Organizational goals root from the desire of one organization to excel in the industry that they belong. Ideally, the purpose of an organizational goal should be for the good of the organization as well as for the good of all members of the organization. Generally, its nature should involve the shared visions of the majority for future attainment of the organization, and its purpose is for the good interest of all.
Organizational goals can be categorized in different kinds. Hellstrom and Jacob suggest 2 kinds of organizational goals. They are 1) official; and 2) operational. Official goals can include those visions of a company that should remain constant in the entire operation of the organization or, if not, improving in the quality of what is being aimed. Official goals comprise the general goals of the company, specifically focusing on the success of the company. Operational goals, on the other hand, are goals that must be met by every component of the organization. Usually, the attainment of such goals is not necessarily dependent or related from the other components of the organization.
How much attention should be given to long-term vs. short-term goals? Which should be given priority?
In terms of which should be prioritized, both long-term and short-term goals have their advantages and disadvantages. Focusing more on long-term goals may leave the company to have a slow success. This is because success can only be totally apparent once the long-term goal is achieved. However, one advantage to this is that long-term goal allows more time for proper planning, development, and implementation of the goal. And, upon the achievement of the long-term goal, the organization can be assured of stability. On the other hand, focusing more on the short-term goal may end up with lack of proper planning, thus may cause only short-
term success. However, the advantage of the short-term goal is that during events where the goal is immediately needed, focusing more on short-term goal provides more chances of immediately minimizing organization problems or needs. However, again, the consequence may be only for a short-term.
References
Knowledge Programs and the Elusive Nature of Organizational Goals
http://www.imit.se/intro/order/rapporter/2001_117.pdf
