MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS

An examination was made concerning the relationship between Management and Administration. We had a conclusion that there exists a difference between the two conceptually but in practice there is little or no difference. This is because at one stage the administrator or the top level manager carries out some task which is executive in scope.

In our present unit we are going to take further aspects of management. We will be discussing objectives of management. It would be recalled that in our first unit when we were discussing the nature and purpose of management, we did say that a manager must accomplish result. That is being effective. But in accomplishing result, the manager should be prudent in the use of resources. This is efficiency. The output is greater than the input. But to achieve demands that the manager must set a pre- determined objectives, bring together the necessary resources and set out together with his team toward the attainment of the organizational objectives. We shall discuss the various forms of business objectives which also constitute management objectives. Also to be discussed are management skills necessary for the attainment of organizational objectives. The skills are emphasized because in most cases some organizations set objectives, but the realization of such objectives is not emphasized. This is unsound management which must be rejected and discouraged.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. List organizational objectives 
2. Discuss features of business 
3. Explain management skills 

Definition and characteristics of Business Objectives 

An objective generally is an end in view. It represents the point an organization wants to attain and it is futuristic, that is, it concerns the future. Since an objective is an end in view, it represents future expectation of management. That is why enterprise activities must be directed towards the attainment of the set objectives.

Characteristics

Objective has important characteristics which must be taken into consideration. These characteristics stamp the mark of seriousness in business objective or any objective in non business organization set by a serious manager. These features or characteristics of a good objective are:

1. It must be specific: An objective should be targeted at specific result. This is necessary so as to avoid too much generalizations which make it difficult for an organization to know whether it is on the right track or not. A good business objective should be targeted and focused at a specific spot. This will enable management to concentrate at that point for the fulfillment of the objective. 
2. Action: A good objective commands not only the focus of management but also management action. Management by its very nature as a process is action oriented which is on going. But the action must be in the desired direction which has been provided by the specificity of the business objective. Action demands that the required resources in terms of human, material, time, information and other necessary resources must be put in place toward the attainment of the objective. That is why, the goodness of an objective depends on how resources are channelled towards its accomplish, otherwise it becomes merely a formality. 
3.  Realistic: An objective should not be set for setting sake or simply another organization has its own objective. A realistic assessment needs to be made concerning the organizations strengths and weaknesses. This is important so that right from the early stage the organization will be able to determine whether it has the required resources with which to accomplish the objective. If the resources are not available in sufficient quality and quantity, then a more realistic objective compared to the resources available should be set. 
4.  Measurable: An objective should be quantified, that is some figures should be attached. This is necessary for verification which means that at a required time, performance must be compared with the standard. The essence is to find out if efforts being made are in the right direction. If this is not the case, the necessary corrective measure should be put in place to rectify the situation. 
5. Time: The objective should be time bound. This indicates that within specific period, the objective must be accomplished. Another element concerning this feature of an objective is that it has to be formulated at the relevant period. In other words, the timeliness of the objective is important otherwise, events would overtake it. 

All these features and attributes of an objective go together; they can not be separated from one another. This is why they should all be considered in the process of objective formulation, objective implementation and objective evaluation.

 Types of Objectives

The types of objectives are indicated in the time in which the objectives are to be accomplished. There are therefore short term objective, medium term objective and long term.

• Short term Objective For the Nigerian environment which is erratic and turbulent, short term objective is usually less than on year. Compared to advanced economies, this is too short. But in those advanced economies, they are a stable and one can plan over a long range of time. In short term objectives, the nature of such objectives are tactical and operative. That is, they are objectives which are often yearly for departmental functions (tactical objectives) and they command activities which are specific, determined and for more immediate implementation (Operating objective/activities). 
• Middle term Objective Again, in respect of the Nigerian environment, the middle term objective is usually lesser than five years. 
• Long term Objective This is usually more than five years. The middle term and long term objectives are usually formulated through corporate objectives and mission statements. The corporate objectives in commercial organizations are often expressed in profit figures. In respect of the mission statements, they indicate in general terms the organization self identify, that is, the way it sees itself and wants to be perceived.