Strategic goals

A goal is a future state of affairs which managers want to achieve. Goal expresses the meaning of existence of a particular individual or organization. Goals of an organization are usually established in a formal way. Goals are always the result of internal and external needs of the system and are the instantiation of these needs.

The objectives are usually prioritized on three levels: strategic, tactical and operational. Goal can be general or partial. The development of the general goal shows partial objectives (in a form of goals tree) Objectives should be specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic and timed (i.e. SMART principle). In addition, they can not be exclusive between each other.

Importance of strategic goals to a company

Having strategic goals is important for a company because it helps to provide direction and focus, and to align the efforts of the organization towards achieving a common objective. Additionally, it has several benefits:

• Clarifies the company's mission and purpose: Strategic goals help to define the company's overall mission and purpose, providing a clear framework for decision making and action.
• Focuses the company's resources: By setting strategic goals, a company can focus its resources, including time, money and personnel, on the areas that are most critical to achieving its objectives.
• Increases motivation and commitment: Strategic goals help to motivate and engage employees by providing a clear sense of purpose and direction.
• Improves decision-making: Strategic goals provide a framework for evaluating decisions and assessing their impact on the company's overall objectives.
• Facilitates collaboration and coordination: Strategic goals help to align the efforts of different departments and teams, improving collaboration and coordination across the organization.
• Enables the company to adapt to change: Strategic goals help companies to anticipate and adapt to changes in the environment, such as new market opportunities or technological advancements.
• Facilitates measurement and evaluation: Strategic goals provide a framework for measuring and evaluating the company's performance, allowing the company to make adjustments as needed to achieve its objectives.
• Provides a sense of direction and purpose: Having strategic goals helps organizations to have a sense of direction, focus and purpose and to align the efforts of all stakeholders towards achieving a common objective.

In summary, having strategic goals is important for a company because it helps to provide direction, focus, align the efforts, increase motivation and commitment, improve decision making, facilitate collaboration and coordination, enables the company to adapt to change, facilitates measurement and evaluation, and provides a sense of direction and purpose.

Features of the strategic goals

• they relate to Program of global activity of the company and the problems defined by the organization's policy
• they are specified in the flexible time horizon
• they are presented in the form of goals tree (goals classifier)
• they take into account the analysis of environment, competition and the internal situation of the organization
• they are determined on the basis of the needs of the organization and the environment
• they are determined according to the SMART principle
• hierarchy exists between them, the goals may not conflict

See also:

• Classification of goals and functions

Strategic goals — recommended articles

Strategic goal — Organizational planning — Strategic direction — Strategic management model — Beam of objectives theory — Goals of organization — Strategy — Strategic management system — Goal intensity matrix

References

• Hall, R. (1992). The strategic analysis of intangible resources. Strategic management journal, 13(2), 135-144.