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Establishing a system of goals enables managers to manage themselves
and others.
Managers need to know where they are going and how they are getting there. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, who didn't care where she was going, managers must know how to perform a multitude of functions to produce desired goals.1 Those goals often are connected with achieving sales and revenue targets. Establishing a system of goals is a valuable tool that will enable managers to manage themselves and others in pursuit of larger organizational goals. Organizations that implement goal setting reap greater profits than organizations that do not.2
In this article we discuss a study of goal setting by nearly two dozen top hospitality-industry managers. We examine the steps in establishing a goal and consider a variety of methods for goal achievement once the goal is established. Finally we offer prescriptions for goal setting and for coaching employees in goal setting.
The study's purpose was to determine (1) whether the time and effort necessary for developing and implementing goals are well invested and (2) the extent to which goal setting contributes to a hospitality organization's success. We contacted a stratified sample of 30 senior-level hospitality managers across the United States to ask whether they would participate in a qualitative study on goal setting. Of the 30 managers contacted, 22 agreed to individual, in-depth interviews regarding their use of goals and their views regarding goal setting. We wanted to see whether the respondents found goal setting to be worth the effort in terms of increased bottom-line profit to their organizations. Our expert panel overwhelmingly agreed that goal setting is, indeed, beneficial and worth the trouble, despite the time and effort it takes. We further asked them to quantify the impact of such programs on their bottom lines. All study participants stated that goal setting increases their organizations' bottom lines by at least 10 percent. Given the strong findings in favor of a goal-setting program, we then used the respondents' comments to develop a tool kit for managers to use in creating such a system.
Sample Information
The 22 participants in our study are senior management staff working at hotels, resorts, private clubs, and restaurants across the United States. The panel comprised two owners,...