Douglas McGregor - Collected Quotes

"Above all, it is necessary to recognize that knowledge cannot be pumped into human beings the way grease is forced into a machine. The individual may learn; he is not taught." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"Behind every managerial decision or action are assumptions about human nature and human behavior." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"Classical organization theory suffers from 'ethnocentrism': It ignores the significance of the political, social, and economic milieu in shaping organizations and influencing managerial practice." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"Every managerial act rests on assumptions, generalizations, and hypotheses - that is to say, on theory. Our assumptions are frequently implicit, sometimes quite unconscious, often conflicting; nevertheless, they determine our predictions that if we do a, b will occur. Theory and practice are inseparable." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"Formal theories of organization have been taught in management courses for many years, and there is an extensive literature on the subject. The textbook principles of organization - hierarchical structure, authority, unity of command, task specialization, division of staff and line, span of control, equality of responsibility and authority, etc. - comprise a logically persuasive set of assumptions which have had a profound influence upon managerial behavior." (Douglas McGregor, 'The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"If there is a single assumption which pervades conventional organizational theory, it is that authority is the central, indispensable means of managerial control." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"It is probable that one day we shall begin to draw organization charts as a series of linked groups rather than as a hierarchical structure of individual 'reporting' relationships." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"Man will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which he is committed." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"The decision which achieves organization objectives must be both (1) technologically sound and (2) carried out by people. If we lose sight of the second requirement or if we assume naively that people can be made to carry out whatever decisions are technically sound - we run the risk of decreasing rather than increasing the effectiveness of the organization." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"The essential task of management is to arrange organizational conditions and methods of operations so that people can achieve their own goals best by directing their own efforts toward organizational objectives." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"The ingenuity of the average worker is sufficient to outwit any system of controls devised by management." (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)

"The key question for top management is what are your assumptions (implicit as well as explicit) about the most effective way to manage people?" (Douglas McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", 1960)