[Solution] Goal Setting and Planning
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Author: Sarah Bennett
Planning, Setting Goals, and Overcoming Barriers
Life does not always go according to plan, and goals that seemed like a good idea when they were formulated may later seem inadvisable. Managers need to be able to adapt to challenges and reevaluate goals when needed. They also need to firmly connect plans to the goals to be achieved.
Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning
Following are some of the most common challenges that managers encounter in the goal-setting and planning processes:
- Inappropriate goals: Managers may set goals that are unrealistic or which conflict with other, more important goals.
- Poorly designed reward system: Rewards may be misaligned with goals. Also, managers may be incentivized to set too-easy goals instead of challenging ones, or short-term goals at the expense of long-term achievement.
- Dynamic and complex environment: The environment can make planning for the future very difficult so that goals tend to become obsolete quickly.
- Manager reluctance: Managers may avoid setting goals—especially challenging goals— because of fear of failure.
- Resistance to change: Goals and plans inherently involve changing the organization in some way, and resistance is a common human reaction.
Overcoming Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning
Organizations can employ various strategies to overcome barriers to effective planning and goal setting:
- Ensuring manager participation in the goal-setting process
- Communicating the benefits of setting and achieving goals
- Regularly updating goals and plans to keep them relevant
- Aligning reward systems with goal achievement
Using Goals to Drive Planning
Management by Objectives (MBO) is one systematic approach that connects goals to planning and performance evaluation.
Management by Objectives (MBO) Process
Top management establishes overall objectives
Managers work with employees to set department-level goals
Develop specific plans to achieve goals
Regular assessment of progress toward goals
Evaluate achievement of objectives
Select the correct response(s) to the following questions. For each question, check all that apply.
Which of the following are common barriers to planning and goal setting? Check all that apply.
- There are not enough resources to meet the goals
- The language used in goal setting is not easily understood by managers.
- Managers are afraid they will not meet the goals.
- Rewards are not aligned with goals.
View Explanation
Barriers that managers often encounter when setting goals and making plans include these:
- Rewards encourage setting easy goals or short-term goals.
- Managers are afraid to set challenging goals that they might not meet.
- Resources are needed to carry out plans and achieve goals, and resources are almost always limited.
Some management theories are often expressed in language that is hard for laypeople to understand, but goal setting and planning are understood and performed by managers at all levels across most organizations.
Which of the following are ways to overcome the difficulties of planning and goal setting? Check all that apply.
- Update goals and plans so they stay relevant when the environment changes.
- Invite managers to participate in making goals and plans.
- Ensure that managers understand the benefits of goals and plans.
- Give the organization in a centralized, hierarchical structure.
View Explanation
There are a number of ways to facilitate goal setting and planning. These include:
- Communicating the benefits of goals and plans for both the organization and managers
- Having managers participate in the process of making goals and plans so the managers understand and feel ownership of them
- Making sure the goals and plans are effective, which includes updating them so they stay relevant
Goal setting and planning happens somewhat differently but can be done equally well (or poorly) in centralized, hierarchical organizations and decentralized, flat organizations.
Which of the following are benefits of management by objectives (MBO)? Check all that apply.
- Less competition for resources among managers
- Greater productivity due to more specialized jobs
- More systematic goal setting
- More objective performance evaluation
View Explanation
MBO is a collaborative process that gives managers at all levels a voice in formulating goals and plans. Due to its systematic nature, goals tend to be well aligned across the organization, and because of the emphasis on measurable outcomes, performance evaluation tends to be objective.
Resources are always limited, so while MBO can provide a mechanism for allocating resources in the best interest of the organization, it does not reduce competition for resources. Designing more specialized jobs is a product of scientific management theory and does not relate to MBO.
When management by objectives (MBO) is not successful, what are some common reasons for the failure? Check all that apply.
- Qualitative goals are not included.
- Goal setting is unsystematic, resulting in misalignment.
- The record keeping is too burdensome.
- Top management does not support the process.
View Explanation
MBO relies on the participation of managers from top to bottom. If top managers hand off the process to subordinates, the critical linkage to overall strategy is lost, as well as the sponsorship and coordination that can only come from the highest levels. Another problem of MBO is its emphasis on clearly measurable outcomes, which leads to setting quantitative goals at the expense of qualitative ones.
An advantage of MBO is its highly systematic approach to goal setting and planning, which promotes alignment across the organization.
