The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition

The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition
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Annotations amount to Trisomy 21

A Classic for Human Resources

The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition
Douglas McGregor
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0071462228

Book Description

“What are your assumptions (implicit as well as explicit) about the most effective way to manage people?”

So began Douglas McGregor in this 1960 management classic. It was a seemingly simple question he asked, yet it led to a fundamental revolution in management. Today, with the rise of the global economy, the information revolution, and the growth of knowledge-driven work, McGregor's simple but provocative question continues to resonate-perhaps more powerfully than ever before.

Heralded as one of the most important pieces of management literature ever written, a touchstone for scholars and a handbook for practitioners, The Human Side of Enterprise continues to receive the highest accolades nearly half a century after its initial publication. Influencing such major management gurus such as Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis, McGregor's revolutionary Theory Y-which contends that individuals are self-motivated and self-directed-and Theory X-in which employees must be commanded and controlled-has been widely taught in business schools, industrial relations schools, psychology departments, and professional development seminars for over four decades.

In this special annotated edition of the worldwide management classic, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Senior Research Scientist in MIT's Sloan School of Management and Engineering Systems Division, shows us how today's leaders have successfully incorporated McGregor's methods into modern management styles and practices. The added quotes and commentary bring the content right into today's debates and business models.

Now more than ever, the timeless wisdom of Douglas McGregor can light the path towards a management style that nurtures leadership capability, creates effective teams, ensures internal alignment, achieves high performance, and cultivates an authentic, value-driven workplace--lessons we all need to learn as we make our way in this brave new world of the 21st century.

Customer Reviews:

Annotations amount to Trisomy 21.......2007-08-28

The Human side of Enterprise is like a perfect baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes. The Annotations of Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld are like adding an extra-chromosome to perfection. It's not absolute disaster, but there's really no reason to transform Douglas McGregor's master piece into an episode of Life Goes On. Just stick to the original.

Answer this Multiple Choice as to how Joel Cuthcher experiences Eros:

A) Eros as God.
B) Eros as Prophet or Priest.
C) Eros as Child.
D) Eros as Child with Trisomy 21.

If you chose D, then there may be hope that you can make "Theory Y" inquiries into your own "super-ego" beliefs.

A Classic for Human Resources.......2006-11-10

This book is the defining moment for the correct utilization of human potential. It is a great resource for those really interested in the development of the people in their company.

Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise

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Enterprise - The Human Aspect
McGregor's Work is Classic!
What a wonderful book!
How to unleash the vast creative potential of employees
Irresistible Retrospective on Managers Lacking Introspection

Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise
Gary Heil , Warren Bennis , and Deborah C. Stephens
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471314625

Amazon.com

Now that we've been downsized and outsourced and reengineered and networked, management gurus are finally focusing on the one universal resource that has been staring them in the face all along: their so-called "human capital." The funny thing is, some of the best thinking on the subject was published more than four decades ago, when few senior business people were ready to listen. In essays like "New Concepts of Management" and books like The Human Side of Enterprise, the late MIT educator Douglas McGregor argued articulately that corporations are not merely machines, nor are workers simply cogs to run them. Now, in Douglas McGregor, Revisited, Gary Heil, Warren G. Bennis, and Deborah C. Stephens resurrect many of these prescient observations and place them in a context appropriate for our times. The three prominent leadership specialists open with "Why McGregor Matters," an extensive section in which his opinions are discussed as they relate to performance, cooperation, motivation, commitment, and other topics like teams. The authors conclude with selections from McGregor's work that address issues (including the changing composition of the industrial work force, job satisfaction, and paternalism) that remain as relevant today as the day they were written. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

