Identify and provide at least two examples illustrating the key characteristics of a well-stated organizational objective.
What will be an ideal response?
Well-stated objectives must be specific, quantifiable or measurable, and challenging and must contain a deadline for achievement. Concrete, measurable objectives are managerially valuable for three reasons: (1) they focus organizational attention and align actions throughout the organization, (2) they serve as yardsticks for tracking a company's performance and progress, and (3) they motivate employees to expend greater effort and perform at a high level. Illustration Capsule 2.3 in Chapter 2 provides three examples of well-stated organizational objectives in detail.
Jet Blue: Produce above average industry margins by offering a quality product at a competitive price; generate revenues of over $6.6 billion, up 3.4 percent year over year; earn a net income of $759 million, an annual increase of 12.0 percent; further develop fare options, a cobranded, credit card, and the Mint franchise; commit to achieving total cost savings of $250-300 million by 2020; kickoff multiyear, cabin restyling program; convert all core A321 aircraft from 190 to 200 seats; target growth in key cities like Boston, plan to grow 150 flights a day to 200 over the coming years; grow toward becoming the carrier of choice in South Florida; organically grow West Coast, presence by expanding Mint offering to more transcontinental routes; and optimize fare mix to increase overall average fare.
lululemon: Optimize and strategically grow square footage in North America; explore new concepts such as stores that are tailored to each community; build a robust digital ecosystem with key investments in customer relationship management, analytics, and capabilities to elevate guest experience across all touch points; continue to expand the brand globally through international expansion, open 11 new stores in Asia and Europe, which include the first stores in China, South Korea, and Switzerland-operating a total of 50-plus stores across nine countries outside of North America; increase net revenue 14 percent to $2.3 billion in fiscal 2016; increase total comparable sales, which includes comparable store sales and direct to consumer, by 6 percent in fiscal 2016; increase gross profit for fiscal 2016 by 20 percent to $1.2 billion; increase gross profit as a percentage of net revenue, or gross margin, by 51.2 percent; and increase income from operations for fiscal 2016 by 14 percent to $421.2 million.
General Mills: Generate low single-digit organic net sales growth and high single-digit growth in earnings per share. Deliver double-digit returns to shareholders over the long-term, To drive future growth, focus on Consumer First strategy to gain a deep understanding of consumer needs and respond quickly to give them what they want. More specifically, (1) grow, cereal globally with a strong line-up of new products, including new flavors of iconic Cheerios; (2) innovate, in fast-growing, segments of the yogurt category to improve performance and expand the yogurt platform into new cities in China; (3) expand distribution and advertising for high performing brands, such as Häagen-Dazs and Old El Paso; (4) build a more agile organization by streamlining support functions, allowing for more fluid use of resources and idea sharing around the world, enhancing e-commerce know-how to capture more growth in this emerging channel; and (5) investing in strategic revenue management tools to optimize promotions, prices, and mix of products to drive sales growth.
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Manufacturing costs incurred in an accounting period cannot be included in cost of goods sold for the subsequent accounting period
Indicate whether the statement is true or false
Sylvester, acting as a representative agent for Jerry, signs a negotiable instrument with the signature—Jerry, by Sylvester, agent. What kind of liability does Sylvester have for this type of signature?
A) He is not liable on the instrument. B) He is liable to the payee. C) He is liable to Jerry. D) He is liable to the HDC of the instrument.
Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)
1. Organizational structure can be described by its degree of complexity, formalization, and centralization. 2. Mintzberg proposed that all organizations are composed of five essential parts: the operating core, the middle line, the support staff, the technostructure, and the strategic apex. 3. Institutional theories focus not on single organizations but on the strategies, structures, and management of whole populations of organizations, such as industries. 4. Institutional theory focuses on the ways that organizations in shared environments come to adopt similar structures that are reinforced in interactions with other organizations. 5. Regardless of country, larger organizations tended to be more formalized, specialized, and less centralized.
Why is land classified separately from other tangible long-term assets?
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