A mission statement for an organization should be a statement of its purpose and organizational focus. They serve to set expectations for consumers about the company, and to employees on what the organizational emphasis should be. They should be used as a guide when the company or a department is establishing their strategy plan. Therefore it is important that employees are familiar with, and understand, their organization's mission statement.

Select a company or organization you have some knowledge of or experience with- this can be a privately-held company, a public company, or a not-for-profit organization, and obtain and review their mission statement. Based on the mission statement and your knowledge and/or experience with the company, answer the following questions:

1) Based on the mission statement, what does the company or organization say about what business they are in and why (what services do they say they provide, who are their target customers/constituents, etc.), does the mission statement give any indication of their company values, what else does the mission statement indicate about the reason the company or organization exists?

2) Based on your personal knowledge and/or experience with this particular company or organization, how do their actions, activities, products, appear to match with their mission statement or not? Do they live up to who they say they are and how they say they will act? If yes, give examples. If no, give examples.

3) Based on your review of the mission statement, draw some conclusions about what HR practices, programs, and policies would be in alignment with and support the company or organization's mission statement?