All businesses have aims and objectives to help them plan and set targets for what they want to achieve. The difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful business is their ability to have a clear vision of what they hope to achieve and how to plan for the future. Business Aims The main aims of businesses are to: 1. Make a profit and expand: -For many businesses making profit is an important aim. It provides a reward for the owners of the business and helps the business to have the money to expand its operation.

Maximise its sales and beat the competition: -Making a profit is not the same as selling as many products as possible. The reason for this is that many businesses need to beat the competition. Businesses which sell popular products such as holidays and food often cut prices to get more sales. They may take part in what is known as ‘price wars’, but cut prices may lead to the reduction of profits. Often the business owner/owners have to decide which is the more important aim: higher sales or higher profits? 3. Survive: -Survival for the new business is critical.

Most new businesses are owned by one person and that person will often depend on the business for living expenses. More established businesses can also be threatened mainly by competitors and so survival has to become a main aim if jobs are to be safeguarded and investors do not lose money. A survival plan therefore would mean a business might have to cut back on its services and in some cases it prices to. 4. Provide a quality product: -For some businesses the quality of its products is a prime aim. Quality is becoming more part of manufacturing and of service provision.

‘Quality Control’ will test actual products on a regular basis. ‘Quality Assurance’ is a way of thinking within a business, which relates everything the organisation, does to quality. It should be noted that there are certain ‘prestige’ businesses, which offer goods and services of superior quality prices. People who can afford these will always buy them. An example is executive cars such as BMW, Mercedes, and Jaguar etc. 5. Provide a charitable or voluntary service: -Businesses support charities by sponsoring events or by giving donations.

Not many businesses could claim that this was a main aim, as they would want to make profit first. Charitable giving takes place because it gives the business publicity and a caring profile in the eyes of the public. It forms part of what is known as corporate social responsibility. 6. Help sustain the environment: -Businesses like to be seen to be helping to save the environment. If they are thought to be socially responsible, consumers are more likely to think better of them and therefore more likely to buy their products.

Saving on the use of resources such as energy use, can also lead to the saving on cost which would directly help to boost profits. Businesses will often set out its main aims in a ‘Mission Statement’. It may also include a view of how it sees itself in what is known as the business ‘vision’. Aims and Objectives of Errol Anderson Errol has many aims to help him plan and set targets for what he wants to achieve. Errol’s main priority when he took over the business was to simply survive and manage to keep all existing customers and attract more from other local businesses.

He was also anxious to maintain the quality of the service to satisfy his customers. As Errol’s business has now become established and he has gained confidence, he is trying to expand which is one of his aims. Errol also hopes to employ a full-time mechanic to cope with the increased business, so another aim is to make enough profit to be able to pay the wages of the employee and for the expansion of the business. In order to achieve his targets his objectives are be competitive or beat competitors, maximise sales, provide quality products and if possible he may want to help charities and the environment in some way.