My Communities

one time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was supposed to have 1000 birds on the farm by the end of the first month into the poultry business, yet my capital could not help.
I responded by reducing the number of birds from 1000 to 600 birds.

Unrealistic targets are the those that can't be achieved with Limited resources

@MICHAEL3937 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I would advice them to sit down and review their targets so they can work under no pressure and will not be suprised with the result if they go down than their unrealistic and ambitious targets.

Targets are very important for achievements. Realistic targets help a project to go smoothly. It is good to be ambitious but not over ambitious when we set targets. In any case we can go back to revise our targets.

I think that all the targets can be achieved in one way or another and if it was difficult so it can be adjusted

When being asked to reach unrealistic targets, I discussed with my team and the community members to set the achievable and realistic targets again.

We were once asked to set the target of % livebriths attended by skilled health personnel to a high of 90% because it was the national target then. Later did we know that because we were targeting the remotest communities, the baseline for this indicator was around 35%. The target at 90% is unrealistic for a 4 year project that is not addressing all the barriers to facility-based delivery. I recommended the target to be reduced to 70%, and added more interventions to address other barriers that were left out by the project.

One time i was asked to start a certain project of distributing female condoms to a population of 1000 youth and it actually needed about 500,000ugx but actually as a group we had only 200,000ugx available.Because we were so ambitious in our targeting,we had to go back to the drawing board and decided to target a lesser population which fits our budget and it really worked for us.

@apostledavid58 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

We used to file monthly report for certain organization that I once worked with and at the beginning of every month the National level would set targets for each province and being at the local level the set target would seem unrealistic due to either the target exceeding the resources at hand or the target not being applicable to the situation at hand..e.g: the target would request that only high school student be included in program by reason of age while we have student of the same age whilst in primary school.

In AmeriCares foundations, in the framework of our medical attention, we project our objectives according to the technical capacity installed (health staff). In the case of gender violence in migrant women, it is a new issue in Colombia, so we will have to make a baseline, to adjust the objectives to ambitious but real figures

setting an unrealistic target is a total waste of not only time and resources, its a waste of energy as well. setting and unrealistic target for your team or your project is like planning to building a duplex on top of the sea when you aware that there is no enough resources to build even a single room on a table land

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

One time that i was ask to reach unrealistic target was when we were doing survey on the number of borehole in the area , i was asked to find out those number within two days .This two days involve traveling ,taking data analyzing the data collected and interpret the data .it was very hand to me but i responded by giving out history of the previous data collected within the said are and giving the management facts on how it was collected and number of days it took them to do the work. Hence i was able to make them understand how the targets was unrealistic.

@All learners,Thanks for sharing your experiences with unrealistic targets. Have you ever said yes to an unrealistic target and realized later that it actually hurt the team’s progress?If yes please share your experiences with us on how you were able to manage the situation so that others can learn.

One time that i was asked to reach unrealistic target was when my supervisor asked me to compile a data for three years ago of clients who were provided with supplements and have fully recovered from malnutrition in a span of 30 minutes as it was needed by the donor to help in funding for the upcoming projects.I responded by requesting my supervisor to assign three more staffs from other departments to help me in retrieving data from registers.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation?
Yes , reference to the scenario given below.

What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?
The learner should immediately escalate the issue to the management and seek for way forward.

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was carrying out a national survey and the target was to reach 25 household in every cluster and at least get entry to all .This was to be done only at day time when natural light is available otherwise at night will be violation of the survey protocol, hence there is this one household where the owner was only available at nights. I responded by escalating the issue to the coordinator that it will be impossible to get that person during day time. Therefore I had to do things unusual to meet the target.

I have been given unrealistic targets in the past, with them nearly always being overly ambitious. I find this is generally the result of a lack of understanding of the amount of time logistical implementation and behavioural change takes.
For me, the most useful way to consider targets is to examine what is possible in one week, and what is probable. Every week will not be a success. So consider what is the most you could achieve, and then a more realistic goal for that week. Generally, when management sets target it is under the assumption that every week will be a successful one, which is just not the case. So, bearing that in mind, lowering expectations at the outset is incredibly important.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

I was asked to develop an implementation plan for field officers who would be in the field for 4 days per week and expected to consolidate their daily report and present the consolidated report to their line manager in that same week. I suggested that we have them do 3 visits per week instead of 4 because in the long run this was unhealthy to the project as fatigue from the field officers would have compromised their work which would have been more damaging than only 3 field visits per week. Sometimes when you are given targets that seem unrealistic it i better to sit and explore alternative options that might have the same or similar results. Always keep in mind that targets might change.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation?

