Skip to main content

When Group Goal Setting Fails: The Impact of Task Difficulty and Supervisor Fairness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Creativity, Talent and Excellence

Abstract

Group goal setting is a common leadership strategy that is used to improve work motivation, creativity, and excellent performance in organizations. The author tried to answer two important questions: (1) Why do challenging group goals improve group performance? (2) Are there any important (pre)conditions for group goal-setting techniques to be effective? To learn more about potential mediators of group goal setting, they investigated cognitive process variables (e.g., individual problem solving) and team motivation variables (e.g., group identification) that could function as a causal mechanism. To learn more about potential moderator variables, they analyzed the impact of task difficulty and the fairness of a supervisor in negotiating performance goals with the team.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Antoni, C. (2005). Management by objectives – An effective tool for teamwork? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 174–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen-Charash, Y., & Spector, P. E. (2001). The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86, 278–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cropanzano, R., & Schminke, M. (2001). Using social justice to build effective work groups. In M. E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Theory and research (pp. 143–172). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeShon, R. P., Kozlowski, S. W. J., Schmidt, A. M., Milner, K. R., & Wiechmann, D. (2004). A multiple-goal, multi-level model of feedback effects on the regulation of individual and team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 1035–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durham, C. C., Locke, E. A., Poon, J. M. L., & McLeod, P. L. (2000). Effects of group goals and time pressure on group efficacy, information seeking, strategy and performance. Human Performance, 13, 115–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erez, M., & Somech, A. (1996). Is group productivity loss the rule or the exception? Effects of culture and group based motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1513–1537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guzzo, R. A., Yost, P. R., Campbell, R. J., & Shea, G. P. (1993). Potency in groups: Articulating a construct. British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 87–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S. A. (2004). Psychology in organizations: The social identity approach (2nd ed.). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2006). Stressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1037–1052.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S. A., Wegge, J., & Postmes, T. (2009). Are we on a learning curve or a treadmill? The benefits of participative group goal setting become apparent as tasks become increasingly challenging over time. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 430–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, L. R., Demaree, R. G., & Wolf, G. (1984). Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. M. (1966). Solution of anagrams. Psychological Bulletin, 66, 371–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Ilies, R. (2002). Relationship of personality to performance motivation: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 797–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karau, S. J., Markus, M. J., & Williams, K. D. (2000). On the elusive search for motivation gains in groups: Insights from the collective effort model. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 31, 179–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karau, S. J., & Williams, K. D. (1993). Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 681–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, N., & Tindale, R. S. (2004). Group performance and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 22.1–22.32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, H. J., Wesson, M. J., Hollenbeck, J. R., & Alge, B. J. (1999). Goal commitment and the goal setting process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 885–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, D., Durham, C. C., & Locke, E. A. (2001). The relationship of team goals, incentives, and efficacy to strategic risk, tactical implication, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 326–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozlowski, S. W., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 77–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (2007). New developments in and directions for goal-setting research. European Psychologist, 12, 290–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A. (2000). Motivation, cognition and action: An analysis of studies on task goals and knowledge. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 408–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57, 705–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2006). New directions in goal setting theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 265–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neubert, M. J. (1998). The value of feedback and goal setting over goal setting alone and potential moderators of this effect: A meta-analysis. Human Performance, 11, 321–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary-Kelly, A. M., Martocchio, J. J., & Frink, D. D. (1994). A review of the influence of group goals on group performance. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1285–1301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., Bommer, W. H., Podsakoff, N. P., & MacKenzie, S. B. (2006). Relationships between leader reward and punishment behavior and subordinate attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors: A meta-analytic review of existing and new research. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 99, 113–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reicher, S. D., & Haslam, S. A. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Experiment. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. J., Tyler, T. R., & Huo, Y. (2003). Interpersonal treatment, social identity and organizational behavior. In S. A. Haslam, D. van Knippenberg, M. J. Platow, & N. Ellemers (Eds.), Social identity at work: Developing theory for organizational practice (pp. 155–171). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, A. G. (Ed.). (2010). Creativity in business and education: Interdisciplinary and intercultural aspects. Singapore: COS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, F. W. (1911). Principles of scientific management. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Knippenberg, D., De Cremer, D., & van Knippenberg, B. (2007). Leadership and fairness: The state of the art. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16, 113–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegge, J. (2000). Participation in group goal setting: Some novel findings and a comprehensive model as a new ending to an old story. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 498–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegge, J., & Haslam, S. A. (2005). Improving work motivation and performance in brainstorming groups: The effects of three group goal setting strategies. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 14, 400–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weldon, E., & Weingart, L. R. (1993). Group goals and group performance. British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 307–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winters, D., & Latham, G. P. (1996). The effect of learning versus outcome goals on a simple versus a complex task. Group and Organization Management, 21, 236–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jürgen Wegge .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wegge, J., Haslem, S.A. (2013). When Group Goal Setting Fails: The Impact of Task Difficulty and Supervisor Fairness. In: Tan, AG. (eds) Creativity, Talent and Excellence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4021-93-7_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics