Jerry L. Gray, Ph.D.
Dean Emeritus and Senior Scholar
I.H. Asper School of Business
The University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5V4
Contact Information
Tel. Office (204) 474-8434
Biography:
Dr. Jerry L. Gray is Dean Emeritus and Senior Scholar at the I. H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. He taught management and organizational behavior at the University of Manitoba from 1970-2004. He was appointed Dean in 1996 and held the CA Manitoba Endowed Chair in Business Leadership. Dr. Gray also taught at the Glacier Institute of Management and was Visiting Professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 1979-81. In 2003 he was named a “Leader in Management Education” by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and The National Post.
Dr. Gray has published four books in the areas of organizational behavior and supervision, and articles on organizational design, employee motivation, leadership, and management development.
Now retired from the University of Manitoba, Dr. Gray is a director of two public companies, and five non-profit organizations and is a Founding Board Member of the Global Organization Design Society. As president of J.L. Gray & Associates Ltd., a consulting firm specializing in human resource development, Dr. Gray has consulted with major corporations in North America.
In the editor’s words—My Life with Requisite: “I encountered the work of Elliott Jaques and Wilfred Brown as a graduate student at Southern Illinois University in 1966. I learned the concepts as a research assistant to Fremont A. (Bud) Shull, Jr., whoorganized a symposium on the concepts, and from Bud’s colleague, John McCarty, a consultant then working to implement the theory at Allen Industries. I spent part of 1967 at the Glacier Institute of Management (GIM) doing my thesis, working with Derek Newman in his consulting, and teaching and taking courses at GIM—some taught by Wilfred Brown and Elliott Jaques. It was an experience of a lifetime!"
“My keen interest persisted and I’ve used every opportunity to incorporate the concepts into my research, textbook writing, and teaching. My 1974 book, The Glacier Project: Concepts and Critiques, presented the basic concepts in one volume, as well as some of the critical views of that era. I was pleased that both Brown and Jaques gave permission to use their writings in the book, knowing that there would be critical articles as well.
“As my career interests evolved, my continuing interest in the concepts manifested in my teaching and my consulting practice. Over the years I have taught literally thousands of students and executives about the concepts, including over 2,000 MBA students in the Canada, the US, China, and Thailand. “In my consulting, I believe that the time-span of discretion concept is the most powerful analytical tool a consultant can have, almost regardless of the consulting assignment. Conducting a time-span analysis of roles reveals critical information about tasks, task complexity, authority relationships, and so on. “When I heard Jaques use the phrase “trust-inducing organization” with regard to his system, it occurred to me that the fundamental purpose of requisite concepts supported a fundamental value of my own—the importance of psychological, social, and financial justice in organizations. And as if I needed further proof, the fundamental causes of dysfunctional behavior in organizations became clear. So the bottom line for me is that requisite concepts can be a major causal factor in creating trust-inducing organizations.”
"Most recently, I chaired a three-person committee to review the regional health authority system for the Province of Manitoba. Requisite concepts were used to comment on regional health boards and capability of board members, and managerial authority of CEO roles."
Articles
Gray, Jerry, L., 1971, “The Nature of ‘Work’ in Employment Organizations,” Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association, December, 32(4):217-24. Prescribed and discretionary work; managerial review; TSD; and psychological work. Precis of the basics of the theory. D. ***** Gray, Jerry, L., 1974, “Matrix Organizational Design as a Vehicle for Effective Delivery of Public Health Care and Social Services,” Management International Review, Wiesbaden, Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag, 14(6):73-87. Advocated matrix design to improve the administration of health and social services. Cited by Knight 1976. Rp. PJ.
Gray, Jerry, 2004, “Growth: the Holy Grail of Business, How growth can slam your business,” Manitoba Business, Winnipeg, MA, Canada, Jan/Feb 2004, 26(1):34-37. The circle of growth worship is a sign of success. Managing complexity is weak. But a one-person business faces a much different level of complexity than the CEO of a multimillion dollar business scattered over several continents. Rp.
Books
Gray, Jerry L., ed., 1976, The Glacier Project: Concepts and Critiques, Crane Russak, New York, NY and Heinemann Educational Books, London, UK, 452 pages. A first rate anthology of 30 articles and chapters about the theory and the project, mostly previously published. This is an excellent readings book for an introductory course on Jaques’ theory. Its flaws: It does not demolish foolish critics and it allows Jaques and Brown enough rope to hang themselves with FFP and works councils - and Hill with expenditure economics (a dead end). Note: Chapters 8-9-10 and 19-20-21 are sequences. Includes original essays by Gray, John J. McCarty, Robert L. Miller, and Fremont A. “Bud” Shull, Jr. See Child 1977 book review. Gray is dean emeritus of the I. H. Asper School of Business at the U. of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Table of Contents:
Part One: Introduction and Definition of Concepts: 1. The History, Nature, and Scope of the Glacier Project (orig.), McCarty and Gray; 2. Social Analysis and the Glacier Project (1964), Jaques; 3. Concept Formation (1971), Brown; 4. What is Work? (1962), Brown; 5. The Time-Span of Discretion in Job Analysis (1956), Hill.
