An analysis of the experience of a number of companies allows us to identify several reasons that prevent the effective implementation of the idea of management by objectives.
Lack of understanding of the essence of the approach
First and foremost, management by objectives is designed to improve the quality of management, which will be reflected in customers by increasing their level of satisfaction. When employees do not have a clear idea of how management by objectives will contribute to qualitative changes, it will be difficult for staff to embrace the idea, and employees will strive to achieve the set indicators only for reasons of their own material benefit. As a result, the effectiveness of the new approach may be much lower than expected.
This problem is solved by the advantages of line database explaining to employees the importance of their work results for the development of the company and customer satisfaction.
Problems in implementing management by objectives
Overstated targets
The employee must understand what opportunities and resources are at his disposal, and what kind of help he can get from colleagues and management. Otherwise, a goal may be set that is objectively impossible to achieve within the given time frame.
Of course, the manager has the ability to approve or reject the proposed guidelines. However, for every manager, effective goal setting is one of the main responsibilities. When all subordinate managers are able to cope with this task, the manager above can get a clear idea of what the capabilities of his subordinates are.
During the dialogue, the manager may overcomplicate business processes (in the opinion of the subordinate). The latter, on the contrary, tries to play it safe in order to ensure that the task is completed, using excess resources for this purpose.
Thus, on the one hand, the manager needs to report on the results, and he may not have a full idea of whether it is realistic for the subordinate to meet certain targets and how he will do it. On the other hand, the employee will be able to use excessive time and material resources to avoid a mistake.
This problem can be solved by discussing between the manager and the subordinate not only the goal, but also the existing opportunities, problems, and risks. This helps to correlate the planned result with the resources available to achieve it.