From an organizational theory perspective, Scott and Davis (2007) identified five critical functions of goals: guiding, motivating, symbolizing, justifying, and evaluating. Considering how each function serves different purposes at various levels of a hierarchical organization can help demonstrate the dynamic nature of how different goal functions can serve different purposes depending on the source, application, perspective, and other contextual factors, as follows:

• The rational systems perspective sees organizations as formal collectives built to pursue specific goals. From the rational systems perspective, a leader might emphasize how the cognitive function of goals can guide decision-making and action.
• The natural systems perspective sees the organization as a social system that seeks to survive. From the natural systems perspective, the leader may emphasize goals that can serve as philosophical tools that members use to gather and allocate resources for competition.
• The open systems perspective views organizations as groups and individuals with different interests. These individuals and groups dynamically interact in an environment composed of organizations with competing goals. From the open systems perspective, the leader may focus on the symbolic functions of goals that affect the organization’s ability to build credibility, establish relationships, gather resources, and manage personnel.
• The conventional view sees how goals cause action. But some analysts argue that goals can serve a justifying function that allows people to make sense of and explain past actions. In other words, “behavior can precede rather than stem from goals” (Scott & Davis, 2007, p. 207).

All these perspectives and levels of the organization use goals to evaluate performance. Still, they will not necessarily consider the same goals.