Mission, Vision, and Values Paper

The University of Phoenix was founded in 1976 as an outlet for working adults to obtain an education, while continuing to hold down a full time job. The ingenious idea of creating such an organization can be coupled with the name Dr. John Sperling. Dr. John Sperling begin the creation of University of Phoenix in his basement, at the preface of personal computers. The University of Phoenix offers degree program at the level’s of associates, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. The degree programs can be obtained by several modalities.

The most commonly know modality is online, and there are also over 200 campuses that offer programs as well. Dr. John Sperling suggested how institutions would pioneer new approaches to curricular and program design, teaching methods and student services. These beliefs eventually resulted in the creation of University of Phoenix and they continue to inspire the University’s mission, purposes and strategies today (University of Phoenix [UOP], 2008). The University of Phoenix is the nation’s largest private university.

The mission of University of Phoenix is to provide access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the productivity of their organizations, and provide leadership and service to their communities (University of Phoenix [UOP], 2008). The following are the purposes for the University of Phoenix: ~To facilitate cognitive and affective student learning–knowledge, skills, and values — and to promote use of that knowledge in the student’s work place.

~To develop competence in communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and information utilization, together with a commitment to lifelong learning for enhancement of students’ opportunities for career success. ~To provide instruction that bridges the gap between theory and practice through faculty members who bring to their classroom not only advanced academic preparation, but also the skills that come from the current practice of their professions. ~To provide General Education and foundational instruction and services that prepare students to engage in a variety of university curricula.

~To use technology to create effective modes and means of instruction that expand access to learning resources and that enhance collaboration and communication for improved student learning. ~To assess student learning and use assessment data to improve the teaching/learning system, curriculum, instruction, learning resources, counseling and student services. ~To be organized as a for-profit institution in order to foster a spirit of innovation that focuses on providing academic quality, service, excellence, and convenience to the working adult.

~To generate the financial resources necessary to support the University’s mission. (UOP, 2008) All corporations depend on effective strategic management. A starting point in strategic management is setting goals. Every business needs goals, a mission, and values. Goals are basically intended to meet hopes and plans of an organization. The mission usually tells how a company will reach their goals. Values are what the organization beliefs in. The strategy of an organization should determine the firm’s overall attitude toward growth and the way it will manage its businesses.

A company may decide to grow by increasing its activities or investments. Strategies should focus on improving the companies competitive position, and how best to achieve corporate goals by being as productive as possible. The mission statement is a message designed to be inclusive of the expectations of all stakeholders for the company’s performance over the long run (Pearce & Robinson, 2004). At many companies, top management drafts and circulates detailed mission statements.

Because such a statement reflects a company’s understand of its activities as a marketer, it is not easily described. The mission statement for the University of Phoenix explains how they will achieve their purposes in the environments in which they conduct businesses. Strategy tends to have a wider scope. It is the definition a broad program that describes an organization’s intentions. A business strategy outlines how the business intends to meet its goals and includes the organizations responsiveness to new challenges and new needs.

Because a well formulated strategy is so vital to a business’s success, most top managers devote substantial attention and creativity to this process. A second implication of viewing strategic management as a process is that strategy formulation and implementation are sequential. The process begins with development or reevaluation of the company mission (Pearce & Robinson, 2004). This also presents an opportunity for an organization to do a SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for the internal Strengths and Weaknesses of a firm and the environmental Opportunities and Threats facing that firm.

SWOT analysis is a widely used technique through which managers create a quick overview of a company’s strategic situation (Pearce & Robinson). The ultimate goal of the new strategy is to have an effective impact on the leaders, the culture, and the stakeholders. The strategy should allow the leaders to efficiently run the organization. The strategy should enable a conducive culture so that there is no negativity brought to the organization. The strategy should reward stakeholders and ultimately reward the stakeholders so that they may continue to hold stake in the company.