Goals of management

Goals of Management

Managers in all companies have common characteristics.  We can generalize that in for-profit companies, these goals focus on increasing the “success” metrics of the business.  This success metric varies wildly depending on the business growth cycle they are in and how they perceive their strategic future. 

For instance, a start up internet-based company may consider success as trial users, new users, purchasers of the service, or renewal memberships.  Notice that the words profit, revenue, sales, etc., are not important measures to them.  The efficacy of this model is the subject of great debate – led by the likes of Amazon which proudly claims that they still haven’t made any money – yet.  They are focusing on owning the world first, then making money from the world that they own later.  And Wall Street agrees with them given their valuation!

A mature company may not care much at all about trial users as a primary metric of success.  They may be focused instead on maximizing revenue per customer or overall sales. 

The point is that while every company will undoubtedly have varied and specific goals related to both their business cycle and management, the vast majority are focused on one big goal – making money.