International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies

Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Studies 8(1): 8994 (2011)

Published online 19 January 2011 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/aps.273

Brief Communication

The Legacy of Elliott Jaques

JUSTIN BROWN
All definite knowledge, contended Bertrand Russell in History of Western
Philosophy, belongs to science; all dogma as to what surpasses definite knowledge
belongs to theology. But between theology and science there is a No Mans Land,
exposed to attack from both sides; this No Mans Land is philosophy (Russell,
1946, p. 13) If a philosopher was fortunate, continued Russell, they would be the
cause of beliefs which mould the politics and institutions of later years.
Elliott Jaques carved out the theory of Requisite Organization in No Mans
Land, attempting to establish the scientific foundations for the art of ordering
human affairs. The culmination of his lifes work was Life and Behavior of Living
Organisms (2002b), where he unites science and philosophy by providing a scientific foundation for understanding human nature and social organizations. He
did this by constructing the theoretical framework of a five-dimensional world,
with three spatial dimensions and two temporal dimensions. The Scientific
Revolution, according to Jaques, allowed a radical reconceptualization of the
world we live in by introducing precise measurement for the fourth dimension,
which is the unfolding of chronological or sequential time (chronos). Jaques argued
that introducing a fifth dimension the time-span of intentional goal-directed
locomotion (kairos) will lead to a total revolution in the behavioral sciences.
Throughout Jaques career, his ideas swung between the dogma of grand
theory to the definitive prescriptions of scientific implementation. Noteworthy
attempts of grand theory were A General Theory of Bureaucracy (1976), The Form
of Time (1982) and Human Capability (with Kathryn Cason, 1994). He also
published treatises on implementation of the theory in Glacier Project Papers
(with Wilfred Brown, 1965), Requisite Organisation (1997) and Social Power and
the CEO (2002a). The theory was generated from 55 years of large-scale implementation with organizations such as Rio Tinto, the US Army, the Church of
England and the National Health Service in the UK.
What will be the legacy of Jaques attempt to establish a scientific foundation
for the art of ordering human affairs? Will the theory of Requisite Organization
mould the design of large-scale organizations in the twenty-first century, ensuring the legacy of Jaques grows with time? Or will the theory end up consigned
to the dustbin of management fads and recorded historically as a mere

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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DOI: 10.1002/aps

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Brown

intellectual novelty? The argument offered here is that these questions should
be addressed through critical debate on the core theoretical premises of Requisite
Organization by attempting to falsify the theory through critical discussion and
testing through practical implementation.
According to Karl Popper (1999), attempting to falsify theories through critical discussion and experimental testing improves the state of our knowledge
about reality and leads to scientific progress. Falsification attempts of Requisite
Organization would validate the theoretical premises of the theory, invalidate
the status of Requisite Organization as a science or open alternative avenues of
research and inquiry. Whatever the result, critical discussion and experimental
testing would advance our knowledge of human social organizations. What,
then, are the core theoretical premises of Requisite Organization that should be
subjected to attempts of falsification?
The first core theoretical premise of Requisite Organization is that there are
discontinuous levels in work complexity in all human social organizations.
Complexity of work can be precisely measured by the longest time-span of tasks
assigned to a specific role in an organization, which is determined by the
manager of that specific role. As the time-span increases, the complexity of work
also increases. For example, if a product manager was assigned a task to complete
in one year, and a senior executive was assigned a task to complete in two years,
the senior executive had a bigger and more complex role.
Jaques extended this finding and suggested that discontinuous levels exist in
all human social organizations at three months, one year, two years, five years,
10 years, 20 years and 50 years. These divisions represented strata and are discontinuous as they represent universally applicable, periodic breaks where a
manager only added value to his or her subordinates work if operating in the
level above. This is shown with example roles from industry and the army in
Table 1. Moreover, regardless of how many managers in a spine of accountability
operate within the same level, a worker would always view the manager in the
level above as the real manager.
The second core theoretical premise of Requisite Organization is that individuals mature along pre-determined pathways in their cognitive processing
Table 1: Basic structure of the managerial hierarchy
Stratum

Time-span of role

Industry

Army

Stratum VII
Stratum VI
Stratum V
Stratum IV
Stratum III
Stratum II
Stratum I

20 years50 years
10 years20 years
5 years10 years
2 years5 years
1 year2 years
3 months1 year
Up to 3 months

CEO
EVP
VP
Department Manager
Unit Manager
First-line Manager
Operators & Clerks

Army
Corps
Division
Brigade
Battalion
Company
Private & NCO

Source: Elliott Jaques, Social Power and the CEO (2002a, p. 66).

