Strategic Management: Types of Goals

It is believed that each organization exists in the market to fulfill a number of specific tasks and meet certain needs.

In order to understand exactly what tasks can be discussed in strategic management, and what goals of what kind does a certain organization want to achieve, it is necessary to understand the concept of the goal itself.

Concept of purpose what is it

The goal is an intermediate step towards the mission that the organization sets itself. However, if the mission is only a guideline for movement, the final state, then the goal is a step on the path to the mission.

One for any enterprise is the concept of purpose. The types of goals in this case are different for each organization.

Mission concept - what is it

Mission is a rather broad concept. So, each individual organization has its own mission. For example, a manufacturing enterprise may consider its mission to produce a large volume of quality products at a minimum price. At a brokering company, the mission may be to buy goods for a more profitable resale. The types of organization goals differ in these two cases.

The goal is an exact concept. She answers questions such as:

• what exactly needs to be done;

• what to do;

• who will be responsible for achieving the goal;

• who will be the executor of the goal;

• in what terms it is necessary to meet.

The goal is set for the enterprise to achieve the mission. So, in order for a manufacturing enterprise to produce quality products at
minimum price (not at a loss), it is necessary to perform a number of tasks, for example, such as:

• market research;

• research of similar offers among competitors;

• minimizing the cost of production while maintaining its quality;

• search for new suppliers willing to offer more favorable conditions.

For the intermediary enterprise, other goals will be appropriate:

• search for partners willing to offer favorable conditions;

• purchase of the cheapest raw materials and materials (products, goods);

• market research in order to search for new customers (buyers);

• resale of goods at a price in excess of the cost of purchase.

And although the goals of each organization are different, there is some generally accepted classification according to which the types of goals of activity have been grouped.

The main types of goals, classification by time

You can divide the types of goals into groups according to similar criteria.

So, they can be classified according to the time attribute to:

• short-term (less than 12 months are allocated to achieve the goal);

• medium-term (completion period - up to 5 years);

• long-term (more than 5 years are allocated to achieve the goal).

Long-term goal sounds clear. So, the long-term goal of the enterprise may be the desire to enter the top three leaders in the production of chocolate. In order to fulfill the task, the enterprise management will set short-term goals (to appoint a responsible person for the construction of an additional building for workshops; to increase the quality of products).

Intermediate (medium-term) goals can also be created. For example, the construction of a separate wing of a new workshop; release of the most popular product among buyers in double volume.

Short-term goals are “current” in nature and may be changed if it is determined by certain circumstances. Long-term goals must be accurate.

Content Classification

According to the content, the goals are divided into:

• economic (increase in profits, preparation of annual financial statements, search for new investors, increase in share price);

• administrative (improvement of the personnel management system);

• production (production of a certain volume, improving the quality of products);

• marketing (promotion of company products, promotions, search for new customers, expanding customer base);

• technological (installation of the 1C program, change of computer equipment in the customer service department);

• social (advanced training of workers, providing their employees with housing, a device according to the labor code, a full social package).

All of the above goals are short-term in nature (their implementation will take no more than 12 months).

Source classification

Depending on the sources, the goals are:

• external (a broad concept encompassing the work of an organization beyond its borders, for example, the fight against competitors);

• internal (goals whose achievement is possible only within the organization, for example, the introduction of a new motivation system).

External and internal environment of the organization are connected with each other. Thus, an organization cannot become a leader if a management system is not established within the company.

Classification by degree of complexity

According to the degree of difficulty, achievements distinguish goals:

• complex (include a structured goal);

• simple (monosyllabic goals).

So, a simple goal may sound as follows: to increase the employees of the marketing department. The fulfillment of such a goal is possible in one action.

A complex goal will contain several smaller goals. Suppose the task is to increase the income from the sale of products. It will be possible to achieve the result if we divide the larger goal into several small tasks: replenish the company's headquarters with new employees, introduce a new motivation system, develop a new program for selling the product (promotions, discounts).

System of goals within the organization

Every enterprise has its own system of goals. It is customary to distinguish three main systems:

• Tree. The root of the tree is the main mission of the organization. Branches - individual goals, the implementation of which leads to the final result. The number of branches can be in thousands. So, a large branch is an important goal. Little bitch is a monosyllabic task.
• Hierarchy. Transition from mission to less important goals. And so on to infinity, to the easiest task.

• Ranging. Dividing the main mission into two / three volumetric goals. Each goal, in turn, will be divided into smaller tasks. Thus, the implementation of a number of smaller smaller tasks leads to the fulfillment of a single goal.

The organizations are now quite popular ranking system. In large enterprises, such a system can be called accounting at responsibility centers, where each individual site has its own goals and its own degree of responsibility.

Types of offers for the goal

The types of offers depend on the starting point and on the result to be achieved. In the table below you can see the varieties of offers.

Demand does generate supply. In other words, depending on how much the consumer is interested in the products of the enterprise, different decisions may be made by management regarding the improvement of the organization.

Goal Setting

Any goal must meet certain conditions, including:

• clarity, transparency, obviousness (interpretation of the goal should not sound ambiguous);

• consistency (a goal cannot contradict another goal);

• commensurability (a certain amount of time is allotted to achieve any goal);

• clarity (the task must be extremely accurate);

• focus (should be set to achieve a specific result);

• specificity (compiled taking into account the specifics of the enterprise).

All conditions must be fulfilled simultaneously, and not separately from each other.

The main goal of a commercial enterprise is considered to be maximizing profit at minimal cost. In fact, enterprises often point to the goal of increasing revenue, drawing up a plan for the year, as a last resort, putting forward at a higher level tasks that will help consumers satisfy their needs.