Abstract

According to the author, his inquiry is not into what these newer concepts emphasize, for he know from his years of experience in industry that they are meaningful and necessary. His preoccupation lies, rather, with what they exclude, either implicitly or explicitly. Because of what they exclude, the unit of analysis becomes not the total organization, but an area-admittedly large, but still a segment. Therefore, the conclusions of the academic, like those of the manager, are drawn from selective experience or samples of behavior; the conclusions are based on partial truths at best. There is a common temptation to make predictions from partial sampling of behavior, generalized to include total behavior. Where this is done, however, the conclusions should perhaps be seen as tentative and needing to be supported by more data. The purpose of this paper is not to criticize or reject the various emphases in the newer concepts in administration, but rather to suggest a more complete exploration of these concepts to account for the total reality in the work situation. The author believes, from his personal experience as a manager, and now as a researcher and consultant, that emphasis in the present concepts on leadership, on the role in individuals as individuals in organizations, and on authority and hierarchy is inadequately represented from the perspective of the reality of organizational life.