State and federal educational policy is increasingly directed toward the use of business management techniques to introduce more accountability into the operation of public schools and, in the process, often to hold teachers responsible for objectives over which they have little or no control. This paper examines the concept of Management by Objectives (MBO), its mixed results in the business world, recent trends in management science, and some problems associated with setting objectives for human systems. Such concerns are related to basic differences between the educational and the industrial sectors of society, and it is concluded that business management techniques such as MBO are usually inappropriate at the instructional level with teachers and students. When MBO becomes immersed in the instructional process as a rigid mixture of behaviorism and business management, it becomes increasingly difficult for teachers to discover and nurture creativity. MBO stresses conformity and lock-step learning and discourages deviation from established objectives. Although there is little supporting evidence, MBO may be used to improve the administration of a total educational enterprise provided the unique differences between a school and a business are anticipated. (The paper includes suggested positions and strategy for local teacher associations.) (Author)