The mission (mission or purpose) of an enterprise, or more generally of any organization is its ultimate goal, the justification of its existence, and yet what sets it apart from all others.
The mission statement is the "manifesto" of the mission and is in many ways similar to the vision statement. However, unlike this, tends to focus more on the present and provide a guide to action. While a mission statement is a practical guide to action organization, the function of the vision statement is a way to "inspire" those involved.
In some cases it is reduced to a slogan, while in others it is more comprehensive and poses and solves the fundamental issues relating to the organization. In such a case can also be seen as a kind of long-term strategy.
According to some a good mission statement should answer three basic questions:
Who are we?
What do we do?
Why do we do?