Objectives

Objectives specify the results sought through the ongoing, long-run operations of the organization. These outcomes may consist not only of the desired results insofar as the organation's customer is concerned but also of what the organization perceives as the long range results it intends to achieve internally.

To have meaningful impact, objectives must be operational; that is they must be capable of being converted into specific targets and specific actions. They must give direction to the activity of the organization. They must set forth long-run organizational priorities. They must become the basis for work and for achievement. They must serve as standards against which performance is to be measured.

Since the role of objectives is to guide the concentration of resources and effort towards the desired ends, objectives should be selective. Objectives are needed in all areas on which the long-term survival and success of the organization depend. The important areas are:

1. Market
2. Technology
3. Innovation
4. Profitability
5. Efficiency
6. Resources
7. Social responsibility


The objectives of an organization may undergo revision over a period of time to meet changing circumstances.

Source

Strategy and Policy: Concepts and Cases
by
Thompson and Strickland
Business Publications, Texas, 1978