Guide to Business Objectives Key Terms

Align business objectives key terms with the company's business plan, mission and overall vision

By D. L. Patrick

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Whether you’re starting a new company or reassessing the goals of an existing venture, business objectives must be clear and manageable. Business objectives communicate what’s vital to the company - its reason for being. Objectives may also include metrics to measure profitability and offer some level of accountability concerning compliance with industry regulations. Here are a few key terms to consider as you establish business objectives for your company:

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Objective

An objective is a specific, measurable goal or goals a company establishes for itself.

I recommend: Visit Commerce of Content by Saul Carliner for a complete explanation of the significance of setting achievable and realistic objectives for your organization.

Mission statement

A mission statement is a short summary that encompasses the company's background, purposes and benefits. A strong mission statement considers three questions: what does the company do, for whom do we do it, and how do we go about doing it? Every company has a set rules, standards or accreditation conventions to adhere to in order to conduct business.

I recommend: Review tutor2u, which provides insight into the relationship of objectives and the mission statement.

SMART

The acronym smart stands for specific, measurable, agreed-upon, realistic and time-based to define a successful and effective business objective.

I recommend: Project Smart provides information about how to write business objectives using the acronym as a guide.

Training or learning objective

It's important to include learning goals to evaluate the current set of desired outcomes. Setting at least one learning objective related to performance, productivity or sales growth offers an opportunity to take in new information, which causes the company to target its pursuit of future goals or change.

I recommend: TLC Seminars provides guidance regarding setting training objectives.

Bottom line

When it relates to an income statement for a business, bottom line refers to net operating income available. Business objectives aim to produce a positive impact on revenue or cash flow which is a major determining factor in assessing the financial stability of the business.

I recommend: MicroManufacturing Systems provides a glossary defining bottom-line in the context of business operations.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI) involves analyzing revenue generated and savings costs against what is being spent to produce merchandise or service. It's also a method used to justify strategic changes to business practices and objectives.

I recommend: Economic Research Institute provides a glossary of business terms; scroll 3/4 of the way down for the definition of ROA. Smart Business Network addresses maximizing ROI by aligning IT and business objectives.