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The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition
Douglas McGregor Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
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
A Classic for Human Resources.......2006-11-10
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Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise
Gary Heil , Warren Bennis , and Deborah C. Stephens Manufacturer: Wiley ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
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 RothmanBook 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.Customer Reviews:
Enterprise - The Human Aspect.......2005-04-18
McGregor's Work is Classic!.......2003-07-01
Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"
What a wonderful book!.......2001-03-24
How to unleash the vast creative potential of employees.......2000-07-31
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
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.
Whether you believe that employees cannot be trusted or that they are your first line of offense and defense empowered on their own, you will benefit from reading and thinking about the questions and topics in this book. It can be an important step forward toward helping you build an irresistible growth enterprise.
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The Human Side of Enterprise: 25th Anniversary Printing
Douglas McGregor Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0070450986 |
Customer Reviews:
Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!.......2007-08-28
A classic business text.......2005-10-02
Classic!.......2003-07-01
Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"
You have to "hear" it from the horse's mouth........2001-12-29
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
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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 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 IntroductionIn 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.
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Human Side of Enterprise
Douglas McGregor Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Higher Education ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0070450927 |
Customer Reviews:
Neither Capricious nor Arbitrary. Unpredictable? To me, totally!.......2007-08-05
McGregor is still relevant.......2003-11-19
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.
Although some organizations may find it difficult to incorporate Theory Y, it is still worth the effort to train management using this principle. The potential increase in productivity would be worth pursuing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a involved in organizational management.
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Computing Information Technology: The Human Side
Manufacturer: Irm Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1931777527 |
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
The Human Side of Technology.......2003-07-22
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.
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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 ASIN: 0812212797 |
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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 ASIN: B0009FOJE4 Release Date: 2005-07-30 |
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.
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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 ASIN: B0007HGZ6E |
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