Management by Objectives

A System of Managerial Leadership

by George S. Odiorne

Number of pages: 322

Publisher: Pitman Publishing Corporation

BBB Library: Business Classics, Operations Management

ISBN: B002E66Y1W



About the Author

George S. Odiorne He is the developer of a management concept that became popular with businesses around the world. He was also a business school professor and dean, a consultant, a corporate manager and the author of 300 articles and 26 books. His best-known book, "Management Decisions by Objectives," was published in the mid-1960's.

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Editorial Review

Management by objectives is the process of defining specific objectives within an organization that management can convey to organization members, then decide on how to achieve each objective in sequence. According to George S. Odiorne, the system of management by objectives can be described as a process whereby the superior and subordinate jointly identify common goals, define each individual's major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him or her, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.

Book Reviews

“The idea of management by objectives (MBO), first outlined by Peter Drucker and then developed by George Odiorne, his student, was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. In his book “The Practice of Management”, published in 1954, Drucker outlined a number of priorities for the manager of the future. Top of the list was that he or she “must manage by objectives”. John Tarrant, Drucker's biographer, reported in 1976 that Drucker once said he had first heard the term MBO used by Alfred Sloan, author of the influential “My Years with General Motors”.” - - The Economist

“The late George S. Odiorne… said that management by objectives can be explained by calling it a process where a company’s superior and subordinate managers work together to recognize the desired outcomes, define the areas of responsibility for each individual in the achievement of those goals, and establishing the measures that will be utilized as a guide to understand the performance of the team and to be able to comprehend each employee’s contribution.”- Mr Dashboard

“George Odiorne (a leading MBO consultant) defines MBO as “a process whereby the superior and subordinate managers of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of results expected, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.” The goals of this approach include improved performance, more communication and participation, higher morale and job satisfaction, and a better understanding of the organization’s objectives at all levels.” BINUS UNIVERSITY

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Wisdom to Share

Managers of tomorrow won’t spring from the same roots as those of today.

Managerial success becomes associated more and more with the performance of the corporation itself, and only incidentally with personal, off-the-job status symbols.

While management is off on a race to protect the profits margins of business, it must also contend with the widespread movement toward improved human relations in industry.

In the large corporate entity, survival is real a problem, requiring as much attention to innovation and vitality as it ever had done.

The major block to the creation of a society of high production and rising standards of living lay in the suppression of risk taking which the industrial society has built into its very fiber.

Leadership is a relationship, rather than a function performed by one man, pulling together symbolic chief and participating followers.

Management by objectives provides for the maintenance and orderly growth of the organization by means of statements of what is expected for everyone involved, and measurement of what is actually achieved.

As a system, management by objectives is especially applicable to professional and managerial employees. It can extend as far down as first-line supervisors, and also cover many staff and technical positions.

Management by objectives helps overcome many of the chronic problems of managing managers and professionals.

A system that merely polices alikeness and conformity does not take account of values. Its standards are neutral ones and deal only with performance. This could be dangerous.

The successful man is one who has objective interest which absorbs him, thus making him on object of interest to others.