EVALUATING THE ‘BAYER’ MISSION STATEMENT

A corporate mission statement is said to be derived from a company’s strategic plan after they have carefully defined their identity, understood their destination, anticipated and prepared for change(s), understood how to efficiently allocate resources to what they consider most important, agreed on a set of values that yields a culture capable of accomplishing goals, identified their opportunities and threats against existing strengths and weaknesses, and have provided a guide for all employees activities and behaviors needed to deliver expected results. More precisely, a mission statement must answer the reason for a company’s existence, the activities they are involved in, the customers they serve and the product and (or) services offered (Aguinis, 2013 pp. 60-69).
The Bayer mission statement: ‘Bayer: Science for a Better Life’ leaves one with a first encounter with the mission statement asking so many questions. It is clear that science represents the basis of their activity, but it says nothing of what type of science; mechanical, electrical, aeronautical, and so on. The logo however represents a strong brand many of us grew-up to know in the area of pharmaceuticals, having used a number of their products. There is no mention of the customers they serve or the products/ services they deliver. This, in my opinion presumes they believe that they are a house-hold name after over 150 years of existence (bayer.com).
A vision statement, in comparison with Bayer’s mission statement is usually brief, so employees can remember it; verifiably, going by the numerous products for curing deceases; bounded by a timeline; focused on science as a solution to life challenges; understandable; inspiring and a stretch considering the fact that there is no end to man’s quest for a ‘better life’ (Aguinis, 2013 pp. 71-72). It is not out of place to conclude that Bayer’s mission statement should actually be its vision statement.
Although the website contains details on the product offerings in pharmaceutical, consumer health products and crop science products, these are not reflected on its mission statement. The company’s values with acronym ‘LIFE’ that represents Leadership, Integrity, Flexibility and Efficiency would have been better off if combined with the supposed mission statement as part of the vision statement Aguinis, 2013 pp. 70-71).
The only evidence of a carefully developed strategic plan for Bayer is the set of values that is expected to build and sustain their culture. Other components of their strategic plan are not evident or at best, kept secret. Aguinis, H. (2013 pp. 67-68) explains how organizations are able to leverage on available opportunities with existing strengths and in worst scenario, faced with problems related to threats that their internal structure cannot withstand. With over 150 years of operations, Bayar has surely leveraged opportunities with existing strengths. It is also safe to assume they have provided a guide to employee’s activities and behaviors which represent standards for performance management. It is needless to mention the presence of a development plan, available to address gaps in expected and actual performance standards of employees.
References
Aguinis, H. (2013) Performance Management. 3 rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
www.bayer.com Bayer: Science for A Better Life [Online] Available from http://www.bayer.com/en/mission—values.aspx (Accessed 7 November 2015).