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a goal is unrealistic when the goal is something that requires more skills and knowledge, energy and time more than you have available in order to achieve it.
example of unrealistic target to earn a million dollars in a year.

most of the time unrealistic targets do not come out fruitful and this gives negative impacts to the stakeholders and the donors.

sometimes unrealistic goals can turn into reality if you get to work, thinking out of the box , creating massive accountability and giving more time to yourself and to the project.

Targets are flexible and should be reviewed intermittently during the course of the project or if some unforeseen risks were encountered.
Targets should also be SMART(Simple, measurable, achievable/attainable, realistic and time bound), that way we avoid setting unrealistic targets.

Unrealistic targets are not achievable and are not realiable

For sure to avoid disappointments in an organization, it's much better to consider baselines and historical trends when setting realistic targets.

For sure to avoid disappointments in an organization, it's much better to consider baselines and historical trends when setting realistic targets.

The four data management questions /steps are very vital.

Unrealistic targets are not achievable and are not realiable

Unrealistic targets are not achievable and are not reliable.
Targets must be realistic and ambitious.

These can be ambitious targets, that are not practical and feasible and alot of times they are difficult to measure and even evaluate.

Learnt that it is important to set realistic targets. setting unrealistic targets will end up disappointing you and all members of your team including the stakeholders.

When setting your targets its important to take into consideration a lot of factors including knowing the baseline and historical trend of the indicator amongst others. It must be in line with the indicator.

Target is advised to be ambitious but realizable. It motivate the team to reach high levels of success. targets can be adjusted haven considered the possible risks and other factors that may affect the project.

It's also important to consider these sources of information to enable you set realistic targets for your projects: Expert opinions, research findings or previous projects, stakeholders expectations and the projects budget.

A target can be unrealistic when it requires more energy, skills, time and money than the project has available. It can also be when it is set using feelings instead of data. When an unrealistic target is set, it won't be attained and will result in negative emotions, frustration, disappointment and failure. To avoid setting unrealistic target, let's ensure our Target is with the scope of work and within the available budget, also taking into consideration the available resources

A goal is unrealistic when the goal is something that requires more energy, skills, talents, and time than you have available in order to achieve it.

Here are a few examples of unrealistic goals:
Financial goal – to earn a million dollars in a year.
Weight loss goal – to quickly burn the fat through exercise.
Business goal – to build a multi-million-dollar business in a year.
Sports goal – to run faster than Usain Bolt or to play in the NBA.

It was a very interesting discussion. The thing that stuck out the most was under the Seven Criteria for Strong Indicators >> balancing adequate measurements with practical considerations.

Sometimes the tradeoff is rather difficult. Also, in the NGO environment of navigating what donors want you to measure verses what is needed to ensure the success of the project, the two don't always align

It was a very interesting discussion. The thing that stuck out the most was under the Seven Criteria for Strong Indicators >> balancing adequate measurements with practical considerations.

Sometimes the tradeoff is rather difficult. Also, in the NGO environment of navigating what donors want you to measure verses what is needed to ensure the success of the project, the two don't always align

It was a very interesting discussion. The thing that stuck out the most was under the Seven Criteria for Strong Indicators >> balancing adequate measurements with practical considerations.

Sometimes the tradeoff is rather difficult. Also, in the NGO environment of navigating what donors want you to measure verses what is needed to ensure the success of the project, the two don't always align

The course is complet, the way the target is explained is clear. when setting target the M&E expert must be realistic, have to look for all the information about the target he is expeting to set. the M&E expert have to know or not wether the team will achieve the target.

