Human Side of Picture

The Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor - 1960.


"The effectiveness of organisations could be at least doubled if managers could discover how to tap into the unrealised potential present in their workforces."

"The ingenuity of the average worker is sufficient to outwit any system of controls devised by management."

"When people respond to managerial decisions in undesired ways the normal response is to blame them, rather than managements failure to select the appropriate means of control."

"A half a century ago industrial management had, in the threat of unemployment, a form of punishment which made the use of authority relatively effective.

The situation today is vastly different."
"When the use of authority does not work don't use less or more. Use another means of influence."

"When objectives are externally imposed indifference or resistance are the most likely consequences."

"It is one of the favourite pastimes of management to decide, from within their professional ivory tower, what help the field organisation needs and then to design and develop programs for meeting these needs.

Then it becomes necessary to get the field organisation to accept the help provided. This is normally the role of the Change Manager; to implement the change that no-one asked for or wants".
And in the words of Douglas Mcregor:
       "You might be forgiven for thinking that this is a book of quotes, it is not. It is simply so powerful that the quotes seem to leap off every page."

Douglas McGregor characterised the current management practises as Theory X and in this book he proposed the antidote to the destruction that was waged by Theory X managers. He called it, "Theory Y"
                    This theory Y has given  breakthrough towards realisation of human side of an organisation.
Organisations are:
1.Organisations are machines led by humans
2.Organisations are biological organisms
3.Organisations are piled brains
4.Organisations are cultures and subcultures founded by humans
5.Organisations are political systems to stretched over by humans for the fulfilment of the desire for power
6.Organisations are psychic prisons
7.Organisations are systems of change and transformation
8.Organisations are instruments of domination
Organisations are for humans,by humans,on humans and in humans.
It is very important to give an organisation humanitarian liberty within the constraints of consultation and to adopt democratic benevolent style of leadership based on Theory Y research of Douglas Mcregor.