Content

I. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... 1
II. INTRODUCTION
III. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOPIC: GOAL THEORY..................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER I: ESTABLISHING GOALS, BEHAVIOR, AND PERFORMANCE. .................................. 3
CHAPTER II: ESTABLISHMENT OF GOALS AND COMMITMENT TO GOALS....................................... 4
CHAPTER III: MEASURE OF COMMITMENT TO THE GOAL........................................................................ 4
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE ON GOAL SETTING.
1.- Establishment of goals and contextual variables ........................................................................ 5
2.- Establishment of assigned versus participative goals and generalization of the response......... 6
3.- Establishment of goals and feedback. .............................................................................. 8
4.- Establishment of goals and monetary incentives ........................................................................ 9
5.- Establishment of individual goals and group goals ............................... 10
CHAPTER V: PRINCIPLES TO FOLLOW FOR SETTING GOALS
1.- Clarity. ..................................................................................................................................... 12
2.- Set challenges. .12
3.- The commitment
4.- Feedback. ..................................................................................................................... 13
5.- The complexity of the tasks. ......................................................................................................... 13
IV. CONCLUSIONS
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................... 16
 I. SUMMARY
There are several motivational approaches that lean more towards the proximate causes of
behavior towards needs and characteristics (the basic assumption is that the
people feel more motivated when their values, needs, and character align
to the workplace and organizational context that when they are not). The approaches to proximate causes of
behavior mainly focuses on the beliefs that people have about their own
performance, such as what they are trying to do, wish to do, think they can
to do, or do they really expect to do. These specific approaches are based on the assumption that the
personal beliefs about a person's future activities (and one's own interpretations)
past activities) influence their actions in the present.

This last category includes theories of goal setting, self-efficacy.

and the expectations. These theories are similar in that each concept requires people to
think and judge your future performance based on past experiences and your assessment of it
moment. Goals tend to reflect what people want to do, self-efficacy reflects what
People think they can do and the expectations reflect the "best estimate" that people have.
about the consequences of their actions.

This document reviews criteria to understand the relationship between the establishment of
goals and performance, including definitions, different measures, perspectives, approaches,
mediators and moderators, on different practical research about the establishment
of goals. Finally, this document provides the basis for research proposals
specific concerns regarding the reliability and validity of the measure and the possibility of generalization
this theory for different tasks (for example, complex tasks, difficulty of goals, jobs
novel), for various organizations (for example, independent workers,
establishment of goals in a participatory manner, cohesive groups) and for different countries
and cultures (for example, collectivism vs. individualism).

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 II. INTRODUCTION

The present monograph titled 'Goal Theory' is a research work.

held in the classrooms of the Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University.

This work collects and organizes the information from the research conducted by Locke.
(1968), who proposes meta-theory in order to explain human actions in situations of
specific tasks. The basic assumption of the theory is that the goals and intentions are
cognitive and deliberate, which serve as mediators of human actions. The two findings
Most important of this theory is that the establishment of specific goals (for example, I want
earning 500 more a month) generates higher levels of performance than setting goals
general (for example, I want to earn more money), and that goals that are difficult to achieve are
linearly and positively related to performance. The tougher the goal, the more of
a person will work to reach it. However, such influences on performance are
mediated by two conditions of votes, and that the person in question accepts the goal. Within the
Limits of our professional career will generate competitive skills that can increase.
the productivity and labor performance in future companies that we will form, by
consequently, the establishment of general and specific goals goes hand in hand with the vision and
mission that the company has set out.

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 III. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOPIC: GOAL SETTING THEORY

CHAPTER I: ESTABLISHING GOALS, BEHAVIOR AND

PERFORMANCE.

Perhaps the most commonly used definition of motivation revolves around four processes: emotion,
direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary actions that are aimed at goals.
Motivation is a concept; it cannot be directly observed and therefore must be
check as part of a broader theory where the antecedent conditions are linked
to behavioral actions. Additionally, motivation is personal and individual in terms
of its content. Each one of us is unique in terms of what excites us and the way
how we direct our behavior; and finally, motivation is directed towards a goal
(Locke & Latham, 1990a).

