Goal setting is so thoroughly established as a highly effective tool for motivating individuals and organizational action toward desired outcomes that managers rarely stop to ponder the dark side of goal setting. After acknowledging that goal setting is “the most effective managerial tool available," researchers Schweitzer, Ordóñez, and Douma, (2004) found that goal setting “motivates unethical behavior” (p. 422). Similarly, Latham (2004) observed that goal setting can generate manipulative game-playing techniques and unethical behavior. In other words, while goal setting motivates performance, it can also motivate cheating.

Goals increase cheating behaviors

Analyzing goal setting without an ethical decision-making framework, researchers have found evidence that people who cannot meet specific and challenging goals are more likely to engage in unethical behavior than are people who do not have specific performance goals. Specific patterns that have emerged from the research show that subjects with goals are more likely to overstate results than subjects without goals. The closer people come to meet their challenging and specific goals, the more likely they are to engage in unethical behavior to attain their goals.

These findings are consistent with social cognitive theory, which asserts that people receive a psychological reward for achieving goals (Bandura, 2001). Goal setting alone can increase the value people get from overstating productivity and suggest that deception facilitates self-justification (Schweitzer, Ordóñez, & Douma, p. 429).

Mitigating cheating behaviors in goal-intensive environments

Schweitzer, et al (2004) suggested that transparency, accountability, and monitoring may act as factors that moderate the influence of goal setting on performance. Lack of managerial oversight is likely to contribute to unethical behavior, like consultants reporting more hours than they worked. In environments where employees are monitored, goal setting may not increase unethical behavior. In academic environments, educators could mitigate potentially negative impacts of goal setting by teaching about goals within an ethical framework.

References

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1-26.

Latham, G. P. (2004). The motivational benefits of goal setting. The Academy of Management Executive (4), 124-125.

Schweitzer, M. E., Ordóñez, L., & Douma, B. (2004, June). Goal setting as a motivator of unethical behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 422-432.