Unit 2: Setting and Achieving Goals and Objectives
Explore the differences between goals and objectives, as well as how to identify and measure successful ones that can be used in support of organizational strategies.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 2 hours.
2.1: Case Study – Nucor Aligns Company Goals with Employee Goal
Read the introduction and section 6.1, which include a case study that discusses Nucor Corp's efforts to align company and employee goals through its policy of treating employees as if they are owners of the company as well as its implementation of a highly effective bonus program.
2.2: How Should Managers Define Goals and Objectives?
Read this section, which introduces the difference between a goal and an objective. Broadly speaking, goals are wider in scope, and objectives are more focused. It is very important for a manager to be able to distinguish between these two concepts. As you read, make sure to take detailed notes comparing and contrasting goals and objectives and describing how goals and objectives work within the P-O-L-C framework.
Read this article, which discusses how organizations can create objectives that enable them to achieve industry success.
2.3: Managers Must Understand the Measurement of Goals and Objectives
Read this section, which introduces a variety of measurement tools that can be used to establish and manage goals and objectives. It is a manager's job to keep track of project performance and to identify areas of opportunity. A manager uses a management measurement tool to readily identify these areas and to provide a means by which he or she can develop appropriate strategic responses to changing goals and objectives.
2.4: How To Identify Successful Goals and Objectives
Read this section, which explains the process of setting attainable goals and objectives. This section will help you identify the tools necessary to troubleshoot issues in the goal-setting process. Any time a manager makes a decision, there is the possibility of an ethical, economic, or moral challenge to that decision. Knowing how to troubleshoot will help a manager to better address such challenges.
2.5: Managers Use Goals and Objectives for Employee Performance Evaluations
Read this section, which discusses how a manager can use goals and objectives to better analyze employee performance. Knowing these strategies will help you to better identify the areas in which an employee needs to improve. As you have learned from your work in this course, it is a manager's job to maximize the use of resources. Knowing how to align human capital performance with organizational goals and objectives will help you to support the improvement of workplace relationships and productivity.
2.6: Connecting Goals and Objectives with Corporate Social Responsibility
Read this section, which discusses how to use goals and objectives in support of organizational strategies as they relate to social responsibility and environmental issues. Organizations make use of the balanced scorecard approach, which incorporates both financial and non-financial indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization's corporate social responsibility activities.
2.7: Defining Your Own Goals and Objectives Makes You a Better Manager
Read this section, which discusses the balanced scorecard method. This method helps to link a company's vision, mission, and strategy with the goals and objectives that its individual employees seek to achieve. Explore the exercises at the end of the section to help you develop your own balanced scorecard.
2.8: An Overview of Goal-Setting Strategies
Read this article and think about your past goal-setting activities. Have you used an effective process for setting your goals? Have you shared your goals with others to help keep you accountable? Have you kept your desired goals, or have you lowered your standards as some level of success was achieved? Will you take some time to re-evaluate the ways in which you go about setting your goals? If so, how?
Reflect on the article that you have just read about setting and achieving goals. What steps do you take to ensure that you set goals and take action to achieve those goals? What do you do when you find that you have gone off track? Then, share your thoughts on the discussion forum by clicking on the link above and creating a (free) account, if you have not already done so. Read the responses that other students have posted and post your own comments on the forum. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with your peers and to receive meaningful feedback of your own.