Elliott Jaques (January 18, 1917 – March 8, 2003) was a Canadian psychoanalyst, social scientist and management consultant known as the originator of concepts such as
corporate culture
Historically there have been differences among investigators regarding the definition of organizational culture. Edgar Schein, a leading researcher in this field, defined "organizational culture" as comprising a number of features, including a s ...
,
midlife crisis
A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...
, fair pay, maturation curves, time span of discretion (level of work)
and
requisite organization
Requisite organization (RO) is a term and methodology developed by Elliott Jaques and Kathryn Cason as a result of the research in stratified systems theory, general theory of bureaucracy, work complexity and human capability over 60 years.
Requ ...
, as a total system of managerial organization.
Biography
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Jaques was educated at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and studied medicine at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, then received his Ph.D in
social relations
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and qualification as psychoanalyst at the
British Psychoanalytical Society
The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by the British neurologist Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of two organizations in Britain training psychoanalysts, the other being the British P ...
. He was a founding fellow of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...
in Britain and was a visiting professor at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
in Washington, D.C., and honorary professor of the University of Buenos Aires.
During the Second World War, Jaques served as a major in the Canadian Army where in collaboration with
Henry Murray
Henry Alexander Murray (May 13, 1893 – June 23, 1988) was an American psychologist at Harvard University, where from 1959 to 1962 he conducted a series of psychologically damaging and purposefully abusive experiments on minors and under ...
of Harvard University using his education and training established the Canadian War Office Selection Boards. He was assigned as liaison to the British Army War Office Psychiatry Division that developed their own
War Office Selection Boards
War Office Selection Boards, or WOSBs, (pronounced Wosbees) were a scheme devised by British Army psychiatrists during World War II to select potential officers for the British Army. They replaced an earlier method, the Command Interview Board, an ...
.
In 1949, he married the English actress
Kay Walsh
Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such a ...
. They adopted a girl, Gemma. They divorced in 1956.
After the war Jaques remained in England and qualified under Austrian-British psychoanalyst
Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (née Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein suggested tha ...
. She appreciated his help in preparation for the publication of her book ''Narrative of a Child Analysis'' (1961). Jaques also helped Klein to edit the manuscript of ''Envy and Gratitude'' (1957), evidence suggests that it was Jaques who suggested that the word "gratitude" should be included in the title of the book. He was a founding member of the
Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a British not-for-profit organisation that applies social science to contemporary issues and problems. It was initiated in 1946, when it developed from the Tavistock Clinic, and was formally establ ...
in 1946. In 1964, he founded the School of Social Sciences at Brunel University London and served as its Professor and Head of School.
Dr. Jaques moved from London to Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1991. He became a research professor at George Washington University. In 1999 Jaques established
Requisite Organization International Institute
Requisite organization (RO) is a term and methodology developed by Elliott Jaques and Kathryn Cason as a result of the research in stratified systems theory, general theory of bureaucracy, work complexity and human capability over 60 years.
Requ ...
, that operates as an educational and research group.
As a result of his work with different corporations, governments and U.S. Army, Jaques developed a scientific process that allows for the evaluation of the
potential capability of individuals in the context of time-span of discretion, an instrument which measures work complexity in each role within the organisation. This approach has been used by US armed services and large public and private organisations around the world.
In 1965 Dr. Jaques published an essay on working patterns of creative geniuses in which he coined the phrase
midlife crisis
A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...
.
His development approach to organizational development makes him one of the early contributors to
positive adult development
Positive adult development is a subfield of developmental psychology that studies positive development during adulthood. It is one of four major forms of adult developmental study that can be identified, according to Michael Commons; the other thre ...
.
He died in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 2003.
Work
Glacier Project, 1952–1977
The origins of Dr. Jaques's theories can be traced back to 1952, when Britain's Glacier Metal Company asked him to help to develop a worker participation plan. At one point, Jaques was asked if there was any importance to the fact that the salary of low-level workers was estimated on hourly, daily or weekly basis, while salary of executives was described as annual amount. The question 'was the finest gift I've ever been given', Dr. Jaques said. 'It was absolutely, bloody brilliant. That's when I started examining the significance of time.’ His work with Glacier Metal Company in London continued through 1977 and largely influenced the management theory.
Peter Drucker
Peter Ferdinand Drucker (; ; November 19, 1909 – November 11, 2005) was an Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business co ...
called this work "the most extensive study of actual worker behavior in large-scale industry".
Stratified Systems Theory of Requisite Organization, 1977–1999
Dr. Jaques incorporated his findings during "Glacier investigations" into what was first known as Stratified Systems Theory of
requisite organization
Requisite organization (RO) is a term and methodology developed by Elliott Jaques and Kathryn Cason as a result of the research in stratified systems theory, general theory of bureaucracy, work complexity and human capability over 60 years.
Requ ...
. This major discovery served as a link between social theory and theory of organizations.
Human Capability and Its Maturation
Jaques continued his development of theory of underlying Nature of Human Capability, that he first approached during his work with the US Army and this resulted in the discovery (with Kathryn Cason) of a method for evaluation of potential individual capability within the evaluation of Complexity of Information Processing.
As a result of the research carried out for the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and American and Australian companies on the study of mental complexity, it was found that individuals process information at work in four ways: declarative, cumulative, serial and parallel. This study demonstrated the interdependence of layers of the managerial hierarchy and each separate step in mental processing complexity.