I have never been asked to reach a high or low target. But, if I have been asked to do so, I would ensure these steps are followed:
To achieve what I want most, what I need is a SMART goal instead.
S-M-A-R-T is a set of 5 criteria to help judge whether a goal is good or not. It helps in making better use of one's time and energy, and achieve your goals effectively. Setting a SMART goal is the first step to success. SMART means the following:
S- Specific goals
M- Measurable goals
A- Achievable goals
R- Realistic goals
T- Time bound goals.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

I was asked to treat 5 patients in one hour, while I should atted maximum of 3 patients, that target was not realistic, I responded by increasing the time of working inorder to achieve it.

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was while working on a survey as a field monitor. Following administrative delegation and planning prio to kick off, i and my team were assigned to minitor atleast 2 survey teams daily, these survey teams could be in the same region or sometimes more than 50km apart on land or across body of water in remote areas. I was to locate and monitor their activities without the help of a local guide and in some places without GPS mapping.

I responded by adjusting my daily take off time into the field to as early as 6.30am in the morning to meet my daily targets. I requested GPS location from the survey teams in the field to help me locate my way.
I also had to make use of indigenous drivers and helmsmen who could navigate the area with less difficulty so as to save time.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

Being honest, i didnt come across that situation. This is my first project and target which i was given i reached them in time.

One time when I was working on a field based cash transfer project, I was asked to set unrealistic targets for my data entry clerks. Each was expected to make 200 entries per day while out there in the field, under makeshift conditions. I had been involved in their training and therefore knew that if I accepted these targets, there would be a lot of errors and thus the data quality would be compromised meaning that eventually some of the beneficiaries would end up not receiving their money either because of spelling errors of their names, missing letters in their identification documents among other common errors.

Initially we were to be given 3 data entry clerks per team (each county had 10 teams).

I responded by pointing out what could possibly go wrong and compromise the results and overall achievement of the project. I suggested that we look at the capture numbers per county and then shared with the team from headquarters what we had identified as the minimum time each data entry clerk could spend with a beneficiary. Using that data, we managed to work out the number of clerks per county required for the exercise. As a result, the allocation of data clerks were rationalized and each team ended up with at least 5 data entry clerks.

i have never been tasked to work towards an unrealistic target but in a such situation, i would ensure i try working on it and even i dont hit the target as expected, i would present genuine explanation where neccessary

having not been in this situation i feel an unrealistic targets are not set based on data review , resources and other related information. an unrealistic targets can at times be low or high which can either make a project successful or unsuccessful.

With the knowledge have now learnt and how best one can reach the targets and the best ways to avoid biases, I would try by all means that I look in all the relevant data that is at hand and able to evaluate the data and how to use it especially with the resources am working with so that I reach my demands.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target, it was to support the development of annual communication plans for vaccination without first conducting socio-anthropological surveys in the communities targeted by the plans. to elaborate. I responded by saying that the logical framework of these plans would not be based on any evidence and that the project ran to failure. I suggested that the surveys be carried out beforehand and that the results of these surveys be used to draw up the plans.

@DoclorrysinclaireSakala said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

With the knowledge have now learnt and how best one can reach the targets and the best ways to avoid biases, I would try by all means that I look in all the relevant data that is at hand and able to evaluate the data and how to use it especially with the resources am working with so that I reach my demands.

Good analysis. can you share your experience on an unrealistic target that you were asked to reach as part of a project

@Dorcas995 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that i was asked to reach unrealistic target was when my supervisor asked me to compile a data for three years ago of clients who were provided with supplements and have fully recovered from malnutrition in a span of 30 minutes as it was needed by the donor to help in funding for the upcoming projects.I responded by requesting my supervisor to assign three more staffs from other departments to help me in retrieving data from registers.

It seemed unrealistic. you had good arguments for answering

@OGBECHE said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

setting an unrealistic target is a total waste of not only time and resources, its a waste of energy as well. setting and unrealistic target for your team or your project is like planning to building a duplex on top of the sea when you aware that there is no enough resources to build even a single room on a table land

I totally agree

it is very obvious that in one of the project we will have unrealistic targets, once in my company we had to screen a thousands of community members in just 2 days, and we were unable to reach that target because the time frame was small and not every community member knew about the campaigns, time it was taking pace etc so it was hard to get to our target.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when we were developing our performance Management Framework for a regional project on accountability of African states to deliver effective SRHR services including national budgets to Women and Girls. I responded by stating that we would only set targets for the 6 Women Rights Organizations that we were directly working with, then set realistic targets for only the 6 countries that we had direct engagement with.

