Performance Goals and their Importance
Since they foretell how a given work will turn out, performance goals are essential. Employees can improve their performance and keep their attention on the route to reaching the intended results by properly developing and implementing performance goals. Additionally, they can foster cooperation among coworkers and promote the goals of the company. Researchers have shown that many performance management systems are ineffective because they pursue goals that are ill-defined, or perhaps non-existent (Katzenbach, 2015). It is important to remember that every objective should be able to motivate workers to prioritize finishing their tasks at work, either alone or as a team without conflict or misunderstandings.
An efficient goal-setting process
An efficient goal-setting process begins with analyzing all the possibilities of the goal to determine its applicability to achieve the desired success as well if it aligns with the organization's mission and vision. The purpose should also be readily defined using the "SMART" model since this assists the employees to identify and understand what is required of them. Besides, supervision by the managers is also reduced since tasks are well defined and delegated. Lastly, clear performance goals have shown to reduce disagreements in the performance during the appraisal process because employees are aware of their tasks and therefore provide quality outcomes (Katzenbach, 2015).
Positive and negative consequences of risks associated with pursuing performance goals
Performance goals provide a challenge to the employees which in turn influences the overall workplace performance. According to meta-analyses, performance goals have shown to improve employees' learning culture as they intend to obtain the new knowledge necessary during the production process (Katzenbach, 2015). On the other hand, the organization is forced to organize regular training programs and incentives aimed at improving the workers' performance and motivation respectively. When an organization decides to implement its performance goals, the overall operating environment becomes better since strategies are put in place to assist in its alignment. Besides, the organization is required to invest more resources into the process, therefore, increasing the net worth of the business. The overall advantage of the method is maximum utilization of the workforce which means that the level of production is also increased. In contrast, ensuring the implementation of performance goals may also result in negative consequences. Lack of accomplishment of the intended purpose leaves the organization unintentionally exposed to excessive risks which may be hard to rectify. The plan may also face fierce resistance from the employees if they were not informed of its intention before it commenced or they were not asked for their views during the time of formation. Furthermore, the intended results may fail to be realized especially if the performance goals set were simple and did not align with the core goals, mission, and vision of the organization (Pritchard, 2014).
Examples from different contexts
When Jesus met with his eleven disciples at a mountain in Galilee, he instructed them to transverse all nations preaching his name and those who heard the teachings; they were to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He had set performance goals of making all people in the whole world his followers (Matthew 28: 18-20). In my part, I have witnessed occasions whereby potential risks when pursuing performance goals have had both positive and negative effects on an organization. In one of my cases, a grocery outlet was able to expand because it had set realistic performance goals which assisted in increasing its sales. In another example, an ice cream vendor had to close some of his outlets six months after starting his business due to persistent low sales turnout recorded from some of the outlet run by hired employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, performance goals are essential in every business, but the management should ensure that they are implemented to realize the desired outcomes. The value of an organization is determined by how it can balance its requirements to deliver, manage operation costs, and manage or understand risks which may arise during the production process.
References
Katzenbach, J. R. (2015). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
Pritchard, C. L. (2014). Risk management: concepts and guidance. CRC Press.
