Objectives

Correct answer: A. Raise the brand-trust index from 60 to 70 within one year

A brand-trust index provides a measurable indicator, and the one-year limit gives a time frame. Raising it from 60 to 70 therefore makes the intended improvement more specific and measurable.

Correct answer: A. Dispatch at least 90% of orders received next week on the same day

The objective sets a measurable threshold—at least 90%—and a time period: next week. Performance can be tested by checking whether that share of orders is dispatched on the day they are received.

Correct answer: A. They guide activities, support coordination, and provide standards for control.

The correct answer is A. Objectives state the results an organisation aims to achieve. They guide activities and help coordinate efforts toward those results. They also provide standards against which actual performance can be compared during control.

Correct answer: B. It is not sufficiently specific

The objective does not specify how much complaints should be reduced or what standard will count as success. Without a clear target, progress is difficult to measure, so the objective is not sufficiently specific.

Correct answer: C. A possible conflict between objectives

Reducing costs and substantially increasing promotional spending can pull the departments in different directions. This illustrates a possible conflict between departmental objectives.

Correct answer: A. It gives a baseline, a measurable target and a deadline

The 48-hour figure provides the baseline, 18 hours is a measurable target, and three months is the deadline. These details make progress and achievement assessable.

Correct answer: D. Multiplicity of objectives

Organisations commonly pursue more than one objective. Profit growth and stronger customer trust are two distinct goals, so this illustrates the multiplicity of objectives.

Correct answer: A. Financial objective

Collecting overdue payments concerns the organisation’s money and receivables. The collection percentage and quarter make it a measurable financial objective.

Correct answer: B. Raise the average exam score from 68% to 76% in the next academic session

Option B states a measurable result—an increase from 68% to 76%—and sets a deadline of the next academic session. This makes the broad aim clearer and progress easier to assess.

Correct answer: C. Lack of realism

The correct answer is C, lack of realism. An objective should be challenging but achievable with the resources and capacity available. A target beyond the machines’ capacity is not realistic.

Correct answer: C. What result is to be achieved

The direct answer is C: What result is to be achieved. An objective is the desired end or result. It tells an organisation where it wants to reach, such as increasing sales by 10 percent or improving customer satisfaction. A strategy is the broad method or direction used to reach that objective. The easiest reasoning is: objective asks “what do we want to achieve?”; strategy asks “how will we compete or reach it?” Therefore option C is correct. Option A, how to compete, describes a method or broad approach and is closer to strategy. Option B, through which channel to sell, is a tactical marketing decision about distribution, not the objective itself. Option D, which market to enter, may be a strategic choice or a step toward an objective, but it does not state the result to be achieved. A helpful cue is: WHAT equals objective; HOW usually points to strategy. This distinction prevents confusing a destination with the route.

Correct answer: B. Alignment of objectives

The correct answer is B, alignment of objectives. Branch targets can differ while still supporting the same broader aim—in this case, cost efficiency.

Correct answer: B. A technique for identifying a machine fault from its sound

The correct answer is B. It describes a technique for carrying out a task—how to identify a fault—rather than a result to be achieved. The other options state measurable results and, where relevant, a time frame.

Correct answer: A. Motivating challenge

The correct answer is A, motivating challenge. Objectives should encourage effort while remaining achievable. A target that is too easy may not motivate the team to improve its performance.

Correct answer: B. Controlling

The correct answer is B, controlling. The objective provides a standard for comparing actual production with planned production. The shortfall is a deviation that managers can investigate and address.

Correct answer: A. A measurable objective related to market expansion

The correct answer is A. The target specifies a measurable share of new customers and a time frame, while seeking customers from rural markets supports market expansion.

Correct answer: A. An objective states a desired result; a rule states what must or must not be done

The correct answer is A. An objective states a result an organisation wants to achieve, while a rule prescribes or prohibits a particular action.

Correct answer: B. Raise the repeat-purchase rate from 40 percent to 55 percent in six months

The correct answer is B. It uses a measurable indicator—the repeat-purchase rate—and sets a time frame, so progress toward the objective can be checked.

Correct answer: A. Clarity

The correct answer is A, clarity. A clearly stated objective should be understood consistently, so employees know what result they are expected to achieve.

Correct answer: A. Accountability may remain unclear

The correct answer is A. If no department is assigned responsibility, it may be unclear who must act and answer for progress toward the target. The objective can still be valid, but accountability is less clear.

Correct answer: A. Quality may be compromised

Direct answer: Option A, quality may be compromised. A quantity target tells an organisation how much output is expected, but a quality standard tells it how good that output must be. When the target contains only quantity, the step-by-step risk is clear: workers are judged mainly by the number produced; they may give priority to speed and volume; inspection, careful workmanship or better materials may be reduced; consequently, output may increase while quality falls. Option A is correct because it names this possible compromise. Option B is wrong because a target is not automatically perfect simply because it is measurable; it may be incomplete if it ignores quality. Option C is wrong because control remains necessary. Managers must still compare actual work with standards, check defects and take corrective action. Removing the need for control is impossible. Option D is wrong because employee motivation does not always increase. Some employees may feel pressure, and a narrow quantity target can even encourage careless work or unethical shortcuts. Motivation depends on many factors, including fair targets, recognition and suitable working conditions. A sound objective balances quantity, quality, time and cost wherever relevant. Memory cue: “More pieces are not necessarily better products.”

Correct answer: A. The target standard and the actual result

The objective is checked by comparing the target standard with the actual result. If the actual result meets the target, the objective has been achieved.

Correct answer: B. Human resources

Employee turnover concerns how many employees leave an organisation. Reducing it is a human-resource objective because it relates to employee retention and staffing.

Correct answer: A. The team records false sales figures just to meet the target

If a team is pressured to meet a number at any cost, members may falsify results. Recording false sales is improper behaviour caused by excessive focus on the target.

Correct answer: A. An objective states what is to be achieved, while a budget estimates the resources and expenditure needed, usually in numerical terms

An objective describes the result an organisation wants to achieve. A budget translates plans into estimated figures for resources and expenditure needed to work toward that result.