The words of Douglas McGregor, one of the fore-fathers of management theory and one of the top business thinkers of all time, cannot and should not be ignored. McGregor's vision of a more humanistic workplace may not have been widely accepted over three decades ago, but technological advancements that McGregor himself anticipated have paradoxically helped companies become more human. Viewing employees not as cogs in the machine but as living beings with individual goals-what McGregor called "the human side of the enterprise"-has proven to provide a remarkable competitive advantage.
Now, with the rise of the networked economy, the growing power of frontline workers, and the shift in power from mass producer to individual consumer, authors Gary Heil, Warren Bennis, and Deborah Stephens assert that McGregor's ideas are more important and relevant than ever before.
Douglas McGregor, Revisited emphasizes McGregor's lasting influence and updates his thinking with new concepts, fresh strategies, and modern implementation. This timely work traces McGregor's original thinking, which has emerged in current approaches that stress distributed leadership, open-minded appraisal techniques, and employee/customer commitment.
Highlighted throughout with gems of wisdom in McGregor's own words, the book describes the value of his theories for today's managers. The authors carefully outline how to put McGregor's thinking into practice in your own business so you can:
* Devise a better performance management system
* Form and supervise effective management teams
* Build cooperation instead of internal competition
* Cultivate an intrinsically motivating, values-driven workplace
* Create a cause worthy of employee commitment
Also featured are examples from a host of companies and leaders who have flourished under McGregor's approach. Authoritative and highly instructive, Douglas McGregor, Revisited offers new generations of managers important lessons from history and from the field.
Praise for Douglas McGregor, Revisited
"This book revisits in a contemporary manner the most important question facing management today: given what we know about human nature, how should work be managed so as to unleash the vast creative potential of human beings? The evidence is overwhelming that many people either come to an organization or can be appropriately led to exhibit the behavior McGregor characterized as 'Theory Y.' This book provides a 'how-to' approach for developing people at work and for establishing high performance organizations."-Joseph A. Maciariello, Horton Professor of Management
Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University and Claremont McKenna College. Author of Lasting Value: Lessons from a Century of Agility at Lincoln Electric
Douglas McGregor's seminal works, The Human Side of the Enterprise and The Professional Manager, debunked Taylorism and described a revolutionary way to manage people. He was the first to apply the findings in behavioral science to the world of business. Based on what had been learned about human behavior, McGregor explored the implications of managing people in a different manner than tradition dictated.
The nature of work today makes McGregor's ideas more relevant than ever before. This important book applies his thinking to today's business world, proving again that the human aspect of work is crucial to organizational effectiveness. It also suggests how you can change your thinking and implement his ideas in your own business and workplace.

Customer Reviews:

Enterprise - The Human Aspect.......2005-04-18

i want to write Report on ` Enterprise - The Human Aspects `

McGregor's Work is Classic!.......2003-07-01

McGregor's work is classic. This is required reading for executives.

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

What a wonderful book!.......2001-03-24

This book is a real gem. The 140 pages or so of outline on McGregor's ideas is invaluable. I've read Human Side Of Enterprise, but the way the authors explain theory Y brought a lot of light to my understanding of McGregor's ideas. McGregor's ideas reach much farther than I realized, and the authors are virtuosos at explaining the real profundity in the Human Side of Enterprise. I recommend this book highly, even to those well versed in this stuff. I also learned a lot by the modern examples (like Lincoln Electric and Herman Miller) of companies which follow theory Y. Douglas McGregor does not have all the answers. But even if McGregor is not the last word on management, all future thinkers will have to grapple with the ideas and the questions (so many!) that he put forth.

How to unleash the vast creative potential of employees.......2000-07-31

Douglas McGregor's seminal works, The Human Side of Enterprise and The Professional Manager, debunked Taylorism and described a revolutionary way to manage people. He was the first to apply the findings in behavioural science to the world of business. Based on what had been learned about human behaviour, McGregor explored the implications of managing people in a different manner than tradition dictated.

Authors Gary Heil, Deborah Stephens and Warren Bennis assert that the nature of work today makes McGregor's ideas more important and relevant than ever before. This book revisits in a contemporary manner the most important question facing management today: given what we know about human nature, how should work be managed so as to unleash the vast creative potential of human beings? It applies McGregor's thinking to today's business world, proving again that the human aspect of work is crucial to organisational effectiveness. It also suggests how you can change your thinking and implement his ideas in your own business and workplace.

