Importance of Goals Setting - Coursework Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Organizational Behaviour Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Goal Setting Introduction Goals are anticipated sets of affairs that an individual or an organization plans to achieve. It can also be stated as a personal or organizational wanted end-point in some form of assumed development. People struggle to achieve goals within a limited time frame by placing deadlines. Setting goals involves determining SMART (specific, measurable, realistic and time specific) objectives. Goals can act as effective tools for moving forward by making sure that all those involved are fully aware of the role they should play to ensure that they achieve the goals and the objectives. At an individual level, setting goals enables one to specify and work towards the achievement of their personal objectives. Goals can be short term or long term. Short term goals are expected to be accomplished within a very short duration. They are the objectives that one needs to achieve in for example in the next few days. The duration of the short term goals depends on the time frame that the objective applies. Long term goals are set to be achieved within a longer period. Some can be life time goals where one sets goals that he or she should achieve in life before he or she dies (Renesch 1998). Importance of goals setting Having set goals enables one to focus on his or her energies and determining ways of attaining it. When one decides and starts to focus on the personally set goals, the subconscious mind sets up on work and starts creating ideas and strategizing on how to successfully attain the goals. Goals can be used as regulatory mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating and adjusting one’s behaviour. Self monitoring is a method of checking on one’s personal behaviour and evaluating them in relation to the set goals. Self monitoring can be done knowingly and deliberately. Self monitoring can also be done unknowingly and automatically. It is therefore an act of regulating oneself. People who succeed in life need to know what they require in life, set their own goals, devise strategies for achieving those goals, behave in a manner that is directed towards those goals and begin behaving in a way that is relevant to achievement of those goals. Setting of specific goals is important since the mind also thinks specifically on how to achieve those goals. For example one might start asking the amount of money he or she needs for certain function. Specific goals enable one to make specific and realistic activity plans. If one puts down the specific goal on a piece of paper, the mind sets itself into the process of finding answers to the arising questions and this is a step into achievement of the goals. It is also important for one to have a chain of goals from each day, every week, every month and so on. These goals can however be changed form one time to another depending on the changes that are taking place in different situations. If the goal is set form a very long time, one can sub divide it onto different periods where one thing is achieved at the end of a certain period until the end result is total achievement of the overall goal. One should however not set a goal that is too difficult to achieve. The goals should be small and easily achievable. One should also move stepwise towards the achievement of the overall goals (Rouillard 2002). Goals are also important tools for self evaluation. The most successful self evaluation involves an individual honestly considering what he or she has achieved and the goals that have been left unachieved. Reasons should also be found out as to why some goals have been unable to achieve. In the same manner, one should also find out the reasons and the factors that have enabled him or her to achieve some of the goals. One should find out the personal skills that have enabled him or her to achieve the goals and how the skills were developed. When one is in a leadership position, he or she should evaluate the success made at one point in time. This will enable him or her to determine the weaknesses that have hindered the achievement of the various goals, and on the other hand, one should evaluate on the strengths that have enabled the achievement of the already achieved goals. Goals can also be used as mechanisms for self regulating. Self regulating is the process of controlling oneself in line with the set goals and objectives. Self control strategies appear in four ways. These include selective primary control where internal behaviour resources for example efforts and skills are invested in the achievement of an already set goal. Then there is compensatory primary control which is needed when the internally available behaviour resources are not enough to achieve the set goals and therefore external resources will have to be out sourced. Compensatory primary control looks at the outsourcing of external help or advice and the incorporation of uncommon behaviour which is not usually used in the process. The other self regulating method is selective secondary control which aims to improve and uphold motivational commitment to an identified action goal and in particular when it is faced with un anticipated obstacles or preferable options. This method of self regulating involves advanced valuation of the determined goal and devaluation of the non determined goals. The last, method of self regulating is compensatory secondary control which is needed