The business aim is the general and long-term goal of an organization, the central core purpose of its business activity.
The corporate aim states the overall purpose and direction of the business – what the business is trying to achieve in the far-away future. Business aims are very long-term general goals that the business hopes to accomplish several years or decades later.
All corporate aims are supposed to be designed to provide guidance to the whole business organization and not just a part of it, or only to one department.
Where to find the business aim?
Businesses usually express their corporate aims as a very short ‘vision-like’ statement that is later communicated publicly to all stakeholders.
The aim of the business is often expressed and found in the vision statement and mission statement.
A vision statement outlines a business organization’s aspirations, where it wants to be, in the distant future.
A mission statement focuses on a company’s present state – it outlines to all stakeholders a firm’s overall aim and value. It enables the stakeholders of a business to understand why the business exists and why it is doing what it is doing.
Examples of business aims
The aim is very broadly expressed as an unquantifiable statement, e.g. ‘to produce the best quality cars’, ‘to serve the most delicious coffee in the world’, ‘to meet all customer needs on time’, ‘to achieve profitable growth’, ‘to become the market leader’ or ‘to promote environmentally-friendly sustainable business operations’.
Apple aims to: ‘bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services’.
GameStop exists because: ‘together, we hold a passion for gaming, a commitment to our industry and a disciplined business perspective to continuously drive value with shareholders, customers, vendors, and employees’.
Honeywell aspires to ‘create value for shareholders through control technology that saves energy, protects the environment, improves productivity, increases comfort and safety, and promotes peace’.
Chevron believes ‘in the power of human ingenuity to lead us to a brighter future’.
These are all very vague descriptions.
Who sets the business aim?
While in incorporated businesses, the aim is usually set by the Board of Directors (BOD) of the organization, sole traders and partnerships also develop the same long-term vision for their smaller businesses. It is then the owners and partners who do so.
Why having the corporate aim is important?
After the company establishes its corporate aim, it becomes the starting point for the entire set of business objectives on which effective decision-making is based in the medium-term. It is because the aim is at the top of the hierarchy of objectives. First comes the general aim, and then come more specific objectives to achieve that aim.
The corporate aim also helps to develop a sense of direction for the whole business organization as it is clearly communicated to the management and workforce, so everyone is one the same page. Because without the long-term corporate aim written down, it is very likely that the business will shift away from its long-term goal. Therefore, it may result in the business losing its valuable employees and customers as lack of clear purpose will eradicate their trust in the long-term success of their business.
The business aim also allows managers to make assessments at a later date to find out how successful the business has been in achieving its original goal.
The business aim also provides the framework within which the business objectives of the business are to be drawn up.
In conclusion, while the corporate aim is a general statement of purpose, for example, ‘grow the business in European markets’, a future goal that the business aims to achieve, business objectives are measurable targets to achieve that aim, for example, ‘achieve sales of €20 million in European markets in 2021’.