The authors carefully outline how to put McGregor's thinking into practice in your own business so you can devise a better performance management system, form and supervise effective management teams, build cooperation instead of internal competition, cultivate an intrinsically motivating, values-driven workplace and create a cause worthy of employee commitment.

Irresistible Retrospective on Managers Lacking Introspection.......2000-05-30

When I was in business school (back in the Dark Ages), McGregor was considered the finest thinker about organizational behavior. He grasped that behavioral science offered great promise for making organizations more effective and more desirable places to be.

Everyone was excited about the potential of his assumptions about people in the workplace: Employees want to do a good job; they will make extra effort to learn and accomplish more; they have the potential to much more; and it makes great sense to get everyone involved as much as possible. At the time, it seemed like the first breath of fresh air in the stale world of corporate bureaucracies. Although I haven't thought much about McGregor in over 20 years, I realize that I was profoundly influenced by his thinking.

Reading this fine book gave me a valuable new perspective on McGregor -- that a central weakness of many companies and managers is that the comapny's leadership is not consciously aware of what it assumes about its employees. While almost every company espouses humanistic and empowerment ideas and ideals, many continue to operate in the same old command and control way. Most of the focus is on creating carrots and sticks to manipulate behavior.

Why don't people get it? McGregor had figured out that managers don't think much about their assumptions about employees. McGregor made the important point that everyone needs to determine what those assumptions are (Can people be trusted? If yes, use Theory Y. If no, use Theory X). What happens now is that many people hold Theory X beliefs that employees cannot be trusted and but try to use Theory Y methods (that they can), and the mixed messages keep everyone confused. 'I want you to take full charge of this project, but check with me before doing anything.' Sound familiar?

In particular, managers don't really understand Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As simple needs are fulfilled, psychic needs become more important such as working on something that will make a difference. Chapters 6 and 7 are especially good on how intrinsic personal motivation is created.

This book is excellent in that it contains a retrospective perspective on McGregor as well as some of McGregor's own key essays. I especially enjoyed Warren Bennis's essay on the weaknesses in McGregor's argument: How do managers get their needs served if they are always servant leaders (see Joe Jaworski's excellent book, Synchronicity to get an answer to that) and what is the role of the environment on the needs of the worker in the workplace? Clearly, the Internet is one example of a new force that irresitibly is creating Theory Y contexts for accomplishment, independent of what managers do.

The main weakness of this book is that it does not point out that the limit to Theory Y was that McGregory did not give enough detail to make it possible to know exactly what to do. See Bill Jenson's book, Simplicity, for the significance of this mistake by McGregor.

Customer Reviews:

Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!.......2007-08-28

A classic business text.......2005-10-02

McGregor wrote this management classic 25 years ago. It is as relevant today as it was then. This is not to be missed by any generation of manager who truly wants to motivate employees in a manner which recognizes their most human characteristics.

Classic!.......2003-07-01

This book is a classic. A "must read" for anybody in management. This wisdom is timeless!

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

You have to "hear" it from the horse's mouth........2001-12-29

If you're journeying through management literature of the present day, you're bound to come across the two theories proposed by Douglas McGregor back in the '50s and early '60's: Theory X and Theory Y. In fact, you'll probably find that some of the more modern theories and human behavior models are based on this work by McGregor.

This is what makes reading this book so valuable. Reading the attributes and studies about Theory X and Theory Y management styles in McGregor's own words, instead of a one or two line sentence concerning his theories in another book, is well worth the price of this book.

The book was compelling because many of the attributes of today's managers, and organizations in general, can STILL be applied to either Theory X or Theory Y management types! In fact, much of the literature today suggests that companies with a Theory Y mindset are surviving better today than Theory X companies. The supporting information McGregor provides to each theory suggests, again even today, that these two themes will be prevalent in society for years to come.

Having this book in your professional library will provide you with some good insight and historical reference to modern day theories. I highly recommend it!

