What is the APO? A system for subordinates and superiors to jointly set performance goals, periodically review progress toward goals, and assign rewards based on that progress.
APO makes objectives operational through a process that cascades them down throughout the organization. As Figure 1 exposes, the general objectives of the organization are translated into specific objectives for each subsequent level (division, department, individual). Because managers of lower units participate in setting their own goals, APO works from the bottom up and also from the top down. The result is a pyramid that links the objectives of one level with those of the next.
Figure 1
Elements of an apo program
An APO program generally has four components:
1.-The specificity of the goals: Achieve the objective in a tangible way.
2.-Participation in decision-making: The manager and the employee make joint decisions and agree on how to achieve them.
3.-An explicit term: Each objective has a specific term. Normally, the term is three months, six months or one year.
4.-Feedback about performance: On an ideal level, this is achieved by providing people with constant feedback, so that they can ponder and correct their own actions.
Employee goals
Employees must clearly understand what they are trying to achieve. And what the company and supervisors hope to achieve together with them, to achieve it can be facilitated with the following guidelines:
- Identify the employee's key job tasks.
Goal setting begins when you define what you want your employees to achieve. The best source of information is the job description for each of these.
- Set specific and challenging goals for each task.
Identify the level of performance you expect from each employee. Specify the goal that the employee must achieve. Set deadlines for each goal, because it will lessen ambiguity. However, do not establish them arbitrarily, on the contrary, be realistic and consider the tasks that they will carry out.
- Allow active employee participation.
When employees participate in setting goals, they are more likely to accept them. However, it must be sincere participation. In other words, they must perceive that you truly seek their contributions, and not that you are only doing what is due.
- Mark the order of priority of the goals.
When assigning more than one goal to someone, it is important to rank goals in order of importance. The order of priority encourages the employee to act and strive for each goal according to its importance. Rate the goals in terms of their difficulty and importance. Goal setting should not lead people to choose easy ones. When goals are rated, people should be given credit for trying to reach difficult goals, even if they don't quite achieve it.
- Include feedback mechanisms to assess goal progress.
Feedback lets employees know if their amount of effort is enough to reach the goal. Feedback should be generated by yourself and the supervisor. In both cases it must be frequent and recurrent.
- Link rewards to goals achieved.
It is natural for employees to ask “and what do I gain from that? “When rewards are tied to goals achieved, it's easier to answer that question.
Mission
In order to develop their strategy, members of the organization must first identify the organization's current mission, objectives, and strategies.
All organizations have a mission statement which defines their objective and answers the question: "What business or businesses are we in?" Having to define the mission of the organization requires management to identify the scope of its products or services with great care.
Example 1, Oticon Holding A / S, from Hellerup, Denmark, set its sights on becoming the world's leading manufacturer of hearing aids.
Fulfilling this mission "drives the company, moves workers and brings a high quality product to the market."
Establishing the nature of your own business is as important to nonprofits as it is to merchant companies. Hospitals, government agencies and universities must also identify their mission.
Example 2, Is an educational center preparing professional students, technicians, or people with interdisciplinary studies? Looking to receive students from the top 5% of high school graduates, students with low academic scores but high on aptitude tests, or students from the vast intermediate field? Answers to questions like these clarify the organization's current objective.
Components of a mission statement
- Consumer market
We believe that our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to the mothers and to all the other people who use our service products. (Jonson & Jonson)
- Product and service
AMAX's main products are: molybdenum, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, petroleum and natural gas, potash, phosphates, nickel, tungsten, silver, gold and magnesium (AMAX.
