The document discusses the importance of aligning a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts with its core mission, vision and values. It argues that CSR should be integrated into all aspects of the company's identity and culture. An effective CSR strategy requires a specific CSR statement as well as incorporating CSR into the overall corporate mission statement. The mission statement should clearly define the company's internal purpose and its external contributions to stakeholders and society. It also examines how companies like Southwest Airlines and Starbucks have successfully aligned their CSR efforts with their mission and values.
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Mission, vision and values of the company the centre of a good CSR praxis
1. Insights
Strategy Documents
I07/2011
Public Affairs
Mission, vision and values
of the company: the centre
of a good CSR praxis
What is the purpose of the self-declaration made by a company, the elements
which make up and make sense of its identity in relation to Corporate Social
Responsibility? CSR should be based and rooted in the organizational culture of
the company, because there is no single way to understand or practice it.
What should exist is a coherent and holistic of action for correct and efficient decision making
vision of Corporate Social Responsibility and its in relation to interest groups, in the management of
integration in the activity, the business of the a good relationship with them and of a joint process
company. In fact, the socially responsible focus of value generation, as Michael Porter has recently
should be included in the company’s corporate stated in his article “Creating Shared Value”,
statement, both in its vision and in its mission published in the Harvard Business Review.
and values, which give and confer meaning and
purpose as an organization. Drawing up the CSR mission
There are two aspects, two dimensions of the CSR
On the one hand, there must be a specific and mission:
singular CSR statement of vision, mission and values
in the company, which is the focus that corresponds 1. Internal: needs that are satisfied
to the company’s style. But on the other hand, as we from those which, in turn, satisfy
said, there must exist an integration, as well as an others’ needs (external mission).
alignment, of the CSR focus within the corporate 2. External: people’s needs which are
mission, vision and values. solved: the principal contribution
to society and ‘raison d’être’.
A vision (a clear perception of what the company
wants to achieve in the medium and long run), What attributes must a good mission statement have?
without a mission (direction or objective) and
values (tools to achieve it) is nothing other than a • Authentic.
declaration of good intentions, but a mission without
• Simple.
a vision and values is a lack of a sense of proportion,
according to Antonio Argandona, professor of • Easy.
Economics and Director of the CSR and Corporate • Brave.
Governance chair at IESE Business School. • Stimulating.
• Feasible.
CSR must also make itself explicit in a series of
promises and public commitments which must not • Inspiring.
be broken or forgotten, because it means a framework • Convincing.
2. Mission, vision • Credible. constant in the company, especially as they expect
and values of the that these principles are the ones that guide the
company: the centre • Ambitious.
of a good CSR praxis actions and behaviors of their employees with the
airline’s clients.
It is also necessary to personalize and apply the
mission to each of the stakeholders. A good
This North American airline company understands
example of this is Southwest Airlines, a great case
that the best way to achieve a responsible behavior
inspired by the spirit which encourages Corporate
from its employees towards its clients and society in
Social Responsibility, especially in the labor and
general is behaving in the same manner with them,
environmental sphere.
anticipating itself and creating the necessary mood
and environment to achieve this, aligning precisely
This was the only company which grew after the
the internal mission with the external one.
9/11 terrorist attacks, even though it was a low cost
company centered on domestic passenger flights, as
Another good example along these lines is that of
were the three flights hijacked that day. In 2006,
Starbucks, whose mission is “to inspire and nurture
the company obtained, from domestic operations
the human spirit – one person, one cup and one
only, the record number of passengers in the entire
neighborhood at a time.” Starbucks represents the
US, compared to any other competing airline and
commitment of a company, from its own corporate
including international flights in this case.
statement to its last operation, with the community
in which it operates, the environment in which it
‘CSR must also make itself develops and the talent on which it relies to achieve
explicit in a series of it (respect and diversity).
promises and public
Starbucks: Mission and principles
commitments which must
not be broken or forgotten Our mission
by the company.’ To inspire and nurture the human spirit person to
person, cup to cup and community to community.
