PRINCIPLE 3: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE BASED ON VALID NEEDS

Valid and useful objectives come from a proper needs assessment, which should never be confused with a wants or wish list. Needs are gaps in results (between what should be and what is), not gaps in resources or methods. They are collected at three levels of results and consequences: societal, organizational, and departmental or individual. And they are prioritized by determining the financial and other costs of meeting them—closing the gaps in results—compared with the comparable costs for ignoring them.

By viewing a need as a gap in results and collecting real and objective data, we can demonstrate the costs to meet the need (usually when this half is reported ...

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