Goals or targets that must be achieved by the operations function within a business to ensure that the overall corporate objectives are met. They provide a focus for decision making and for setting and agreeing operational strategies and plans. This might include targets relating to: Product or service quality, Production costs, Production volumes, Capacity utilisation, New product development / innovation, Overall productive efficiency (including time), Minimising waste and the impact of the business on the environment. Like all objectives – as long as they are SMART objectives (ie specific, measurable, agreed, realistic, and timescaled), they can aid motivation and encourage teamwork amongst operational staff, and make it easier to coordinate operations. This is because they provide a common goal for individuals to focus on achieving. They also provide a means of measuring performance and so provide an important means of control. They may include targets relating to quality, costs, volume and capacity utilisation, the sourcing of products, innovation, efficiency (including time), as well as targets relating to the environment.