The objectives of the enterprise are subdivided into short-term, medium-term and long-term. Short-term goals in life and work: examples

1. Short-term goals are determined for no more than a quarter or 1 year. This can be an increase in the assortment at a trading enterprise, and the sale of stale goods at a certain time, etc.

2. Medium-term goals. Installed for a period of 1 to 3 years. This is both an increase in capacity and an improvement in quality.

3. Long-term goals. Such goals are determined for a period of 3 to 10 years. They include the development of new markets and the universalization of production.

The time for achieving goals is determined by each enterprise in accordance with its capabilities.

Only if the company has a mission and a goal, it can proceed to further activities.

12. Management functions

Management functions- This is a specific type of management activity, which is carried out by special techniques and methods.

Scheduling function... Planning as a management function is necessary in the process of managing an organization to determine its objectives and the best ways to achieve them. In the planning process, a decision is made about what the organization's goals should be and what its members should do to achieve those goals.

Planning is a management function that a manager of any management level implements on a daily basis. In planning, the manager realistically compares future challenges, opportunities, and decides where the most meaningful efforts should be made.

All managers are responsible for the quality of planning - from the general director (head of the company) to the manager of the lowest management level. Therefore, the responsibility for the implementation of the adopted plan lies with each of them.

Strategic planning (highest level)- it is an attempt to look in the long term at the fundamental constituents of the organization; assess what trends are observed in her environment; determine how competitors are likely to behave. The main task of planning at this level is to determine how the organization will behave in its market niche.

At the middle level of management are engaged tactical planning, i.e. determine intermediate goals on the way to achieving strategic goals and objectives.

Planning is carried out at the lowest level of the organization as well. It's called operational... This is the backbone of the basics of planning. Operational plans include performance standards, job descriptions, etc. fit into a system in which everyone directs their efforts to achieve the general and main goals of the organization.

All three types of planning make up a general system called general, or a general plan, or a business plan for the functioning of the organization.

Planning principles and techniques.

The effectiveness of planning as a management function largely depends on what principles (governing rules) are followed in drawing up plans.

1. Completeness of planning- the planning should take into account all events and situations that may be important for the development of the organization.

2. Precision planning- when drawing up plans, modern methods, tools, tactics and procedures are used to ensure the accuracy of forecasts.

3. Clarity of planning- the goal and planning measures should have simple and easy-to-reproduce formulations that are accessible to all members of the organization.

4. Continuity of planning is not a one-time act, but an ongoing process.

5. Economical planning- planning costs should be commensurate with the benefits of planning.

One of the most common planning tools is the budget method. With its help, you can visually represent the inflow and outflow of cash, capital and other resources.

Another planning technique is payback analysis. With the help of analytical data on payback, you can most accurately calculate and correlate costs, revenues and production capacity. In simple projects, ROI is used to predict the number of units of a product that must be sold in order for revenues to equal or exceed costs.

In the 1960s. a planning technique such as operational research was widely used. It is about using scientific management techniques to analyze a problem and evaluate possible solutions. This includes theories of queues, games, and simulation. The use of a particular model in the planning process depends on the accumulation and analysis of objective information. It is assumed that information must enter the control channels in sufficient volume and at the right time. It is the most valuable asset of the organization.

Organization function.

Organization as a management function ensures the ordering of the technical, economic, socio-psychological and legal aspects of the activities of any organization. If the planning function answers the question what (what to include in the plan? What to do? What to anticipate? Etc.), then the organization function asks who and how (who and how will implement the organization's plan?).

Through organizational activities, i.e. through the distribution and consolidation of tasks and competencies, relationship management in each organization should be purposefully carried out. Organization is a means of achieving the goals of an enterprise.

Thus, organization is the second management function. Of the entire set of meanings of the term "organization" in the meaning of a management function, two are most often used:

1) organization is the structure of the system in the form of relationships, rights, goals, roles, activities and other factors that take place when people are united by joint work;

2) organization is a process by which the structure of an enterprise is created and maintained.

Motivation function.

Motivation-; it is the process of encouraging oneself and others to act in order to achieve the personal goals and objectives of the organization, i.e. it is a conscious motivation of a person to do something.

The traditional approach to motivation is based on the belief that employees are just resources, assets that we need to make effective work.

