Goal Characteristics and Personality Factors in a Management-by-Objectives Program

This study correlated different characteristics of goals established in a management-by-objectives program to criteria hypothesized to represent success of the program. The correlations were calculated after personality and job factors were held constant. The results indicate that establishing clear and important goals produced favorable results especially for certain personality types. Difficulty of goals and establishing goal priorities were positively correlated with criteria of success for certain types of managers. Subordinate influence over goals was not found to be an important goal characteristic.