The purpose of this study was to study the effects of goal setting on students in a developmental algebra course. This study examined the effects on test scores for students that were prescribed a test score goal, students that created their own test score goal, and then compared to a control group. Three classes of developmental algebra were chosen with a total of 25 participants with reported results. Results showed that students with a goal on a test did not score significantly better than students without a goal, but did score significantly better on a test after the goal than tests before the goal.

Socialt arbete i Sverige bedrivs inom offentlig samt privat regi och är underordnad politisk styrning. Inom de offentliga förvaltningarna finansierar politikerna förvaltningarna som bed-rivs utan vinstintresse och arbetar för att implementera politiska idéer och visioner i arbetet. Alla verksamheter under politisk styrning arbetar efter olika samhällsuppdrag där olika mål ska implementeras för att vidareutveckla verksamheterna och anpassas efter de förändringar som sker i samhället.Studiens syfte var att ta reda på hur enhetschefer inom Socialtjänsten motiverar sina medarbe-tare att arbeta med de politiska verksamhetsmålen. Studiens empiriska material samlades in genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra enhetschefer inom Socialtjänsten i Halmstad. Därefter tolkades empirin genom en hermeneutisk ansats för att få en förståelse för materialet. Slutsat-serna drogs sedan från empiri till teorier genom induktion.De viktigaste faktorerna som motiverar medarbetarna i målstyrningsarbetet utifrån ett chefs-perspektiv är att målen är tydliga så medarbetarna förstår syftet med målen. Att medarbetarna får vara delaktiga när målen planeras och utarbetas. Dels genom att de får vara med och be-sluta hur arbetet ska gå till samt att medarbetarna är delaktiga och involverade i ekonomin. Det individuella ansvaret hos varje medarbetare var också av vikt, det gör att medarbetaren får anta uppgifter som de är kunniga i och som de känner sig bekväma med. Lönen var däremot inte en avgörande faktor för att motiveras, ur chefens perspektiv. Utan istället verkar det vara betydande att medarbetarna får bekräftelse och beröm från chefen när denne utfört ett bra och betydande arbete. Att följa upp målen är också en motiverande faktor, då ser gruppen om de nått målen, för vid framgång motiveras medarbetarna. / Social Work in Sweden is conducted in public and private management and is subject to polit-ical control. Within the public administration finance politician’s administrations pursued a non-profit, working to implement policy ideas and visions in the work. All activities under political control works for different social function where different goals implement in order to further develop the business and adapt to the changes that taking place in society.The study's purpose was to find out how the unit managers in social services motivate their employees to fulfill the business goals coming from politicians. The study's empirical material gathered through interviews with four unit managers within social services in Halmstad. After that, empirical data has been interpreted through a hermeneutic approach to gain an under-standing of the material. The conclusions have been drawn from empirical work to theories through induction.The main factors that motivate employees in the goal orientation process from a manager's perspective are that the goals are clear so the employees understand the purpose of the targets. It is important that employees involved when the goals is planned. Partly by allowing them to participate and decide how the work will proceed and those employees are empowered and involved in the economy. The individual responsibility of each employee was also important, it means that the employee adopt task that they are knowledgeable in and that they feel com-fortable with. Salary, however, was not a critical factor to be motivated from manager´s per-spective. But instead it seems important that employees receive acknowledgment and praise from the manager when they performed a good and important work. To follow up the goals is also a motivating factor. Then, the group sees if they achieved the goals, because the employ-ee is motivated by success.

Organizations today face complex problems requiring individuals to work in groups to develop insightful solutions efficiently through coordination, sharing, and integration of distributed knowledge. However, very little research has investigated group problem solving, specifically in terms of incentives and problem structure. This research uses laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of individual versus group goal conflict on collaborative behaviour and performance in group problem solving process. The experiments study 4-person problem solving groups, in which the group solution emerges through coordination and information sharing. The design of the experiment is a 3 by 3 design with two factors, incentive and task structure. Experiments manipulated the relative weights of individual and group rewards using three ratios (0:100, 50:50, 100:0). Three experimental tasks differing in structure were used to investigate the incentive conflict effect on different kind of problems; in particular, problems containing detours and requiring restructuring. One-hundred and sixty-four undergraduate students participated in this study. The group problem solving process is viewed as a process towards increased structural balance based on Heider’s balance theory. This method captures both incremental search and cognitive restructuring during the problem solving process. Results report the effects of group versus individual goal conflict on group performance and behaviour. Results show that incentive influenced group performance and behaviour by affecting strategies groups used to approach the problem. Individual incentive encouraged the group to focus on the solution state while group incentives encouraged random exploration, and this difference is most significant under the complex problem structure. Results also show that task structure influenced group performance and behaviour by varying the amount of incremental search and restructuring required to solve the problem. Individual incentive weakened difference on performances among three problem structures, while group incentive amplified differences on performance and behaviour among three problem structures.

