Mission statements in hospitals: evidence from Turkey

Abstract

An effective mission statement identifies the essential and limited purpose that distinguishes one organisation from another and defines the scope of its business operations in terms of product, service and target markets. The mission statement is an ongoing declaration of the organisation’s purpose and its operating philosophy. Within this context, this study sought to determine whether the use of various mission statement components vary depending on both organisational type and quality certification. One public hospital used the nine components in its mission statement, while three private and eight public hospitals included eight components in their mission statements. In contrast, two private hospitals and one public hospital used none of the components in their mission statements. Overall, most hospitals emphasise the philosophy, customers, public image, and employee components in their mission statements. Links between mission statement components and quality certification were not found.