Douglas McGregor American scientist and teacher, professor of management Country: USA

Biography of Douglas McGregor

Douglas McGregor was an American scholar and professor of management at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He served as the president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954 and also taught at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta for some time. Interestingly, McGregor initially had no plans to become a specialist in management. He studied mechanical engineering at the Rangoon Institute of Technology. However, he later realized that his true calling was not in mechanics and decided to pursue psychology. He first studied at Wayne State University and then went on to Harvard University.

In 1932, McGregor earned his bachelor's degree, followed by a master's degree in 1933. In 1935, he obtained his doctorate. In 1960, McGregor published his influential book, 'The Human Side of Enterprise,' which had a significant impact on his teaching career. In this book, he described an approach to creating an environment in which employees are motivated either through authoritarian actions of superiors (Theory X) or through self-control and a sense of wholeness (Theory Y). It was in this book that McGregor introduced the concepts of 'Theory X' and 'Theory Y,' with the latter being a practical embodiment of Abraham Maslow's humanistic psychology.

Many believe that McGregor himself was a strong advocate of Theory Y. However, as noted by Edgar Schein in the preface to McGregor's book, 'The Professional Manager,' McGregor was annoyed by such categorization. He always emphasized in his books that different situations require different approaches to management and that there cannot be a universal formula for the behavior of managers. It should also be understood that Theory Y itself is a flexible concept and cannot always be defined as a specific sequence of actions. Unfortunately, most self-proclaimed disciples and followers of McGregor tend to interpret his work in a simplified manner, focusing solely on this aspect.