Objective Goal Setting

We often set goals and make various plans but never follow through with them. The reason for this can be attributed to ones inability to effectively set goals and specify implementation intentions. Without a specifically defined goal and a plan to guide our goal directed behaviour, individuals are often confronted with the grim reality that they have failed to achieve their set objective. Effective goal setting entails firstly identifying the objective to be accomplished, defining goal difficulty, clarifying goal specificity and finally specifying how and when performance will be measured. Individuals that disregard these steps often fail to act on their set goals and thus, fail to accomplish their main objective. The first step in

I agree with the theory behind the assumption that goal difficulty is proportioned to performance and the more difficult the goal the more likely it will be achieved. However, in my opinion, goal difficulty is conflicting in itself as it depends on the goal itself as well as the individual. For example in terms of losing weight, an easy goal of five push ups every day can become very monotonous and therefore not very motivating. This clearly outlines the need for a difficult goal as pertinent to the goal itself and the situation. Reading eight pages of a textbook a day compared to a chapter although easier may in fact, actually be difficult depending on the individual’s competence as well as the subject material. In essence, with respect to defining goal difficulty, other interacting variables come into play and are ought to be considered. Finally, I agreed with establishing implementation intentions and not simply setting goals. Setting a goal is one thing but acting on it is another. Goal attainment is often disrupted when individuals set goals but never actually get started on it or goal directed behavior stops after some interruption. Most people have a goal of getting in shape for the new year but many never even start this goal and make it to the gym. Others start but do not plan ahead for interruptions that may hinder their behavior such as carnival. The disruption of the two days leads many people to

Their aim was to assess the effectiveness of the theory itself. Within the review many studies replicated findings, indicating support for the theory and thus, its usefulness in an organizational setting. Mainly, specific and difficult goals were found to influence goal attainment and improvements in productivity. Zander and Newcomb (1967) examined the effects of goal setting at an organization and found a significant relationship between difficulty of the goal and performance improvement. Blumenfeld and Leidy (1969) evaluated the effects of goal difficulty in a program designed to motivate salesmen and servicemen to adjust vending machines. Employees assigned hard goals checked more machines than those assigned easy goals. Another study by Gollwitzer and Brandstatter (1997) assessed the effectiveness of implementation intentions and found that implementation intentions significantly improved goal attainment. Participants were asked to complete an essay describing how their christmas eve was spent over their christmas break (difficult goal). The experimental condition made implementation intentions while the control group did not. Participants in the experimental group were made to pick a specific point in time and place to begin writing. Seventy-one percent of the participants with implementation intentions completed the goal compared to thirty-two percent in the