In this article, I discuss the early development of the philosophy and concept of management by objectives (MBO) as it has been traditionally defined in the literature. Peter Drucker worked out the philosophic foundations of MBO with the assistance of Harold Smiddy of the General Electric Company, who was already putting the “manager's letter” concept into practice in the late 1940s.

Within the considerable volume of research on role-stress antecedents and consequences, the construct of person/role conflict has rarely been studied separately from other forms of role conflict (intersender, intrasender, role overload). An extension of Holland's person/environment congruence-model (from vocational psychology) to research on person/role conflict can help clarify this construct. I propose three types of research to develop better understanding of this type of employee stress: development of a scale to measure perceptions of person/role conflict separately from other types of role conflict; application of the Holland model as a conceptual base as well as an objective measure of one aspect of person/role conflict — namely, person/role incongruence; and empirical tests of the propositions suggested by the Holland model.

Janina C. Latack, Person/Role Conflict: Holland's Model Extended to Role-Stress Research, Stress Management, and Career Development, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 89-103

An integrated model is presented of three relatively distinct views of organizational socialization: the development of work skills and abilities; the acquisition of a set of appropriate role behaviors; and the adjustment to the work group's norms and values. A theoretical rationale is developed to explain the contingencies on which progress through the different socialization processes depend. Three attitudinal variables (general satisfaction, internal work motivation, job development) and three behavioral variables (carrying out role assignments dependably, remaining with the organization, innovation/spontaneous cooperation) are suggested as criteria for measuring progress in socialization.

The article reviews the book “Act II: The Mid-Career Job Change and How to Make It,” by Nancy C. Baker.

The social learning theory notion of vicarious learning through modeling can elucidate the phenomenon of behavioral change in organizations. Vicarious learning encompasses attentional, retention, motor reproduction, and motivational processes. If any of these processes is lacking or impaired, the learner is less likely to perform an observed behavior. Whether or not a model is attractive, competent, and successful contributes to the overall probability of that model's behavior being imitated by others. Managers need to use modeling effectively to enhance the achievement of organizational and personal goals. In particular, attention should be given to day-to-day modeling as well as to formal training to effect organizational behavior changes.