Goals vs Objectives

When you have something you want to accomplish, it is important to

set both goals and objectives. Once you learn the difference between
goals and objectives, you will realize that how important it is that you
have both of them. Goals without objectives can never be
accomplished while objectives without goals will never get you to
where you want to be. The two concepts are separate but related and
will help you to be who you want to be.

Definition of Goals and Objectives

Goals ‘“ are long-term aims that you want to accomplish.
Objectives ‘“ are concrete attainments that can be achieved by
following a certain number of steps.

Goals and objectives are often used interchangeably, but the main
difference comes in their level of concreteness. Objectives are very
concrete, whereas goals are less structured.
Remembering the Differences between Goals and Objectives
When you are giving a presentation to a potential or current employer,
knowing the difference between goals and objectives can be crucial to
the acceptance of your proposal. Here is an easy way to remember how
they differ:
Goals ‘“ has the word ‘go’ in it. Your goals should go forward in a
specific direction. However, goals are more about everything you
accomplish on your journey, rather than getting to that distant point.
Goals will often go into undiscovered territory and you therefore can’t
even know where the end will be.
Objectives ‘“ has the word ‘object’ in it. Objects are concrete. They are
something that you can hold in your hand. Because of this, your
objectives can be clearly outlined with timelines, budgets, and
personnel needs. Every area of each objective should be firm.

Measuring Goals and Objectives

Goals ‘“ unfortunately, there is no set way in which to measure the

accomplishment of your goals. You may feel that you are closer, but
since goals are de facto nebulous, you can never say for sure that you
have definitively achieved them.

Objectives ‘“ can be measured. Simply phrase your objective in the

form of a question. For example, ‘I want to accomplish x in y amount
of time’ becomes ‘Did I accomplish x in y amount of time?’ This can
easily be answered in a yes or no form.

Examples of Goals and Objectives

Goals ‘“ I want to be a better ball player. I want to learn more about
Chinese history. I want to maximize my professional performance.
Objectives ‘“ I want to memorize the periodic table before my next
quiz. I want to increase my sales by 10% this month. I want learn to
play ‘Freebird’ on the guitar.
Summary:
1. Goals and objectives are both tools for accomplishing what you want
to achieve.
2. Goals are long term and objectives are usually accomplished in the
short or medium term.
3. Goals are nebulous and you can’t definitively say you have
accomplished one whereas the success of an objective can easily be
measured.
4. Goals are hard to quantify or put in a timeline, but objectives should
be given a timeline to be more effective.

ning.

Let’s define Strategic, Tactical and Operational

planning.
Apr 3rd, 2014

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making
decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. Generally, strategic planning deals, on
the whole business, rather than just an isolated unit, with at least one of following three key
questions:

 “What do we do?”

 “For whom do we do it?”

 “How do we excel?”

For example, the first and third questions are those that motivate an acquisition. Acquisitions are
thus strategic choices. Typically strategic choices look at 3 to 5 years, although some extend their
vision to 20 years (long term). Because of the time horizon and the nature of the questions dealt,
mishaps potentially occurring during the execution of a strategic plan are afflicted by significant
uncertainties and may lie very remotely out of the control of management (war, geopolitical shocks,
etc.). Those mishaps, in conjunction to their potential consequences are called “strategic risks”.
Untapped opportunities can also be seen as strategic risks, but in this post we will not analyze those
upward-risks aspects.

Tactical planning is short range planning emphasizing the current operations of various parts of the
organization. Short Range is generally defined as a period of time extending about one year or less
in the future. Managers use tactical planning to outline what the various parts of the organization
must do for the organization to be successful at some point one year or less into the future. Tactical
plans are usually developed in the areas of production, marketing, personnel, finance and plant
facilities. Because of the time horizon and the nature of the questions dealt, mishaps potentially
occurring during the execution of a tactical plan should be covered by moderate uncertainties and
may lie closer to the control of management (next year shipping prices, energy consumption, but not
a catastrophic black-out, etc.) than strategic ones. Those mishaps, in conjunction to their potential
consequences are called “tactical risks”.

Operational planning is the process of linking strategic goals and objectives to tactical goals and
objectives. It describes milestones, conditions for success and explains how, or what portion of, a
strategic plan will be put into operation during a given operational period.
An operational plan addresses four questions:

 Where are we now?

 Where do we want to be?

 How do we get there?

 How do we measure our progress?

Operational risks are those arising from the people, systems and processes through which a
company operates and can include other classes of risk, such as fraud, legal risks, physical or
environmental risks. Operational risk are those resulting from inadequate or failed internal
processes, people and systems, or from external events (man-made or natural hazards). A tailings
dam failure, an open pit slide, a black-out (man-made or natural external hazard), and explosion in a
processing plant are all operational hazards generating operational risks.