Considering motivation both as a general function of management and as a private function of personnel management, it is advisable to encourage employees to achieve personal goals through the goals of the organization. Achievement of these goals should go in three main directions.

1. Increasing the level of job satisfaction (the social aspect of labor motivation).

2. Increasing the interest of staff in achieving the overall goals of the organization. This path is characterized by:

Conscious perception of the goals of the organization;

Assessment of their capabilities and place in the organization;

Development of a sense of belonging to various aspects of the organization's activities ("we are all one Family");

Personal responsibility for everything that happens in the organization.

3. Development of the creative potential of personnel. We are talking about the formation of a creative attitude to the labor process, i.e. the employee has the opportunity to independently choose the tools to achieve the final goal.

From the position of a manager, motivation- this is the ability to bring a subordinate employee to such a state or to create such conditions (atmosphere) for him that would by themselves force (stimulate) the employee to exactly the actions that the manager expects from him.

Modern theories of motivation. Various theories of the psychological and organizational-economic direction can be divided into two groups:

2) procedural theories of motivation- more modern, based primarily on how people behave, taking into account upbringing and cognition (this is the theory of expectation, the theory of justice and the Porter-Lawler model of motivation).

1) physiological needs;

2) needs for security and confidence in the future;

3) social needs (belonging to a team, support in a team, etc.);

4) the need for respect;

5) the need for self-expression.

According to Maslow's theory, all needs can be arranged in a strict hierarchical structure. By this he wanted to show that the needs of the lower levels require satisfaction and, therefore, affect human behavior before the needs of higher levels begin to affect motivation.

Maslow's theory has its flaws. Apparently, there is no clear idea of ​​Maslow's stepwise hierarchical structure of needs. The concept of the most important needs has not received full confirmation either. Satisfaction of any one need does not lead to automatic activation of the needs of the next level.

In Maslow's theory, it was not possible to take into account the individual characteristics of people, and after all, the manager must know what a particular employee prefers in the reward system.

McClelland's theory of needs. This theory focuses on the needs of the highest levels. According to it, three types of need are distinguished: power, success and involvement..

The need for power- the desire to influence other people. These are not necessarily careerists striving for power in a negative sense, but rather the need to manifest their influence.

The need for success is satisfied not by the proclamation of the success of a particular person, which only confirms his status, but by the process of bringing the work to a successful conclusion.

The need for involvement is similar to Maslow's motivation, as employees are interested in the company of acquaintances, building friendships, etc.

Herzberg's two-factor theory... In the second half of the 1950s. F. Herzberg developed a needs-based motivation model. He identified two categories of factors:

1) motivation - success, promotion, recognition and approval of work results, a high degree of responsibility and the possibility of creative and business growth;

2) hygiene - the policy of the company, working conditions, earnings, interpersonal relationships and the degree of direct control over work.

Procedural theory of motivation. Within the framework of procedural theories, it is analyzed how a person distributes efforts to achieve specific goals and how he chooses a specific type of behavior. Procedural theories do not dispute the existence of needs, but believe that people's behavior is determined not only by them, but also by social needs.

There are three main procedural theories of motivation: the theory of expectations, the theory of justice, and the Porter-Lawler model.

The main idea of ​​the theory of expectations is based on the hope of a person that the type of behavior chosen by him will lead to the satisfaction of the desired. Expectation - an assessment by a person of the likelihood of a certain event. Expectation theory emphasizes the importance of three relationships: labor input - results; results - reward; reward - valence (satisfaction with the reward).

The theory of justice provides an answer to how people allocate and direct their efforts to achieve their goals. It says that the employee, when forming his motivation, proceeds from a subjective assessment, which is based on such comparisons as:

1) the cost of your labor and its expected assessment, i.e. amount of remuneration;

3) comparing the expected remuneration for their own work with the remuneration of other people for similar work.

The main conclusion of the theory of justice for management practice is that until people begin to believe that they are receiving fair remuneration, they will tend to reduce the intensity of labor.

According to the Porter-Lawler model, the results achieved depend on the efforts made by the employee, his abilities and characteristics, as well as on his awareness of his role.

Control function.

Control, as a rule, is associated with power, “command”, “catch”, “catch”, “grab”. This notion of control distracts from the main content of the control function.

The concept of "control" (verification) as a type of administrative activity goes beyond the concept of "control". In addition, it includes the manager's active work - management.

