Subject Guides: MCOM 320: Business Case Strategy

The Challenge of Becoming BYU

Calder, William B. 2014. "Achieving an Institution's Values, Vision, and Mission." College Quarterly, NaN. https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/edsbyu.eric.EJ1038728. The measures of institutional success are more meaningful through the further realization of the institution's vision and mission and how the institution is supporting its declared values through various initiatives and behaviours. Institutions and their leaders rely on these statements as foundational pillars by which to launch new programs, services, carry out applied research, sustain and enhance their operations, and to build a future capacity for change. Without meaningful evaluation of the achievement levels of values, vision, and mission (VVM) statements, how can leaders state that their institution was extraordinary or even successful? An ongoing evaluation process of these institutional statements helps to demonstrate to stakeholders how serious the institution is about its own existence. It is through meaningful evaluation that these critical statements become more relevant, tangible, and understandable.
Calder, Wm. B. (2013). Powerful VVM statements for embracing change. The Journal for Post-Secondary Leaders, 19, 2.
Bart Baetz, Christopher Kenneth, Mark C. 1998. "The Relationship between Mission Statements and Firm Performance: An Exploratory Study." Journal of Management Studies 35 (6) (/11/01): 823-853. doi:10.1111/1467-6486.00121. https://doi.org/10.111 This paper examines the relationship between mission statements and firm performance using a sample of 136 large Canadian organizations. Previous writings suggest that mission statements are essential for superior organizational performance results. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. The data from the present study demonstrate that mission statements and some of their specific characteristics are selectively associated with higher levels of organizational performance. The paper concludes with several propositions to guide future research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The School Mission Statement by Steven Stemler; Damian Bebell This is a must-have resource for busy educators involved in creating, improving, or reevaluating their school mission statements. The authors provide numerous examples of mission statements from a diverse range of preK-12 schools, offering readers an extremely valuable resource for developing an understanding of various themes and ideas in American education today - all to be better prepared to formulate their own schools' mission statements. Whether you are preparing for accreditation reviews, seeking a broader knowledge base, or are engaged in policy discussions, this practical, readable guide is packed with valuable information to help you reach your professional goals.
ISBN: 9781596672147
Publication Date: 2012-03-07

Davis, James H., John A. Ruhe, Monle Lee, and Ujvala Rajadhyaksha. 2007. "Mission Possible: Do School Mission Statements Work?" Journal of Business Ethics 70 (1) (JAN): 99-110. doi:10.1007/s10551-006-9076-7. Does ethical content in organizational mission statements make a difference? Research regarding the effectiveness and results of mission statements is mixed. Krohe (1995, Across the board, 32, 17–21) concluded that much of the good results do not come from the mission statements themselves but from the strategic re-education that happens in producing one. We attempted to discover whether universities that explicitly state their ethical orientation and vision in their mission statements had students with higher perceived character trait importance and activities that reinforce character than universities that did not. While the faculty and administration may receive benefits from mission statement development through strategic re-education as Krohe suggested, do the statements influence the students at the university who may have had no role in its creation? Using a sample of senior business students at 16 universities we found that students at universities with ethical statements in their mission statements had significantly higher perceived character trait importance and character reinforcement than those at universities whose missions lacked ethical statements. This research suggests that schools that explicitly stated ethical content in their␣mission statements do influence student ethical orientation.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Challenges to the Mission of Brigham Young University,” BYU leadership conference address, April 21, 2017; quoting his own words from “It Hasn’t Been Easy and It Won’t Get Easier,” BYU leadership conference address, Aug. 25, 20
Fuchs, Jack, Scott Sandell, and Vikram Shanker. 2023. “It’s Time to Define Your Company’s Principles.” Harvard Business Review 101 (6): 122–31.
Rigby, Darrell, Dane Smith, Zach First, and Anna Cochemé. 2024. “What Successful Purpose Statements Do Differently.” Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, March, 1–11.

Helpful Library Services

4th Floor Services

Video Production Studio - schedule up to 2 hours in the studio on the 4th floor of the library, you will have access to professional-level lighting, camera and backgrounds plus assistance getting set up.

Equipment Room - if you need a tripod, DSLR camera or microphone, you can borrow one from the library for up to 3 days.

Software Training Lab - a place to work on your video project and get in person help with troubleshooting

Books/eBooks - consider using a book or book chapter for background information on leadership.

Type a title, author or topic in the search bar on the main library page and then narrow your results by Resource Type on using the filter to the left of your results to select E-books or Books.

LIBBY (OverDrive)

Safari tech books (ORielly)

Don't forget, you can schedule an appointment with Lety, Maggie or Jessica! We are happy to listen and make suggestions for your library and research questions.

Final Case

Elevate your final project! In addition to methods and resources applied earlier in the semester, consider using some suggestions included below.

Organizations

Find background information by checking out websites or blogs published by leading organizations related to your topic.

Individuals

Search for works by notable scholars in the field - including your BYU professors.

Journals

There are many journals that focus specifically on management communication topics. Browse the table of contents of a current issue to gather ideas. Look for synonyms and jargon used to describe concepts in your research and use those terms to search for related information.

Final Case: MCOM Internship (Selective Articles)

“Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors.”
Beason, Larry. “Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors.” College Composition and Communication 53, no. 1 (2001): 33–64. https://doi.org/10.2307/359061.
"If you’re house is still available, send me an email: Personality influences reactions to written errors in email messages."
Boland, J. E., & Queen, R. (2016). If you’re house is still available, send me an email: Personality influences reactions to written errors in email messages. PLoS One, 11(3), e0149885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149885.
“Most In-Demand Skills for 2024,”
Brodnitz, Dan, “Most In-Demand Skills for 2024,” LinkedIn Talent Blog, https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/linkedin-most-in-demand-hard-and-soft-skills.
“When Your Boss Says, ‘You Need to Sound More Professional’: Writing Style and Writer Attributions.”
Campbell, Kim Sydow, Jefrey S. Naidoo, and Jordan Smith. 2023. “When Your Boss Says, ‘You Need to Sound More Professional’: Writing Style and Writer Attributions.” International Journal of Business Communication 60 (4): 1071–94. doi:10.1177/23294884211025735.
"Plain-style preferences of US professionals. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication."
Campbell, K. S., Amare, N., Kane, E., Manning, A. D., & Naidoo, J. S. (2017). Plain-style preferences of US professionals. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 60(4), https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2017.2759621.
"Exploring how instruction in style affects writing quality."
Campbell, K. S., Brammer, C., & Amare, N. (1999). Exploring how instruction in style affects writing quality. Business Communication Quarterly, 62(3), 71–86.
“Improve Your Writing to Improve Your Credibility”
Walraff, Barbara, “Improve Your Writing to Improve Your Credibility,” Harvard Business Review, July 29, 2015. https://hbr.org/2015/07/improve-your-writing-to-improve-your-credibility.