Targets are very important aspect if the project is to win donor funding,for instant if the targets are too low donors will be reluctant to fund your project and also if the targets are too high we may end up failing to attain the set targets this will disappoint the project team and the donors.As M&E expert we need always rely on data and not our feeling when setting targets for the project.Unrealistic targets will make the project to miss its goal hence end up in disappointing the donor and the project team even the beneficiaries,

Targets are very important aspect if the project is to win donor funding,for instant if the targets are too low donors will be reluctant to fund your project and also if the targets are too high we may end up failing to attain the set targets this will disappoint the project team and the donors.As M&E expert we need always rely on data and not our feeling when setting targets for the project.Unrealistic targets will make the project to miss its goal hence end up in disappointing the donor and the project team even the beneficiaries,

Unrealistic targets make it difficult for a project to be fruitful, thus it is important for the project team to continuously review their targets to ensure that they are attainable and realistic.

A project team who set unrealistic targets often lack understanding of the intricacies involved in a project and the ripple effect they create on decisions, contingencies and risk. Detailed planning, communication and documentation will help to overcome this challenge.
Unrealistic targets would lead to :
1- Wasted money
2-Squandered people time.
3-Inferior quality.
4-Diminished organizational change efficacy
5-Damaged credibility
6-Damaged reputations
7-Damaged morale.

A project team who set unrealistic targets often lack understanding of the intricacies involved in a project and the ripple effect they create on decisions, contingencies and risk. Detailed planning, communication and documentation will help to overcome this challenge.
Unrealistic targets would lead to :
1- Wasted money
2-Squandered people time.
3-Inferior quality.
4-Diminished organizational change efficacy
5-Damaged credibility
6-Damaged reputations
7-Damaged morale.

A project team who set unrealistic targets often lack understanding of the intricacies involved in a project and the ripple effect they create on decisions, contingencies and risk. Detailed planning, communication and documentation will help to overcome this challenge.
Unrealistic targets would lead to :
1- Wasted money
2-Squandered people time.
3-Inferior quality.
4-Diminished organizational change efficacy
5-Damaged credibility
6-Damaged reputations
7-Damaged morale.

Don't have unreachable goals in mind.

From the module, I have learnt the difference between an indicator and a target.
Indicator- this are the things you will measure to measure how successful the project is being implemented.
Target - This are the specific thresholds you want to meet. Usually in numbers and percentages.

It is also worth noting the importance of correctly identifying the indicator to use in your project. This will help you and the team measure project success more effectively and efficiently. This also helps in effective decision making in the course of implementing the project.
I have also learnt the different types of indicators ( Qualitative and Quantitative ) . Both are equally important and i should have a mix of both in my log frame
Indicators and targets are interrelated. As a result selecting the correct indicators will enhance the setting of ambitious and realistic targets. It is important to start by setting the end target before the smaller targets.
Set targets can also me changed in the course of implementing the project.

an unrealist targert is a target that couldn't be achivied by the project. The project designer doesn't think about some difficult that could happen during different activities

Don't have unreachable goals in mind.

Unrealistic targets are targets that do not follow any criteria eg.
Expert opinion when setting them
Stakeholder expectations
The Project budget
Research findings on previous projects

Unrealistic targets are as a result of poor research or planning, poor team effort and misjudgement of the programme. There is need to have background information to extrapolate what target to use. Unrealistic targets lead to frustration and defeat the purpose of the project

Unrealistic targets can put pressure unnecessary pressure on employees.
Giving yourself a break and asking for advice can help you set realistic and ambitious goals

Targets are better when it is realistic. However, in some projects, the funders may dish out targets without recourse to whether they are tenable or not. It may also be done by the implementing organization when proper homework was not done before setting targets. Unrealistic targets may be in scope, in time and on budget. This should be avoided at all times and if it happens, there is need to adjust the target to a realistic level

it is important to set a good target, especially what we can achieve where possible.
It is therefore not necessary to set objectives that are beyond our control to perhaps try to prove any involvement or to please a donor because this will rather discredit the organization or the structure on these performances.

