Organisational Change

8.3.6 Management by Objectives (MBO)

Management by objectives emphasises participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable, and measurable. It is not a new idea. In fact, Peter Drucker originally proposed it more than 40 years ago as a means of using goals to motivate people rather than to control them. Today, no introduction to basic management concepts would be complete without a discussion of MBO.

Goal specificity, participative decision-making, an explicit time period, and performance feedback make up the core of MBO.

As an OD technique it involves the following steps (Fig. 8.7).

 

Fig. 8.7 Circular process of management by objectives

 

1. People who are involved in the programme must be educated about the basic principles and procedures ...