Moreover, monitoring the stages of attainment of goal is also crucial for imparting motivation. While an employee is not attaining timely and accurate feedback on performance it is quite difficult in assessing the behaviors for continuance in the direction of achieving the goals in subsequently. It is again pertinent to note that goals themselves are not reinforcing. The motivation is perceived to have resulted from the discontentment of what is accomplished and what was set earlier for accomplishment. Such shortfalls imbibe people to work harder for achieving better pursuits subsequently. (Goal Setting Theory)
The importance of the goal setting theory stems from its focus on motivation in work fronts and on the core characteristics of a successful and effective goal or aim. The performance of the workers or employees are based upon the features or characteristics of goal set such as levels of precise specificity and difficulty; influence of the goals on individual, group and organizational levels; the appropriate or right application of learning as against the background of performance goals or objectives; mediators or middle-players of goal consequences; the moderators of the goal effects or consequences of goals made; etc. The social cognitive theory and the research that stands behind it are basically concentrated on the levels of self-efficacy, its measurement, causes and consequences on individuals, groups and societal levels in a wide-range of domains or arenas. The influence of goal setting theory is considered reliable and more or less perfect. However the deficiencies in reproducing them are considered to be the consequences of errors. To sum up in the words of C. Lee & Earley, Miner,...
(Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey)
References
Big Dog's Leadership Page - Human Behavior. May 17, 2000. Retrieved at http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadhb.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
ERG Theory. Retrieved at http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/ERG_Theory.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
ERG Theory. Retrieved at http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/erg/. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Goal Setting Theory. Retrieved at http://www.siop.org/Instruct/Motivate/sld007.htm. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Locke, Edwin. A; Latham, Gary. P. Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey. Retrieved at http://faculty.washington.edu/~janegf/goalsetting.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Motivation in Organizations. Retrieved at http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/~ccroft/em333/lecl.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Ratzburg, Wilf. H. Alderfer's ERG Theory. Retrieved at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1650/htmlalderfer.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Theories of Motivation. Retrieved at http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/motivation.htm. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Work Motivation. Retrieved at http://www.albany.edu/psy/courses/341/iyer/lect/mar28.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
Zillmann, Michelle. 2000. Motivation. Retrieved at http://academic.emporia.edu/smithwil/00fallmg443/eja/zilllman.html. Accessed on 10 February, 2005
