GOAL FORMATION PROCESS

Posted by santosh on Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Organizations

are

deliberate

and

purposive

creation,which

have

some

goals,goals

or

objectives

are the end results towards which the activities of an organizations are directed,the process of goal formation is not simple but quite complex,the goals must be realistic and attainable ,they should neither be too high nor too low ,if they are too high ,they cannot be achieved and the managers and the workers would become frustrated and if they are too low, they serve no purpose ,further, the goals must be clearly stated so that the concerned persons can understand them clearly.

The process of goal formation varies in business and social organizations ,withing business organizations also the process may be affected due to attitude of higher management ,efficiency of managers,and workers participations in management, virtually all organizations have a formal ,recognized ,legally specified organ for forming the initial goals and their amendments ,generally ,.top management determines the overall objectives which the members of an organizations unite to achieve,in some organizations, goals are set by the vote of the shareholders;in others,by a vote of members; and in few .by an individual who owns and runs the organizations ,they may change or propose a new goal.

Goal and strategy formulation Goals are set to define what is important to achieve. Within an organization there is a series of goals of different kinds and on different levels. The goals that concern the most important company relations, or the company as a whole, are strategic goals and they are usually developed over several years. Examples of (generic) goals: maximize sales revenue; maximize market share; maximize market value of the company's products (in their segments); maximize brand loyalty. Definition: Goals

All companies have ways of working to achieve a particular goal. Sometimes, this goal arises from the company's historical operations; sometimes it is a goal that someone has decided upon and directs the company. When conducting management by objectives, there are four relevant criteria:

Objectives must be arranged hierarchically, from the most to the least important. Objectives should be quantitative whenever possible. Goals should be realistic. Objectives must be consistent (for example, sales and profit cannot be maximized simultaneously).

How to Set Business Goals

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A smart CEO understands the inherent value of goal setting in steering a growing business in the right direction. Unfortunately, figuring out exactly what the right direction isand the road map to get thereisn't as much of a no-brainer.

More than 80 percent of the 300 small business owners surveyed in the recent 4th Annual Staples National Small Business Survey said that they don't keep track of their business goals, and 77 percent have yet to achieve their vision for their company. Though the statistics are grim, they should make sense: establishing business goals involves a fair amount of introspection into what makes your business tick, and what you want its future to be. Devoting the proper amount of time to do that can be difficult in a struggling economy, but your goals will be more achievable and effective if you do. "You have to know what you're going for, and do it with your eyes wide open," says Francisco Dao, founder and president of The Killer Pitch, a firm based in Tarzana, California, that helps companies and entrepreneurs refine their message, and former business coach and columnist for Inc. "Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what it's going to take to achieve your goals." Here's Inc.'s road map to setting (and achieving) business goals.

Setting Business Goals: Determine Your Long-Term Aims Start by distinguishing your long-term goals from your short-term ones. Your long-term goals should have a timeline of about three to five years, says Maria Marshall, an associate professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, who has conducted research on small and family-owned businesses. They should articulate your company's mission statement, reflecting the reason your company was founded. "When you think about why the company is there in the first place, goals take on a whole different meaning," says Bill Baren, a business coach and founder and president of Bill Baren Coaching, based in San Francisco. "There's more energy behind them. They don't feel forced." Marshall says that these types of visionary goals usually fall within four general areas: service, social, profit, or growth: Service - Goals related to improving customer service satisfaction or customer retention. Social - Goals that focus on giving back to the community, through philanthropy or volunteer organizations, for example.

 Profit - Goals set to increase profits by a certain percentage. Growth - Goals related to the expansion of the company, through new employees, for instance. Marshall likens each type of goal to a vacation destination, and the related short-term goals and objectives you establish afterward as the road map for getting there. To emphasize the distinction between long- and short-term goals, Baren suggests using different language. "Look at a long-term goal as an initiative," he says. "If you're constantly calling them goals, people will say they've heard it before. [To them,] it will feel like a marathon. Sometimes, a goal needs to be positioned as something bigger." If you're truly thinking big, you might want to consider creating a B.H.A.G., a "big, hairy, audacious, goal." The termcoined by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1996 article "Building Your Company's Vision"refers to the 30-year game changing goals, like Sony trying to change the worldwide perception of Japanese products being of poor quality. Dao also points to the example of Boeing building the 747. "They were going all in," he says. "If it didn't work, Boeing was going to go bankrupt. B.H.A.G.'s aren't impossible, but the company better be willing to bet the farm." Regardless of just how long you want your long-term goals to be, be cognizant of how quickly they can change. Lori Becker, founder and CEO of Boston-based education publishing firm Publishing Solutions Group, says she is a fan of the five-year goal, but the current economy and some major changes in her industry have forced her to reevaluate. "Instead of a few years out, I'm now looking quarter to quarter," she says. "My goal is just to make more money than I did last year." Dig Deeper: Francisco Dao on making goals inspirational, not delusional

Setting Business Goals: Create Short-Term Objectives Now that you've figured out what you want in the long term, you need to figure out how to get there. Marshall recommends an easy way to think about your short-term objectives for accomplishing your long-term goals. Make them S.M.A.R.T.: Specific. In order to work, objectives need to be concrete (not as abstract as your long-

term aims) and highly detailed. Measurable. Put a figure or value, such as a dollar amount or percentage, to the objective. Action-oriented. Lay out which actions need to be taken by which people, and when. Realistic. Make goals challenging, but consider your resources so that you can actually achieve them reasonably. Time specific. Set a deadline to keep things on track. "You have to understand what the long-term goal means on a daily basis," Dao says. "How do you establish the goal at its most fundamental level? If I want to increase sales annually by 24 percent, how many new customers or orders a day is that?"

Strategic Goals This section will cover the overall goals of gourmet bakers and sweets. Non Financial Strategic Goals T o g e t t h e ma x i mu m ma r k e t s h a r e b y t a k i n g a n a d v a n t a g e o f o u r s t r e n g t h s o f l a t e s t technology, own distribution, best quality with competitive prices by maintaining goodrelations with suppliers. To increase outlets on key/main locations of every area of the city, Lahore. To expand the business to other main cities of Pakistan in next 5 years.6 To be among the top companies in the food business.

 To increase the number of outlets of the company 25 % annually. To increase the product mix by adding new product lines. To build strong customer relationships by providing them quality products at the low cost. To introduce quality products for health conscious people. To introduce unique ideas of product marketing. To implement paperless environment throughout the company. Using paper bags replacing plastic bags within next two years. To build better relationships with supplier Financial Strategic Goals Minimum branch revenue growth rate will be 10 % annually. To double the annual sales in a period of five years. To reduce the cost of production by backward integration strategy. To increase the companys profits by maintaining the current customers through consistentquality and low prices and getting new ones by opening new outlets. To reduce the cost by reducing the wastages during the production and transportation.7