1. Organisational Goals, Strategy and Responsibilities
Management and Organisational Behaviour
7th Edition
CHAPTER 5
Organisational Goals, Strategy and Responsibilities

2. Organisational goals
The goals of an organisation are the reason for its existence
A goal is a future expectation, some desired future state
The goals of an organisation determine the nature of its inputs & outputs, the series of activities through which outputs are achieved and interactions with its external environment

3. Goal model approach
Concentrates on the study of organisational goals & the measurement of success against the realisation of goals
Focuses attention on an organisation’s lack of success in attaining goals at the expense of more meaningful forms of analysis

4. Defining goals As value premises which serve as inputs to decisions
Goals at different levels within the organisation contribute to alternatives for decision making
Goals can be see more as sets of constraints that the organisation must satisfy
Simon

5. Functions of goals Goals: provide a standard of performance
provide guidelines for decision-making and justification for actions taken
influence the structure of the organisation and help determine the nature of technology employed

6. Functions of goals Goals:
help to develop commitment of individuals and groups to organisational activities
provide an indication of what the organisation is really like
serve as a basis for the evaluation of change and organisational development

7. Informal & formal goals
Informal goals may be inferred from the actual decisions made & actions taken within the organisation
Formal goals are officially stated

8. Compatibility of organisational goals
Figure 5.1
Compatibility of organisational goals

9. Classification of organisational goals
Etzioni classifies organisational goals in terms of their relationship with the concept of power & compliance:
Order goals – negative & attempt to place some kind of restraint upon members
Economic goals – concerned with the production of goods / services to people outside the organisation
Cultural goals – concerned with symbolic objects & with creating or maintaining the value systems of society

10. A systems view of organisational goals
Consumer goals - the nature of outputs in terms of markets served and consumer satisfaction
Product goals – the nature and characteristics of the outputs
Operational goals – the series of activities involved in providing outputs and the operation and functioning of the organisation
Secondary goals – those not related to the main aims of the organisation

11. Organisational values & beliefs
Ethical foundation
Organisational or operational foundation
Brech

12. Organisational values
Values are guidelines a person uses to make choices. Within organisations, basic beliefs affect what decisions are made, how people interact and the kind of work practices that are pursued and developed
Values form the glue that binds an organisation’s culture
Dainty & Anderson

13. An organisation’s vision & mission
Vision provides the overall frame of reference within which mission statements are written & goals selected
The vision is the desired future state of the organisation
The mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation, which is ideally in line with the values & expectations of major stakeholders

14. A systems view of organisational goals & objectives
Figure 5.2
A systems view of organisational goals & objectives

15. The primary objectives of an organisation may be seen as:
To continue to exist – survive
To maintain growth & development
To make a profit

16. Objectives of a business organisation
Figure 5.3
Objectives of a business organisation

17. Objectives – eight key areas in terms of performance & results
Market standing
Innovation
Productivity
Physical & financial resources
Drucker
Profitability
Manager performance & development
Worker performance & attitude
Public responsibility

18. The balanced scorecard
Combines qualitative & quantitative indicators of performance which recognise the expectations of various stakeholders & relates performance to a choice of strategy as a basis for evaluating organisational effectiveness

19. Balanced scorecard elements
Financial accounting measures
Product & process innovation
Employee skills
Customer satisfaction

20. Strategy
Corporate strategy serves to describe an organisation’s sense of purpose, and plans and actions for its implementation
Tilles suggests that without an explicit statement of strategy it becomes more difficult for expanding organisations to reconcile co-ordinated action with entrepreneurial effort

21. A strategic framework
Bruce maintains that a business needs a structured strategic framework which provides the starting point for moving forward and a means for assessing & responding to change

22. The elements of a strategic framework
Things that are driving strategic decisions
The direction that the organisation is heading in
The products & services that will be delivered
The design of the organisation’s processes, knowledge systems & people development mechanisms
Specific targets that identify whether the organisation is deviating from its plan
Bruce

23. Positive synergy
Positive synergy results when the whole is greater than the sum of its component parts
2 + 2 = 5 effect
Example: The merger of a computer firm with expertise in the design and marketing of hardware with a firm expert in software manufacturing and systems design

24. 2 + 2 = 3 effect Negative synergy
Example: When a merger occurs between organisations operating in different fields, with different markets or with different methods

25. Provides a basis for problem solving & decision making
SWOT analysis
Provides convenient headings under which an organisation can study its environmental setting
Provides a basis for problem solving & decision making
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

26. Managing opportunities & risks
Drucker suggests that:
strategy should be based on the priority of maximising opportunities
risks should be viewed as limitations on actions

27. Managing opportunities & risks
Selecting the right opportunities requires:
A focus on maximising opportunities rather than on minimising risks
Scrutinising the characteristics of major opportunities collectively rather than in isolation
Understanding opportunities & risks in terms of the appropriateness of their fit to the business
Striking a balance between immediate & easy opportunities for improvement
Drucker

28. E-business strategies
Kermally asserts that e-business strategy is important because:
information can be shared more quickly and easily
it facilitates human interaction
it enables organisational resources and capabilities to be stretch strategically
it provides global reach in marketing
it allows consumers to shop 24 hours a day from any location
it promotes economic growth

29. Social (corporate) responsibility of organisations
The European Commission is encouraging firms to assess their performance not on profit margins alone but also on the welfare of their workforce and care for their environment

30. Organisational stakeholders
Stakeholders can be considered under headings of:
Employees
Providers of finance
Consumers
Community & environment
Government
Other organisations & groups

31. Ethics is concerned with: the study of morality
Ethics & business
Ethics is concerned with:
the study of morality
practices & activities that are considered to be importantly right or wrong
the rules that govern activities and the values to which the activities relate

32. Ethical questions in business
Behaviour towards all stakeholders
The way employees are treated
The effect on the natural environment
Conduct in international operations

33. Ethics – further approaches
Virtue ethics – based on an analysis of desirable human qualities that lie between undesirable extremes
Ethical relativism – holds that goodness & badness are largely or entirely determined by the prevailing values of the day
Emotivism – statements about ethics are essentially statements about the speaker’s attitudes

34. Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 Local Government Act 2000
Related legislation
Human Rights Act 1998
Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
Local Government Act 2000

35. Three broad levels of enquiry
Descriptive approach - draws attention to the values & beliefs of people from different cultures
Normative approach - identifies sets of values & beliefs as a basis for making ethical decisions
Analytical approach - attempts to explore the relationship between the normative values & beliefs and other value systems or ideologies

36. Ethical business circles
Figure 5.4
Ethical business circles