Concept of objectives

· Ambition : a strong (and more focused) desire. Ambition is something that you very much want to achieve in your future career: e.g. Her ambition was to go to law school and become an attorney. | Earlier this year, he achieved his ambition of competing in the Olympic Games.

· Purpose: what you want to achieve when you do something; the reason you do or plan something, and the thing you want to achieve when you do it.

· Aim: something you hope to achieve by doing something: e.g. The main aim of the plan was to provide employment for local people.

Aim stresses the direction one's efforts take in pursuit of an end: The aim of most students is to graduate.A process of aligning efforts towards something as a target ("to take aim", e.g. "aiming for the best results")

· Goal: something important that you hope to achieve in the future, even though it may take a long time: The country can still achieve its goal of reducing poverty by a third. e.g. "...the process achieved the goal of reducing the machine hours to..."

· Target: the exact result that a person or organization intends to achieve by doing something, often the amount of money they want to get; a particular amount or total that you want to achieve: e.g. The company is on track to meet its target of increasing profits by 10%.

· Vision : the broad canvas, tapestry or picture of what one intends to see or achieve in future (e.g. Mahatma Gandhi's vision for India..); in case of companies, it implies how the founders see it beyond horizons of time.

· Mission : A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person; its reason for existing; a written declaration of an organization's core purpose and focus that normally remains unchanged over time.

· Objective: A specific result that a person or system aims to achieve within a time frame and with available resources.

In general, objectives are more specific and easier to measure than goals. They are generally short term. Aim or Goal are broken down further into small, short time manageable objectives. Objectives are basic tools that underlie all planning and strategic activities. They serve as the basis for creating policy and evaluating performance. Some examples of business objectives include minimizing expenses, expanding internationally, or making a profit.

Learning Objectives are brief, clear statements that describe the desired learning outcomes of instruction. Attention is focused on the specific types of performances that students are expected to demonstrate at the end of instruction.

Every objective should be a smart objective.

S- Specific

• Well defined. Should not be vague or ambiguous.
• Clear to all the stakeholders

M- Measurable

• On a pre decided standards at any point of time.

· How much? How many?

· How will I know when it is accomplished?

A- Achievable Attainable

• Should not be very high or very low for available capacity.

An objectivel must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work.

R- Realistic

• Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time.

T- Time-Bound

• Start time and end time or the duration should be stated beforehand.

A goal should be grounded within a time frame.