1. CherryVarghese John S4 MBA Saintgits Institute Of Management GOAL SETTING THEORY 3/12/20141

2. Components of Goal Setting Theory A. Goal Difficulty The extent to which a goal is challenging and requires effort B. Goal Specificity The clarity and precision of a goal C. Goal Acceptance The extent to which a person accepts a goal D. Goal Commitment The extent to which an individual is personally interested in reaching a goal 3/12/20142 3. Goal Setting Goal setting involves establishing specific,measurable,achievable,realistic and time-targeted (S.M.A.R.T ) goals. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that an effective tool for making progress is to ensure that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from them. On a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives. Goals are a form of motivation that sets the standard for self-satisfaction with performance. Achieving the goal one has set for oneself is a measure of success, and being able to meet job challenges is a way one measures success in the workplace. 3/12/20143 4. Goal setting theory was developed and refined by Edwin A. Locke in the 1960s. A goal can become more specific through quantification or enumeration (should be measurable), such as by demanding "...increase productivity by 50%," or by defining certain tasks that must be completed. Setting goals affects outcomes in four ways: 1. Choice 2. Effort 3. Persistence 4. Cognition 3/12/20144 5. I. Choice: Goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal- relevant activities, and away from perceived undesirable and goal-irrelevant actions. II. Effort: Goals can lead to more effort; for example, if one typically produces 4 widgets an hour, and has the goal of producing 6, one may work more intensely towards the goal than one would otherwise. III. Persistence: Someone becomes more prone to work through setbacks if pursuing a goal. IV. Cognition: Goals can lead individuals to develop and change their behavior. 3/12/20145 6. The four mechanisms through which goal setting can affect individual performance are: A. Goals focus attention toward goal-relevant activities and away from goal-irrelevant activities. B. Goals serve as an energizer: Higher goals induce greater effort, while low goals induce lesser effort. C. Goals affect persistence; constraints with regard to resources affect work pace. D. Goals activate cognitive knowledge and strategies that help employees cope with the situation at hand. 3/12/20146 7. Locke and Latham have indicated three moderators that indicate goal setting success: 1) The importance of the expected outcomes of goal attainment, and; 2) Self-efficacy one's belief that they are able to achieve the goals, and; 3) Commitment to others promises or engagements to others can strongly improve commitment 3/12/20147 8. Goal-Setting Theory A. Social LearningTheory Provides insights into why and how goals can motivate behavior. B. Lockes Goal SettingTheory assumes behavior is a result of conscious goals and intentions. By setting goals for employees, a manager should be able to influence their behavior. 3/12/20148 9. Goal setting and feedback go hand in hand.Without feedback, goal setting is unlikely to work. Providing feedback on short-term objectives helps to sustain motivation and commitment to a goal. Feedback should be provided on the strategies followed to achieve the goals and the final outcomes achieved, as well. Feedback on strategies used to obtain goals is very important, especially for complex work, because challenging goals put focus on outcomes rather than on performance strategies. Properly-delivered feedback is also very essential 3/12/20149 10. The following are needed for providing a good feedback: A. Create a positive context for feedback. B. Use constructive and positive language. C. Focus on behaviors and strategies. D. Tailor feedback to the needs of the individual worker. E. Make feedback a two-way communication process. 3/12/201410 11. Types Of Goals The two types of goals are learning goals and performance goals. 1.) Learning goals Tasks where skills and knowledge can be acquired 2.) Performance goals Avoid tasks where error and judgment are possible Select tasks that are easy to accomplish and will make one appear successful 3/12/201411 12. Principles Of Goal Setting To motivate, goals must have: A. Clarity. B. Challenge. C. Commitment. D. Feedback. E. Task complexity 3/12/201412 13. Clarity Clear goals are measurable and unambiguous. When a goal is clear and specific, with a definite time set for completion, there is less misunderstanding about what behaviors will be rewarded. Here the employee knows what's expected, and he can use the specific result as a source of motivation.When a goal is vague it has limited motivational value. To improve a team's performance, set clear goals that use specific and measurable standards. "Reduce job turnover by 15%" or "Respond to employee suggestions within 48 hours" are examples of clear goals. Ensure the clarity of the goal by making it Specific, Measurable andTime- bound. 3/12/201413 14. Commitment As long as the employee believes that the goal is consistent with the goals of the company, and believes the person assigning the goal is credible, then the commitment should be there. The harder the goal, the more commitment is required. If you have an easy goal, you don't need a lot of motivation to get it done. When you're working on a difficult assignment, you will likely encounter challenges that require a deeper source of inspiration and incentive. Encourage employees to develop their own goals, and keep them informed about what's happening elsewhere in the organization. This way, they can be sure that their goals are consistent with the overall vision and purpose that the company seeks. 3/12/201414 15. Challenge One of the most important characteristics of goals is the level of challenge. People are often motivated by achievement, and they'll judge a goal based on the significance of the anticipated accomplishment. When an employee know that what he does will be well received, there's a natural motivation to do a good job. Rewards typically increase for more difficult goals. If you believe you'll be well compensated or otherwise rewarded for achieving a challenging goal, that will boost your enthusiasm and your drive to get it done. 3/12/201415 16. Feedback Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal difficulty, and gain recognition. It's important to provide opportunities or targets, so individuals can determine for themselves how they're doing. SMART goals are Measurable, and this ensures that clear feedback can be provided. 3/12/201416 17. 3/12/201417 SMART 18. 