Goal-Setting Theory and its Application in Organizations

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Psychology - Work, Business, Organisational and Economic Psychology, grade: 1,3, Leipzig Graduate School of Management, language: English, abstract: The objective of this essay is to explore if Goal-Setting Theory is a suitable concept to increase an employee's performance in an organization. Goal-Setting Theory is a motivational theory developed by Locke and Latham in 1990 which states that correctly formulated goals optimize motivation and therefore increase performance. For the purpose of this essay, theoretical basics of Goal-Setting Theory and its application fields in organizations are provided. Furthermore, the strengths and weaknesses of the theory are discussed critically.