NCJ Number
130160
Journal
Probation Journal Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1990) Pages: 78-81
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Value for money auditing by the National Audit Office is explained in relation to differences between objectives and goal setting of organizations.
Abstract
An objective is a policy statement made by top management and applies to the whole organization, whereas a goal is a step towards implementation of an objective at team level. Goal setting of an organization covers various issues such as targeting, quality of service, and quality of outcome. Effectiveness relates to learning from experience in a rational way and to improving performance by setting more realistic goals in the future. There are three different types of effectiveness: quality of service, impact effectiveness, and outcome effectiveness. All are of equal importance. Difficulties arise when a large number of goals are set at all three different levels of effectiveness in order to achieve the most simple objective. The main problems are unintelligibility, duplication, and lack of integration. The solution is to arrange the goals into a goals hierarchy with clear visual representation of a goal program. With a proper understanding of effectiveness, it is possible to create a social-work based Probation Services that is responsive to client requirements as well as other requirements. 1 reference