Final answer:
A firm's managers may set a sales or market share objective as a goal to expand market presence rather than focusing solely on profit maximization, in order to establish a stronger competitive position or leverage economies of scale.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a firm's managers set a sales or market share objective, they focus on expanding the company's presence in the market, aiming to sell more products or services, or to capture a larger portion of the market. This strategy can be part of the company's approach to build its reputation, leverage economies of scale, or establish a strong competitive position, which might eventually lead to increased profits. However, this objective is different from a profit maximization goal, which would directly target the maximization of net income by balancing revenue and costs.