U.S. Work Force and Management

I read with great interest William Pfaff’s column (“Pauperizing the Work Force,” Commentary, Dec. 5). I agree with Pfaff that the American model of capitalism is no longer the most successful in the modern world, being based, as it is, on a 19th-Century view of business.

American management still operates on the authoritarian, “Theory X,” approach to managing people. Managers expend most of their energies in petty turf wars and empire-building, treating their employees as mere pawns. This approach is still popular with these dinosaurs, because it requires no thought or effort to apply--threats and intimidation are much easier to implement than consultation and negotiation. If employees complain, they are told that if they don’t like it they can quit! This further entrenches the mediocrity.

So long as this obsolete management philosophy holds sway, we are doomed to play catch-up with rest of the world.

COLIN J. DAVIES

Simi Valley