The discrepancies between the goals and the achievement of them can be seen as important.
determinants of emotion and the direction of behavior; importance and commitment
with the goal they are valuable for intensity and persistence. Goals encourage people to take action
a greater effort, focus attention, develop strategies and persist in the face of failure. Accept
a assigned goal or setting a goal for oneself helps to focus attention and avoid the
distractions. The goal helps to choose behaviors. Additionally, the level of the goal and the
commitment that one has with this, increases the effort employed in achieving it and the persistence
to face obstacles and failure. Therefore, goals have a direct effect on the
attention, the choice of behavior, effort and persistence, four results
key behaviors in motivation.

According to Locke (1969), the individual must have the opportunity to know their progress in their
path to the goal. But it is not enough to have specific and challenging goals, and with the possibility of

feedback. The influence of those goals on performance is moderated by others.

factors: commitment to the goal (degree of acceptance, whether the individual participated in
its fixation or because the one who assigned it is perceived as credible and trustworthy), the effectiveness
personal (that is to say, the perception that the individual has of their own ability to achieve
the goal), the type of tasks (group goals generate less enthusiasm because the results do not

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depends on the individual solely but also on the actions of others that he does not control) and culture
national (the type of values and motivations stimulated by the culture of society).

CHAPTER II: ESTABLISHING GOALS AND COMMITMENT TO

GOALS.
At the center of goal-setting theory is the idea of action with
purpose. People choose goals that are related to the satisfaction of their needs; the
aspiration and the pursuit of goals are a central part of the process of life itself. Action
Conscious and self-directed is responsible for almost everything people do; this quest incites
the motivational process (Mitchell, 1997).

Organizational research confirms this statement. People with goals work harder.
and performs better than those without goals. As long as they are accepted, difficult goals
They lead to higher levels of job performance than easy goals or the absence of goals.
Specific goals are more motivating than general goals in terms of performance.
work-related. However, for goal setting to be effective, individuals must
possess the necessary ability to carry out the tasks and be committed to achieving
the goals (Locke & Latham, 1990a).

Commitment refers to the attachment or determination to achieve a goal.

regardless of its origin Therefore it can be applied to any goal, whether self-
established, participatory or assigned. Acceptance is a type of commitment; it refers to
commitment to a goal that has been assigned (Locke, Latham & Erez, 1988).

Conceptually, commitment to the goals moderates the relationship between the difficulty of the goal.
and performance (Locke & Latham, 1990a).

CHAPTER III: MEASUREMENT OF COMMITMENT TO THE GOAL.

Locke originally formulated the hypothesis that commitment to goals moderates the
relationship between the difficulty of the goal and performance, such that a positive relationship between
difficulty and performance can only be observed among subjects committed to a goal. However,
Hollenbeck and Klein analyzed 109 goal-setting studies and pointed out that the
commitment to the goals had rarely been measured and that its hypothetical role as a moderator
it had only been verified on three occasions (Wright et al, 1994). In order to measure it,
Hollenbeck, Williams, and Klein developed a nine-point self-report to determine the

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commitment to the goals. They analyzed the validity of the concept of this self-report and demonstrated
the internal consistency of the four, seven, and nine-point versions of that measure: the
convergence with the alternate commitment measures assigned; their relationship with other concepts;
and its discriminant validity. (Wright et al, 1994). Tubbs and Dahl examined several alternative measures.
of commitment to the goals and raised serious questions regarding the usefulness of the measures
of the self-report. Tubbs argued that a measure of absolute discrepancy (for example, the
the difference between a personal goal and an assigned goal) can serve as a more valid means
to assess the commitment to the goals.

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF

GOALS.