The word "control" (from the French controle ■ - check) was originally used in accounting to reflect the business practices of an organization.

However, the control function in classical management should be understood as a type of management activity, thanks to which it is possible to keep an organization on the right (right) path by comparing its performance indicators with established standards (plans).

In the process of monitoring, you can get answers to the following questions: what have we learned? what should you do differently next time? what is the reason for the deviations from the planned? what impact did control have on decision making? was the impact of the control positive or negative? what conclusions should be drawn to develop new goals?

The creation of all control systems should be based on the following basic requirements-criteria:

1) publicity of control- means that an indispensable condition for the successful work of an organization (departments, employees) is to bring the results of control to the inspected control objects;

2) control efficiency- the success, usefulness of control is determined (reduction of costs associated with the detection and elimination of deficiencies identified in the control process; reduction of control costs, costs of personnel and control equipment);

3) effect on people- the question is being clarified what reactions the applied control technology causes: positive incentives or negative, stressful reactions (demotivation of labor);

4) performance of control tasks- control should identify overlaps or deviations in the organization's management system; contribute to the elimination of deviations, the development of effective solutions;

5) defining control limits- control activities cannot be carried out without restrictions. The length of the sections to be checked should allow deviations to be detected at the earliest possible stage. It is necessary to comply with the control standards determined by the current legislation;

6) systematic control- the assessment of the controlled system should not be carried out sporadically, but systematically be present at all stages and levels of management.

There are the following types of control.

1. Preliminary control... Preliminary control is called because it is carried out before the actual start of work. The main means of implementation of preliminary control is the implementation (not Creation, but implementation) of certain rules, procedures and lines of behavior.

In organizations, preliminary control is used in three key areas: human, material and financial resources. In the area of ​​human resources, control is achieved by analyzing the business and professional knowledge and skills that are necessary to perform the specific tasks of the organization. In the field of material resources - control over the quality of raw materials; in the field of financial resources, the budget is a preliminary control mechanism in the sense that it provides an answer to the question of when, how much and what funds (cash, non-cash) the organization will need.

If a traveler, climbing a mountain, is too busy with every step and forgets to check with the guiding star, he risks losing it and losing his way. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery).

In this series of articles, I want to tell you how to set goals and achieve them correctly: how famous and successful people do it, how I do it.

Why is this question so important?

Everyone knows that it is good for health to run in the morning, but only a few do it.

Everyone knows to eat right. After all, improper nutrition is no less harmful than smoking or drinking alcohol. But "until it squeezes" most people do not think about it.

The same situation is with the achievement of goals.

We all know that we need to set goals for ourselves, achieve something, improve mentally and physically.

But, in all honesty, most of us leave our goals "to chance", thereby completely relieving ourselves of all responsibility for achieving it.

It turned out - fortune! It didn't work out - no luck!

The main reasons people don't achieve their goals are:

  • lack of priorities in our life. We do not know what is more important to us: career or family, health or leisure, etc.
  • time is only enough for work routine and household chores at home. The goals we want to achieve are postponed indefinitely on the timeline
  • the existence of confusion between dreams, ideas, projects and goals. We do not have a clear separation of what is what, so most goals are simply lost.
  • our goals do not have clear criteria. It seems that there are goals, but our brain (and the forces that help us from above) cannot understand how we know that we have reached them.
  • the realism of our goals does not correspond to reality. A lot of people who have worked all their lives in a hired job and have not earned a penny on their own write themselves the goal of "Create a cool business and earn $ 1,000,000." Why not? Really! I always ask in such cases: “Why not a billion? A million is enough? " Complete non-compliance with reality!

What does correct goal setting mean?

Most of the troubles all over the world occur because people do not understand their goals accurately enough (I. Goethe)

You don't need to invent any kind of bicycles to set goals and achieve them correctly.

Everything has already been invented before us!

The most effective way to work with goals is to divide them into long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals.

How to set goals correctly - Pyramid of goals

Long term goals

These are vital goals for the next 10 and 3-5 years. And they need to be put in this order.

When setting goals for 10 years, you can give complete freedom to your imaginations and dreams, to simulate any situations as we want to be.

Based on these images, we create for ourselves long-term goals for 3-5 years, which will be either one third or half of the goals for 10 years.

