[Solution] Goals
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Author: Sarah Bennett
Goals serve multiple purposes for organizations, and there are different types of goals. Managers are typically involved in setting goals that correspond to their level in the organization, as well as individual goals for themselves.
Why Managers Set Goals
Goals serve four purposes in organizations:
- To serve as a "compass," giving people a single path to direct their activity
- To be an input to sound planning, which in turn will inform future goal setting
- To motivate employees. To be motivational, a goal should be specific and somewhat challenging, and people should be rewarded if they attain the goal.
- To assist with evaluation and control of organizational performance. Performance is measured against the goal, and adjustments may be made to improve performance or modify the goal.
Types of Goals
Organizations typically have several types of goals that correspond to different levels in the organization:
- Strategic goals: Set by top management, broad in scope with long time frames
- Tactical goals: Set by middle management, more specific with medium time frames
- Operational goals: Set by lower-level management, very specific with short time frames
Juggling Multiple Goals
Organizations often need to balance multiple goals that may sometimes compete for resources or attention.
Select the correct response(s) to the following question.
Which of the following are reasons that organizations set goals? Check all that apply.
- To make planning unnecessary
- To aid in measuring results
- To prompt managers to make adjustments to improve performance
- To give people in the organization a unifying direction
View Explanation
Organizations set goals for these reasons:
- To give people a unifying direction so they can coordinate their activities
- To give managers a target against which to measure performance
- To indicate to managers when changes need to be made because the organization is not performing as desired
Organizations also set goals to motivate employees and to help with planning. Goals are not a substitute for planning; instead, they are a basis for planning.
Select the correct response for each of the following questions.
Which of the following describes tactical goals?
- These goals are set by top management, are broad in scope, and have long time frames.
- These goals establish the organization's purpose and describe how the organization is different from others.
- These goals are set by lower-level managers, are specific in scope, and have short time frames.
- These goals are set by middle managers, are focused on how to achieve broad goals, and have medium time frames.
View Explanation
Tactical goals are set by middle managers to guide middle managers' performance. They are building blocks for the broad strategic goals set by upper management and so are more specific than strategic goals. They tend to have medium time horizons, such as between one and five years.
A manager is asked to optimize a set of goals. What is the manager being asked to do?
- Develop a strategy that supports the goals
- Evaluate how well the organization achieved the goals
- Balance and reconcile competing goals
- Develop a plan that will achieve the goals
View Explanation
Optimizing is the process of reconciling goals that put different parts of an organization in competition with each other. Managers must weigh the importance, timing, and resource demands of different goals to find a course of action that helps the organization achieve as much as possible — optimizing the organization's performance.
