There is a significant difference between goals set while studying at a University to those you might set, or have set for you by somebody else, when working. Don’t get me wrong, the ultimate goal is ‘success’, but the ramifications of failure change greatly for obvious reasons. Failure during your education could mean you can repeat the year with a slight loss of face. Failure in your career, or the job you had at the time, could mean being unemployed and having no income. If you’re still living at home with the parents and in your first job, the position is not desperate. However, if you are married and maybe supporting a family, no income has more serious consequences.
The reason for the above explanation is to show that there can be different drivers for achieving set goals and the degree of motivation can vary accordingly. After attending school for 12 years and finally being successful in attaining a university position you have achieved a long term goal, that’s for sure. But whose goal was that? It would be fair to say that most of the drive came from your parents and the remainder from your peers. Once at university, the goal is to graduate in the career field of the major you have chosen, but most of the drive now, is up to you. Along the way you need to set short term goals the sum of which will get you to the final objective – graduation.
The results of my survey seem to show a slight lack of motivation, or a less than tigerish application, to the short term accomplishments and final goal. There is no external push from lecturers and instructors in the form of goal setting. They have to be your own. The professors set goals in the form of projects and papers that have to be completed and submitted. Simply, you have to do them to pass. There is a long term goal there and that is to obtain employment with a company working in the field of my studies.
It would be preferable to find employment with a company that operates on the philosophy of Management by Objectives. This management style means that employer and employee can agree to a set of achievable goals that can be completed in an agreed timeframe. The manager can then measure performance against the set objectives. Drucker (1954) stated that “management should avoid getting so involved in their day to day activities that they forget their main purpose or objective.” The equivalent to MOB in a university might be something like a Learning Agreement.
While it’s true that the amount of money you make while working is an important factor, surveys such as the recent (2015) Peoplepulse one: How Important is Salary to Job Satisfaction? indicated that 63% of employees would not leave their job if they won $10 million in the lottery!
Personal achievements from goal setting in both your personal and working life are good indicators that you are self-driven enough to be successful in your career and your relationships. My personal survey results seem to be a sign that a little more mental push would not go astray in helping me achieve study goals. It’s probably a really smart thing to write down your goals as well so they are there in front of you as a constant reminder.
Drucker, P. (1954). The Practice of Management. Retrieved from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_smart_management_by_objectives.html
PeoplePulse Survey. (2015). How Important is Salary to Job Satisfaction? Retrieved from http://www.peoplepulse.com/how-important-is-salary-to-job-satisfaction/
what about you?
Listed below is a set of statements that may or may not describe the job or school objectives toward which you are presently working. Please read each statement carefully and rate each on a scale from 1 (agree completely) to 7 (disagree completely) to describe your level of agreement or disagreement with the statement. Please answer all questions.
4 1. I am allowed a high degree of influence in the determination of my work/school objectives.
4 2. I should not have too much difficulty in reaching my work/school objectives; they appear to be fairly easy.
4 3. I receive a considerable amount of feedback concerning my quantity of output on the job/in school.
3 4. Most of my coworkers and peers try to outperform one another on their assigned work/school goals.
2 5. My work/school objectives are very clear and specific; I know exactly what my job/assignment is.
2 6. My work/school objectives will require a great deal of effort from me to complete them.
6 7. I really have little voice in the formulation of my work/school objectives.
1 8. I am provided with a great deal of feedback and guidance on the quality of my work.
7 9. I think my work/school objectives are ambiguous and unclear.
3 10. It will take a high degree of skill and know-how on my part to attain fully my work/school objectives.
4 11. The setting of my work/school goals is pretty much under my own control.
6 12. My boss/instructors seldom let(s) me know how well I am doing on my work toward my work/school objectives.
4 13. A very competitive atmosphere exists among my peers and me with regard to attaining our respective work/school goals; we all want to do better than anyone else in attaining our goals.
2 14. I understand fully which of my work/school objectives are more important than others; I have a clear sense of priorities on these goals.
6 15. My work/school objectives are quite difficult to attain.
1 16. My supervisor/instructors usually ask(s) for my opinions and thoughts when determining my work/school objectives.
Scoring:
Place your response (1 through 7) in the space provided. For questions 7, 12, 9, and 2, subtract your response from 8 to determine your adjusted score. For each scale (e.g., participation in goal setting), add the responses and divide by the number of questions in the scale.
Participation in Goal Setting:
Question 1 4
Question 7 (8 – 6) = 2
Question 11 4
Question 16 1
Total divided by 4 = 2.75
Feedback on Goal Effort:
Question 3 4
Question 8 1
Question 12 (8 – 6) = 2
Total divided by 3 = 2.3
Peer Competition:
Question 4 3
Question 13 4
Total divided by 2 = 3.5
Goal Specificity:
Question 5 2
Question 9 (8 – 7) = 1
Question 14 2
Total divided by 3 = 1.66
Goal Difficulty:
Question 2 (8 – 4) = 4
Question 6 2
Question 10 3
Question 15 6
Total divided by 4 = 3.75
Interpreting your average scale scores: 6 or 7 is very high on this task–goal attribute. 4 is a moderate level on this task–goal attribute. 1 or 2 is very low on this task–goal attribute.
SOURCE: Adapted from R. M. Steers, “Factors Affecting Job Attitudes in a Goal-Setting Environment,” Academy of Management Journal 19 (1976): 9. Permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