when an individual faces a lot of control or when the set goal get harder to achieve or is expensive to achieve. This method can be achieved by disengaging from the outdated goal (Harvard Business School Press 2009). Goal achievement also gives a person a sense of self accomplishment. When one has met all his set targets and objectives, he or she feels satisfied and fully accomplished. One feels that he or she already achieved and there is a sense of fulfilment in one’s mind that is brought to by accomplishing goals. Goals are like a mission that one has to achieve and accomplish. So, when one has attained all the goals, there is a feeling of completeness in one’s life and one feels that he or she is accomplished. Most people feel relaxed and can only embark on other things after they have attained their set goals. Importance of goals in motivation For one to successfully attain his or her set goals, one has to be self motivated. There are several stated rules that are an important guide in achieving motivation during the process of goal attainment. First, it is important for an individual to understand that motivation can only come from inside the person. This is because motivation is an internal strength that leads individuals to behave in a particular manner towards the achievement of a certain goal. People respond to similar situations differently because there is difference in the force that is coming from within the person. The second rule is that one must have a big reason that is guiding him or her in the objective. The reason must clearly define the intention, or the motive of attaining the goal. It is however advisable to find a reason that is bigger than oneself as this enables one to dig deeper in to the truth of what one wants. This will make one to achieve a hundred percent commitment (Smith 2005). The third reason is that one should believe that the set goal is achievable. One should avoid fear that what he or she has set is greater that the individual ability and have the courage of trying it out. Without the belief, it is hard to achieve and maintain self motivation. The best method to apply in clearing the doubt is finding evidence within oneself to prove that one is capable of achieving the set goal. This will give one enough courage to face the situation and start the steps towards goal achievement. This can be reinforced by looking for mentors and role models who have achieved it before. The fourth rule is that an individual’s environment is an influence on motivation. It is therefore very necessary for an individual to be careful when choosing friends and work mates. The working environment should also be carefully chosen since it can bring inconveniences that make it hard for one to attaining the set goals and objectives. If one feels that the old friends are not offering a company that is supportive of goal attainment process, it is important to make new friends who can support and motivate (Smith 2005). Efficient motivation and goal setting methods should offer the benefit of helping one to set goals that can motivate and helping one to stay motivated in the progress towards the process of achieving the goals. To achieve successful motivation and goal setting it is important for one to ensure that the goals chosen are the right ones. This means that the goals that will make an impact on one’s life and bring a positive change. When one is aware of the importance of the goal in his or her life, one gets motivated easily in achieving it. To achieve this, it is important that one identifies the values that are important to one’s life. One should also have a reason in mind as to why he or she wants to achieve a certain goal and this also gives the motivation to move ahead. One should be aware of the benefits that will follow the attainment of certain goals. Goal motivation theory This theory is founded on the thought that all people’s activities are based on logical reasons. This means that they are logical to the individuals at all rates. If one can understand why he or she act as one does, then one has stands a better position of taking the relevant acts that are essential in achieving the goals. The two major issues in this theory is the connection between the individual goals and the motives, and the significance of the pain and pleasure intentions. The theory explains that we struggle to achieve our goals in order to fulfil our motives. One should therefore identify the pains and pleasures found in the goals achievement process. Some people are found to get more fulfilment from heading towards the pleasures while others get fulfilment while moving away from the pains. Importance of goals in leadership Every leader must have a vision. This is the difference between the current status and the future plan. Every organization must have a vision which is determined by their leaders. To reach every vision, there must be goals to be achieved. These goals are the objectives of a company that the leader mobilizes the employees towards their attainment. It is however very difficult for any leadership to succeed without set goals and objectives. In an organization leadership, goals are just clear statement of the visions indicating the things to be accomplished to reach the vision. During leadership, vision is a reality that has to be made an existence. Leaders must devote much of their time towards achieving the vision since it their driving force (Knights & Willmott 2007). Setting of goals is an outstanding activity in building a consensus. It makes