Study Notes

Corporate objectives

Last updated 22 Mar 2021

Corporate objectives are those that relate to the business as a whole. They are usually set by the top management of the business and they provide the focus for setting more detailed objectives for the main functional activities of the business.

This can be illustrated as follows:

Corporate objectives tend to focus on the desired performance and results of the business. It is important that corporate objectives cover a range of key areas where the business wants to achieve results rather than focusing on a single objective.

Peter Drucker suggested that corporate objectives should cover eight key areas:

Area	Examples
Market standing	Market share, customer satisfaction, product range
Innovation	New products, better processes, using technology
Productivity	Optimum use of resources, focus on core activities
Physical & financial resources	Factories, business locations, finance, supplies
Profitability	Level of profit, rates of return on investment
Management	Management structure; promotion & development
Employees	Organisational structure; employee relations
Public responsibility	Compliance with laws; social and ethical behaviour

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