Running head: MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES

Mission, Vision, and Values
Valerie M. Kramer
University of Phoenix
Mission, Vision, and Values A company’s mission identifies the scope of operations and defines the uniqueness of the organization (Pearce & Robinson, 2004). This paper provides background on Marriott International, Inc (Marriott) before delving into the company’s stated current mission and vision statements. Revisions to the mission statement are provided and the expected impact to the culture of the organization is explored. Finally, this paper addresses some important considerations on the effect on the leadership of the suggested mission statement revisions.
Marriott International, Inc.
Background
Marriott is a global hospitality company operating more than 2,600 lodging facilities, primarily in the U.S., but also in 69 other countries and territories (Datamonitor, 2009; Datamonitor, 2006). The corporation has developed several brands in the mid to luxury sectors of the hotel industry, including The Ritz-Carlton in the luxury sector; Marriott Hotels and Resorts, and Renaissance Hotels and Resorts in the upscale sector; Courtyard by Marriott in the upper mid sector; and Fairfield Inn by Marriott in the mid-scale market. Extended stay properties, time-shares and golf finish the list of property types owned or operated by Marriott (Datamonitor, 2009; Marriott International, Inc., 2009a). The company had $12.9 billion in revenue during 2007, earning a net profit of nearly $700 million through the efforts of approximately 151,000 employees (Datamonitor, 2009). That revenue held steady during the difficult economic conditions of 2008, at $12.8 billion, with net profit declining to almost $400 million (Marriott International, Inc., 2009b). The company has received numerous awards and has been ranked on some of the most prestigious lists of stellar companies. Some noteworthy examples from 2009 include the Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Sustainability, Top 50 Companies for Executive Women, Top 50 Companies for Diversity, Top Ten Companies for Working Hispanics, 100 Best Companies to Work For, and the Sustained Excellence Award (Marriott International, Inc., 2009c). These awards are a good indicator of the leadership of the company, which starts with the mission and vision.
Mission and Vision Statements Marriott has not disseminated mission and vision statements labeled as such in the annual reports or on the company website. A thorough search of the University of Phoenix library and the internetliterature review revealed isolated mission statements for individual brands and properties, but even these were sporadic. However, the annual report (Marriott International, Inc., 2009b) provides the following mission statement type guidance for the company. People: Our business is all about people. That’s why we view our “spirit to serve®” culture of more than 80 years as a source of strength that our competitors can’t easily replicate. We strive to create an inclusive environment where the talents and unique ideas of 300,000 employees at our managed and franchised properties worldwide can flourish. When our employees feel respected and valued, we know that they’ll make our guests, suppliers, owners and franchisees feel the same way too. This is more than a philosophy — it’s a strategy that works: FORTUNE® magazine named Marriott International one of “America’s Most Admired Companies,” (Marriott International, Inc., 2009b). Places: Everyone has a memory made at Marriott. It might have been the business trip where you gave a “breakthrough” presentation. Or your first visit to a country where you embraced a new culture and its traditions. Maybe you honeymooned with Marriott or saw your child work up the courage to proudly jump into one of our pools. Through a lifetime of journeys at our hotels across the globe, you can fulfill your deepest aspirations — and keep building cherished memories (Marriott International, Inc., 2009b). Purpose: We’ve always believed that in addition to operating our company profitably, we must do it responsibly. We are focused on these key issues that are aligned with our business: shelter and food, environment, readiness for hotel careers, vitality of children, and embracing diversity and inclusion. Last year, we announced Spirit To Preserve SM, our strategy to reduce our environmental footprint and combat climate change. The plan calls for reducing waste, water and energy; greening our supply chain; building greener hotels; engaging employees and guests to take action; and helping to protect the rainforest (Marriott International, Inc., 2009b). When directly questioned about his vision for the next five years, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) replied that the future would be “to continue to foster, maintain and improve our company culture” (Marriott, 2008, para. 2). Embedded within the CEO’s profile and biographic information is his vision for Marriott to be the world leader in lodging (Marriott International, Inc., 2009d). Apparently, the CEO has not developed a clear vision statement, which is likely to hamper the attainment of goals. According to Pearce and Robinson (2004), including basic information such as why the company is operating, economic goals, philosophy, core competency, competitive advantages, target customer base, and responsibilities provide a framework for a mission statement. The existing statement addresses some of those issues, but has neglected the economic goals, why the company is operating, and the targeted customer base. A suggested revision to the mission statement would be an overarching statement of the fundamental reason the company is in business, whether that is to maximize shareholder wealth, to provide growth opportunities for individuals, to improve the communities in which the company operates or some combination. The current statement does not provide guidance on resolving conflicts between these stakeholders. Another addition would be to add an economic goal of becoming the world leader in lodging, whether that is measured by number of rooms sold, number of properties, revenue, or net profit remains to be determined. The company appears to focus on long and short term travelers in the mid to luxury sectors and this information would be good to include in the mission statement as well. The tone of the current mission statement is friendly and informal, in keeping with the espoused desire to provide an inclusive, “home-like atmosphere” (Marriott International, Inc., 2009e, para. 1) and should be maintained with the new additions. Good The mission and vision statements provide guidance in making decisions. Policies and rules are useful, but cannot cover all possible situations. Well-written and fully supported mission and vision statements can assist all employees in making those daily large and small decisions that lead a company towards the vision or away from the vision. Marriott has provided specific core values which reaffirm and reinforce the culture of the company (Marriott International, Inc., 2009e), but has not provided a mission statement in the traditional sense, or a vision statement.
Effects of Mission Changes The revisions to the mission statement are unlikely to have a significant impact on the culture of the organization, but may require the leadership to analyze the process by which the mission and vision are developed and disseminated. The strategic management process appears to be primarily the output of J. W. Marriott, the CEO and Chairman of the Board, who owns over 15% of the outstanding stock in the company (MSN Money, 2009). As noted by Beinhocker and Kaplan (2002), the real strategies for the company may be made informally through conversations. Providing a stated mission and vision statement may have the unintended effect that the company is less open to change initiated from the customers (Shoemaker, 2005).
Conclusion
Mission and vision are the guiding lights for an organization to use in everyday decisions to achieve the company’s goals. Although Marriott has developed a mission statement, several key elements were absent. Suggested revisions would incorporate the missing information. The company lacks a clearly expressed future vision, which may be a result of the concentration of power in a single individual within the company. By incorporating the suggestions in this paper, Marriott can create a mission and vision statement process that incorporates a wider variety of inputs.

|WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS |
|Item |Description |Percents |
|1 |Content and Conceptualization |60/60% |
|2 |Logical organization of thoughts, ideas and structure |20/20% |
|3 |Spelling, Grammar, APA format, etc. |59/20% |
| |Total |99/100% |

Points: 5.94
a. Identify the organization for which you would like to complete or are considering completing a strategic plan. You may focus this study on a specific department, group, division, or function, within the organization.
b. Provide a brief background of this organization, including its products/services and customers.
c. Look for the organization’s mission and vision statements. Modify or improve them to achieve as much clarity as possible.
d. How do the mission, vision, and values aid the organization in reaching its desired end state?
e. What components of the strategic management process need to be analyzed in light of the new strategy?
f. What effect will the outcomes of the new strategy have on the leadership and culture of the organization? How will the outcomes affect stakeholders? References
Beinhocker, E. D. & Kaplan, S. (2002). Tired of strategic planning? McKinsey Quarterly, (2) 48.
Datamonitor. (2009, February). Marriott International, Inc., Retrieved May 26, 2009, from Business Source Complete database.
Datamonitor. (2006, December). Hotels & Motels Industry Profile: United States, Retrieved May 26, 2009 from Business Source Complete database.
Marriott International, Inc. (2009a). Corporate profile. Retrieved May 26, 2009 from http://www.marriott.com/news/default.mi?marrBrandCode=NA
Marriott International, Inc. (2009b). Marriott International, Inc. 2008 annual report. Retrieved May 26, 2009 from http://investor.shareholder.com/MAR/Marriott_08AR/pdf/Marriott_2008_AR.pdf
Marriott International, Inc. (2009c). Awards & recognition - corporate. Retrieved May 27, 2009 from http://www.marriott.com/news/corporateProfile/awardsRecognition.mi
Marriott International, Inc. (2009d). J.W. Marriott, Jr. Retrieved May 27, 2009 from https://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=jwmarriott
Marriott International, Inc. (2009e). Core Values. Retrieved May 26, 2009 from http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/coreValues.mi
Marriott, J. W. (2008, May 7) My vision for the future of Marriott . . . our corporate culture. Re Retrieved May 26, 2009 from http://www.blogs.marriott.com/search/default.asp?item=2200885
MSN Money. (2009). Marriott International, Inc.: ownership. Retrieved May 27, 2009 from http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Holding=5%25+Ownership&Symbol=MAR
Pearce, J.A. & Robinson, R. (2004). Strategic Management. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Shoemaker, S. (2005, January). Customer service. Hospitality Design, 27(1), 20-20.