Rrelated with an organization's mission and vision statements are their goals. Goals break down the mission statement into understandable components. An organization's goals relate to the long-term vision and express their values. Goals may be used to guide and motivate employees in their daily work.
Goal statements often include:
Organizational goals can be as diverse as the organizations themselves. For example, The Walt Disney Company and TOMS® show two very different approaches. The wording and focus of the goals of these organizations demonstrates two methods of stating an organization's purpose and intent through their goals.
The Walt Disney Company has an overall mission:
"to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world."
Disney's vision statement is one of the shortest, but it is easy to remember: Make People Happy.
With Disney being a large international company, they have many goals, and within their "acting responsibly" focus, they have goals within several areas: ethical conduct, responsible content, environmental stewardship, civic engagement, respectful workplaces, and responsible supply chain. A few specific goals are outlined below:
(Above from The Walt Disney Company at http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/citizenship/act-responsibly.)
TOMS Shoes' mission statement and company slogan is "one for one," which means they give away one pair of shoes for each pair sold. The company started in 2006, and they have given away over 35 million pairs of shoes to children in over 60 countries. TOMS also sells eyewear one-for-one, providing prescription eyewear, medical treatment, or surgery. Their latest program is to provide one week of clean water for each bag of TOMS coffee purchased. .
The company website (http://www.toms.com/) does not provide a list of their organizational goals, but the goals are stated within the narrative on their corporate responsibility page.
(Above from TOMS at http://www.toms.com/about-toms#corporateResponsibility).
Because organizations make decisions according to their vision, mission, and goals, it is important that employees share those goals. The greater the similarity between the employee's and the organization's goals, the greater the productivity and job satisfaction. Working for an employer whose goals are opposite of yours will cause increasing levels of stress. For example, imagine being a vegetarian working for a meat processing company--an ongoing clash of values.
If you have not already established your personal and professional goals, it is time to set those. Just as with an organization, consider where you want to go in the future, and then make short- and long-term goals. There are many different methods for setting goals, and one is using the SMART method. SMART is an acronym for:
Goals that do not meet the SMART criteria:
Examples of SMART goals may be:
Here is a worksheet that may help you formulate your goals.
Next, learn about your company's or team's goals. If there is a mission and vision statement, identify the main concepts and see how those relate to your long- and short-term goals. Looking at your organization (or a potential group or employer), which of their goals align with your personal and professional goals? Which goals seem out of alignment? Not all of your goals must be in alignment, but on the other hand, they should not all be out of alignment. As stated previously, the more aligned the individual's goals are with the organization's the more fulfilling is the work.
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Velda Arnaud,
Ph.D.
Executive Director
Lead, Educate, Serve Society
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Last updated 1/1/15 (va)
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