Analysis of Byte Dance’s OKR System Based on Goal-Setting Theory

Abstract

Goal-Setting Theory was proposed by Locke and Latham in 1990. While OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is formulated in the goal-setting theory by the famous American management scientist Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline in 2005. It is mainly used to solve the problem of how an organization achieves the optimal performance. The core of OKR is to set an "O" goal and then set a "KR" around that goal so that everyone in the organization has a clear idea of where they want to work and what to do next. Among Internet companies, the most typical use of OKR is Byte Dance. In 2018, Byte Dance proposed OKR performance management method, which combines management by objectives, self-management, result appraisal and performance management, and motivates employees through OKR objective management method. After Byte Dance adopted the OKR performance management method, its business grew rapidly and got rapid development. This paper will analyze the effect of management by objectives theory on enterprise development by analyzing the implementation of OKR in Byte Dance. At the same time, limitations and future improvement methods will be proposed at the end of the paper.