One of the key purposes of management is to motivate employees to perform to the best of their ability. Many motivation theories share the concept of human behaviour as primarily goal-directed, and the most widely accepted approach to workplace motivation is goal setting theory. Goals are now ubiquitous at work, with goal directed activity being central to organisational management practices.
Goal setting theory is based on the premise that conscious goals affect cognition and that motivation and performance will be higher when 4 conditions are met:
(1) Goals should be clear and specific - it is better to specify targets than provide general exhortations to 'do your best'.
(2) Goals should be difficult - the more difficult the greater the motivation.
(3) Goals should be accepted - they should be feasible and within the outer bounds of what can be achieved.
(4) Feedback should be provided - principally feedback about goal progress to enable tracking of progress and revision.resulting in more effort, and promote use of task-relevant knowledge.
The major strength of goal setting appears to be its straightforward application to the workplace, and studies document its success in enhancing skills training and job performance (Brown & Latham, 2000b). There is consistent support for the impact of difficult, specific goals, and reasonable support for feedback and goal commitment.
Proponents argue that the motivational effects are well established, and that for straightforward and short-term tasks, goal setting is a motivational technique that works. However, there are a number of issues with using goal setting in the workplace:
(1) A fundamental criticism of goal setting is that it struggles to account for the complexities of organisational settings. The evidence base, while positive, is almost uniformly on tasks of a certain type: simple, quantifiable, conducted over a short period. With complex, multiple and conflicting goals, the evidence base is less convincing and predictions less clear. Also, goal setting is associated with negative effects on performance for many complex tasks e.g. scientific research and air traffic control. This is problematic because using goals in work settings involves multiple, conflicting goals and resource trade-offs of various types.
(2) Goal setting does little to explain how aspects of the goal process relate to enhanced performance, often assuming performance increases are explained by increases in motivation. The goal striving processes giving rise to these relationships are not understood. However, the problem with knowing something works but not knowing why, is that we have little explanatory power to fall back on when goal setting fails to work...
(3) A further limitation of goal setting is that it fails to fully consider negative outcomes arising from goals. For example, goal specificity can focus attention so narrowly that vital task features are completely missed, excessive goals can cause trade-offs, and overly challenging goals can result in dysfunctional task persistence, risk taking and unethical behaviour. A related issue is dissatisfaction / psychological consequences that accompany goal failure e.g. challenging goals can raise performance but reduce satisfaction with outcomes or cause individuals to question their ability. Arguably, equally important to goal attainment is goal disengagement, which can be a protective factor for mitigating against goal failure.
Thus although the research evidence for goal setting is positive, the findings are more consistent for performance involving single one-off tasks in well specified domains than jobs involving numerous, competing or complex tasks, particularly where task strategies are critical to performance. The theory does not fully explain how resources are allocated across goals and the technique requires many caveats and qualifications to work in complex settings.
Ordonez et al (2009) suggest the following ten questions and issues be considered when setting goals in the workplace:
(1) Are the goals too specific? If goals are too narrow this can blind people to important aspects of an issue. Goals must be comprehensive and include all aspects that are important for success e.g. quality of work as well as quantity.
(2) Are the goals too challenging? How are outcomes evaluated and what happens if goals are not met? One key issue is to provide training and skills to equip employees to reach goals and to avoid any harsh punishments for not reaching goals.
(3) Who sets the goals? Employees tend to be more committed to goals they help set and there is merit in allowing transparency in the goal-setting process.
(4) Is the time horizon appropriate? Goals that are overly short-term can compromise investment in long-term goals.
(5) How might goals influence risk-taking? If goals are not met they may induce risk-taking and a possible remediation is to articulate acceptable levels of risk.
(6) How might goals motivate unethical behaviour? Goals can narrow focus and result in rationalisations for unethical behaviour. Therefore, making costs for cheating greater than the benefit and strong oversight may be needed.
(7) Can goals be idiosyncratically tailored for individuals and abilities while preserving fairness? Goals that use common standards but account for some individual variation may be best.
(8) How will goals influence organisational culture? Individualised goals may sometimes undermine cooperation and team culture; where cooperation is important team goals may be best.
(9) Are individuals intrinsically motivated? Goal setting may undermine intrinsic motivation therefore it may be best to avoid setting goals in areas where intrinsic motivation is already high.
(10) What type of goal (performance or learning) is most appropriate given the ultimate objectives of the organisation? Learning goals may be more appropriate than performance goals in complex, changing environments.
This is an abridged version of a white paper written by Acumen director, and organisational psychologist Resha Jazrawi. For the full referenced white paper on Goal Setting, or to arrange an informal discussion regarding your related development needs and challenges - please contact service@acumencompany.com
