The learning contract aim
By the end of Week 9, I will be able to define what is important to me, formulate effective goals and make progress towards achievement of my personal and professional goals. This will be essential because effective goal setting is crucial for individuals and organizations to achieve success. The main benefits of effective goal setting include the enhanced morale and self-esteem, choice of precise purposes, improved motivation and productivity.
Spending substantial amount of time working, people may lose their way and fail to set the priorities. Lacking particular goals, individuals cannot concentrate their efforts and adopt an appropriate decision-making model. Rauch (2006) stated that the two main categories facilitate people’s commitment to the achievement of their goals, including the perceived importance of these goals and their belief tat they are able to achieve specific goals.
The rationale
I chose goal setting as my skill because the improvement of this skill will have a number of advantages for my personal and professional development. The goal setting will help me to set the priorities and facilitated more effective decision making. Additionally, goal setting can be helpful for enhancing my confidence in navigating the map of my life (Rose, 2008). Furthermore, goal setting techniques will help me to plan my time and concentrate my efforts on particular tasks to enhance my performance and achieve better results. The development of this skill can become an important stage in my self-improvement program.
Improved goal setting skills are vital to planning my own activities and understanding the value of effective planning. Moreover, goal setting skills are valuable because they will allow me to manage other people more effectively. Within organizational context, goal setting is vital for ensuring the efficacy of the organizational processes and increasing the performance of the personnel. It can be explained with the value of formulating the effective goals and accompanying them with appropriate objectives and/or an action plan. Effective goal setting strategies can solve the problem of the lack of time and improve self-discipline, not to mention the improved organization of the working process (Blankson, 2008).
Regarding the professional activities of managers, effective goal setting is vital for a number of reasons. A manager who has profound skills of goal setting can appropriately plan not only his/her own activities, but also the tasks of the subordinate employees.
Additionally, becoming a superior performer as a result of effective goal setting, a manager would be able to become a leader and gain the necessary respect of the employees. Therefore, improved goal setting techniques and corresponding action plans will allow me to become a successful manager, able to take the responsibility for the outcomes of my own work and the performance of others (Rouillard, 2003).
Goal setting is important in more than one way. Goal setting is important for the organization as it is for me. The effective goal setting starts on the personal level (Schwartz, 2006). An organization is able to raise its morale and esteem through effective goal setting. The different sections and or individuals that make up an institution also receive purpose and direction through the effective goal setting processes.
Motivation levels in different institutions are also dependent on the quality of goal setting. Through motivation, the productivity levels in an organization are increased. Productivity is directly related to the effectiveness level of the goal setting process. The key behaviors in the goal setting process should be positive, persistent, taking full responsibility for ones actions, and being realistic throughout the entire process.
Pre-test and post-test measures
The measures for improving goals setting skills include identification of life and professional priorities, formulating effective goals and action plan for achieving them and critical analysis of the goals and strategies chosen for reaching them. Analyzing the goals, I will need to answer the questions if these goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) (Ferrell & Ferrell, 2009). This abbreviation is significant for guiding my critical analysis and evaluating the effectiveness of particular goals and improving the detected drawbacks if any. Consequently, I will need to start from the analysis of my personal priorities.
Action plan
In Week 1, I plan to define my priorities regarding my personal development and professional setting. I will accomplish this task by evaluating the effectiveness and consistency of my daily activities. Additionally, I will analyze the mission of the company I work at to define the business priorities before formulating the goals.
In Week 2, I plan to formulate goals for my personal life and professional setting. Then, I will develop appropriate action plan that would be effective for achieving the selected goals.
In Weeks 3-9, I plan to focus on critical analysis of my goals and action plan. I will do this by applying the abbreviation SMART to my analysis to answer the questions whether my goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Additionally, I will evaluate the progress I will make towards the achievement of those goals. Along with conducting my own analysis, I will need to receive feedbacks from my employees regarding their opinions on the effectiveness and consistency of their activities. The critical analysis will be helpful for detecting weaknesses in my goals and improving them if it is necessary.
Reference List
Blankson, S. (2008). Planning and goal setting for personal success. New York: Lulu Press Incorporated.
Ferrell, O.C., & Ferrell, L. (2009). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Ohio: Cengage Learning.
Rauch, C. (2006). The goal-setting theory: A short discussion. Berlin: Books on Demand.
Rose, S. (2008). Radical goal setting: the science of turning your dreams into reality. Bloomingtin, IN: iUniverse.
Rouillard, L. (2003). Goals and goal setting: Achieving measured objectives. New York: Crisp Publishing.
Schwartz, A. (2006). Goal setting: Target your achievement. Waverley, MA: Schwarz and Associates Publishing.