Douglas McGregor, Revisited

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.