Unit 3
1 Business Objectives and Strategies
3.1 CORPORATE OBJECTIVES
1.0 Developing Corporate Objectives
Aims and objectives serve as a guide for the businesses' overall
strategy and direction, helping to focus efforts and
resources toward a common purpose
There is a hierarchy of objectives which cascade downwards
The Hierarchy of Objectives
A businesses mission flows from its overall aim and is usually
expressed in inspirational terms
From this mission corporate objectives and functional
objectives which detail the achievable goals a business wants to
achieve over a specified period are developed
Components of the Hierarchy Explained
Component Explanation Example
Aim What the business is looking Macmillan Cancer Support
to achieve in the long term?
Often expressed as an overall 'To do whatever it takes to support
vision and describes the people living with cancer
businesses reason for being
Mission Statement An expression of a business's overall Age UK
aim as well as its core
values and context 'Making a positive difference by
Informs the development of corporate putting older people, and the people
and functional objectives around them, at the heart of all we do;
Often expressed working with partner organisations,
in inspirational terms to to improve the quality of later life and
provide direction and a common provide effective, timely support for
purpose for employees those who need it the most
Corporate Objective The specific performance goals set Mind UK
by senior management for the business
to achieve over time 'Provide 3 million employees in low-
Derived from the firm’s overall paid sectors with workplace
aim and mission statement wellbeing support'
Corporate objectives may focus on
achieving specified levels of market
share , profit, sales growth or new
product/market development
Functional Objective The day to day goals of functions Scope UK
or departments within the
business, derived from corporate 'Working with the Government and
objectives disabled people we will create a
Functional objectives must Passenger Charter, an information
be carefully aligned across resource to help disabled people find
departments so that all parts of the the information they need when using
business are working towards the public transport
shared goal
SMART Objectives
Corporate and functional objectives should be
o Specific
o Measurable
o Agreed
o Realistic
o Time-bound
An example of a SMART sales objective
1.2 Critical Appraisals of Mission Statements
& Corporate Aims
1. Businesses need to critically assess whether corporate aims and
mission statements continue to reflect the current corporate vision
a. The content and expression of business aims will likely change
over time to reflect changing social attitudes and norms
i. For example Apple’s new mission statement - ‘to make the
best products on earth, and to leave the world better than
we found it’ - emphasises its commitment to sustainability,
a key social trend
b. Mission statements are sometimes criticised as being little more
than an exercise in public relations that do little to inform
objective-setting or promote a common organisational goal
i. For example in 2013 KFC’s mission was ‘To sell food in a
fast, friendly environment that appeals to price
conscious, health-minded consumers - in the same year
it launched a burger that replaced the bread bun with extra
layers of deep-fried chicken
2. Businesses should decide whether changes to the corporate aim or
mission statement need to be made by considering whether
a. The short- to medium-term strategies adopted by the
business support the aim and mission
b. The aim and objectives are realistic and achievable in the
current trading environment
c. The mission statement message communicates effectively the
aim of the business with stakeholders
3. Revising the business aim and revisiting the mission statement should
be seen as a natural step for growing businesses
a. It is a chance to involve a variety of stakeholders including
workers and suppliers in determining the direction of the
business
b. Newly-identified opportunities and threats can be
acknowledged
c. Sharing refreshed priorities, particularly with the media can
generate positive publicity
Exam Tip
When assessing the nature or effectiveness of the objectives for a specific business
based on a case study provided, you should consider the following:
What is their purpose?
Who is the intended audience?
How does the corporate strategy followed by the business compare to the
mission in reality?
Who is the mission statement aimed at and how does the strategy affect
different groups?
