Business Objectives Examples for Small Business
Once the firm’s strategic analysis has been completed, the strategy-maker’s responsibility is now to take the initiative in setting business objectives examples. These business objectives examples would form the basis for formulating a strategy. As stated earlier, there can be no strategy without an objective. The strategic analysis provides adequate information for setting objectives for the firm. Strategy-makers review the information and use it for establishing (or setting) business objectives examples. Choosing appropriate objectives requires a deep understanding of the external environment and the opportunities it presents, together with an analysis of the firm’s competencies, the vision and values of the firm, and the demands of financial markets.
Establishing an objective is a direction-setting task. A mission statement provides an overall goal for the organization but does not enable managers to take action. Managers, for that reason, need to adapt the mission to definite performance objectives. Instituting objectives transforms vision and mission into definite performance results. Objectives are established for strategic performance and financial performance for accomplishment. Top managers create wider objectives with lengthier time skylines than do in succession lower levels of managers. Lower-level managers create objectives constructed on middle-level objectives. In operation, lower-level objectives provide the means for attaining middle-level objectives. Besides, in turn, middle-level business objectives examples provide the means for attaining top-level business objectives examples.
Read more: Strategic Objective Examples and Explanation.
Meaning & Nature of Business Objectives Examples:
An objective describes the results to be achieved by the firm. It refers to measurable targets. An objective is a specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a given period. The objective must clearly show what the company wants to achieve and when it wants to achieve it. An objective needs to be written in concrete, quantitative, and measurable terms. A well-formulated objective must be SMART, where-
M stands for MEASURABLE,
A stands for ACHIEVABLE (or ‘Appropriate’ – appropriate to resources, environment, and technology of the company),
R stands for REALISTIC, and
T stands for TIME-BOUND.
Learn more: Explanation of SMART
Some writers believe that there should be a dissimilarity between ‘objective’ and ‘goal.’ However, managers generally prefer to use both terms interchangeably. The above are examples of operational managers’ operating objectives and mid-level managers’ implementation of their plans with specific targets in mind.
In strategic management, we are more concerned with strategic performance objectives and financial performance objectives. Strategic performance objectives are concerned with sustaining and improving the company’s long-term market position and competitiveness. On the other hand, the financial performance objective is related to achieving financial gains for having a strong financial standing. Beneath are specific samples of financial performance objectives and strategic performance objectives.
Financial Performance Business Objectives Examples:
Here are some most important financial performances of the business objective examples. Such as:-
- Higher product quality.
- A longer market share.
- Lower costs relative to key competitors.
- Quicker on-time delivery than competitors.
- Superior customer service.
- Achieving ISO certificate.
- Increased goodwill in the industry.
- Wider geographic coverage.
- Increased ability to compete in international markets.
- Finally, exceeding customer satisfaction.
Strategic Performance Business Objectives Examples:
This section mentions the strategic performances of the business objective examples. Such as:-
- Firstly, faster revenue.
- Higher dividends.
- Larger profit margins.
- Stable earnings during recessionary periods.
- Higher returns on invested capital.
- Rising stock price.
- Higher earnings per share.
- Bigger cast flow.
- Lastly, enhancing financial resources.
Classification of Business Objectives Examples:
Based on the time dimension, there may be two types of objectives: short-term and long-term objectives. Short-term means one year or less than one year. Long-term means for more than one year. However, some people in the business world talk of an ‘intermediate-term objective,’ which is established for some time between one and three years. In such a situation, the long-term objective is set for more than three years. However, we should keep in mind that the definition of long-term objectives differs from author to author and from organization to organization. For instance, Robinson and Pearce are of the view that longstanding objectives are “results a business seeks to attain over a precise time, archetypally five years.”
Strategic planners commonly establish long-term objectives in seven areas: profitability, productivity, competitive position, employee involvement, employee relations, technological leadership, and public responsibility. To ensure attainability, the long-term business objectives examples need to be acceptable, flexible, and measurable over a period, motivating, suitable, understandable, and achievable.
