Mission Statement Analysis

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization, or person, and its reason for existing. The mission statement guides the actions of the organization, spells out the overall goal, provides a path for the organization, and guides decision making. Communication plays a big role in mission statements. It taps into organizational commitment and employee attitudes. Accountability is increased of the goals the organization is working towards.

A mission statement concentrates on a key market, contribution, and distinction when an organization is trying to directly communicate with its audience. According to Kristen’s lecture in class, an organization’s mission statements need to be “meaningful” in order to communicate day to day. Organizations with good mission statements are proactive and communicate enthusiasm to their readers. Mission statements are a representation of the organization. The “looking glass self” is commonly used by organizations to communicate their identity to their targets.

The organization we chose to take a more critical look at was Anschutz Entertainment Group. According to its website, “AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns, controls or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world's preeminent facilities” such as STAPLES Center and the Verizon Theater, to name a few. It’s a for-profit organization, and since it has built a worldwide empire, its stakeholders range from city and municipal officials to community groups, staff, guests, live performers, sports teams, sponsors, and suppliers. It would also stand to reason that major organi...

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...many other companies such as Google, AEG purposely hides the inequalities that are within. It does not reveal the ‘whole’ information to the public. Instead it tries to conceal it and decides what stakeholders will think. As the critical theory suggests, to “unmask organizational domination”, stakeholders need to reflect if AEG’s statements and transparency are truly for the stakeholder’s benefits. As future stakeholders to multiple organizations, we need to think twice before believing what any organization is saying. How difficult is it to find an organization’s mission statement? What does the company and other forms of media say about this certain organization? What is their real agenda? People need to ask themselves these kinds of questions before they can say they truly understand the organization that they are stakeholders in.