setting goals

Setting Personal and Professional Goals

FOR INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

2© 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

07458.All Rights Reserved.

Organizational Behavior for the Hospitality IndustryBerger/Brownell

Goal Setting Theory A group goal is “an outcome

desired by members of the group as a unit (Mesch et al. 1994: 312).”




Goal Setting Theory Achievement goal –

directs a group toward a major outcome or goal

Maintenance goal – maintains or strengthens the group itself




Specific Goals Specific, difficult goals generate

better performance than “do your best” goals or no goals at all

A specific goal directs a group’s attention towards planning development that, in turn, creates a motivational effect to follow through with the plan




Difficult Goals Difficult goals create an

anticipation of satisfaction that motivates extra intensity and duration on task performance

Difficult goals prompt more spontaneous planning, larger amounts of planning, and higher quality planning than easy goals




3 Levels of Task Performance

Simply carrying out a task - a group goal leads to improved performance through an increase in effort, diligence, and energy.

Determining how to approach the task - goal setting helps limit the strategy domain to be searched

Groups must choose between many available strategies - At this level, where performance depends on strategy rather than task effort, groups can use strategy development to overcome the negative effect of a specific, difficult goal (Earley et al. 1989: 25).




Warning: Specific and Direct Goals can be Debilitating




Formal Goal Setting Methods

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Timely)

Management by objectives (MBO) like goal setting theory – emphasizes

specific goals and feedback unlike goal setting theory – stresses

the need for participation in goal setting

360-degree - helps to explicitly state goals

in terms of the customer’s words and language




Goal Commitment External Influences --

Legitimate Authority and Peer Group

Interactive Factors -- Participation and Competition

Internal Factors -- Personal Goal, Self Efficacy and Internal Rewards




External Influences

Peer – beneficial or detrimental Supervisor – determine goal

commitment through legitimate authority Assigned goals lead to:

Commitment A sense of purpose, direction, and

clarity Improved employee beliefs of what

they can and should do The development of high quality

plans




Interactive Factors (Participatory Goal Setting)

May have as great an influence as assigned goals

Increased effectiveness attributed to motivation, cognition and increased self-efficacy

Competition can enhance performance




Internal Factors Self-set goals reflect personal or

group expectations for task performance

Self-set goals tend to be higher than assigned goals

Self-efficacy is more fundamental than rewards

Self-administered rewards are also essential to goal commitment




Commitment to Difficult Goals

Groups are more likely to accept easy goals that lead to low performance than very hard goals which lead to high performance

Difficult goals require high commitment

Low goals may be restricted by high commitment, they will not be raised

Culture may also play a role in this dynamic of goal commitment




Increasing Goal Commitment

Persuade groups that goals are both attainable and important

Make goals public rather than private

Offer appropriate external rewards for difficult goals




Feedback and Goals

Groups use feedback to “compare the difference

between their performance and goals they have

established and adjust their behavior accordingly

Feedback results in higher effort and

performance than lack of feedback




Negative Feedback

Groups respond to negative feedback by setting higher goals than groups that receive positive feedback.




Goal Selection Groups pursuing multiple goals will

devote more time and effort to one goal than another, often trading off between quantity and quality goals

Groups should focus on a small number of goals, no more than 8, and these goals should be prioritized by urgency and significance




How to Achieve a Goal

1. Use Visualization 2. Set Objectives 3. Record Progress 4. Make a Gantt Chart




How to Achieve a Goal

4. Create Goal Aids 5. Reevaluate Goals




When to Implement Goals

Managers should give careful attention to when organizational goals are presented to employees, in order to establish focus on achievement at the appropriate time.




Goal Conflict Sometimes conflict arises between

individual and group goals.

To avoid goal conflict, managers should set the individual goal so that its attainment facilitates the attainment of the group goal.

VS.

+ + =




Creativity and Goal Setting

Adding a dimension of creativity, in which individuals realize their capabilities to make a unique contribution to collective goals, helps to unleash that energy and commitment to excellence.




Group Dynamics and Goals Group lifecycle has a beginning, a

middle and an end.

Beginning

Middle

End




The Beginning

It is during these early stages of development that groups begin to generate plans, formulate ideas, and set goals.

Storming is an early period punctuated by fears, anxieties, and dissatisfaction that can lead to hostility and conflict.




Time for Norming and Performing Norming is the time when alternatives are

chosen and agreed upon, policies set, and goals established

Performing categorizes functional role relatedness as solutions develop and members carry out the work

Members align and work together toward a realistic appraisal of what they can accomplish

The Middle




The End The end is the period of

disengagement, ending and adjournment. It is a time concerned with sadness, good-byes, and self-evaluation.




Setting Personal Goals Brainstorm Desires Rank Ideas Identify Methods of

Achievement Consider Limitations Identify Risks




Achieving Personal Goals

Develop a positive attitude and enthusiasm

Allow yourself to relax Imagine

accomplishment Reorient, resume normal

activities




Goals Into Action State requirements and method Set up a time frame Break down goals into smaller

units Set deadlines Re-evaluate and set new deadlines

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