November 30, 2023

Assignment # 6: Goals and Objectives

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the nature of goals and objectives and why they are important?

Goals determine the broad, long-term outcomes you want to achieve. They give you the
overarching direction for your business plan and define where you want to be in the future. But
unlike objectives, it doesn't detail how you get there. The right goal will align with your company
vision, purpose, and long-term aspirations.

Objectives are the specific actions and measurable steps your company must take to reach its
goals. They give you a clear understanding of the specific tasks or projects that need to be
completed in order to get your organization closer to the target.

Importance of Goals and objectives:

Setting goals gives clear guidelines for its personnel, enabling them to prioritize duties and
develop a vision for their job. These goals are strategies communicated to employees to achieve
results. They're specific, well-defined goals intended to motivate employees and enhance
performance. While setting management objectives emphasizes the importance of keeping
activities moving smoothly and teams operating efficiently and effectively together.
Management objectives may influence corporate and personnel procedures. When applied
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regularly and accomplished effectively, management objectives generate good, stable, and
orderly work environments where managers stay focused, and employees are productive.
Learning how to set management objectives can help you in meeting your targets.

2. Discuss how are thinking about goals and objective has evolved.

Many people feel as if they're adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don't seem to get
anywhere worthwhile. A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven't spent enough
time thinking about what they want from life and haven't set themselves formal goals. After all,
would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!

In today’s generation, people focus more on career. They have used a way to set goals and
objectives, one of which is SMART usually stands for:

S – Specific (or Significant).

M – Measurable (or Meaningful).

A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).

R – Relevant (or rewarding).

T – Time-bound (or Trackable).

For example, instead of having "to sail around the world" as a goal, it's more powerful to use the
SMART goal "To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2025." Obviously,
this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand!

Most people want to see some kind of change or improvement in their lives from time to time.
Setting goals is an effective way to increase motivation and to help you to create the changes
you want. It can be used to improve health and relationships or improve productivity at work.

Setting goals can also be an important step in the recovery from mental illness. Common
disorders like depression or anxiety can make it hard to function at work or home or relate to
others. Setting goals can be used as part of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to start the process
of getting well and rebuilding a meaningful life.

3. Roles of goals and objectives in employee performance review.

A performance evaluation is a constructive process to acknowledge and provide feedback on an

employee’s performance. Goals and objectives are a critical component of effective performance
evaluations.

Feedback is communication about our behavior and its effects on others, including ourselves,
colleagues, clients, and the organization itself. Individuals require feedback to understand
whether their performance measures up to expectations. Many people have been in the
situation where they are not sure if they are meeting the targets set for them – sometimes they
have no idea what those targets are because nobody has provided that information.
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Setting performance goals is an essential component of effective performance management in

the workplace. For a company to be successful, it's important for employees to work towards the
same goals. Setting performance goals helps achieve this by giving employees specific targets to
aim for. To make sure these goals are effective, they should be clear, achievable, relevant, and
have a deadline for completion. It's also important to tailor goals to each employee's job and
personal growth objectives. By setting and achieving performance goals, employees will feel
more valued and engaged, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and productivity,
benefiting the company.

Performance review goals are vital for motivation, development and even corporate protection.
Clear communication about what the organization expects can help employees stay positive and
focused throughout their employment. By giving performance evaluations, you and your
employees can concentrate on areas of improvement and achievable goals.

The overall objectives of performance management are:

 To align and build individual objectives along with the organizational objectives of the
company.
 To enhance the skills and personal development of employees, largely with the help of
managers and leaders.
 To encourage work and working systems that help all employees in fulfilling their
business goals.

4. Relations between economics, social and environmental goals and objectives:

Economic

Social

Environment
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Defining clear goals and objectives is a critical first step in making decisions, whether these are
about direction setting strategies, plans and policies, relatively minor regulatory and governance
reforms or large-scale infrastructure investments.

 Goals and objectives are ‘direction setting outcomes based’ statements.

 Goals are not transport specific - they are higher order general statements of desired
economic, social and environmental outcomes.
 Goals are higher level statements than objectives. Objectives describe the measurable
contribution of the transport system to achieving the goals.
 Targets are specific desired outcomes that support achievement of the objectives.

Goal statements are expressed in broad aspirational terms. In practice, the high-level goals
adopted by organizations often share common language and concepts because they reflect
economic, social and environmental aspirations that are common across jurisdictions. It is
important to recognize that goals (and objectives) may change with change of organization.

The ‘triple bottom line’ (TBL) concept is often used as a framework for measuring and reporting
performance under three categories: economic (financial), social and environmental.

A TBL focus is used throughout all aspects of the Guidelines. It is used as more of a philosophy
that influences the planning and assessment of the system, rather than a specific approach or
methodology. Adopting a triple bottom line approach gives planners an important tool for
assessing the implications of proposed initiatives across the full range of goals.

Corporate social responsibility programs aim to give structure to a company’s efforts to give back
to the community, participate in philanthropic causes, and provide positive social value.
Businesses increasingly turn to CSR to make a difference and build a positive brand around their
company. And because social responsibility is not a mandated practice, it can function as a
powerful differentiator for companies that partake.

CSR initiatives are often broken down into four categories: environmental, philanthropic, ethical,
and economic responsibility. Environmental initiatives focus on preservation of natural
resources, while philanthropic initiatives focus on donating to worthy causes that may not relate
to a business. Ethical responsibility ensures fair and honest business operations, while economic
responsibility promotes the fiscal support of the goals above.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) refers to sets of criteria used by investors and
financial services providers to screen the societal and environmental impact of companies’
policies and decisions, including their CSR programs. These criteria are then used to prioritize
investments and encourage wider adoption of CSR activities and ethical governance. In practice,
ESG principles essentially grade CSR programs and help investors avoid investing in companies
that engage in unethical practices or conflict with their values.
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For many firms, general operating goals and objectives have not been well integrated with
strategy, vision, and mission, so it may not be surprising that social and environmental goals
have not gained much traction. However, when an organization uses tools such as the Balanced
Scorecard to manage goals and objectives, then there is a coherent vehicle for incorporating
social and environmental objectives in the mix as well.

Conclusion:

Goals and objectives are key to accomplish new business outcomes. You can’t have one without
the other, which makes it so important that you implement both correctly within your team.
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From broad goals to specific objectives, with the right strategy, your team can reach new
heights.