Goals, Objectives, Values and Strategic Intent

## Goals, Objectives, Values and Strategic Intent

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### Goals and Objectives

Business organisations translate their Vision and Mission into Goals and Objectives.

• Goals and objectives represent results to be achieved in multiple areas of business.
• Objectives are the organisation's performance targets.
• They function as yardsticks for tracking performance and progress.
• They provide meaning and sense of direction to organisational endeavour.
• Organisational structure and resources are designed and allocated around objectives.

> Short-range objectives can be identical to long-range objectives if an organisation is already performing at the targeted long-term level.

#### Characteristics of Good Objectives

Objectives should:

1. Be facilitative towards achievement of mission

2. Be concrete and specific

3. Be related to a time frame

4. Be measurable and controllable

5. Be challenging

6. Provide the basis for strategic decision-making

7. Provide standards for performance appraisal

8. Define the organisation's relationship with its environment

#### Seven Areas for Long-term Objectives

1. Profitability

2. Productivity

3. Competitive Position

4. Employee Development

5. Employee Relations

6. Technological Leadership

7. Public Responsibility

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### Values

• Values are the deep-rooted principles that guide an organisation's decisions and actions.
• They can never be compromised, either for convenience or short-term economic gain.
• Values often reflect the values of the company's founders.
• They are the source of a company's distinctiveness and must be maintained at all costs.
• A company's values set the tone for how people think and behave, especially in situations of dilemma.
• Examples: Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Humility, Innovation, Diversity.
• Consumers prefer companies whose values align with their own — hence values have both internal and external implications.

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### Strategic Intent

Strategic intent refers to the purposes of what the organisation strives for.

• Senior managers define "what they want to do" and "why they want to do it" — the 'why' represents strategic intent.
• Clarity in strategic intent is extremely important for future success and growth, irrespective of nature and size of enterprise.
• Strategic intent is the philosophical base of strategic management.

#### Strategic Intent: Corporate vs. Operational Level

Components of Strategic Intent: Vision, Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Values

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### Network of Relationships (Organisational Structure)

1. Functional and Divisional Relationship — Independent relationship

2. Horizontal Relationship — Flat structure

3. Matrix Relationship — Grid-like structure