Operational Objectives

Question 1

What is the definition of objectives?

Answer 1

A quantifiable target which helps to coordinate activities

Question 2

What is a mission statement?

Answer 2

A statement about the organisations aims that are designed to motivate the workforce

Question 3

What are cooperate objectives?

Answer 3

These are goals for the whole organisation and are usually based on the mission statement

Question 4

What are functional objectives?

Answer 4

These are goals based on each functional area of the business and are usually based on the mission statement

Question 5

Objectives should be SMART, what does SMART stand for?

Answer 5

S - specific - easily designed
M - measurable - quantifiable
A - agreed or acheiveable - they should be agreed with stakeholders and they must be able to achieve them
R - realistic - not in conflict with other objectives and staff should feel they can achieve this objective
T- time bound - must be based on a time frame

Question 6

Why is it important to set objectives?

Answer 6

Mission objectives will help to guide and motivate employees in the direction the business wants
Corporate objectives gives a more detailed sense of direction
Functional objectives allows for greater co ordination of resources

Question 7

What is important to achieve good operational objectives?

Answer 7

They should be broad - in order to incorporate any operational sides of the business in order to meet general goals
They need to be general in order for departments to understand what needs to be done in order for operational objectives to be met
Different lengths of time - the objectives need to be long term and medium term in order for the company to carry on being successful.

Question 8

What can operational objectives be based on?

Answer 8

Costs 
Quality 
Speed of response and flexibility 
Dependability 
Environmental objectives 
Added value

Question 9

How do you improve profit?

Answer 9

Increase sales or reduce costs

Question 10

How do you reduce costs?

Answer 10

Reduce fixed costs-
Reduce unit costs
Reducing variable costs per unit

Question 11

How do you define quality?

Answer 11

Features of a service of product that allow it to satisfy or delight customers

Question 12

How do you measure quality?

Answer 12

Customer satisfaction ratings - can be both quantitive or qualitative data
Customer complaints - shows whether a business has problems it needs to address

Question 13

What would you look at to see the quality of a business?

Answer 13

Scrap rate - how much scrap is being wasted -increases unit costs of goods
Punctuality - measures how fast a business delivers its products or services

Question 14

How would you work out punctuality?

Answer 14

Punctuality % = deliveries on time
————————- x 100
Total deliveries

Question 15

Speed of response and flexibility - what is meant by this term?

Answer 15

How fast and business can respond to consumers and customers to fulfil their needs without lacking quality

Question 16

What is meant by the dependability of a business?

Answer 16

The statements they make to customers or consumers, how they work to remain to these

Question 17

What are environmental objectives of a business?

Answer 17

Ensuring a businesses operational side does not harm the environment is important, such as M&S aim to reduce the amount of plastic bags given at tills and they have sloped delivery vans in order to reduce fuel consumption

Question 18

What is added value?

Answer 18

Added value is an operational objective because it allows a business to develop their USP on a product or service

Question 19

What are the four external influences on operational objectives?

Answer 19

Market factors - whether the market is growing or declining
Competitors actions and performance - what competitors are doing, whether it will affect sales and whether there is a more efficient way of operating

Question 20

Give examples of environmental objectives?

Answer 20

Reduce waste
Reduce carbon footprint 
Minimising waste products or materials 
Increasing recycling 
Achieving self sufficiency in energy use

Question 21

What are the internal influences on operational objectives?

Answer 21

Corporate objectives - the aims of the company such as Ryanair has corporate objectives to have low fares, therefore their objectives need to centre around low fares
Finance -objectives can rely on steady and profitable finances
Human Resources - ensuring that skills and training are done correctly in order to motivate staff to meet objectives
The nature of the product/service - way in which the product is made or the service is carried out can depend on the objectives that are created