Paper details
Guidance notes
Question 1:
This question asks you to evaluate Gousto’s mission statement.
Mission, vision and values are covered in Block 1, Session 4. As well as the online session, you will have
also read ‘Reading 1: The marketing concept’ by Harris (2017). Within Session 4, Activity 4.3 explores the
mission statements of some well-known brands.
Activity 4.3: Mission and vision
On its website, LEGO states its mission and vision as follows (LEGO, 2017):
Mission:‘Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’
Our ultimate purpose is to inspire and develop children to think creatively, reason systematically and
release their potential to shape their own future – experiencing the endless human possibility.
Vision: ‘Inventing the future of play’
We want to pioneer new ways of playing, play materials and the business models of play – leveraging
globalisation and digitalisation … it is not just about products, it is about realising the human possibility.
Notice how LEGO provides a more memorable short version of its mission and vision which encapsulates
the essence of the fuller versions. These short versions should help everyone in the organisation bring
them to mind more easily and allow external audiences to grasp them more readily. Note also how
innovation is integral to both LEGO’s mission and vision. This innovation is immediately evident if you visit
its website which highlights a stream of new products and play experiences. The organisation has also
embraced technology with innovations on its website including a message board inviting LEGO fans to
post, for example, a short story about where they would send their favourite LEGO mini-figure on holiday,
video stories featuring characters in LEGO, videos showing how to build various LEGO projects, games
and commenting facilities.
Facebook’s mission is ‘to give people the power to build community and to bring the world closer together’.
It doesn’t mention a vision, perhaps because it might already be encapsulated in its forward-looking stated
mission (to make the world more open and connected) (Facebook, 2017).
WWF’s mission, although it doesn’t use this term, is ‘about respecting and valuing the natural world and
finding ways to share the Earth’s resources fairly’. Its vision, or ‘ultimate goal’ as it calls it, is ‘people living
in harmony with nature’ (WWF, n.d.).
In Activity 4.4 you were introduced to Wilson and Gilligan’s “six tests of a successful mission statement”,
which are also discussed in Reading 1.
Wilson and Gilligan specified six tests of a successful mission statement (Wilson and Gilligan, 2005, p.
280):
• be specific enough to guide staff’s behaviour
• be based on fulfilling customers’ needs and satisfaction rather than on the products’ characteristics
• encapsulate the organisation’s key skills
• signal opportunities and threats
• be achievable
• be adaptable.
This will provide the framework for your evaluation, but it is important to support your answer with
appropriate evidence from the case and company website. There is no set word limit for any one question,
but the marks allocated to each question will give you a clue.
Question 2:
In Block 1 you covered approaches to financial funding. Block 1, Session 13 is useful for thinking about this
question. In addition, you will have read the document ‘Raising finance – small and medium-sized
organisations’ (Oliver, 2017). This question is asking you to consider the benefits of raising additional
money through private equity. You are also asked to give reasons why Gousto might consider an ‘initial
public offering’ to raise further funds in the future.
You should support your answer with evidence from the case study.
Question 3:
Block 1, Session 15 and Session 16 cover a wide range of external challenges which could be applicable to
Gousto. These sessions will have introduced you to the significance and the influence of the external
business environment for the organisation, and the role played by the business cycle. Your answer should
describe five external business environment challenges and explain how they might specifically impact on
Gousto, using information from the case study to support your answer.
Marking criteria
Your tutor will mark your assignment using the following criteria:
• your understanding of relevant concepts from B207 Block 1
• your application of these concepts to the case study information
• your ability to communicate effectively: clarity and economy of writing, and clarity of structure
• your ability to select information from a case study and develop arguments based on that selection
• good academic practice: citing and referencing of ideas taken from all sources other than your own
thinking, including the case study and the B207 materials