Organization goals tree: formation, scheme

Today there is a planning tool called the goal tree. Examples and methods of its construction for the organization will be considered in this article.

Any activity begins with planning. To do something, you must first have a certain model of action.

Proper planning of the organization's activities is more than half the success of the entire business.

General term

Almost everyone can explain this concept. The goal is the desired result, which the organization plans to achieve in the course of its activities. Strive to achieve it should every company that wants to be successful in business. The goal set not only serves as a guideline for the organization’s activity, but is also used to establish its standards and evaluate work efficiency.

Often, setting goals to achieve what is intended is based on assumptions about possible future development, so the reality of their implementation and adequacy are based on the accuracy of hypotheses.

Goals have a deadline. The larger it is, the greater the uncertainty of a possible future. Accordingly, goals with a large specified period are set in a more general form.

The most general formulation that justifies the appearance and work of an organization is called a mission.

What is a strategy?

Successfully developing companies focus on strategy. This is a master plan for the implementation of certain tasks that determine their importance for the organization.

In other words, a strategy is a chain of goals leading to a certain planned outcome of events.

What is mission

This term is used in various fields - in the medical, religious and others. The organization’s mission is the philosophical foundation of the company’s activities, its ideological component, the ideal that the company should strive for in the process of its existence.

The main components of the organization’s mission:

• Customer focus.
• Truthfulness. The mission should be honestly stated, not have any ambiguous interpretations, and also correspond to the real state of things.
• Uniqueness. The mission should be something that makes your company unique, distinguishes it from competitors.

If the mission sets a general guideline for all activities of the organization, then the goal is more universal and specific.

Formulation principles

When formulating a goal, it is important to observe the following principles:

• Specificity. It is necessary to formulate goals as clearly and definitely as possible so that everyone understands what is at stake.
• Measurability. This is an opportunity to quantify whether a result has been achieved. this is done by comparing it with the previously stated goal. It can be measured by criteria such as the number of positive reviews, ratio, frequency of occurrence, time, average indicators and so on.
• Reachability. The goal should match the opportunities that the company currently has.
• Significance. The goal should not contradict the mission, as well as other aspirations of the organization.

Organization Management Principles

The management is based on the following principles:

• Development of goals to the level of each individual employee. Moreover, the plans of employees and organizations should not contradict one another.
• Synchronization and adjustment of employee goals at intermediate stages of assessment.
• The interaction of the leader and the employee in the formulation of goals, their coordination.
• Conducting a regular assessment of achievements and feedback from the employee.

Methods of forming goals in the organization

Planning in any company can be centralized and decentralized.

• Decentralized planning is the setting of goals for each structural unit of a company individually.
• Centralized planning of activities in the organization involves the presence of a central authority or parent company, which directive sets goals for its subordinate companies. All resources aimed at solving assigned tasks are also distributed centrally.

Types of goals

They can conditionally be divided into strategic and tactical.

• Strategic ones are those whose achievement will bring the organization to a new financial or structural level. Classic examples of strategic goals are: innovation and action planning, capturing a certain market share. However, each organization has its own strategy.
• Tactical - these are those that reflect certain stages of strategic achievement. They are operational (goals for a certain period of time, quarter, year and so on).

Also, all goals can be divided into simple and complex. Simple are performed in one action. Complex means a whole range of measures for their implementation. Depending on the complexity and orientation of the tasks, a hierarchy of goals is built.

They are also short, medium and long term. It depends on the stated deadline.

• Short-term ones are those goals that are fulfilled within a period of up to one year. They need maximum concreteness and clarity of wording.
• Medium-term is the goals for the implementation of which is planned from one to five years.
• Long-term - for their implementation it takes more than five years.

They can also be:

• Operating - performed regularly over time.
• Design - performed one-time.

In order to properly build the structure and hierarchy of goals, depending on their urgency and importance for the company, the goal tree method is often used. This approach is one of the most effective tools for planning tasks.

What is a goal tree

This term appeared not so long ago, so not everyone is familiar with its essence. The organization’s goals tree is a hierarchical structure of all the organization’s goals, displayed as a chart or table.

To implement the strategic plans of the company, both operational and design goals of different levels can be used.

The goal tree method involves dividing the organization’s strategic tasks into simpler ones so that the lower task, when implemented, becomes a tool for the higher implementation. Moreover, each important task is divided into several simpler ones in order to achieve the maximum simplification of the structure.

How to build a goal tree

Let us consider in more detail the algorithm for forming the organization’s goals tree.

• First, the main strategic objective of the organization is determined. It is formulated in one or two sentences and should explain what should happen in the end.
• Then the goal is decomposed - its division into simpler tasks, the implementation of which together will lead to its achievement. This process must meet the following requirements:

- division must be complete, not a single component should be missed;

- division must be exclusive. No simple task can contain another;

- The division must have a common basis for all simple tasks.

-Division should be uniform. Each level must be composed of tasks of the same scale and significance.

• Constraints are applied that are applicable to each specific organization.
• Analysis of the options for each task. Any of them can be performed in different ways. All possible implementation options are analyzed and the most optimal ones are selected.
• Next, tasks and functions for employees and departments are constructed.

Goal tree diagram

As you know, information is always better perceived visually. Therefore, the organization’s goals tree is depicted in the form of a table or a multi-level diagram, where the top level is the main goal of the organization.

The next sublevel will be those goals, the implementation of which will lead to the achievement of the main one.

Next are goals that will lead to the implementation of those at a higher level. Each of them is subject to decomposition as long as it makes logical sense. The number of levels of the goal tree depends on the complexity and size of the organization.

The larger the enterprise, the more complex its structure, the more there will be levels of decomposition in the tree. Thus, the hierarchy of organization goals is directly related to its structure and features.

For clarity, you should depict the entire scheme on one sheet.

When familiarizing yourself with the scheme, it should be clear how to achieve any of the goals presented, both main and simple.

Clarity of understanding the ways to achieve the objectives is a criterion for evaluating a tree in terms of its suitability for further work.

Goal Tree Functions

A detailed, visually displayed diagram of all goals is necessary not only for large companies, in which there are many departments, employees and tasks.

The organization’s goal tree organizes any activity, serves as a guideline in all possible choices, and makes you keep in mind all the necessary elements of doing business.

The goal tree on the example of a hotel

The mission of this institution is to provide high-quality accommodation for city guests in an atmosphere of coziness, comfort and ease.

All hotels seek to maximize profits.

The goal tree of a small hotel can be constructed as follows:

At the same time, for each goal of the second level, a list of tasks and resources for their implementation is made.

For example, to allocate a room for negotiations and repairs, it creates the following list of tasks:

The condition is that the hotel must have a free room or the ability to free and convert one of the rooms. Moreover, such an innovation should be financially feasible. Therefore, the tasks will be:

1. To calculate the possible profit from the availability of a meeting room.
2. Calculate the cost of repairs.
3. Arrange with the repair team and set the necessary time.
4. Arrange negotiations for customers.

The purpose of the restaurant or cafe on the hotel territory is less specific, it should be further divided into several levels upon further consideration. Why didn’t we?

The fact is that opening a catering unit is a very difficult task. It is connected almost with the opening of another business. Therefore, all possible ways of realizing this goal are written first. Typically, it has two alternatives:

• Invitation to a partner restaurateur to cooperate.
• The opening of the restaurant by the founders of the hotel.

Based on the ratio of benefits and risks, one way is chosen. Based on it, a new tree of goals for opening a restaurant on the territory of the hotel is compiled.