Programs like the Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Management program from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) provide the managerial knowledge necessary to help graduates leverage the power of common goals and succeed in today’s dynamic workplace. Rallying employees behind a common goal can have a profound impact on a company’s success, helping strengthen team spirit, foster a positive culture, and increase accountability across the team.

However, it’s not enough to simply email employees a revenue target once every quarter. To achieve a common goal, managers must clearly articulate the goal, link team members’ contributions to the outcome, and report progress. This is the type of knowledge that aspiring business leaders can expect to learn in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.

The Importance of Common Goals

Henri Fayol was one of the first individuals to emphasize the importance of shared goals in business, a concept he described as the “unity of direction” in his 14 Principles of Management. Fayol states, “If employees strive towards the same goals, then a business is more likely to succeed.” This statement remains true today, with one study of 410 companies revealing that companies capable of leveraging common goals are 72% more profitable and achieve 58% faster revenue growth than those with unaligned goals.

A common goal serves as the foundation of effective business management, fostering cohesion, direction, and purpose within an organization. Managers looking to harness this power should follow these three steps:

  1. Articulate why this goal is essential: Clearly explain why this goal is worth pursuing, both from a company-wide perspective and for individual employees.
  2. Create a metric to measure the team’s success: Identify a suitable metric that accurately reflects the team’s progress. Revenue growth is the most common, but non-financial metrics like satisfied customers or people helped can be better motivators.
  3. Link each team member’s contributions to the outcome: Helping employees see how their contributions support the company’s broader goals can foster both motivation and engagement.

3 Key Business Management Principles

Virtually every company establishes common goals in the form of monthly, quarterly, or annual targets. So why are some companies significantly more effective at reaching their targets than others? According to LSA Global 3X Organizational Alignment Research, three factors help a company achieve peak performance in pursuit of shared goals:

  1. Clear corporate strategy: Employees must fully understand the company’s strategy and be confident that it will lead to success. Managers must not overestimate their employees’ knowledge of the business’s goals, which is a common pitfall during this phase.
  2. High-performing culture: Employees must trust leadership, frequently observe managers modeling the desired culture, and trust that the culture will help the company achieve its goals.
  3. Differentiated talent: Employees must believe that the company’s talent is capable of reaching the goal. If this isn’t the case, the employer must do everything it can to hire and retain top talent.

The ability to align and motivate employees is a much larger-scale task than it may seem, often requiring extensive knowledge of optimal organizational structure, motivational techniques, learning styles, and even human psychology. Again, this is why it can be highly advantageous to obtain a Master of Business Administration prior to entering the workforce, as this program builds expertise in a wide range of professional areas.

Why Earn an MBA Online From TAMU-CC?

A Master of Business Administration program equips rising business leaders with the most cutting-edge managerial concepts, theories and skills necessary to thrive in the modern workforce. This is especially true for management-specific programs like the one offered by TAMU-CC. This program offers highly relevant coursework, including:

  • Leadership: Students learn current theories in business leadership and complete exercises designed to assess their leadership style and ability as a leader.
  • Organizational Behavior and Theory: Students learn about individual, group and intergroup behavior within organizations, including performance, personality differences, team building, and power.

These courses, among others, help students develop advanced analytical, technological, and communication skills necessary to address both small- and large-scale business challenges. Graduates of this program — which can be completed online in as few as twelve months — enter the workforce with a degree that signals their comprehensive understanding of essential business concepts such as leadership, management, and goal setting.

Learn more about TAMU-CC’s online Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Management program.