Thought 48 (b): Corporate Objectives and Goals

In a corporate setting, the higher you are in the hierarchy, the more visionary your objectives for the organization are going to be. It is believed that the chairman of AT&T in USA - which is perhaps the largest telecommunication organization in the world had visualized some years ago, the objective, "it is the objective of this organization to provide a reliable telephone service to the common man in this country at an affordable cost". Highly visionary, no doubt, but a chairman of a large organization, such as AT&T, always has to take a helicopter view of the scene; his view has to encompass the entire landscape. The executives of AT&T were able to convert this vision into a reality in a given time frame. They translated this vision into very specific goals for the lower levels.

Actions at the lower levels of the hierarchy will not be purposeful, unless they are chasing very specific targets. When you are low in the hierarchical ladder, like a foremen of a shop, the goals have to be very clear and specific. They should for instance, spell out a production target. Otherwise, the foreman will not understand and therefore, he is not likely to produce what is expected of him.

The next thought is about “Goals for individuals”