GOAL

Goal could be describe as the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. In Businessdictionary (2016), goal is defined as an observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe. Other definitions of ‘goal’ are:

• aim,end, target, purpose, object, intention, objective, ambition, destination, the Holy Grail (Collins Thesaurus of the English Language, 2002).
• the aim or object towards which an endeavour is directed;
• The state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; the ends justify the means (WordNet0, 2012). 
• the terminal point of a journey or race (Collins English Dictionary, 2014).
• the desired result that aperson or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve: a personal or organisational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development (Wikipedia, 2016).
• something that you are trying to do or achieve; what one intends to accomplish or attain; itsuggests something attained only by prolonged effort and hardship (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016).

The synonyms of goal are (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, op cit):

• intentionimplies little more than what one has in mind to do or bring about; intent suggests clearer formulation or greater deliberateness . 
• purposesuggests a more settled determination. 
• designimplies a more carefully calculated plan . 
• aimadds to these implications of effort directed toward attaining or accomplishing
• endstresses the intended effect of action often in distinction or contrast to the action or means as such. 
• objectmay equal end but more often applies to a more individually determined wish or need.
• objectiveimplies something tangible and immediately attainable. 

 Differences between Goals and Objectives

• When something is to be accomplished, it is important to set both goals and objectives; goals and objectives are both tools for accomplishing what you want to achieve. Goals without objectives can never be accomplished while objectives without goals will never get you to where you want to be. The two concepts are separate but related and will help in the accomplishment of a planned undertaking, i.e. an intended project.
• Goals and objectives are often used interchangeably, but the main difference comes in their level of concreteness. Objectives are very concrete, whereas goals are less structured. Goals are long-term aims that you want to accomplish; while objectives are concrete attainments that can be achieved by following a certain number of steps or procedures.
• Goals have the word ‘go’ in it. Your goals should go forward in a specific direction. However, goals are more about everything you accomplish on your journey, rather than getting to that distant point. Goals will often go into undiscovered territory and you therefore can’t even know where the end will be. Objective has the word ‘object’ in it. Objects are concrete. They are something that you can hold in your hand. Because of this, your objectives can be clearly outlined with timelines, budgets, and personnel needs. Every area of each objective should be firm.
• Goals are long term and objectives are usually accomplished in the short or medium term.
• Goals are nebulous (i.e. lacks definite form or limits) and you can’t definitively say you have accomplished one whereas the success of an objective can easily be measured.
• Goals are hard to quantify or put in a timeline, but objectives should be given a timeline to be more effective.

Organisational goals

In organisations, goal management consists of the process of recognizing or inferring goals of individual team-members, abandoning goals that are no longer relevant, identifying and resolving conflicts among goals, and prioritising goals consistently for optimal team-collaboration and effective operations. For any successful commercial system, it means deriving profits by making the best quality of goods or the best quality of services available to the end-user (customer or client) at the best possible cost. Goal management includes (Wikipedia, 2017):

• Assessment and dissolution of non-rational blocks to success
• Time management
• Frequent reconsideration (consistency checks)
• Feasibilitychecks
• Adjustingmilestones and main-goal targets

Rasmussen & Morten (1982) listed three fundamental categories of goals, which are related to technological system management; namely: production goal, safety goal and economic goal. An organisational goal-management solution ensures that individual employee goals and objectives align with the vision and strategic goals of the entire organisation. Goal-management provides organisations with a mechanism to effectively communicate corporate goals and strategic objectives to each person across the entire organisation. The key consists of having it all emanate from a pivotal source and providing each person with a clear, consistent organisational-goal message so that every employee understands how their efforts contribute to an enterprise’s success.in business, Barnes, Blake & David (2009) gave the following as examples of goal:

• Consumer goals: this refers to supplying a product or service that the market/consumer wants.
• Product goals: this refers to supplying an outstandingvalue proposition compared to other products perhaps due to the likes of quality, design, reliability and novelty.
• Operational goals: this refers to running the organisation in such a way as to make the best use of management skills, technology and resources.
• Secondary goals: this refers to goals which an organisation does not regard as priorities.

 Types of organisation goals

Organisational goals are desired states of affairs or preferred results that organisations attempt to realise and achieve (Amitai Etzioni in Kumar, 2011). The idea of organisational goals has a long history in economics, in which the classic position posits an entrepreneur or ownership group, which in turn establishes the goals of the firm. Alternatively, these goals may represent a consensus arrived at by all key members of the organisation.

Every organisation has various goals. One useful scheme for describing organisational goals was provided by Charles Perrow in Kumar (op cit). He has identified the following types of organisational goals:

• Official goals are the formally stated goals of an organisation in its charter and annual reports and they are emphasised in public statements by key executives.
• Operative goalsare the outcomes that the organisation actually seeks to attain through its operating policies and activities.
• Operational goalsdefine the performance objectives and desired behaviours within an organisation.
• Multiple organisational goals – this type is synonymous with multiple stakeholders-groups of people can be classified into four major categories (Perrow in Kumar, op cit):
• Output goals. These goals are the “end product,” such as consumer products, services, health care, or education.
• System goals. System goals relate to the organisation itself, and they consist of such things as growth, stability, profit, efficiency, market share.
• Product goals. Product goals consist of the characteristics of the goods or services, such as quality, styling, uniqueness, variety, and price.
• Derived goalsrefer to the way an organisation uses its power and influence to achieve other social or political goals (such as employee welfare, community services, or political aims).

However, Henry Minztberg provided a different classification of goals; these are:

• System goals. There are four system goals: survival, efficiency, control, and growth.
• Formal goals. Formal goals are used by managers to tell everyone what they are doing.
• Ideological goals. These goals are what the people within the organisation believe in.
• Shared personal goals. These goals are what people within the organisation come together to accomplish for their mutual benefit.

For most organisations, goals are constantly changing and members of the organisations must respond appropriately, by formulating new goals as well as deciding which goals will be accomplished, and in what order.

References

Barnes, C.; Blake, H.; & Pinder, D. (2009). Creating & delivering your value proposition: managing customer experience for profit. London; Philadelphia: Kogan Page. 

Businessdictionary (2016). Goal. WebFinance, Inc.  http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ goal.html#ixzz45CeO99IJ

Collins English Dictionary (2014). Collins English Dictionary: Complete and unabridged (12th ed.).  Harper Collins Publishers

Kumar, M. (2011). Difference between Goals and Objectives. DifferenceBetween.net. http://www.differencebetween.net/business/difference-between-goals-and-objectives/

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2016). Goal. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goal
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language (2002). Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged (2nd ed.). Harper Collins Publishers.

Osterwalder, A.; Pigneur, Y.; & Clark, T. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 

  Rasmussen, J.  & Lind, M. (1982). A model of human decision making in complex systems and its use for design of system control strategies. Proceedings of the 1982 American Control Conference: Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, Virginia, June 14–16, 1982.  Cited in: Wrench, Jason S (2013). Communicating within the modern workplace: challenges and prospects. In Wrench, Jason S. Workplace communication for the 21st century: tools and strategies that impact the bottom line. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. pp. 1–38.

Wikipedia (2016). Goal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal.

WordNet 3.0 (2012). Farlex clipart collection. Princeton University, Farlex Inc.