ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Personal effectiveness
An employee is given a goal of reducing month-end close time from 10 days to 2 days within one month, with no extra resources or training. Which SMART criterion is most doubtful?
Achievability is the doubtful criterion. The goal is clear and quantified, but cutting close time from ten days to two within a month without extra resources or training is unrealistic. Such an unattainable target is likely to demotivate the employee rather than improve performance.
- AAchievableCorrect
- BSpecific
- CMeasurable
Explanation
The goal is specific (close time) and measurable (days), and has a deadline. However, an 80% cut in one month with no additional resources is unrealistic, so achievability is doubtful. Unrealistic goals can demotivate staff.
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