Deborah C. Stephens – författare

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 commitmentAlso 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 ManagementPeter 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 ElectricDouglas 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.

Includes Original Essays & Letters"The more evolved and psychologically healthy people get, the more will enlightened management policy be necessary in order to survive in competition and the more handicapped will be an enterprise with an authoritarian policy."-Abraham Maslow In a world in which each new day brings a new management theory or strategic proposition, the timeless ideas of Abraham Maslow resonate with unimpeachable insight and clarity. Dr. Maslow, the pioneer behind elemental concepts including the hierarchy of needs and the human search for self-actualization, innately understood that the goals and passions that so impact humans in their everyday life could be just as applicable-and his own findings just as valuable-in the work environment. The Maslow Business Reader collects Maslow's essays and letters for his many devoted adherents, and introduces his published and unpublished works to readers unfamiliar with Maslow's management breakthroughs. From recognizing and warning against management's natural progression to mechanize the human organization to brilliant discussions of human motivation, Dr. Maslow never fails to instantly recognize the heart and soul of each matter and provide direct, across-the-board solutions. Abraham Maslow's contributions to behavioral science shine on every page. In notes and articles, as well as personal letters to icons B. F. Skinner, John D. Rockefeller II, and others, The Maslow Business Reader provides his outlook on:* Management and leadership issues such as customer loyalty, entrepreneurship, and the importance of communication* Ways to build a work environment conducive to creativity, innovation, and maximized individual contributions* Techniques for finding comfort in change and ambiguity, and using them to spur creativity and innovation Amid today's impressive technological innovations, business leaders sometimes forget that work is-at its core-a fundamental human endeavor. The Maslow Business Reader reminds us of Dr. Abraham Maslow's towering contribution to the understanding of human behavior and motivation, and how his efforts can lead to a greater understanding of the twenty-first-century workplace-and the workers who call it home. An important analysis of workplace motivation-from the twentieth century's most influential behavioral expert Abraham Maslow is renowned-and rightfully so-for his pioneering work on the hierarchy of needs and the human drive for self-actualization. As today's worker increasingly equates professional success with personal satisfaction and fulfillment, Dr. Maslow's words and ideas have become recognized for their wisdom and prescience on performance improvement and management/employee relationships. The Maslow Business Reader collects Abraham Maslow's most instructive, intuitive thoughts and essays into one important volume. Assembled from the wealth of behavioral research and analysis Dr. Maslow left upon his death in 1970, the enclosed selections reveal a man comfortable with his position in history, tireless in his efforts to better understand what truly makes humans strive to reach their potential, and gifted in his ability to translate the most profound concepts and realities into entertaining, thought-provoking prose. Abraham Maslow is still regarded as the modern world's most articulate, insightful authority on human behavior and motivation. Discover his beliefs and conclusions on worker drives and motivations-as applicable today as when they were first written-in The Maslow Business Reader.