From Management Goal-Setting to Organizational Results

Shows how managers in any organizational setting can improve their own and their teams' results through a unique, step-by-step approach to setting goals and then--most importantly--by putting them into action. Curtis lays bare the linkages between organizational culture, philosophy, ethics, and the management of information and change, and shows how they contribute to goal setting and achievement. Throughout Curtis argues that deciding what to do may be an essential component of goal setting, but the real challenge is in getting things done, and it is here that so many goal-setting systems fail. Part I begins by establishing the foundation for the remainder of the book. It addresses the managerial philosophy underlying goal setting. The theory of goal setting is covered in Part II. Studies are reviewed that show that organizations, teams, and individuals that set clear, challenging goals produce better results than those who do not. The next part begins by addressing goal setting from an organizational perspective. Team goal setting follows. Techniques for individual goal setting are discussed in Part V. Part VI pulls organizational, team, and individual goal setting together by examining the ways information must be managed in a goal-oriented setting. Part VII, Change and Goal Setting, provides the techniques necessary to implement the goal-setting philosophy in a rapidly changing world. The book concludes with an examination of the ultimate purpose of management, to produce positive results.

KEITH CURTIS is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, and Visiting Associate Professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Oklahoma. Formerly CEO of a 1,000-bed teaching hospital and manager of 27 medical facilities in a European medical system, he is a prolific writer on strategic management, health care administration, management and leadership, and other related topics. He also conducts executive development seminars worldwide, including a program sponsored by the People's Republic of China.