Aims and objectives
Aims are a general statement of purpose for example they might want grow business in European markets. Objectives are measurable targets for example a business might say that they want to achieve sales of €10 million in European markets in 2010.
Objectives may be set to give the business a clearly defined target then plans can be made to achieve these targets, this can help motivate employees and it enables the business to measure progress towards to its stated aims.
S-pecific as to what must be achieved
M-easurable, so that their achievement can be judged
A-chievable, so that those responsible know that the target can be met
R-elevant to the aims of the business or realistic
T-ime based to give a framework or time scale for the objective
Objectives that fulfil these targets are called SMART objectives
Survival is a typical business objective. In order to survive a company must break-even (i.e. cover it’s costs, but not necessarily make a profit). Examples of objectives that might achieve this aim include to break-even by April or to stay in business until January.
Many companies see growth as their main aim. Objectives for achieving this may include increasing profit (reduce costs, increase price), increasing sales turnover (advertising, reducing price), increasing market share (advertising to increase sales), expanding the product range, expanding the number of markets (sell overseas), acquiring a new business (merge/take-over), acquiring new premises or employing more staff.
Some Businesses want to be seen to have a good reputation and image. they e an aim to gain or maintain prestige. Prestige refers to product quality, good customer service (e.g. M&S) or company image. Therefore examples of objectives could be to improve product quality or to improve customer service.
Another aim a company may have might be profit. Some companies, especially those with shareholders wish to have as much profit as possible. Objectives that could achieve this aim include increasing sales turnover, increasing the profit margin or increasing productivity or reducing costs.
Objectives may be set to give the business a clearly defined target then plans can be made to achieve these targets, this can help motivate employees and it enables the business to measure progress towards to its stated aims.
S-pecific as to what must be achieved
M-easurable, so that their achievement can be judged
A-chievable, so that those responsible know that the target can be met
R-elevant to the aims of the business or realistic
T-ime based to give a framework or time scale for the objective
Objectives that fulfil these targets are called SMART objectives
Survival is a typical business objective. In order to survive a company must break-even (i.e. cover it’s costs, but not necessarily make a profit). Examples of objectives that might achieve this aim include to break-even by April or to stay in business until January.
Many companies see growth as their main aim. Objectives for achieving this may include increasing profit (reduce costs, increase price), increasing sales turnover (advertising, reducing price), increasing market share (advertising to increase sales), expanding the product range, expanding the number of markets (sell overseas), acquiring a new business (merge/take-over), acquiring new premises or employing more staff.
Some Businesses want to be seen to have a good reputation and image. they e an aim to gain or maintain prestige. Prestige refers to product quality, good customer service (e.g. M&S) or company image. Therefore examples of objectives could be to improve product quality or to improve customer service.
Another aim a company may have might be profit. Some companies, especially those with shareholders wish to have as much profit as possible. Objectives that could achieve this aim include increasing sales turnover, increasing the profit margin or increasing productivity or reducing costs.