The document discusses the key elements of formulating sound organizational objectives. Objectives should be (1) observable and measurable using strong action verbs, (2) quantifiable by committing to specific numeric targets, and (3) limited in time by including a deadline. Examples provided are establishing six new provincial branch offices by the end of the fiscal year or increasing service delivery from 10% to 30% within six months. Objectives with these elements can be readily measured and help determine if the goal has been achieved.

1. Goals & Objectives

2. Objectives
• The mission of the organization must be translated into the
sound organizational objectives.
• In formulating objectives that serve the mission of the
organization, the strategic group will need to further refine "what
we want to do" by committing to specific, measurable actions
that include realistic deadlines.

3. Sound objectives must have the
following elements.

4. 1. Observable and
measurable.
Sound objective statements use strong action verbs that can be readily
observed and measured, such as "to establish", "to acquire", or "to attain".
Too often objectives are written with weak verbs, such as "to improve" or
"to sustain", which do not, by themselves, describe a specific end result.
Verbs that indicate a process, like "to increase" or "to develop" are
acceptable if specific performance indicators are included in the objective.
Some examples of this would be "to increase the percentage of service
delivery from 10% to 30%" or "to expand our market share from 15% to
25%.

5. 2. Quantifiable
The objective statement should commit to specific quantities that,
when measured, will determine whether the objective has been
obtained or not.
For instance, the objective "the organization will establish more
provincial branch offices" is active but not measurable unless, of
course, one new provincial office would be considered sufficient
for "success". A quantifiable version this objective would be "the
organization will establish six more provincial branch offices".

6. 3. Limited in time
Including the time limits is very important in all the objectives.
The elements of time, quantity and quality allows you to construct
powerful objectives that are also realistic.
Normally time limits are expressed as a preliminary phrase in the
objective, such as, "by the end of the fiscal year", "within six
months" or "in the first trimester".