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Beliefs about the Nature of Man
 
1. The average human being wishes to avoid responsibility.
 
 
2. Giving greater independence to most employees would be bad for most organizations.
 
 
3. In most organizations one can generally trust one's superiors.
 
 
4. Employees will always try to get away with as much as they can.
 
 
5. Most employees have the capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organization problems.
 
 
6. It is frequently a wise procedure never to be too trusting of others in a working organization.
 
 
7. Even increased pay is usually not enough to overcome people's inherent dislike of work.
 
 
8. For many organizational tasks managers can rely upon the individual to exercise inner self-control.
 
 
9. Even the lowliest untalented laborer seeks a sense of meaning and accomplishment in his work.
 
 
10. Most employees in any organization do not possess the potential to be "self-starters" on the job.
 
 
11. Under proper conditions, the average human being in an organization learns not only to accept but to seek responsibility.
 
 
12. Most people are by nature either indifferent or antagonistic toward the goals of the industrial enterprise.
 
 
13. Man does not need external controls and the threat of punishment, but will exercise inner, self-direction and self-control to attain organizational objectives to which he is personally committed.
 
 
14. Most people work only because they have to.
 
 
15. In most organizations one can generally trust one's subordinates.
 
 
16. The average human being can find work a source of satisfaction.
 
 
17. Most employees are capable of exercising a certain amount of autonomy and independence on the job.
 
 
18. The average human being wants security above all.
 
 
19. Problems which arise in the organization should always be considered coldly and objectively.
 
 
20. Man is primarily self-motivated and self-controlled.
 
 
21. The best way for a manager to get things done is to use his authority to direct people.
 
 
22. The potentialities of the average human being are far above those which are typically recognized in organizations today.
 
 
23. Most employees want maximum reward for minimum effort.
 
 
24. In most organizations one can generally trust one's peers and colleagues.
 
 
    
 
 
© 2010 J. Timothy McMahon