Which term describes the process by which goals established at a high level flow down as goals for departments and then for individual staff?

Which term describes the process by which goals established at a high level flow down as goals for departments and then for individual staff?

• A. Career planning
• B. Chain of command
• C. Cascading goals
• D. Central tendency

Answer: (C)

Cascading goals describe how strategic objectives set at the top of the organization are translated into department targets and then into individual performance goals. This ensures that what the organization aims to achieve is reflected at every level, creating alignment from strategy to execution and enabling clear accountability and performance tracking. In practice, leadership articulates high-level goals, departments translate them into their own targets, and managers break those down into specific, individual performance plans. This approach keeps efforts coordinated and helps resources, priorities, and incentives align with the broader strategy. It differs from career planning, which is about individual growth; chain of command, which concerns reporting lines; and central tendency, a statistical idea about data clustering.

Cascading goals describe how strategic objectives set at the top of the organization are translated into department targets and then into individual performance goals. This ensures that what the organization aims to achieve is reflected at every level, creating alignment from strategy to execution and enabling clear accountability and performance tracking. In practice, leadership articulates high-level goals, departments translate them into their own targets, and managers break those down into specific, individual performance plans. This approach keeps efforts coordinated and helps resources, priorities, and incentives align with the broader strategy. It differs from career planning, which is about individual growth; chain of command, which concerns reporting lines; and central tendency, a statistical idea about data clustering.