Discuss whether Management by Objectives (MBO) is used to motivate or control the people?

Question

Principles of Management

Answer 1

As someone who has been on all sides of this (manager and employee, and using MBO and not using it), the simple answer from my experience is:

 

It is motivating to employees who aren't sure what their goals are and need them spelled out clearly.  That tends to be more junior employees, though in a larger more bureaucratic organization, sometimes more senior employees need their goals clearly spelled out as well because senior management doesn't communicate them well.

 

However, when more senior experienced employees are subjected to MBO, it can become demotivating.  The stated objectives sometimes run counter to what these employees recognize, by their own good judgment, to be in the best interests of the organization.  The supervisors who set the goals aren't magicians and just because they write down goals for their people doesn't mean that the goals are correct.

 

In the latter case, I wouldn't say that MBO is being used to control people, but I would say that it runs counter to the interests of the organization by directing people into suboptimal activities.  And if it is used too rigidly, it can tend drive the best people away.

 

MBO is an easy way out for managers who can't run a creative and motivated group that understands and buys into the organization's goals, and who can't communicate their vision clearly with words and discussions.  So they fall back on techniques like MBO and and hope for the best.