[Ailist] Examining mental models

[Esther Ewing]

I will have a group of 14 managers with whom I need to take through an
exercise where they will identify their worldview or their basic assumptions
about managing people. Douglas McGregor said that every managerial act rests
on assumptions, generalizations and hypotheses (or theory). He said that our
assumptions are frequently implicit, sometimes quite unconscious, often
conflicting; nevertheless, they determine our predictions that if we do a, b
will occur. (The Human Side of Enterprise, p. 6)

 

Heil, Bennis and Stephens said that McGregor's most important legacy was
neither Theory X nor Theory Y. It was his insistence that managers question
their core assumptions about human nature, and that they see how these
mental models lead to managerial practices. 

 

I agree with the importance of my client's managers examining their mental
models. Does anyone have ideas for me about how I could get them to do this?

 

 

Best regards

Esther Ewing