Since 1990, several studies have been conducted on goal setting. This
The document aims to analyze various theoretical and practical documents to investigate the diverse
steps in the goal-setting process and the factors that mediate or moderate the relationship
between goal setting, behavior, and performance.

1.- Establishment of goals and contextual variables

Although it has been shown that the use of goals and the relationship between goal difficulty and
performance is ubiquitous, it is necessary to pay more attention to the context surrounding its use
goals in organizations. Researchers have suggested that the context in which it is implemented
The establishment of goals is as important as the content of the goals.

A contextual variable identified as a potential antecedent of commitment to the goal

they are situational restrictions. They are certain aspects of the work environment (e.g., lack of
time, materials, information, etc.) that act as obstacles for performance preventing
that employees can fully translate their ability and motivation into performance. The
employees faced with restrictions feel frustrated because they cannot perform well
despite having the motivation and the ability to achieve success. That feeling of frustration
nullifies its motivation by reducing the perceptions of expectations, which in turn also
they can decrease commitment to the goals.

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 Another contextual factor identified as important in goal setting is support.
from the supervisors. The support in terms of leader-member exchange (LMX), which reflects the
quality of the dual relationship between supervisors and employees; employees with ILM relationships
the best feel more committed to the success of their units than those who hold
lower degree ILM relationships, and the former are willing to dedicate more time and energy
than the last ones. From the perspective of expectancy theory, employees with better ILM
they must have higher levels of motivation because they receive more encouragement and rewards, which should

increase the perceptions of expectation and instrumentality.

After conducting a study in four branches of a retail company, Klein and Kim
(1998) found that commitment to goals was positively related to ILM and
negatively related to situational restrictions. The study also supported the
the theory that the relationship between commitment to goals and performance varies as a function of
ILM: a positive relationship was evident between commitment and performance for employees
with a high ILM, while the ratio for employees with a low ILM was almost nil. In
contrast, the study supported the theory that the relationship between commitment to goals and the
performance does not significantly vary as a function of the restrictions.

2.- Establishment of assigned versus participative goals and generalization of the

response.

The debate over whether goals should be assigned or established participatively has evolved.
calming since researchers suggested that assigned goals produce the same
effect that the established goals set in a participatory manner are "said and sold" in a manner
appropriate for the employees. However, the differences observed between the establishment of
participatory and assigned objectives are presumably due to the differences in the variables
mediators such as the difficulty of the goals, the information, and the development of strategies. For
example, in complex tasks and well-learned tasks, the established goals
participatively can be more effective than assigned goals because they can help to
reduce ambiguities and in the development of effective strategies for task execution
(Locke & Latham, 1990b).

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 The impact of goal setting has always been operationally defined as
changes observed in a specific behavior (Locke & Latham, 1990b). In the world
In reality, there are many behaviors that co-vary, correlate, or share a functional similarity.
between each other. Therefore, when the intervention in goal setting seeks to operate in a
behavior, it is possible that behaviors similar to the target behaviors,
but not directly focused by the intervention in the setting of goals are also seen
affected. If it is observed that the frequency of an unfocused behavior changes during a
intervention focused on another behavior, it is presumed that generalization has occurred
from the response. When individuals participate in goal setting, they undoubtedly
they refer to their implicit goals in order to provide opinions on the rational use of
goal setting process. Referring to implicit goals can also influence the
consideration of other functionally related behaviors. If there is a strong

previous association between behaviors not functionally related to the

goal-oriented behavior, the effect of the intervention can generalize to these
behaviors (Ludwig & Geller, 1997).

On the other hand, if an assigned goal is perceived as externally controlled, it may be

Do not activate implicit goals. Under these circumstances, it is likely that no behavior
different from the objective behavior being promoted by external consequences. The generalization
the response may not occur because of the implicit goals regarding behaviors
related but not focused are not activated (Ludwig & Geller, 1997).

