Achieving positive outcomes from online training. Goal setting and achievement goal orientation

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-03-2023-0064
• Published date: 05 May 2023
• Date: 05 May 2023
• Pages: 43-46
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Human resource policy,Employee welfare

Achieving positive outcomes from

online training

Goal setting and achievement goal orientation

Workplace training in the wake of Covid-19

The critical role learning plays in helping firms compete and grow is well-documented.

Effective training is likewise imperative if learning is to occur. However, the global Covid-19

outbreak in early 2020 served to severely disrupt conventional training methods.

Restrictions meant usual in-person training was largely curtailed and replaced by programs

delivered online.

Since then, the business world has witnessed an explosion in remote forms of learning. It

has therefore become a matter of some urgency to identify factors with scope to ensure it

delivers positive outcomes.

Basic learning strategies generate surface-level learning. Examples of this are taking notes

and memorizing content. On the other hand, deep learning involves more sophisticated

processes. Through engagement in this form of learning, individuals are able to absorb

information and adapt it for future use in other situations. The literature uses Bloom’s

taxonomy to illustrate differentlevels of learning.

Achievement goal orientation and how it has evolved

Explorations of deep learning have noted the significance of achievement goal orientations

(AGOs). These AGOs are defined as individual dispositions that have the capacity to

influence the behavior of learners. They are considered particularly relevant when learning

activities have specific objectives. According to certain scholars, contextual factors and

attainment type mean that these characteristics have scope to vary.

Achievements goals were initially divided into “mastery” and “performance” types.

Things have changed substantially since then and goals now belong in one of four

different categories. Those defined as “mastery-avoidance” place emphasis on not

making personal errors. For “performance-avoidance” goals, making sure that

performance isn’t less effective than outcomes attained by significant others is the main

priority. It is worth noting that the impact of these goals types on achievements such as

learning behaviors has often been negative. Perhaps this is down to the nature and focus

typical of such goals.

Goals labeled “mastery-approach” relate to the development and enhancement of personal

capabilities. The essence of “performance-approach” goals is achieving superior results

than others. Compared to the avoidance goals, a markedly different picture emerges here.

Evidence exists to show they possess thecapacity to favorably influence areas that include

examination results andrelationships with peers.

DOI 10.1108/HRMID-03-2023-0064 VOL. 31 NO. 4 2023, pp. 43-46, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 0967-0734 jHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST jPAGE 43