Mission, Objectives, Strategy and Tactics (AQA A Level Business): Revision Note

The link between mission, corporate objectives and strategy

Key terminology

• These are linked for several important reasons

  • Alignment and focus

    • It ensures everyone from the boardroom to shop-floor staff works towards the same end goal

  • Clarity and accountability

    • Clear targets at each level make it easy to track progress and spot problems early

  • Flexibility

    • Tactical decisions can be changed quickly if market conditions change, without needing to rewrite the corporate strategy

The relationship between mission, objectives, strategy and tactical decisions

Mission and corporate objectives

• The mission states why the business exists and who it serves today

• Corporate objectives translate that purpose into specific, measurable targets for the whole organisation

• Example

  • Tesco’s mission: To serve shoppers a little better every day

  • Corporate objective: Increase UK market share from 27% to 30% within two years

Corporate objectives and strategy

• Corporate strategy outlines how the firm will achieve those targets, allocating resources and choosing markets or products

• It balances risks, costs and expected benefits over the medium to long term

• Example

  • To hit its 30% market share objective, Tesco’s strategy might include

    1. Build a faster online-ordering system and 100 new convenience stores

    2. Guarantee the lowest prices on key grocery staples

Strategy and functional objectives

• Each department sets its own objectives to deliver the strategy

• Those objectives are shorter-term and more detailed than corporate goals

• Example:

  • Marketing: Sign up 3 million new Clubcard members in 12 months

  • Operations: Open 100 new Tesco Express sites by 2026

  • Finance: Reduce supply-chain costs by 5% by negotiating bulk-buy discounts

Functional objectives and tactical decisions

• Managers and supervisors decide daily or weekly actions that push functional objectives forward

• These decisions are highly specific and easily adjusted

• Example:

  • Marketing team: Launch a two-week 'double points' Clubcard promotion, starting on Monday

  • Operations team: Schedule extra delivery vans in high-demand zones every Friday

  • Finance team: Approve a one-off advance payment to a key supplier for a 2% discount

Strategy versus tactics

Strategy

• A long-term, organisation-wide plan that sets out what the business will do and why, guiding major resource decisions

• Created by senior management to meet corporate objectives

• Strategy is generally broad in scope, hard to change and measured in years

Tactics

• Short-term, specific actions that show how each department or team will deliver the strategy

• Decided by middle and frontline managers

• Narrow in focus, easily adjusted and measured in days or months

Key differences between strategy and tactics