According to the analysis of the experiment designed to improve driving practices of the
pizza delivery drivers, the generalization of the response occurred only at the site that received.
the participatory intervention. The results suggest that a beneficial secondary effect of the
participatory intervention was a desired change in the related behaviors not
focused, for example, on meeting the delivery time target, also being mindful of respecting
the traffic rules and not endanger their lives, while the assigned intervention could
have produced unwanted side effects on unfocused behaviors.

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 3.- Goal setting and feedback.

Employees need to know how they are doing as they progress toward achieving their goals.
Feedback sources can come from the task itself, but in many cases they come from
from a supervisor. Feedback from supervisors requires monitoring of
just like regular transmission and exchange of information. In situations where the
observations of behavior or performance are difficult to acquire, it will also be difficult to provide
timely and appropriate feedback. The establishment of goals does not work without
feedback. Although feedback is traditionally seen as information
what flows down can also flow up (i.e., subordinates qualifying the
performance of their immediate supervisor). And obviously, each person's interpretation.
(attributions) about feedback helps to impact performance.

Despite the growing popularity of upward feedback programs, there has been
I have done very little research on the effects that upward feedback has on
the changes that occur in managerial performance over time. However, the
the absence of a control group or comparison group makes it difficult to determine whether the
skill increases or if positive changes have occurred in the subsequent behavior of the bosses, such as
feedback results (Smither et al, 1995).

The most important premise about the upward feedback program is that the
managers who receive individualized feedback (i.e., grading results that are
the subordinates) over time have a greater probability of improvement in their
performance of managers who do not receive individualized feedback.
specific and individualized feedback should allow managers to determine the degree of
discrepancy between feedback and goal, and direct efforts towards change in the
behavior in areas where performance shows greater weaknesses. If the reports on
individualized feedback is a prerequisite for behavior change, then the
managers with small workgroups will be less able to benefit from a program of
upward feedback, where managers receive individualized feedback from
larger working groups. On the other hand, reports on individualized feedback

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they may not be the only source of information available to a manager about the way
how subordinates view their performance (Smither et al, 1995).

The act of introducing a formal feedback system in a work group indicates that
security that performance must be improved in the areas that have been measured. For

therefore, even managers who do not receive individualized feedback reports

They can feel motivated to improve their performance, and the 'Loafing Effect' is also eliminated.
(Locke & Latham, 1990; White, Kjelgaard & Harkins, 1995).

4.- Establishment of goals and monetary incentives

Numerous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of goal setting and of the
monetary incentives as techniques to improve motivation and therefore performance. Without
embargo, there is not much understanding of how these two techniques interact to determine the
performance.

Researchers have suggested that incentives are very likely to affect acceptance.
from the goal by an individual or their commitment to it. The study by Wright (1992)
he examined the role of monetary incentives as a determinant of commitment to goals
thus: (a) testing the mediating role of value in an incentive-commitment relationship, the incentives
they affect the commitment to goals by increasing the value of achieving the goals, and (b) examining
the mediating role of commitment to goals in the effects of the type of incentives, the level of
incentives and the target level related to performance.

The piece payment condition can show higher levels of value for all levels.
of performance because each level of performance that reaches the target level has a greater
monetary compensation. This condition could create a ceiling effect such that, with
In relation to the condition of bonus for achieving the goals, a higher level can be observed.
of value but a lower slope in value (Wright, 1992). Other results showed that
such performance-based incentives like bonuses for achieving goals, by means of
which the subjects receive a basic payment plus a bonus if they achieve the goals, produced a
greater commitment to easy goals, but less commitment to difficult ones. Therefore,

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these incentives can lead individuals to reject and not accept the goal when it is
sufficiently difficult to produce better performance. This situation could lead to the
loss of the effectiveness of the intervention in goal setting (Wright, 1992).