Examples of long-term goals:

  • Become the # 1 specialist in your industry
  • Build your own home
  • Go on a hot air balloon trip around the world

Medium-term goals

These are the goals for the coming year. And they should significantly move us towards our long-term goals for 3-5 years.

Examples of medium-term goals:

  • Organize all your affairs and tasks, learn effective planning
  • Buy a plot of land 10 ares to build your own house
  • Learn to fly in a hot air balloon

Short term goals

These are goals for the next 1-3 months. They are formed on the basis of medium-term goals for the coming year.

Examples of short-term goals:

  • Take an individual course on organizing affairs, tasks, projects, goals using the MyLifeOrganized task planner
  • Consult a lawyer and prepare a list of a complete package of documents for the purchase of land
  • Pass a medical examination and go up in a hot air balloon for the first time with an instructor at the Balloon Festival (if there is one, of course)

It turns out such a chain of goals

We break big goals into small ones in such a way that each short-term goal should move us towards our long-term goals. In other words, to help achieve them.

Well, the definition of vital long-term goals follows from the purpose of each of us on this earth:

  • Why are we here?
  • What should be left behind for posterity?
  • etc.

This is something like orienteering along the polar star, which leads us in the right direction.

There is an old Yiddish proverb: "A man cries, God laughs." It is true that life often gets in the way of our plans, but does that mean we shouldn't do them? Of course not. An unplanned future will be chaotic. However, you must be flexible enough to change your plans when the need arises. One of the ways we plan for the future is by setting goals. The goal is “the end to which efforts are directed,” according to Merriam-Webster. com.

Goal setting is a major component of the career planning process. Your goals and the steps you will take to achieve them will shape your career plan. It is a roadmap that will force you to choose a career in order to excel in it. In this context, your goals will be your career goals, such as a specific occupation, a step up the career ladder, or a level of earnings.

Short and long term goals

Goals can be divided into two categories: short-term goals and long-term goals. Typically, short-term goals are those that you can achieve in six months to three years, while long-term results can take three to five years. Your long-term goals might be, for example, earning a bachelor's degree in accounting, passing a certified public accounting exam, and getting a job as an accountant. Your short-term goals, which will lead to your long-term goals, can complement your college applications, gain college acceptance, enroll and earn average averages.

7 ways to increase your chances of success

It is easy enough to formulate a goal, but in reality achieving it is not so easy. Of course, your actions are the most important factor in determining whether you succeed, but how you formulate your goals is almost as important. Make sure they meet these criteria:

  1. Your goals should be specific. You can say, "I want to be successful." Well, who isn't? But can you define what success means to you? Success to one person could mean becoming the CEO of a company, while to another person it could mean going home from work for 6 hours every night.
  2. You must be able to measure the outcome of your goals. When you set a goal, you must specify a time frame for achieving it. You can also specify amounts. For example, you might say, "In three years, I want to be halfway through graduate school."
  3. Don't deny it. Make sure your goal is what you want, not what you want to avoid. For example, instead of saying, "I don't want to dwell on this job for another four years," say, "I want to improve my skills over the next four years so that I can qualify for a better job."
  4. Keep your goals realistic. Make sure your abilities and skills are consistent with your long-term goals. Your goal shouldn't be "I want to win a Grammy next year" if you don't have a record contract, haven't made a record, and can't even carry a tune.
  5. Was your goal achieved within your time frame? Don't set yourself up for failure. If you have one big goal, you need to break it down into smaller parts or short-term goals. Remember that you will do better if you take baby steps than one big giant leap.
  6. An action must be taken associated with each target. For example, if your goal is to graduate from college in three years, the action associated with it would be to complete the remaining 94 credits required to complete the bachelor's degree.
  7. Be flexible in your goals. If you run into barriers that seem to be hindering your progress, don't give up. Instead, change your goals accordingly. Suppose you have to work and cannot complete your bachelor's degree in four years. You can enroll in school part-time and customize your time slot. However, if a specific goal becomes something that you no longer care about, then you should consider letting go of it. This will allow you to use your energy to achieve goals that are important to you.

Setting goals does not guarantee you a successful future.

This will greatly increase your chances and is the best you can ask for.

planning horizon from one to five years.

