We explain what specific objectives are, their characteristics and their function in a monograph and in a company. Also, examples, how to raise them and the differences with the general objectives.
What are specific objectives?
The specific objectives, whether of a project, research, a company or an organization, are the goals in the short term that must be carried out in order to achieve the general objective or main. They tend to be several and diverse, while the general objective is one and, as its name indicates, global.
Furthermore, the specific objectives derive from the general objectivesince, in the planning of a project, they are the different tasks or activities that must be completed in order to achieve the general objective.
See also: General and specific objectives
Characteristics of specific objectives
Specific objectives:
- They are brief and specific. They indicate in a synthetic way what particular activities must be carried out to achieve the general objective.
- They represent the partial results of a project. They indicate what tasks must be completed to carry out a project. Each one has a specific purpose and, when they are all finished, the general objective will be achieved.
- There are several. There can be three or more and they can refer to tasks that must be done all together or one after another.
- They are short or medium term. They are developed in partial stages to fulfill the general objective.
- They are measurable. They can be quantified to determine whether they have been realized or not.
Specific objectives of an investigation
A research or academic work always has a general objective, that is, what it is intended to achieve, and a series of specific objectives, which are the steps to follow or tasks to perform in order to achieve the main goal of the investigation.
The general objective is usually to prove, refute or demonstrate a hypothesis or idea. The specific objectives determine how this goal will be achieved and usually coincide with the chapters or sections of the research, which generally deal with a particular topic or a specific stage.
For example, if a monograph proposes to address a topic in three chapters, each one will obey a specific objective, so that the progress of the content occurs step by step and in a clear and verifiable manner.
Specific objectives of a company
In the business field, specific objectives are those that state the results sought to be obtained to achieve a general objective. They are always determined by what is proposed in the company's mission and vision.
The general objective arises from the analysis of priorities and procedures of the organization and allows determining the path to achieve a goal taking into account the economic, operational, legal and ethical aspects. In this way, it guides the specific objectives, that is, the different tasks and procedures of project planning.
Many organizations have departments or areas that are in charge of meeting specific objectives. Thus, an organization will only be able to correctly achieve its general objective if all sectors meet their specific objectives.
Examples of specific objectives
Some examples of specific objectives are:
1. Specific objectives of experimental research
General objective: Demonstrate the effectiveness of an antibiotic in the treatment of bacterial pharyngitis.
Specific objectives:
- Understand the biochemical dynamics of bacterial pharyngitis and establish a possible pharmacological treatment.
- Develop different variants of the drugs and detail their specific characteristics.
- Test drugs to record the effectiveness of each case.
- Obtain conclusions regarding the improvement of the drug for future research.
2. Specific objectives of a monographic investigation
General objective: Demonstrate the influence of the Enlightenment on the novels of Denis Diderot.
Specific objectives:
- Determine the key philosophical elements of the Enlightenment.
- Choose the author's works that best reflect these elements.
- Establish case by case the type of link between the movement and the works.
- Obtain the relevant conclusions of the case.
3. Specific objectives of a company
General objective: Create a promotion that allows you to advertise a brand's new soda.
Specific objectives:
- Determine which audience the product is aimed at.
- Analyze similar products from the competition and how they are promoted.
- Analyze what the promotion should be, taking into account that it must be as efficient as possible and not generate losses.
- Analyze where and for how long the promotion should be carried out.
4. Specific objectives of an NGO
General objective: Disseminate knowledge about the care of drinking water.
Specific objectives:
- Determine what knowledge the population already has on this topic.
- Determine what information is to be transmitted.
- Analyze which are the best channels to transmit information.
- Make the necessary supports, such as brochures, diagrams, conference guides and advertisements, to disseminate information.
How are the specific objectives set?
To set specific objectives, it must be taken into account that they start from the general objective, since they are the different steps that will allow it to be achieved. Therefore, when proposing the specific objectives of a project it is recommended:
- Determine what tasks are necessary. It must be indicated what task each objective entails, that is, what must be done to achieve it.
- Indicate who will carry them out, when and how. It should be noted who will be in charge of their execution, how long they will last and how they will be carried out.
- Explain what your result is. The result sought with each objective must be explained.
- Choose only those that are relevant. Objectives must be chosen that allow the final goal to be met and everything that implies a waste of resources must be eliminated.
- Choose only those that are possible. Objectives must be chosen that can be carried out in the real context and in the short or medium term.
How to write specific objectives? To write specific objectives, you must write a statement that is brief, clear and concrete, and that indicates the final result of a task. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider that they must be congruent, that is, they must not present contradictions among themselves. Generally, they are written in a sentence with infinitive verbs, such as define, identify, analyze, resolve, determine, implement, achieve, consider, reduce, increase.
Differences between the general objective and specific objectives
| General objective | Specific objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | It is 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 | It's long term. | They are short or medium term. |
| Way to name them | It is presented in a short statement. | They are stated as tasks or activities. |
| Specificity | It is abstract. | They are precise and concrete. |
The general and specific objectives present some differences. First of all, in every project, there is always a single general objective that serves as a guide for specific objectiveswhich are usually several.
Secondly, general objectives are usually more abstract, because they set out the expectation of a project. On the other hand, specific ones are more concrete, since they refer to measurable results that are obtained when carrying out different activities.
Thirdly, they are distinguished by their duration, since the general objectives are set for the long term, while the specific ones are for the medium or short term.
Finally, general objectives serve as a guide in all parts or stages of a project, while specific objectives only function as the axis of a specific stage or task.
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/
