The Development of Humanism from Taylor to McGregor.docVIP

The Development of Humanism from Taylor to McGregor 　　【Abstract】This paper makes a comparison of the humanistic features in Taylor’s and McGregor’s works， in order to find the development of humanism in western management ideas. 　　【Key words】humanism； western business culture； management； Taylor； McGregor 　　1. Introduction 　　Humanism has a profound history， which can be dated back to ancient Greece. Ever since it came into being， humanism has imposed great influences on western civilization， especially after Renaissance and Enlightenment. The core of humanism is to acknowledge the value and needs of human beings， rather than regard them as machines or tools. With human resource being an essential part of management， the significance humanism has on management is doubtless. 　　On the basis of previous studies， this paper aims at concluding humanistic features in Taylor’s “four elements which constitute the essence of scientific management” and McGregor’s “the assumption of theory Y”， as well as comparing these two parts to find the development of humanism from Taylor to McGregor. The analyses and conclusions will further explicate the significance of humanism in management. 　　2. Comments on the reading 　　2.1 Humanism in Taylor’s “the four elements which constitute the essence of scientific management” 　　A scientist himself， Taylor puts the focus of his study mainly on the scientific methods of management. However， humanism in Taylor’s management theory， though with flaws， should not be neglected. 　　In “the four elements which constitute the essence of scientific management” of Taylor’s Scientific Management， humanistic features can be found from each of the four elements. The first element emphasizes on scientific methods to improve productivity， which could lead to higher payment， less hard work， and better livelihood for workers. The second element requires the selection and training of workers， which is an acknowledgement to the workers’ potential and