6 GOALS AS DEMANDS

V. Meena

epgp books

 

 

Learning Objective

 

To understand the different demands in life and career to set the goals and achieve its target.

 

Introduction

 

Goals are very important for a human life. Wants of the family member are fulfilled by setting goal. Goals are clear and changeable. They can be understood and defined easily. Individuals and families throughout their life try to reach new methods of attaining goals. Goals are nothing more than the ends that individual or families are willing to work for. They are more definite than values because they are to be accomplished. Goals are always based on values. Some goals are direct and definite. Some goals are achieved in a short time and other goals the longer duration of time. Some goals cannot be achieved in one’s life time, like social welfare, social improvements programmed are always there.

 

Definition of Goal:

 

Gross and Crandall stated that Goal setting involves the identification of aims or purposes. Goals must be reasonably realistic and attainable. Associated with the setting of goals is an intention to do something toward the achievement of them, i.e., a commitment to the realization of the goal(s).

 

According to Mullick, Goal is an end, towards the accomplishment of which an individual or a family is willing to work. Goal setting is a continuous process; as soon as goal is achieved other goal is pursued. Goals grow out of desires, attitudes and values. They are preset, achievable targets which are to be reached.

 

Definition of goal setting:

 

The definition of goal setting is the process of identifying something that you want to accomplish and establish measurable goals and time frames. On a financial change to save more money first keep aside certain amount to save each month and then start to spend the balance money.

 

Origin and Development of Goals:

 

Goals originated from desires, human values, changing environment, thoughts and attitude to make life successful and to develop good personality, goals are formulated. Goal is a predetermined objective for achieving the goal one easily formulates a working method and a suitable programme. New theory and new techniques are searched to achieve goals more successfully. Goals are related to both standards and values.

 

Goals Attributes:

 

1. Goals are helpful in the development of personality, well-planned goals will satisfy an individual’s interests, attitudes, desires and make the life successful .

2. Formation of goals is an automatic process. If a member of the family tries to fulfil his desires, goals are automatically formulated.

3.Achieving goal is a continuous process. As soon as one goal is achieved another goal is arrived.

4.Goals are changeable. Any change in need, interest and want will change the goals. This is a natural process.

5. Goals are based on time. Some goals are achieved in short time and all these short term goals unite to form a long term goal like getting education, maintaining health, etc.,

6. Goals are individualistic and for a group. Family goals are combined effort of family members. Every family member will have his/her individual goal, e.g.-Family health, education are group goals.

7. Goals should be practical and factual, that can be achieved in reasonable time for example project completion. For achieving project one should have collect details related to project, finance etc.,

8. Based on the availability of resources, one should formulate the goals, otherwise they will be unsuitable. Human resources and non-human resources are important for determining a goal.

9. Goals are affected by the society. For example tradition and belief of a society affect the goal setting of a family.

 

Goal Areas

 

Although each family will develop its own pattern of goals, it is instructive to review goal areas which have been identified by writers or researchers. In one regional research project in which family goals where related to major financial decisions, nine goal areas were identified: (1) financial security and growth, (2) level of living, (3) housing and environment, (4) education, (5) family relationships and management, (6) health, (7) community involvement, (8) income and occupation, and (9) retirement. Goals relate to family interaction tend to be more abstract.

  Types of Motivation

 

Types of motivation are as follows

 

Intrinsic Motivation

 

Intrinsic motivation means that the individual’s motivational stimuli are coming from within. Below are some examples:

 

·         Acceptance: Our decisions, should be accepted by our co-workers.

·         Honor: Respect the rules and be ethical.

·         Independence: Feel for uniqueness.

·         Order: Organize and give priority for the most important one.

·         Social contact: Some social interactions is essential.

·         Social Status: Increases confident.

 

 

Extrinsic Motivation

 

Extrinsic motivation is a behavior or an activity to earn a reward or avoid punishment. An example of behaviours includes:

 

·         Studying because you want to get a good result.

·         Cleaning room to avoid being mess in front of parents.

·         Participating in sports activities to win championship.

·         Competing in a contest to win a prize.

 

In each of these examples, the behavior is motivated by a desire to gain a reward or avoid an adverse outcome. This type of motivation arises from outside the individual, as opposed to intrinsic motivation, which originates inside of the individual.

 

Setting goals:

 

Goal setting requires looking toward the future, visualizing either what one specifically wants to accomplish or at least the direction in which one wishes to go. Families can determine their objectives indeed; families are responsible for creating objectives desired by them and uniquely their own.

 

Setting life goals help us keep focused and give our days purpose. By concentrating solely on the achievement of our goals we find ourselves feeling disappointed or unfilled upon completion. We must begin by understanding that goals, which are the means and not the end. After all, if we are able to properly set goals that are aligned with our internal value, then we are more likely to not only achieve our goals but enjoy the process of achieving them as well. And through that ultimate journey and evolution of our goals is where our true happiness lies.