Part Two: Time-Span of Discretion and Fair Payment (Micro): 6. The Time-Span of Discretion Theory: An Appraisal (1966), Fox [Reversed in 1974]; 7. An Empirical Examination of Elliott Jaques’ Concept of Time Span (1967), Goodman [Recanted in 1973]; 8. Objective Measures for Pay Differentials (1962), Jaques; 9. In Praise of Job Evaluation (1963), Beal; 10. Level-of-Work-Measurement and Fair Payment: A Reply to Professor Beal’s Comparison of Time-Span of Discretion and Job Evaluation (1964), Jaques; 11. Pay Systems for Scientists and Engineers (1967), Atchison and French; 12. Difficulties in the Use of the Time-Span Technique to Measure Level-of-Work (1969), Robert L. Miller; 13. A Critique of Jaques’ Equitable Payment System (1969), Hellriegel and French [BAD. See chapters 15 and 16.]; 14. Growth of Individual Capacity (1970, Equitable Payment, Ch. 8), Jaques; 15. The Current Status of the Jaquesian Time-Span of Discretion Concept: Research and Applications (1970), Laner and Crossman.
Part Three: Time-Span of Discretion and Fair Payment (Macro): 16. The Jaquesian General Theory (1964), Alderson [See chapter 13.]; 17. A Note on Time-Span and Economic Theory (1958), Hill [A dead end.]; 18. Economic Justice – By law? (1965 GPP), Jaques [D.O.A.]; 19. A System for Income Equity (1963), Jaques; 20. The Jaques System: Impractical? (1963), Paterson [See his 1972 book.]; 21. Time-Span: A Reply (1963), Jaques; 22. A National Council for the Regulation of Differential Wages (1973), Brown [D.O.A.].
Part Four: Glacier Organization Theory: 23. A Critique of Some Current Ideas About Organization (1963), Brown; 24. Two Contributions to a General Theory of Organisation and Management (1964 & 1965 GPP chapters 7 & 8), Jaques; 25. Too Many Management Levels (1965 CMR), Jaques; 26. Policy-Making Works Councils (1971), Brown; 27. Productivity as a Function of Role Design (orig.), McCarty and Shull; 28. An Assessment of the Glacier System of Management (1968 Ch. 10), Kelly; 29. Comments on Organization Design and the Glacier Model (1969), Shull.
Part Five: Conclusions: 30. The Glacier Project: Quo Vadis? (orig.), Gray. Rp.
In France available at: EVRY-BU, NANTERRE-BU PARIS10, PARIS-DAUPHINE-BU GestionEconomie.
Gray, Jerry L., James G. (Jerry) Hunt, and Sarah McArthur, eds., 2007, Organization Design, Levels of Work and Human Capacity: Executive Guide, Global Organization Design Society, Toronto, ON, CA, 470 pgs. (Ken Shepard, series editor. E. Forrest Christian, writing consultant.) A guide for executives on the theory and its application. 32 chapters (in seven parts) contributed by academics, business executives, and consultants including: Alexander Ross, Maurice Dutrisac, Herb Koplowitz, Ken Shepard, Jerry B. Harvey, Gerald A. Kraines, Jos J. Wintermans, Paul J. Tremlett, Mark van Clieaf, Janet Langford Kelly, Atillo A. Penna, Julian Fairfield, Jack Fallow, Elliott Jaques, Nancy R. Lee, Stephen D. Clement, T. Owen Jacobs, George Weber, Dwight Mihalicz, John Morgan, Catherine G. Burke, Ian Macdonald, Karl Stewart, Sheila Deane, Charlotte M. Bygrave, Richard B. D. Brown, Piet L. Calitz, Paul McDowell, George Reilly, Judith Hobrough, Peter Taylor, Andrew Olivier, Donald V. Fowke, Glenn W. Mehltretter, Jr., Michelle Malay Carter, Harald Solaas, Alistair Mant, and Kenneth C. Craddock. Of the 40 authors and editors, 11 are or have been professors, and 15 hold earned PhDs. Rp.
