What Are Some Good Examples of Organizational Goals?

Examples of effective organizational goals may include improving the online shopping experience for customers, eliminating specific bugs from a software release or reducing the call duration for customer service interactions. These goals also help define the purpose of a company, justify its operations and set benchmarks for success across the organization.

Organizational goals typically appear as either official goals, which are the terms a company sets forth in public documents such as an operating statement or charter, and operative goals, which are the actionable steps a company takes to achieve a certain outcome. In both cases, the goals help orient the company toward achieving a specific outcome and provide managers with an objective that they may use to develop individual goals and employee requirements. These goals need to have a clear definition that ties directly with an action or function of the company to ensure a direct connection to employee efforts.

Operative goals allow a company to achieve its official goals, and thus include clear action plans and specific directions for success. For example, if a company’s official goal is to increase child safety through special car seats, its operative goal may be to raise enough funding to conduct research on the ideal safety design compatible with consumer vehicles. Additionally, the operative goals also include smaller segments that outline the duties of the employees to motivate them, such as sales goals on exiting products or application quotas on government research grants.