An objective is something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain. (ref. RHWEDT = Random House Websters Electronic Dictionary). Objectives are often viewed as intermediate points on the path to a goal. A 'goal' can be considered as the result, or achievement toward which effort is directed, the aim, or end. (ref RHWEDT) See also note on Transport Goals , etc.
In Planning and Programming goals can be stated in broad terms and represent long (or short) range ends toward which a plan or program is directed. As noted above objectives are intermediate states which lead toward the goal state.
A corporation may have several goals such as long term survival and market dominance. It may use an objective of profit maximization to assure survival. Public entities like government usually use an objective such as: 'providing efficient, cost effective service', that translates into cost minimization, or maximizing benefits/costs.
You will have your personal goals. Often these include financial success, and security. Personal goals are too complicated to discuss in this note, except to say that many persons have goals that are self, family, or community centred and are similar to the corporate goals described above.
In mathematical programming the objective is stated as a function referred to as the Objective Function that is usually maximized or minimized . A tractable objective function is stated in simple commensurate terms such as profit, benefit, or cost. Usually they are non negative. A simple statement such as 'The Objective of this activity is to maximize profits' constitutes a policy and the basis for more detailed function. Such a function will be the algebraic sum of all the revenues and expenditures of associated activities. These can assume a long term view by discounting estimated future value flows to present values.
The objective function is usually accompanied by a set of functions that describe the limits on the levels of the various associated activities. These are often referred to a 'constraints'.
When the relationship between the level of activity and its result is linear then a large number of activities can be considered simultaneously by Linear Programming, (LP).
The idea of an objective function, (OF) can be considered in general terms as a mathematical representation of how the variables that effect suitable alternatives can be evaluated and compared. The narrow sense of the OF used in mathematical programming can deal with a set of alternatives described by continuous and discrete variables. The set of alternatives may continuous or discrete within a defined range.
One of the major challanges in decision analysis is the definition of the set of alternatives that should be considered.