I remembered in 2016, my line manager asked me to ensure we have 70 new admissions of SAM cases ( malnutrition) at our OTP in Baga town, kukawa LGA, Borno state, Nigeria 🇳🇬, I knew right on the spot is impossible, due security situation, affecting patients flow, shortage of manpower to achieve it, distance coverage for our patients to reach OTP due to socioeconomic status, lack of fast means of transport for them. The solution is setting more OTP sites, recruitment of more manpower

My manner of response was
negotiation with the parties involved. The situation was an examination at hand and inability to finish a particular course lectures within a week before exams.
I spoke to my coursemates about sacrificing their time to spend longer hours for the lectures because the lecturer was willing to drop the lecture handouts without coming for subseqent lectures.
When there is an undertasking or overtasking, negotiation through dialogue is key to maintaining timelines.

That a target is unrealistic implies that it does not fit into the SMART principles and as such, it will amount to a waste of time and resources since impact and outcome cannot be measured

When given an unrealistic target. It is best to explain to the team the state of things. You explain by providing facts and figures gotten from past data,generated data or from history.

People acquiesce better when you provide solid research.

yes i was given a unrealistic target to mapped out all the religious leaders with their churches and mosques of the district for community engagement on Girls Access to Education project (GATE). It was an unrealistic target because the time set to complete the target was not realistic, therefore i was having issue with the time given to me . My intervention was to requested for the extension of the time from three days to a week so that i could be able to complete the target. My advice is whenever your are given realistic or unrealistic targets, you should first asses the time allocated to the task as against the resources and time allocated for the completion of targets. I believe time and resources are key determinant factors for an unrealistic targets.

One time i was asked to each an unrealistic target of participants within a very short time for an awareness program my organization was holding, I responded by speaking to the management detailing how unrealistic this within the short period, and how we would end up not achieving our goal. The event was later postponed and we were able to achieve our target.

Module 3 officially opens today. We have had wonderful times with Modules 1 and 2. Let us keep up the tempo. Our assignments and discussions should be attended to on time. If you have any issues, please feel free to ask your questions on this platform or you can contact any of your Course Ambassadors. We are here to help you.

Targets are very important in any project, without any target means we are driving a car but we dont know where we have to go or reach. Before starting any project we have to set our targets and their dead lines.

Plan. Do. Check. Akt. Same with goals/targets. We wouldn't be talking here about realistics having proper skills, would we?;)

I had that experience when I was in the bank. Because of my experince and previous performance, my then area manager gave me a target far above my level. Though within myself I was not happy, but I did not show it and accepted it in good faith and immediately to work on it. It was a challenge and worked hard to achieve high percentage of i.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

While I worked at a medical centre for diabetes and endocrine disorders we were approached by a well known food company who intended to introduce sugarfree chocolates in the market. They chose to test the product on Type1 Adult diabetic individuals for increase in blood sugar levels. This is a rare niche and in the past 35 years of the centres existence I had traced just 20 such individuals. The company wanted at least 18 to show significance. It was unrealistic and despite advertising in the papers, I knew we would never get to that figure.

I took up the challenge nevertheless and managed 12 study participants who followed up until the end of the study period.

I would say, one must be optimistic and not give up, but at the same time be realistic and keep a deadline. I could have gone on for years trying to get to the target, but that would be meaningless.

Make adjustment on the target
Have the baseline data necessary to the project

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was which was cleaning an area in my local government of attachment, the target was too ambitious and unrealistic. I responded by by telling my project coordinator that I will need more hand on deck to clear the potion of field.

I don't have such experience but in those type of situation we can assess the surrounding conditions, review grey literature and take experts opinion to set the proper target. Unrealistic target does not give the project staff a hope. If once you set a realistic target and achieve it the project staffs also will be motivated and confidence level of the leader will be improved.

After reading what others have posted, I am not go far from their responses.

If you are askes to set an unrearistic target you have to prove it with evidences like Baseline, reports and convince the other sise by giving tangible evidences.

Our project had unrealistic targets about beekeepers' income increases, but did not have appropriate MEL to actually collect data on income. Ultimately, we had to use honey yield increases and honey price increases to demonstrate project success instead.

