Impact of Management by Objectives [MBO] on the Employee Productivity in Vodafone Ghana

Abstract

The objective of the study is to establish the impact that MBO (Management by Objectives) has on employee productivity. MBO is a Management tool where by the managers of an organization sit with their subordinates to agree on the objectives or goals of the organization; set targets, follow the targets, monitor and then evaluate the targets. Many of today's organization have been able to meet their goals because there is a clear understanding of what the mission and vision of the organization is. Also, there is a clear strategy which aligns with the mission of the organization. MBO was made popular by the Management guru, Peter Druker in his 1954 book titled 'The Practice of Management'. It also became further popular in the 70s through the 90s and is still popular. The study tries to establish the relationship between understanding the objectives by employees/managers on one hand and employee productivity on the other hand. Vodafone Ghana was taken as a case study. A total of 36 employees responded to the questionnaires/interviews granted. Questionnaires and oral interviews were used as sources of primary data. The overwhelming majority of the employees that responded agreed or even strongly agreed that MBO has a positive impact on employee productivity. The company was privatized about a decade ago where the majority ownership was taken by Vodafone. Soon after acquisition, Vodafone began to implement management tools that saw the firm's operational efficiency further increasing. One of such management tools implemented is the MBO, and which has worked for the firm. The relationship between the managers and employee in objective setting was seen to be crucial in the productivity of both the employees and the organization.