The following should be consider to set ambiguous yet realistic targets
-always look at previous research on same kind of project to determine level of achievement.
-look at the resources available for the project.
-also check stakeholder expectation before setting realistic targets

A good target have to be realistic

I have really learnt a lot from this topic. Unrealistic targets are something we can set unknowingly because we want to be ambitious. It is very necessary to set realistic target, things that are achievable.

unrealistic targets can lead the team to be stuck at some point in the project due to the lack of resources or the realities on the ground

Unrealistic targets are those set without putting into consideration some key components project elements like funds available into consideration. Your budget will determine what you are able to do. For example, you might want to distribute 80,000 mosquito nets, but only have the funds to purchase 40,000. To execute this project, adjustment will have to be made to allow for realistic target.

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Ambitious targets are very tempting and good to motivate workers. But it is important to consider some circumstances that could affect those targets. Such as the input (money, skill, knowledge and etc) also external environment (during pandemic).

an unrealist targert is a target that couldn't be achivied by the project. The project designer doesn't think about some difficult that could happen during different activities

While setting project targets it has been evident that they should be realistic something that can be achieved in the project implementation. You can set ambitious targets to motivate your team but the targets that are set should not be too low than the ones approved by the donors.

Among the core characteristics of a particular indicator being realistic is very important. It means a target must realistic in line with the project goal, human resource and budget available.

I often see targets that are way too high or unachievable - they are more like impact statements than realistic targets.

Unrealistic targets are sure to disappoint everyone. While they are lofty in nature, unrealistic targets will leave donors, our teams, and even ourselves perplex as to our planning skills. So, smaller, but achievable, targets are more important because they will leave you with a sense of accomplishment.

when the goal is something that requires more energy, skills, talents, and time than you have available in order to achieve it. ... Another unrealistic goal may be one that is not in alignment with your own greatest gifts and talents.

good response because it is straight to the point.

good response because it is straight to the point

@VENIC said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

While setting project targets it has been evident that they should be realistic something that can be achieved in the project implementation. You can set ambitious targets to motivate your team but the targets that are set should not be too low than the ones approved by the donors.

Unrealistic targets are targets that are not practical and almost impossible to attain. This happens when you make targets beyond your reach and capabilities. When setting project target its better to be more realistic as this act as a motivator for the stakeholders of the project. Unrealistic one will demotivate everyone involved.

Unrealistic targets are targets that cannot be able to made on the ground, and unrealistic target disappoint everyone including the donor and the teams

unrealistic targets derail the project's progress straining it in the long run.

It is always a good idea to have enough information before you set your targets, otherwise in some cases you set targets that are impossible to achieve, and at the end you get the dissapointment of your donors and dismotivation of the staff involved. Realistic targets will allow to use the resources in place to be fully used and lead to an actual effect- when you are able to see that the targets have been achieved.

Unrealistic targets could be due to thye fact that we set very ambitious targets or the targets were not based on baseline data or data driven

Unrealistic targets can hurt an institution or organization. For instance, if the targets set are too high, staff members will fail to meet them hence impacting their self-esteem, motivation and productivity at work.

Unrealistic targets cause stress, anxiety, and will cost the organization money due to ill staff or stress leave or sick offs hence absenteeism at work.

Not achieving set targets lead to emotional negativity, a disappointed organization and team. In fact, every person feels frustrated.

it is important for one to know what is possible to achieve and what is too much to chew... when we set low targets then we are able to achieve them easily and therefore do not feel our input, our effort and andredaline ..but when we set high target and we are able to achieve them then we feel an elevation , we feel capable, and ready to make even higher targets to make achievement which leads to accomplishment and success of a businesses. however, be careful not to be tooo ambitious

We could not measure the result of the project if we set unrealistic targets. The target should be ambitious but realistic!

If they didn't happen, what would be the new target? Then we
set the midline to be our new target. Lastly, we set our project to have
incentives for staff to realize these new targets. Does it mean that
when you set a target you can't go back and adjust your target? No. For our
case we had to go back and adjust our target because that was the most
realistic thing to do. For example, we said that we will begin our projects on
month two and it was almost impossible. We began a project at month seven so we
had to adjust our targets based that we started a bit late.

