Management by Objectives

Management consultant Peter Drucker coined the term in his 1954 book The Practice of Management. While drawing on earlier ideas, including Mary Parker Follett's 1926 essay "The Giving of Orders," Drucker was the first to use objectives as the foundation of a complete management system. His student George Odiorne further developed MBO in the mid-1960s with Management Decisions by Objectives, transforming it from an untested concept into a widely adopted organizational practice.