As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally p

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows,realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partlybecause most people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, andput more effort, to achieve those goals.

What’s far less understood by scientists, however, arethe potentially harmful effects of goal-setting. Newspapers convey dailyaccounts of goal-setting widespread in industries and businesses up and downboth Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly littleresearch on how the long-advocated practice of setting goals may havecontributed to the current economic crisis, and immoral behavior in general.

“Goals are widely used and promoted as having reallybeneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to putmore effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likelyto engage in immoral behaviors,” says Maurice Schweitzer, an associateprofessor at Penn’s Wharton School. His paper, titled “Goals Gone Wild: TheSystematic Side Effects of Over-Praised Goal Setting,” appears in the Februaryissue of the Academy of Management Perspectives.

“It turns out there’s no financial benefit to justhaving a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says. “But inmany cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful.”

A major example Schweitzer and his colleagues give isthe 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron( 德国安然公司), where managers used financial rewards to motivatesalesmen to meet specific goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is that theactual trades were not profitable. 

Other studies have shown that burdening employees withunrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case inthe early 1990s when Sears（西尔斯公司）placed a salesquota (销售限额) on its auto repair staff. It inspiredemployees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on acompanywide basis.

Schweitzer admits his research runs counter toa very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting.Advocates of the practice have argued with his team’s use of such evidence asnews accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widelyover-praised.

In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr.Edwin Locke writes: “Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot growwithout being focused on their desired end results any more than an individualcan grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose.”

But Schweitzer argues the “evidence” linkinggoal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help draw attention toissues that deserve attention and further investigation. “Even a few negativeeffects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects,” he says.

The debate is likely to get heated on in futurepapers, and the practice of setting goals no doubt will continue. For now,though, the lesson seems to be to put more thought into setting goals.

“Goal-setting does help motivate people. My idea wouldbe to combine that with careful management, a strong organizational culture,and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and notsignificantly harmful to the organization,” Schweitzer says.

1.What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show bymentioning the example of Enron?

A．Settingrealistic goals can turn a failing business into success.

B．Businessesare likely to succeed without realistic goals.

C．Companies arecertain to meet specific goals with financial rewards.

D．Goals withfinancial rewards have strong motivational power.

2.How did Sears’ goal-setting affect its employees?

A．They had towork more hours to increase their sales.

B．They competedwith one another to attract more customers.

C．They turnedto immoral practice to reach their goals.

D．They improvedtheir customer service on a companywide basis.

3.The underlined words “runs counter to”(Paragraph 7) can be replaced by ________.

A．agrees with        B．goes against        C．fits in with         D．applies to

4.What is Edwin Locke’s argument against Schweitzer?

A．The practiceof setting goals only helps people to develop.

B．Goal-settingis of no use motivating people to accomplish their tasks.

C．The positiveeffects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.

D．Studyinggoal-setting can contribute to successful business practices.

5.According to the passage, the author tries to convey___________.

A．the goalsthat most people set are unrealistic.

B．all peoplecan improve their work quality by setting goals.

C．setting goalscan provide people with a sense of purpose.

D．people shouldnot ignore the negative effects of goal-setting.

试题答案

【答案】

1. D

2. C

3. B

4.D

5.D

【解析】

试题