Companies are under increasing pressure from every category of stakeholder, from government and community to supply chain and consumer, to improve the environmental sustainability of their operations, products and services. To be most successful with environmental sustainability improvement initiatives, a company must have the commitment and effort of its employees. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of the company’s approach to the initiative on the level of employee commitment to the company’s environmental sustainability goals. This research was conducted with a two-factor, factorial experiment. The experimental factors were construal level and small wins framing. Each of these factors had two levels, creating a 2x2 design with four treatment level combinations. A third study factor was environmental concern. Four other variables, goal difficulty, perceived organizational efficacy, gender and age, were included in the model as control variables. The dependent variable was goal commitment. Approximately 150 participants were recruited for the experiment and randomly assigned to one of the four fixed, treatment combinations. Hierarchical regression was used to estimate the factors’ main and interaction effects, as well as the significance of the control variables. Neither of the two manipulated variables, construal level and small wins, was found to have a significant main effect on goal commitment. There were, however, significant interactions between environmental concern and construal level, and between environmental concern and small wins framing, on goal commitment. At high levels of environmental concern, the effects of construal level and small wins were as hypothesized, but at low levels of environmental concern, the effects of construal level and small wins were opposite of what was expected. Additionally, both organizational efficacy and gender were found to significantly affect one’s goal commitment.

I dagsläget är byggbranschen hårt styrt av att uppnå hög standard, rätt kvalitet, nå kortare byggtider och detta ska ske till en lägre kostnad. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur viktig kommunikationen i byggprocessen är, om det finns ett samband mellan kommunikation och om projektet uppnår sitt förväntade resultat. Vilken betydelse har målbildens förankrande och programmets utformning för projektets chanser att uppnådda det förväntade resultatet. Studien grundar sig på subjektiva resultat, utifrån de medverkande byggaktörernas uppfattning, och mäter därmed inte frågeställningarna objektiv. Resultatet av de kvantitativa undersökningarna i denna studie visar på att det finns ett samband mellan den allmänna kommunikationen, målbildens tydlighet under projektet och målbildens uppfyllelse. Resultatet visar även att det inte finns någon tydlig koppling mellan dessa punkter och kommunicerande av målbilden i projektet. Studien visar att målbilden inte behöver vara gemensam och väll förankrad hos alla medverkande aktörer i det specifika projektet. / In present the building industry is focused on reaching high standard, right quality, reach shorter building times and this shall be done to less expense. The purpose with this study is to examine how important the communication is for the building process, if there is a connection between the communication and if the project reaches the expected goal. What meaning has the anchor to the goal image and the programs design for the projects chance of success. The study is found on subjective results, from the contributing building contractor opinions, and measures there by not the questions objective. The results of the quantitative examine in this study targets out that in a connection between the general communication, the goal images clearness under the project and the goal images fulfilment. The results even show that there is no clear connection between these three targets and the communication about the goal images. The study shows that the goal images do not need to be common and good anchor to all contractors involved in the specific project.

Purpose – The current study aims to analyze how employees in temporary groups gets motivated, based on their personality traits and generation belonging, focusing on the goal setting theory. The study also focuses on the combination of these two variables concerning the goal setting theory. Design – A total of 56 individuals working in project groups completed the questionnaire made for measure their personality traits and their work motivation. Findings – Results in this specific case demonstrated differences in motivation based on their personality traits and generation. The study also found differences when studying the combination of the two variables. For example that generation X employees with a high trait of extrovert, gets motivated by taking more responsibility, while employees in generation Y with high trait of openness gets motivated when a goal is set high. Research limitations – this study should be seen as a case and not to be generalized across all employees working in temporary groups.

Goal-Oriented Action Planning (GOAP) är en AI-arkitektur som tillämpar ett måldrivet beteende åt agenter i spel. Mål uppnås genom att planer med åtgärder genereras med hjälp av en sökalgoritm. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka hur två sökalgoritmer, A* och IDA*, presterar under planering i GOAP. De experimenten som används är dels en miljö där agenter simuleras, samt ett test där planer genereras för samtliga implementerade mål utan rendering och simulering av agenter. Data som utvärderas är bl.a. planeringstiden, antal besökta noder under sökning och genererade planer. Utvärderingen visar en tydlig fördel till A*, som i snitt är 38 % snabbare än IDA* vid planering av åtgärder i GOAP. Slutsatsen blir att A* är den algoritm att föredra om prestanda är det som eftertraktas men IDA* kan motiveras för dess egenskaper, så som lägre minneskomplexitet. / <p>För tillgång till implementationen, maila f.helmesjo@gmail.com</p>