One time that my team was asked to reach unrealistic target was in June 2018, to monitor 4 construction(primary school) projects in different rural communities, which were only accessible by water, and to submit report in 3 days. We were a team of 3, coupled with the volume of data to be collected and analyzed, and the difficulty of riverine transportation makes the 3 day reporting period unrealistic. The team met with our supervisor and marshaled our reasons why it was unrealistic. The team adviced that either 4 teams be constituted, a team for each project or the reporting period be 7 days. This will enable the team work at its capacity and velocity and turn in quality report.

@darcygray said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Our project had unrealistic targets about beekeepers' income increases, but did not have appropriate MEL to actually collect data on income. Ultimately, we had to use honey yield increases and honey price increases to demonstrate project success instead.

@darcygray Please share with us the Beekeeper's income target and how unrealistic achieving it

I had a bad experience by setting unrealistic targets. We want to launch a new product in Bakeries, but before, we did a pilot project in one Bakery during 6 months, and our Top Management had settled as a target to delivere the new branch to the other bakeries after 6 months. Although we are not in conditions to do that, so after 6 months we cancelled the project and review our Plan and informed the new Target.
From that we learned that we were ambitious, because we want to spread the new product as quickly as possible markteweise, and didnt expected that the customers adhered the product and increased the demand.

@DhirendraNath said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I don't have such experience but in those type of situation we can assess the surrounding conditions, review grey literature and take experts opinion to set the proper target. Unrealistic target does not give the project staff a hope. If once you set a realistic target and achieve it the project staffs also will be motivated and confidence level of the leader will be improved.

@DhirendraNath I appreciate your point of view. However, a target is unrealistic because it is beyond your capacity and velocity to achieve so, how can"assess the surrounding conditions, review grey literature and take expert opinion" make the target realistic?

One time we needed to set a target for indicator that measure online multimedia elements in publications. So, we conducted an experiment to set a target. We count all multimedia elements in all related online publications, then we can set a realistic target.

The discussion platform is alive, no doubt. Please let us make contributions that will deepen the knowledge of other learners as we are here to learn from each other's experiences apart from the knowledge acquired here.

@zheenbekovb said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

online

What kind of target? Which Kind of indicator(s)?

Once I joined the project and found that they had had the targets of developing a strategy in one year. This target was to be approved by the Parliament which we did control on their agenda.

Its good to see that people are really active
Thumbs up to you all.
Lets keep the pace
.............................................................................................................................Happy learning

@keme said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that my team was asked to reach unrealistic target was in June 2018, to monitor 4 construction(primary school) projects in different rural communities, which were only accessible by water, and to submit report in 3 days. We were a team of 3, coupled with the volume of data to be collected and analyzed, and the difficulty of riverine transportation makes the 3 day reporting period unrealistic. The team met with our supervisor and marshaled our reasons why it was unrealistic. The team adviced that either 4 teams be constituted, a team for each project or the reporting period be 7 days. This will enable the team work at its capacity and velocity and turn in quality report.

Wowww Nice one
Once you identify an unrealistic target it is always good to give feedback to the people in charge so as to avoid poor results or no results at all
Thanks @keme for sharing this with us
..............................................................................................................................................................................Happy learning

I was asked to achieve 85% hand washing with clean water and soap in the second implementation year of a five year WASH Project in a rural community that suffered water stress through out the year. I responded by requesting the project manager that we start with a lower target and progressively revise it especially given the fact that the first half of the project was to focus on WASH infrastructure. High targets on the behavioural indicators were to be considered in the second half of the project since it focused more on behavioural change and adaptability.

@Skaliyetu said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was which was cleaning an area in my local government of attachment, the target was too ambitious and unrealistic. I responded by by telling my project coordinator that I will need more hand on deck to clear the potion of field.

@Skaliyetu thanks for sharing with us
So did you receive the extra hands needed?
and if Yes how good was final output of the project please do share with us
......................................................................................................................................................................................Happy learning

@akatukwasabenson said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I was asked to achieve 85% hand washing with clean water and soap in the second implementation year of a five year WASH Project in a rural community that suffered water stress through out the year. I responded by requesting the project manager that we start with a lower target and progressively revise it especially given the fact that the first half of the project was to focus on WASH infrastructure. High targets on the behavioural indicators were to be considered in the second half of the project since it focused more on behavioural change and adaptability.

