Managing Bodies: David C. McClelland and Organizational Motivation, 1963-

1989

Matthew J. HoffarthUniversity of Pennsylvania

Cheiron 2015June 19, 2015

David C. McClelland (1917-1998)

• Question: Why did McClelland’s research transition in the late 1960s and early 1970s from an interest in ‘achievement motivation’ to that of ‘power motivation’?

‘Organizations’Personality

Individual Body

Business

Nation

World

Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)

Max Weber (1864-1920)

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

1930 (1905)

“What is true for business is also true

for a country, but this is not widely recognized.”

Some countries in which McBer conducted achievement motivation training:

Ethiopia

Guyana

India

Iran

Morocco

Uganda

(1)Outperforming someone else(2)Meeting or surpassing some self-imposed

standard of excellence(3)Doing something unique(4)Being involved in advancing one’s career

Douglas McGregor (1906-1964)

The Human Side of Enterprise (1960)

Core principle of Theory Y: creating “that degree of integration in which the individual can achieve his goals best by directing his efforts toward the success of the

organization.”

Charismatic Leaders

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Martin Luther King, Jr.(1929-1968)

Massachusetts Achievement Trainers Incorporated (later, Motive Acquisition Technology Corporation)

Founded in 1969, with McClelland as Advisor

Begeisterung: ‘inspiritment’(often translated as ‘enthusiasm’)

Business Leadership TrainingMinneapolis, MN

1976-1977

David C. McClelland Richard Boyatzis

Questions: • Why do so-called ‘model minorities’ achieve economic

success when others do not? • Can we train every group to be as successful as the

‘model minorities’?

Companies for which McBer provided management consulting and assessment included:

Rohm and Haas

International Business Machines (IBM)

Xerox Corporation

Christina Maslach and the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Harrison Gough reading his California Psychological Inventory

Natasha ZaretskyNo Direction Home

(2007)

Fear of a ‘productivity lag’ as companies adopt information technology and nation transitions from industrial production to a post-industrial service economy

How do you relate the need for power with everythingthat has been researched and said in recent years on “participative management?”

McClelland: “Participative management has more to dowith a manager’s style than with his/her goals. A person with a high need for power or influence may practiceasking for participation because this is the best way to influence the corporation to achieve its goals, but he/sheis still very much in charge.

Commonly used TAT images in McClelland and colleagues’ research:

The “1 Percent”:

An Embattled Minority?

McClelland’s steps for minority uplift (and thus global development):

• Instill feelings of superiority in minority group

• Support group with resources and opportunities for advancement

• Expand this on a global scale

Intended Result: Universal economic prosperity

McBer promotional brochure, c. 1982

Lyndon Baines Johnson“Great Society” – 1964-65

Sargent Shriver“War on Poverty”

Management ConsultingFirms: