Editing Goal setting (section)

== Goal setting in workplaces ==
In business, goal setting remains a popular evidence based approach to align efforts across organizations, communicate objectives, and improve motivation as well as task performance for individuals and groups.<ref>{{Cite web |title=re:Work - Goal Setting |url=https://rework.withgoogle.com/subjects/goal-setting/ |access-date=2021-04-03 |website=rework.withgoogle.com |language=en}}</ref> Goal setting encourages participants to put in substantial effort over and above a "do your best condition". Also, because every member has defined expectations for their role, little room is left for inadequate, marginal effort to go unnoticed

=== Employee motivation ===
{{see also|Job satisfaction|Motivation}}

The more employees are motivated, the more they are stimulated and interested in accepting goals. These success factors are interdependent. For example, the expected outcomes of goals are positively influenced when employees are involved in the goal setting process. Not only does participation increase commitment in attaining the goals that are set, participation influences self-efficacy as well. Additionally, feedback is necessary to monitor one's progress. When feedback is not presented, an employee might think they are not making enough progress. This can reduce [[self-efficacy]] and thereby harm the performance outcomes in the long run.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bandura |first=Albert |author-link=Albert Bandura |date=March 1993 |title=Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning |url=http://www.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/bandura/pajares/Bandura1993EP.pdf |journal=Educational Psychologist |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=117–148 |doi=10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3 |s2cid=52256247 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

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Goal-commitment, the most influential moderator,{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} becomes especially important when dealing with difficult or complex goals. If people lack [[Personal commitment|commitment]] to goals, they lack motivation to reach them. To commit to a goal, one must believe in its importance or significance.
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Attainability: individuals must also believe that they can attain—or at least partially reach—a defined goal. If they think no chance exists of reaching a goal, they may not even try.
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[[Self-efficacy]]: the higher someone's self-efficacy regarding a certain task, the more likely they will set higher goals, and the more persistence they will show in achieving them.<ref>Goal-setting theory might define ''self-efficacy'' as an impression that one has the capability of performing in a certain manner or of attaining certain goals. Or one could define self-efficacy as a belief that one has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to [[Management|manage]] prospective situations. Unlike [[efficacy]] (defined as the power to produce an effect—in essence, [[Skill|competence]]), self-efficacy consists of the belief (whether or not accurate) that one has the [[Power (sociology)|power]] to produce that effect. For example, a person with high self-efficacy may engage in more health-related activity when an illness occurs, whereas a person with low self efficacy may succumb to feelings of hopelessness. (Compare: {{cite book |last1=Sue |first1=David |last2=Sue |first2=Derald Wing |last3=Sue |first3=Stanley |last4=Sue |first4=Diane |title=Understanding abnormal behavior |year=2015 |edition=11th |page=194 |location=Belmont, CA |publisher=Wadsworth/Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-305-53760-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6CaBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT224}}) Note the distinction between [[self-esteem]] and self-efficacy. Self-esteem in this context relates to a person's sense of [[self-worth]], whereas self-efficacy relates to a person's perception of their ability to reach a goal. For example, take the case of an incompetent rock-climber. Though probably afflicted with poor self-efficacy in regard to rock climbing, this hypothetical person could retain their self-esteem unaffected.</ref>
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=== Workplace training ===
Goal setting is used to improve training outcomes. For example, Tomokazu Kishiki and colleagues performed a randomized controlled trial on surgical trainees to determine whether or not their participation in a goal-setting program would improve performance and testing scores; the addition of achievable goals appeared to be beneficial to the trainees.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kishiki |first1=Tomokazu |last2=Lapin |first2=Brittany |last3=Tanaka |first3=Ryota |last4=Francis |first4=Taylor |last5=Hughes |first5=Kathryn |last6=Carbray |first6=JoAnn |last7=Ujiki |first7=Michael B. |date=October 2016 |title=Goal setting results in improvement in surgical skills: a randomized controlled trial |journal=[[Surgery (journal)|Surgery]] |volume=160 |issue=4 |pages=1028–1037 |doi=10.1016/j.surg.2016.07.022 |pmid=27531316}}</ref> When goal setting is applied optimally during training processes, both employee motivation and organizational commitment can increase.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Latham |first=Gary P. |date=November 2004 |title=The motivational benefits of goal-setting |journal=[[Academy of Management Perspectives]] |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=126–129 |doi=10.5465/ame.2004.15268727}}</ref>

Furthermore, training in goal setting has been linked to higher levels of performance among adults and children with mild to severe [[intellectual disability]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Copeland |first1=Susan R. |last2=Hughes |first2=Carolyn |date=March 2002 |title=Effects of goal setting on task performance of persons with mental retardation |journal=Education & Training in Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=40–54 |jstor=23879582}}</ref>

=== Work-life balance ===
Goal setting is also used by some companies with a stated aim of ensuring that employee work life balance is maintained. The idea behind this is that employees set a non-work related goal to improve their well-being, and managers help team members stick to those goals. An example of this in practice is "One Simple Thing", a goal-setting well-being practice employed by [[Google]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=re:Work - Guide: Care professionally and personally for your team |url=https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/managers-care-professionally-personally-for-team/steps/use-one-simple-thing-for-goal-setting/ |access-date=2021-03-31 |website=rework.withgoogle.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Impact on individual performance ===
Managers cannot constantly drive [[motivation]], or keep track of an employee's work on a continuous basis. Goals are therefore an important tool for managers, since goals have the ability to function as a self-regulatory mechanism that helps employees prioritize tasks.<ref name="Locke and Latham 2002" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Shalley |first=Christina E. |date=April 1995 |title=Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity |journal=[[Academy of Management Journal]] |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=483–503 (501) |jstor=256689}}</ref>

Four mechanisms through which goal setting can affect individual performance are:

# Goals focus attention toward goal-relevant activities and away from goal-irrelevant activities.
# Goals serve as an energizer: Higher goals induce greater effort, while low goals induce lesser effort.
# Goals affect persistence; constraints with regard to resources affect work pace.
# Goals activate [[cognitive knowledge]] and strategies that help employees cope with the situation at hand.