Since upper Management generally have a better understanding of the organization as a whole than
lower level managers do, upper Management generally develops strategic plans. Because lower
level managers generally have better understanding of the day-to- day organizational operations,
generally they develop tactical and operational plans. Because strategic plans are generally longer
term and are surrounded by more uncertainties in terms of their occurrence and consequences (one
exception example: tailings management planned until closure, and after closure) strategic plans are
generally less detailed than tactical plans. Thus the following can be inferred for a list of “top
hazards” discussed in a report we reviewed recently:

Strategic, tactical, and operational planning example.

However, despite their differences, strategic, tactical and operational planning are integrally related.
Manager need both tactical and strategic planning program, and these program must be closely
related to be successful. Thus, it can be inferred that Entreprise Risk Management (ERM) should
deal very closely with these relations and the use of multiple Probability Impact Graph (PIG)
matrices with multiple arbitrary scales is definitely not a rational, transparent solution.

Difference Between Strategic Planning and

Operational Planning
June 29, 2015 By Surbhi S 2 Comments
 Planning is an
important activity, performed by the management, keeping in view, the vision,
mission, goals and objectives of the enterprise. It implies thinking in advance,
what we need to do in future and creates a rough draft, so as to fulfill the business
objectives. Planning occurring at the corporate level is termed as strategic
planning, while the planning process taking place at the functional level is
called operational planning.

Strategic Planning is concentrated towards attaining the long-term objectives of

business. On the other hand, operational planning is done to achieve short-term
objectives of the company. These are used to set priorities and align the
resources, in such a way that leads to the accomplishment of business goals. Take
a read of the article given below, to understand the difference between strategic
planning and operational planning.

Content: Strategic Planning Vs Operational Planning

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart
BASIS FOR
STRATEGIC PLANNING OPERATIONAL PLANNING
COMPARISON

Meaning The planning for achieving the Operational Planning is a process of deciding in
vision of the organization is advance of what is to be done to achieve the
 BASIS FOR
STRATEGIC PLANNING OPERATIONAL PLANNING
COMPARISON

Strategic Planning. tactical objectives of business?

Time Horizon Long term planning Short term planning

Approach Extroverted Introverted

Modifications Generally, the plan lasts longer. The plan changes every year.

Performed by Top level management Middle level management

Scope Wide Narrow

Emphasis on Planning of vision, mission and Planning the routine activities of the company.
objectives.

Definition of Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is a planning process undertaken by the top level

management, to decide Where the organization wants to reach in future? And
What should be done to pursue the organizational vision, mission, and
objectives? It is an analytical process which examines the micro and
macro environment of business. The process is used to define the company’s
vision, ambitions, and set priorities to make a route that will lead the company
towards its ultimate goal.
 Strategic Planning Process

The planning is not made for a particular department or unit, but it covers the
entire organization. The strategic planning is done to determine the factors of the
internal and external environment which directly influences the organization.
The plan focuses on the enduring development of the organization. The tools
used in this process are:

 SWOT Analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats)

 Portfolio Analysis
 PEST Analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological Environment)
 Porter’s 5 forces Analysis (New Entrants, Rival Sellers, Substitute Products,
Buyer Bargaining Power, Supplier Bargaining Power)
 BCG Matrix (Boston Consulting Group)

These tools help the management to design a strategy considering various

elements, that will lead the organization towards its vision.
Definition of Operational Planning

The process which predetermines the day to day activities of the business is
known as Operational Planning. The planning is done to support the strategic
planning to accomplish the organizational goals. In this process, short run
objectives of the company are determined as well as a means to achieve those
objectives are also discovered.

Middle-level management performs the function of the operational planning

process. It includes planning of regular business activities and operations for a
short period. Under this process, the organization is classified into the various
department, division, unit, and center for which planning is performed
individually, which is aligned with the strategic planning to reach the
organization’s vision. The following are the features of Operational Planning:

 Objectives need to be clearly defined.

 Achievement of the desired result.
 The activities are to be performed as decided.
 Maintenance of quality standards.
 Measuring performance.

