GOAL SETTING

Question 1

Levels of Goals

Answer 1

1. Individual goals -> member of team
2. Unit goals -> operating unit levels (e.g. departments)
3. Strategy goals -> enterprise level

Real power of these 3 cascading goals lies in their alignment with objectives of the company!
-> meaning of alignments: everybody is involved in goals and understands benefits of them! Can only be realized by sharing information!

Question 2

A goal should be:

Answer 2

• specific
• measurable
• flexible
• relevant
• time-bound

Question 3

How to maximize Goal Success

Answer 3

Establishing a sense of ownership!

• Look for commitment: Involve followers in setting goals, ask for constructive critics and listen carefully -> become the owner of a goal
• Team members have to see that given goals are important/worthy to reach to commit

Question 4

5 Principles of Goal Setting

Answer 4

• Clarity: Goal is clear! What is task for each member
• Challenging: Goal is not too easy! Compare development level to find right degree of challenge (situational approach)
• Commitment: Involvement of all team members in process
• Feedback: Where is deficit? Should be constructive and critical!
• > necessary to remove obstacles
• Task complexity: Increasing complexity means reducing motivation -> right degree

Question 5

4 Ways how Goals can affect Performance (Lock)

Answer 5

• Directive function: Goals bring effort in direction of relevant activities
• Energizing function: High goals lead to greater efforts
• Persistence: Tight deadlines lead to more rapid work than lose deadlines (goal should be time-bound)
• Actions: Developing a strategy to gain right knowledge and collect the knowledge necessary to achieve the goal.