Concept of Management By Objectives

The concept of participative management appeared for the first time at the General Motors Corporation prior to World War II, when that firm was under the leadership of Alfred Sloan. The participative management style did not receive wide attention, however, until the 1950s, when Peter Drucker introduced the term management-by-objectives. One characteristic of all forms of participative management is that organizational superiors consult with their subordinates concerning the development of performance objectives which are compatible with organizational goals. Thus, participative management, by its very nature, requires very different leadership styles from those associated with the authoritarian style. Prior to the emergence of the participative management concept, the principles of scientific management developed by Frederick Taylor (1911) dictated against any consultation with one's organizational subordinates. Later, in the 1930s, studies by Elton Mayo led to the discovery of what was termed the Hawthorne Effect, which led to the development of the human relations approach to management. The human relations approach postulates that treating employees less as if they are automatons will lead to improved productivity (Abrahamson, 1997). Scientific management and the human relations approach continue to pr

. . .
he time period for which they are established, and a performance appraisal within the framework of the established objectives (Davis, 1999). The most important components of a management-by-objectives system of management are not, as might at first be thought, the objectives. Rather, the most important components of such a system are the participating individuals. These individuals are typically found in pairs, although, in most instances, an individual manager within an organization will comprise one-half of several participating pairs of managers (Haimann, 1999). In this context, Drucker (1954) said that, by definition, a manager is responsible for the contribution that his component makes to the larger unit above him. Drucker (1954) meant that the goals of each manager's job must be defined by the contribution he or she has to make to the success of the larger unit of which the manager is a part. One prime characteristic of a management-by-objectives system is that objectives within an organization must be established from the top down. Such a procedure insures that objectives for each organizational unit will be compatible with and will support to objectives of both the next higher organizational unit, as well as the o
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hawthorne Effect, Szilagy Wallace, Thorlakson Murray, Peter Drucker, Management Journal, Management Review, , References Abrahamson, Company McGrath, Systems Management, participative management, davis 1999, drucker 1954, management objectives, thorlakson murray 1996, thorlakson murray, murray 1996, decision-making process, horton 1992, human relations, 6th ed, human relations approach, principles scientific management, organization davis 1999, szilagy wallace 1997,
Approximate Word count = 1572
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Concept of Management By Objectives