Based on an organization’s business structure, there may be corporate objectives, business-unit objectives, functional objectives, and operating objectives. These objectives cascade down from the top to the lowest levels of the organization, thus creating a hierarchy; corporate objectives are set at the top level of the organization by the board of directors and the senior managers. The business-unit level objectives are formulated based on corporate objectives. Based on the business-unit objectives, the functional objectives are set by the mid-level or departmental-level managers that are meant to be achieved in the short run.
Cascade of Objectives with Typical Examples
There are included some important points by which is presented a downward cascade of objectives with typical examples. Such as:-
| Levels of Organization | Objectives | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate level | Corporate objectives | Increasing shareholder return. Diversification of business. Achieving synergy. Improving corporate citizenship. |
| Business-unit level | Business-unit objectives | Double-digit annual earning growth. Improving the quality of products. Expanding market share Employee development. |
| Functional level or department-level | Functional objectives | Increasing profits on Brand-A by 10% during the year. Expansion of market share by 5% during the year. |
| Operating level | Operating objectives | Adding 20 more salespeople in the northern sales territory. The number of dealers in the southern sales territory by 30 percent. |
The Necessity of Business Objectives Examples:
Organizational success depends substantially on sound objectives. Objectives are essential for a variety of reasons. They –
- Provide direction to the organization as a whole and employees in particular.
- Help in the evaluation of the performance of employees and the departments.
- Reveal priorities in what the organization what to achieve and in the allocation of resources.
- Deliver a basis for effective forecasting in the organization, and
- Finally, assist in organizing, motivating, and controlling the activities.
Approaches to Objectives Setting: Top-Down or Bottom-Up Approach?
Business objectives examples need to be set for the whole organization over and above for each department and division. Even individual objectives, consistent with departmental objectives, are also common. Organizations may use different approaches for setting objectives at different levels.
What should be the approach for setting objectives in an organization? There is no short-cut answer. You can follow either a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach. Some organizations follow a combination of both approaches. In the top-down attitude, the elderly managers set the objectives constructed on the association’s needs, and then they permit these to the lower levels. When managers at the top level foresee that there will be a downside in the market shortly due to some environmental reasons, they may find no alternative but to take drastic measures to improve profitability.
Therefore, they may set an objective like this: “To reduce the number of operating level employees by 7% in Factory A and Factory C within the next three months.” The mid-level and operating-level managers would undertake steps for the realization of the objective. This is a top-down approach. On the other hand, in some organizations, managers follow the bottom-up approach. That means the senior managers ask the lower-level managers to set objectives for their units and send them to the top level for review and approval. This approach encourages ‘buy-in’ of the business objectives examples from all employees.
Read More: Risk Management Process
Long-Term Objectives and Competitive Strategy:
Strategic management is primarily concerned with formulating and implementing a competitive strategy. It does not mean that functional strategies are ignored. Management specialists argue that the period for competitive strategy should be consistent, usually from two to five years. The period for long-term business objectives examples should also be the same for both long-term objectives and competitive strategies are interdependent. It is common among business firms to set long-term objectives in terms of growth in assets, growth in sales, growth in market share, improvement of profitability, adoption of vertical integration, expansion of business through diversification, corporate social responsibility, etc.
A competitive strategy is formulated based on long-term objectives, which should have a timeline. For the active operation of competitive strategy, long-term objectives are worn out to yearly objectives. We should bear in mind that yearly objectives aid as mileposts for the attainment of long-term objectives. Each long-term objective may require a set of annual objectives. An organization should set annual objectives for production, marketing, finance, research and development, human resources, management information systems, etc. As a plan-creator; you have to use the yearly objectives for strategy operation. You will use the long-term objectives for strategy formulation.
Since long-term business objectives and examples are important measures of managerial performance, they should be established at the organization’s corporate and functional levels. All objectives should be communicated to the stakeholders to understand their role, make appropriate decisions, reduce conflicts among themselves during strategy implementation, set organizational priorities, and set standards for evaluating the performance of the departments, divisions, employees, and the entire organization.
