Mission and Vision Statements in an Organization. The Case of the ING Bank

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations

List of Figures

List of Tables

1 Introduction

2 Mission and vision statements
2.1 Mission statement
2.2 Vision statement

3 Practical example: ING Bank
3.1 Disruptive change in the banking environment
3.2 Evaluation of ING´s mission and vision statements
3.2.1 Interpretation of the mission statement
3.2.2 Interpretation of the vision statement
3.3 Using the Balanced Scorecard and the translation of mission, vision and strategy

4 Conclusion

Bibliography

List of Abbreviations

approx. approximately

ING Internationale Nederlanden Groep

KPI Key Performance Indicator

List of Figures

Figure 1: The strategic pyramid

Figure 2: Fortifying the core for the next wave of disruption

Figure 3: The strategic pyramid - ING Bank

Figure 4: Translating vision and strategy: Four perspectives

Figure 5: Managing Strategy: Four Processes

Figure 6: Translating vision and strategy: Four perspectives on the example of ING Bank

List of Tables

Table 1: Mission and vision statements from well-known companies

1 Introduction

“The World's Best Banks: ING And Citibank Lead The Way”, is the title of an article published in the Forbes magazine in March 2019. The author cites ING`s Head of global retail banking, Ignacio Juliá Vilar, with the following: “The mission of ING is for our customers to stay a step ahead in life and business,…”¹ Since I read this article I knew that I wanted to find out more about ING ´s mission and how it is related to the success of the bank. What does the “best bank” do and are mission and/or vision statements related to the strategy and success?

Fun fact: What Ignacio Juliá Vilar stated in the interview was not the mission statement, he quoted the purpose of ING Bank.

Therefore, this assignment will start with the general introduction and the definition of mission and visions statement. To make this topic more explicit we will investigate the mission and the vision statements of ING Bank more closely. The interpretation in 3.2 Evaluation of ING ´s mission and vision statements of the mission and vision statement are done freely without any insight information, only public available sources were used here. It follows that interpretation can differ from ING ´s actual interpretation. Next to that a summary of the current banking environment will be given to complete the challenges and opportunities for the bank.

To bring mission and vision statement together with strategy the Balances Scorecard developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton will be introduced. It will be used as a tool to translate mission and vision into goals and actions. Next to that the Balances Scorecard extends the financial perspective with the customer, the internal business processes and the learning and growth perspective to measure and manage the tangible and intangible assets of the bank.²

2 Mission and vision statements

A vision is an idea of a perfection of problem-solving skills for a potential market. This vision is implemented through a concrete mission. It is often written down as a vision and a mission statement.³ Good corporate visions and missions are credible, realistic and motivating. Good examples from other companies help during the formulation of a new mission and vision statement. For them to be effective, success factors and risks must be considered. If this is considered, vision and mission are a simple and helpful orientation for employees and customers.

Mission and vision are often found as part of the strategy pyramid under the purpose. Marty Neumeiers places the mission and vision on the same level right next to each other in the strategic pyramid (Figure 1). He describes mission and vision as unidentical twins who reveal the “how” and the “what” of the future success of a company.⁴ The purpose describes the “why” in the company’s strategy. The purpose should explain why you do something next to making money.

Figure 1 : The strategic pyramid

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Marty Neumeier, Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age, 2012

2.1 Mission statement

An effective mission statements describes how the company is unique in its scope of operations and it´s product or service offering. It takes a long-term view, which means approximately 5 to 20 years. These statements are short, memorable and most important meaningful and inspirational.⁵

Mission statements address multiple stakeholders, including the company’s management, employees, customers or clients and shareholders. The aim of a mission statement is to provide them with clarity about the overall purpose of the organization. The mission statement should give an answer to the questions, why the company exist and what it drives. It is part of the conceptual foundation of brand management and is used as a strategic tool.⁶

While creating a mission statement it is important to find a balance between open but not too vague. A mission statement should not restrict a company's options for action, but it should also have a recognition value. Creating a mission statement is often an action for the senior management of company.

2.2 Vision statement

A vision statement focuses on the future of a company by setting a direction for its growth. It should be a concrete expression of what the company wants to achieve and how they want to achieve these goals.⁷ A vision statement supports the entrepreneurial behaviour as part of the corporate strategy. During the development of a challenging vision the supporting question might be: Which mountain do we want to climb?⁸ Although a good vision statement involves all stakeholders of the company, unlike the mission statement, it is primarily addressed to the company's own employees, to whom it is intended to provide orientation.

The following table will give an overview of mission and vision statements of well-known companies.

Table 1 : Mission and vision statements from well-known companies

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Source: Own representation; *not publicly available, secondary sources

3 Practical example: ING Bank

The ING Bank counts more than 38.8 million customers at the end of 2019 where 9.5 million are customers of the German ING Holding Deutschland GmbH. This makes ING Bank the bank with the third most customers in Germany.

[...]

¹ Badenhausen, K., The World's Best Banks: ING And Citibank Lead The Way, 2019.

² See: Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P., The balanced scorecard, 2009.

³ See: Brauweiler, H.-C., Unternehmensführung heute, 2009, p. 91–92.

⁴ See: Marty Neumeier, The strategic pyramide, 2020.

⁵ See: Ireland, R.D., Hirc, M. A., Mission statements: Importance, challenge, and recommendations for development, 1992, p. 35.

⁶ See: Esch, F.-R., Corporate Brand Management, 2014, p. 143.

⁷ See: Brauweiler, H.-C., Unternehmensführung heute, 2009, p. 91.

⁸ See: Esch, F.-R., Corporate Brand Management, 2014, p. 143.

⁹ Facebook, Company Info | About Facebook, 2020.

¹⁰ Comparably, Facebook Mission, Vision & Values, 2020.

¹¹ Google, Google - Info, 2020.

¹² Comparably, Google Mission, Vision & Values, 2020.

¹³ IKEA, IKEA Vision and Business idea, 2020.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ LinkedIn, About LinkedIn, 2020.

¹⁶ Ibid.

¹⁷ Tesla, 2019 Impact Report, 2020, p. 52.

¹⁸ Ibid.