Does unrealistic targets affect the performance of the project

These are targets which are too ambitious, objectives too much. It is important to put few targets which you can easily achieve without panicking.

Yes they do

Monitoring and evaluation is important in organization

Input,output,outcome,indeks

Word of the season: to set targets, use data not feelings.

Any one else here an overly ambitious culprit? What is the most unrealistic target you have ever set for a project and with what you know now, how would you have refined it?

I used to think that being realistic meant lack of faith...but what it is is managing expectations to what you can practically achieve with your resources.

So true: I've been going through some panic lately. The code is...get it right from the start...manage expectations.

Targets should be set based on the data whatever its come from secondary or primary source.

Targets can be seen to be unrealistic when targets are set without consideration to baseline data, when targets are too high and not achieveable. And when the Risk and Assumption are not fully considered because of personal biases.

Targets can be seen to be unrealistic when targets are set without consideration to baseline data, when targets are too high and not achieveable. And when the Risk and Assumption are not fully considered because of personal biases.

Targets can be seen to be unrealistic when targets are set without consideration to baseline data, when targets are too high and not achieveable. And when the Risk and Assumption are not fully considered because of personal biases.

if you set excessively unrealistic goals, you set yourself up for disappointment. ... Not reaching goals results in negative emotions: disappointment, frustration, and feeling like a failure. It also makes you more likely to quit, be even less healthy, and claim that your genetics make success impossible.
However, if that goal is constantly unrealistic, employees can feel like they're not achieving. This can impact self-esteem, motivation, and productivity, which can damage your bottom-line. Staff may aim lower – If targets are regularly set too high, staff will constantly fail to meet them

if you set excessively unrealistic goals, you set yourself up for disappointment. ... Not reaching goals results in negative emotions: disappointment, frustration, and feeling like a failure. It also makes you more likely to quit, be even less healthy, and claim that your genetics make success impossible.
However, if that goal is constantly unrealistic, employees can feel like they're not achieving. This can impact self-esteem, motivation, and productivity, which can damage your bottom-line. Staff may aim lower – If targets are regularly set too high, staff will constantly fail to meet them

Most are based around a core set of basic tools. These include interviews, focus group discussions, observation, photography, video, surveys, questionnaires and case studies. Data may also be generated through direct measurement, reviewing secondary data, and informal project / programme management processes.
Here are the top six data collection methods:
Interviews.
Questionnaires and surveys.
Observations.
Documents and records.
Focus groups.
Oral histories.

Unreasonable targets hinder team spirit as well as kill creativity through generating undesirable distress among team members. It adversely affect attitude of team members towards set targets or goal. Many times it is source of perpetual conflict within organization. It creates psychological barrier among team members on the line that it is practically infeasible or irrational or unachievable. Unreasonable targets brings resentment & shake faith of team towards its leaders as well as organization. Motivation of team members depends on belief that we will achieve organization goal, but when team start to visualize targets as unachievable it brings devastating effect on collective conscious of team . Success over project is not one man show but depends on collective wisdom/ ingenuity/ foresight of team which is based on reasonable or rationality of targets. Ultimately, unreasonable targets disintegrate overall environment of organization at various level viz. people, policy, process, procedure or system level etc. Hence, reasonable targets need to be set up based on criteria of SMART Principal i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Therefore, SMART Principal will accelerate cohesiveness in team and orient team towards achievement of ultimate expectation of stakeholders.

Goal is the main motivation for employees, donors and it was also clear that the goal can be updated during the implementation of the project.
Can we set more goals within the same project?

Targets are what an organisation uses to measure the success of its programs. They can be used to motivate the team by giving them a goal to work towards.
Targets also help show donors the amount of work the organisation is about to take on for proper funding.
However targets need to be realistic otherwise they will lead to dissapointment of the whole team. To ensure that they are achievable alot of research needs to be done before hand. If the organisation has done the project previously they can use the target reached to be their baseline and set their new target higher than that. If its it's another organisation that did the project the same applies. If it's a project that has never been done before the target baseline would be zero.

