Setting up a business in many cases includes unstated aims and objectives, for instance how to thrive for the first half of the year. However, some enterprises state what they are aiming for directly at the start of the business. A business aims refer to the purpose of the company, where it wants to be in the future, they are the long-term goals (Alexander 2013, p56). Aims give focus to the staff and help the business in achieving the critical purpose. For privately owned businesses, the aims are to make good profits for survival and to provide goods and services to the best of their abilities. For the firms in the public sector, the aims are to provide essential, practical, and efficient products and services for their state. A business is allowed to have more than one goal, but it is advisable not to possess too many aims so that they can direct total focus on the ones that are appropriate in fulfilling the primary purpose of their business. Business objectives, on the other hand, refer to the stated and measurable targets required to achieve business aims (Wilson 2014, p104). The goals are more detailed than in the aims. Objectives are more accessible to accomplish as compared to business aims since they are simplified into easier and smaller steps. Private businesses usually have objectives such as increasing the number of clients, increasing sales or reducing costs to attract more customers to their business. Objectives of public sector business typically are keeping the prices as low as possible or meeting the targets of customers, for example reducing time spent waiting for services or increasing the number of employees. Objectives motivate employees and also enable the business to measure its progress toward achieving the stated aims. The objectives should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time specific. The primary objectives that businesses may have are survival for an industry that is starting up, maximizing profit, the growth of sales, and profit satisfaction.
Importance of Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of business when formulated appropriately contribute highly to the performance of the organization. It is therefore essential for every business to have aims and objectives because without them the business will lose focus. It will also lack targets making it difficult to compare its current performance against the set targets. Some companies may opt to change their aims and objectives over time for survival in the competitive market or to seek expansion in the market area in which they are operating. For instance, the British Airways amended its aim of increasing profits to increasing security. This came after the calamity in September 2001. The change was meant to help in retaining the customers.
When aims and objectives of a company are set, they give the organization a sense of direction and purpose (Amit and Zott 2010 p203). It provides a platform in which the business can create its plans. With a general idea in place, the business can now set long-term and achievable targets and monitor the progress towards their achievement. Goals can be different and may include targets based on profits, sales targets, or targets ensuring zero-accidents in the business area. Having a sense of direction and purpose as well as coherent plan for a business is particularly important for global companies which produce many varied products and services worldwide.
Aims and objectives in a business help in planning. When one establishes specific goals and objectives, they make concentrated effort to focus on the long-term and short-term requirements of the business (Willock et al., 1999 p291). This can help in effectively securing the appropriate resources and allocating them, developing plans for marketing and advertising the business’ goods and services, and moving forward to actualize the functions of the business in a preparative and confident manner. This approach also adds an advantage of helping in avoiding unanticipated problems and expenses not planned for that can potentially derail the business.
Management improves when a business writes down aims and objectives and puts them in place. They help the managers to obtain the maximum work output within the period so that he knows what he wants at the end of that period (Drucker 2012 p79). They enable a person to spend some time freely on the aspects of managing the business. Having initiated a path to follow, one can make operational decisions of the organization based on what is already outlined in the aims and objectives. This makes the decision-making process to be streamlined and allows one to become a more effective leader. It also allows one to delegate duties appropriately based on the targets anticipated for the business. It also enables discussions to meet the objectives, and this makes the workers perform more than their ability within the organization.
Well formulated aims and objectives in business helps to carry out staffing responsibilities effectively (Wheelen and Hunger 2011 p186). One can teach the staff about the aims and objectives of the business and the targets and expectations. With this firm understanding of what is expected, the employees will develop project agendas and plans that will help them manage their working time efficiently to reach the targets. They will also help to put in place appropriate tools for measuring employee performance to ensure they are working towards the set direction of the business. Making alterations where necessary is also made more accessible to provide the functions of the business are at the optimal levels.
When objectives and aims are established, it is essential to concurrently come up with a system that will measure the progress of the business. Comprehensive long-term goals and objectives should have a timeline for individuals to implement themselves and a regular schedule for personal evaluation (Gorgievski Ascalon and Stephan 2011 p226). For example, if one has a purpose of increasing the sales by 20 percent over a period of twelve months, one should have a monthly schedule to check and assess the progress towards achieving the goal. This provides an advantage of the continuous knowledge of the exact performance levels that the business is heading.
The business can adjust when plans are put in place early flexibly. The aims and objectives set to enable the business to be flexible to changes when the circumstances warrant for it. They also put it in a position with the advantage of being able to react to the changing conditions in the market and to alter the operational plans when necessary (Quinlan Babin Carr Griffin and Zikmund 2011 p95). This gives a benefit over the competitors who do not have any established aims or objectives, which only depend on a continual assessment of where the business is standing and the direction it is following.
Objectives and aims will give the employees guidance and direction when making difficult decisions regarding the business (Jensen 2000 p 108). When one is faced with a crisis and has no idea on how to proceed, one can refer to the goals and objectives of the business to provide a roadmap to navigate with so that you can know the right direction to follow. This ensures that the business will not fall or encounter problems or expenses not anticipated. It will also provide a solution to employees since they will have something to look up to when they are undertaking difficult tasks.
