Goal Setting Theory: What It Implies for Strategic Human Resource Development

Year 2015, Volume: 1 Issue: 3, 39 - 46, 01.11.2015

Ömer Avcı

Abstract

Among numerous motivational theories, goal setting theory particularly can serve strategic human resource development practices. The goal-setting theory suggests that organizational goals have to be communicated clearly and the goals need to be specific enough. Another feature of goal-setting is that they need not be too easy or perceived to be impossible to fulfill. SHRD personnel should keep in mind that some employees prefer to work individually toward fulfilling a goal, while others prefer to work in groups. Depending on the nature of the task, employee group or individual work preference should be in accord with the goals. Employee self-efficacy perceptions, too, play a role in identifying appropriate goals. People with high self-efficacies, could find a particular goal to be challenging, and thus, feel more motivated to achieve, or too easy and thus, lose spirit. Another important aspect of goal-setting theory is the employee setting examples for their colleagues. Constructive feedback from supervisors also helps employees achieve the set goals better. Last, but not least, the cultural diversity of the current workplace requires HRD personnel to be sensitive toward the needs of the diverse employees

Keywords

Goal-setting Theory, Strategic Human Resource Development

References

• Amano, T. (1999). Performance management. In D. G. Langdon, K. S. Whiteside, & M.M. McKenna (Eds), Intervention resource guide: 50 performance improvement tools (pp. 293-302). San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
• Clark. R. E. (1999) Motivation systems. In D. G. Langdon, K. S. Whiteside, & M.M. McKenna (Eds), Intervention resource guide: 50 performance improvement tools (pp. 227-237). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Ivancevich, J. M. (1977). Different goal setting treatments and their effects on performance and job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 20/3, 406-419.
• Latham, G. P. & Budworth, M. (2007). The study of work motivation in the 20th century. In L. L. Koppes (Ed), Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 353-382). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Latham, G. P. & Locke, E. A. (1991). Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50/2, 212- 247.
• Latham, G. P. & Steele, T. P. (1983). The motivational effects of participation versus goal setting on performance. Academy of Management Journal, 26/3, 406-417.
• Latham, G. P. & Yukl, G. A. (1975). A review of research on the application of goals setting in organizations. Academy of Management Journal,18/4, 824-845.
• Locke, E. A. (1978). The ubiquity of the technique of goal setting in theories of and approaches to employee motivation. The Academy of Management Review, 3/3, 594-601.
• Locke, E. A. & Latham, G.P. (1984). Goal setting: A motivational technique that works. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• McCracken, M. & Wallece, M. (2000). Towards a redefinition of strategic hrd. Journal of European industrial training, 24/5, 281-290.
• O’Leary-Kelly, A. M., Martocchio, J. J., & Frink, D. D. (1994). A review of the influence of group goals on group performance. Academy of Management Journal, 37/5, 1285-1301.
• Silverthorne, C. P. (2005). Organizational psychology in cross-cultural perspective. New York: New York University Press.
• Smither, R. D. (1998). The psychology of work and human performance. New York: Longman.
• Spector, P. E. (2000). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Yearta, S. K., Maitlis, S. & Briner, R. B. (1995). An exploratory study of goal setting in theory and practice: A motivational technique that works? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 68, 237-252.