By the period of action, long-term (more than a year) and short-term (less than one year) goals are distinguished. Long-term goals show managers what action can be taken in a given moment in order to achieve the intended long-term result, and nudge them to assess the impact of today's decisions on the long-term result. The advantage of short-term goals is the detailing of the immediate immediate results that need to be achieved, determining the speed of movement of the organization along the previously indicated path, concretization on the way to achieving the final indicated result (i.e., long-term goals). Sometimes, intermediate medium-term goals are set between long-term and short-term goals.

Specific goals are developed in the outline of general goals for the main areas of activity of the organization and for its divisions or subsidiaries. They are of the nature of sub-goals and form a systemic relationship between the general goal and internal elements of the organization, goals, tasks, personnel, technology, organizational structure, as well as the relationship between the organization and the external environment; goals; The goals are also divided according to the time of their achievement into short-term, medium-term and long-term. Short-term goals are goals that can be achieved within a year; medium-term goals - from one to five years; long-term goals - over five years.

Assessment of the state of the firm provides important information about the threats and positive opportunities of the environment and about the strengths and weaknesses of the firm itself. Based on the results of the analysis, long-term and medium-term goals are formulated, the most important of them are determined. Priority long-term and medium-term goals are concretized in short-term goals containing certain quantitative benchmarks. So, if the long-term goal of the firm is to increase profitability, then one of the short-term goals may be to reduce costs by 5% during the year.

Compatibility of goals means that short- and medium-term goals do not contradict long-term ones and, accordingly, their marketing policy and the policy of entrepreneurship in general (for example, the goals of development and growth should not contradict the current and future profitability of the company).

The organization's strategy is understood as the setting of long-term and medium-term goals and the choice of options for their possible implementation, taking into account the stated mission of the organization, various kinds of restrictions and stages of implementation. In market conditions, the general goal of an organization, as a rule, is an economic goal - making a profit. Thanks to the developed strategy at the stage of its implementation, it is possible to maintain a single direction of action for the entire team of the organization.

Worker productivity can be significantly increased by defining short- and medium-term goals and objectives, which must always be quantifiable. This will make it possible to evaluate results objectively, not subjectively, remove any accusations of bias or prejudice in assessing performance and allow employees to independently monitor their performance of their tasks.

The first principle is building on time intervals, when the main long-term goal is the main one, which determines other long-term goals, and they, in turn, determine medium-term goals, which then determine short-term goals.

Budget estimates of the first year following the budgetary one are "shifted" to the next year and become the basis for forming the budget for the coming year. The focus of the subsequent budget preparation process is not so much on the level of spending as such, but on how spending needs to be adjusted to align the budget with the medium-term objectives of the government's fiscal strategy and policy priorities. Unless the Cabinet decides to increase spending, line ministries are forced to seek funding for new programs or to expand old ones within their budgets, the size of which is determined by the basic spending plan.

Statement of purpose. After analyzing the list of who you would like to become, what to get, what to have, what to accomplish, choose one thing that you want to accomplish the most - in the next few days or weeks, if the goal is short-term, in a period from several weeks to year, if the goal is medium-term, next year or later - if the goal is long-term. By analyzing the wish list, you can very likely find that in reality everything that has been written down will take more than a year. How to select a short- or medium-term goal from the list For example, you have written down that you would like to lose 100 pounds of weight, but you hardly admit that this can be done in less than a year. If so, your goal may be a milestone on the road to an end result. Let's say £ 50. And you will set 100 pounds as a long-term goal. Another example . If you wrote down that you want to pursue an advanced degree but currently only have a high school graduation certificate, your mid-term goal will be a school quarter or a college semester.

Although the rate of tariff adjustments has recently appeared to be in line with the medium-term goals of reforming the housing and utilities sector, there is a risk that this increase in tariffs was not accompanied by corresponding institutional changes in the sector. Without additional institutional reforms, the growth of tariffs and costs in the sector may become excessive. In this regard, the current weakness of municipal regulators is of particular concern. If this problem is not addressed, this weakness could lead to an unjustified increase in the tariffs of local utilities, especially in the field of water supply and district heating. In addition, without institutional reforms, it is difficult to expect from industry players the ability to implement any non-trivial methods of increasing efficiency.