Once the firm’s strategic analysis has been completed, the strategy-maker’s responsibility is now to take the initiative in setting business objectives examples. These business objectives examples would form the basis for formulating a strategy. As stated earlier, there can be no strategy without an objective. The strategic analysis provides adequate information for setting objectives for the firm. Strategy-makers review the information and use it for establishing (or setting) business objectives examples. Choosing appropriate objectives requires a deep understanding of the external environment and the opportunities it presents, together with an analysis of the firm’s competencies, the vision and values of the firm, and the demands of financial markets.
Establishing an objective is a direction-setting task. A mission statement provides an overall goal for the organization but does not enable managers to take action. Managers, for that reason, need to adapt the mission to definite performance objectives. Instituting objectives transforms vision and mission into definite performance results. Objectives are established for strategic performance and financial performance for accomplishment. Top managers create wider objectives with lengthier time skylines than do in succession lower levels of managers. Lower-level managers create objectives constructed on middle-level objectives. In operation, lower-level objectives provide the means for attaining middle-level objectives. Besides, in turn, middle-level business objectives examples provide the means for attaining top-level business objectives examples.
Read more: Strategic Objective Examples and Explanation.
Meaning & Nature of Business Objectives Examples:
An objective describes the results to be achieved by the firm. It refers to measurable targets. An objective is a specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a given period. The objective must clearly show what the company wants to achieve and when it wants to achieve it. An objective needs to be written in concrete, quantitative, and measurable terms. A well-formulated objective must be SMART, where-
M stands for MEASURABLE,
A stands for ACHIEVABLE (or ‘Appropriate’ – appropriate to resources, environment, and technology of the company),
R stands for REALISTIC, and
T stands for TIME-BOUND.
Learn more: Explanation of SMART
Some writers believe that there should be a dissimilarity between ‘objective’ and ‘goal.’ However, managers generally prefer to use both terms interchangeably. The above are examples of operational managers’ operating objectives and mid-level managers’ implementation of their plans with specific targets in mind.
In strategic management, we are more concerned with strategic performance objectives and financial performance objectives. Strategic performance objectives are concerned with sustaining and improving the company’s long-term market position and competitiveness. On the other hand, the financial performance objective is related to achieving financial gains for having a strong financial standing. Beneath are specific samples of financial performance objectives and strategic performance objectives.
Financial Performance Business Objectives Examples:
Here are some most important financial performances of the business objective examples. Such as:-
- Higher product quality.
- A longer market share.
- Lower costs relative to key competitors.
- Quicker on-time delivery than competitors.
- Superior customer service.
- Achieving ISO certificate.
- Increased goodwill in the industry.
- Wider geographic coverage.
- Increased ability to compete in international markets.
- Finally, exceeding customer satisfaction.
Strategic Performance Business Objectives Examples:
This section mentions the strategic performances of the business objective examples. Such as:-
- Firstly, faster revenue.
- Higher dividends.
- Larger profit margins.
- Stable earnings during recessionary periods.
- Higher returns on invested capital.
- Rising stock price.
- Higher earnings per share.
- Bigger cast flow.
- Lastly, enhancing financial resources.
Classification of Business Objectives Examples:
Based on the time dimension, there may be two types of objectives: short-term and long-term objectives. Short-term means one year or less than one year. Long-term means for more than one year. However, some people in the business world talk of an ‘intermediate-term objective,’ which is established for some time between one and three years. In such a situation, the long-term objective is set for more than three years. However, we should keep in mind that the definition of long-term objectives differs from author to author and from organization to organization. For instance, Robinson and Pearce are of the view that longstanding objectives are “results a business seeks to attain over a precise time, archetypally five years.”
Strategic planners commonly establish long-term objectives in seven areas: profitability, productivity, competitive position, employee involvement, employee relations, technological leadership, and public responsibility. To ensure attainability, the long-term business objectives examples need to be acceptable, flexible, and measurable over a period, motivating, suitable, understandable, and achievable.
