Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives

HSM/240

October 16, 2011

Goals and Objectives

The words goal and objective are quiet often used interchangeably and yet they are very different in context (Day, 1985). Goals and policies are the foundation for an organizations policies and procedures. Goals and objectives can be long term, short term, manifest, or latent. Understanding these two terms are the first step in the evaluation of an organizations goals and objectives.

Goals are general and abstract statements that will answer the question “What does the organization hope to accomplish?” ("Non Profit Capital Management", 2011). Goals focus on a desired outcome. Objectives are statements toward an observable outcome. An objective focuses on the questions “How will the organization accomplish its goals?” or “What steps need to be taken in order to accomplish the goals?” ("Non Profit Capital Management", 2011). Goals and objectives are not easy to identify.

There are four steps that need to be taken when identifying an organizations goals and objectives. The first step is to locate the enabling legislation. Enabling legislation is a statement about the organizations purpose or goal of the act and for the program (Chambers, 2005). The next step is locating legislative history. Legislative history is a set of official documents or transcripts of legislative hearings (Chambers, 2005). The third step is locate staff and committee studies and reports. Staff and committee studies and reports are prepared for used by committees to study issues that may result in new program or policies and amendment to existing legislation (Chambers, 2005). The last step is to check other official sources. There are many authorities’ sources that pertain to the goals and objectives of social program that entail federal funds or administrations (Chambers, 2005). These were the steps taken when establishing the goals and objectives of one of Talbert House’s programs.

Talbert House Warren...