ABSTRACT

One of the most influential research areas in organizational behavior during the past forty years has been the investigation of goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990, 2002). This research has shown, in both field and laboratory settings, across multiple tasks and contexts, that people work harder and persist longer to achieve a specific difficult goal relative to a vague or easy goal, such as “do your best.” (Locke and Latham (2006) conclude: “So long as a person is committed to the goal, has the requisite ability to attain it, and does not have conflicting goals, there is a positive, linear relationship between goal difficulty and task performance.” Moreover, goal setting has become a frequently used motivational tool for professional managers who have access to a variety of websites, consultants, and computer programs. However, goal setting is not a magic motivational bullet and this extensive organizational use of goal setting has led to calls for restraint due to evidence of negative outcomes (Ordóñez et al., 2009a, 2009b; Schweitzer, Ordóñez, & Douma, 2004).