Impact of management by objectives on organizational productivity

Article Abstract:

Goal setting, participation in decision making, and objective feedback have each been shown to increase productivity. As a combination of these three processes, management by objectives (MBO) also should increase productivity. A meta-analysis of studies supported this prediction: 68 out of 70 studies showed productivity gains, and only 2 studies showed losses. The literature on MBO indicates that various problems have been encountered with implementing MBO programs. One factor was predicted to be essential to success: the level of top-management commitment to MBO. Proper implementation starts from the top and requires both support and participation from top management. Results of the meta-analysis showed that when top-management commitment was high, the average gain in productivity was 56%. When commitment was low, the average gain in productivity was only 6%. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Research, Organizational effectiveness, Industrial productivity, Business literature, Management by objectives

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The methodological war of the "hardheads" versus the "softheads."

Article Abstract:

The methodological war between industrial-organizational (I/O) "hardheads" and organizational development (OD) "softheads" has persisted throughout the 20th century and shows no signs of abatement. This article proposes grounds for a truce in this war by (a) explaining the fundamental trade-offs between "hard-headed" and "soft-headed" research; and (b) showing how an empirical test for bias that has been used by hardheads to criticize the "quality" of OD research is itself flawed. Bias studies test the hypothesis of "positive findings" bias, which predicts that OD studies with "low quality" should have larger study outcomes than studies with "high quality." Methods used by hardheads to test for bias, however, actually operate against finding support for the positive findings hypothesis. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Organizational research

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Influence of top management commitment on management program success

Article Abstract:

The literature of many different types of management programs says that effective program installations depend on the level of top management commitment: the stronger the commitment, the greater the potential for program success. A meta-analysis of 18 studies that evaluated the impact of management by objectives on job satisfaction was presented to test this hypothesis. Results showed that the gain in job satisfaction was approximately one third of one standard deviation when top management had high commitment to program implementation. Little improvement was found in studies that had moderate or low commitment from top management. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Psychological aspects, Management, Executives, Job satisfaction, Corporate officers, Commitment (Psychology)

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