Key Differences Between Strategic Planning and Operational Planning

The following are the differences between strategic planning and operational
planning:

1. The planning to pursue the organization’s vision is known as Strategic

Planning. The planning to achieve the tactical objectives of the
organization is known as Operational Planning.
2. Strategic Planning is long lasting as compared Operational Planning.
3. Operational Planning is done to support Strategic Planning.
4. Strategic Planning takes into account the internal as well as the external
environment of business. Conversely, Operational Planning is concerned
with the internal environment of business.
5. Strategic Planning is done by top level management, whereas the
Operational Planning is a function of middle-level management.
6. Strategic Planning covers the whole organization, but Operational Planning
is done in a particular unit or department of the organization.
Conclusion

As we have discussed in the beginning that planning can be done for anything, so
in a business organization it can be done for various purposes right from reaching
the vision to its regular business activities, but their names, ways, and planning
techniques are different. Strategic Planning and Operational Planning are two
types of planning process performed by the managers and executives of the
organization.

Strategic Plans are made to achieve the vision, mission, goals, and objectives. On
the other hand, Operational Plans are made to effectively perform the basic
activities of the business in order to achieve tactical objectives.

Planning to Plan
Have you ever heard the saying 'Those who fail to plan, plan to fail'? While I can't speak to all
facets of life, this is certainly true in business. Managers find themselves planning for all sorts of
things. So much so, that planning is one of the four major functions of management. In doing so,
a manager can be certain that he or she is working toward some organization goal.
There are three main types of plans that a manager will use in his or her pursuit of company
goals, which include operational, tactical and strategic. If you think about these three types of
plans as stepping stones, you can see how their relationship to one another aids in the
achievement of organizational goals. Operational plans are necessary to attain tactical plans and
tactical plans lead to the achievement of strategic plans. Then, in true planning fashion, there are
also plans to backup plans that fail. These are known as contingency plans. To better understand
how each type of plan is used by managers, let's take a look at an example from Nino's Pizzeria
and how Tommy, Martha and Frank carry out their planning responsibilities.

Strategic Plans
To best understand the relationship between the different types of plans, let's start at the
top. Strategic plansare designed with the entire organization in mind and begin with an
organization's mission. Top-level managers, such as CEOs or presidents, will design and execute
strategic plans to paint a picture of the desired future and long-term goals of the organization.
Essentially, strategic plans look ahead to where the organization wants to be in three, five, even
ten years. Strategic plans, provided by top-level managers, serve as the framework for lower-
level planning.
Tommy is a top-level manager for Nino's Pizzeria. As a top-level manager, Tommy must use
strategic planning to ensure the long-term goals of the organization are reached. For Tommy, that
means developing long-term strategies for achieving growth, improving productivity and
profitability, boosting return on investments, improving customer service and finding ways to
give back to the community in which it operates.
For example, Tommy's strategic plans for achieving growth, improving productivity and
profitability and boosting return on investments are all part of the desired future of the pizzeria.
Strategic plans also tend to require multilevel involvement so that each level of the organization
plays a significant role in achieving the goals being strategically planned for. Top-level
managers, such as Tommy, develop the organizational objectives so that middle- and lower-level
managers can create compatible plans aligned with those objectives.

Tactical Plans
Now that you have a general idea for how organizational planning evolves, let's look at the next
level of planning, known as tactical planning. Tactical plans support strategic plans by
translating them into specific plans relevant to a distinct area of the organization. Tactical plans
are concerned with the responsibility and functionality of lower-level departments to fulfill their
parts of the strategic plan.
For example, when Martha, the middle-level manager at Nino's, learns about Tommy's strategic
plan for increasing productivity, Martha immediately begins to think about possible tactical plans
to ensure that happens. Tactical planning for Martha might include things like testing a new
process in making pizzas that has been proven to shorten the amount of time it takes for prepping
the pizza to be cooked or perhaps looking into purchasing a better oven that can speed up the
amount of time it takes to cook a pizza or even considering ways to better map out delivery
routes and drivers. As a tactical planner, Martha needs to create a set of calculated actions that
take a shorter amount of time and are narrower in scope than the strategic plan is but still help to
bring the organization closer to the long-term goal.

Operational Plans
Operational plans sit at the bottom of the totem pole; they are the plans that are made by
frontline, or low-level, managers. All operational plans are focused on the specific procedures
and processes that occur within the lowest levels of the organization. Managers must plan the
routine tasks of the department using a high level of detail.
Frank, the frontline manager at Nino's Pizzeria, is responsible for operational planning.
Operational planning activities for Frank would include things like scheduling employees each
week; assessing, ordering and stocking inventory; creating a monthly budget; developing a
promotional advertisement for the quarter to increase the sales of a certain product (such as the
Hawaiian pizza) or outlining an employee's performance goals for the year.
Operational plans can be either single-use or ongoing plans. Single-use plans are those plans
that are intended to be used only once. They include activities that would not be repeated and
often have an expiration. Creating a monthly budget and developing a promotional advertisement
for the quarter to increase the sales of a certain product are examples of how Frank would utilize
single-use planning.
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