SMART Objectives

Every company needs to set up objectives and goals for it or for the products or services when they are launching. It depends on what a company wants to achieve.

Setting up goals and objectives are very important for an organization. It focuses a company on specific aims over a specific period of time and it can also motivate staff to meet the objectives and goals.

A simple acronym used to set objectives is called SMART objectives.

SMART stands for:

1. Specific – Objectives should be specifying what they want to achieve.2. Measurable – It should have the ability to measure whether the company is meeting the objectives or not.3. Achievable - Are the objectives that company set, achievable and attainable?4. Realistic – Can an organization realistically achieve the objectives with the resources that it has?5. Time – When does the company want to achieve the set objectives?

Examples of SMART Objectives:

There are a number of business objectives, which an organization can set:

Market share objectives: Objectives can be set to achieve a certain level of market share within a specified time. E.g. obtain 4% market share of the mobile phone industry by 2011.

To increase profit: An objective maybe to increase sales 10% from 2010 – 2011.

To survive: Surviving the hard times the business is currently in.

To grow: The business may set an objective to grow by 15% year on year for the next three years.

Promotion: To increase brand awareness over a specified period of time.

THE KISS PRINCIPLE:

The traditional expansion of this acronym is Keep It Simple and Straightforward (sometime it is- Keep It Simple and Short). One of the all time famous acronyms, and so true. It’s an aim and reminder to maintain simplicity in communications, design, philosophy, relationships, decision-making, meetings, management and life generally. Business organizations apply and promote KISS principle to any condition to determine unnecessary complication, excuses, bureaucracy, red-tape and management problems, and to encourage no-nonsense communications, integrity, truth, beauty, and honesty in the organization.

Following are the main KISS principles:

Solve the most important problem (object relational impedance mismatch) in the simplest possible way

Don’t make the solution more complex than the original problem.

Be completely non-intrusive to the object model.

Give full flexibility in object modeling.

Make everything easy to define, modify, comprehend and share the mapping specification.

Avoid source code generation for data access.

Keep the mapping engine as much stateless as possible.

No mind reading.

Avoid creating a new query language.

Expose small number of simple and consistent APIs.

Absorb database-specific dependencies in the internal implementation

Optimize data access logic automatically.

Keep the internal implementation simple, extensible and efficient.

Offer intuitive tools to deal with object models, database schema and the mapping.

Provide a straight forward installer, lucid documentation and readymade examples.

Summary:

This white paper has identified and discussed the main principles of simplicity (KISS) that firms follow in designing and developing the organizations. Simplicity does not mean not providing essential features. Simplicity does not mean being unsophisticated. Simplicity is not a position of compromise rather than it’s a position of strengths. Penchant for simplicity often leads to elegance, robustness, and ease-of-use. The KISS principles above have explained how it makes an organization fast, flexible, versatile, robust and lightweight.

Swot analysis

SWOT analysis method and examples

The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Information about the origins and inventors of SWOT analysis is below. The SWOT analysis headings provide a good framework for reviewing strategy, position and direction of a company or business proposition, or any other idea. Completing a SWOT analysis is very simple, and is a good subject for workshop sessions. SWOT analysis also works well in brainstorming meetings.

Swot analysis example

This SWOT analysis example is based on an imaginary situation. The scenario is based on a business-to-business manufacturing company, who historically rely on distributors to take their products to the end user market. The opportunity, and therefore the subject for the SWOT analysis, is for the manufacturer to create a new company of its own to distribute its products direct to certain end-user sectors, which are not being covered or developed by its normal distributors.

Subject of SWOT analysis example: the creation of own distributor company to access new end-user sectors not currently being developed.

Strengths

End-user sales control and direction. Right products, quality and reliability.

Superior product performance vs. competitors.

Better product life and durability.

Spare manufacturing capacity.

Some staff has experience of end-user sector.

Have customer lists.

Direct delivery capability.

Product innovations ongoing.

Can serve from existing sites.

Products have required accreditations.

Processes and IT should cope.

Management is committed and confident.

Weaknesses

Customer lists not tested. Some gaps in range for certain sectors.

We would be a small player.

No direct marketing experience.

We cannot supply end-users abroad.

Need more sales people.

Limited budget.

No pilot or trial done yet.

Don't have a detailed plan yet.

Delivery-staff need training.

Customer service staff needs training.

Processes and systems, etc

Management cover insufficient.

Opportunities

Could develop new products. Local competitors have poor products.

Profit margins will be good.

End-users respond to new ideas.

Threats

Legislation could impact. Environmental effects would favor larger

competitors.

Existing core business distribution risk.

Market demand very seasonal.

Could extend to overseas.

New specialist applications.

Can surprise competitors.

Support core business economies.

Could seek better supplier deals.

Retention of key staff critical.

Could distract from core business.

Possible negative publicity.

Vulnerable to reactive attack by major competitors.