True management classic which will remain influential.......2001-10-18

This book, written in 1960, is one of the true management classics, one of the greatest and most influential management books of the past century. McGregor describes Theory X and Theory Y, two fundamentally different ways managers view their employees. McGregor describes Theory X as the dominant view: people ar seem as lazy, not very capable, unwilling to work (unless you make them work), opportunistic and prepared to deceive (providing they think they won't be caught). Theory Y views people in a much more positive way: they are seen as intrinsically motivated, willing to work and basically honest. Now the essential point: the way you view people determines the way you treat them and the way you interpret their behavior, which determines the way they will respond to you, which in turn will reinforce the way you view(ed) them. In other words: both Theory X and Theory Y are true because they create their own reality! They are self-fulfilling prophecies. If you have a choice, what do you choose? This book, written many years ago, is still an interesting read and I think you can still read it in 2060 and find it relevant and interesting.

The High Performance Enterprise: Reinventing the People Side of Your Business

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The High Performance Enterprise: Reinventing the People Side of Your Business
Donna R. Neusch , and Alan F. Siebenaler
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471132837

Book Description

"This book is written for the manager who wants to make their company more flexible, more competitive, more successful, and a more satisfying place to work—what we call the High Performance Enterprise. It explains how this kind of enterprise can be created through two interrelated processes: one strategic and one people-oriented. . . . [U]ntil now, no books have simultaneously provided (1) a process for creating the High Performance Enterprise, and (2) a process for linking the people side of the company to the business strategy. Our goal is to do both, and to provide a model for tying both processes together. Whether you're skimming this book for a few good ideas or seeking a complete battle plan, we hope that you will find in these chapters the tools you need to change your company into a High Performance Enterprise." —from the Introduction

In today's fast-paced, rapidly growing business environment, survival truly does depend on being the fittest. For companies, this means performing at the highest level possible to be more flexible, more competitive, and ultimately, more successful than the rest of the field. Attaining—and maintaining—peak performance may be easier said than done, however, as bold initiatives once thought to be the answer have fallen short of expectations and yielded less than stellar results. What, then, is the solution? In The High Performance Enterprise—now completely revised and expanded—management consultant Donna Neusch and operations manager Alan Siebenaler shed some much-needed light on the ongoing dilemma of improving performance and sustaining long-term standards of excellence.

For the past several years, companies have strived to change the way work is performed and business is conducted, trying everything from TQM, teams, and Kaizen to QFD, right-sizing, and activity-based costing. Yet, despite these various techniques, results have been less than managers have hoped. Why the shortcomings? In most cases, the reason has been that people systems, including work design, compensation systems, and team structures, have either been ignored, ineffective, or counterproductive—costly mistakes that need to be corrected if a company is to succeed.

The High Performance Enterprise, Second Edition emphasizes the crucial role of people systems in the overall performance improvement program, examines its relationship with another important component—strategic direction—and shows you how to tie them together seamlessly to achieve optimal results. With complete details on both subprocesses, you'll learn about key concepts that are integral to strategic direction, such as mission, values, and vision, as well as the basics needed to turn this direction into action.

To help you strengthen and reinvent the people side of your business, you'll find a proven 10-step process that incorporates managing performance and compensation, defining flexibility and teams, developing staffing strategies for future skills, and planning for implementation, among other fundamentals.

Packed with helpful case studies, numerous real-world examples, and practical applications from the field, The High Performance Enterprise, Second Edition offers new solutions for age-old problems: how best to improve performance and increase return on compensation dollars. Essential reading for all managers.

Human Side of Enterprise
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Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!

McGregor is still relevant

Human Side of Enterprise
Douglas McGregor
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Higher Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!.......2007-08-05

Unlike later and earlier books in this genre, this one strikes a balance between two world views: "theory X" (a set of ideas that exclude all needs, motivations, and influences outside authority and dependence) and "theory Y" (a set of ideas derived from imagining motivations and influences without managers). And the author maintains a style that never becomes unjustifiably preachy. There's a lot of optimism at times, but taken in the context of the entire book, it's acceptable.

