Organisational objectives 3 On completing this chapter you should be able to: Know and understand

2.
Comment on the usefulness of any 
one
of these mission statements for planning 
of
future strategies for this business.
3.
Suggest how the statements might be communicated to 
three
different 
stakeholder
groups.
4.
Find out if your school or college has a vision statement and a mission statement. 
By
asking staff, students and parents, attempt to establish whether these 
statements
have had any impact on their view of the school.

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Organisational objectives
39
• can help develop a sense of purpose and direction for the whole organisation if they 
are clearly and unambiguously communicated to the workforce
• allow an assessment to be made, at a later date, of how successful the business has been 
in attaining its goals
• provide the framework within which the strategies or plans of the business can be 
drawn up.
A business without a long-term corporate plan or aim is likely to drift from event to 
event without a clear sense of purpose. This will become obvious to the workforce and 
customers, who may respond in adverse ways.
Operational objectives should be ‘SMART’
Business aims and objectives help to direct, control and review the success of business 
activity.
The most e
ff
ective business objectives usually meet the following SMART criteria:
• 
S – Specific
Objectives should focus on what the business does and should apply 
directly to that business. For example, a hotel may set an objective of 75% bed 
occupancy over the winter period – the objective is speci
fi
c to this business.
• 
M – Measurable
Objectives that have a quantitative value are likely to prove to be 
more e
ff
ective targets for directors and sta
ff
to work towards – for example, to increase 
sales in the south-east region by 15% this year.
• 
A – Achievable
Objectives must be achievable. Setting objectives that are almost 
impossible to achieve in a given time will be pointless. They will demotivate sta
ff
who 
have the task of trying to reach these targets.
•