people who initially had different views and ideas to come together, work together and listen to each other. Goals set the phase for work, stating the activities to be involved and what to be embraced. Where a leader mobilizes the group into a one place decision making in order to set goals that re fit for everyone of them, this evokes commitment to be observed throughout the whole process of goals attainment and getting the work to be done. Goals should be brief and positive, and should act as a force that keeps people in the track. Organizations require leaders who are committed to making partnership with the workers through formation of goals and missions, empowering them and ensuring accountability. When a leader is setting up the organizational goals, they have to keep in mind some facts. These include that they should be practical and achievable, they should raise positively change the organization either financially or by increasing the morale of the employees. Goal setting should be an activity of each and every person, and there should be devised program to assist in achieving the goal. There are also four characteristics of goal setting that have been stated. These include: Goal difficulty: when the goals set up for the employees are difficult, the situation gets more challenging and leads to more effort in the process of achieving them. The more difficult the goals, the higher the performance as long as the goals are feasible. However, if the goals are too high, employees will lose hope and give up on the process (Harvard Business School Press 2009). Goal specificity: when employees are offered specific goals, they tend to improve on their performance. Unspecific goals lead to ambiguous work and ambiguous results. They therefore need a goal that is specific so as adopt a behaviour that is focused on it. Feedback: giving feedback increase the impact of goals setting. Feed back on the performance makes the employees to have a behaviour that is directed towards the set target and this motivates them into harder working. Participation in goal setting: when the employees are involved in goals setting, they tend to focus on higher goals than if their leader was setting for them. This is a source of motivation to them to work towards achievement o f the goals since they have the belief that the goals are achievable. Setting goals in leadership requires team involvement. To achieve this, various steps have to be taken. The first step in organizational or group goals setting is setting up a vision. Vision t how the organization or the group should look line, or where it should be at a certain point in future. The overall leader of any organization is charged with the duty of setting up the organization vision, which should consider the visions of other departments in the organization. Once the leader sets the vision, it should be made known to all members so that each member or each department may set up their own strategies towards the attainment of the vision. The second step is the setting of goals. This involves the establishment of a goal, a process that involves the participation of other members of the organization. Goals are determines in unmeasurable terms but are more specific. They should also be embraced by all the members of the organization before initiating the steps towards goal attainments. The third step is setting the objectives. Objectives offer clear guidelines towards attainments of the vision. It is a strategy for changing visions into actuality. It is the bridge between the forecasted future and the envisioned future. Objectives should be stated specifically, in measurable terms and within a particular time frame. The next step is the defining of tasks. Tasks are the measures taken towards achieving the set objectives. They are actual, measurable activities that must be done. The other step is in definition of timelines. This involves prioritizing the tasks. One must consider what should come first in the process of goals attainment (Tannenbaum 1999). Employees should be made aware that certain tasks must be accomplished before a certain date. The last step in goal setting is conduction if the follow ups. This is continuously monitoring the process to ensure that what was stated to have been achieved within a particular period has been achieved. This portrays the commitment of a leader towards seeing the whole process a success. Conclusion Goal setting is a very important aspect in achievement of success in any organization and in individuals. One must work with some stipulated objectives and time. Where one works without targets and guidelines, there are high chances of failure and collapse of the framework. It also very important for leaders since it is through specific and measurable goals their work can be credited. Goals are therefore very necessary in all issues and working without goals produces ambiguous results. Bibliography Renesch, J., 1998, Setting Goals, Context Publications, Boston. Rouillard, L., 2002, Goals and Goal Setting: Achieving Measured Objectives, Cengage Learning, London. Harvard Business School Press, 2009, Setting Goals, Harvard Business Press, Harvard. Smith, C., 2005, The importance of employee motivation in the achievement of organizational goals, College of St. Scholastica, Minnesota. Knights, D., & Willmott, H., 2007, Introducing organizational behaviour and management, Thomson Publishers, New York. Tannenbaum, R., 1999, Leadership and organization: a behavioural science approach, McGraw-Hill, New York. Read More