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Management by objectives (MBO) is a popular management approach the efficacy of which has been seriously questioned recently. I have analyzed 185 studies for the effects of MBO on employee productivity and/or job satisfaction. Research support for MBO was found to be inversely related to the degree of research design sophistication. Although the five well-controlled experiments leaned toward finding MBO to be ineffective, it appears a contingency approach to MBO is more appropriate than a definitive affirmation or rejection of MBO effectiveness.
Jack N. Kondrasuk (Wed,) studied this question.