Abstract
Management by objectives is a relatively new phrase
in the management literature and this report investigated
some of the characteristics and implications of this approach
to management.
The literature on this topic was reviewed where it was
found that management by objectives was concerned with the
identification 'of the important areas in which objectives
need to be set, the specification of the relevant objectives within these areas, and the derivation of adequate
plans to ensure that the objectives will be achieved. It
was advocated that there should be a broad range of objectives established in every area affecting the survival of
the organisation.
The review of literature was followed by a case study
in which management by objectives was introduced into an
industrial organisation,, Field conditions that need to be
satisfied if action research of this kind is to be conducted were carefully examined.
Working according to the principle of management by
objectives involved several phases of operations. The
first dealt with establishing objectives and corresponding
levels of performance or targets. Next was the period in
which corrective action was taken if accomplishment looked
like falling short of expectation. At the end of this
period a work review session was held in which variances
were examined, and factors preventing the achievement of
the objectives identified. This led to the establishing
of revised objectives and targets for the new period of
operation.
It was found that establishing and working towards
the achievement of objectives had implications for other
management practices, It provided a means of readily
identifying the training needs within an organisation, and
could offer a rationale for formal appraisal concerning
questions of promotion and possibly aspects of salary
administration.
These practical aspects of the research were supplemented by an analytical study involving the assessment of
organisational effectiveness. It was found that the
organisational units examined in this study could be
placed on a scale of effectiveness, so that those units
that were "effective" were so over a range of ten organisational criteria, while those units at the other end of
the scale were rated poorly with respect to most of the
criteria.
It was also hoped, to use the same kind of criteria to
assess the change in effectiveness resulting from the
introduction of management by objectives. It was found,
however, that the period of 13 months over which the research
was conducted was too short for there to be fundamental
changes brought about in some of the organisational variables
used in the above analysis.
