Planning, Common Sense, and Superior Performance by Erwin Rausch

Author:Erwin Rausch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2011-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

As you ramble on through Life, brother,

Whatever be your Goal,

Keep your Eye upon the Donut

And not upon the Hole

—Cover of the Mayfair menu, (New York Coffee Shops)

INTRODUCTION

Much of this chapter applies primarily to organizations that are now working with formal goals, or contemplate the use of such goals. However, some of the issues discussed deserve consideration when plans are prepared for reaching the desirable outcome conditions. This applies specifically to Questions 8.3a through 8.3f (see below) .

Desired outcomes of solutions to problems, for meeting a challenge, or exploiting an opportunity can be thought of as goals. For each outcome, plans are needed and they may involve one or more specific goals and several or many decisions. That raises the issues discussed in this chapter after the Introduction. They concern whether goals should be considered for the respective decision, the characteristics of effective goals, and their competent use. Attention to these issues differentiates organizations that are serious about using goals to help improve organizational performance, from those who merely have paper procedures pertaining to goals, but do not use goals competently.

An effective, coordinated system of long-term and short-term goals for the organization, organizational units and individuals, sets direction for them. It can also bring high achievement standards while, at the same time, ensuring that attention is paid to the competence needs of the organization and that a work environment is maintained that is as satisfying as possible. The longest-range goals are, in effect, what many call the ‘vision’ of the organization. The shortest-range goals are usually those that are set by, with, and for, individual staff members or small teams. It is important to realize that these goals in the really effective organization or organizational unit are rarely set by the manager alone, but rather reflect decisions arrived at as a result of appropriate participation, as was hinted at in Chapter 3 and as discussed in depth in Chapter 5.

It should be noted here again, that the what of goals (what goals to set) is likely to involve technical issues more than non-technical ones. However, the how to set goals (what steps to take when setting goals and what to consider to give the goals high quality and usefulness) is almost exclusively a matter of leadership-in-management—a non-technical issue.

Goals exist at all levels of an organization, whether all staff members, some, or none, know them, and whether or not they are part of the management and leadership system. In some organizations they are only ideas in the minds of some managers. In others they are paper tigers, used primarily to communicate lofty ideals and dreams. In still others, they are used in attempts to bring greater productivity, either coercively or voluntarily. Many organizations have some sort of formal goals program that is either successful, or limps along, partly ignored, and partly used to satisfy procedural requirements. Still, every staff member works, in one way or another, on matters that contribute to her/his goals, to the goals of the department and to the organization’s goals.

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