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California Management Review
California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley
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Article Information
A Second Look at Management Goals and Controls
Raia, Anthony P.
8
/
4
(
Summer
1966
):
49
-
58
As management techniques, goal setting and self-control are not new in the literature. Presumably, enterprise purpose and personal goals become integrated by the active participation of the subordinate in establishing tangible, measurable work goals for himself and then exercising some degree of control over his activities in pursuit of these goals. The superior's role is essentially one of consultation in goal setting and review of the results obtained. One of his primary functions is to assist his subordinates in setting realistic goals for their areas of responsibility. There is one industrial effort-the Goals and Controls program of the Purex Corporation-which provides an opportunity to test this management technique in the practical world of business. This article is a re-examination and reappraisal of the Purex program and its impact on organization performance. The Goals and Controls program, which is basically a participative management system, represents a new approach to management for the Purex Corporation. There is a wide gulf between the statement of a new theory or approach and its successful application in a specific situation. To move from theory to practice generally requires a great deal of development. Organizations operating under tight controls will have more difficulty changing to a participative system. Despite the problems which are inherent in the introduction of change in any large organization, the Goals and Controls program has come a long way. Many benefits have already accrued to the division. The problems, on the other hand, appear to stem primarily from a lack of understanding of the managerial philosophy behind the program. However, neither the apparent success nor the problems can be attributed to any one aspect or element of the program, but rather to the extent to which the philosophy of individual growth has been embraced and practiced by the individual managers.
