Goal setting theory can help motivate employees to do their job as managers can relate to Professor Edwin Locke goal theory. The underlying concept behind this theory is the belief that people’s goals play a vital part in deciding their behavior. People drive to satisfy these goals to help their emotions and desires. Goals guide people’s responses and actions. Goals command employee performance and actions and this can call for action or feedback. The effort that individuals will exert in attempting to achieve goals is determined by the difficulty and commitment to achieving that goal. Practical examples of goal setting include achieving deadlines attaining levels of performance or the concept of management by objectives.
Locke believes that in order for goals to motivate individuals they should be involved in deciding the goals that they should achieve and that these goals should be difficult but acceptable. Difficult goals should be achieved through guidance, feedback and advice. This can be linked to job satisfaction, if goals are set at difficult yet achievable levels and attainment provides satisfaction and reinforcement for the attainment of subsequent goals. Goals which are either too simple or too difficult to achieve may not motivate individuals. If employees are not involved in the goals setting process they may not be motivated to strive to achieve these goals, this is why managers should take the time to set these goals with their employees. Appropriate advice and guidance must accompany goal achievement or this if not present may have a negative effect on the employee’s motivation.
By setting goals for employees it will help them to have a purpose on what they want to achieve. Employees can get motivated to achie...
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...ey are also people who want to get promotions and bonuses, for managers to get the very best out of theory y workers they would need to reward them, examples include bonuses and promotion, also award them with more freedom while working and this will help show the employees creativity
Overall goal setting theory can be used to motivate employees and this can help a manager and their business to succeed as employees are motivated to do their job.
References
Mind tools. (2014). Locke's Goal Setting Theory. Available: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm. Last accessed 28th March 2014.
Top achievement. (2012). creating smart goals. Available: http://topachievement.com/smart.html. Last accessed 29th March 2014.
Business balls. (2014). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Available: http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm. Last accessed 1st April 2014.
Having incentives for meeting goals can encourage and motivate staff to meet necessary
The theory of goal setting was developed by Edward Locke and Gary Latham (1990) and states that there is a direct relationship between the setting of specific high goals and task performance. A higher degree of employee performance is obtained when specific goals are set compared to the performance achieved when employees are simply told to do their best (Latham & Locke, 2007). These findings have helped shape leadership styles and improve employee performance and job satisfaction (Posthuma & Al-Riyami, 2012).
However, after reviewing our interview transcripts, and considering my peer’s issue, I believe that Goal Setting Theory would be the most applicable theory for solving my peer’s problem. In 1960s, Edwin A. Locke first proposed this theory, and then this theory has been developed. Locke and Latham referred (1990) that goal specificity is positively related to subsequent performance, and many following studies also indicate that there are a high correlation between these two variables.
Goal Contents Theory compliments the major aspects of Organismic Theory and Basic Needs Theory by addressing the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. It is critical to differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic goals because these goals have a profound influence on psychological well-being and motivational processes. For example, I work at Charlie’s Chicken part-time. Unfortunately, I do not enjoy the job very much at all. I am simply working there to make ends meet until I finish college. Although I feel like I am a good employee that keeps up with my work, my goals at this job are very extrinsic in nature and this most definitely has an influence on my psychological well-being and the quality of motivation and engagement that I exert while at this job. I hope to maintain intrinsic goals in whatever future career I end up in, and I am confident that intrinsic goals could enhance my psychological well-being, motivation, and engagement in a career that I deem intrinsically
Motivational theories can be applied in a multitude of situations, but in this case the problems that must be resolved include poor morale, low performance levels, and frequent absences. After speaking with the employees it was found that none of them cared about their performance in the workplace. To properly address these issues, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, McClelland’s Theory, and McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y can be applied. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory can be used to improve working conditions and decrease employee dissatisfaction. Doing so would potentially motivate employees to perform better in the workplace and be more inclined to be involved in the job. Applying McClelland’s Theory would allow for the employees three basic categories
It’s important that when companies what to implement a change or solve problems they accurately set goals. According to the Goal Setting Theory, setting goals can greatly improve performance. There are four main reasons to why goals motivate.
Employee. Because I have a strong sensing personality, I prefer simple and concise goals that have practical application (Kroeger, Thuesen, & Rutledge, 2002). However, managers must create inspirational and challenging goals in order to achieve organizational progress. By knowing this, I can learn to identify the manager’s ultimate goals and in turn implement
Employees set goals based on job role, business need, personal development or personal target performance and also job specific requirements. Goal setting is also dependent on the drive, personality, attitude, appearance, self-perception, persona, motivations and priorities of an individual. The questions of goal setting are another component. An employee has to understand why the goal is being set and what the expectations are. Also, who is setting the goal: self-set, by the organization, or by the department? What are the measures going to be and how does the plan outlines milestones to achieve the goal? The overall mission must be clear and help employees understand why, what and how their work contributes to a greater
Locke, Edwin A., and Gary P. Latham. "New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory." Current Directions in Psychological Science 15.5 (2006): 265-68. Print.
Goal setting theory assumes that behavior results from an individual’s mindful objectives and purposes. Goals impact conduct by guiding energy and attention, supporting determination over time, and encouraging the individual to cultivate schemes in order to attain goals. It submits that learning can be aided by giving learners precise thought-provoking aims and objectives. The impact of goal setting theory can be appreciated in the advance of
Just as needs theories focus on the needs of the employees, the process theories of motivation tend to demonstrate how other individuals can increase the motivation of others (Langton, Robbins and Judge, 2009). Research conducted by Locke has shown that people can be motivated using goals. Locke contends that individuals are easily motivated when goals are set (Langton, Robbins and Judge, 2009). The ability to motivate an individual by setting goals is achieved through four distinct ways.
The other area of managing employees is Theory Y individuals. These employees are self-starters and motivated to work independently of the manager. The employee is not afraid to brainstorm and try new concepts to complete his or her work and complete the task with minimal input from a manager. At the end of the day, the employee is motivated to return to work the next day as he or she has a sense being appreciated by the organization and accomplishing something on his or her
Motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximizing employee’s motivation is a necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organization’s targets and objectives. However, this is a considerable challenge to any organizations managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that, there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins,2002).
Those aspects as outlined in the past sentence are all accomplished and established when the workers benefit. Therefore, motivation is created by workers needs. Managers of companies need to know what needs have to be fulfilled in order to create motivation for workers. Consequently, managers have to establish which needs workers desire to be met in the workforce (self-actualization, esteem, social, safety and physiological), the example does workers desire to have a water machine at the company or do they desire to have security in their job and seek a respected work environment? When managers know which needs are desired by workers, they can try to achieve these goals for
Company goal is to educate us on the many options that will assist us in realizing our full potential and take to action to create the results we desire. From communications to goal setting and time management, we can all become more effective in our work and relationships.