In Principles of Management by Mason
Carpenter, Talya Bauer, and Berrin Erdogan the question is raised “What are
goals and objectives?”
The answer of these authors, which is reflective of
contemporary managerial thinking, is as follows:
Goals
and objectives provide the foundation for measurement. Goals are outcome
statements that define what an organization is trying to accomplish, both
programmatically and organizationally. Goals are usually a collection of
related programs, a reflection of major actions of the organization, and
provide rallying points for managers. For example, Wal-Mart might state a
financial goal of growing its revenues 20% per year or have a goal of growing
the international parts of its empire. Try to think of each goal as a large umbrella
with several spokes coming out from the center. The umbrella itself is a goal.
