William H. Whyte
| William Hollingsworth Whyte | |
|---|---|
Historical photo of William H. Whyte
|
|
| Born |
October 1, 1917 West Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 12 January 1999 (aged 81) New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Princeton University |
| Occupation | Sociologist, urbanist, writer |
| Notable work | The Organization Man, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces |
William Hollingsworth "Holly" Whyte (October 1, 1917 – January 12, 1999) was an American urbanist, organizational analyst, journalist and people-watcher. After his book about corporate culture The Organization Man (1956) which sold over two million copies, Whyte turned his attention to the study of human behaviour in urban settings. He published several books on the topic, including The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980).
Whyte was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1917. An early graduate of St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, he graduated from Princeton University in 1939 and then served in Marine Corps between 1941-45. In 1946 he joined Fortune magazine where he remained until 1958.
In 1952, Whyte coined the term "Groupthink":Groupthink being a coinage - and, admittedly, a loaded one - a working definition is in order. We are not talking about mere instinctive conformity - it is, after all, a perennial failing of mankind. What we are talking about is a rationalized conformity - an open, articulate philosophy which holds that group values are not only expedient but right and good as well.
Whyte wrote a 1956 bestseller titled The Organization Man after Fortune Magazine sponsored him to do extensive interviews on the CEOs of corporations such as General Electric and Ford.
While working with the New York City Planning Commission in 1969, Whyte began to use direct observation to describe behavior in urban settings. With research assistants wielding still cameras, movie cameras, and notebooks, Whyte described the substance of urban public life in an objective and measurable way.
...
Wikipedia