@akatukwasabenson woww that was a good one
WOWW That was very strategic, learning to understamd the nature of the terrain you are operating on is generally very advisable and this is best done by starting small and growing on, while improving based on past experience
NICE ONE thanks for sharing with us
So was your proposition retained and impelemented???
If yes are you done with the project or is it still on the run?
If so please feel free to tell us how effective your method is proving to be
...............................................................................................................................................................................................Happy learning

@apostledavid58 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

We used to file monthly report for certain organization that I once worked with and at the beginning of every month the National level would set targets for each province and being at the local level the set target would seem unrealistic due to either the target exceeding the resources at hand or the target not being applicable to the situation at hand..e.g: the target would request that only high school student be included in program by reason of age while we have student of the same age whilst in prima

“Thanks for posting your ideas @apostledavid58 , I can see you’re really thinking about the course content in your explanation. Have you ever said yes to an unrealistic target and realized later that it actually hurt the team’s progress?”.

@Latoh said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

At Water Collective Cameroon, every 22nd of march we celebrate the world's water in on of one of our project locations.
Last year with had a target to sensitise 500 Community members through the distribution of T-Shirts carrying the years theme, Nature for Water.
On the proper day of the project we discovered that 750 people came out.
Due to that we were force to give t shirts only to 500.

@Latoh That was truly an unforeseen scenario that could lead to a chaotic situation on the proper day and if not well handled that could lead to an unrealistic target but it was gladden from your post that the team was able to give the T-shirts to 500 participants on the long-run......

I was a time ago faced with situation of an unrealistic target. It was project targeted at under 5 malaria eradication We were told to attend to 50 thousand children in ten days across the senatorial district and the skilled manpower trained by the organization were just 25, although other resources needed were available. We responded by requesting for target adjustment based on data from previous project, in previous projects even with optimal logistics,the maximum number of children attended to per day is usually in the range of 3000 on the average. As a result the target was reluctantly adjusted.

@PiliraniTembo said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

In our project we had goals which were not realistic based on the reality of the country, and as the organization didnt want to comittee itself to a goal that could not be reached, we then adjusted the goals and communicate with the donor.

@PiliraniTembo, you know, once you understand the reasons for any unrealistic targets, you can correct them by relying on available data,..

@akatukwasabenson said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

I was asked to achieve 85% hand washing with clean water and soap in the second implementation year of a five year WASH Project in a rural community that suffered water stress through out the year. I responded by requesting the project manager that we start with a lower target and progressively revise it especially given the fact that the first half of the project was to focus on WASH infrastructure. High targets on the behavioural indicators were to be considered in the second half of the project since it focused more on behavioural change and adaptability.

Okay @akatukwasabenson, it's very important to work on the baseline dada in advance and on how it relates to your target to overcome the set of unrealistic target.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by ______ .

I worked with an NGO as a data entry clerk and I was asked to enter 15 hospital folders into the system every day. At first, it was as if the target was unrealistic but as time goes on, I was able to do more than that per day.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was an organisation i was working for set a target based on the achievement researched online by some other organisation. this was a short term funding/project and we had some other organisations implementing in same locations and on same activity to same donor . To avoid duplication of activities and double counting I had to request the project manager write to the donor we wouldn't be able to achieve the stated ambiguous targets within the time frame stating this reasons.

The time when the management was unrealistic- it was when asking where our client come from , which jobs and company are working for , salary and budget per monthly.their personality and so forth. it was unrealistic to know how much they earn and or their personality , especially type of people , race and where they stay. i have no clue .it was difficult to know.

I was on a Gender Based Violence project that entails reporting of rape and sexual assault cases. To begin the project, we focused on Traditional Birth Attendants as gate keepers. at a point we realised that we could not been our target. We then decided to look at engaging the Police. The engagement of the Police ensured that we met our target within the stipulated time. We receive referrals from both the Police and Community TBAs

Whatever we do or leave undone today, becomes history tomorrow. We are quietly forging ahead towards completing our Module 3 studies. Discussions are robust, but let us remember to also attend to our quizzes and assignments. Don't forget to also respond to your peers' discussion posts. Have a great time with your studies, everybody.

@darcygray said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Our project had unrealistic targets about beekeepers' income increases, but did not have appropriate MEL to actually collect data on income. Ultimately, we had to use honey yield increases and honey price increases to demonstrate project success instead.

@darcygray , meaning you were given an unrealistic targets but was able to achieved it? If yes, please share with us how did your team go about it?

@keme said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

assess the surrounding conditions, review grey literature and take expert opinion" make

Ok, simply we do not have to set the target beyond our capacity and velocity. At the early stage we have to just focus on how much we achieve. After early stage you can be further ambitious by your experience and hope. To set the realistic targets you can assess the surrounding condition and review the grey literature if all the people are below poverty line in some areas (that can be found by grey literature and surrounding assessment) you can not set the target within a year you will put them all on the first wealth quintile.

