Goal Setting Parameters
Humans are curious and restless creatures. They are always
found incubating some desire, running towards some destination or chasing a
dream. That desire, destination or dream is their 'goal'.
Importance of Goal Setting Parameters
Goal setting parameters involve
establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time
bound (SMART) goals.
On
a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives
- most commonly with financial or career-based goals.
Setting goals
affects outcomes in four ways:
1.
Choice: Goals narrow attention and direct efforts to
goal-relevant activities, and away from perceived undesirable and
goal-irrelevant actions.
2.
Effort: Goals can lead to more effort; for example, if one
typically produces 4 widgets an hour, and has the goal of producing 6, one may
work more intensely towards the goal than one would otherwise.
3.
Persistence: Someone becomes more prone to work through
setbacks if pursuing a goal.
4.
Cognition: Goals can lead individuals to develop and change
their behavior.
Tower Building Exercise
We
assembled in our classes one day to attend the usual POM lecture by Dr. Mandi
and we were soon told that we would be doing a ‘tower building exercise’. The goal of the exercise was to build a tower
of 50 cubes with eyes blindfolded. Histoirical achievement was given as 27
cubes.
Step 1: The height of tower was arrived at after deliberations and agreement by the whole class.
Step 2: The goal was evaluated to determine its SMART characteristics and the following observations were made:
Specific: A tower of cubes was to be built with eyes blindfolded.
Measurable: Height of tower could be measured in terms of number of cubes.
Achievable: A similar tower of 27 cubes was built earlier.
Realistic: The blindfolded person would be verbally instructed by another person during the course of whole exercise.
Time bound: The tower was to be built by during the class itself.
Step 3: Tthree volunteers from the class was invited to perform the task and each team member assumed a different role, namely:
The Worker: One who would be blindfolded and would undertake the task of placing cubes one upon the other. He would simply be a follower with no authority of decision making.
The Supervisor: He would give verbal instructions to the worker and would be responsible for each right and wrong move the worker makes.
The Manager: He would plan, organize, lead and control the whole exercise. He would have the final authority in decision making
Step 1: The height of tower was arrived at after deliberations and agreement by the whole class.
Step 2: The goal was evaluated to determine its SMART characteristics and the following observations were made:
Specific: A tower of cubes was to be built with eyes blindfolded.
Measurable: Height of tower could be measured in terms of number of cubes.
Achievable: A similar tower of 27 cubes was built earlier.
Realistic: The blindfolded person would be verbally instructed by another person during the course of whole exercise.
Time bound: The tower was to be built by during the class itself.
Step 3: Tthree volunteers from the class was invited to perform the task and each team member assumed a different role, namely:
The Worker: One who would be blindfolded and would undertake the task of placing cubes one upon the other. He would simply be a follower with no authority of decision making.
The Supervisor: He would give verbal instructions to the worker and would be responsible for each right and wrong move the worker makes.
The Manager: He would plan, organize, lead and control the whole exercise. He would have the final authority in decision making
Step 4: Although the team tried its level best, but they were not able to build a tower with 50 cubes although they still managed 28 and beat the historical record. The task was however, properly managed with the supervisor running the whole show and direting his team members to keep patience even though things were not going their way.
My Learnings
Through tower building exercise, we saw that how a seemingly difficult task was undertaken in a managed and structured manner and the . The goal setting parameters help us in accessing the nature of goal and the course of action to be taken.
We also learnt about how to establish a relationship between Goal set, Potential, Goal achieved and Goal (History). i.e. Goal set > Potential > Goal achieved > Goal History.
PYGMALION EFFECT:
Through tower building exercise, we saw that how a seemingly difficult task was undertaken in a managed and structured manner and the . The goal setting parameters help us in accessing the nature of goal and the course of action to be taken.
We also learnt about how to establish a relationship between Goal set, Potential, Goal achieved and Goal (History). i.e. Goal set > Potential > Goal achieved > Goal History.
PYGMALION EFFECT:
The Pygmalion effect was described by J. Sterling Livingston in
the September/October, 1988 ‘Harvard
Business Review’. "The way managers treat their subordinates is
subtly influenced by what they expect of them," Livingston said in his
article,’Pygmalion in Management’.
The Pygmalion effect enables staff to excel in
response to the manager’s message that they are capable of success and expected
to succeed. The Pygmalion effect can also undermine staff performance when the
subtle communication from the manager tells them the opposite. These cues are
often subtle. As an example, the supervisor fails to praise a staff person's performance
as frequently as he praises others. The supervisor talks less to a particular
employee.
Livingston went on to say about the supervisor, "If he is unskilled, he leaves scars on the careers of the young men (and women), cuts deeply into their self-esteem and distorts their image of themselves as human beings. But if he is skillful and has high expectations of his subordinates, their self-confidence will grow, their capabilities will develop and their productivity will be high. More often than he realizes, the manager is Pygmalion."
Can you imagine how performance will improve if your supervisors communicate positive thoughts about people to people? If the supervisor actually believes that every employee has the ability to make a positive contribution at work, the telegraphing of that message, either consciously or unconsciously, will positively affect employee performance.
And, the effect of the supervisor gets even better than this. When the supervisor holds positive expectations about people, she helps individuals improve their self-concept and thus, self-esteem. People believe they can succeed and contribute and their performance rises to the level of their own expectations.
Livingston went on to say about the supervisor, "If he is unskilled, he leaves scars on the careers of the young men (and women), cuts deeply into their self-esteem and distorts their image of themselves as human beings. But if he is skillful and has high expectations of his subordinates, their self-confidence will grow, their capabilities will develop and their productivity will be high. More often than he realizes, the manager is Pygmalion."
Can you imagine how performance will improve if your supervisors communicate positive thoughts about people to people? If the supervisor actually believes that every employee has the ability to make a positive contribution at work, the telegraphing of that message, either consciously or unconsciously, will positively affect employee performance.
And, the effect of the supervisor gets even better than this. When the supervisor holds positive expectations about people, she helps individuals improve their self-concept and thus, self-esteem. People believe they can succeed and contribute and their performance rises to the level of their own expectations.
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