BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M.

Babista

Module 05
GOALS and OBJECTIVES

Companies and projects are driven by specific goals and objec-

tives. These can be long or short term and can be based on achieving tan-
gible, physical results or more abstract outcomes. Despite the fact that
they are so similar as to often be used interchangeably, there are actually
significant differences between goals and objectives and it is important
for anyone in business, and especially project managers, to understand
them.
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. differentiate between goals and objectives;
2. state the importance of goals and objectives in achieving
company vision and mission; and
3. formulate goals and objectives specific for the intended busi-
ness enterprise simulation.
Business goals are an essential part of estab-
lishing priorities and setting your company up for
success over a set period of time. Taking the time to
set goals for your business and create individual ob-
jectives to help you reach each goal can greatly in-
crease your ability to achieve those goals.
Business goals are key for establishing your
organization’s priorities, aligning your teams’ and
employees’ activities towards common objectives, and setting your company up for suc-
cess. It is always worth it to take the time to properly set business goals, as well as break
them down into separate objectives for individual teams and members. It will immensely
boost your ability to accomplish your goals.
Business leaders need to know when and how to use goals and objectives. The
two are interlinked and rely on each other to work, without objectives there is no clear
path for how a goal will be achieved and without goals, objectives can be contradictory,
uncoordinated and without focus. Though goals are relatively broad in their scope, they
should always evolve from a clear business focus and direction. To achieve this and to set
effective business goals, the following process may prove beneficial:
1. Summon the executive and management structure to exchange views on the most
appropriate direction for the company.
2. Negotiate to ensure full support for the specific goals that are chosen.
3. Limit goals to a maximum of three or four.
4. Make sure the language of the goals is short and specific on what needs to be
achieved and when it is to be achieved by.
With clear goals supported by specific and directly linked goals, a business can ef-
fectively create and implement a business plan that will deliver the results it wants to
achieve.

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

Business Goals
Business goals are goals that a business
anticipates accomplishing in a set period of time.
You can set business goals for your company in
general as well as for particular departments,
employees, managers and/or customers. Goals
typically represent a company's larger purpose
and work to establish an end-goal for employees
to work toward. Business goals do not have to be
specific or have clearly defined actions. Instead,
business goals are broad outcomes that the com-
pany wishes to achieve.
A goal manifests a company's larger purpose, something global that a business
and its teams work toward. Business goals and objectives do not have to have clearly de-
fined actions or be too specific. Quite the opposite, they represent broad results that the
organization yearns to achieve.
Importance of Business Goals
Setting business goals are important for several reasons. The following are some
of them:
1. Provide a way to measure success or progress.
2. Keep all employees and stakeholders on the same page as to what the goals of the
company are.
3. Communicate to employees the basis of your organization’s decisions to give a
clear understanding of how decision-making reaches company's goals.
4. Give the whole company clarity of direction to ensure it is headed in the right
path.

Setting Short-term Business Goals

Short-term business goals are typically goals that you want your company to
achieve in a period of weeks or months. The following are steps you can take when set-
ting short-term business goals:
1. Identify your company’s short-term business goals for a set period of time.
Figure out which goals you want to achieve in a set period of time. Many
short-term goals are goals that further the achievement of long-term goals. Consider
your long-term goals as well as what you want to accomplish in the next weeks or
months and translate these into short-term goals that will propel your business for-
ward.
2. Break down each goal into actionable business objectives.
Break down each short-term goal into actionable objectives. These objectives
should represent the steps your company will take to reach each goal. For example, if
your goal is to get six new customers in the next month, your objectives will be the
steps you will take to secure the business of six customers, such as putting a new ad
in a newspaper and posting three times a week on social media.
3. Ensure your objectives are measurable.
The business objectives you establish in the previous step need to be measur-
able. For example, if one of your objectives to reach a short-term goal is to post more
on social media, do not simply state ‘post more on social media’ as a strategy. In-
stead, make the objective measurable by being as specific as possible. Using the
above example, you could use ‘post on Instagram three times a week and Facebook
two times for eight weeks.’