5.- Establishment of individual goals and group goals

Much of the work in organizations is done in groups or at least in a collaborative environment.

groups. Nevertheless, most research on organizations has focused on the
competitiveness examining the effects of changes in production processes, motivation
and performance. Most empirical research on goal setting that
Current studies on motivation have been conducted at the individual level. The
goal setting in a group context may not be generalizable
directly from individual research, as goal setting becomes more
complicated in a group. One of the main factors that differentiates the establishment of goals
in groups, the establishment of individual goals is the presence of group phenomena such as
norms, loafing, interdependence, or cohesion (i.e., cohesion leads to higher goals that
they produce better performance (Klein & Mulvey, 1995).

Although it has been found that group goals increase group performance, effectiveness
The individual goals to improve team performance have produced results.
mixed. This variance may be due to both the characteristics of the task and of the goal. A
An explanation for this variance could be the nature of the task; the degree of interdependence in
a group task is an important barrier condition regarding the establishment relationship
meta-performance of the group. Another explanation for

this variance may be that the different goal structures such as individual goals
egocentric, group-centric individual goals, or group goals, alone and in combination
they can produce different results about performance (Crown & Rosse, 1995).

The difference between independent/interdependent progression or aggregate/non-aggregate is

confusing frequency. In its simplest terms, the independent progression/
interdependent reflects the extent to which group members must work together to achieve
some tasks, while the added/not added progression relates to the aspects of the
measurement (i.e., in an aggregated task, the group's performance is measured by summing the performances

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individuals of the group members; in a non-graded task, it is required that the product of
group is greater than (or different from) the sum of the individual result due to the relationships
interdependent among group members). Therefore, unaggregated tasks require
interdependence, although it does not always have an unaggregated result (Crown & Rosse, 1995).

It stands to reason that if goals have the ability to direct attention and effort
towards group or individual performance, they also have the ability to enhance the
commitment to the dimension they refer to. Consequently, an individual goal
egocentric should improve individual commitment to maximize individual performance
(i.e., individual performance orientation ODI, while the group goal must increase
the commitment to maximize group performance (i.e., orientation towards group performance
Unfortunately, there is no clarity on the effect that these goals may have on the
performance orientation when they are given one after another. The role that individual goals play.
group-centric is also ambiguous when these goals are managed without going
accompanied by group goals. The results of the Crown & Rose study indicate that the goals.
group-centric individuals and the group goals given in combination increase performance
from the group for interdependent tasks. In fact, this combination of goals produced a
group performance 36% better than the control group and much higher than in any other
combination.

The results suggest that there is not only an overall increase in the effort employed (i.e.,
the effort put into the group goal in addition to the effort put into the goal with
individual contribution), but also that there was a multiplier effect (a spiral effect on the
effort used): The increase in the effort employed in the group's performance produced a
increase in individual contribution, followed by an increase in the effort applied in the
group performance.

The ability to stimulate the highest level of engagement for both individual performance
as a group, united with a dominant group performance orientation, is important to affect
the performance through the development of cooperative strategies (Crown & Rose, 1995).

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 Additionally, the stronger relationships between the goal variables and cohesion
They suggest that cohesion can be highly effective in helping groups set goals.
difficult and continue to feel committed to those goals (Klein & Mulvey, 1995).

Doerr et al (1996) found that group goals produced greater effort and also
more productivity than individual targets both in pull production lines (pull) - where
workers pass on the work when the next worker is ready—, or lines of
push production (to push) - where workers pass the work as soon as it is
finished—. It is possible that the tasks in the experimental lines were somewhat interdependent,
regardless of the material flow policy used, and therefore the group goals
were more effective in terms of motivation through policies. Alternatively, the
interactive behaviors or performance monitoring, which is encouraged by group goals,
they promote effort and productivity over relatively independent tasks just like
about interdependent tasks. Another finding in this experiment is that job satisfaction was
When the group goal was used with a pulling policy, or when a goal was used.
individual in a push policy (Doerr et al., 1996).

CHAPTER V: PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD BE FOLLOWED TO SET GOALS

1.- Clarity.

