EDWIN LOCKE’S GOAL-SETTING THEORY

EDWIN LOCKE’S GOAL-SETTING THEORY

v  This motivation theory was developed primarily by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham (1990).

v  A powerful way of motivating people.

v  Essentially linked to task performance.

v  Employees are motivated by clear goals and appropriate feedback.

v  Spcific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute better task performance.

Some Key Concepts

1.      Goal :

·         “Something that the person wants to achieve,” (Locke & Lathan-1990)

2.      Formation of Goals:

·         Long term goals- A long-term goal is something you want to do further in the future. Long-term goals require time and planning. Here are examples of goals that can take several years to achieve:

Ø  Graduate from college

Ø  Save for retirement

Ø  Have my own business

·         Short term Goals- A short-term goal is something you want to do in the near future. The near future can mean today, this week, this month, or even this year. A short-term goal is something you want to accomplish soon. Examples include:

Ø  Take a class

Ø  Buy a new television

Ø  Write my resume

3.      Goal Setting:

·         “A specific outcome that an individual is striving to achieve.” (Alderman-1999)

How does Goal Setting Motivate ?

Goal:

·         Direct attention

·         Regular effort

·         Increase persistent

·         Encourage development of strategies and action plans

In his 1968 article “Toward a theory of Task Motivation and Incentives”, Locke’s research should that

·         There is a relationship between difficult and specific goals with people’s performance.

·         Specific and difficult goals lead to better task performance than vague or easy goals.

            E.g. telling someone to ‘Try hard’ or ’Do best’ is less effective than ‘Try to get more than 80% correct.’

Source:Adopted from E.A. Locke and G.P. Lathan.A theory of ‘Goal Setting’ and ‘Task Performance’ (Englewood Clifts by permission of Edwin Locke.

Goals should be SMART

Five Principles of Goal-Setting

Dr. Edwin Locke and Dr. Gary Lathan-  “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task performance.”-1990

To motivate Employees, Goals must have:

v  Clarity

v  Challenge

v  Commitment

v  Feedback

v  Task complexity

      Clarity of Goals

Ø Specific,clear,unambiguous and measurable goals leads to greater output and better performance.

      Challenging goals

Ø Goals should be realistic and chaalengable.

Ø This gives an employee feeling of pride after attaining it and sets him up for ttainment of next goals.

Note:

·         An appropriate balance should be created between a challenging goal and realistic goal.

·         Goals should be chievable.

      Commitment/participation in Goal-setting

Ø  Employees’ participation in setting goal makes goal more acceptable, and

Ø  Leads to more involvement.

      Feedback

Ø  Provides opportunities to clarify expectations,adjust goal difficulty and gain recognition.

Ø  Helps employees to work with more involvement.

Ø  Leads to greater job satisfaction.

      Task complexity

Ø  For high complex goals /assignments , special care should be taken to ensure the work doesn’t become to overheming.

Goal setting Theory: Certain eventualities

      Self efficiency:Individual’s self confidence and faith that he has potential of performing a task.

      Goal commitment:Individual is commited to the goal and will not leave it.

Again Goal attainment is dependent on several factors

Goals should be-

Ø  Open,known and broadcasted.

Ø  Set up by individual rather than designated.

Ø  Consistent with organizational goals and vision.

Advantages

Goal Setting-

Ø  Is a technique used to raise incentives for employees to complete work quickly and effectively.

Ø  Leads to better performance by increasing motivation and efforts but also through improving feedback quality.

Limitations

Ø  At times the organizational goals are in conflict with the managerial goals.Goal conflict has a determinant effect on the performance.

Ø  Very difficult and complex goals stimulate riskier behaviour.

Ø  There is no evidence to provide that Goal-Setting improves job satisfaction.

Ø  If the employee lacks skills and competencies to perform actions essntial for goals than the goal-setting can fail and lead to undermining of performance.

Implicationsfor Educational Management

Education management should-

Ø  Give employees sufficient time to meet the goal.

Ø  Give employees sufficient time to practice/learn what is required for them.

Ø  Make sure that the conditions surrounding the goal don’t inhibit people from accomplishing their objectives.

Ø  Provide feedback on goal performance.

Ø  Recognise all the employees for their good performance.

Implications for Employees

Ø  Goal setting is necessary for employees’ success.

Ø  Employees must use clear,challenging goals and commit themselves to achieving them.

Ø  Employees must take into consideration the complexity of the task.

In Brief

Goals indicate and give direction to an employee about

Ø  What needs to be done ,

Ø  How much efforts are required to be put in.