must answer the
question – for whose benefit. Looking At the Econet wireless international mission
statement, it is highlighting that its customers are all the people of the world beginning in
Africa. This is an indication that it is adequate in terms of showing customers.

Products and services

The mission statement for Econet wireless international is reflecting that it is offering
telecommunication services. The product is basically telecommunication services.

Technology

A mission statement must show how well does the organization employ appropriate
technology to accomplish its goals? The above mission statement does not state how the
company is or will use technology to accomplish its goals.

Self concept
A good mission statement must answer the following question. Does the statement convey a
realistic image of itself (considering major strengths and weaknesses)? (www.blurtit.com).
This point is also supported by Nickles (2005) who states that a mission statement must
address the organisations self concept. Looking at the mission statement for Econet wireless
international truly conveys its realistic image since it is continually employing new
technology to meet international standards.

Organisational culture

A mission statement must also answer the following question according to

www.findarticles.com what is the organization's sum total of ways of doing things that align
with customers’ and employees’ needs?

It is short and simple (www.ezninearticles.com)

You can state your Mission Statement from memory, without looking it up, even when you
are under stress. A mission statement should be no more than about ten words in length, and
simple enough so that a child can understand and say it. According to www.blurtit.com a
mission statement should not be so narrow as to restrict the organisation’s activities nor
should it be too broad to make itself meaningless. For instance, ‘Manufacturing bicycles’ is a
narrow mission statement since it severely limits the organisation’s activities, while mobility
business’ is too broad a term as it does not define the reasonable contour within which the
organization could operate.

Econet wireless International’s mission statement is too narrow because it is restricting the
company to telecommunication. On the other hand the statement is short therefore can be
easily understood and kept in memory.

Domain of the business

T L Wheelen and J. D. Hunger (2006) indicated that a mission statement should answer the
question: Does the statement define a business domain and explain why it is attractive? The
mission statement at hand is attractive in the sense that the customers will like to link and
communicate with relatives across the borders. Another issue is that being established in
many countries such as UK, Botswana and Nigeria, a customer will be attracted to do
business with such a big company.

Clear and motivating

With reference to www.icn.com a mission statement must inspire your team to make the
emotional commitment necessary to reach the future your vision lays out. Moving towards
serving the whole world is motivating. This is true in the sense that an employee will feel
motivated in discovering that his pr her effort is serving a large population.

Conclusion

In summary, a mission statement show the kind of business in which the business is current
in. It is a statement of the current existence as indicated in the mission statement, the
company is in telecommunication services which is the core business. The mission statement
however is not reflecting all the services being provided by the company since mobile
internet services are not part of the telecommunication but total communication. A vision
statement shows what the organization desires to be in the future. The vision for Econet
Wireless international is to move towards providing world class services. This is shown by
its attempt to invest in new technology.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nickles W.G et al (2005), Understanding Business, 7th Edition, McGraw Hill, Boston

Smit P. J (2002), Strategic Planning Readings, Juta and Company Ltd, Lansdowne

Wheelen T. L. and Hunger J. d (2006), Strategic Management and Business Policy, 6th
Edition, Pearson, Prentice Hall.

www.icn.com

www.blurtit.com

www.ezninearticles.com

www.mystrategicplan.com