Business Aims and Objectives
Business aims and objectives refer to the specific goals and targets that a company sets to guide its operations and measure its success. Aims are broader, long-term aspirations, while objectives are specific, measurable steps taken to achieve those aims. By defining clear aims and objectives, businesses can focus their efforts, motivate employees, and track their progress towards success.
7 Key excerpts on "Business Aims and Objectives"
eBook - ePubArmstrong's Handbook of Performance Management
An Evidence-Based Guide to Performance Leadership
- Michael Armstrong(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Kogan Page(Publisher)
...11 Defining objectives Introduction Objectives indicate what has to be accomplished. Their definition is a fundamental activity in managing performance. They provide direction and a basis for monitoring performance, and they help to communicate the organization’s strategic goals to employees. This chapter starts with a definition of the meaning of the term ‘objectives’ and continues with a review of the conceptual background and a description of the processes of defining objectives and strategic alignment. The meaning of objectives The terms ‘objectives’ and ‘goals’ are often used interchangeably, both meaning an outcome to be achieved. But it is possible to distinguish between them. Goals are expressions of overall ambitions and intentions. They set out what, in general, an organization or an individual wants or needs to do in the longer term. Objectives are specific aims or targets, the achievement of which will support the attainment of these goals. Thus the strategic goals for a business could be to increase market share, to improve productivity and to minimize harmful impact on the environment. In each of those areas objectives could be set in the form of quantified targets or a definition of some other form of measurable achievement. Individuals have overall goals, for example, to improve performance, behave in accordance with accepted standards, develop skills or further their careers. They also have objectives in the form of the precise actions and measurable steps required to achieve overarching goals – those of the organization (the process of strategic alignment) as well as their own. There are two types of objectives: performance and personal. Performance objectives Performance objectives are generally expressed by simply defining each of the main activities the role involves in terms that indicate the expected outcomes or the purpose of the activity...
eBook - ePub- Tom Craig, David Campbell(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Organisational and Business Objectives DOI: 10.4324/9780080454603-2 Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, students should be able to describe: mission, vision and values of an organisation; the purpose of an organisation’s mission statement; the complex nature of defining business goals and objectives; the most important business objective; the stakeholders; the view that stakeholder coalitions determine the business objectives; the view that an organisation’s principals essentially determine the business objectives. 2.1 Vision This is an aspirational view of the desired state of the organisation at a point in the future. The timeframe is dependent on the nature of the organisation and its environment but a typical vision would be set for 3–5 years ahead and reviewed annually in line with actual results and changing circumstances. The vision is in effect a statement of strategic intent that serves to focus the energies of the organisation management towards the setting and achievement of specific goals and objectives. Its aspirational nature means that it is consistently revised, as each set of goals are achieved, and further stretching future situations are established. 2.2 Mission The mission of an organisation is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation or, more simply, a broad description of the business it is in – its raison d’être. It broadly defines the scope and boundaries of the organisation, which should be in line with the expectations and values of major stakeholders. Mission Statements Some organisations find it helpful to provide a concise and clear written statement of their broad objectives. Whilst such statements are called different names, most find the term mission statement to be the most suitable. They have increased in popularity over recent years, and more and more organisations have come to appreciate their advantages...
- Robert E Stevens, David L Loudon, R Henry Migliore, Stanley G Williamson(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...They are not commands, but they are commitments. They do not determine the future, but they are the means by which the resources and energies of the operation can be mobilized for the making of the future.” 2 Objectives can be defined as clear, concise written statements outlining what is to be accomplished in key areas in a certain time period, in objectively measurable terms. Objectives can be classified as routine, problem solving, innovative, team, personal, and budget performance. Objectives can be set at upper organizational levels in key result areas such as growth, finances, physical resources, staff development and attitudes. They are also needed in sub-units, departments, or divisions of an organization. Most important, all organizational objectives must be consistent. Thus, a department’s objectives should lead to accomplishing the overall organization’s goals. Objectives serve two fundamental purposes. First, they serve as a road map. Objectives are the results desired upon completion of the planning period. In the absence of objectives, no sense of direction can be attained in decision making. In planning, objectives answer one of the basic questions posed in the planning process: Where do we want to go? These objectives become the focal point for strategy decisions. Another basic purpose served by objectives is in the evaluation of performance. The objectives in the strategic plan become the yardsticks used to evaluate performance. As will be pointed out later, it is impossible to evaluate performance without some standard by which results can be compared. The objectives become the standards for evaluating performance because they are the statement of results desired by the planner. Objectives have sometimes been called the neglected area of management. In many situations there is a failure to set objectives, or the objectives which are set forth are unsound and therefore lose much of their effectiveness...
