Goal Setting Theory.ppt

Goal Setting Theory by locke and latham

1. What is Goal Setting Theory?
Goal-settingtheoryisatheorybasedonthe
ideathatsettingspecificandmeasurable
goalsismoreeffectivethansettingunclear
goals.
EdwinA.Lockedevelopedthistheoryin1968.
•Goalscanbedefinedasaresultthatindividualstry
toaccomplish.
•Inorganizations,peoplearemotivatedtodirecttheir
attentiontowardandachievegoal.

2. What is Goal Setting Theory?
LockeandGaryLatham(1991)foundthat
individualswhosetspecific,difficultgoals
performedbetterthanthosewhosetgeneral,
easygoals.Lockeproposedfivebasicprinciples
ofgoal-setting:
1)Clarity
2)Challenge
3)Commitment
4)Feedback
5)Taskcomplexity

3. Goal Setting Theory
Thepositiverelationshipbetweengoalsettingandtask
performanceisoneofthemostreplicablefindingsin
themanagementandorganizationliterature.
Accordingtogoalsettingtheory,thehighestlevelsof
performanceareusuallyreachedwhengoalsareboth
difficultandspecific.
Peoplelearnfromaveryearlyagethatiftheywantto
accomplishagoal,thentheyhavetopayattentionto
thegoalandignoreotherthings,workhardto
accomplishthegoal,andkeepworkingharduntilthe
goalisreached.

4. Goal Setting Theory
Performancehasbeenshowntobehigherwhengoals
arehigher,whenpeoplearecommittedtoreachingthe
goal,andwhenpeoplepossesstherequiredabilityand
knowledgetoachievethatgoal.
Whengivingpeoplegoalstoperform,besurethatthe
goalisspecific,suchas“Sellonehundredcomputers,”
orthatthegoaldescribesthedesiredperformance
level,suchas“Completethislistofseventasksby5:00
p.m.today”.

5. Goal Setting Theory
Higherlevelsofcommitmentcanbereachedwhenan
individualbelievesthatreachingthegoalisboth
importantandattainable,oratleastbelievesthat
progresstowardreachingthegoalispossible.
Goalsettingresultsinthehighestperformancelevels
whenpeoplearegivenfeedbackabouthowwellthey
areperforming.
Peoplewithhighself-efficacysethighergoalsfor
themselvesthandopeoplewithlowself-efficacy.

6. Goal Setting Theory
Managerscanhelpincreaseemployeeself-efficacyby
providingpropertrainingandeducationtoimprove
necessaryskills,andexpressingconfidenceandbelief
intheemployee’sabilitytoaccomplishthe
performancegoal.
Goalsettingeffectsmaybesmallerforacomplextask
iftheindividualdoesnotdiscoverappropriate
strategiesandmethodswhileperformingthetask.

7. Criticisms of the Theory
•Goalsettingtheoryhasbeenoverprescribed.
•Goalsettinghasbeendescribedasbeingeffective
foranytypeoftaskinanytypeofsetting,butthis
maynotactuallybethecaseinorganizations.
•Thetheoryhasbeencriticizedforadvocatinggoals
thataretoospecificortoonarrow.
•Specificgoalscancauseindividualstospendtoo
muchtimefocusingonthemtothedetrimentofother
importantorganizationalbehaviors,suchas
innovation,creativity,andflexibility.

8. Criticisms of the Theory
•Theoryhasignoredtheproblemscausedbytoo
manygoalsbeingassignedfortaskperformance.
•Criticshavearguedthattheremaynotbeapositive,
linearrelationshipbetweengoaldifficultyandtask
performanceasadvocatedbythetheory.Ifgoalsare
toochallenging,thenundesiredorganizational
outcomescanoccur,suchasunethicalbehaviorand
unnecessaryrisktakinginordertoaccomplishgoals.

9. Implications of the Theory for
Managers
•Thegoalsarespecific,measurable,and
sufficientlydifficult;employeeshavetheabilityto
performthedesiredtask;feedbackisprovided
showingprogresstowardgoalattainment;rewards
aregivenforgoalattainment;thesupervisoror
managerissupportiveofthegoalsettingprocess;
andgoalsareacceptedbyemployeesandviewed
asimportant.
•Don’tsettoomanygoalsforemployees,asthey
tendtofocusononlyoneortwogoalsatatime
andthusmayoverlookothergoals.

10. Implications of the Theory for
Managers
•Besuretosettherighttimeforemployeestoreach
theirgoals.
•Ifyoudon’tspecifyatimeframethenemployees
willtendtofocusonshort-termgoalsandavoid
long-termgoals.
•Becarefultostressthatgoalaccomplishment
shouldonlybedonethroughethicalbehaviors,and
thatunethicalbehaviorswillnotbetoleratedinyour
organization.

11. Thankyou!