- Geographical Domain
We are dedicated to achieving the full success of Corning Glass Works as a global competitor (Corning Glass)
- Technology
Control Data is in the business of applying microelectronics and computer technology in two general areas: computer-related hardware and computer enhancement services, including computing, information, education, and finance. (Control Data)
- Concern for survival
In this regard, the company will conduct its operations wisely and will provide the profits and growth that will guarantee Hoover's ultimate success. (Hover Universal)
- Philosophy
We believe that human development is the most valuable goal of civilization and that independence is the supreme condition to foster the development of people's capacities. (Sun Company)
- Self concept
Hoover Universal is a diversified, multi-industry corporation with vigorous manufacturing capabilities, entrepreneurial policies, and autonomy in each of its business units. (Hoover Universal)
- Concern for his public image
Furthermore, we must be accountable to the broader interests of the public, in particular to their desire to improve the quality of life, achieve equal opportunity for all and the constructive use of natural resources. (Sun Company)
goals
Goals are goals. We use the two termites differently well, but what do those terms mean? They refer to the desired results for individuals, groups or entire organizations. They set the course for all management decisions and form the criteria against which actual achievement can be measured. That is why we say that they are the foundations of planning.
At first glance it might seem that organizations have only one goal: if they are business firms, to make a profit; if they are for-profit organizations, provide a service with efficiency. But a more careful analysis reveals that all organizations have multiple objectives. In effect, businesses also try to increase their market share and satisfy the well-being of their employees.
The financial objectives refer to the economic performance of the firm; The strategic objectives are related to other areas of its performance. With the exception of a few financial goals, these goals could also apply to a nonprofit organization. Likewise, note that although survival has not been specifically mentioned by companies, it is also a factor of the utmost importance for all organizations.
Financial objectives
- Rapid Revenue Growth Rapid Profit Growth Higher Dividends Wider Profit Margins Higher Invested Capital Higher Ratings for Finance and Credit Increased Cash Flows Increased Stock Price Recognition as Select Stock Company More Revenue Stable During Recruiting Periods
Strategic objectives
- Higher market share Higher and safer industrial range Higher product quality Lower costs relative to key competitors A broader or more attractive product line A stronger reputation among consumers Superior customer service Recognition as a leader in technology and / or innovation of products Greater capacity to compete in international markets Expansion of growth opportunities.
The stated objectives are official statements of what an organization claims to be its objectives. However, the stated objectives - which can be found in the organization's charter, in its annual report, in its public relations announcements or in the public statements of its managers - are often conflicting and show excessive influence of o that society thinks organizations should do.
The conflict of stated goals exists because organizations have to respond to a wide variety of stakeholders. Unfortunately, these parties often evaluate the organization with different criteria.
The general objectives stated by senior management should be considered as what is "a fiction made by an organization to account, explain or rationalize its actions in front of a particular audience, and not as valid and reliable indications of its true purpose" The content of the objectives is essentially determined by what those people should listen to. Furthermore, it is easier for managers to declare a series of consistent and understandable objectives than to explain the multiplicity of their objectives. If you want to know what the real goals of an organization are, watch carefully what the members of that organization actually do. Actions allow defining priorities. For example, universities that proclaim the goal of limiting group size in classrooms,Facilitating closer relationships between students and teachers, and actively involving students in the learning process, but later it turns out that forcing their students to squeeze into a class of 300 or more people in a classroom are very common.
The central theme of traditional goal setting is that those goals are set at a higher level in the hierarchy and then divided into sub-goals for each of the levels of the organization. This traditional perspective assumes that senior management knows what's best because only they can see the big picture. Thus, the objectives that she determines and transmits to each of the levels of the organization are channeled towards achieving the objectives assigned to their respective areas of responsibility.
Traditional targeting
- Top Management GoalWe need to improve company performance.Division Manager ObjectiveI want to see a significant improvement in this division's earnings.Department Manager ObjectiveIncrease earnings regardless of meansIndividual Employee ObjectiveDon't worry about quality; it just works quickly.
When the hierarchy of organizational objectives is clearly defined, it constitutes an integrated network of objectives known as the chain of means and ends. Higher-level goals or objectives are linked to lower-level goals that serve as means of achieving the former. In other words, goals at a low level (the means) must be achieved in order to achieve the goals at the next level (the ends). And achieving goals at that level becomes the means of achieving goals at the next level (the ends). And so on, through all the different levels of the organization.
