Tree of organization goals: formation, scheme

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today there is a planning tool called a goal tree. Examples and ways to build it for an organization will be discussed in this article.

Every activity starts with planning. To do something, you must first have a certain action model.

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

General concept of the term

Almost everyone can explain this concept. The goal is the desired result that the organization plans to achieve in the course of its activities. Every enterprise that wants to be successful in business should strive to achieve it. The goal set serves not only as a benchmark for the activity of the organization, but is also used to set its standards and evaluate performance.

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 accuracyhypotheses.

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

The most general statement that justifies the emergence and operation of an organization is called a mission.

What is strategy

Successful companies place a lot of emphasis 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 the mission

This term is used in various fields - medical, religious and others. The mission of the organization is the philosophical justification of the company's activities, its ideological component, the ideal to which the company should strive in the course of its existence.

The main components of the mission of the organization:

• Customer focused.
• Truthfulness. The mission must be honestly stated, not have any ambiguous interpretations, and also correspond to the real state of affairs.
• 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:

• Specific. It is necessary to formulate goals as clearly and precisely as possible so that everyone understands what is at stake.
• Measurability. It is an opportunity to quantify whether a result has been achieved. this is done by comparing it with the previously stated goal. You can measure it by criteria such as number of positive reviews, ratio, frequency of what happens, time, averages, and so on.
• Reachable. The goal should be in line with the current capabilities of the company.
• Significance. The goal should not contradict the mission, as well as other aspirations of the organization.

Principles of managing an organization

Management is based on the following principles:

• Developing goals down to the level of each individual employee. At the same time, the plans of employees and organizations should not contradict one another.
• Synchronization and adjustment of employees' goals at intermediate stages of assessment.
• Interaction between the manager and the employee in the formulation of goals, their coordination.
• Conduct regular performance appraisals and employee feedback.

Methods of setting goals in an organization

Planning in any company can be centralized and decentralized.

• Decentralized planning is the setting of goals by each structural unit of the company separately.
• Centralized planning of activities in an organization involves the existence of a central authority ora parent company that directively sets goals for its subordinate companies. All resources aimed at solving the set tasks are also distributed centrally.

Types of goals

They can be conditionally divided into strategic and tactical.

• Strategic - these are those, the achievement of which will bring the organization to a new financial or structural level. Classical 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 achieving strategic ones. 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 ones are performed in one step. Complex ones involve a whole range of activities for their implementation. Depending on the complexity and focus of tasks, a hierarchy of goals is built.

Also they are short-term, medium-term and long-term. It depends on the stated deadline.

• Short-term - these are those goals that are completed within a period of up to one year. They require maximum specificity and clarity of wording.
• Medium-term - these are the goals, the implementation of which is planned from one to five years.
• Long-term - the implementation of which requires more than five years.

Also they can be:

• Operational - performed regularly over a longtime.
• Design - performed one-time.

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

What is a goal tree

This term appeared not so long ago, so not everyone is familiar with its essence. An organization's goal 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 project goals of different levels can be used.

The goal tree method involves such a division of the organization's strategic tasks into simpler ones so that the lower task, being implemented, becomes a tool for the implementation of the higher one. At the same time, 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's consider in more detail the algorithm for forming the organization's goal 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 - it is divided into simpler tasks, the implementation of which together will lead to its achievement. This process shouldmeet the following requirements:

-division must be complete, no component should be missed;

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

-division must have a common basis for all simple problems.

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

• Restrictions applicable to each specific organization are formed.
• Analysis of options for each task. Any of them can be done 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 goal 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.

Following are the 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 in the goal tree depends on the complexity and size of the organization.

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

For clarity, the entire diagram should be shown on one sheet.

While reading the diagram, it should be clear how to achieve any of the goals presented, both major and simple.

Clarity of understanding how to achieve the set goals is a criterion for evaluating a tree in terms of its suitability for further work.

Goal tree functions

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

The goal tree of the organization streamlines any activity, serves as a guide in all possible choices, makes you keep in mind all the necessary elements of doing business.

Tree of goals on the example of a hotel

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

All hotels strive to maximize profits.

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

Target Level	Description
Main goal	Getting the highest possible profit
Main goals	Improve service quality				Expanding the range of possible services			Introduction of advertising and marketing
Subgoals of the first level	Improve the quality of the production process		Improve interaction with staff		Servicesconferences and banquets		Provision of catering services	Advertising and attracting new customers		Increasing customer loy alty
Second level subgoals	Purchasing new equipment for more efficient housekeeping	Creation of CRM - systems for accelerated booking and service	Staff training	New staff motivation system	Allocation and renovation of the meeting room	Creating a conference room	Café or restaurant on site	Internet advertising	Distribution of commercial offers for business trips of employees to organizations	Club cards for regular customers with bonuses and discounts

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

For example, to allocate a meeting room and repair it, the following list of tasks is created:

Condition - there must be a free room in the hotel premises or the opportunity to free and convert one of the rooms. At the same time, such an innovation must be financially feasible. Therefore, the tasks will be:

1. Calculate the possible profit from having a meeting room.
2. Calculate the cost of repairs.
3. Agree with the repair team and set the required time frame.
4. Arrange negotiations for clients.

The purpose of a restaurant or cafe on the territory of the hotel is less specific, it should be further broken down intomultiple levels. Why didn't we do it?

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

• Invitation to cooperate with a restaurateur partner.
• Opening a restaurant by the founders of the hotel.

Based on the ratio of benefits and risks, one path is chosen. Based on it, a new tree of goals is being drawn up for opening a restaurant on the territory of the hotel.