The approach used in Canada is very similar to that used in England. The Canadian Government's Expenditure Management System promotes fiscal discipline and helps the federal government achieve fiscal policy objectives. In the Canadian approach to multi-year budget planning, the medium-term objectives of the fiscal strategy, as well as ministerial spending limits for the multi-year period, are determined by the Treasury Council. Within these limits, functional ministries develop so-called multi-year business plans covering a three-year period. Ministerial business plans in the Canadian approach specify the strategy of the relevant ministry or department, activities and costs for the coming period, and they also contain definitions of indicators with which the ministry intends to measure the results of the implementation of certain programs and their effectiveness (that is, to measure, how effectively the funds were spent). Within the limits set by the Treasury Council, ministries themselves determine their priorities and allocate resources in such a way as to ensure funding for the highest priority programs. Business plans of ministries are included in the federal budget document.

Medium-term forecasting models differ significantly from short-term models, since medium-term models must be able to capture the relationship between financial policy (financial decisions) and macroeconomic conditions in the medium term. Medium-term revenue forecasting models (2-4 years ahead) provide management with strategic information about available financial resources. Such forecasts are the first serious step towards creating the infrastructure for developing informed decisions necessary to achieve the medium-term goals of territorial administrations.

The medium-term goal is to become a leading firm, capable of achieving a leading position among competitors in the domestic market and beginning to compete in the foreign market.

A significant degree of independence of the Central Bank is due to its tasks, which in any country are usually defined as maintaining monetary and foreign exchange stability in order to ensure anti-inflationary economic growth. The government is concerned, first of all, with short-term and medium-term goals, the approach of the next elections (which sometimes contradicts the long-term interests of the entire state). In such a situation, a relatively independent Central Bank should act as a kind of counterbalance.

Based on the example considered in this section, the results of prioritization may look as follows: the main (long-term) goal is to become the head of the marketing department of a company (not a branch) and work in second place; medium-term goals 1) successfully graduate from a university in 3 years 2) solve health problems and in third place 1) growth in sales of brand X by 25% 2) construction of a summer house.

Below your list of medium-term goals, list as many short-term - smaller steps you can take in relatively short periods of time.

Change the composition of your pyramid of goals in accordance with the progress in the educational process during the course of events, you can choose a completely different path, a different career. Medium-term goals may also change if you find other ways to achieve the end result. Short-term goals will change without fail and constantly, perhaps even every day.

Medium-term goals of the enterprise

Formation and implementation of the goals and objectives of the enterprise (manufacturer and exporter) for each individual market (market segment) and each product for a certain period of time (long-term, medium-term) for the implementation of production and commercial activities in full accordance with the market situation and the capabilities of the enterprise. The marketing strategy is developed on the basis of research and forecasting the conjuncture of the commodity market, the study of goods, buyers, competitors and other elements of the market economy.

As the economy entered a period of low growth, companies began to notice that if planning was only aimed at rationalization, it became too defensive, and something constructive was required to seize new opportunities. This concern is expressed by the growth of A (2) and B (3) in Table. 9.2 for 1979. Many successful companies have chosen 5-10 key strategies and formed their long-term development policies around them. At the same time, they adopted medium-term plans to consolidate strategies and align resource allocation. Long-term strategies were developed at headquarters in a top-down or interactive manner.

ORIENTATION OF GOALS IN TIME. The specific forecast horizon is another characteristic of effective targets. It should be precisely defined not only what the organization wants to accomplish, but also, in general, when the result is to be achieved. Goals are usually set for long or short periods of time. The long-term goal, according to Steiner, has a planning horizon of approximately five years, sometimes longer for technically advanced firms. The short-term goal in most cases represents one of the organization's plans, which should be completed within a year. Medium-term goals have a planning horizon of one to five years.

Long-term goals are usually very broad. The organization articulates them first. Then, medium and short term goals are developed to support long term goals. Usually, the closer the goal planning horizon, the narrower its scope. For example, a long-term performance goal could be formulated to increase overall performance by 25% over five years. Accordingly, the management will set medium-term goals.

The general goals, which determine the main direction of production development, presuppose an appropriate management style and decision-making throughout the entire life of the company. But this is far from enough to manage companies. It needs more specific and specific tasks for all divisions and departments. First of all, you need to develop goals for a period of 3 to 5 years. These goals are called long-term goals. They are designed both for the company as a whole and for its structural units. In addition, they are the basis for corporate coordination and the benchmark for determining the degree of success in the company's actions.

