being too, sharing common traits with other members of the
same species, such as gregariousness and a need for cooperation.
Ethics associated with this trinity is necessarily complex
as it emerges from dialogic relationships between
individual voluntarism, constraints, social permissions, and
the animal nature of a person. Furthermore, for human
beings, moral responsibility is a responsibility that cannot be
shared, transferred, or abandoned (Levinas, 1981).
A Complex View of Human Nature Rather Than
a Reductionism View of Human Nature
HRM uses a simplified model of human nature, often implicit
in its theorizing and not acknowledged either in practice.
This model is tailor-made to suit the demands of HRM strategic
requirements. Contrary to this tendency, persons management
put forth a conception grounded in complexity
theory. Morin (2001) explains that human beings are both
complex and interwoven into complexity. Human beings are
both similar and different from one another. A person is a
homo sapiens (a rational/wise being) and a homo demens (an
irrational/insane being), living with this limitless polarization
and never knowing for certain when it will be one or the
other. Rationality is not localized, but rather scattered, saturated
with irrationality, and only instrumental. Rationality is
adapted to the practical finalities to which it is dedicated
(Morin, 1973). Persons are therefore complex beings in
whom the principles of complex thinking can be found
(Morin, 2001, 2005; Tsoukas, 2005). First, by being multifaceted,
persons comply with the dialogic principle, which is
to say that persons make the existence of antagonisms possible.
In this respect, dialogic is defined as
the complex unity that exists between two logics, entities, or
instances, that are complementary, concurrent and antagonistic,
and which feed on one another, cooperate, but are also in
opposition and battle each other. In dialogic, the oppositional
forces remain and constitute complex entities or phenomena
(there is no synthesis, which is the expected result in classical
dialectic). (Morin, 2001, p. 281)
“Oriented Toward Other, but Strategic Rather Than Egoistic”
section reflected this dialogic nature for humans, as we noted
that persons can be altruistic and selfish, as well as nice and
mean. Second, emergence is rendered possible through intuition
and creativity. This is where we find the recursive principle,
which open up new forms of participation for persons
in the organizational setting. Third, persons are also governed
by the hologramatic principle (“the whole is in all the
parts, which constitute the whole and is more than the sum of
its parts”). In this sense, we find some of “Bernard Chartier”
in the French part of Bernard Chartier (cf. A Flesh and Blood
Being Rather Than a Category section). Fourth, persons are
interdependent, and so are their multiple facets. Finally, persons’
common goals (cf. A Flesh and Blood Being Rather
Than a Category section) follow the teleological principle.
This conception of human nature is a far cry from the reductionist
view used in HRM and is best suited for a world in
constant mutation.
Principles of Person Management
Rather Than HRM
The term management comes from the Italian maneggiare,
which, in turn, comes from the Latin manidiare, which is
linked to Latin manus meaning “hand.” The hand naturally
symbolizes force and power, so the word manus originally
meant the authority of the head of the family, the pater familias.
The father had the power of life and death over the people
living under his roof, as well as imposing moral
obligations on them (Sampley, 2003). For these reasons, the
word “management” does not accurately fit the ideas we
defend. Yet, to date, we have not found a term likely to suit
our purposes, so for the moment, we use the expression persons
management. This expression refers to people managing
other people, where a person is the common denominator
(i.e., basic unit) for all stakeholders involved in cooperation
and mutual aid, allowing the sustainable development of persons
and organizations.
Persons Manage Persons Rather Than Managers
Leading Employees
HRM helps to lead employees, and in this sense, managers
and employees are seen as categories (cf. A Flesh and Blood
Being Rather Than a Category section). This conception of
resource overlooks all the different facets of human beings.
Persons are unique while sharing common features. They
live together and may choose to be open or not be open to
others, revealing as such their complex, creative, ethical, and
political facets. Persons management is more specifically a
relationship where a person manages another person. It goes
beyond the traditional manager–employee relationship by
bringing together two persons who are unique and who share
a number of goals. They both occupy different functions,
interact with each other and with others (Weick, 1969/1979),
but they never cease to be persons, with all the complexity
that this involves. Both share the same community, which
means that they are not only involved in mutual relationships
but that they form a whole, a “we” (Melé, 2003). This “we”
neither automatically implies that these agree with each other
nor that they naturally envision reaching the same goals, but
rather that they share a certain number of common elements.
This humanistic way of managing persons evolves within a
humanistic organizational culture, which has four characteristics
(Kleinfeld, Cludts, & Melé, 2003). The first relates to
the recognition of humans’ dignity and uniqueness, their
sociable character, and their capacity for self-development.
The second focuses on respect for persons and human rights.