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

4. Assign goal-oriented tasks to employees.

Assign each objective to an employee
or team of employees who will see the objec-
tive through to completion.
5. Measure progress regularly.
Regularly measure the progress of your
short-term goals to ensure you are on track to
meeting them in the time frame you estab-
lished. For example, if you increase your social
media posts to three times a week as part of a business goal, measure any increased
customer/potential customer interaction you receive as a result. Keep track of the
progress and adjust your objectives if needed to better meet your goals.

Examples of Short-term Business Goals

To facilitate your formulation of goals for your business enterprise simulation,
the following examples of short-term business goals are hereby provided:
o Increase product prices by 3% over the next three months.
o Hire three new marketing employees over the next five months.
o Increase traffic on your company's blog.
o Implement monthly giveaways for customers on social media.
o Begin an "Employee of the Month" award program.
o Select a charity to begin sponsoring.
o Create a profile on a new social media channel.
o Increase social media posting to three times a week.

Setting Long-term Business Goals

Your business may opt for long-term goals. Hence, the following steps are hereby
presented for the purpose:
1. Establish the goals you want to accomplish over the next 10 years.
The first step to creating long-term business goals is to determine the goals
you want to accomplish over the next several years. Many people find that setting
goals 10 years out is sufficient; however, you can set goals as little as one year out or
as far away as 20 years. Identify and write down as many goals as possible that you
want your business to achieve in the time period you decide on.
2. Prioritize your long-term business goals.
Many companies have several goals that they want to accomplish in the long-
term. However, it's difficult to focus on every goal at once. For this reason, it's im-
portant to prioritize the goals that you want to focus on first and put your company
resources into accomplishing those before moving onto other goals.
3. Break down each long-term goal into short-term objectives.
Similar to how you break down short-term goals, you will also need to break
down your long-term goals into actionable short-term objectives. For example, if
your long-term goal is to increase your company's overall brand awareness, you will
need to break this down into short-term objectives that will ultimately help you ac-
complish the long-term goal. Examples of actionable objectives for the above goal
would be to post to social media three times a week and collaborate with social media
influencers on a monthly basis.
4. Track your company’s long-term goals regularly.
An important component of accomplishing long-term goals is tracking them
on a regular basis. Because long-term goals can take an extended period of time to
reach, it can be easy to forget about them or lose sight of the end goal. Keeping track
of the progress being made towards each goal can ensure you're on the right path to
reaching these goals and enable you to make any adjustments when needed.

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

Examples of Long-term Business Goals

You need to formulate your long-term goals for your business enterprise simula-
tion. The following examples of long-term business goals serve as models to facilitate
your undertaking:
o Increase the total income of your company by 10% over the next two years.
o Reduce production expenses by 5% over the next three years.
o Increase overall brand awareness.
o Increase your company's share in its market.
o Open three new office locations throughout the country.
o Hire 50 new employees nationwide.
o Develop and launch three new products.

Business Objectives
Business objectives are clearly defined and measurable steps that are taken to
meet a company's broader goals. Objectives are specific in nature and can be easily de-
fined and kept track of. Companies must establish objectives to achieve their business
goals. Business objectives are also a great way for you and your employees to identify
your strengths and weaknesses. Once you determine these, you can implement new
strategies to help enhance your own performance, which contributes to improving the
organization's efficiencies overall. As the organization grows, it is important to regularly
form new business objectives to effectively track employees' performance and ensure the
business is progressing and improving.
A business objective is a measurable result
an organization is aiming to accomplish. Business
professionals form objectives using the SMART
goal method, an objective-setting framework that
describes the characteristics a good business objec-
tive must possess. SMART stands for specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based.
Accordingly, business goals should be
SMART. The following are the descriptions of
SMART objectives with corresponding examples based on a business goal:
Business Goal: Increase the company’s profits.
1. Specific – clear enough that everyone understands the steps necessary to achieve
them.
Example: Increase revenue while decreasing expenditure. Cut rent by 7% by moving
to a more affordable premise to reduce the operational costs.
2. Measurable – have some innate way to evaluate whether you’re making progress to-
ward it or not.
Example: Grow sales over the next three months by attracting 30 more potential cli-
ents.
3. Achievable – one that your company can reasonably accomplish within a set
timeframe.
Example: Improve customer relationships and promote the business through net-
working, social networks, and referrals, which will bring more leads and
therefore will increase the business’ revenue.
4. Relevant – aligned with your organization’s values and global objectives.
Example: Relocating to a cheaper place will allow us to grow profits by reducing the
operational costs.
5. Time-based – have a clear time frame and deadlines.
Example: Increase the company’s profit by the end of the coming three months.

