Objectives provide direction and goals for organizations. There are several types of objectives including primary, strategic, and operational objectives. Primary objectives reflect the fundamental reason for an organization's existence, like profit or growth. Strategic objectives guide long-term direction towards primary objectives through things like new products. Operational objectives interpret strategic objectives into shorter-term decisions around budgets, costs, and delivery. Objectives can be explicit and clearly stated, or implicit and less obvious, shaping decisions towards ultimate goals. They also exist at different levels in an organization's hierarchy and may change over time as the organization and environment change.