General Motors Company’s mission statement and vision statement reflect the current situation of the global automotive industry. The company’s strategic goals focus on developing technologies to satisfy demand for ecologically sound cars integrated with information technology. Success in following the corporate mission statement and the corporate vision statement relates to how the business responds to the external competitive forces in the industry, as explained in the Five Forces analysis of General Motors Company. The corporate mission statement guides GM’s automobile business toward reaching its corporate vision of a safe and environment-friendly industry.
The corporate vision statement guides strategies throughout General Motors and its organizational structure or corporate structure. Emphasis on ecological impact influences GM’s business divisions, such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, to develop and manufacture vehicles accordingly. In relation, the corporate mission statement prompts General Motors’ operations management to apply tactics and approaches for effective technological advancement in business processes and products.
General Motors’ Mission Statement
General Motors’ mission statement is “to earn customers for life by building brands that inspire passion and loyalty through not only breakthrough technologies but also by serving and improving the communities in which we live and work around the world.” This mission statement shows GM’s holistic approach to addressing external factors that influence the business. The main points of General Motors’ corporate mission statement are as follows:
- Earning customers for life
- Brands that inspire passion and loyalty
- Breakthrough technologies
- Serving and improving communities
General Motors’ mission statement aims to gain and retain customers. To do so, the company’s brands, like Buick and Chevrolet, must serve as inspiration for customers’ passion and loyalty. General Motors’ marketing mix or 4P reflects such branding. The popularity of these brands helps attract customers to the company’s automobiles at dealerships. Thus, these brands and the other business strengths examined in the SWOT analysis of General Motors Company contribute to the achievement of the corporate mission.
Another point in GM’s mission statement is the importance of breakthrough technologies. These technologies relate to the company’s corporate vision statement, which highlights technologies for energy efficiency, zero emissions, and autonomous driving. General Motors’ corporate mission drives the business to apply technology-focused strategies in product development. Similar strategies for technologies in automotive products are also seen in competitors, such as Toyota, Ford, Tesla, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz. General Motors needs strong research and development for technological breakthroughs, to maintain competitiveness and satisfy its corporate mission statement.
Community impact is also considered in General Motors’ corporate mission. The “serving and improving the communities” component of the mission statement indicates GM’s commitment to creating a net positive impact on society. This point relates to the triple zero in the corporate vision statement. Also, the corporate mission entails General Motors’ corporate social responsibility initiatives and the attainment of an excellent corporate citizenship status. Essentially, the corporate mission statement requires the business to improve its cars and trucks in the aspects of safety and emissions.
General Motors’ Vision Statement
General Motors’ vision statement is “to lead the automotive industry in creating a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.” This new corporate vision is also known as Vision Zero; the Triple Zero Vision; and the Zero, Zero, Zero Vision statement for the automobile market. The main points of GM’s corporate vision statement are as follows:
- Leadership
- The automotive industry
- The triple zero
This corporate vision shows that General Motors aims to be the industry leader in achieving the triple zero. Leadership is a major characteristic of the automaker’s target future position. This point of the vision statement requires business strategies for GM to become an industry leader that embodies the triple zero characteristics. General Motors’ organizational culture or corporate culture helps transform the business organization into such a leader for the industry’s future triple zero condition.
The corporate vision statement specifies the automotive industry. This point indicates General Motors’ focus on the industry, instead of giving more weight to diversification into other industries. The focus on the automotive industry guides new strategy formulation for growing the business. For example, General Motors’ generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies concentrate on using non-diversification approaches for automobile development to achieve business growth.
The triple zero of the corporate vision statement addresses environmental impact issues in transportation. These issues are linked to the sociocultural, technological, and ecological trends considered in the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis of General Motors Company. The company’s goal is to be the leader in transforming the automotive industry toward a condition of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. Thus, in relation to the corporate mission statement’s goal point on technology, the corporate vision implies electric vehicles with autonomous driving technology.
The implied autonomous driving technology underscores the importance of other firms working on driverless technology. For this corporate vision statement, General Motors’ strategies must account for the strategies of such other companies, such as Waymo (a subsidiary of Alphabet, formerly Google), Apple, and Tesla, as well as Uber, which operates robotaxis in partnership with Motional (a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv). In addition, emphasis on electric cars and related technologies in the vision statement addresses General Motors’ corporate social responsibility strategy for improved corporate citizenship. This point is similar to the community-impact point in GM’s corporate mission statement.
General Motors’ previous corporate vision was “to become the world’s most valued automotive company.” In contrast, the current corporate vision statement shifts the car company toward better corporate citizenship. Both statements agree with GM’s corporate mission. For example, the corporate mission statement points to breakthrough technologies and customer loyalty, which are factors for leadership in the automotive industry. This leadership is embodied in General Motors’ previous and current vision statements. Also, both corporate vision statements relate to technologically advanced vehicles for achieving more sales and better business performance. Similarly, General Motors’ corporate mission statement emphasizes breakthrough technologies for better automobiles.
An Assessment of GM’s Corporate Mission & Corporate Vision
General Motors’ mission statement has satisfactory characteristics, based on conventions for developing corporate mission statements. For example, the automotive company’s corporate mission shows details on business approaches or strategic actions. These actions enable General Motors to reach its goals. However, the mission statement does not specify the company’s focus industry or industries, and does not indicate business outputs, which in this case should be primarily automobiles. Thus, incorporating these details can improve GM’s corporate mission as a guide for business goals and strategic objectives.
General Motors’ current corporate vision statement satisfies conventions for developing corporate vision statements. For example, GM’s corporate vision states the goal of industry leadership for the triple zero and builds on the company’s corporate mission statement. The corporate vision statement is realistic, future-oriented, applicable to long-range strategic planning for the automobile market, and clear in what it envisions for General Motors’ future.
References
- Fitzsimmons, A. B., Qin, Y. S., & Heffron, E. R. (2022). Purpose vs mission vs vision: Persuasive appeals and components in corporate statements. Journal of Communication Management, 26(2), 207-219.
- General Motors Company – Form 10-K.
- General Motors Company – When it comes to a world with zero emissions, we refuse to be number two.
- General Motors named one of the 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies by The Ethisphere Institute.
- Grünig, R., Kühn, R., & Morschett, D. (2022). Developing or Revising the Mission Statement. In The Strategy Planning Process: Strategic Analyses, Objectives, Options and Projects (pp. 43-47). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Reid, S. E., & Crawford, C. B. (2022). Crafting the Vision Statement. In Entrepreneurial Vision: A Guide for Charting and Implementing the Visioning Process (pp. 263-276). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Toh, S. Y., Tehseen, S., Mahmoud, A. B., Cheok, J., Grigoriou, N., & Opute, J. (2022). Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’ sensemaking role. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 27(2), 329-345.
- U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Automotive Industry.