Some authors never go out of style. By the way, McGregor makes it quite clear that under most circumstances, in most situations, and with most people the appropriate approach is "theory X." McGregor fully admits that the application of "theory Y" won't work except with certain people and under certain conditions. Applying "theory Y" in the wrong situations to inappropriate people is an all too common SNAFU. Though applying "theory X" in the wrong situations to inappropriate people is also a SNAFU, it is apparently rare.

This last paragraph was just FYI. In case a reader happens to be some kind of spiritually and socially abused polymath.

I have a confession to make. The second part of this book ("Theory Y in Practice." Chapters 5 thru 12.) was very hard for me to read. This difficulty was partially because in order to really gain some understanding of it, it forced me to judge myself. But this was more importantly because all the examples of Theory Y in Practice that McGregor himslef could find indicate that its application has limits and it requires discipline. To this reader, the limits and this discipline of Theory Y in practice appear far greater than that required by Theory X in order to be successful. For example, successful unschooling would require more discipline and commitment on the student's part than traditional public, private, or even homeschooling.

McGregor is still relevant.......2003-11-19

This book has influenced organizational management and development for decades. In his book, "The Human Side of Enterprise", McGregor examined theories on the behavior of individuals at work. His examination included Abraham Maslow's work on human motivation which greatly influenced his work.

From his examination, he formulated two models that he called Theory X and Theory Y. Theory Y is based on the traditional assumption that people don't really like to work and would only work if they were threatened in some way. Management assumes that employees would avoid work if possible. Based on this belief, managers would attempt to control workers in order to "make them work". Theory Y is based on the asssumption that people have a natural interest in work when it is a satisfying experience. They will apply self control and self-direction in meeting the objectives of the organization without external control or threats of punishment.

In "The Human Side of Enterprise", McGregor demonstrated how Theory Y affected the management of promotions and salaries and the development of effective managers. With the Theory Y (Participative Management Style), there were positive results. When management acknowledges that it is under estimating the potential of its employees and incorporates Theory Y assumptions, then it can focus its efforts on developing improved applications of Theory Y.

Book Description

From the senior management to the clerical and support group levels, this study addresses the possible pitfalls and triumphs of implementing information technology (IT) into organizations in terms of organizational strategies, structures, and communication methods. Issues of human-computer interaction, ethics, privacy, and security are raised to help facilitate a sociopragmatic and constuctivist understanding of IT culture.

Customer Reviews:

Invaluable Resource.......2003-10-08

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in creating computer-human interfaces and supporting end-users.

The Human Side of Technology.......2003-07-22

The human side of technology is crucial but has not received the dedicated attention it warrants. The field has been dominated by the "under the hood" types who are comfortable with the technology, and assume everyone else is as well. However the people who use the technology for business advantage are the "above the hood" types who require ease of use. This publication focuses on the all important human side. It's about time!

The expanding use of technology has dramatically changed the way business is conducted. IT has been democratized with an estimate excess of 1 billion humans connected on-line to the Internet. It is a startling figure when you consider there are 5.6 billion people on our planet. This book focuses on the factors that enable sound connectivity to our growing on-line community.

As computers and the software that drives them grow more powerful, they are also growing too complex for many of the IT customers to use. This book emphasizes that using Information Technology should help people accomplish tasks and not be a task in itself.

Human Side of Enterprise
Average customer rating:

Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!

Human Side of Enterprise
Douglas McGregor
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NPQA3I

Customer Reviews:

Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally! .......2007-08-28

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The Human Side of Japanese Enterprise
Hiroshi Tanaka
Manufacturer: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812212797

Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of Enterprise.: An article from: Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations

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Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of Enterprise.: An article from: Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations
George Strauss
Manufacturer: Relations Industrielles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, published by Relations Industrielles on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1558 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of Enterprise.
Author: George Strauss
Publication: Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: Relations Industrielles
Volume: 57 Issue: 1 Page: 198(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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An Experiment in management: Putting Theory Y to the test

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An Experiment in management: Putting Theory Y to the test
Arthur H Kuriloff
Manufacturer: American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007HGZ6E

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