Evidence Based Business Report – Goal Setting, Goal Achievement Plan & Success Criteria

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report is discussing how to set goals and how to achieve these goals by planning and also by using a timetable for it, the method that been used is SMART goals setting method which is the goal has to be Specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and time bounded, it is also discuss the ‘three step to success’ method which explain the steps that any student can do to achieve a successful performance in a certain task. This report also contains three MBA related goals which applicable to those two methods that we mentioned, and in addition to these goals we provided a timetable and a three success criteria to achieve these goals.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………………..2 I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………… 4 II. Goal setting theory ...…………………………………………………………....... 4 III. Developing SMART goals ………..…………...………………………………... 5 IV. Three steps to success …………………………………………………………….. 6 V. Conclusion…………………………………..…………………………………… 7
Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Reference List ……………………………………………………………………...…. 9

I. Introduction
So many people may wonder, what is a goal? , Lee (2010, p.744) said that a goal is a desired target or an aim, such a definition may make the people wonder the differences between having a dream and having a certain goal, that is why she also defined a goal as a dream, but a dream with a deadline time and a plan to achieve it. So we can say that any idea or a dream of someone can be a goal if it was supported by a plan to do it. In this business report we will discuss how to set a S.M.A.R.T goal, and what does the word S.M.A.R.T actually stand for, and then later we will provide a three goals which are related to my MBA studies, and I will support it with a timetable and a three success criteria as well. II. Goal setting theory:
According to Moeller, Teiler and Wu (2012, p. 153) goal theory clears that there are two types of goal orientation that students can embrace: 1. Task focused orientation goals:
In which the student is completely focusing on the development, learning and self-improving process, for example improving his writing skills, this type may also called mastery goals, the students in this type are motivated by a deep level of commitment and engagement for this goals, that is why they want to achieve them. 2. Ability focused orientation goals:
In which the student is focusing on an external rewards, such as getting a good grades on an assignment or exams, such type may also called ego or performance involving goals, the students in this type are motivated by fear, they are trying to avoid failure, that is why they are highly motivated to achieve their goals. * Note: this two types of goals that Moeller, Teiler and Wu (2012, p. 153) are applicable in my three MBA related goals (for a more detailed explanation please see the appendix).

III. Developing SMART goals:
Lee (2010, Pp. 744 – 746) and MacLeod (2012, p. 70) describe the SMART goals as follows: 1. S for Specific. 2. M for Measureable. 3. A for Attainable or Achievable. 4. R for Relevant or Realistic. 5. T for Time bound. a. Specific:
The goal we choose has to be a specific goal rather than a general one, which means the goal has to be clear without any platitudes and vagaries, a specific goal has to answer the questions: IV. What? : What exactly do I want to do? V. Why? : Why do it? VI. Who? : Who is involved? VII. Where? : provide a location. VIII. Which? : determine the requirements to do it. b. Measureable:
The goals that we choose has to be measurable, which means we have to be able to measure our success in the process of doing that goal, because if we cannot measure our success, we can’t tell if we going on the right track or not. c. Attainable or Achievable:
The goals also have to be achievable, and not impossible to get, because a goal is something real that you can get it, if you planed for it you can make it come true, but when it is not achievable so it will be just a dream not a goal. d. Relevant or Realistic:
The goals we choose have to be realistic and relevant to our other desired goals and aims, the relevant goals always drive the person forward.

e. Time bound:
Last one is the time limit for our goals, it is really important for goals to be controlled by a deadline in order to avoid getting distracted, also to prevent it from our day to day crisis, that’s why it is always better to do like a timetable for our goals. * My three goals are applicable for these four aspects of S.M.A.R.T goals method, for more details please see the appendix.
IV. The three steps to success:
Day and Tosey (2011, p. 529-530) claimed that there is a method calls the ‘three step for success’ framework.

Figure 1: ‘the three steps of success’, Day and Tosey (2011, p. 529)
As we can see in figure 1, there are three steps for success: 1. Know what you want:
As in set your goal or your next step in a certain task. 2. Be aware of internal and external feedback:
Which means you have to actively reflect and take in consideration any feedback you get from your lecturer or the external feedback which can be from your colleagues.

3. Be flexible in through and action to achieve your outcome:
Which means that the ability of accepting any mistake and go back to fix it at any time during the process of performance is really important, in order to get the best results. This method can be very important for the student to follow in order to get an effective performance and develop his skills in his studies, it also might be a success criteria for the task focused orientation goals that we mentioned earlier. So the ‘three step for success’ might be an effective way to do both, setting goals and success criteria.
Note: this method is applicable in the success criteria for my goals (for more detailed explanation please see the appendices). V. Conclusion:
In conclusion we would like to point out that it is so important to know how to set goals, by knowing what exactly the aspects we need when we set our goals, also we need to know how to set the right plan to achieve these goals and limit it with a deadline or a timetable. In this report we discussed all of that and we discussed two different methods of setting goals successfully, and we showed the three steps method to find success for learning development.

Appendices:
My three MBA related goals are: 1. Submitting all my assignments in time. 2. Pass all my exams with a good grades. 3. Actively reflect on my assignments feedback in order to improve.
If we take a close look to my goals we will find the following: a. According to the goal orientation that Moeller, Teiler and Wu (2012, p. 153) discussed, my first and second goal are ability focused orientation goals, on the other hand, my third goal is task focused orientation goal. b. All of my goals are Specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and time bounded, so according to Lee (2010, Pp. 744 – 746) and MacLeod (2012, p. 70) these are SMART goals.
Success criteria: 1. Submitting all my assignments in time:
The success criteria for this goal would be the ‘three step for success‘ method, am I working early on the assignments and make a time table for it ? 2. Pass all my exams with a good grades:
The success criteria for this goal would be, how many hours do I spend in the library? And did I finish all my readings for each subject? 3. Actively reflect on my assignments feedback in order to improve:
The success criteria for this goal would be am I having a better feedback on the next ones? And am I having a better grade?

Timetable: 1. Submitting all the assignments in time:
That will be by putting a deadline for each assignment by using its due date. It is always better to submit the assignments earlier. 2. Pass all my exams with a good grades:
This will be by doing a daily schedule for study depending on each subject. 3. Actively reflect on my assignments feedback in order to improve:
This will be by doing a timetable depending on each date that we get the feedback from the lecturer for each assignment.

REFERENCE LIST
Day, T & Tosey, P 2011, ‘Beyond SMART? A new framework for goal setting’, The Curriculum Journal, vol. 22, no. 4, Pp. 515-534.
Lee, K.P.W. 2010, ‘Planning for success: setting SMART goals for study’, British Journal of Midwifery, vol. 18, no. 11, pp. 744-746.
MacLeod, L. 2012, ‘Making SMART goals smarter’, Physician executive, vol. 38, no. 2, Pp. 68-72.