Keywords
Citation
Nicholson, N. (2001), "Managing the Human Animal", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 101 No. 2, pp. 90-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/imds.2001.101.2.90.4
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Gossip. Rivalry. Rumour‐mongering. We just can’t get enough of it!
Time and time again managers have tried to flatten hierarchies, eliminate office politics and quell interdepartmental rivalries. Usually to no avail. Why? According to the new science of evolutionary psychology the reason is simple: we are working against human nature and the emotional and behavioural “hardwiring” that is the genetic legacy of our Stone Age ancestors. In Managing the Human Animal, Professor Nigel Nicholson advocates a radical rethink on the way we manage and behave at work. As one of the world’s leading behavioural analysts, Nicholson offers unprecedented insight into the motives that underpin all our professional interactions in the workplace.
You can take the man out of the Stone Age but you can’t take the Stone Age out of the man!
Rivalry is a genetically imprinted survival technique that ties in with the Darwinian theory of “survival of the fittest”. When we explore the dynamic of the human group – which is, after all, the central structure of the corporate environment – we discover that, just as was the case for our nomadic predecessors, people function best in groups of no more than 150. The author concludes that, ultimately, like it or not, we are still biologically indivisible from our animal heritage.
The book examines every aspect of human interaction within the professional arena, using models as diverse as nomadic clans that roamed the Savannah Plains to political leaders such as Fidel Castro.
Managing the Human Animal also examines and dispels as myth the following common beliefs about work and management:
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Differences between men and women in work are solely the product of cultural brainwashing.
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We can get along without leaders and create non‐hierarchical structures.
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Anyone is management material given the right training.
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Politics and corruption can be driven out of business life.
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Most people are risk‐averse and resist change.
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We are moving into an age where virtual organisations and boundaryless corporations will be the norm.
Contact: Ranbir Sahotaristan Jervis, Ruder Finn. Tel: 020 7462 8900.