An Experimental Inquiry about the Additive Effects of Assigned and Primed Goals and Their Interaction with Performance Feedback

Abstract

Goal setting and performance feedback are two important tools used to improve organizational effectiveness. The roles of these two variables in improving job/task performance have been investigated by numerous studies; however, there are still questions that need to be answered. The current study aims to investigate the effects of goal setting and performance feedback on a creativity task. The study hypotheses were tested using a 4 (assigned goal, primed goal, a combination of assigned and primed goals, and no goal) X 2 (performance feedback and no performance feedback) experimental design. The primed goal was manipulated with achievement suggesting photos. Task performance was measured twice, following Trial 1 and Trial 2. The difference between Trial 1 and Trial 2 performance scores was used as the dependent variable. The participants were 294 undergraduate students. The results showed significant goal setting and performance feedback main effects and a marginally significant interaction effect. The assigned goal and performance feedback improved performance more than did no goal and no-feedback conditions, respectively. However, the performance-enhancing effects of primed goals and the combination of assigned and primed goals were not more than simple practice effects. Regarding the marginally significant interaction, findings indicated that performance feedback is critical only when there is no goal in the system. The results did not support our expectation that using goal and performance feedback together would lead to the highest performance improvement. Consequently, this study is believed to have important implications as it yielded counterevidence concerning the expected effect of primed goals, additive effects of primed goals over assigned goals and complementary effects of goals and performance feedback in improving performance.

Keywords

• Assigned goal,primed goal,performance feedback,performance improvement,human resources management

Atanmış ve Uyandırılmış Hedeflerin İlave Etkileri ve Performans Geribildirimi ile Etkileşimleri Üzerine Deneysel Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Hedef belirleme ve performans geribildirimi, örgütsel etkililiği artırmak için kullanılan iki önemli araç olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bu iki değişkenin iş/görev performansını artırmadaki rolü çok sayıda çalışma tarafından araştırılmıştır; ancak bu konuda hala cevaplanması gereken sorular bulunmaktadır. Mevcut çalışma temel olarak hedef belirleme ve performans geribildiriminin bir yaratıcılık görevi üzerindeki etkisini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma hipotezleri, 4 (atanmış hedef, uyandırılmış hedef, atanmış ve uyandırılmış hedef bir arada ve hedef yok) X 2 (performans geribildirimi ve performans geribildirimi yok) deneysel deseni kullanılarak test edilmiştir. Hedef uyandırma, başarı duygusu ima eden fotoğraflar kullanılması yoluyla yapılmıştır. Görev performansı, Ölçüm 1 ve Ölçüm 2 olmak üzere iki kez ölçülmüştür. Ölçüm 1 ve Ölçüm 2 performans değerleri arasındaki fark bağımlı değişken olarak ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın katılımcıları 294 lisans öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Bulgular, anlamlı düzeyde hedef belirleme ve performans geribildirimi temel etkileri ile marjinal düzeyde anlamlı etkileşim etkisine işaret etmiştir. Atanmış hedef ve performans geribildirimi, görev performansını sırasıyla hedef ve geribildirim olmayan koşullardan daha fazla yükseltmiştir. Ancak, uyandırılmış hedef ile uyandırılmış ve atanmış hedeflerin bir arada sağlandığı koşulların performans artırıcı etkilerinin basit uygulama etkisinin ötesine geçemediği görülmüştür. Marjinal düzeyde anlamlı bulunan hedef belirleme ve geribildirim etkileşimine dair bulgular, performans geribildiriminin sadece sistemde hedef belirleme olmadığında kritik olduğunu göstermiştir. Bulgular, hedef belirleme ve performans geribildirimlerini birlikte kullanmanın en yüksek performans artışını sağlayacağı yönündeki beklentimizi desteklememiştir. Sonuç olarak mevcut çalışma görev performansı artırılmasında, uyandırılmış hedefler, uyandırılmış hedefler ile atanmış hedeflerin bir arada sağlanması ve hedef belirleme ile performans geribildiriminin tamamlayıcı etkileri konusunda karşı kanıt sunması bakımından alanyazına katkı sağlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Atanmış hedef,uyandırılmış hedef,performans artışı,insan kaynakları yönetimi

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