Traditional Management:

Five Functions

Setting Objectives & Planning

9 Signs of a Losing Organization

1. Fuzzy Vision: corporate vision and mission don't inspire people; lack of strategic alignment; people don't know where the organization is going and what it is trying to achieve in the future... More

Setting Goals

The major outcome of strategic road-mapping and strategic planning, after gathering all necessary information, is the setting of goals for the organization based on its vision and mission statement.

A goal is a long-range aim for a specific period. It must be specific and realistic. Long-range goals set through strategic planning are translated into activities that will ensure reaching the goal through operational planning.

Setting Objectives

An objective is a specific step, a milestone, which enables you to accomplish a goal. Setting objectives involves a continuous process of research and decision-making. Knowledge of yourself and your unit is a vital starting point in setting objectives.

Strategic planning takes place at the highest levels; other managers are involved with operational planning. The first step in operational planning is defining objectives - the result expected by the end of the budget (or other designated) cycle.

Setting right objectives is critical for effective performance management. Such objectives as higher profits, shareholder value, customer satisfaction may be admirable, but they don't tell managers what to do. "They fail to specify priorities and focus. Such objectives don't map the journey ahead - the discovery of better value and solutions for the customer."⁶

The objectives must be:

• be focused on a result, not an activity

• be consistent

• be specific

• be measurable

• be related to time

• be attainable

Applying Feedback Analysis

Undertake a feedback analysis to compare actual results with expectations. Whenever you take a decision or action, write down what you expect to happen. Review results at regular intervals, and compare them with expectations. Use this feedback analysis as a guide to reinforce strengths and eliminate weaknesses as well as for the next round of setting objectives.

 Case in Point  New Approach at GE

Running the mighty GE enterprise, with its twelve major businesses, Jack Welch didn't seem like a traditional manager. He seemed more like a superleader. He abandoned the old practice of setting goals for GE's business leaders. "Now, we don't reward them according to whether or not they reach their objectives. They're all going to get paid on their improvement, and they know that. In bureaucratic companies, they waste a lot of time on making budgets. They waste energy. The world is changing quickly. We can't afford to waste time in bureaucracy. GE is an informal company. We trust each other."⁴