Peter K. McGregor, Jason Birt, Kelly Haynes, Ruth J. Martin, Lawrence J. Moores, Nicola J. Morris, Brender Willmott and Andrew C. Smart
A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose of this paper is to present the case studies showing an HE ethos and student scholarship in a college environment from two levels of degree, three areas of science and contexts from submission to government consultations to tropical fieldwork, and from event organisation to volunteering.
Design/methodology/approach
Five case studies are presented, each of which was developed and delivered by a subset of the authors (see biographies for details). During delivery, individual staff developed opinions on the success of components of the approaches; these were discussed with co-deliverers, other authors/staff members and degree programme external examiners during the academic year. The information reported in this manuscript is a composite of these views.
Findings
All of the case studies were designed to have elements of HE ethos and student scholarship that contribute towards a high-quality student experience. The extensive links with potential employers and outside professionals help to ensure student engagement with real world issues and provide opportunities for individual enhancement, often through extracurricular activities.
Originality/value
The range of case studies presented here indicates the potential for engagement and enhancement in a college HE context; it also indicates the college-wide culture of progression and scholarship. Whilst the details are necessarily specific, the diversity of the case studies indicates the potential of the approaches outlined in other subjects.
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Peter F. Sorensen and Matt Minahan
This paper is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Douglas McGregor's The Human Side of Enterprise. The paper identifies major management approaches cited by McGregor as being…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Douglas McGregor's The Human Side of Enterprise. The paper identifies major management approaches cited by McGregor as being examples of his Theory Y management principles. The paper traces the historical development of each of these approaches and their application today. The paper also addresses two major contemporary issues, namely, the relation of Theory Y management to today's positive change theories based on social construction, and the question of the universal/global applicability of Theory Y.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews McGregor's original article, then traces the historical development and application of McGregor's major concepts through the identification and review of relevant historical and contemporary literature.
Findings
Major findings provide strong evidence that McGregor's Theory Y concepts and related management approaches have grown in application, are closely related to appreciative inquiry and social construction. There is also evidence that McGregor's concept of management may be universal and has application across national cultural boundaries.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that McGregor's concepts have widespread acceptance and application today, and have been systematically and empirically related to organizational success and effectiveness. More important, however, are the enormous implications related to the growing body of empirical evidence that these concepts have universal application considering the continued movement toward globalization.
Originality/value
Although well known, McGregor's Theory Y management has received little systematic efforts at identifying its historical growth and contemporary applications, particularly in terms of contemporary issues relating it to appreciative inquiry, social construction and universal applicability.
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The purpose of this paper is to advance that a significant part of McGregor's legacy was from considering human behavior as important to organizational life and management, and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance that a significant part of McGregor's legacy was from considering human behavior as important to organizational life and management, and to step outside thinking of the time to incorporate social science research and thinking. While others have followed his lead, the idea of looking beyond those fields for useful frameworks for additional insights – as he did by incorporating psychology – has been largely overlooked. This paper seeks to propose such an approach as adding to the breadth and depth of organizational/managerial understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
There is no methodology, per se, other than reading. The approach is to trace highlights of McGregor's thinking, influences on him and by him, and to introduce fields of thought that can further those aims of better informing the “human” side.
Findings
Spiral dynamics (SDi) and finite and infinite games provide well developed frameworks for better understanding “human” aspects of organized behavior both socially, and in the management and research of organizational behavior. Considering them is also in line with McGregor's legacy of stepping outside traditional management theory to inform his thinking and arguments.
Research limitations/implications
There has not been research on Finite dynamics, but there is documentation of work done with SDi. The implications of each include better understanding of culture components of organized behavior, especially in a global environment, comparing results of already occurring phenomena (e.g. mergers) in light of the ideas proposed. A key limitation is creating and using further operational measures for some studies.
Practical implications
The practical implications are significant in terms of offering new ways to better analyze, understand, and act on socially (“human“) based factors that address issues within and across cultures. These include guidelines for balancing interests of corporations with national/global economies, post merger behavior, identifying other factors that affect issues of loyalty, commitment, motivation, alignment, etc. as issues of cultural diversity in organizations (especially global ones).
Social implications
The first implication is that it takes recognition of dynamics advanced by both approaches for them to have conscious impact. They already conform to events known to have happened. SDi was used repeatedly to improve societal harmony by Mandela in post‐Aparheidt South Africa. Finite and […] poses hyotheses and distinctions about factors that help explain recent global economic meltdown, and ways to prevent future occurrence. While “business” in nature, the social implications are vast.
Originality/value
The originality here lies primarily in thinking outside the boxes that have emulated, evaluated, or expanded on the central thrust of McGregor's thinking. Other than placing finite and infinite games in a management/organizational context, and suggesting some questions for research and practice, the only other original thought was to consider the “meta” legacy of McGregor's example of going outside management thinking to inform what he believed to be valid, rather than stay strictly within the domains of social science and traditional management thinking. All this, of course, in the pursuit of advancing his concern for the human side of enterprise.
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Professor Shackle has long maintained both the originality of the liquidity preference theory of interest rates and its paramount importance for macroeconomics. He has argued, for…
Abstract
Professor Shackle has long maintained both the originality of the liquidity preference theory of interest rates and its paramount importance for macroeconomics. He has argued, for example, that:
Using the backdrop of an (apparently) extended visit to the West Indies, analogies with key concerns of internal audit are drawn. An unusual and refreshing way of exploring the…
Abstract
Using the backdrop of an (apparently) extended visit to the West Indies, analogies with key concerns of internal audit are drawn. An unusual and refreshing way of exploring the main themes ‐ a discussion between Bill and Jack on tour in the islands ‐ forms the debate. Explores the concepts of control, necessary procedures, fraud and corruption, supporting systems, creativity and chaos, and building a corporate control facility.
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Using the backdrop of an (apparently) extended visit to the West Indies, analogies with key concerns of internal audit are drawn. An unusual and refreshing way of exploring the…
Abstract
Using the backdrop of an (apparently) extended visit to the West Indies, analogies with key concerns of internal audit are drawn. An unusual and refreshing way of exploring the main themes ‐ a discussion between Bill and Jack on tour in the islands ‐ forms the debate. Explores the concepts of control, necessary procedures, fraud and corruption, supporting systems, creativity and chaos, and building a corporate control facility.
Details
Keywords
Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.