Sheet 10
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES
Management by objectives has long been considered an effective means to attain the goals of the overall organization. The process of how this management method works is outlined as follows. The goal is divided into individual targets and distributed one apiece to each employee. Managers supervise the process to ensure that individual employees accomplish their targets. In this manner, where each employee assumes a level of responsibility, the performance of the overall organization improves. In some organizations, the employees' ability to fulfill these targets has been directly linked to their performance rating.
In recent times, the purpose of management by objective has become two-fold. In addition to the accomplishment of an organizational goal, many organizations use this management system to encourage staff to work spontaneously, and take the initiative by setting their own individual targets. The role of management here is to maintain a balance between the goals of the overall organizational and the employees' individual goals.
Management by objective involves three separate steps, setting a target, working towards that target and evaluating whether or not the target has been reached.
1 Setting a Target
Each organization has its own set of goals and every member of the organization is expected to work towards these. Goals may be set for the overall organization or individually for each department within it. Regardless of how much input each employee makes, there is always a danger that their work is not directed at the overall organizational goal. In order to reduce this risk, it is essential to divide the organizational goal and assign individual targets to each member of staff.
The following points must be taken care of when setting individual targets.
・Set concrete and feasible targets that employees will be motivated to accomplish.
・Ensure that employees understand the purpose of management by objective and set targets that will fulfill this purpose.
・Establish clear standards across the organization for the setting of these targets so that no discrepancy arises among sections or supervisors.
・Establish a criteria for judgment over whether these targets have been met or not.
・Take not only the short-term but also the middle and long-term perspective into consideration. The spirit of the challenge is all important.
・Involve the staff themselves in setting their own targets.
