What is the managerial process that determines the goals of the organization?

Visioning
​​​This is setting the high-level direction of the organization - namely the vision, mission and core values of the organization. Mission-vision Formulation involves reevaluating of the organization's mission-vision, including broad statements about its purpose, philosophy, and goals. In stating what the organization hopes to become, it is essential to view this in abstract terms as the satisfaction of the needs of significant groups which cooperate to ensure the organization's continued existence. These groups may include: customers, managers, employees, stockholders, and owners. The key to organization success is its ability to identify the important needs of each of these groups to establish some balance among them, and work out  a set of operating policies which permits their satisfaction. This set of policies, as a pattern, identifies what the organization is trying to become.

A policy states how goals are to be attained. It tells people what they should and should not do in order to contribute to achievement of corporate goals. Corporate level goals are indications of what the organization as a whole is trying to achieve and to become.

Values Formulation

Core values define the organization in terms of the principles nd values the leaders will follow in carrying out the activities of the organization. ​​Every organization has values, and these values should be coherent with the strategy. The Core Values are the strong enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as foundation for its decisions; they determine how people will behave and how they think in carrying out their job functions. These values are shared by the Board and staff, strongly held and not easily changed. Values assessment involves looking into the personal values of the members of the organization, organization values, and the organization's operating philosophy. They are the essence of the company’s culture and expression of its “personality”.​ ​

A mission statement establishes the organization's future course and outlines who we are, what we do, and where the organization needs to be headed - in effect, setting the organization with a sense of purpose, providing long-term direction, and establishing a clear mission to be achieved. In stating what the organization hopes to achieve, it is necessary to state what it hopes to do with respect to its environment - external "systems" such as markets, industry, the economy, the community, and other social systems. In each case there are unique relationships to observe (e.g., with competitors, municipal leaders, congress, etc.). 

Goals Setting

​The purpose of setting strategic goals is to define the organization's strategic direction in terms of desired outcomes the organization hopes/aims to accomplish. These goals convert managerial statements of business mission, values, company direction (strategic vision), and  strategy into goals. ​There are several areas in which most organizations establish goals including: Market Share, Productivity, Profitability, Innovation, Resources, Management Performance, Employees Performance, and Social Responsibility. 

Strategic goals are set by and for top management and focus on the organization as a whole. Strategic goals are general statements of what needs to be accomplished to implement a strategy, and may include for example; growing faster than the industry average, overtaking key competitors on product quality, better customer service or increasing market share. Strategic goals define a place - destination or focus area - where the organization wants to be, and they are comprised of 

• Official Goals - Official goals are statements described in an organization's public statements such as corporate charter, mission statements and annual reports. Official goals help build the organization's public image and reputation. Official goals help communicate the general purpose of the organization and describe what the organization would like or hopes to achieve.
• Operative Goals - These goals are statements of the concrete steps an organization plans to take to achieve its vision and purpose. They are the outcomes the organization actually seeks to attain through its operating policies and undertakings. These goals describe what the organization needs to do to successfully achieve their mission; they are derived from a strategic planning initiatives.

​Operative Goals 
The Operative Goal concept can be differentiated in three different dimension; level, area, and time-frame. In the levels dimension, the Operative goal is a layered concept comprising three (3) levels namely; strategic goals, tactical goals, and operational goals.
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1. Strategic Goals - These are broad statements of the outcomes the organization hopes or aims to achieve in the long-term horizon. These are outcome goals in key areas such as:.market share, productivity, profitability, innovation, resources, management performance, employee performance, social responsibility. These goals are set by and for top-management of the organization. They are usually long-term and from this goal other goals are made and set for different time-frames and functional areas   
2. Tactical Goals - Tactical goals focus on how to operationalize actions necessary to achieve the strategic goals.  They are established by top management for middle managers in various areas (functional and product service) who are held responsible for their attainment.  
3. Operational Goals - Operational goals are statements of process targets set to determine what business processes can help realize the outcomes goals. They define the business processes/activities needed to tackle short-term issues associated with tactical goals, and line managers are responsible for their attainment in order to achieve the outcomes goals. They are akin to core values which spell out how the organization will behave to achieve its goals. These goals help determine the productivity, profitability and quality goals. Productivity goals focus on improving the way the product is created or delivered. Operational goals are set by and for lower-level or line managers.

​Performance Goals 

Setting Objectives

Strategic Objectives 
Objectives are very precise, time-based, measurable actions that support the completion of a goal. Objectives are derived from goals, giving more specific ideas on how the organization will achieve its goals. Objectives typically must (1) be related directly to a goal; (2) be clear, concise, and understandable; (3) be stated in terms of results; (4) begin with an action verb; (5) specify a date for accomplishment; and (6) be measurable. Strategic objectives are derived from strategic goals and serve as yardsticks for tracking the progress of performing the goals.

Measures

Benefits of Goals
Goals are critical to organizational effectiveness as they serve variety of different purposes. Organizations have a variety of different goals, all of which must be appropriately managed. Goals are important for the following reasons:

1. Goals provide guidance and direction for action - They show employees where the organization is going and why getting it is important.
2. Goals direct and channels employee efforts
3. Goals justify a company's activities
4. Goals identify development opportunities
5. Goals define performance standards - These act as mechanism for control and evaluation; performance can be measured and evaluated in the future in terms of how today's goals are being accomplished.
6. Goals provide a basis for allocating resources
7. Goals define standards of performance
8. Goals provide constraints and parameters
9. Goals provide incentives and a source of motivation - Goals should be specific and moderately difficult to inspire people to work harder; especially, if attaining the goal is going to result in a reward. There should be an appropriate reward system in place.

An Operative goal model is a layered hierarchy of goals with strategic goals at the top; tactical goals, created and cascaded beginning from the strategic goals to functional areas/departments, it the next layer; and operational goals in the bottom layer. The model allows the organization leadership to set goals reflecting the outcomes (results) they desire, set process goals (behavior) that establish the behaviors or strategies that will help the organization perform well and increase its changes of achieving the desired outcome goals.
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