Dr. Gary Latham

GARY PHILLIP LATHAM, Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness, Faculty of Management, University of Toronto, has made a three-fold contribution to organizational psychology. First, he was a co-participant in the development of goal setting theory, and he showed that participative decision making affects performance only if it increases self-efficacy regarding the discovery of goal related strategies. Second, on the premise that goals predict behaviour, he developed the situational interview that minimizes biases. Applicants are presented a dilemma whereby they state their intentions rather than a socially desirable response. Third, he created behavioural observation scales for coaching employees. He developed a training methodology for increasing objectivity in performance appraisals.