As cited in
Doran (1981) first introduced the
specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-related (SMART) method
for writing effective management goals
Specific
A goal is specific when it provides a
description of what is to be accomplished. A specific goal is a focused goal.
It will state exactly what the organization intends to accomplish. While the description
needs to be specific and focused, it also needs to be easily understood by
those involved in its achievement. It should be written so that it can be easily
and clearly communicated. A specific goal will make it easier for those writing
objectives and action plans to address the following questions:
* Who is to be involved?
* What is to be accomplished?
* Where is it to be done?
* When is it to be done?
Measurable
A goal is measurable if it is
quantifiable. Measurement is accomplished by first obtaining or establishing
base-line data. It will also have a target toward which progress can be
measured, as well as benchmarks to measure progress along the way. A measurable
goal will answer questions such as:
* How much?
* How many?
* How will you know when
it is accomplished?
Attainable
There should be a realistic chance that
a goal can be accomplished. This does not mean or imply that goals should be
easy. On the contrary, a goal should be challenging. It should be set by or in
concert with the person responsible for its achievement. The organization's
leadership, and where appropriate its stakeholders, should agree that the goal
is important and that appropriate time and resources will be focused on its
accomplishment. An attainable goal should also allow for flexibility. A goal
that can no longer be achieved should be altered or abandoned. Relevant Goals
should be appropriate to and consistent with the mission and vision of the
organization. Each goal adopted by the organization should be one that moves
the organization toward the achievement of its vision. Relevant goals will not
conflict with other organizational goals. As noted earlier, goals are set by or
in concert with the person responsible for achievement. It is important that
all short-term goals be relevant (e.g., consistent) with the longer-term and broader
goals of the organization.
Time-bound
Finally a goal must be bound by time.
That is, it must have a starting and ending point. It should also have some
intermediate points at which progress can be assessed. Limiting the time in
which a goal must be accomplished helps to focus effort toward its achievement.
Video 1 - SMART Goals - Quick Overview
Source:
I work in a company in IT industry. In
this company also, the goal setting is done based on the SMART objective
criteria. Employees are taking part of the objective setting exercise for the
goal setting of each year. Once the organization wide objectives and growth
plans are set all the relevant information of such targets get communicated to
all employees. Then the senior management is expected to cascade down those
objectives to their level and communicate expectations for each division and
team. Employees based on that information are expected to set their goals for
the year which gets submitted to each of their reporting managers.
Once the objectives are submitted, managers
are expected to ensure that the objectives are well aligned to the company
objectives and then they are in line with the SMART objective criteria. If the
employee MBO does not the SMART criteria most of the times the manager helps
the employee to review it and resubmit again by meeting the criteria.
Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook
of Human Resource Management Practice. 10 ed. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Bjerke, M.
B. & Renger, R., 2017. Being smart about writing SMART objectives. Evaluation
and programme planning, Volume 61, pp. 125-127.
Cothran, H.
M. & Wysocki, A. F., 2005. Developing SMART Goals for Your
Organization. [Online]
Available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu
[Accessed 10 05 2021].
DecisionSkills,
2014. Youtube - SMART Goals - Quick Overview. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-SvuFIQjK8
[Accessed 10 05 2021].
Lawlor, K.
B. & Hornyak, M. J., 2012. How The Application Of Smart Goals Can
Contribute To Achievement Of Student Learning Outcomes. Developments in
Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 39, pp. 259-267.
Ogbeiwi, O., 2017. Why written objectives need to be really SMART. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 23(7), pp. 324-336.
Agree with your views Chamara, Objectives that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aligned, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-bound) are likely to be achieved. When generic, off-the shelf objectives get the SMART treatment, they emerge as targets that engage focus, action, feedback and learning. These targets assist development of individual work plans, and also provide a guidance system for supervisor-staff performance review discussions(Berry & Thomas, 2008).