The company’s mission is “dedication to the These are the principles that guide our daily work:
highest quality of Customer Service delivered
with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual Our coffee Our stores
pride, and company spirit.” But the company adds
Partner Links Partners Our community
in its Mission statement a specific reference to its
talent management policy and its concern for its Our customers Our shareholders
employees when it states that it offers “a stable work
environment with equal opportunity for learning
and personal growth.” Source: Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011.
Southwest understands that creativity and
innovation are two key factors for the growth A shared mission
and efficiency of the company and for this reason There are different ‘owners’ of the mission
it is responsibly committed to a policy of human within a company, but a mission fails when it is
capital in which concern, respect and care are a badly drawn up, defined or applied, or it is not
necessarily shared by the entire organization and,
especially, by its management team. In many
Southwest: Commitment to customer care cases, the incoherency between the mission and
business practice has to do with the way in which
Our mission objectives are set, often without considering
the ethical dimension or the style of internal
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the
most high quality of service delivered to the customer leadership, led by the CEO.
with a feeling of warmth, individual pride and friendship
through of entrepreneurship. The mission can be a tool for public relations
or a framework for decision making, according
to Professor Argandona, two visions which are
certainly divergent, if not opposed: it inspires
internal politics and procedures, it recognizes
and confirms identity and values, and trains
managers and employees in their relationship with
other stakeholders, apart from stimulating the
motivation to allow self-regulation and internal
Source: Southwest Airlines, 2011.
control systems.
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3. Mission, vision Within the origin of the mission lie the ideals of the individual in the company (hence the importance
and values of the founder or founders of the organization, and later of the selection and direction of talent through
company: the centre
of a good CSR praxis of the management team, but in its development values, as proposed Simon Dolan, professor at
it is fundamental to establish a process of open ESADE Business School). But a company can also
dialogue to enable its continuous improvement change or suffocate personal values which can
in its application. For this reason, only when the adjust, sometimes, to a greater extent than those of
company as a whole realizes how much the mission the organization itself, to CSR standards, which we
can and does contribute, is when all can share it. see as more responsible.
‘Organizational values Furthermore, values must be defined around the
mission analyzing at the same time real values,
must be coherent, not experienced within the company, day to day, by way
contradictory, with the of a yardstick that never misleads nor fail in this
task: decision making and prioritization of issues,
personal values of each the facts.
individual in the company.’ Finally, virtues allow one to live in accordance with
values, but self-commitment, the true capacity to act,
And to achieve this shared mission the role of
and its stimulation or advocacy become key in this
communications is especially relevant, in order to
process. Virtues push, they support the experience
give a clear idea to everyone, but also to explain
of values. That is why permanent examples of
to each one what the company expects from
internal coherence with values are necessary, as well
them, what they must do and, finally and no less
as a solid pride of ownership which reinforces and
important, to give them autonomy, responsibility,
reaffirms them.
and empower them.
One of the more efficient ways to make a mission Conclusions: a change of values for CSR
operative, in line with what Professor Pablo Cardona Values in a company are changed by decision,
at IESE has posed, is to ensure that it is consistent, education, but also by reflection and meditation
that it is aligned to: on behavior itself and its consequences, which on
certain occasions leads to the conversion of these
• The strategy. through the acquisition of new habits, always
contrary to comfort or satisfaction itself.
• The operations.
• The policies. In the end, a realistic exercise is necessary to define
• The procedures. the company’s mission correctly in agreement with
• The structures. the vision and the values, as well as coordinating
it with the specific mission of CSR and its needs
and requirements.
And the shared mission is expressed in different
levels of the organization and must be reflected in the
scorecard, translated into concrete and measureable
results, combining it with specific objectives.
The function of values in
organizational change
Values are ideas (they do not need an origin) and
beliefs (as a function of a cultural context) – they are
not emotions or feelings, tastes or preferences – of the
desirable behavior of people who guide the election
or evaluation of alternatives which, in the end, rule
behavior. Hence its relevance to the debate surrounding
CSR and its implementation in organizations.
Personal values exist, but so do organizational,
collective values which do not represent the mere
sum of the personal ones, but those which belong
to an entire company and which have value in
themselves to be appreciated, considered important,
good, positive and even attractive.
Organizational values must be coherent, not
contradictory, with the personal values of each
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