Introduction
This research paper presents a comparison and contrast of three companies’ mission, vision, and values statements, utilizing balanced scorecards as the tools of strategic planning. The select companies are Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, and General Motors. This research intends to investigate each company and establish its strategic direction based on its mission, vision, and values. In this paper, an in-depth analytical assessment is carried out to establish the basis of the core belief of the companies. For each select company, the established purpose is further measured against the conventional real-world expectation of such institutions to determine consequential strengths and weaknesses impacting the desired strategic direction. This paper appreciates that a company’s strategic focus is essential as the details provide the basis for planning and organizing.
Strategic Direction of the Companies
Brief History
Toyota Motor is one of the world’s major automakers with a significant global market share. Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automaker based in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan (Toma & Naruo, 2017). Toma and Naruo (2017) note that in 1958, Toyota Motor debuted the Crown, the company’s first premium vehicle. Volkswagen was founded in 1937 in Berlin by the German Labour Front (Jacobs & Kalbers, 2019). Jacobs and Kalbers (2019) acknowledge that the most significant benefit of Volkswagen vehicles is their appealing design that provides a comfortable experience and reliability. General Motors was established as an American multinational automobile manufacturer in Detroit, Michigan (Weixelbaum, 2018). The company’s history spans a wide range of industrial activities worldwide, primarily concentrating on motorized vehicles and engineering and manufacturing.
The Mission of the Companies
The background of these companies helps in contextualizing the strategic direction adopted by the management. For instance, Toyota Motor’s mission is to attract and retain consumers by providing high-value products and services and the most enjoyable customer experience in America (Madoh et al., 2019). In the case of Volkswagen, the company has no formal mission statement. Its objective, however, is to provide appealing, safe, and ecologically sound automobiles that can thrive in an increasingly competitive. Toyota Motor focuses on the customer, improved internal processes, and growth in a balanced scorecard. Toyota Motor and Volkswagen seem to have much more focus on offering excellent customer experience for retention.
General Motors’ mission, on the other hand, has been to gain consumers for life by creating brands that inspire passion. Similar to Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, General Motors relies on groundbreaking technology to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction. However, General Motors is unique as the company also focuses on helping and enhancing the communities in which the company lives and works across the world (Knerr, 2019). In terms of the balanced scorecard, General Motors seems to focus on finances and customers. The mission statement demonstrates a comprehensive strategy to deal with external influences that affect the organization. All the companies seem to be focused on customer acquisition and retention.
The Vision of the Companies
In terms of the vision of the select companies, there are significant similarities, but a divergence emerges regarding contributing to future electric vehicle technologies. For instance, Toyota Motor’s vision is to lead future mobility solutions, enriching people’s lives worldwide by providing the safest and most sustainable modes of transportation. Volkswagen aims to make the globe mobile, sustainable, and accessible to everybody. The corporate ambition of General Motors is to become the world’s most valuable automobile firm. While Toyota Motor and Volkswagen appreciate the need for a sustainable future, General Motors’ vision seems to center on leading the automaker industry. Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, therefore, have a more futuristic idea of innovating toward fighting climate change. The desire to shift towards new technologies could also be seen in the company’s values.
Values of the Companies
Toyota Motor’s values are imagination, creativity, humility, compassion, and creativity. On the other hand, Volkswagen’s values include accountability, cooperation, a servant’s mindset, and honesty. General Motors’ values are based on innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continual improvement. In all these companies, the values tend to have similar motives of creating an environment where employees can innovate and seek higher levels of customer satisfaction. However, Toyota Motor’s values of imagination and compassion are superior considering the increasing dynamics in sustainable energy use and increasing competition. In either case, there are notable strengths and weaknesses relative to the global trends in the automobile industry.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the strengths of the strategic direction of the companies is the articulate perspective of their mission, vision, and values. The companies appreciate their roles in society mainly to provide products that improve the quality of life. However, Toyota Motor and Volkswagen have a relatively more aggressive mission and vision for their future. The strength of these companies is primarily in recognition of the need to innovate for future electric automobiles. One significant weakness in all these strategic directions is the limited focus on the global climate change issues causing havoc today. A sense of urgency needs to be incorporated as part of the strategic direction of the companies.
Conclusion
Today, the damages from car emissions, among other causes, are already being felt with the increasing destruction associated with climate change. Several interventions can be implemented, including increasing funding for green energy research. Although there are shortcomings in some of the statements, in essence, the strategic direction of the companies shows that the firms recognize the need for adopting sustainable futuristic ideas. Therefore, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, and General Motors should emphasize a mission, vision, and values that help the world reduce carbon emissions.
References
Jacobs, D., & Kalbers, L. P. (2019). The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal and accountability. The CPA Journal, 89(7), 16-21.
Knerr, D. (2019). Fins: Harley Earl, The rise of General Motors, and the glory days of Detroit by William Knoedelseder. Michigan Historical Review, 45(1), 140-141.
Madoh, A., Alenazi, J., Alkhamees, L., & Panwar, A. (2019). Case study on market mix strategies of Toyota Motor Corporation. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education (APJME), 2(3), 70-78.
Toma, S. G., & Naruo, S. (2017). Total quality management and business excellence: The best practices at Toyota Motor Corporation. Amfiteatru Economic Journal, 19(45), 566-580.
Weixelbaum, J. (2018). At the Crossroads Of Fascism: The Decision of Ford, General Motors, and IBM to Do Business with Nazi Germany. American University.