13 November Management by Objectives and Self-Control (...ambiguous...)

[Paul Terlemezian]

It is common for the provider of training to define the course objectives. These objectives are normally defined with the learner "in mind" but the learner generally has little flexibility to change the objectives once the course has started and may not in fact have any input before the course has started.

 

Is there opportunity to blend the benefits of Self-Control with pre-determined course objectives?

 

 

[Paul Terlemezian]

Trainers often begin a class by asking the attendees what their objectives are for attending. This can be a "safety net" to make sure the person is in the right class. I actually experienced this once when I was teaching an Assembly Language Programming Class for DEC and an attendee thought he was in a class to learn how to repair sewing machines. How he got there is amusing to me - but not interesting enough to go into the details here.

 

Drucker asserts that the benefits of Self-Control are:

 

Stronger motivation

A desire to do the best rather than just enough

Higher goals

Broader vision

 

How do we realize these benefits if the objectives are pre-determined?