- What is a goal?
- Objective and subjective
- Target types
- Target examples
- Administration objective
- Other types of lenses
We explain what the objectives are and what they are for. In addition, other meanings of the term, types of objectives and some examples.
What is a goal?
An objective or purpose It is an ultimate goal or end towards which the actions or operations of somebody are directed. draft specific. Everything we do has an end, a final meaning where we want to go, which is the sum of the steps taken to achieve it. That is a goal, and our measure of success or failure will generally depend on our ability to achieve it or not.
The objectives are usually raised before taking action, since it is convenient to know where we are going before starting to walk, that is, we can only determine the best route to success if we know what the objective is that we have set ourselves. In this way, the objectives are part of any attempt to planning in any field.
Academic research, feasible projects, business plans or strategies The military always have in mind the objective set beforehand, and therefore seek to determine the method more convenient (faster, safer, more lucrative, etc.) to make it reality. Once a goal has been reached, another will emerge later in order to continue the action.
Objective and subjective
Another use of the term objective is the one that has to do with objectivity, a word that derives from the name of the lenses of microscopes, glasses, and other devices that allow you to see clearly what is normally invisible. In this sense, the objective has to do with what is not clouded by external considerations, that is, for reasons that have nothing to do with what is observed.
For example, if a person asks another for their objective opinion about how a garment fits, they are asking for a stark, real opinion, which puts aside caution or the fear of hurting them with their opinion and simply says what you think.
The opposite, in that sense, is the subjective: that which depends on the point of view of each person, their emotions and personal opinions. An objective judgment is not carried away by emotions or feelings; a subjective judgment, on the other hand, is made up of them.
Target types
Goals are usually classified in two different ways:
- According to the time it takes to do it. The objectives are classified into three, depending on how close their realization is in time:
- Short-term goals. Those that are very close to being realized or that will take a short time to achieve.
- Medium-term objectives. Those that cannot be specified immediately, but not in the very distant future either.
- Long-term goals. Those that we propose for an uncertain future, usually remote, but that guide our present actions.
- According to your perspective. Taking into account the elements on which they focus, the objectives can be of two types:
- General objectives. Those that are very comprehensive or involve a mission in a broad way.
- Specific objectives. Those who are limited or go to the punctual, to a specific task.
Target examples
Some examples of medium, short and long-term objectives can be:
- Smoking half of the daily cigarettes (short term)
Smoking half or less of the packs per month (medium term)
Stop smoking (long term)
- Increase weekly sales of the Web page (short term)
Increase the portfolio of customers al doble (medium term)
Take over the market and be the leader in the region (long term)
- Jogging for fifteen minutes every day (short term)
Lose a couple of kilos at the end of the month (medium term)
Staying in shape (long term)
Administration objective
The management a single objective is proposed: efficiency. This means the best or most convenient management or management of the resources that are available for some purpose, so that not only can the goal proposal, but also that it be done definitively, precisely and not more expensive than necessary.
For this, the administration defines the most suitable structures for the use of available resources, evaluating the input, output and control processes available to a organization or a system, either a business, a country or a family.
Other types of lenses
- In the organizations. The objectives are the values and purposes that are intended to be achieved in the near future. In the science of marketing, the objectives refer to the innovation in products in order to incentivize sales, increase the productivity and else. Also at work we can talk about the objectives when we refer to those goals that a professional he wants to achieve as such, such as reaching a high position at work or being able to do a doctorate or volunteer, whatever fact that adds to his curriculum vitae.
- In learning. These are stages that are being accomplished little by little and prove that the knowledge have been acquired. Teachers usually carry out periodic evaluations to be able to test if all their students are at the same height in the learning, if everyone has already met the goal for that month, for example.
- We also talk about objectives when we refer to shooting practice where you shoot towards them and have the purpose of adding experience. This target is set at a certain distance and within this distance, the shooters practice. For example, the command may be to shoot a target at a distance of about 25 or 30 meters.
- In the military field. An objective is a place or thing that is going to be occupied having a certain plan to be able to reach it. In this case, an objective may be to shoot down a plane, occupy an area or rescue someone.
- In the field of optics. We speak of an objective referring to a lens, which works as an instrument that is going to be located in the area that points towards an object.