1. Goal Setting and Motivation
MANA 4328
Dr. George Benson 1

2. Goal Setting Basics Specific Challenging Achievable
Participatively set
“SMART” Goals
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Trackable
Set interim or subgoals.
Use action verbs.
Specific dates, times, and amounts.

3. Participation No one knows the job better than those who do it.
Workers are more likely to accept the goals with input.
Employee
High
Low
Management
Participation
Unilateral
Empowered /
Self Managed
No Goals

4. Why Do Goals Motivate?

5. Expectancy Theory Motivation = E X I X V
Expectancy: The connection between behavior and the outcome
Instrumentality: The connection between outcome and a reward
Valence: Is the reward something that the individual values?
People are motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic rewards they desire.
People will only be motivated if outcome is possible.
People will only be motivated if outcome is contingent on behavior.
People will only be motivated if a reward is attached to the outcome.
“Line of sight” is the perceived link between individual behavior and the reward.

6. Goal Challenge and Performance
High
Performance
Note: Not to scale
Low
Performance
Easy Moderately Difficult Extremely Difficult

7. What performance measures did Hiram put in place?
What were the outcomes of the measures?
Call Center?
Shipping?
Sales?
R&D?

8. What measures did Hiram put in place?

9. What were the outcomes of the measures?

10. Careful What You Wish For
“You make the rules, we play the game.”
What do we want employees to do differently?
Why aren’t they doing it already?
Don’t sacrifice long-term business success for short-term goals.

11. Types of Goals Behavioral goals vs. Outcome goals
Often easier to observe outcomes
Gives employee discretion on how to achieve goals
Use Outcome Goals When:
Workers know how to achieve the goals
Workers have the necessary resources

12. Linking Individual & Organizational Goals
What are the ultimate goals?
Profits, Sales, Customer Service, Quality
Balanced scorecard
Don’t focus on intermediate goals unless they matter.
Consider the importance of coordination among employees or units.
Consult with business leaders and employees on appropriate goals