The secret of how to manage men: Scientists say setting male employees goals helps them perform better - but the same can't be said for women

Goals, even without a reward, can help focus men, a study found
But women perform better in tasks when no specific goals are set

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:03 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 09:36 EST, 10 July 2015

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Scientists say they have unlocked the secret to managing unruly men; set them goals.

Researchers in Leicester say giving men specific targets motivates them, even when there is no financial reward.

But, it seems, the same can't be said for women. In a series of tasks, women performed better than men when no specific goals were set.

Researchers say giving men specific targets motivates them, even when there is no financial reward

As part of the Leicester University study, 109 participants completed a simple addition task summing up sets of five two-digit, randomly drawn numbers over five minutes.

Before their assigned tasks, the participants were divided into groups. Two groups were given non-binding goals with a moderate performance benchmark.

Another group was given a more aggressive goal, while a third group was given no goal at all.

Researchers found men within the two goal groups scored more correct answers, attempted more questions and had greater accuracy during the tests.

In the group with no goal, women performed better at the task than men.

Researchers found men within the two goal groups scored more correct answers, attempted more questions and had greater accuracy during the tests

'The focus of this research was to determine how to motivate people,' explained Samuel Smithers, PhD student from the University of Leicester's Department of Economics explained.

'When we are given a goal, we feel a sense of purpose to achieve it; it naturally helps to focus us. The findings demonstrate that setting a goal induces higher effort.

'My research found that women perform better than men in the no goal setting, but men thrive in both of the goal treatments

'[This suggests] men are more responsive to goals than women.'

MEN ARE MORE COMPETITIVE THAN WOMEN, CLAIMS STUDY

Anyone who has witnessed a game of hockey or netball might disagree, but men really are more competitive than women, according to a new study.

Researchers have discovered that male athletes are more driven by the desire to beat the competition than female athletes.

Sportswomen tend to be more committed to aspects of their lives outside sport - such as their academic studies - than their male counterparts, the researchers say.

This may explain why boys are often seen as being more competitive.

However, the researchers say that there can be a great deal of individual variability with some women actually showing greater competitive drive than most male athletes.

These individuals tend to be far less common in women's sport, they said.

The study by the University in Michigan could have implications for other areas outside sport, such as in the workplace where greater gender diversity could bring advantages.

'I also found a 20 per cent and 35 per cent increase in correct number of additions for the medium and challenging goal groups over the control group.

Smithers said that this is an incredible increase in output without the need for extra monetary incentives.

The increase was due to a rise in both the speed and accuracy of the participants in the goal groups.

Participants were rewarded 25p for every correct answer, but no additional money if they achieved their goal, showing that satisfaction for achieving a goal is motivation enough for greater performance.