A Longitudinal Assessment of Management by Objectives

The objectives of this study of two medium-sized organizations which have implemented management-by-objectives programs (MBO) are threefold: (1) to review empirically based research on MBO, (2) to construct two strategies for implementing the program through an external-change agent, and (3) to present new longitudinally based data on the level of satisfaction of managers working with MBO. The findings in both organizations show that the effects of MBO training and implementation are short-lived. When perceived job satisfaction of participants was examined, there were no significant differences between measures before external-change agent intervention and MBO training and measures twenty months after these events.