Consider the following: in a high-risk business we are raising our lending-effectiveness goal to 75%, meaning that we will lend less (or not lend) where the economic or institutional framework is unsatisfactory.

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So, I am not arguing with the effectiveness of goal-setting, but I would say it should come with a health warning.

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When Schering-Plough and Merck announced Nov. 19 they had been advised to change the scientific goal of a long-delayed clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of their blockbuster cholesterol Vytorin to a generic, the decision drew press scrutiny, criticism and a Congressional investigation.

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The smaller in-goal areas were thought to be a ploy to blunt the effectiveness of the Australian kicking game.

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The aim of comparative effectiveness is to reduce health care costs, an especially compelling goal for our government, the number one purchaser of medical treatments in America.

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But the report concludes that there is room for improvement and recommends a number of reforms, including a clearer government policy on the purpose and goal of apprenticeships, as well as closer monitoring of their funding and effectiveness.

BBC: Apprenticeships: Reform needed for success, say MPs