Managerial Blurring of Employee Goals

Gyula J. Nagy; Isabelle Walsh

doi:10.37725/mgmt.2024.8998

Gyula J. Nagy Business Science Institute – BSI Luxembourg ASBL, Château de Wiltz, Luxembourg
Isabelle Walsh SKEMA Business School – Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.2024.8998

Keywords: Goal ambiguity, Goal blurring, Goal setting, Goal specificity, Performance management

Abstract

Many researchers and practitioners believe that the lack of specificity of employee goals is detrimental to the effectiveness of performance management in firms. Using an inductive grounded theory approach, this study identifies two managerial factors that could impact negatively goal specificity in real-life corporate environments. First, ‘goal blurring’ is a counterintuitive purposeful managerial behavior that results in blurred employee goals being set during annual reviews. Second, ‘specifying capability’ incorporates factors that can result in a lower level of specificity of employee goals with no purposeful intent. The findings reveal two main reasons managers set less specific goals: (1) limited capability and (2) choice to purposefully blur employee goals to maintain flexibility in evaluating their subordinates. While non-purposeful blurring occurs because of circumstances that make setting specific goals difficult and limit the capabilities of managers to do so, purposeful blurring of goals occurs with the main aim of maintaining flexibility in evaluating employees. As a result, blurred goals are set for employees despite managers’ awareness of the benefits of setting specific goals, which is supported by extensive research and management practice. Our work reveals the purposeful managerial blurring of employee goals, a phenomenon that has a significant impact on firm performance, though it has not been previously identified as such, or explained.

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Author Biographies

Gyula J. Nagy, Business Science Institute – BSI Luxembourg ASBL, Château de Wiltz, Luxembourg

Gyula J. Nagy is an independent advisor and associate researcher at the Business Science Institute in Luxembourg. His research and work focus on corporate performance management. He holds a doctorate of business administration from Business Science Institute/University Jean Moulin Lyon 3/SKEMA Business School, an MBA (Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley) and undergraduate degrees from Budapest University of Economics and Budapest Business School. He has senior executive and consulting experience with McKinsey, GE and various financial services companies.

Isabelle Walsh, SKEMA Business School – Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France

Isabelle Walsh (walshisabelle.com) defended her PhD and HDR (habilitation à diriger des recherches: habilitation to supervise research) in Paris-Dauphine University (France). Beside methodological and research design issues, she is currently particularly involved in bibliometrics to support the process of conducting literature reviews. Her other research themes include information systems usage, cultural and change management issues. She regularly publishes in top-tier research journals. In her research, she uses classic grounded theory with mixed quantitative and qualitative data (www.doinnggt.com). Beyond her research achievements, Isabelle Walsh has extensive corporate and consultancy experience and is currently Emerita Distinguished Professor of Information Systems/data science, and CEO of a start-up supported by the French government (www.scanlitt;com).

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