Schweitzer

It turns out there's no economic benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit" Schweitzer says.

A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals

The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.

But Schweitzer contends the "mounting causal evidence" linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation

My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization," Schweitzer says.

What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by citing the example of Enron

Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting.