How readable are mission statements? An exploratory study

Setayesh Sattari · LEYLAND F. PITT · Albert Caruana

67 citations0/0 files storedCorporate Communications An International Journal

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Organizational Strategy and Culture Public Relations and Crisis Communication Corporate Identity and Reputation

Abstract

Purpose Mission statements are fairly ubiquitous, particularly among large organizations. However, if they are to have a chance of achieving the desired positive outcomes, they must first be readable and comprehensible to the targeted stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue, to answer the question of whether the mission statements of large companies are readable or not. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis and appropriate scores were employed to investigate the readability of the mission statements collected from a random sample of 100 firms in the Fortune 500 annual rankings. Findings The results indicate that on average, the mission statements of the studied companies are not that readable, and that in the case of many of them, the mission statements assume the readings skills of a university graduate. Research limitations/implications The results of this paper suggest that if the target audience of a mission statement is broad, and includes stakeholders such as customers and lower level employees, then firms would do well to test the readability of their mission statements, and revise them where necessary. Mission statements are not the only tools that organizations use to communicate with stakeholder. This encourages future research on readability analysis of other communication tools in firms. A larger sample of companies and other approaches to measure readability can be included in future research. Originality/value This paper adds to the related literature, as the level of readability of mission statements has received limited attention in the past.

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References

2008Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence 1975Management. Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices.1968The Technique of Clear Writing.2012Strategic Management and Business Policy 2006Mission Statements: A Thematic Analysis of Rhetoric Across Institutional Type 1984Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education 1993Visionary leadership: Creating a compelling sense of direction for your organization 1991Creating a sense of mission

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