Employees and the business owner tend to get motivated and inspired by appropriate aims and objectives. The most important reasons why objectives and aims are important are because they give the staff a target which they aim for and also give the drive they require to deliver the results (Maylor Blackmon and Huemann 2016 p67). When they understand the needs of the business, what they are working towards and what is in the business for them, they are more likely to pull off whatever is hoped. Business goals and objectives also keep the employees engaged over years, months, days, weeks, and hours. They give them the direction and promote action towards activities related to the goals set. They also provide the staff energy and challenge them to achieve goals and success. Employees have a right to know what they are working towards and hence should be given the direction. They are filled with curiosity about what they are needed to achieve, what they are not doing well, how they are supposed to perform their job, and how they are going to measure their success. The goals give them a defined list of what they need to accomplish which in return provides them with a sense of direction. They now know the position of the management on the present and future of the business. Apart from setting business aims and objectives, one can set employee goals and objectives to help them assess their success and failure.
Measuring the performance is made easy with aims and objectives. One can assign specific targets and duties to each in the organization, and they provide something measurable to refer to when reviewing how the business is performing (Jensen 2002 p245). Hence, one will be able to compare the actual performance with the aims and objectives, where to put adjustments and place necessary behaviors as required. For example, profit obtained during the previous year can be compared with the one realized in the current year to measure if they are performing better or worse than the last year. Some businesses may decide to share such information with others who are interested and may encourage them to do better in their business.
Objectives and aims pave the way for the strategies aimed for the process of development and improvement. They specify what one wants to achieve in the future and to realize those aims and objectives specific actions need to be taken. To improve the business, there is need to focus and make conscious efforts to do precisely that.
In the workplace, goals and objectives create cohesion between the staff and the business by serving as a tool for communication. They ensure that all employees work together to achieve the set targets. This brings unity to the working environment and creates a spirit of happiness among the workers such that they enjoy their work. A happy workforce is ready to perform their tasks well and increase the productivity of the business.
Business goals and objectives are critical for evaluation (Khurana 2010 p98). They make good benchmarks for gauging the success of the business objectively. The business becomes more successful as more targets are met. The more objectives are accomplished, the better the position a business stands in fully achieving its aims. This helps in decision making regarding the future of the business based on a managerial perspective. Sometimes the business can achieve several successes without meeting the goals. That is fine and provides an idea of what can be achieved realistically. To reach the goals, one may be required to alter the goals, expectations, and strategy. Understanding the capabilities of the business helps in saving money in the long-term which could have been utilized elsewhere. Business goals and objectives give the ability of self-monitoring and the progress made. They provide an essential check that helps in keeping a person from becoming blinded by the existing bias. Aims and objectives also support in the evaluation of employees as well as letting the employees evaluate themselves. They understand the work well and will inform on the departments that are succeeding and the ones that need to improve. They can also help by letting you know if you are administering unrealistic expectations on them. On the side of the employees, employee-oriented goals help them in understanding whether the choice they are making is the right one and also give a metric to evaluate their performances. Once they know how they are performing, they can adjust their working procedures to accomplish what is required of them or ask for help from the management if things are not proceeding as planned. Giving employees the freedom to make their own decisions regarding the work they perform gives them motivation and leads to an improvement in their work ethic. Attainable aims and objectives improve staff morale.
Though setting aims and objectives reach beyond reasonable spending, there are positive results achieved from setting them up for business. Achieving the aims and objectives lead to the quicker growth of the business since the things that are systematically accomplished are those that work in the interest of the organization (Lohrmann and Reichert 2012 p118). The employees are likely to work even harder when there is more success. The successful business translates to happiness among the employees. Every person wishes to work for an organization that is succeeding. When employees increase their hard work, productivity is improved and hence increased growth.
The organization’s financial returns are increased. The financial returns increase because of the happiness among the employees and their hard work which creates more value for the business. Increased productivity per employee yields more significant return on the overall investment. Aims and objectives of a business ensure that it is on track towards success. Understanding and evaluating the goals helps in making smart financial decisions which lead to long-term financial returns.
Setting attainable objectives puts a business in a unique position as compared to the competitive businesses in the market. Most organizations fail to execute their strategies because of failing to formulate goals and objectives. To attain success and beat the competitors in the market area, a business requires stated aims and smart objectives.
They also help in getting the business off the ground. They are essential to starting the business, but they are just the first steps. One may have a business idea but without goals such as the profit to be obtained, the number of employees required, or the best place to put up the business, it will be hard to initiate the business. When starting a business, one must have the things he or she wants to achieve from the business.
Conclusion
Every business should adopt useful aims and objectives which are challenging yet achievable. Setting targets that are likely to be reached will make you and the employees feel good about yourselves, but that will not spur the spirit of working harder to achieve your potential. Setting targets that are nearly impossible to complete will not make the employees work harder because they know the outcome will fall short inevitably. For the aims and objectives to be truly useful, they must be clear and if possible quantifiable. An example of a clear goal for a business is expanding it to three new markets in the next three years. It more effective and provides a clear criterion that drives the need to achieve it and it has indicators to check when you have completed the success. Stating that you want a business to grow considerably is not a valid goal, and it is vague. You cannot know what you are working to achieve or whether or not you have succeeded. To make the importance of aims and objectives be felt in a business, you must make the members of the staff have an idea of what they are working towards. They must also have the tools and resources relevant to achieving the goals. Those goals should be communicated clearly in meetings and memos. The business owner should always be available to answer any impending questions, offer support, and give feedback to the employees.
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