Managing in the Gray

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Who Are We?

In 1956, William Whyte published The Organization Man.

This was one of the last century’s most important studies

of business, and its ideas still shape—and distort—much

of what we still think about organizations. The book was a

harsh account of what happened to the human beings, mostly

men, who spent their lives working in the large companies

that dominated the American economy. They became,

Whyte argued, tiny cogs in giant machines. As a result, their

lives were squeezed down, hollowed out, and impoverished.

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Whyte’s book is a compelling account of the hazards of

organizational life, but only a partial picture. The reality is ...