His performance aims upward rather than downward. How should managers's objectives be set and by whom?īy definition, a manager is responsible for the contribution that his component makes to the larger unit above him and eventually to the enterprise. Right from the start, in other words, emphasis should be on teamwork and team results. Finally, they should spell out what contribution the manager can expect from other units towards the attainment of his own objectives. They should lay out what contributions he and his unit are expecte to make to help other units obtain their objectives.

These objectives should lay out what performance the man's own managerial unit is supposed to produce. What should the objectives of a manager be?Įach manager, from the 'big boss' down to the production foreman or the chief clerk, needs clearly spelled-out objectives. On the contrary, business, by its very nature, contains three powerful factors of misdirection: in the specialized work of most managers in the hierarchical structure of management and in the differences in vision and work and the resultant insulation of various levels of management. For in the business enterprise managers are not automatically directed towards a common goal. Management by objectives requires major effort and special instruments. Instead of team work, there is friction, frustration and conflict. If these requirements are not met, managers are misdirected. The manager must know and understand what the business goals demand of him in terms of performance, and his superior must know what contributions to demand and expect of him - and must judge him accordingly. The performance that is expected of the manager must be derived from the performance goals of the business, his results be measured by the contribution they make to the success of the enterprise. And in particular each manager's job must be focused on the success of the whole. Each member of the enterprise contributes something different, but they must all pull in the same direction, and their contributions must fit together to produce a whole - without gaps, without friction, without unnecessary duplication of effort.īusiness performance therefore requires that each job be irected towards the objectives of the whole business. In zijn boek The practice of management beschrijft Peter Drucker wat hij verstaat onder management by objectives:Īny business enterprise must build a true team and weld individual efforts into a common effort.

Peter drucker self management