Strategic management: types of goals

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 18:37

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

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

The concept of purpose, what is it

Goal is an intermediate stage on the way to the mission that the organization sets for itself. However, if the mission is only a guide for movement, the final state, then the goal is a step on the way to the mission.

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

The concept of mission - what is it

Mission is a fairly broad concept. So, each individual organization has its own mission. For example, a manufacturing enterprise may consider its mission to be the release of a large volume of quality products at the lowest price. For a trading and intermediary enterprise, the mission can be considered the purchase of goods for a more profitable resale. The types of organization goals in these two cases are different.

Goalis the exact concept. She answers questions like:

• what specifically to do;
• what to do;
• who will be responsible for achieving the goal;
• who will be the executor of the goal;
• what deadlines need to be met.

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

• market research;
• study of similar offers among competitors;
• minimizing the cost of production while maintaining its quality;
• search for new suppliers who are ready to offer more favorable conditions.

For a trading and intermediary company, other purposes will be appropriate:

• search for partners who are ready to offer favorable conditions;
• buying the cheapest raw materials and materials (products, goods);
• market research to find new customers (buyers);
• resale of goods at a price higher than the cost of purchase.

And although the goals of each organization are different, there is some generally accepted classification by which the types of activity goals were grouped.

Main types of goals, classification by time

It is possible to divide the types of goals into groups according to similarfeatured.

So, they can be classified according to time as:

• short-term (less than 12 months to achieve the goal);
• medium-term (deadline - up to 5 years);
• long-term (more than 5 years are allocated to achieve the goal).

The long-term goal sounds clear. Thus, the long-term goal of the enterprise may be the desire to become one of the three leaders in the production of chocolate. In order to complete the task, the management of the enterprise will put forward short-term goals (appoint a responsible person for the construction of an additional building for workshops; increase the quality of products).

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

Short-term goals are "ongoing" and subject to change if circumstances warrant. Long-term goals must be precise.

Classified by content

By content, 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 (promotioncompany products, promotions, finding new customers, expanding the customer base);
• technological (installation of the 1C program, change of computer equipment in the customer service department);
• social (upgrading the skills of employees, providing their employees with housing, employment according to the labor code, a full social package).

All of the above goals are short-term (they will take no more than 12 months to complete).

Classification by sources

Depending on the sources, the targets are:

• external (a broad concept covering the work of the organization outside of it, for example, the fight against competitors);
• internal (goals that can only be achieved within the organization, such as the introduction of a new motivation system).

The external and internal environment of an organization are related to 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 of achievement, goals are distinguished:

• complex (include a structured goal);
• simple (one word targets).

So a simple goal might sound like this: promote marketing people. The fulfillment of such a goal is possible in one action.

A hard target will contain several smaller targets. Suppose the goal is to increase revenue from the sale of products. You can achieve results if you divide a 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 a product (promotions, discounts).

System of goals within the organization

Any 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 are separate goals, the fulfillment of which leads to the final result. The number of branches can be in the thousands. So, a big branch is an important target. Little knot is a one-sided task.
• Hierarchy. Moving from the mission to less important goals. And so on ad infinitum, until the easiest task.

Ranking. The division of the main mission into two / three volumetric goals. Each goal, in turn, will be divided into smaller tasks. Thus, the execution of a number of incidental smaller tasks leads to the fulfillment of a single goal

The ranking system is now quite popular in organizations. At large enterprises, such a system can be referred to as accounting for responsibility centers, where each individual section has its own goals and its own degree of responsibility.

Types of offers by goal

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

Product demand	Target	Action
Negative demand	Increase demand for products	Get the consumer's attention by changing the quality of the product and lowering the price
No demand	Raise demand	Study the market, scout the situation on the side of competitors, offer the buyer more favorable conditions than other organizations offer
Irregular demand (seasonal)	Find ways to continually increase demand	Set flexible product prices
Positive	Keep buying interest	Change the packaging of the product, slightly change the price of the product
High demand	Somewhat reduce the demand for goods or expand the enterprise	Reduce the price of products or develop a plan to expand the organization

Demand does generate supply. In other words, depending on how interested the consumer is in the company's products, management can make different decisions about improving the organization's activities.

Conditions for setting goals

Any goal must meet certain conditions, including:

• clarity, transparency, obviousness (the interpretation of the goal should not soundambiguous);
• consistency (a goal cannot conflict with another goal);
• commensurability (a certain amount of time is allotted to achieve any goal);
• clearness (the task must be extremely accurate);
• direction (must be set to achieve a certain result);
• specificity (compiled taking into account the specifics of the enterprise).

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

The main goal of a commercial enterprise is considered to be obtaining maximum profit at minimum cost. In fact, businesses often list a goal such as increasing revenue when making a plan for the year, putting forward tasks to a higher level that will help meet the needs of consumers.