Abstract

This article attempts to set forth some of the background for the new egalitarianism, to illustrate how equity has become a central objective of society and to indicate through examples how these developments have affected and will continue to affect, managerial behavior. The central theme of this argument is that as egalitarian sentiments become more entrenched into the fabric of the U.S. society, management-particularly business management-is likewise forced to change its attitudes and practices and perhaps even its goals and objectives. Equality, then, is generally accepted as a desirable goal of social and economic policy in the U.S. But is it in the best interests of the U.S. people that equality become the most important, primary and overriding goal of the society, as the egalitarians demand? Dangers inherent in attempts to optimize one goal in a multiple goal situation have frequently been pointed out in the operations research literature. In other words, if equality is to be optimized this can be accomplished only at a cost and this cost will be to other long-cherished the U.S. values and objectives, such as the freedom of enterprise, the efficacy of efficiency, reliance on a meritocratic incentive and reward system and at least some traditional rights associated with private ownership.