Definition of goal
goal
a desired abstract achievement
Related Terms:
a circumstance in which the personal and
organizational goals of decision makers throughout a firm
are consistent and mutually supportive
Also called surplus management, the task of managing funds of a financial
institution to accomplish the two goals of a financial institution:
1) to earn an adequate return on funds invested, and
2) to maintain a comfortable surplus of assets beyond liabilities.
Sufficient ability or fitness for ones needs. Possessing the necessary abilities to be qualified to
achieve a certain goal or complete a project.
An economic association of European countries founded by the Treaty of Rome in
1957 as a common market for six nations. It was known as the European Community before 1993 and is
comprised of 15 European countries. Its goals are a single market for goods and services without any
economic barriers and a common currency with one monetary authority. The EU was known as the European
Community until January 1, 1994.
A bond portfolio strategy whose goal is to eliminate the portfolio's risk against a
general change in the rate of interest through the use of duration.
Mutual funds are pools of money that are managed by an investment company. They offer
investors a variety of goals, depending on the fund and its investment charter. Some funds, for example, seek
to generate income on a regular basis. Others seek to preserve an investor's money. Still others seek to invest
in companies that are growing at a rapid pace. Funds can impose a sales charge, or load, on investors when
they buy or sell shares. Many funds these days are no load and impose no sales charge. Mutual funds are
investment companies regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Related: open-end fund, closed-end fund.
A strategy using a leveraged portfolio in the underlying stock to create a synthetic put
option. The strategy's goal is to ensure that the value of the portfolio does not fall below a certain level.
The process of determining prospectively whether strategies are likely to achieve the target
results that are consistent with organizational goals.
A variety of approaches that emphasize increasing shareholder value as the primary goal of every business.
The annual sales volume level at which total contribution
margin equals total annual fixed expenses. The breakeven point is only a
point of reference, not the goal of a business, of course. It is computed by
dividing total fixed expenses by unit margin. The breakeven point is
quite useful in analyzing profit behavior and operating leverage. Also, it
gives manager a good point of reference for setting sales goals and
understanding the consequences of incurring fixed costs for a period.
Refers to the interest cost of debt capital used by a business
plus the amount of profit that the business should earn for its equity
sources of capital to justify the use of the equity capital during the
period. Interest is a contractual and definite amount for a period,
whereas the profit that a business should earn on the equity capital
employed during the period is not. A business should set a definite goal
of earning at least a certain minimum return on equity (ROE) and compare
its actual performance for the period against this goal. The costs of
debt and equity capital are combined into either a before-tax rate or an
after-tax rate for capital investment analysis.
This is difficult to define in a few words—indeed, an
entire chapter is devoted to the topic (Chapter 17). The essence of management
control is “keeping a close watch on everything.” Anything can
go wrong and get out of control. Management control can be thought of
as the follow-through on decisions to ensure that the actual outcomes
happen according to purposes and goals of the management decisions
that set things in motion. Managers depend on feedback control reports
that contain very detailed information. The level of detail and range of
information in these control reports is very different from the summarylevel
information reported in external income statements.
Weighted means that the proportions of
debt capital and equity capital of a business are used to calculate its
average cost of capital. This key benchmark rate depends on the interest
rate(s) on its debt and the ROE goal established by a business. This is a
return-on-capital rate and can be applied either on a before-tax basis or
an after-tax basis. A business should earn at least its weighted-average
rate on the capital invested in its assets. The weighted-average cost-ofcapital
rate is used as the discount rate to calculate the present value
(PV) of specific investments.
a set of formal methods
developed for planning and controlling an organization’s
cost-generating activities relative to its goals and objectives
cost object anything to which costs attach or are related
a measure of how well an organization’s goals
and objectives are achieved; compares actual output results
to desired results; determination of the successful accomplishment
of an objective
investment center
a responsibility center in which the manager
is responsible for generating revenues and planning
and controlling expenses and has the authority to acquire,
dispose of, and use plant assets to earn the highest rate
of return feasible on those assets within the confines and
to the support of the organization’s goals
ISO 14000
a series of international standards that are designed
to support a company’s environmental protection
and pollution prevention goals in balance with socioeconomic
needs
key variable
a critical factor that management believes will
be a direct cause of the achievement or nonachievement
of the organizational goals and objectives
line employee
an employee who is directly responsible for
achieving the organization’s goals and objectives
management control system (MCS)
an information system that helps managers gather information about actual organizational occurrences, make comparisons against plans,
effect changes when they are necessary, and communicate
among appropriate parties; it should serve to guide organizations
in designing and implementing strategies so that
organizational goals and objectives are achieved
organizational culture
the set of basic assumptions about
the organization and its goals and ways of doing business;
a system of shared values about what is important and
beliefs about how things get accomplished; it provides a
framework that organizes and directs employee behavior
at work; it describes an organization’s norms in internal
and external, as well as formal and informal, transactions
planning
the process of creating the goals and objectives for
an organization and developing a strategy for achieving
them in a systematic manner
strategic planning
the process of developing a statement of
long-range (5–10 years) goals for the organization and
defining the strategies and policies that will help the organization
achieve those goals
strategy
the link between an organization’s goals and objectives
and the activities actually conducted by the organization
suboptimization
a situation in which an individual manager
pursues goals and objectives that are in his/her own and
his/her segment’s particular interests rather than in the
company’s best interests
synchronous management
the use of all techniques that help an organization achieve its goals
Delivery policy
A company’s stated goal for how soon a customer order will be
shipped following receipt of that order.
Inventory diversion
The redirection of parts or finished goods away from their intended
goal.
Lean production
The technique of stripping all non-value-added activities from
the production process, thereby using the minimum possible amount of resources
to accomplish manufacturing goals.
Dividend Policy
This policy governs Canada Life's actions regarding distribution of dividends to policyholders. It's goal is to achieve a dividend distribution that is equitable and timely, and which gives full recognition of the need to ensure the ongoing solidity of the company. It also specifies that distribution to individual policyholders must be equitable between dividend classes and policyholder generations, and among policyholders within any class.
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