 

 

Role of goal setting in an individual:

 

The Five Golden Rules

 

1.      Set Goals that Motivate: It is important that goals should motivate it means there is value in achieving them.

2.      Set SMART Goals. …

3.      Set Goals in Writing. …

4.      Make an Action Plan. …

5.      Stick With It!

 

Set goals:

 

1.      Decide. Think of something you want to do or work towards. …

2.      Write it down. Carefully. …

3.      Telling someone about goals. …

4.      Break your goal down. …

5.      Plan your first step. …

6.      Keep going. …

7.      Celebrate.

 

Write a goal:

 

First consider what to achieve, and then commit to it. Set SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) goals that motivate and write them down to make them feel tangible. Then plan the steps to realize goal and cross off each one as you work through them.

 

Role of Goal setting in Family Life:

 

A goal is more specific and tangible and hence can be easily defined and understood. Goal is an objective or purpose to be attained towards the achievement of which the policies and procedures of a programme are fashioned. Goals are interrelated, interdependent and carried as part of every home maker’s day. They play an important role in every one’s life and are dynamic because they motivate the thoughts and action as group in family. Members of the family have total freedom to set their goals. Goals must be set to improvise the quality of life,

 

Goals must be SMART enough to act. Specific (clear, concise, tangible), Measurable (Rupees, volume, time, experiences), Actionable (actually make this happen), Realistic and Timed (deadlines announced, committed to).

 

Role of goal setting in an organization:

 

According to Barney and Griffin, organizational goals serve four basic functions;

•      They provide guidance and direction,

•      Facilitate planning, Motivate and inspire employees

•      Help organizations evaluate and control performance.

•      Organizational goals inform employees where the organization is aiming and plans to get there.

•      By helping employees their individual work contributes to the overall goals of the institution, we enable them to make their own decisions about how to spend their work time so that their work is consistent with the priorities of the organization.

•      The consequences are employees know what they must do, how well they must do it and why they are doing it.

 

Clear goals and objectives allow employees to monitor their own progress all year around and correct their efforts as necessary. If employees know what they need to accomplish, they can look at their results as they go and identify barriers to achieving those goals.

 

TYPES   OF    GOALS:

 

The goals are classified as

 

1.    Long – term  goals

2.    Short – term  goals

3.    Means – end  goal

 

1.   Long    term   Goals

 

Goals which take long duration of time to be fulfilled are known as long term goal. Long term goals are more stable and they are achieved slowly. The long-term goals are considered fairly permanent. They are sought over long periods of time and consequently ever present. These are the goals that have real meaning to the family group. Example: Educating the children, buying a new car or taking family vacations each year that flow along with other goals and require constant attention. The method to achieve long term goal is different:

 

a. Family health, higher education and intellectual development of the member of the family.

b.    To create a congenial environment example physical, social, moral and cultural aspects must take place.

c.    Work-schedule should be planned to achieve all the goals.

d.   Goals should fulfill the needs and wants of the family members.

 

In order to fulfill the needs and wants of the family members, home should provide a space for feeling of love, affection, patience and sacrifice among all the family members.

 

2.    Intermediate or short-term goals

 

Families often set intermediate or short-term goals for themselves, as means of achieving long-term goals. These are more definite than long term goals and it is easier to form a clear-cut picture of them. They frequently involve decisions or choices made from among several alternatives among themselves because it seems that they will prove the best means of achieving certain long term goals. Example: Women wish to keep her house look attractive, children doing homework regularly.

 

Short term goals are necessary for daily routine. They are plenty in number. All the short term goals are not equally important some of the short term goals are achieved to supplement the long-term goal. For example, long term goal for higher education can be achieved when short-term goals of completing school education then going to collage to achieve a degree and so on. This is important that short-term goals should be incorporated in daily routine so that long-term goal can be achieved successfully.

 

3. Means – end goals:

 

These types of goals are limited to the available resources or when the effectiveness, of a decision ends. Mean – end goals are completed as soon as the resources are finished. They are not short-term or long-term goal. They are the decision made or the steps taken to attain intermediate goals. They end in themselves and that are reached with the small number of activities. For example, purchasing of some articles in a limited budget, payment of the bill, decorating an interior, writing a cheque and so on. By combining the means, end activities like sweeping, dusting, mopping the floor, arranging the furniture, fullfill the intermediate goal, i.e., keeping home look attractive is attained.

 

Benefits of Goals

 

1. Clear Focus

Properly stated goals clearly set out self intentions and desires; the things really want to achieve.

2. Effective Use of Time

It is universal but when utilized properly, it reaches peak. As Peter Drucker says: “If you want to improve to manage time – stop doing what doesn’t need to be done!”

3. Peace of Mind

Too often you can have many things on mind. Writing down your goals can help you take all of those ideas, apply perspective and priority, then galvanize into commitment and action.

4. Make Better use of Time

Without clear goals, it’s often very difficult to manage time and juggle competing priorities. When goals are written, start to prioritize work towards goals above other activities such as watching television.

