Syllabus: OCR - A and AS Level Business
Module: Business Objectives and Strategy
Lesson: Mission Statement
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Introduction
Mission statements are a foundational part of the OCR A and AS Level Business specification under the topic “Business objectives and strategy”. Students are expected to understand how mission statements guide a business’s objectives, culture, and decision-making. This concept links directly to strategic planning, business ethics, and leadership — all critical themes across OCR’s specification.
This article is built for teachers and school leaders looking to teach the topic with clarity, real-world relevance, and alignment to OCR’s exam expectations.
Key Concepts
The OCR specification outlines the following knowledge requirements for this topic:
Definition: A mission statement is a brief statement that sets out a business’s core purpose and values.
Purpose: It communicates the organisation’s reason for being and its overarching goals, often used to unify stakeholders.
Components: Includes values, purpose, target audience, and ethical stance.
Links to Strategy: Mission statements influence strategic decisions and the setting of SMART objectives.
Evaluation: Students should assess the usefulness of mission statements — considering whether they are genuinely followed or merely aspirational.
Teachers should ensure students can both recall definitions and critically analyse their application and impact on organisational performance.
Real-World Relevance
Mission statements are not just textbook definitions — they shape real boardroom decisions.
Take Unilever as an example. Their mission, “To make sustainable living commonplace,” informs everything from packaging choices to supply chain ethics. It’s not just branding. It drives R&D funding and influences investor confidence.
Similarly, Patagonia’s mission — “We’re in business to save our home planet” — has led to bold decisions like donating all company profits to environmental causes. Students can be encouraged to debate whether these reflect business ethics or strategic branding.
Ask students: Do these statements reflect genuine values, or are they part of a broader marketing strategy? That question brings business strategy into sharp focus.
How It’s Assessed
OCR assessment uses a mix of short and extended response questions. In this topic, students are often asked to:
Define: e.g., “State one purpose of a mission statement.”
Explain: e.g., “Explain how a mission statement can influence a business’s strategic decisions.”
Analyse: e.g., “Analyse how conflicting stakeholder interests might impact the effectiveness of a business’s mission.”
Evaluate: e.g., “Evaluate the usefulness of a mission statement to a multinational business.”
Command words to emphasise in teaching include explain, analyse, and evaluate, each demanding increasing depth of reasoning.
Enterprise Skills Integration
This topic links directly to real-world decision-making and strategic thinking. With Enterprise Skills’ Business Simulations, students can experience setting a mission for a fictional company and making trade-offs in strategy, pricing, and ethics that reflect it.
Skills developed include:
Decision-making: Choosing between short-term profit and long-term brand values.
Critical thinking: Challenging whether their decisions align with the company’s stated mission.
Commercial awareness: Understanding the reputational and operational impacts of mission-led decisions.
These simulations aren’t abstract. They bring to life what it means to run a business with purpose — and the pressures that challenge that.
Careers Links
This topic supports Gatsby Benchmarks 4, 5, and 6 through its relevance to multiple career pathways:
Marketing: Aligning messaging with the organisation’s mission.
HR and Leadership: Embedding values into company culture.
Consulting and Strategy: Auditing a business’s alignment to its mission.
Careers leads can connect this to job roles like brand strategist, corporate social responsibility (CSR) advisor, or operations manager — all of which require aligning daily operations with broader values.
Teaching Notes
Tips for teachers:
Use real-world mission statements (Tesco, Oxfam, Google) and ask students to critique them.
Encourage debate: Should all companies be mission-led? Or just do business well?
Run a classroom task where students draft and pitch their own mission for a new business idea.
Common pitfalls:
Students often confuse mission with objectives. Reinforce that mission is broader and longer-term.
Some learners may accept mission statements at face value. Prompt them to question whether actions match words.
Extension activities:
Use Enterprise Skills’ simulations as a culminating task to apply knowledge practically.
Assign research on how different industries interpret mission — tech vs. non-profits, for example.
Assessment prep:
Encourage students to structure longer answers using PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) or Chain of Analysis, especially in ‘analyse’ and ‘evaluate’ questions.
