Literally, human nature is a human attribute, unique to human beings and different from animals. It is all the agreements that people get through their own activities in real life. The appearance of management is the management of manpower, material resources and financial resources, while the core of management is the management of people in essence. The center, subject and object and essence of management are all based on human beings. Therefore, to understand the development track of western management theory, we must first understand the evolution process of human nature hypothesis. Different human nature assumptions correspond to different management theories, and both human nature assumptions and management theories reflect the social environment and people's position in society at that time. The earliest concept of "human nature hypothesis" was first put forward by American scholar McGregor in the article "Human aspects in enterprises" from 65438 to 0957. Later, many Chinese and western scholars commented and followed it, involving "economic man", "social man", "self-actualizing man", "complex man", "robot" and "manager". Starting from the early traditional management stage, this paper extends to the post-modern management stage, expounds the human nature hypothesis of management theories in each stage, clearly depicts the roots of management theories in each period, and depicts the development track of western management theories.
1. "Tool Man" and "Robot Man"-Traditional Management Stage
/kloc-from the late 8th century to the end of 9th century, it was in the traditional management stage, characterized by experience management, so it was also called the experience management stage. During this period, human nature was extremely suppressed and there was almost no personal freedom. Factory owners manage by experience and feeling, and their understanding of management is still at the stage of irrational perceptual knowledge. Employers can imagine any tribe and issue orders and tasks according to their personal wishes. They equate workers with tools, such as cattle and horses, hoes and sickles, which can be wiped at will, and regard them as heartless people. During this period, workers were essentially talking machines, and talking cows and horses could abuse and scold them at will, and even give them food and grass. At this stage, management has not yet formed a science, there is no management system, and there are no scientific operating standards and procedures. The management thought of this period was summed up by the experience and practice of managers and rulers. Management is one-way, the managed can only obey and execute, without any power, and human nature is obliterated by the managed, and the essence is animals, tools and machines. Therefore, the hypothesis of managing human nature in this period is "tool man" and "robot man", and some people compare this stage to stick management.
2. "Economic man" and "profit-seeking man"-the stage of classical scientific management.
/kloc-from the end of 0/9 to the 1930s, it was a period of transition from liberal capitalism to monopoly capitalism. With the gradual improvement of social productive forces and the emergence and development of power-driven industries, management theory began to move from experience to science and rose to a certain theoretical height. Among them, F.W. Taylor's Scientific Management, Fa Yueer's General Management Theory and Max Weber's Administrative Management Theory are typical. This period, known as the classical scientific management stage, was the first formal and rigorous discussion on management issues in human history, which improved the production efficiency of European and American enterprises at that time and promoted the development of social productive forces. In this management stage, people are regarded as "economic man", "utilitarian man" and "interest-oriented man", that is, their human nature hypothesis is based on economic interests. Both factory owners and workers take their own interests as the starting point. Enterprises operate to maximize profits, and workers work to get high wages. The hypothesis of "economic man" in classical scientific management theory is consistent with the "X Theory" mentioned in Douglas McGregor's "Human Aspects in Enterprises". Douglas McGregor described in the article that there are some additional beliefs behind the traditional theory, which are not obvious, but spread widely: (1) Normal people are naturally lazy-do as little work as possible; (2) He lacks ambition and is unwilling to take responsibility, preferring to be led by others; (3) He is self-centered by nature and indifferent to organizational needs; (4) His nature is against change; (5) He is not very clever, easily deceived, easily deceived by swindlers and careerists. Under this assumption of human nature, the classical management theory holds that in order to achieve organizational goals, people need to be motivated, controlled, directed and supervised by economic interests. At this stage, more emphasis is placed on the management of material resources, while less attention is paid to the management of processes. The hypothesis of "economic man" only pays attention to people's explicit behavior and does not consider people's inner world. The human nature of management in this period is assumed to be "economic man" and "profit-seeking man". Some people compare this stage to "carrot and stick" management.
3. "Social man" and "self-actualizing man"-the stage of scientific management of behavior.
In the early 1930s, under the influence of the capitalist economic crisis, the contradiction between labor and capital in capitalist countries became more acute, labor productivity dropped sharply, and the disadvantages of Taylor's scientific management became increasingly apparent. In this case, behavioral science came into being in the 1930s and 1950s. Behavioral scientific management theory appears as the opposite of classical scientific management theory. The early representatives of this stage are: the founder of interpersonal relationship management, Professor Mayo of Harvard University and Robert Lisberg. The early assumption of human nature in interpersonal relationship management is "social person". "Social people" believe that the greatest motivation for people's work is social and psychological needs, not economic needs, but the pursuit of good interpersonal relationships. In management, the key points are: caring for people and meeting people's needs, attaching importance to interpersonal relationships, and cultivating employees' sense of belonging and integrity. The hypothesis of "social man" in interpersonal relationship management holds that man is not a slave to economic and material interests, but an emotional animal, and needs social and psychological comfort and satisfaction. People not only pursue economic material, but also spiritual enjoyment, which requires friendship, belonging and security. Behavioral science management theory is based on the human nature assumption of "social man" and emphasizes the social attribute of man. People in a certain group, group behavior affects individual behavior. The harmonious relationship between people is relatively superior, and the working environment and high salary have a greater impact on work efficiency. Man is a mixture of complex behaviors, a combination of rationality and irrationality, and a combination of logic and irrationality. Both senior leaders and grass-roots managers should treat employees flexibly and have more employees. The hypothesis of "social man" is a great progress in the hypothesis of human nature in management thought. It does not simply treat people as tools and machines, but highlights the influence of interpersonal relationship on production efficiency, and management tends to be more humanized, which has indeed produced great results in the new historical environment. However, "social man" overemphasizes the social attribute of man, stripping off the basic requirements of man for the attribute of "economic man" and forming the other extreme with "economic man". With the continuous spread of the theory, American scholar abraham maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg's two-factor theory and American social psychologist Douglas McGregor's X-Y theory appeared. These theories are further developed on the basis of the hypothesis of "social man" and put forward the hypothesis of human nature of "self-fulfilling man". "Self-fulfilling person" is the continuation and development of "social person hypothesis", which inherits the content that social people have social and psychological needs and develops further on this basis. The hypothesis of "self-fulfilling person" emphasizes that people's needs are hierarchical, and only after the most basic physiological needs are met will they further pursue the needs of security, affection and belonging, respect and self-realization. In terms of management, more consideration is given to giving full play to the talents of employees, giving full play to their enthusiasm and creativity, and advocating decentralization. The management stage of behavioral science is also called "carrot management".
