Can Mission Statements Plant the "Seeds" of Dysfunctional Behaviors in an Organization's Memory?

Mission statements, one component of an organization’s culture, espouse the "official" and fundamental ideologies of the organization. Organizational culture, a component of organizational memory (OM), influences the members' behavior including the production of both functional and dysfunctional outcomes. This research uses a model from cognitive therapy to examine formal mission statements for potentially dysfunctional beliefs. Exploratory analysis suggests that some mission statements may plant the “seeds” for dysfunctional behaviors in an organization’s memory through the introduction of disturbed beliefs into the organization’s culture. This paper’s research model provides managers and OMIS designers with a labeled list of disturbed thinking patterns that facilitates recognition and discovery of “irrational” beliefs. After discovery, omission or mitigation of extreme beliefs is possible.