General and Specific Objectives

We explain what the general and specific objectives are, examples and the functions they fulfill. Also, its characteristics and the steps to carry them out.

What are general and specific objectives?

The general objectives They are the most important goal of a company or of a business, institutional, scientific or personal project. The specific objectives They are the specific tasks that will allow us to achieve the general objective.

The general and specific objectives are related to the goals set in a investigation or a business, institutional or personal projectsince they establish the basic guidelines of what you want to achieve and how to do it.

Therefore, in all planning, the following must always be determined and written in a clear and direct manner:

• A general objective. There is usually only one, since it is the primary goal that is sought to be achieved in a research or project.
• The specific objectives. There are usually several, since each part of an investigation or a project has its own goal, which is subordinate to the general objective.

So, The sum of all the specific objectives would have to give the general objective as a resultsince the latter comprise the tasks that must be performed (often in a successive or organized manner) to achieve a general purpose.

Characteristics of general and specific objectives

	General objectives	Specific objectives
Meaning	They are the most important purpose or goal of a project.	They are the different tasks that will allow us to achieve the general objective.
Amount	There is usually only one per project.	There are usually three or more per project.
Time	They are long term.	They are short or medium term.
Way to name them	They are presented in short sentences.	They are stated as tasks or activities.
Specificity	They are abstract.	They are precise and concrete.

General objectives:

• There is usually only one per job. They represent the main mission of a company or the purpose of a project. In cases where there are large general aspirations, there may be more than one general objective.
• They are planned for the long term. They are goals that are pursued in the long term.
• They are presented in short sentences. They are clearly referenced and are in the format of a hypothesis, a solution to a problem, or a result.
• They are abstract. They designate global ideas and, therefore, serve to guide the different aspects of a project.

Specific objectives:

• There are usually three or more. They represent all the activities necessary to achieve a general objective. They should always be related and not contradict each other.
• They are proposed in the short or medium term. They are tasks that are pursued in the short or medium term, to achieve a general long-term objective.
• They are stated as tasks. They are statements that refer to different activities that must be completed in order to achieve the entire proposed global goal.
• They are precise and concrete. They designate very exact activities that are part of the entirety of a project.

See also: Action plan

Examples of general and specific objectives

A simple example of a task that requires the fulfillment of general and specific objectives is the publication of a novel. The general objective is precisely that: publish a novel in a publishing house.

However, this goal encompasses many small steps to follow, many short-term goals to achieve, that is, specific objectives:

• Create characters.
• Invent a plot.
• Make an outline of what the novel will be like.
• Write the novel.
• Correct the text.
• Find an editor.
• Search for one or more publishers.
• Send the novel to publishers for evaluation.

Another simple example is a company that wants to improve its revenue. In this case, the overall goal is to make higher profits in one year. Based on this, the specific objectives are:

• Conduct an analysis of expenses and profits.
• Reduce raw material costs.
• Optimize production times.
• Improve product distribution.
• Have a competitive price in the market.
• Search for new investors.
• Improve advertising.

Continue with: Planning in administration

How to make general and specific objectives?

To formulate general and specific objectives, a series of steps can be followed:

• Establish an ideal state. In a company, research, institution or personal project, one or more goals must be set, that is, objectives that you want to achieve. You can brainstorm with everyone involved in the process to define where you want to go.
• Specify the general objective. A general goal must be selected, for which the question about what you want to achieve must be answered.
• Identify obstacles. Once you know where you want to go, you must analyze the impediments that may arise along the way.
• Identify resources and skills. The business, institutional or personal qualities and capabilities you have must be analyzed in order to plan the achievement of specific objectives.
• Determine specific objectives. It must specify what must be done to achieve the general objective. To do this, you can answer the question about how the stated goal is achieved. These objectives have to be possible (they must be able to be carried out) and measurable (they must be able to be quantified in some way).
• Disseminate general and specific objectives. The two types of objectives must be made known to everyone involved in the project, so that everyone knows where they are going and how they should achieve it.

Continue with: Strategic planning

References

• García, O. (1983). Management by objectives. Administration Notebooks, 6(8), 45-60.
• Sánchez, R., González, M. and Enríquez, BA (2011). Goals. Research project. Academic Portal of the CCH, UNAM. https://portalacademico.cch.unam.mx/
• Suárez-Montes, ND, Sáenz-Gavilanes, JV and Mero-Vélez, JM (2016). Essential elements of research design. Its characteristics. Mastery of Sciences, 2(3 Special), 72-85. https://dominiodelasciencias.com/