ReplyDeleteYes Indeevari. Writing SMART goals is fundamental to effective planning of results-oriented action. Even though there are many existing goal setting templates and guides, yet it appears none so far currently offer a relevant and complete structural template to aid the construction of written objective statements that satisfy all the criteria for SMART goals (Ogbeiwi and Osahon, 2017)
DeleteAgree with your valuable argument, Implementing SMART objectives requires a bit of time and intentionality, but in the end, they should save you some hassle. With the right steps and mindset, the organization will be able to move closer to your goals without wasting valuable time or energy (Tank 2020).
ReplyDeleteYes Treva. it may take between three to twelve months to achieve a short-term outcome relating to an objective, and at least five years to accomplish a long-term impact relating at an aim (Ogbeiwi 2016).
DeleteYes agreed with you Chamara, The process of organizing can be described as the design, development and maintenance of a system of coordinated activities in which individuals and groups of people work cooperatively under leadership towards commonly understood and accepted goals. The key word in that definition is ‘system’. Organizations are systems which,
ReplyDeleteas affected by their environment, have a structure which has both formal and informal elements (Armstorng,2006).
Yes Duminda. . Defining organizational goals helps to conceptualize and articulate the future direction of the organization, thus allowing those responsible for setting that direction to develop a common understanding of where the organization is heading. Goals provide a way of assuring that an organization will get where it wants to go (Cothran & Wysocki, 2005).
DeleteExactly Chamara objective of an organization should be set in a way that outcomes of the performance expected can be monitored and evaluated (Greenbank, 2001). Therefore it is important to have SMART objectives in place that gives clear direction on what to do and how to do.
ReplyDeleteYes Chanaka. As identified by Hogston (2011) there are two stages to the planning phase, goal setting and then the identification of actions to meet those goals. Goals should be both short term and long term in nature.
DeleteWell said Chamara, Setting goals through SMART objectives can be said as a golden standard of goal setting because a clear action planning is given through this(Osahon,2017)
ReplyDeleteYes Pernalla. Goals serve as an internal source of motivation and commitment and provide a guide to action as well as a means of measuring performance (Barton, 2000).
DeleteIndeed Chamara, SMART objectives tend to refer to goals that help to further organizational objectives. This means companies are ultimately more productive and better able to advance and improve (Steuart, 2020).
ReplyDeleteYes Vindya. How goals are set is as important as the goal itself. Thus it is important that goals meet specific criteria that can be used to easily assess them (Cothran & Wysocki, 2005).
DeleteOf course Chamara, many organizations and individuals have been benefited by the SMART tool when setting objectives in an effective and productive manner. Pentecost (2020), states that “every member of your team needs to recognize that when you set goals, they need to be SMART”. However, like any other model SMART is also being criticised and different versions being proposed. One of such variation is “SMARTER”, which adds Evaluated and Reviewed (or Rewarded) to the traditional model (CMI, 2014).
ReplyDeleteYes Oshadee. The SMARTer goals can be applied to many different situations such as: 1) Process objectives - lets you know what you are doing and how you will do it; describes participants, interactions, and activities, 2) Impact objectives - identifying what the long term implications of your activities are within the organization, 3) Outcome objectives – suggesting how you will change attitudes, knowledge or behavior, and 4) Personal objectives - personal development is an ideal application for SMARTer objectives (Williams, 2012).
DeleteAgree with you. SMART objectives contain the potential to focus attention, work plans, and commitment to performance targets. Because meaningful and practical measures are built in, SMART objectives also enable feedback and learning that can keep you on track to success (Berry,S. & Thomas,R.,2020).
ReplyDeleteYes Wasantha. Writing SMART goals is fundamental to planning
Deleteeffective results-oriented action. Even though there are many goal-setting templates and guides, it appears that none currently offers a relevant and complete structural template to aid the construction of written objective statements that satisfy all the criteria for SMART goals (Ogbeiwi, 2017).
Agree with you Chamara, SMART objectives are an easy framework which can be understood by everyone and it provides a clear direction for action planning and implementation (Ogbeiwi, 2017).
ReplyDeleteYes Arjun. Goal setting often employs the SMART framework (or similar heuristic), in which a goal is commonly designed to be specific, measurable, achievable/agreed upon, realistic and time-based (Doran 1981; Fielding 1999; Wade 2009).
Delete