Abstract
The 'raison dêtre' of each company is its mission, it is written down as a mission statement. A mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organization. It should answer to the question, 'what business are we in?'. Managers have to set strategies in order to achieve objectives and ensure the welfare of the company. These long term view strategies are actually the main components of the corporate planning. A good and relevant strategy is one of the most important aspects in the development of a company. John Argenti tells us that, from his point of view, mission should be defined once the corporate planning process is established. According him, the mission may have a bad influence on the strategy of the company if it precedes it. Some authors do not agree with him. They claim that company have to have their own mission before making strategic plans for the future. Arguments from each point of view are credible and it is interesting to analyze them and to discuss about the relationship between the mission and the corporate strategy. In this assignment, we will first explain and clarify what a mission is, and the difference between the definition of mission, mission statement, strategy and objective. Then, the main part of the assignment will be a discussion about the place and the role of the mission in the corporate planning process. We will first present the case for John Argenti's point of view . In the final part we will analyze the arguments of its detractors.