5.   Enjoyment Goals are the antidote to the most dreaded of social diseases: boredom. How

can you be bored when you’ve got exciting things to do? Goals make our lives more fun, more interesting and more challenging.

6.  Fulfillment Setting goals help us see what’s possible. Each successful step toward attaining them builds confidence. Each goal completed helps us see more of what’s possible and leads to new goals and more success.

7.   Independence Goals help us take charge of our own lives. Instead of following the crowd or wandering through life, we choose our own path, the one that leads to fulfilment of our ambitions.

 

Individual living in a society pursues bad behaviour, it has a bearing on the society.

 

1.Impatience: Our culture expects immediate result but vision takes its own time.

2.Fear of Failure: A failure to one person might simply be a great learning experience for someone else.

3.Lack of Information: Ignorance and not being informed both leads to obstacles in goal achievement.

4.Limiting beliefs: Limiting beliefs are those which constrain us in some way. They are often about ourselves and our self-identity.

5.Own motivation: Motivation is essential for productivity. If self confidence is not there goals cannot be achieved.

6.Money: Money is a common reason for not pursuing goal. Always some instance will occur to drag the money.

 

Why goal changes

 

The major goals that are create and sought by each family naturally grow out of its own environment and experience. Although the goals of families differ in some respects, the major and ultimate goals of homemaking may be stated as follows:-

 

1. Optimum physical and mental health for each members of the family.

2. Optimum development of the individual members of the family.

3. Satisfying family relations.

4.Recognition, acceptance and appreciation of human differences.

5. Establishing satisfactory relationship with the community and other subsystem of the society.

 

The goals of an individual person or family are probably much influenced by the social group with one interacts. This is true in terms of students when they are compared with their reference group or homemakers with their social group. In each situation their goals would be moulded by the peer influences.

 

Events as demands: Ideal values must be conceptualized so as to be consistent with the organisations external, internal and technological demands.

External events: External demands include society expectations, customer needs, competitors, capabilities, market structure, regulatory directives, owner’s expectations and the community at large.

  Internal events: Internal events such as family events, disease, bodily changes in puberty and life stressors. Internal demands are the demands of employees, including both salaried and hourly categories.

 

Standards

 

Standards are based on resources, values and goals. A functional system is developed to achieve goals, which are based on values. Standards specify the standard of living, behavior, personality and in decision making process. Standard has the power to affect one’s life. Values and goals are based on hypothetical facts, but standards are stable. One can make out the person’s character, behavior, culture etc., on the basis of standards. Standard depicts the managerial process and the future perspective of the life style of the family members. Standards measure the amount and degree of interest and satisfaction received from the values. They set limits, within which one has to work to achieve goals. Evaluating standard is a difficult task because the parameters and the criteria of measurement lie in the minds of people. Standards determines the limit, a goal should strive to achieve.

 

Types of Standards:

 

Types of standards are as follows

 

Quantitative or Objective Standard:

 

These are the easiest standard to identify and apply since they are readily observable. They can be compared with those of others. These standards are measured in terms of rupee, kilogram. For example, food intake is measured in terms of calories.

 

Qualitative or Subjective Standard:

 

Specific measure cannot be identified. Each individual may have a different criterion. These cannot be compared. These standards are measured mentally. Comparative words are used to indicate the importance as low, high etc., Example of qualitative standards are standards that are set in order to keep one’s room clean. To one person room which has been dusted might appear clean but to another, it might still be dirty since a wet duster has not been used.

 

Conventional or Traditional Standard:

 

Rigid standards are often associated with social or religious, rites and are therefore imposed on the family by a social or religious group. These standards are not flexible and measured by values like religion, honesty and so on. They are socially acceptable standard, which involve social behavior, mode of dress, social customs, modes, life style patterns and many other aspects of daily life. Examples of traditional standards are touching feet of elders, wearing school uniform to school.

   Unconventional or Transitional Standard:

 

Flexible standards are those that allow us to adjust our procedure or conduct to conditions. Acceptance of flexible standards gives greater freedom of choice and life is likely to be more relaxed, relations less strained and anxieties less apparent. These standards are flexible and measured by comfort, knowledge, friendliness and so on. They are consciously adopted to a given situation. They serve as indicator or the direction in which the society is moving. Examples of transitional standards are the type of dress to wear while going to college like salwar suit, Bride dressing like Lehenga choli.

 

Summary:

 

Goals play a decisive, dynamic and leading role in everyone’s life; motivating the thoughts and actions of individuals as well as of the members of the family. As a result, goal is an end towards the accomplishment of which an individual or a family is willing to work. Definition of goal and goal setting, origin and development of goals, goal attributes, goal areas, types, benefits, role of goal setting in an individual, family and organization, obstacles to goal achievement, events as demands, external demands and internal demands, Standards and its types were discussed.

 

 

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References

 

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