Name/Arwa hisham elsayed Ibrahim

ID/194002

Characteristics of Mission and Vision

Statements
 1. Introduction
• Definitions:
• Mission: a foundational statement that describes the purpose of the university’s existence. It
answers the questions ‘why do we do what we do' and 'who do we serve'. For UH Hilo, the
mission statement should distinguish us from other universities within the UH System and
highlight our unique attributes.
• Vision: an image or description of the university community we aspire to become in the future. It
answers the question, ‘if we can achieve what we want to do, what will we look like in X years
time?’

2. Characteristics of a ‘Good’ Mission Statement

• There are no hard and fast rules to developing a mission - what matters most is that is generally
be considered to be an accurate reflection and useful summary of UH Hilo and ‘speaks’ to our
stakeholders. What follows though are some general principles that we could bear-in-mind:
1.Make it as succinct as possible. A mission statement should be as short and snappy as
possible - preferably brief enough to be printed on the back of a business card. The detail which
underpins it should be mapped out elsewhere.
2.Make it memorable. Obviously partially linked to the above, but try to make it something that
people will be able to remember the key elements of, even if not the exact wording
3. Make it unique to you. It's easy to fall into the 'motherhood and apple pie' trap with generic statements
that could equally apply to any institution. Focus on what it is that you strive to do differently: how you
achieve excellence, why you value your staff or what it is about the quality of
the student experience that sets you apart from the rest.
4. Make it realistic. Remember, your mission statement is supposed to be a summary of why you
exist and what you do. It is a description of the present, not a vision for the future. If it bears
little or no resemblance to the organisation that your staff know it will achieve little
5. Make sure it's current. Though it is not something which should be changed regularly, neither should
it be set in stone. Your institution's priorities and focus may change significantly over time - perhaps in
response to a change of direction set by a new, or major changes in state/federal policy. On such
occasions the question should at least be asked: 'does our current
mission statement still stand?'
 3. Characteristics of a ‘Good’ Vision Statement
• There is no one formula to develop a vision. What matters is its appropriateness to UH Hilo and
the direction it sets for the institution. There are though some general principles that may be
helpful to us:
1. Be inspirational. The vision statement is supposed to challenge, enthuse and inspire. Use
powerful words and vivid phrases to articulate the kind of institution you are trying to become. This is
your chance to lift your institution's gaze above the grind of day-to-day gripes and problems and to focus
attention on 'the bigger picture' and the potential rewards that await
2. Be ambitious. If you set your sights on being 'within the top 10' the chances are that the best you will
come is 10th. If your real aim is to hit the top 5, why not say so and go for broke? What targets you set
and how high you aim will, in themselves, also say something about you as an organisation. Ambitious,
perhaps even audacious targets will help create the impression of an organisation that is going places, that
aims high and demands high standards from its staff and students in a way that comfortable, 'middle-of-
the-road' benchmarks will not
3. Be realistic. This may sound odd following on immediately from a call to 'Be ambitious', perhaps even
contradictory, but it is an important part of the balancing act that is required. For just as the purpose of the
vision is to inspire and enthuse, it is equally important that this ambition is tempered by an underlying
sense of realism. People need to believe that what is envisaged is actually achievable; otherwise there is
no reason for them to believe or buy in to it. It is perfectly possible to be both ambitious and realistic and
it is through successfully marrying these two forces that the best vision statements will be formed. Stating
that you will become 'ranked in the top 3 in the student satisfaction league table within 5 years' may be
both ambitious and realistic if you currently sit at number 7, but sound far less convincing if you currently
reside at number 57
4. Be creative. Albert Einstein once said that 'imagination is more important than knowledge.'1 Of
course, there is nothing wrong with saying that you will 'deliver world-class learning and teaching
standards but it is probably a safe bet that at least a dozen other institutions will be saying the same thing.
Just as a commercial company may need to think creatively in order to identify gaps in the market, so too
you may need to think imaginatively about what your vision is and how you describe it to help stand out
from the crowd
5. Be descriptive. Unlike with your mission statement, there is no pressure to pare your vision down to
the bone. Of course you want to be concise (indeed many of the best examples of memorable visions to
tend to be so), but there is no need to enforce an arbitrary limit on its length. Take as much space as you
need to get your vision across
6. Be clear. As with your mission statement it pays to avoid jargon, keep sentences short and to the point
and use precise, uncluttered language. Otherwise you risk diluting or losing your message amongst the
background 'noise'
7. Be consistent. Though bearing in mind their different purposes, there should still be an element of
continuity between your mission and vision statements, or at least some careful thought and discussion
given as to why this is not the case. At the same time, the vision need not be constrained by the current
remit of the mission. Perhaps the institution is keen to explore new areas in the future: to become the
region's conference venue of choice, for example, in which case this would need to be reflected in the
mission statement in due course(sian et,.al 2010)