From this work it was concluded that organizational life of intermittent steps in the nature of human capability reflects the essence of
managerial hierarchical structure (Jaques, 1994).
Time-Span of Discretion
As an outcome of the discovery and use of Time-span, work on Theory of the Nature of Time took place. This led to another major contribution of Dr.Jaques, the development of the
Time-span of Discretion instrument, the ratio-scale measure for a construct in the social sciences, which measures the complexity of work in each role within the organization. The measure of how much responsibility an employee has is the concept Jaques is widely known for.
Requisite Organization International Institute, 1999–present
In 1999, The
Requisite Organization International Institute
Requisite organization (RO) is a term and methodology developed by Elliott Jaques and Kathryn Cason as a result of the research in stratified systems theory, general theory of bureaucracy, work complexity and human capability over 60 years.
Requ ...
was established by Co-founders Elliott Jaques and Kathryn Cason. Institute operates as research and educational centre providing support and consulting in implementation of principles of Requisite Organization worldwide.
Jaques' ideas are still very influential in a practical study of organizations and the optimization of structures and systems that support productive work for the achievement of the organization's purpose. Jaques argued that the higher a person was positioned in a hierarchy, assuming the individual possessed a corresponding level of cognitive complexity, acquired skills and knowledge (gained through experience) and presuming that individual valued the work he or she was tasked, the longer he could work to complete a task without supervision. The time span of a CEO of a major institution might be 15–20 years. This concept enabled him to describe a "requisite organization" as one in which each level in the hierarchy had its own distinctive time span. If an organization had too many levels, then their time spans overlapped. If a manager at a higher level was ill-equipped in respect of his or her inherent mental processing capability, or lacked the required skills and knowledge the risk is they would interfere in the work of managers at a lower level generally propelled by their own anxiety and insecurity. The process of delegation would be undermined leading to organizational dysfunction.
With an understanding of mental processing capability and a hierarchy that supports the proficiency of work in the organization Jaques provided some insight into effective managerial practices that are aimed at freeing up the human potential in the organization. For example, Jaques advocates the importance of effectively assigning tasks to individuals in the organization delivered by contextualizing the significance of the task(s) to the organization's purpose in terms of output including clear deliverables in respect of quantity and quality and the time for delivery. Moreover, a manager has an obligation to provide coaching to his or her subordinates, and the manager is in fact accountable for his or her subordinates' outputs.
Selected awards
* Awarded the Joint Staff Certificate of Appreciation by
General Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces "for outstanding contributions in the field of military leadership theory and instruction to all of the service departments of the United States".
* Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel "for outstanding achievement while serving as a member of the Total Army Personnel Task Force in...developing new and innovative approaches to achieve personnel economies and realign...along policy and operational lines."
* Harry Levinson Award, American Psychological Foundation, Certificate of Commendation, for a lifetime of scientific contributions.
Publications
* ''The Changing Culture of a Factory: A Study of Authority and Participation in an Industrial Setting'' (London: Tavistock, 1951)
* ''Measurement of Responsibility: A study of work, payment, and individual capacity'' (Tavistock, 1956)
eprinted as * ''Equitable Payment: A General Theory of Work, Differential Payment, and Individual Progress'' (London: Heinemann, 1961)
* ''Equitable Payment'' (London: Heinemann, 1963)
* ''Time-Span Handbook: the Use of Time-Span of Discretion to Measure the Level of Work in Employment Roles and to Arrange an Equitable Payment Structure'' (London, Heinemann, 1964)
* ''Product Analysis Pricing: A method for setting policies for the delegation of pricing decisions and the control of expense and profitability'' (Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1964)
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* "Death and the Midlife Crisis", ''International Journal of Psychoanalysis'', 1965.
* ''Work, creativity, and social justice'' (London: Heinemann Educational, 1970)
* ''A General Theory of Bureaucracy'' (London: Heinemann Educational, 1976)
* ''Health Services'' (London: Heinemann Educational, 1978)
* ''Levels of Abstraction in Logic and Human Action: A theory of discontinuity in the structure of mathematical logic, psychological behaviour, and social organisation.'' (London: Heinemann Educational, 1978) with R.O. Gibson and D.J. Isaac
ditors* ''Executive Leadership: A Practical Guide to Managing Complexity'' (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1994)
ith Stephen D. Clement and Ronnie Lessem* ''Human Capability: Study of Individual Potential and Its Application'' (London: Gower, 1994)
ith Kathryn Cason*''Requisite Organization: Total System for Effective Managerial Organization and Managerial Leadership for the 21st Century'' (London: Gower, 1997)
* ''La Organizacion Requerida: Un Sistema Integrado Para Crear Organizaciones Eficaces y Aplicar el Liderazgo Gerencial en el Siglo XXI'' (Ediciones Granica, S.A., 2000)
* ''Social Power and the CEO: Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System'' (Greenwood, 2002)
* ''The Life and Behavior of Living Organisms: A General Theory'' (Greenwood, 2002)
Notes
External links
Elliott Jaquesa
www.requisite.org*
"Guru: Elliott Jaques" ''The Economist''. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaques, Elliott
1917 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American psychologists
Canadian psychologists
Canadian business theorists
Canadian psychiatrists
American psychoanalysts
Harvard University alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
People from Toronto
University of Toronto alumni
Canadian psychoanalysts
Canadian emigrants to the United States
20th-century psychologists