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• Organizational objectives


  • Provide a sense of direction
  • Underpin strategic and tactical activities
  • Provide a means of measuring performance
  • Motivate stakeholders
  • Develop teamwork
• Mission statement


  • More specific to what the enterprise can achieve
  • Define an organisation's purpose and primary objectives, stating 'who we are and what we do'
  • Act as a whole philosophy for the firm
  • May not have quantifiable targets, but aim to inform customers, employees and other stakeholders about the firm's objectives

  
• Vision statement


  • Describes why it is important to achieve the organisation's mission by defining its purpose, social aims or broader goals
  • A general statement on where the business wishes to be in the future and the values it holds; what it wants to become and what it wants to achieve
  • Should make employees feel proud, motivated and excited to part of the organisation's journey
• Aims


  Statements of intent written in broad terms, describing what the organisation wants to achieve and where it wants to be in the future
• Objectives


  Specific objectives required to achieve the organisation's desired aims, defined in measurable outcomes
• Business strategy


  • A plan illustrating how the organisation will achieve its corporate objectives
  • Strategic objectives are significant long-term goals relating to key business objectives such as market share

  
• Business tactics


  Operational activities undertaken on a regular basis to implement the business strategy
• Management by objectives


  • The process of management and employees agreeing on objectives for the organisation
  • Objectives set in this way need to be SMART or SMARTER
• SMARTER objectives


  • Specific, clear and easily defined
  • Measurable and quantifiable targets and tasks
  • Achievable using existing resources, so objectives should be realistic
  • Relevant and must not conflict with other objectives
  • Time-bound (within a specified period of time) allowing measurement
  • Extend the target to account for new circumstances and/or make them Exciting
  • Reward the achievement of objectives and/or Record the results
• Hierarchy of objectives


  Aims, objectives, strategies and tactics, and their relationships
• Internal environment


  • The part of a business under its control and includes functions such as human resources and marketing
  • Drivers to change may be negative or positive
• Negative changes in internal environment

  • High staff turnover and/or absenteeism
  • Loss of productivity and falling motivation
  • Falling quality standards
  • Liquidity problems
  • Increasing costs
• Positive changes in internal environment

  • Recruiting talented individuals
  • Improving productivity and quality
  • Successful innovation
  • Exceeding performance measures
• External environment


  • The 'world beyond the firm' and is not controllable by it
  • Includes the political, economic, social and technological (PEST) changes that impact on the business
  • Provides the opportunities for business growth and poses threats to its financial and operating activities
• Negative changes in external environment

  • New products from competitors
  • New laws and regulations that increase the firm's costs
  • Changes in social behaviour and trends decreasing demand for a firm's products
  • Recession and new competition
• Positive changes in external environment

  • Economic booms
  • New technologies reducing production costs
  • Changes in consumer behaviour favouring the firm's products
  • Lower taxes
• Ethical objectives


  • The moral principles and values underpinning human behavior
  • Focused on the behaviour of the organisation as a whole as opposed to the actions of individuals within it
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

  • The positive role of the organisation in its environment and its social impact
  • Firms have responsibilities to various stakeholders
• SWOT analysis


  • An internal audit of where a business is at present and how it is affected by its external environment
  • Supports effective strategic planning, based on an examination of a firm's capabilities and its external environment
• Strengths


  What the firm does well and its advantages
• Weaknesses


  What the firm does not do well
• Opportunities


  Changes in external conditions that allow the firm to develop markets, expand and make more profits
• Threats


  External factors that may prevent the firm achieving its aims (constraints and barriers)
• The strengths and weaknesses are a summary of the present position of the product, decision or organisation, whereas the opportunities and threats represent future positive or negative concerns for the business
• There are links between strengths and opportunities, and weaknesses and threats