Essay On Goal Setting

Introduction
In 1990, Edwin Locke and Gary Latham introduced a theory of goal setting that remains the principal framework for research and practice in organisational psychology. Goal setting theory was established on the principle that, “with adequate levels of goal commitment and ability, performance increases with increasing goal difficulty” (Latham and Locke 1990). Accordingly, since the case addresses issues involving unsatisfactory appraisals, goal setting is an effective method to stimulate motivation and performance. Goals can be defined as “the immediate precursor of action” in that they are situationally specific to ones values (Locke and Latham 1990). Similarly, tasks are subsequent to goals as they provide small, specific guidelines to direct goal attainment. Consequently, the goal of the school is to improve their year 5 NAPLAN results, whereas tasks, such as completing 10 spelling tests in a month, will assist in the goal acquisition.

Dimensions of the goal:
According to Moorhead and Griffin (1998), “the critical variables in goal setting are goal difficulty, specificity, and proximity when performance is considered”. Goal specificity is “the clarity and precision of a goal”, and is central to the goal-setting theory. Brown and Latham (2001) found that “employees have high performance when specific high goals are set”. Furthermore, setting a specific high learning goal leads to higher performance than either a specific high performance goal or a vague goal “to do your best” (Seijts et al., 2004). This is because they specify the amount of effort required for success and boost self-efficacy by providing a clear standard against which to determine progress (source). Based on this premise, an organisational school goal...

... middle of paper ...

...may receive more attention and be favoured over the other teachers because it is his class that the goal is dependent on. If other employees believe this situation to be true, they may become cynical, interpreting their exclusion as a sign that their goals are not important and their own involvement is a waste of time. Another potential consequence is placing too much pressure on the year 5 students to succeed, and could therefore lead to exhaustion and burnout, and in turn, reduced performance levels. Alternatively, other classes participating in the NAPLAN tests (those in year 3, 7, and 9) may feel inferior to the year 5 class, as they are not central to the goal, therefore leading to rivalry, conflict, and even sabotage (Locke 1996).

Conclusion
On balance, goal setting is clearly an important way for James to convert motivation into actual improved performance.