Mission, Aims & Objectives Flashcards
What is the mission of a business?
A overall purpose or main corporate aims
What is a mission statement?
A written description of these aims
What does a mission statement intend to make all stakeholders aware of?
What the business does and why and to encourage employees to work towards these aims
What does a mission statement tell you? 4 points
Its purpose
Values
Aims
Strategies
Why do businesses set objectives?
To enable them to achieve their mission
What do the objectives turn the aims into?
Specific goals that must be met
What are corporate objectives?
The goals of the business as a whole.
What do corporate objectives depend on?
The size of the business
What are functional objectives?
The objectives of each department
Why do businesses need to set functional objectives?
To help them achieve their corporate objectives
What does setting objectives help improve? 2 points
Coordination between departments and motivation for employees
Why do managers compare performance with their objectives?
To measure the success of the business and review decisions
What does SMART objectives mean?
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
What does the Specific mean?
Making them specific so then they are more likely to be achieved
What does Measurable mean?
if it isnt, the business won’t know if it has been achieved or not
What does Agreed mean?
Everyone who will be involved in achieving the objective will know about it and agree.
What does Realistic mean?
Make sure they are not impossible or too ambitious
What does Timely mean?
Specific timeframe that the objective needs to be achieved in
What are profit objectives?
Businesses that are currently making a loss might aim to become profitable.
How can businesses achieve their profit objectives?
By setting functional objectives to minimise costs or to increase sales
What are growth objectives?
To grow the business
What are growth objectives based on?
Increasing revenue, market share or expanding a business
What are survival objectives?
That a business can continue to trade rather than running out of money or being forced out of the market
When does survival objectives become key?
During periods of strong competition from other companies or when economy is declining
What are cash flow objectives?
To improve their cash flow
What is cash flow?
The money that moves in and out of a business over a set period of time
What does increasing cash flow give the company?
A greater chance of survival
What are social objectives?
Objectives that relate to benefitting society or people in need.
What are ethical objectives?
Based on moral principles about how businesses treat people and environment
What do NGOs need to focus on?
Social and ethical objectives
What do long-term objectives include?
Long term growth and objectives that tend to set the direction of a business
What do short-term objectives include?
Short-term survival and profit