4. "Decision-maker"/"Complex"-the stage of modern scientific management
From the 1950s to the end of 1970s, in recent 20 years, with the technological revolution and the adjustment of industrial structure, the technological renewal cycle has been greatly shortened, the market competition has become more intense, and the relations of production and the contradiction between labor and capital have become more complicated. In this era, the single management in the past obviously can't adapt to the complex and changeable environment, and many new management theories and theories have emerged, and many management schools have emerged. They collide, blend and compete with each other. Harold koontz called it "the jungle of management theory". Among them, there are management process school, experience (case) school represented by P.F. Drucker, management science school, social system school founded by C. Barnard, decision theory school represented by H.A. Simon, early behavioral science school, system theory school, manager role school, contingency theory school and group behavior school. This stage is called modern scientific management stage, which not only refers to Taylor's scientific management system, but also includes all classic modern enterprise management systems such as behavioral science school, system management theory, contingency theory and empiricism school. During this period, there were various views on the hypothesis of human nature in management theory, such as "complex person", "decision-maker" and "manager", among which Simon's theory of "management is decision-making" was the most representative. He first put forward the theory of decision-maker hypothesis in his book Organization, which was co-authored with March. The hypothesis of "decision maker" emphasizes that human rationality is limited; The principle of satisfaction replaces the principle of optimization; Organization is just a balancing lever. Another representative human nature hypothesis is the "complex person" human nature hypothesis first put forward by Edgar X. Shane in the book Organizational Psychology published in 1965. The basic idea of the human nature hypothesis of "complex people" is that people's needs and potential desires are diverse, and people's needs and motives are constantly changing with the working environment. Because people have different needs and abilities, they will have different reactions to different management methods. Corresponding to the hypothesis of "complex human nature" are the Super Y Theory published by Morse and Roche in 1970 and the Organization and its Members: Contingency Model (Super Y Theory, Contingency Theory) published in 19865438+. Generally speaking, in the modern management stage, management theory tends to be more practical, emphasizing the participation of employees, and the requirements for managers' leadership and management ability are getting higher and higher, so that they can adapt to the times, places, people and situations.
5. "Cultural Man" and "Creator"-the post-modern management stage
It can be said that postmodern management theory originated in the United States in the 1980s. At that time, Japan's 30-year economic development seriously threatened the hegemony of the United States, shocking not only the western countries, but also the whole world. At this time, the United States tried to explore the mystery of Japan's rapid economic development and found that Japan's advantage lies not in its modern science and technology, but in its unique culture. Therefore, the concept of "cultural man" is put forward. The "cultural man" hypothesis holds that people's psychology and behavior are ultimately determined by their world outlook, outlook on life and values. People are the main body of enterprises and the core of management, so the fundamental task of management is to cultivate and shape the value, spirit and image of employees. Man is the product of culture, and culture is closely related to the culture of his country and nation. Especially in the 2 1 century, due to the development of a large number of high-tech industries, such as computer technology, microelectronics technology, information technology, photoelectric technology, new materials, genetic engineering, etc., the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce and the external environment is becoming increasingly unstable, which has caused great changes in the working methods of enterprises. Products have changed from tangible to intangible, and the traditional large-scale collective assembly line operation has changed to small-scale, decentralized and personalized office. Traditional "economic man" and "society" urgently need "cultural man" and "creative man" in the post-modern management stage. In the post-modern management stage, there are "7S" model and "3P" theory. In 2004, the book Postmodern Enterprise and Management Revolution published by Zhang Yi, a young scholar in China, was the first post-modern enterprise management monograph in the world. As soon as the book was published, it quickly attracted the strong attention of economic management and business circles. He advocates the relative rationality and multiple subjects of "cultural people" in management practice. The post-modern management stage is still very young, still in the stage of continuous development and exploration, and has not yet formed a complete and mature theoretical system. However, the hypothesis of human nature of "cultural man" has been recognized by most scholars at present. If "cultural man" is more humanized than "economic man", "social man" and "automatic realization man", it is "people-oriented" in the true sense.
Concluding remarks
From the development track of western management theory, it can be seen that the assumption of human nature in management is a process of gradual deepening, from shallow to deep, from low to high, and a process of gradually sublimating the flavor of human nature discourse. No matter the government or the enterprise, in the management practice, we should choose the corresponding management mode according to the hypothesis of human nature and the situation of all the staff. Looking at the development track of western management theory, we in China should learn, draw lessons from and absorb, narrow the gap with the west as soon as possible, and improve the management level of China enterprises.
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