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

Importance of Business Objectives

Creating a strong business objective is
important for your organization because it:
1. Keeps employees focused on growth
2. Strengthens key elements of the business
3. Motivates you and/or team toward a goal
4. Helps structure tasks and responsibilities
5. Can increase your market share
6. Drives team cooperation and collabora-
tion
7. Builds better working relationships
8. Can promote better cost control and
budgeting

The Four Main Objectives of a Business

While every business might have specific goals according to their specific indus-
try, team, product, financial standing, business objectives often fall into four main cate-
gories. To wit: economic, human, organic, and social.
1. Economic Objectives
Most businesses cite financial growth as an overarching goal or business ob-
jective, but depending on your business’s unique financial needs, your economic ob-
jective could be:
a. Survival
While the ultimate goal is to make enough money to pay for all overhead
costs and also make a profit, small businesses or new businesses might be fo-
cused on simply making enough revenue to cover the costs so that they can stay
in business.
b. Profit Earning
Beyond business survival, owners want to earn enough to have a salary
and/or be able to grow the business.
c. Growth
Most business owners consider growth: how they will grow, what actions
they will take when demand outpaces production and how short- and long-term
growth will affect their business.
2. Human or Individual Objectives
The motivation of human objectives in a business is to find ways to meet the
needs of your employees, so that they feel valued and supported. Common examples
of human or individual objectives include:
a. To pay competitive salaries
b. To offer employee perks, like unlimited vacation or team appreciation events
c. To provide safer and more health-conscious working environments
d. To provide personal growth and development opportunities
e. To provide incentives to motivate employees
3. Organic Objectives
Organic business objectives are goals that incorporate all aspects of the busi-
ness: its development, survival, progress and outlook. Common examples include:
a. To use profits to raise capital or strengthen the business
b. To use growth models to contribute to business’s success
c. To drive innovative ideas through focused activities
d. To improve brand and reputation
e. To grow production size to meet demand

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

4. Social Objectives
Social business objectives are created to help or give back to society in some
way. Businesses often set social goals:
a. To ensure better quality products for customers
b. To ensure fair prices for customers
c. To ensure fair trade practices
d. To ensure fair employment practices (anti-discriminatory)
e. To protect the environment by taking reasonable steps to limit corporate carbon
footprint
f. To serve the community (schools, charities, social programs, etc.)

Common Types of Business Objectives

As you establish your business objec-
tives, try to work with your team to determine
strengths and opportunities for improvement.
To help brainstorm, here are some of the popu-
lar objectives that businesses use to succeed:
1. Increase your product or service’s market
share.
This involves increasing overall
market share. Create and use your list of
clients and contacts to find even more pro-
spective customers. The more customers
using the products, the higher your market
share. If the sales team targets other busi-
nesses, have them extend their reach by asking them who they might know who
could benefit from this product. If you work for smaller businesses, consider reaching
out to the community or organizations that could possibly find the product valuable.
2. Provide opportunities for teams to improve their leadership skills.
Strong leaders motivate and encourage their teams to improve. Whether
leadership training opportunities are offered to lower-level employees or executive
staff members, an organization can greatly benefit from these skills.
3. Reduce employee turnover and increase satisfaction.
Employees are typically more likely to contribute valuable projects and ideas
if they enjoy working at a company. To reduce employee turnover, your business ob-
jective should focus on improving employee satisfaction. Consider offering team
members value through competitive salaries, growth opportunities, education reim-
bursement programs, unique perks or flexible work schedules.
4. Reach out to more community members.
Being active and engaged in the community is a great way to connect with po-
tential local customers and can help you establish stronger relationships, build trust
and boost brand recognition. with potential customers. This is especially effective for
newer businesses to get to know community members and build lasting connections.
5. Maintain or increase profits.
Especially with start-up businesses, maintaining a steady profit can be chal-
lenging over the first few years. Setting an objective with supporting goals for main-
taining profits is an effective way to ensure a business remains financially stable. If
your business is already established, consider having a comprehensive objective for
increasing profits by brainstorming and implementing new methods and strategies to
sell more products and keep building revenue.
6. Strengthen customer service.
To ensure customers and clients have a positive experience with your team,
create an objective that motivates by offering incentives to both your employees and

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

your customers. Moreover, communicate how important an outstanding customer

experience is every time you interact with customers. Doing so will inspire your team
to meet those challenges and your customers to value your company for it.
7. Install tools and systems to increase productivity.
Several tools are available to help improve productivity for your business. For
instance, you might use human resources tools to help your HR and management
teams complete basic tasks like recruitment and hiring, time management, onboard-
ing and training and learning and development. Productivity tools can streamline
many tasks to allow you and your team to focus on larger-scale goals.
8. Grow the organization.
There are several ways to set objectives to grow an organization, including
expanding the number of current customers, working in a larger office area or hiring
more employees. If a company is growing, this typically means it is seeing more suc-
cess and is performing well.
9. Establish the brand message and voice.
A company's brand is what customers often associate its product or service
with and differentiates one company from its competitors. To create a new brand or
strengthen an existing one, consider collaborating with the sales or leadership teams
to brainstorm. Work to keep brand voice and messaging consistent in all of your sales
and marketing materials.
10. Improve company value.
Reputation and profits are important factors that can classify the overall val-
ue of a company. As the business’s value grows, shareholders' interest and commit-
ment to the company will increase. This can often guarantee that a business remains
more financially stable and supported by its shareholders.
11. Enhance the quality of a business’s product or service.
Increased quality of products or services leads to fewer complaints and more
positive feedback from customers and clients. This can also drive customers to rec-
ommend your product, which leads to a strong business reputation, an increase in
customer retention and better brand awareness.
12. Become a thought-leader in the industry.
A great way to meet larger business objectives is to become a thought-leader
in your industry. Regularly crafting content like blog posts, white papers or eBooks
with topics related to the industry adds value to your customer experience by educat-
ing them. The more quality content you create, the more trust you'll build and more
potential customers you’ll acquire.
13. Sell a more reliable product.
To increase product reliability, start with your product development team. In-
itiate quality and troubleshooting goals to catch opportunities for improvement. With
this information, you’ll be able to consistently provide enhancements and updates
according to customers' needs.

Business Goals vs. Business Objectives

Business goals are a broader overview
of what that business wishes to achieve. They
identify where the company would like to be
and what they want to be doing. This will
serve as a guiding mantra for staff, especially
at the executive and management level and
should inform all projects and business deci-
sions. Objectives make the goals very specific
and precise.

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SIMULATION Prof. Juancho M. Babista

For example, a firm might set one of their business goals as:
To achieve consistent year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10%.
Business objectives are the individual actions and tasks that will build towards
the achievement of the goals of the business. For example, continuing from the previous-
ly stated business goal, the objectives used to achieve such growth may be:
1. Expand customer base in order to increase sales.
2. Scale up production in line with revenue growth.
3. Improve revenue streams through increasing perceived product value.
4. Increase marketing budget according to revenue.
The following are the main differences between business goals and business ob-
jectives:
Goals Objectives
define the "what" of a business's define the "how" of a business’s
purpose. purpose.
typically only provide a general clearly outline actionable steps.
direction that a company will fol-
low.
are measurable. generally are not measurable.
are broader and all-encompassing. are specific.
do not have a set timeline. typically have a set timeline.

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