AcmeTech is a technology startup with about 20 employees who are mostly IT engineers with some business developers. The company is currently developing a food and grocery delivery mobile ordering app. Customers place online orders which are routed to the shops and available ad-hoc delivery persons on their network. The competition in this market is steep with other established players. AcmeTech has secured a decent startup fund which they use to offer discounts. However, Mike, the founder of the company has worked out that they cannot offer discounts indefinitely. He has set a target for the company to reach 1 million regular users within the next 5 years. Otherwise, the company will not be sustainable when they can no longer offer discounts. To motivate his company, Mike regularly reminds his staff that they are still a very long way to go to reach 1 million users. Still, he tries to be hopeful and regularly tells them to "Hang in there, best, and one day we will get there!" Being the boss, Mike also knows that yearly performance appraisals are necessary. It turns out that he keeps a document recording each employees' misdeeds such as conflicts between teammates, the various times the app crashes, and all the times they were behind schedule for new features to be launched. All the employees dread performance appraisals, because they always get scolded and never seem to be able to meet Mike's unknown and probably unattainable goal for them. All they know is come 5 years, they must get 1 million users or their job and the effort they have put in are at significant risk.

(a) Evaluate Mike's way of motivating his employees using the lessons from Locke and Latham's (1984, 1990, 2002) Goal Setting Theory. Support your claims with evidence and ground your rationales in the goal setting theory. (12 marks)

(b) Propose THREE (3) ways to help Mike improve the way he sets goals and communicate them to his employees so that it will enhance their job satisfaction and performance. Focus concisely on the key features of your plan, and be sure to elaborate why these features will be effective according to the Goal Setting Theory.