Whatever goal you set for yourself, it is essential that it is specific. Very general goals you
They will lead to losing the true purpose and you will end up with little motivation to continue. Likewise
It is essential to establish from the beginning what is sought to be achieved in order not to deviate, since
this could waste your time and effort.

2.- Set challenges.

As a general rule, the more difficult your goal is, the greater the satisfaction you will have.
after completing it - It is important that you add challenges, this will become a decisive factor in
long-term projects where you will need to perceive benefits to remain interested. For
On the other hand, we must be realistic and abandon those very complex goals that we know we cannot achieve.

to fulfill, since instead of profits, we will incur losses.

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 3.- The commitment.

This step is the most obvious; if you have chosen a goal for yourself, then automatically
you should be committed to her - unless you were forced to participate, then it will be
hard to feel motivated to be responsible and consistent.

Often in companies, there will be activities that will not be to the liking of the workers.
This will lead to complaints that will eventually result in poor performance. To avoid this
scenario, it is important that you do not force your work team. It is essential that you maintain a
friendly tone, listen to their opinions, and discuss the activities until it has been reached.
to a mutual agreement, at that moment, your workers will be genuinely committed
and its productivity will be maintained—or in some cases—increased.

4.- Feedback.

One of the most significant elements to consider in task delegation is

feedback. Make your employees feel recognized for their efforts, if you succeed
fulfilling a feeling of appreciation and value, you will be rewarded by them with
positive results. On the other hand, it is important that you are honest and provide guidance when
the performance decreases – this will help them improve.

5.- The complexity of the tasks.

Sometimes tasks can become very complex and paralyze you. To avoid this,
It is better not to think of your goal as a whole; break down what you propose into categories.
as if they were individual goals. This will help you get organized and keep your spirits up.

Take into consideration that your work team may need additional training.
To meet certain objectives - It is essential that you provide support to avoid poor performance.
At the same time, you will be promoting an appropriate organizational culture.

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 IV. CONCLUSIONS
As administrators, we must take the following into account:

The establishment of goals is a motivating role of specific goals in the

behavior of people.
In order for our goals to serve as motivation incentives, the tasks that we...
let's propose that they must have a certain degree of difficulty; that is to say, they must be specific, clear

possible to achieve them.

In every organization there must be feedback; that is, the administrator must have
consideration in the delegation of tasks to your collaborators.
The goal-setting theory suggests that goals are associated with a
improved performance as they mobilize effort, direct attention, and stimulate
persistence and the development of strategies. Although research on the
The effects of group goals have not been as extensive as those of the effects on
individual goals, various studies have been conducted on these aspects and it has been
found that group goals had positive results on performance of the
group. Although this information is useful, these findings need to be expanded through
from further research.
According to the theory of individual goal setting, goals are effective.
they indicate the level of performance that is acceptable. Specific goals are critical.
for the purpose of the individual goal because they establish a minimum level of performance
acceptable; on the other hand, ambiguous goals do not clarify the level of performance
suitable or indicate to individuals that there is an acceptable range of levels of
performance.
The group context is also another important stimulus for effort and
persistence. For example, the cohesion of a group can influence performance.
group, where members of cohesive groups are more likely to
participate in coordinated behavior patterns.
Members of cohesive groups working towards an easy goal can, therefore,
therefore, to exert an effort that goes beyond their expected individual contributions
to maintain goodwill within the group. If several members do it,

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Even easy goals can be associated with high group performance.
Additionally, if they believe that their contributions are not identifiable, they can
exert little effort on behalf of a group (loafing effect). If several members adopt
this same behavior, even difficult goals can be associated with a low
group performance.

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 V. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Betancur, J. (2010). Job satisfaction level of the workers of the Colombian league
against cancer sectional Risaralda. (Undergraduate thesis). Technological University of
Pereira, Pereira, Colombia.

Unable to access external links or documents.

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