It is possible to solve unrealistic target by setting judgmental view as well as participatory discussion.

Why can't we consider that the 100% of the donated funds reach the beneficiaries? Sera by the margin of error ???

Unrealistic targets are set by over ambitious project teams, or lack of adequate baseline data, survey.
If you realize that the set target are unrealistic, then there is a need to adjust the said target to allow effective and none stretch in project implementation.

It is important to set realistic targets to enable proper running of a project. Unrealistic targets mount unnecessary pressure to the project

I think it is very important to set your biases aside and set realistic targets. Especially when you need to go back and adjust a target because it turns out to be impossible to reach.

It is an awful feeling when the target is too ambitious so that even when people work lots of overtime and get really stressed you still miss it.

Setting goals can be tricky. If we are optimistic, we may set our goals too high. Similarly, if we feel pessimistic, we may set our goals too low. To set goals like M&E experts, we need to use data rather than feelings to set goals. This will ensure that we will not let our biases or assumptions influence our decisions. The baseline is the level of the indicator before the start of the project. It is important to understand not only the baseline level of the indicator, but also whether the indicator has changed in recent years. When setting goals, we may also need to consider other sources of information.

it is very important to create realistic targets for the project because our targets give the clear picture for the whole project

this is very true,if the targets are unrealistic the employees can even lose direction of their work

The other thing is that unrealistic target can easily contribute to uneffective results of the project

Unrealistic target are M&E limitations to all projects.

• Be honest about these limitations with donors, beneficiaries or anyone else who might be interested in your work. Ideally, share these limitations before your project starts, so that people do not develop unrealistic expectations.
• Example an organization might only have the resources to survey a small group of people. Make sure to share this fact when the data is presented. This way, anyone reading about the data can accurately assess the meaning of the data.
  -A conflict of interest occurred when you or your organization might gain something useful if a certain outcome is reached.
• Imagine an organization that receives donations from a pharmaceutical company. If they publish data that shows that one of that pharmaceutical company’s drugs is effective, their donor might be pleased with them and give them more money.
• Note that changing their data to make their donor look good would be deeply dishonest and, therefore, unethical. -
  -However, even if the data were completely accurate, it would still be unethical for this organization to publish any data about this drug without first disclosing their relationship with the donor. If you are ever worried that your organization might have a conflict of interest, make sure that you share this information when you present the data.
• Even when you suspect your stakeholders’ expectations are unrealistic, it is best to raise the issue before the project begins

Unrealistic target are M&E limitations to all projects.

• Be honest about these limitations with donors, beneficiaries or anyone else who might be interested in your work. Ideally, share these limitations before your project starts, so that people do not develop unrealistic expectations.
• Example an organization might only have the resources to survey a small group of people. Make sure to share this fact when the data is presented. This way, anyone reading about the data can accurately assess the meaning of the data.
  -A conflict of interest occurred when you or your organization might gain something useful if a certain outcome is reached.
• Imagine an organization that receives donations from a pharmaceutical company. If they publish data that shows that one of that pharmaceutical company’s drugs is effective, their donor might be pleased with them and give them more money.
• Note that changing their data to make their donor look good would be deeply dishonest and, therefore, unethical. -
  -However, even if the data were completely accurate, it would still be unethical for this organization to publish any data about this drug without first disclosing their relationship with the donor. If you are ever worried that your organization might have a conflict of interest, make sure that you share this information when you present the data.
• Even when you suspect your stakeholders’ expectations are unrealistic, it is best to raise the issue before the project begins,
  -The targets can be reset for project to be completed

I will be difficult to achieve your project goals with unrealistic target even if you embark it

Unrealistic target are M&E limitations to all projects.