In addition, the manager also develops specific short-term goals, which provide for immediate actions (for 1 year or less). They must, however, be strictly subordinated to the idea of ​​long-term goals. There are eight main directions for developing goals. We will talk about them later.

Survival and growth. These concepts are among the most important for any organization. They are reflected in the strategic plan. The manager enters into it such indicators as sales volume, sales growth rates, demand data, etc. Moreover, special attention is paid to growth indicators.

From time to time, companies look to find a key link between goals and survival and growth. Growth-oriented organizations never pay enough attention to the goal of meeting customer needs, at least in the first 5 years of their existence. The introduction of new capacities, the reduction of the firm's dependence on suppliers, and the abandonment of unprofitable production lines are examples of achieving the goals of survival and growth.

Profitability. The ability of any firm to develop from a sufficient level of profitability. A well-oriented business necessarily has in its plan sections that characterize the sources of profit, such as profit from the sale of assets, interest on securities of other companies, proceeds from sales of products, proceeds from equity participation in other industries.

Resource allocation and risks. Another example of the goals of a business organization can serve as goals related to the allocation of resources and the prediction of possible risks that arise during the formation of the organization. The goals related to the accrual of dividends to shareholders can be attributed to the section “Allocation of resources”.

Production productivity. One of the tasks of the manager of any firm is to take care of increasing the level of productivity. And in the face of growing competition, this task actually comes out on top. Productivity is the number of products produced or sold per unit of funds spent, or the number of services rendered, also per unit of funds spent.

Examples include occupancy rates for a hotel, restaurant table occupancy rates, items sold per unit cost, or income per person. Productivity goals can be set in monetary, physical and percentage terms. For example, a trucking company may set cost reduction targets per trip.

The presence of such goals in the company's plan is an additional point in favor of the manager and, in the end, will have a positive effect on profitability.

Competitive position. The most sensitive indicator of a firm's success or failure is its market share or competitive position. Managers usually measure market share:

1) by the number of goods sold (in% of the industry-wide);

2) by the number of consumers buying goods from a given firm (relative to the total number of consumers. This indicator is most often used when firms are consumers);

3) by geographical coverage (relative to the total area).

When setting goals, market share is usually expressed as a percentage of sales. For example, Pepsi aims to be the largest producer of soft drinks and reach 25% of the market, i.e. to ensure that the amount of products sold by this company would be 25% of all products in this industry.

Professional development of employees and relations with the team. Employees in any job always value the wide range of opportunities for professional growth they provide. Companies with flexible management systems pay particular attention to this issue when setting goals. Ultimately, the firm receives tremendous returns (increased productivity, reduced turnover) from any activities that allow employees to realize their creativity and make a career.

Good relationships with the team on the part of management can be maintained through paying attention to the interests of workers in both the long and short term. Doing so builds employees' confidence in the manager's commitment to supporting their welfare. Goals of this kind may include the adoption of programs to improve safety in the workplace, various kinds of rewards for meeting established norms or achieving a set goal, involving employees in the management process, etc.

Technological activity. The manager must almost constantly decide whether it is worth carrying out technical re-equipment in a given month (year) or whether production will be efficient and on the existing technological base.

Some companies, when setting goals, pay great attention to the technical excellence of their equipment. Others deliberately choose the position of moderate improvement in technology, preferring a sharp reconstruction only in a situation where it is required by the market and competition. Both of these approaches can be equally successful. In a specific situation, everything will depend on the skillful construction of short-term goals related to technological research and re-equipment of equipment.

Responsibility to society. Every successful company at a certain stage of its development becomes a kind of social institution that takes on a certain kind of responsibility to consumers and society as a whole. And in such a company, the manager will take into account all local, national and international characteristics of the environment when setting goals. Examples include participation in charitable and educational programs, special work with members of social minorities, public services, political activities, and contributions to overall economic development.

When a manager decides which areas should be covered by goals, he should not be limited to one area, but direct them to several at once, as suggested in the previous section. Regardless of the specifics of the area for which the manager sets a goal, the following tips will be very helpful.

1. Make sure that the goals affect the top of the organization. If top management does not have clear goals, the lower levels of the organization lose direction, and people at those levels may assume that goal setting itself is not important.