3/12/201418 19. Task Complexity People who work in complicated and demanding roles probably have a high level of motivation already. However, they can often push themselves back if measures aren't built into the goal expectations to account for the complexity of the task. It's therefore important to do the following: A. Give the person sufficient time to meet the goal or improve performance. B. Provide enough time for the person to practice or learn what is expected and required for success. C. The whole point of goal setting is to facilitate success.Therefore, make sure that the conditions surrounding the goals don't frustrate or inhibit people from accomplishing their objectives.This reinforces the "Attainable" part of SMART. 3/12/201419 20. The following are practical suggestions for managers to consider when attempting to use goal-setting to enhance motivation and performance I. Goals Need to Be Specific Specific goals (often quantified) let organization members know what to reach for and allow them to measure their own progress. Research indicates that specific goals help bring about other desirable organizational goals, such as reducing absenteeism, tardiness, and turnover 3/12/201420 21. II. Goals Must Be Difficult but Attainable The key point is that a goal must be difficult as well as specific for it to raise performance. Although organization members will work hard to reach challenging goals, they will only do so when the goals are within their capability. As goals become too difficult, performance suffers because organization members reject the goals as unreasonable and unattainable. A major factor in attainability of a goal is self-efficacy .This is an internal belief regarding ones job-related capabilities and competencies. If employees have high self-efficacies, they will tend to set higher personal goals under the belief that they are attainable.The first key to successful goal setting is to build and reinforce employees self-efficacy. 3/12/201421 22. III.Goals Must Be Accepted Goals need to be accepted. Participation in the goal-setting process tends to enhance goal commitment. Participation helps organization members better understand the goals, ensure that the goals are not unreasonable, and helps them achieve the goal. Some individuals may reject imposed goals, but if they have self- efficacy, they may still maintain high personal goals to accomplish the imposed goals 3/12/201422 23. IV.Feedback Must Be Provided on Goal Attainment Feedback helps organization members attain their performance goals. Feedback helps in two important ways. A. It helps people determine how well they are doing. Performance feedback tends to encourage better performance. B. Feedback also helps people determine the nature of the adjustments to their performance that are required to improve. 3/12/201423 24. V. Goals Are More EffectiveWhenThey Are Used to Evaluate Performance 1) When employees know that their performance will be evaluated in terms of how well they attained their goals, the impact of goals increases. 2) Salespeople, for example, have weekly and monthly sales goals they are expected to attain.Telephone operators have goals for the number of customers they should assist daily. CEOs of organizations such as IBM, General Motors, and Microsoft Corporation are evaluated on meeting growth, profitability, and quality goals. 3/12/201424 25. VI.Deadlines Improve the Effectiveness of Goals 1) For most employees, goals are more effective when they include a deadline for completion. 2) Deadlines serve as a time-control mechanism and increase the motivational impact of goals. Being aware that a deadline is approaching, the typical employee will invest more effort into completing the task. 3) In contrast, if plenty of time remains for attaining the goal, the employee is likely to slow down his or her pace to fill the available time. However, when deadlines are too tight, particularly with complex tasks, the quality of work may suffer. 3/12/201425 26. VII.A Learning Goal Orientation Leads to Higher Performance than a Performance Goal Orientation A. A person with a learning goal orientation wants to develop competence by mastering challenging situations. B. Research has indicated that a learning goal orientation has a positive impact on work-related behaviors and performance . C. The learning goal orientation is particularly relevant in todays work environment, which requires employees to be proactive, problem solve, be creative and open to new ideas, and adapt to new and changing situations 3/12/201426 27. VIII.Group Goal-Setting is As Important As Individual Goal-Setting Having employees work as teams with a specific team goal, rather than as individuals with only individual goals, increases productivity. Furthermore, the combination of compatible group and individual goals is more effective than either individual or group goals alone. 3/12/201427 28. Limitations Of Goal Setting Theory Combining goals with monetary rewards motivates many organization members to establish easy rather than difficult goals. In some cases, organization members have negotiated goals with their supervisor that they have already completed. Goal setting focuses organization members on a narrow subset of measurable performance indicators while ignoring aspects of job performance that are difficult to measure.The adage What gets measured is what gets done applies here. Setting performance goals is effective in established jobs, but it may not be effective when organization members are learning a new, complex job. 3/12/201428 29. Goal setting is widely used in the workplace as a means to improve and sustain work performance. Goal setting theory is based on the assumption that behavior reflects an employees conscious goals and intentions. Consequently, the expectation is that employee efforts and performance within an organization will be influenced by the goals assigned to or selected by these employees. In the workplace, successful managers use the goal setting theory to clarify expectations, improve performance, and develop employees into stronger workers, which in turn makes the company stronger Application of Goal SettingTheory in theWorkplace 3/12/201429 30. Some of the ways managers use this theory are: A. Include employees in goal setting B. Set individual goals that flow directly from those of the work unit C. Set specific goals D. Ask supervisors to set their own goals E. Have meetings with employees regularly regarding performance and progress on developmental objectives F. Provide ongoing feedback and coaching G. Have employees take the lead in both setting goals and the review process H. Ensure that goals are focused on areas that are important to current and future goals I. Align reward systems with desirable results 3/12/201430 31. Some reward systems that are used for employees reaching their goals are: 1. Monetary by salary increases or giving bonuses 2. Job and career related including promotions 3. Recognition and pride related through awards and other means 3/12/201431 32. ThankYou 3/12/201432