Goal Setting Theory by locke and latham

1. What is Goal Setting Theory?
Goal-setting theory is a theory based on the
idea that setting specific and measurable
goals is more effective than setting unclear
goals.
Edwin A. Locke developed this theory in 1968.
• Goals can be defined as a result that individuals try
to accomplish.
• In organizations, people are motivated to direct their
attention toward and achieve goal.

2. What is Goal Setting Theory?
Locke and Gary Latham (1991) found that
individuals who set specific, difficult goals
performed better than those who set general,
easy goals. Locke proposed five basic principles
of goal-setting:
1) Clarity
2) Challenge
3) Commitment
4) Feedback
5) Task complexity

3. Goal Setting Theory
The positive relationship between goal setting and task
performance is one of the most replicable findings in
the management and organization literature.
According to goal setting theory, the highest levels of
performance are usually reached when goals are both
difficult and specific.
People learn from a very early age that if they want to
accomplish a goal, then they have to pay attention to
the goal and ignore other things, work hard to
accomplish the goal, and keep working hard until the
goal is reached.

4. Goal Setting Theory
Performance has been shown to be higher when goals
are higher, when people are committed to reaching the
goal, and when people possess the required ability and
knowledge to achieve that goal.
When giving people goals to perform, be sure that the
goal is specific, such as “Sell one hundred computers,”
or that the goal describes the desired performance
level, such as “Complete this list of seven tasks by 5:00
p.m. today”.

5. Goal Setting Theory
Higher levels of commitment can be reached when an
individual believes that reaching the goal is both
important and attainable, or at least believes that
progress toward reaching the goal is possible.
Goal setting results in the highest performance levels
when people are given feedback about how well they
are performing.
People with high self-efficacy set higher goals for
themselves than do people with low self-efficacy.

6. Goal Setting Theory
Managers can help increase employee self-efficacy by
providing proper training and education to improve
necessary skills, and expressing confidence and belief
in the employee’s ability to accomplish the
performance goal.
Goal setting effects may be smaller for a complex task
if the individual does not discover appropriate
strategies and methods while performing the task.

7. Criticisms of the Theory
• Goal setting theory has been overprescribed.
• Goal setting has been described as being effective
for any type of task in any type of setting, but this
may not actually be the case in organizations.
• The theory has been criticized for advocating goals
that are too specific or too narrow.
• Specific goals can cause individuals to spend too
much time focusing on them to the detriment of other
important organizational behaviors, such as
innovation, creativity, and flexibility.

8. Criticisms of the Theory
• Theory has ignored the problems caused by too
many goals being assigned for task performance.
• Critics have argued that there may not be a positive,
linear relationship between goal difficulty and task
performance as advocated by the theory. If goals are
too challenging, then undesired organizational
outcomes can occur, such as unethical behavior and
unnecessary risk taking in order to accomplish goals.

9. Implications of the Theory for
Managers
• The goals are specific, measurable, and
sufficiently difficult; employees have the ability to
perform the desired task; feedback is provided
showing progress toward goal attainment; rewards
are given for goal attainment; the supervisor or
manager is supportive of the goal setting process;
and goals are accepted by employees and viewed
as important.
• Don’t set too many goals for employees, as they
tend to focus on only one or two goals at a time
and thus may overlook other goals.

10. Implications of the Theory for
Managers
• Be sure to set the right time for employees to reach
their goals.
• If you don’t specify a time frame then employees
will tend to focus on short-term goals and avoid
long-term goals.
• Be careful to stress that goal accomplishment
should only be done through ethical behaviors, and
that unethical behaviors will not be tolerated in your
organization.

11. Thankyou!