2. State the mission of the organization clearly and make sure all members of the organization are familiar with it. Subordinates often do not have a sufficient understanding of it, and this leads to the fact that the mission, which fills the work with meaning and meaning, becomes secondary. Managers need to systematically remind people of the organization's key goals by asking the questions, “What are we working for? What is the purpose of this organization? Where does she focus her attention? "

3. Make sure that every person, team, or unit in the organization has at least one clear, understandable, regularly monitored goal.

4. Do not assign more than 6-9 goals to anyone at the same time. Overloading subordinates with too many goals scatters their efforts and undermines their effectiveness.

Principles of Goals

Knowing which areas the goals should cover and what qualities effective goals have is very important, but setting a good goal alone does not help a manager improve the management of the organization. If you want to reap the full benefits that an effective goal has to offer, there must be five basic principles for using those goals in every managerial approach to goal setting.

1. Discussion of goals

Goals are much more effective when the subordinates who are responsible for achieving them are involved in setting them. The goals are based on analysis, assumptions, assumptions and intuition about future events. The goals themselves, their level, time frame, etc. Is a subject of controversy and disagreement. Involving subordinates in the process of discussing goals leads to an increase in their responsibility for their obligations, which opens up positive aspects for the manager in this rather difficult situation.

On an individual level, engaging in goal setting gives the individual a heightened sense of responsibility for achieving that goal. At the group level, discussion of methods and ways to achieve goals, as well as deadlines, facilitates communication between interdependent units in any organization. Ultimately, top-down discussion across all levels of management within an organization helps to ensure consistency in achieving overall, long-term, and short-term goals.

The benefits of discussing goals can be enhanced by two additional features: “signing documents” and reporting. According to the “signing documents” method, managers and their subordinates who are involved in the goal setting process sign or initialize the final goals. This document is a kind of contract, in which it is written what should be done, how it should be performed, what resources are needed to achieve the desired result. The use of this method usually promotes clearer goals and reduces ambiguity, mainly because a person will not subscribe to a goal or a means of achieving it if it is ambiguous or unclear.

Regardless of whether "signing documents" is being undertaken or not, managers should always have clear accountability when setting goals. It simply means clarifying who is responsible for fulfilling each goal.

2. Prioritization

The organization and the managers who lead these organizations set a huge number of very different goals. Experienced managers prioritize all of their goals. They focus on goals in areas where results are critical. Instead of falling into the "do it right" trap, they apply a different principle - "do what is right!" Research in this area has shown that the most effective managers are those who know how to prioritize out of all goals.

3. Providing regular feedback

Research has repeatedly shown that better performance results can be achieved if feedback is provided than in cases where performance goes on by itself, without any supervision and control. We are a society of judges, and people want to know where they are in achieving their goal. This simple principle is often overlooked by managers, who are content to set goals during the annual planning phase and never return to them for the next year or during the next period to check them from the beginning. When people are regularly provided with feedback, they not only work harder to achieve their goals because they have another motivating factor, but they also start to work more productively. The best way is to break down the process of achieving the goal into stages and provide "feedback" (verbally or through regular reports) at each stage of achieving the goal.

4. Linking goals with the reward system

The effectiveness of goal setting increases when goals are linked to a reward and peer review system. A system that encourages the fulfillment of mutually stated goals inculcates an exclusive commitment to those goals. However, in addition to this, it is necessary to ensure the fairness of the incentive system.

The reward system should celebrate the setting of effective goals, whether they are achieved or not.

Applying these five principles will increase your success in using goals as a management tool. Indeed, these principles underpin two management practices that are very popular in business today.

Applying the five principles we just described for using goals as a management tool can be of great service to managers. The following tips provide nine basic ideas for translating these principles into concrete action. It will be about how a manager can set goals together with his subordinates.

1. Involve people who are responsible for achieving goals to participate in setting them.

2. Start setting goals with short sketches. Conduct a brainstorming session and only then begin to hone your goals.

3. Make sure the goals reflect the real interests of the organization. Test each goal by asking the following question: "How does it relate to our purpose?"

4. Highlight your priorities. Divide all goals into three groups, necessary, desirable, and those that can wait. Do them accordingly.

5. Regularly (at least quarterly) discuss progress towards your goals.

6. Do not forget to link all the goals of subordinates to the reward system.

7. Avoid "activity" goals. Goals should describe the results to be achieved, not what needs to be done.

8. Make sure that the means used to achieve the goal do not become an end in themselves.

9. Setting an effective goal becomes easier the more often you do it.

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