My suggestion was to set the realistic targets. The formative research before the project start will show the direction and current situation. On the basis of the findings of the preliminary study we can set the realistic targets. I hope you will get it.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

**Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was ______ . I responded by _____

I work in a production area where the goals are intentionally set too high. (One supervisor once said, "They're going to go up on the goal because too many people are meeting it.") Employees who are deemed troublesome (or perhaps too expensive) are placed on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) and ushered out the door a few months later.

My own production goal is going up to 150 percent of the current goal, without any known data that would justify the increase. No one else doing the same work is reaching nearly that high a number.
Two questions: 1) Is this kind of environment legal? 2) How does an employee best defend against being unfairly placed on a PIP?

To answer the first question, yes, it's legal. And thank heavens that it is. Think about your encounters with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Do you really want a government bureaucrat determining workplace goals for everyone else? Or worse, what if Congress took it up on themselves to decide what is reasonable? Would there by anything more frightening than the thought of Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner sitting down together and writing your goals for the year? Or determining who should be on a PIP? (Other than them, of course.)
No, good management is not required by law. But business owners generally do try to do what they think is best for the business. That is, they aren't generally mean and nasty to their employees just because they like to be mean and nasty. There must be some thought process that is telling them this is a good way to manage.

Yes there was a time I was tasked in reaching unrealistic target. I was given a team of expert to lead and review curriculum for 5 modules in 10 days. I kept feeling that the target was too high to be achieved in 10 days. The work began and I kept monitoring the progress daily. By day 10 sure we had not achieved the set the target. I had to work on my report and recommend for adjustment of both funds allocated for this activity as well as extension of the number of days required to finish the activity The development partner approved both my requests for additional budget and extension of time.

One time i was asked to reach an unrealistic goal was when i told to organize for a three day training motivational talk with university students.At first our orgaization was there convincing every student the purpose of attending the training,but all was in vain since majority wanted atlst sitting allowance,which was somehow a draw back to us.

We had a very high targets of people to reach in a given project. However, because of the limited resources available, we had to choose between more resources or fewer people to be reached. We settled on fewer people to be reached as a more realistic action for the project.

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was when I was working on a project where I had to deliver too many surveys in the last three month of the project live. I had not enough human resources to do this. To conduct the end line survey, annual survey and direct beneficiaries survey in a short period of time, it is unrealistic. So, me and Project manager revised the budget and decided to hire some professionals to do this, also we have involved some of our projects partners and also volunteer students in the data collection process. In this way, we have had reached our target.

Working on different projects can be a learning experience and venture where you have a multiple of tasks. Well all this is achievable with proper project design. One projected had many unrealistic targets that we could not met. This was a Food For Asset project that was output based at every end of the month for beneficiaries to get their rations and pay through cash transfers. Beneficiaries at the end of the month could not complete even 80% of their tasks due to;
1 Lack of man power due to poor targeting from the chiefs.
2 General food distribution to all the vulnerable community members that absorbed FFA beneficiaries.
3 Prolonged rain that hindered cultivation daily.
Another one was a survey on Food security and Nutrition Monitoring system (FSNMS) where per day a team would complete 4 questionnaires and at least one GEO-TRACE but still this failed due to a number of reasons;
1 The fact that it was cultivation season respondents were not always at home.
2 Other beneficiaries never wanted their kids under 59 months to be measured that it is not to their culture requirements.
3 Others wanted to be paid first.

One project that was donor funded had a predetermined target of recruiting and registering 2000 farmers by the end of year 3 in green insects for food and feed.We did'nt foresee that dealing with attitude change would take a huge toll on the project because the assumption is that western communities eat white ants so crickets WHY NOT...
The housing of crickets took a heavy chunk of the budget and hence they shifted from grants to business and it was in form of soft loan advanced to farmers for housing crickets..needing 30 plastic crates that will be paid back in cricket sales.
Only to realize the crickets had varied growth rate depending on feed quality and temperatures so most farms were not achieving the desired weight by 3 months let alone the electioneering process that took a toll on the county and its infrastructure barring movement,,extension was basically brought to its knees
donors and project team held an annual review meeting and targets revised downwards,if we could have airtime allocated to mentor farmers to be the eye on the ground,we had an entrepreneur formulate the right cricket feed which was bought by project to distribute to the farmers.

