Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Plate 2.1
Man and woman planning
Planning efforts should be forward thinking and directed toward specifi c goals. Photo courtesy of
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
While strategic plans are found at all large agribusiness companies, they are also important
for the small food processor or the sales manager for a swine genetics company. It is the
long-term time horizon that characterizes the strategic planning activity.
Any planning activity is focused on achieving some goal, on moving the fi rm in some
direction. Therefore, in many strategic planning situations, one of the fi rst steps is the
development of a mission statement or a statement of vision. A
mission statement
helps to
spell out this direction for a fi rm and describes the destination. When developing a mission
for a company or even for a department, management must think strategically about the
fi rm's business in a future time period. Briefl y stated in between one and three sentences, a
mission statement usually describes who the company is, what they do, and where they are
headed. In many cases, it has three parts:
•
Key markets (who we serve)
•
Contribution (what we do)
•
Distinction (how we do it differently)
Some examples of fi rm mission statements are shown below:
As a leading branded food company with a focus on profi table growth and inspired
by our founder's charge to “Originate, don't imitate,” we market a balanced portfolio