Based on an organization’s business structure, there may be corporate objectives, business-unit objectives, functional objectives, and operating objectives. These objectives cascade down from the top to the lowest levels of the organization, thus creating a hierarchy; corporate objectives are set at the top level of the organization by the board of directors and the senior managers. The business-unit level objectives are formulated based on corporate objectives. Based on the business-unit objectives, the functional objectives are set by the mid-level or departmental-level managers that are meant to be achieved in the short run.
Cascade of Objectives with Typical Examples
There are included some important points by which is presented a downward cascade of objectives with typical examples. Such as:-
| Levels of Organization | Objectives | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate level | Corporate objectives | Increasing shareholder return. Diversification of business. Achieving synergy. Improving corporate citizenship. |
| Business-unit level | Business-unit objectives | Double-digit annual earning growth. Improving the quality of products. Expanding market share Employee development. |
| Functional level or department-level | Functional objectives | Increasing profits on Brand-A by 10% during the year. Expansion of market share by 5% during the year. |
| Operating level | Operating objectives | Adding 20 more salespeople in the northern sales territory. The number of dealers in the southern sales territory by 30 percent. |
The Necessity of Business Objectives Examples:
Organizational success depends substantially on sound objectives. Objectives are essential for a variety of reasons. They –
- Provide direction to the organization as a whole and employees in particular.
- Help in the evaluation of the performance of employees and the departments.
- Reveal priorities in what the organization what to achieve and in the allocation of resources.
- Deliver a basis for effective forecasting in the organization, and
- Finally, assist in organizing, motivating, and controlling the activities.
Approaches to Objectives Setting: Top-Down or Bottom-Up Approach?
Business objectives examples need to be set for the whole organization over and above for each department and division. Even individual objectives, consistent with departmental objectives, are also common. Organizations may use different approaches for setting objectives at different levels.
What should be the approach for setting objectives in an organization? There is no short-cut answer. You can follow either a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach. Some organizations follow a combination of both approaches. In the top-down attitude, the elderly managers set the objectives constructed on the association’s needs, and then they permit these to the lower levels. When managers at the top level foresee that there will be a downside in the market shortly due to some environmental reasons, they may find no alternative but to take drastic measures to improve profitability.
Therefore, they may set an objective like this: “To reduce the number of operating level employees by 7% in Factory A and Factory C within the next three months.” The mid-level and operating-level managers would undertake steps for the realization of the objective. This is a top-down approach. On the other hand, in some organizations, managers follow the bottom-up approach. That means the senior managers ask the lower-level managers to set objectives for their units and send them to the top level for review and approval. This approach encourages ‘buy-in’ of the business objectives examples from all employees.
Read More: Risk Management Process
Long-Term Objectives and Competitive Strategy:
Strategic management is primarily concerned with formulating and implementing a competitive strategy. It does not mean that functional strategies are ignored. Management specialists argue that the period for competitive strategy should be consistent, usually from two to five years. The period for long-term business objectives examples should also be the same for both long-term objectives and competitive strategies are interdependent. It is common among business firms to set long-term objectives in terms of growth in assets, growth in sales, growth in market share, improvement of profitability, adoption of vertical integration, expansion of business through diversification, corporate social responsibility, etc.
A competitive strategy is formulated based on long-term objectives, which should have a timeline. For the active operation of competitive strategy, long-term objectives are worn out to yearly objectives. We should bear in mind that yearly objectives aid as mileposts for the attainment of long-term objectives. Each long-term objective may require a set of annual objectives. An organization should set annual objectives for production, marketing, finance, research and development, human resources, management information systems, etc. As a plan-creator; you have to use the yearly objectives for strategy operation. You will use the long-term objectives for strategy formulation.
Since long-term business objectives and examples are important measures of managerial performance, they should be established at the organization’s corporate and functional levels. All objectives should be communicated to the stakeholders to understand their role, make appropriate decisions, reduce conflicts among themselves during strategy implementation, set organizational priorities, and set standards for evaluating the performance of the departments, divisions, employees, and the entire organization.
Concluding Remarks:
Once you have decided and set long-term business objectives for your organization, you are now ready to formulate strategies in line with the objectives—the next time, detail the issues related to the formulation of business-level strategies and corporate-level strategies.
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