Suggestion for Effective Introduction of Management by Objectives in Japan's Local Government

—Actual Analysis Based on Survey of P Municipal Office—

Abstract

Management by objective (MBO) is believed to be one of the key issues in government reinvention in the past few years. However the factors in an MBO system that contribute to positive performance in a government have not been verified. This paper shows a method of introducing an MBO system by means of a questionnaire survey among municipal officials. According to this analysis, the duration of an MBO interview between managers and subordinates and the understanding and consent of the human resources management system seem to be of crucial importance for an effective MBO system. Moreover, in local governments, an MBO system seems to function even in those divisions in which officials have been unable to clearly define their objectives.