Any example of a goal tree demonstrates building it according to the method of deductive logic using a heuristic procedure. It is represented by a graphic representation of the relationship between goals and the means necessary to achieve them.
This tree will allow you to see the full picture of the interaction of some events in the near future before forming a list of tasks with obtaining information about their importance. It contributes to the work of communicating the goals to the performers by comparing the organizational structure and the list of tasks.
Goal Tree Properties
An example goal tree demonstrates the following properties:
- Subordination, which is due to a certain construction of production hierarchies in importance and time. Moreover, the tasks of such production units are determined by the direction of the organization, short-term - long-term, and tactical - strategic.
- Deployment consists in dividing each goal of a particular level into subgoals of a lower level. An example of a tree of goals of this type is the deployment of the tasks of an industrial enterprise to workshop goals and below for the following structural units of a given business entity.
- Correlation in the importance of tasks, which consists in their difference at one level to achieve their counterpart at the highest level. This property allows ranking tasks according to the degree of significance with a quantitative determination of the relative importance using the corresponding coefficient.
Building a goal tree
An example of a goal tree shows the construction, the first step of which is the formation of the main goal. Each individual goal of the highest level can be represented in the form of an independent system, including subgoals as its elements. In this case, a complete picture of the tasks of the lower level should be established, which, in turn, can be divided into analogues of another lower level.
As a sign of the completion of the construction of the goal tree, an example of which may have a final wording showing the impossibility of their further dismemberment, the possibility of obtaining the final result can be considered.
Methods of forming a goal tree are used in the development of certain programs aimed at solving problems with a hierarchical structure.
Organization Goal Tree: Example
The main task of a business entity is to increase profits. Based on simple logic, we note that profit growth can be achieved by two methods: an increase in income or a decrease in expenses. Given these two strategies, we point out that the goal tree may look like this:
- increase in profits of the enterprise;
- revenue growth;
- cost reduction.
This example of a goal tree should use specific methods to increase revenues and reduce costs, focusing specifically on the business of a particular company in question. Otherwise, there will be no more benefit from it than from any thematic textbook.