Vision of Success

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Mission, Vision, and Values Paper

The Dairy Queen system's recipe for success has been simple for more than 60 years. It's been a combination of hard-working people who own and operate restaurants and great-tasting food and tempting treats served in our establishments. The founders of the Dairy Queen system were men and women who introduced a new kind of dessert treat and, in the process, developed the foundation of the franchising industry. The history of the Dairy Queen system is a story of a unique product that created an industry (Dairy Queen, 2007).

"Our phenomenal story began with a 10 cent sale of a then unnamed product on August 4, 1938, in Kankakee, Illinois. A father and son in the mix plant business in Green River, Illinois, had been experimenting with a soft frozen dairy product for some time. They contacted Sherb Noble, a good friend and customer, who agreed to run the "all you can eat" trial sale at his walk-in ice cream store. Within two hours, he dished out more than 1,600 servings of the new dessert. Back then, food franchising was all but unheard of, but the new product's potential made it a natural for such a system. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, there were less than 10 Dairy Queen stores. However shortly after the war, the system took off at a pace virtually unrivaled before or since. With only 100 stores in 1947, it grew to 1,446 in 1950 and then to 2,600 in 1955. Today, the Dairy Queen system is one of the largest fast food systems in the world with more than 5,900 restaurants in the United States, Canada and 20 foreign countries" (Dairy Queen, 2007).

Although much has changed in the world and in the Dairy Queen system through the years, one constant has remained: Dairy Queen stores are still, and always have been, the place to find Little League teams celebrating a victory, business people on their lunch break and families taking time out to enjoy great food and soft serve treats. And, the recipe for success for the Dairy Queen system is as simple today as it was in 1940. Satisfied customers lead to successful restaurants. Each owner of our independently owned and operated establishments worldwide is committed to nothing less than the slogan "We Treat You Right" (Dairy Queen). I know I am one of the owners in real life.

Our individually owned Dairy Queen was built 11 years ago by a married couple. They started the business and ran it successfully for a season. However, due to due to their military transfers, my business partner was able to purchase the Surf City Dairy Queen 10 years ago in 1997. I did not invest into the business until 2000. This has been an adventure that has taught me that I had bought into more than just free treats and great returns.

Vision, Mission, and Values

Prior to this strategic management analysis, the Surf City Dairy Queen's vision had not been defined directly. It operated with an indirect vision in mind. However, the newly adopted Surf City Dairy Queen vision is to "maintain a clean, family-focused ice-cream shop providing superior products at a fair price to the local community and tourists, leading to superior returns for our shareholders." With values that are summed up in the statement, our Dairy Queen will create a workforce culture of committed and competitive team members each season. Through vision and culture, Surf City Dairy Queen will become the largest ice-cream provider within a 20-mile radius on and surrounding Topsail Island.

Vision, mission, and values play a significant role in a company's success. In addition, these intangible concepts can only be translated into tangible results through the hard work and dedication of company leadership from the owners to an ice-cream server. These concepts can also define a company's strategy to remain competitive, thus helping Surf City Dairy Queen to realize its end state goals of providing a superior product, a clean family-friendly environment, and increase revenues.

Strategic Management Process

"The strategic management process centers on the belief that a firm's mission can be best achieved through a systematic and comprehensive assessment of both its internal capabilities and its external environment." (Pearce and Robinson, 2004). The planning process begins with the mission statement.

A major change that must occur in the strategic process has already been addressed with the defining of the vision/mission statement. However, it now needs to be implemented through training within the workforce culture and displaying it for the customers to witness.

Conclusion

Since 1997, Surf City Dairy Queen has operated under an imaginary vision. Although it was unspoken, it was not completely defined. Creating a defined vision will give leadership a clear strategy to work with in the business's operations and training. This will create a more consistent culture and greater returns for the stakeholders.

References

Dairy Queen (2007). Retrieved June 5, 2009 from

Pearce, J., Robinson, R. (2004). Strategic Management. (9th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved June 2, 2009, rEsource, University of Phoenix. Course Web site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp