Tower Building Exercise and Goal Setting

Goal Setting and Management

Gap if any between Tower height Performance so far achieved and Achievable performance of tower      (Factor 3 and 7) 

In Sc1, the height achieved was equal to the achievable height. Though the target was achieved and the management might be commended, the limits of productivity were not pushed and hence potential was wasted.

In Sc2, even the achievable performance was not reached. This shows poor planning and wastage of the collective intellectual resources of the team.

In Sc3, scenario 2 is repeated but with a greater intensity. The result is same, that is the team did not utilize their full potential and performed below expectations.

In Sc4, the above scenarios are repeated with the worst effect as the gap between their actual and achievable performance was the greatest.


Gap if any between goal proposed by the manager and mutually agreed goal by team (Factor 4 and 6)

In any scenario, the goal that a manager sets for his personnel would be higher or equal to the goal that the team sets for itself. This is due to the presence of people with diverse background, experience, knowledge and judgement.

In Sc1, not only the overall aspirations of the group are low, the target set by the team is even lower. This organisation is headed for some very tough times ahead as the competition only gets tougher.

In Sc2, the manager is able to convince the team regarding the potential of the group and consequently the target set by the manager is not lowered by the team. I would say this scenario is the best one out of all the four given scenarios.

In Sc3, though the aspirations are high, the manager is not able to convince the team of their own potential. It should be remembered all the while that it is the manager who is responsible for the team's performance; in fact that is his Raison 

Sc4 represents a grave situation for the organisation as not only the team, but also the manager has very low sense of the true potential of the organisation. Such companies, despite being extremely promising, would fade out in today's fast-paced world.


Gap if any between goal proposed by the manger and the goal proposed  by the worker(Factor 4 & 5)

The manager in the first three scenarios seems to be Theory Y manager; he assumes that the employees are highly motivated and enthusiastic and sets a high target for them.

In Sc1, the employees are either complacent or are not confident or trusting of their own capabilities.

Same is the case with Sc2 and Sc3 also. The employees have the same attitude as above.

In Sc4, while the goal set by the manager is low, the workers have high faith in their abilities and are highly motivated, and hence set a higher goal for themselves.

Gap if any between goal proposed by the worker and mutually agreed goal by team (Factor 5 and 6)

Sc1 shows that while the goal set by the workers is low, manager has been able to motivate them to some extent and the final target lies somewhat in the middle.

Sc2 shows a leader present as a manager. He has been able to convince workers who are either very lazy or highly under-confident.

Sc3 also shows that though the manager has set higher goals, the workers have been able to get them reduced to a level they feel achievable.

Sc4 depicts what can be called a poor management. Though the workers have set a high target for themselves, the manager has been unable to appreciate 

the capabilities of his own team. These managers are always an anchor weighing down the performance of the company and eventually even the workers become complacent.

Gap if any between achievable performance  and potential tower (Factor 3 and 8)

Everyone in this world has infinite potential. So "achievable" is just the limit that is set in the minds and not in the real world. In all the scenarios, the performance potential is higher than the actual performance that the company would be able to deliver.

Gap if any between actual performance achieved and  goal mutually agreed by manger and the worker (Factor 6 and 7)

In Sc1 and Sc4 the expectations are exceeded as the actual height is more than the height previously envisaged.

In Sc3 it is exactly equal while in Sc2 the height has actually reduced. This might probably be due to the unrealistically high expectations by the manager of his employees. A manager should have a correct estimate of his team's capacities and capabilities.

Gap if any between actual performance achieved and achievable goal (Factor 7 and 3)

Barring Sc1, the achievable goal is higher than the goal finally achieved, in varying degrees. It is a manager's job to properly assess the capacities and capabilities of his team and set goals accordingly so that an optimum, but increasingly higher, balance is reached between team's potential and actual performance.

Gap if any between actual performance achieved and the potential (Factor 7 and 8)

The actual performance of the team is the sum total of the assessment of the manager of his team and himself, and the self-assessment of the team of the organisation's capacities and capabilities. Care has to be taken at every step of the way - assessing, planning, target setting and execution - so that the final result is as high as possible. Ultimately it should lead to an ever upward spiral towards the potential.