eBook - ePub- Richard M.S. Wilson(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Making extra capacity available involves capital expenditure/investment, and its existence – in whatever time frame – is usually associated with fixed (or establishment) costs. The significance of this from the point of view of establishing objectives can therefore be seen in terms of the need to identify objectives both for the short term and the long term. The long-term objectives will then be concerned with the direction in which the organization is heading, while the short-term objectives will be allied far more closely with the stages through which the organization will have to move in order to achieve this position. The Nature of Corporate Objectives In the light of our discussion here and in Chapter 1, it should be apparent that corporate management, having established the corporate mission and vision, then has to take these a stage further by developing a series of specific objectives for each level of management. Most typically these objectives are expressed in terms of sales growth, profitability, market share growth and risk diversification. Because the majority of organizations generally pursue a number of objectives, it is, as we have seen, important that they are stated in a hierarchical manner, going from the most important to the least important, with this hierarchy being both internally consistent and mutually reinforcing. By doing this, the strategist is clarifying priorities so that if, at a later stage, a conflict of objectives emerges, a decision can then be made as to which particular objective is to dominate. At the same time it is essential that the objectives established are realistic both in terms of their magnitude and the timescale over which they are to be achieved. Almost invariably, however, organizations experience difficulties and conflicts in establishing objectives, problems that are in turn compounded by the need to establish multiple objectives...
eBook - ePub- Jim Blythe(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...In the case of a truly marketing-orientated firm, corporate objectives and marketing objectives should be almost identical: but most firms are not as marketing orientated as this, by any means. Corporate objectives are strategic statements of where the organisation’s senior management thinks the organisation should be. Objectives can be grouped as follows: Financial objectives. These relate to sales, profits, return on investment, balance sheet issues and so forth. Philosophical objectives. These might encompass such factors as the core values of the organisation, a desire to be the biggest or the best or the most caring or (of course) customer orientation. Qualitative objectives. These are to do with service levels, the desire to be innovative or perhaps the desire to be respected as a good employer. There will often be trade-offs in corporate objectives, since all organisations have limited resources and therefore cannot do everything they might want. The following is a list of possible conflicts in setting objectives (Weinberg, 1969): 1. Short-term profit versus long-term growth. Going for a quick profit is likely to sabotage longer-term steady growth, because the firm will launch products too soon, over-pressure customers to place orders now rather than later and cut back on long-term investments in research and brand building. 2. Profit margin versus market positioning. Investment in brand building and positioning the brand is likely to cost money, which of course affects the profit margin: likewise, some positions (e.g. a low-price position) will involve reducing margins so as to offer low prices. 3. Direct sales effort versus market development. Making quick sales may well involve tactics such as strong sales promotions which will affect people’s perception of the brand in the longer term. 4. Penetrating existing markets versus developing new ones. Gaining greater sales from existing markets will take resources away from moving into new markets and vice versa...
eBook - ePubBusiness
The Ultimate Resource
- Bloomsbury Publishing(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
...Setting Objectives for a Business by Allan A. Kennedy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Managing inherently involves setting a goal or objective and then executing a series of actions to meet it. Establishing the right objective is critical to successful management of any business. • Successful long-term businesses almost always started with a set of nonfinancial objectives (sometimes referred to as a vision or mission) and derived financial objectives consistent with pursuit of their broader goals. • Setting only financial objectives is risky for a business because single-minded pursuit of financial objectives can lead to actions that undermine long-term viability. INTRODUCTION Managing is the task of moving an enterprise toward a defined objective. Most of the disciplines of management—budgeting, strategic planning, performance monitoring—take as a given that an appropriate objective has been set. Given the central role that objectives or targets play in most management actions, it is critical that they be set correctly. It may seem trite to point out, but it is none the less valid: if inappropriate objectives are set for a business, inappropriate outcomes will occur. What constitutes appropriate objectives for a business? As business and management have evolved, thinking about what constitutes an appropriate objective has evolved as well. Throughout this evolution, there has been an ongoing tension between financial goals and objectives and nonfinancial objectives. If business exists primarily or solely to make a profit (a highly quantifiable outcome) then relatively simple financial objectives suffice, argue some. Others say that business exists to serve simultaneously the needs of various constituencies—stockholders, customers, suppliers, employees, communities. The interests of these various legitimate constituencies are not always quantifiable, leading to a school of thought that puts greater emphasis on nonfinancial objectives...
eBook - ePub- Lidia Varbanova(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...These objectives result from analysis of the external environment. They aim at exploiting opportunities for improving the organisation’s performance and realizing new intrapreneurial ideas. • Internal objectives are directed towards organisational development. They are important as they help the personnel to embrace organisational values and to work towards implementation of an agreed mission. Internal objectives are about the motivation of staff, improvement of internal processes, creation of more efficient management structures, improvement of elements of intrapreneurial culture and behaviour in the organisation, and so on. Objectives can also be divided into important, or priority, objectives and less important, or peripheral, objectives. The third dimension is objectives’ measurability. Objectives can be divided into economic and social as well as quantitative and qualitative objectives. Economic objectives are usually measurable, related to figures, quantities and concrete parameters. They can be: Financial—defining the necessity to achieve financial results, such as profits, turnover, return on investments, productivity and others. These objectives are related to the strategies of growth and expansion 32. Non-financial—mainly connected with quality, innovation, general improvement of workflow and client relations Economic objectives are common for business organisations, although nonprofit and state subsidized one also formulate economic objectives in their strategies. Social objectives are usually not measured with quantity indicators and are directed towards organisational development and/or solving social problems. Social objectives in the arts are very important, especially in relation to developing educational programmes, contributing through art for social change, widening audiences’ participation and accessibility, coping with a multicultural environment, and more...
