1 management focus: people and things
In management, leaders generally assume three roles: decision maker, information transmitter and interpersonal coordinator, and correspondingly grasp three chains: command chain, information chain and interpersonal relationship chain. These three roles are all related to people. In order to be a good manager, manage subordinates well and achieve their management goals, it is necessary to design management measures and means around people.
Management by objectives is a common management method in enterprises. The following discussion is to discuss the hypothesis of human nature under the category of management by objectives. On the one hand, in target management, managers' assumptions about human nature are mainly based on human weakness or human inertia. That is to say, when designing management means, it is assumed that employees can't accomplish their goals efficiently or according to the standard requirements.
Although all of them have self-control ability and can perform their duties consciously, they are also lazy, and they are prone to slack off in their work. Especially in a long period of time, people are prone to make mistakes in their work if they are not restrained, supervised and corrected by their supervisors. Of course, there are also people who are highly self-disciplined, but they are relatively few. Therefore, in charge, they perform management functions as "heteronomy" to ensure continuous, stable and efficient work. However, the statement cannot be too absolute. After all, human beings are complex advanced animals, which have both negative and positive aspects. At the same time, human nature is also complex and changeable, which will change with the influence of time, place and situation.
In fact, in the field of management, there have been many discussions about this, and there are roughly six hypotheses of human nature. Understanding these six situations is very enlightening for managers to adopt appropriate management methods flexibly.
26 hypotheses of human nature
The hypothesis of "economic man"
was put forward by Adam Smith, a western hedonist and a British economist, in the 18th century.
Based on the "evil" of human nature, this theory holds that people are "rational people who pursue the maximization of their own interests", and the incentive methods used in management are mainly material and economic interests, and the institutionalized and rigid "heteronomy" control system is emphasized in the restraint mechanism.
However, this theory will easily lead to the tension between labor and capital, workers' indifference to work, and even open opposition.
the "social man" hypothesis
was put forward by George Elton Mayo of Harvard University in the 193s.
Based on the goodness of human nature, this theory holds that people can regulate and restrain their own behaviors, which is self-disciplined and does not need "heteronomy" behavior. People are the main body of economic activities with the pursuit of meeting social needs as the main purpose, not simply pursuing money and status, but also pursuing psychological and social desires such as friendship, security and belonging between people. The relationship between people in an organization is the main factor that determines the degree of hard work of employees.
Therefore, managers should establish harmonious interpersonal relationships to promote the improvement of work efficiency and benefit.
This theory pioneered the trend of "humanism" in management activities. The hypothesis of "social man" is an important turning point in management, which promotes the birth of "behavioral science" school.
the hypothesis of "self-actualized person"
In 193s, the famous American humanistic psychologist Maslow put forward the concept of "self-actualized person" when studying the characteristics of human needs.
He thinks that everyone has the requirement to display his own potential, and only when his potential is fully displayed can he feel satisfied. People want to have the opportunity to get their own development and maturity, and "self-realization" is the biggest motivation for work.
The "complex man" hypothesis
came into being in the 196s, and was put forward by American scholar Edgar Shain on the basis of synthesizing three hypotheses of western human nature: the "economic man" hypothesis, the "social man" hypothesis and the "self-fulfilling man" hypothesis.
He believes that people's needs and potential desires are diverse, and the patterns of these needs are constantly changing with the changes of age, the role they play in society, the situation they are in and interpersonal relationships.
therefore, there is no universally effective management method applicable to any era, any organization or individual.
the "decision-maker" hypothesis
was put forward by herbert simon, a master of decision-making management in American economic organizations and winner of the 1th Nobel Prize in Economics in 196s.
He thinks that people are the main body of decision-making and the implementer of decision-making scheme. However, due to the limitation of bounded rationality, that is, the limitation of people's intelligence, knowledge and information, accumulated experience, and the asymmetry of information, people make correct decisions. The solution is to speed up the learning process by repeating decisions. He also pointed out that decision-making runs through the whole process of management activities and management is decision-making. All human activities and everyone's behavior are actually faced with various choices, and this choice is decision-making.
Therefore, decision-making is not the patent of top managers, and everyone in the organization and society needs to make decisions.
the hypothesis of "cultural man"
Since 198s, the hypothesis of "cultural man" has arisen in the field of management, which holds that man is the noumenon of culture and the creator, disseminator and successor of culture. Culture is the internal motivation of social and economic development, and today's culture is tomorrow's economy, so the construction of enterprise culture is highly valued in enterprise management.
of course, there are other theories of human nature hypothesis. Nine-type personality analysis is actually a theory of human nature hypothesis, but this method is more specific and targeted.
Therefore, based on the complexity of human nature, managers should pay attention to the following matters in target management:
For employees with different working abilities and personalities, targeted management measures should be taken; It is necessary to establish a correct concept of human nature and adhere to the people-oriented principle; At the same time of supervision and punishment, more positive incentives should be taken.