@OHMS said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Working on different projects can be a learning experience and venture where you have a multiple of tasks. Well all this is achievable with proper project design. One projected had many unrealistic targets that we could not met. This was a Food For Asset project that was output based at every end of the month for beneficiaries to get their rations and pay through cash transfers. Beneficiaries at the end of the month could not complete even 80% of their tasks due to;
1 Lack of man power due to poor targeting from the chiefs.
2 General food distribution to all the vulnerable community members that absorbed FFA beneficiaries.
3 Prolonged rain that hindered cultivation daily.
Another one was a survey on Food security and Nutrition Monitoring system (FSNMS) where per day a team would complete 4 questionnaires and at least one GEO-TRACE but still this failed due to a number of reasons;
1 The fact that it was cultivation season respondents were not always at home.
2 Other beneficiaries never wanted their kids under 59 months to be measured that it is not to their culture requirements.
3 Others wanted to be paid first.

This must have been an overwhelming scenario i agree..What about conducting a needs assessment and stakeholder mapping and assigning roles..then do a seasonality calendar with the community to seen when do they do what and with whom so as to plan effectively and efficiently from the office' end before commencing on the project.??

@Umar007 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that i was asked to reached unrealistic target was not long ago regarding maternal mortality. The inputs from the donors were grossly inadequate to realize such outcome and impact within the stipulated time. So we outlined all these challenges and forwarded to them, to make necessary adjustments where need be.

brilliant thought as sometimes the projects are top down which causes messes on the ground but it planning is a bottom up approach the better.

@Bilha-Joy said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time i was asked to reach an unrealistic goal was when i told to organize for a three day training motivational talk with university students.At first our orgaization was there convincing every student the purpose of attending the training,but all was in vain since majority wanted atlst sitting allowance,which was somehow a draw back to us.

Yes sometimes the audience can shift focus to how to deliver content. It can be frustrating i agree but a Pre-test knowledge questionnaire could help before implementation also only if they agree to take it.

@All Learners, Do we think/believe that there are some goals we seem to see unrealistic can be realistic if we change our mind set and work harder...Agreed or Disagreed???

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target whereby i was required to vaccinate 4,000 heads of cattle per day with a team of three vaccinators and two animal handlers. This was not possible because cattle requires a lot of manpower to restrain for proper vaccination. The realistic target would be 1,500 cattle per day. I responded by showing my supervisor the average numbers vaccinated by similar teams from previous projects. Data available from vaccination reports showed that the highest similar teams vaccinated between 1,000-15,00 cattle per day. we therefore agreed that my team would set a target of 1,500 cattle per day.

Arithi 4000 cattle per day that was so much unrealistic. Anyway, which region were you carrying out the vaccination process?

For myself, i once worked as an enumerator in one of the esteemed research firms in kenya, where we were doing data collection in almost all counties in kenya on a project called Feed the Future (FTF). The data collection tool(questionnaire) was so long that you could barely spend almost 3hours with the respondents but the firm had set for us a target of 5 questionnaires per day. this target was so unrealistic such that after the first and second day of the survey they had to revise their target to 3 questionnaires per day. This was important since it ensured that we collected quality data.

my immediate boss told me he was given unrealistic targets to meet after mid term evaluation of the project they had to review and reduce the targets to realistic ones

A unrealistic target was set for me to commissions 3 analytical studies in one month. We could not commission the 3 studies due to lack of financial resources. In the end, we only managed to commission one study.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Respond to this prompt after completing the content in Module 3.

Setting ambitious yet achievable targets can be difficult. Have you ever been asked to reach a target that was either too high or too low? How did you respond to the situation? What advice would you offer other learners who may be asked to work towards unrealistic targets?

**Sample Post: I haven't been asked to reach an unrealistic target that is too low or high but i get the idea. Should it happen, i would responded by explaining the fiscal constraints if its money matters to the project coordinator so as to make it known and dealt with accordingly. I would know the target is too high or low by looking at the baseline for the target and the resources required to meet that target..

We had just finished a project in one community and the plan was to replicate the same project in another community, because of the limited resources at the initial stage of planning we did not do a baseline survey and relied on the baseline survey of the previous project to project our target. In the previous project field staff were able to reach 10 household per day per staff. So we set the target based on that. When we went to that community we found out the settlement were scattered and achieving 10 household per day was beyond reach. At the end of the project we were not able to reach the target though we had a justifiable reason to give to that effect.

@NJERI_KARIUKI said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

For myself, i once worked as an enumerator in one of the esteemed research firms in kenya, where we were doing data collection in almost all counties in kenya on a project called Feed the Future (FTF). The data collection tool(questionnaire) was so long that you could barely spend almost 3hours with the respondents but the firm had set for us a target of 5 questionnaires per day. this target was so unrealistic such that after the first and second day of the survey they had to revise their target to 3 questionnaires per day. This was important since it ensured that we collected quality data.