Organizations today face complex problems requiring individuals to work in groups to develop insightful solutions efficiently through coordination, sharing, and integration of distributed knowledge. However, very little research has investigated group problem solving, specifically in terms of incentives and problem structure. This research uses laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of individual versus group goal conflict on collaborative behaviour and performance in group problem solving process. The experiments study 4-person problem solving groups, in which the group solution emerges through coordination and information sharing. The design of the experiment is a 3 by 3 design with two factors, incentive and task structure. Experiments manipulated the relative weights of individual and group rewards using three ratios (0:100, 50:50, 100:0). Three experimental tasks differing in structure were used to investigate the incentive conflict effect on different kind of problems; in particular, problems containing detours and requiring restructuring. One-hundred and sixty-four undergraduate students participated in this study. The group problem solving process is viewed as a process towards increased structural balance based on Heider’s balance theory. This method captures both incremental search and cognitive restructuring during the problem solving process. Results report the effects of group versus individual goal conflict on group performance and behaviour. Results show that incentive influenced group performance and behaviour by affecting strategies groups used to approach the problem. Individual incentive encouraged the group to focus on the solution state while group incentives encouraged random exploration, and this difference is most significant under the complex problem structure. Results also show that task structure influenced group performance and behaviour by varying the amount of incremental search and restructuring required to solve the problem. Individual incentive weakened difference on performances among three problem structures, while group incentive amplified differences on performance and behaviour among three problem structures.

This study was designed to examine the relationship between a person’s goal orientation and the gender roles that they adopt. The relationship between gender and goal orientation has been studied for years, but the results have been inconclusive. Some studies find a gender difference and some studies do not. For this reason, this study examined if there was another factor that was influencing goal orientations that was related to gender. Goal orientations are perceptual-cognitive frameworks for how individuals approach, interpret, and respond to achievement situations. Gender roles are the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are considered acceptable and appropriate for each gender based on society and culture. Four hundred and seventy two participants answered an online questionnaire assessing their goal orientation and gender role identification. The participants answered questions using the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale and the Bem’s Sex Role Inventory. Overall, the results showed that higher masculinity leads to a higher motivation to succeed, and higher femininity leads to a higher motivation to avoid failure.

While being physically active is an important and valued goal for many individuals, family, work, school, and friends are also valued aspects of their lives. Many social cognitive theories examine health behaviours in isolation, without taking into consideration the context, or life circumstances, in which people seek to achieve such health behaviours. Examining a single goal-directed behaviour without acknowledging the possible influence of other concurrent goals managed by an individual may oversimplify the self-regulation needed in daily life. The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to examine exercise behaviour in the context of concurrently held, valued non-exercise activities (e.g., academics, family). Relationships between valued non-exercise goals, concurrent self-regulatory efficacy, and physical activity behaviour were explored. Social cognitive theory provided the theoretical framework for the three studies conducted. Study 1 sought to discriminate university students whose physical activity level was either commensurate or not with achieving health benefits using social-cognitive predictors. These predictors took into account participants beliefs about the concurrent management of physical activity with other valued non-exercise goals. Results indicated that concurrent self-regulatory efficacy (belief in abilities to self-regulate the management of multiple goals including exercise) discriminated those active enough to achieve health benefits from those who were not active enough. Study 2 used a prospective design to explore potential mechanisms that allow individuals to successfully self-regulate exercise behaviour with other goals during hectic times. Undergraduate students were observed during a 4-week examination period where they faced greater than usual challenges to exercising regularly. Concurrent self-regulatory efficacy was identified as a partial mediator of the relationship between value of an exercise goal and future exercise behaviour, and this effect was stable during this challenging period of time. Study 3 used a randomized experimental design to test the social cognitive theory hypothesis that individuals with greater concurrent self-regulatory efficacy would persevere with exercise to a greater extent when facing numerous exercise barriers than their lower efficacy counterparts. Forty-nine busy working mothers with young children who were exercisers or wanted to exercise comprised the study sample. Participants either high or low in concurrent self-regulatory efficacy were exposed to numerous or minimal exercise barrier scenarios. Consistent with social cognitive theory, when exercise barriers were numerous, mothers with higher concurrent self-regulatory efficacy demonstrated greater perseverance towards achieving their exercise goals, and perceived the concurrent management of exercise along with their other valued life goals as more positively challenging, than did mothers with lower concurrent self-regulatory efficacy. Taken together, these results provide preliminary support for the utility of using social cognitive theory to examine beliefs about concurrent self-regulation of exercise along with other valued non-exercise goals when studying exercise behaviour. Future directions and applications to theory are discussed.