• Be honest about these limitations with donors, beneficiaries or anyone else who might be interested in your work. Ideally, share these limitations before your project starts, so that people do not develop unrealistic expectations.
• Example an organization might only have the resources to survey a small group of people. Make sure to share this fact when the data is presented. This way, anyone reading about the data can accurately assess the meaning of the data.
  -A conflict of interest occurred when you or your organization might gain something useful if a certain outcome is reached.
• Imagine an organization that receives donations from a pharmaceutical company. If they publish data that shows that one of that pharmaceutical company’s drugs is effective, their donor might be pleased with them and give them more money.
• Note that changing their data to make their donor look good would be deeply dishonest and, therefore, unethical. -
  -However, even if the data were completely accurate, it would still be unethical for this organization to publish any data about this drug without first disclosing their relationship with the donor. If you are ever worried that your organization might have a conflict of interest, make sure that you share this information when you present the data.
• Even when you suspect your stakeholders’ expectations are unrealistic, it is best to raise the issue before the project begins,
  -The targets can be reset for project to be completed

• To make our targets ambitious yet realistic we looked at our previous
  implementation and
• what we've been able to achieve and set new targets.
• we looked at the kind of resources that we have available for us. Was it realizable
  for us to realize new targets?
• we can set new targets. We also picked two

Unrealistic target are M&E limitations to all projects.

• Be honest about these limitations with donors, beneficiaries or anyone else who might be interested in your work. Ideally, share these limitations before your project starts, so that people do not develop unrealistic expectations.
• Example an organization might only have the resources to survey a small group of people. Make sure to share this fact when the data is presented. This way, anyone reading about the data can accurately assess the meaning of the data.
  -A conflict of interest occurred when you or your organization might gain something useful if a certain outcome is reached.
• Imagine an organization that receives donations from a pharmaceutical company. If they publish data that shows that one of that pharmaceutical company’s drugs is effective, their donor might be pleased with them and give them more money.
• Note that changing their data to make their donor look good would be deeply dishonest and, therefore, unethical. -
  -However, even if the data were completely accurate, it would still be unethical for this organization to publish any data about this drug without first disclosing their relationship with the donor. If you are ever worried that your organization might have a conflict of interest, make sure that you share this information when you present the data.
• Even when you suspect your stakeholders’ expectations are unrealistic, it is best to raise the issue before the project begins,
  -The targets can be reset for project to be completed

Unrealistic targets will cause the project not be realised and also will lead to frustration among project team members once they fail to realise the targets. Furthermore, because unrealistic targets may cause the project to lag behind schedule, funding from donors may be affected. If your target is 100 males and you involve female 30, defiantly you can not meet your target as planed.

To estimate prevalence of Materia in 100000 households within one month in the Logo district which is not possible to assess all those houses in Logo district within this study period as result it will hard to attain the target of the project.
It is very important to create data flow map which will simplify the the work and as result it will assist in archiving the goal

It will really take skill and expertise to define expertise as a novice in M&E. I also like that with consultation with the donors and stakeholders targets can be realistically adjusted based on the situation and context. I also like the idea to set the final project target and then work it backwards.

I need a certificate from this certification to pass my course

Unrealistic targets are targets that might be difficult to achieve. Unrealistic target might not be good for the success of the project. If you think that setting super-ambitious target can help your team achieve more than if an optimal target was set, well, this might in reality have adverse effect on the project. Setting unrealistic targets can have a negative impact on the team and the project as a whole. These include: reduced work quality, overrunning cost and the project may not be delivered on time.

cibles irréalistes

Unrealistic target will not conform to the resources (like funds & time) allocated to the project and could disappoint the stakeholders. Because the project cannot attain the desired results.

unrealistic targets are targets are not realistic. this are targets you made without viewing a data that has been previously collected, therefore making unrealistic targets

Un realistic targets like : to reach afull satisfactory level from all custmers.

Survyies