Q4.

) How can goal setting be applied in other contexts, perhaps to your class
schedule?
Ans. Goal setting is most effective as a motivational process when it can show a
discrepancy between current and expected performance. It demonstrates
that hard goals result in higher levels of individual performance and that
specific hard goals result in higher levels of individual performance than no
goals. As such it is suitable for being applied in other settings like customer
service, marketing, research & development and areas where participation
and feedback are welcomed. The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company was able to
transform newly hired employees into Ladies and Gentlemen, Serving
Ladies and Gentlemen, in just seven days by practicing a blend of Jobdesign and Goal Setting.
To apply goal setting to the class schedule various aspects need to be
considered.
Firstly, goal acceptance, which insinuates that effective goals need not to be
only understood but also accepted. Thus in regard to class schedule we must
acknowledge that the class schedule is not maintained and understand the
reasons behind it.
The next step is of specificity. Goals need to be specific, clear, and as much
measurable as possible. Specific goals allow participants to aim at and

measure their progress. In the case of class schedule the goals could be set
by students, parents, teachers and the school management.
Subsequently

making

the

goal

achievement

challenging

task

i.e.

introducing a challenge will raise the achievement drive. Most employees

work harder when difficult goals are set. In this instance of class schedule
students, parents, teachers and the school management could aim for a
perfect attendance. Acknowledgement or reward or both could be given for
accomplishing such a task.
Another important step would be, performance monitoring (observing the
behavior,

inspecting

output

or

studying

documents

of

performance

indicators) which leaves an impression on the participants that their task is

important, their effort is needed, and their contribution is valued. In the case
of class schedule, a system(bio-metrics preferably) could be implemented
where it visually displays the number of days he/she has clocked-in on time,
also

report

based

on

these

data

can

be

sent

to

the

supervisor(parent/teacher/school management) to monitor.

Lastly, performance feedback (the timely provision of data or judgment
regarding task related results) allows the participant to gain vantage on their
current position as well as gain consultation with the supervisors to gain
momentum towards achieving the specific goal. In this scenario of class
schedule the participants can consult with the supervisors to work through
on any problems such as lack of transportation or introduction of a new bus

route that prioritizes the school goers or travel in groups to increase

attendance

there

by

collaborate

effectively

to

solve

such

problem

occurrences.
Goal setting has been proved to be an immensely effective motivation theory
that not only improves performance but also generates job satisfaction and
involvement. It can be applied to our class schedule as such to improve
overall attendance of the whole school synchronously.