The goal and responsibility in human activity systems

A beginning manager often faces the situation when goals set to a team or subordinates are not reached. The reason is ‘external circumstances’ which are always getting in the way. Paying much attention to the goal setting (well-known ‘SMART’ in management theory) a manager may miss its fundamental nature. The careful analysis of the goal term leads to the understanding that final success or failure depends not so much on the goal formulation, desire or circumstances as way of thinking and acting in unpredictable situations. I will give a structural definition of the goal term and show how to distinguish a genuine goal from a declarative one. We will also clarify the ‘active responsibility’ term and discuss how ‘goal’ and ‘responsibility’ terms are distorted in culture and why it hinders the management of an organization especially in agile methods. Clear understanding of all these terms will help the audience during and after working hours.