Management style

Management style is associated with McGregor and his Theory X‐Theory Y, which he introduced in 1960. Comparatively little change in ideas about preferred styles took place throughout the sixties and seventies, once McGregor had established his approach, until around 1976 or so when social scientists began to look more closely into Japan's successful formula. As a result, one group of investigators claim to have identified an A style which grows out of American culture and a J style which grows out of the Japanese. These differ fundamentally in essential details and one new approach is to seek a hybrid style, known by the investigators as the Z style, which incorporates the best of both cultures. The terms A, J and Z, though not yet in wide usage, are beginning to creep into the literature and might eventually find their way into the manager's vocabulary, but in any case, the review of these new styles makes a valuable contribution to the study of management style. As seminar material this article is important in that it relates management style to the socio‐political environment.