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•Six Greatest Management Thinkers 107

‘1 that the expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as in play

or rest – the typical human does not inherently dislike work

‘2 that external control and threat of punishment are not the only means for bring-

ing about effort toward a company’s ends

‘3 that commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their

achievement – the most important of such rewards is the satisfaction of ego and

can be the direct product of effort directed towards an organisation’s purposes

‘4 that the average human being learns, under the right conditions, not only to

accept but to seek responsibility

‘5 that the capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity

and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, not narrowly,

distributed in the organisation.’

You know if the

McGregor was not so much known as a great academic but more as an company is

advisor to practising managers. He was said to have the knack of taking practising what

behavioural science research and giving it sufficient resonance with man- it preaches by

agers to get them to put it into practice. looking in at

McGregor also examined the process of acquiring new skills and iden- the shop floor,

tified four kinds of learning relevant for managers: intellectual knowledge, not by reading

manual skills, problem-solving skills and social interaction. The last one the section of

he claimed was outside the confines of conventional teaching. In his view, the annual

feedback on a person’s performance or behaviour was more likely to oc- report on

cur behind the person’s back than in a proper face-to-face discussion. human re-

McGregor advocated the use of T-groups to spread openness and discus- sources and

sion. other assets.

It is nowadays more than likely that senior managers believe that the

values of their company are towards the theory Y end of the spectrum, and yet it is

very difficult to operate wholly in that way. You know if the company is practising

what it preaches by looking in at the shop floor, not by reading the section of the

annual report on human resources and other assets.