Would you have considered revising of the questionnaire? 3 hours would also be too long to interview someone hence compromise on the data quality

@NJERI_KARIUKI said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Arithi said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target whereby i was required to vaccinate 4,000 heads of cattle per day with a team of three vaccinators and two animal handlers. This was not possible because cattle requires a lot of manpower to restrain for proper vaccination. The realistic target would be 1,500 cattle per day. I responded by showing my supervisor the average numbers vaccinated by similar teams from previous projects. Data available from vaccination reports showed that the highest similar teams vaccinated between 1,000-15,00 cattle per day. we therefore agreed that my team would set a target of 1,500 cattle per day.

Arithi 4000 cattle per day that was so much unrealistic. Anyway, which region were you carrying out the vaccination process?

In Wajir County. When non technical people make the decision making teams, this is what happened. We had received a new Chief Executive Member ( Minister) who has never worked with livestock .

@vadhiambo said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Yes, there was this time we promised to reach 100,000 farmers in 3years when we had just concluded a program where we reached only 1,500 in the same duration.

We over-promised the donor and were not able to meet the target. we therefore reviewed the targets with the donor and had to bring in additional interventions to meet the target. Towards the end of the project, we looked for additional funding to meet the target we had set.

Wow,thats so nice@vadhiambo

@philistine ,Yah,that was one major lesson learnt.Before implementing anything,we need to get on the same page with the audience.

One time I was asked to come up with a proposal for funding within three days. I responded by consulting other researchers for advice if it was feasible. I prepared a draft requested for an urgent meeting before deadline . I presented the draft proposal, together with my arguments why the target was not feasible for me. I was granted more time.

No I have never been asked before. My advice is if one is asked to achieve an unrealistic target,one should politely decline and provide advice for a better d smarter more realistic alternative

Hi!,
In my organization we normally target higher to achieve our goals as we deal with decrease of HIV new transmission by collecting various data from every client visiting our regional referral hospital in every ward and out patients we normally also conduct seminars and workshops and screening of patients visiting our hospital at opd. moreover we tress the new positive clients with their sexual partners and children to know their HIV status. up to the end of the year we normally sometimes reach our targets though in many cases we fail due to financial scarce.

Some years back I was working on a project to training a huge number of youths on agribusiness, that target was set by the donor and my organization jumped at it. during one of the mid term review my organisation and donor realised that the target was too ambiguous and it was reviewed.

@sayunijohn55 said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Hi!,
In my organization we normally target higher to achieve our goals as we deal with decrease of HIV new transmission by collecting various data from every client visiting our regional referral hospital in every ward and out patients we normally also conduct seminars and workshops and screening of patients visiting our hospital at opd. moreover we tress the new positive clients with their sexual partners and children to know their HIV status. up to the end of the year we normally sometimes reach our targets though in many cases we fail due to financial scarce.

But I don't think that is too good for an organization to be known not to be meeting up with target all in the name of fund.

@KOPJ said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

@Skaliyetu said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was which was cleaning an area in my local government of attachment, the target was too ambitious and unrealistic. I responded by by telling my project coordinator that I will need more hand on deck to clear the potion of field.

@Skaliyetu thanks for sharing with us
So did you receive the extra hands needed?
and if Yes how good was final output of the project please do share with us
......................................................................................................................................................................................Happy learning

Yes more personal we directed toward my section and we were able to finish up before the allocated time.

@Course_Operations said in Module 3 Discussion: Unrealistic Targets:

Sample Post: One time that I was asked to reach an unrealistic target was while working in a HIV/AIDS program. I was asked to trace a percentage of clients who had defaulted cure . I responded by first having a discussion with the the project team to identify from the records where these clients resided from. Having identified the clients contacts and area of residence, we devised a plan of contacting them.We begun by calling them to find out if they were accessing care somewhere else.The ones we couldn't reach via phone, we asked the peer educators to trace them and finally held outreach services in areas where we could target the highest number of defaulters. It took a while to get these lost to follow up clients but we did get quite a number restored to care

We are gradually moving towards completing Module 3 officially.. Let us put in more efforts and complete our studies, assignments and quizzes.

I encountered an unrealistic goal when I was working on a project to find out the effects of microbs on food items. I was asked by the project coordinator to get the microbial counts and to analyze the data every week, which end up to be impossible. We later resolve to just the counting of the microbs after which the analysis of the data will follow after.
My advice for goal setters. Make the goals and any target sets realistic and do not be strick about each goals, it should be flexible.