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Studies 8: 8994 (2011)

DOI: 10.1002/aps

The legacy of Elliott Jaques

capability. This is measured by the individuals time horizon, which is the longest
time-span of task at which they are capable of working towards, assuming they
possess the appropriate knowledge, skills and motivation to effectively work
towards that goal. This finding was generated from a number of longitudinal
studies on the development of individuals capability over the course of their
working careers, using the first core premise as a framework of analysis. The
research culminated in the development of the maturation growth curves, as
shown in Figure 1. It is a core theoretical premise of Requisite Organization that
all individuals, regardless of culture, race and education (and barring retardation
of capability due to physical conditions), will mature in their capability along
these pre-determined biological pathways.
The earlier two core premises introduce the notion that complexity of work
can be precisely measured by time. It is important to note that Jaques was referring not to chronological time (time-span of succession) but the time-span of
goal-directed intention (the fifth dimension). Measuring intention with time
provided the quantitative indicator of the theory. The question remained,
however, of what were the qualitative changes in decisions required as the timespan of tasks moved from one level to another.
Towards the end of his career, Jaques and Cason put forward what will be
considered here the third core premise of Requisite Organization, integrating
the quantitative and qualitative aspects of time and complexity. They hypothesized that, as we make decisions in charting a pathway in the pursuit of goals,
information can be processed in only four ways. The methods of information
processing were declarative processing (deciding X because of A, B or C), cumulative processing (deciding X because of A, B and C), serial processing (deciding
X because A leads to B, which leads to C) and parallel processing (deciding X
because of A if and only if condition B is satisfied). These four methods of processing information re-occur in differing orders of complexity, which is the
content of an argument. According to Jaques and Cason, there are five recurring
orders of complexity, with only two relevant for managerial accountability hierarchies: symbolic and conceptual abstract information. Symbolic reasoning
occurs when the objects of analysis are one step removed from the discussion,
and conceptual abstract reasoning is when the objects are two steps removed.
Jaques and Cason argued that the alternative methods of processing information correlated with the discontinuous levels of work complexity in human social
organizations (the first core theoretical premise discussed earlier). If an individual
was capable of working in a Stratum I role, they would process symbolic information declaratively. If the individual was capable of working in a Stratum II
role, they would process symbolic information cumulatively, and so on as shown
in Table 2. Moreover, according to the second core premise of Requisite
Organization, one cannot learn to process information at a higher level of complexity. Ones ability to process information at a particular level of complexity
is fixed as an intrinsic property of the human mind, although we mature in our
capability along a pre-determined growth path.

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Brown

FIGURE 1: Maturation of individual potential capability. Source: Elliott Jaques,

Social Power and the CEO (2002a, p. 89).

Integrating the quantitative and qualitative aspects of time and complexity

enabled Jaques to argue that the theory provided a scientific foundation for the
art of ordering human social affairs, based on the propositions that time measures complexity of work, individuals process information at discontinuous levels,

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Studies 8: 8994 (2011)

DOI: 10.1002/aps

The legacy of Elliott Jaques

Table 2: Managerial layering and information processing
Stratum
Stratum VIII
Stratum VII
Stratum VI
Stratum V
Stratum IV
Stratum III
Stratum II
Stratum I

Time horizon

Information processing

50 years100 years
20 years50 years
10 years20 years
5 years10 years
2 years5 years
1 year2 years
3 months1 year
Up to 3 months

Parallel conceptual abstract

Serial conceptual abstract
Cumulative conceptual abstract
Declarative conceptual abstract
Parallel symbolic
Serial symbolic
Cumulative symbolic
Declarative symbolic

Source: Adapted from Elliott Jaques, Social Power and the CEO (2002a, p. 88).

and we all mature in our cognitive processing capability along pre-determined

pathways. Subjecting the core theoretical premises to attempts of falsification
should proceed in the following two ways.
First of all, the logical form of the theory should be rigorously investigated,
for the purpose of determining whether it has the character of an empirical or
scientific theory, or whether it is tautological. Is the theory of Requisite
Organization internally consistent with its various conclusions conforming to
external reality? Do the methods of information processing represent our world
of experience? Does it make logical sense for discontinuous changes in complexity to be represented by four, and only four, methods of information processing?
Addressing these questions would help determine whether the theory advances
our knowledge of the human social world.
Analysing the logical form of the theory also leads to the question of whether
the theory is objective and can be understood and tested by others. Jaques
believed using the time-span instrument created objective knowledge as it was
externally defined by the manager and agreed upon with the subordinate. Yet
sceptics to the theory of Requisite Organization often argue that it is extraordinarily difficult to intersubjectively test the theory with the time-span instrument.
Another logical challenge of analysis is that Requisite Organization is an inherently normative theory: the theory is prescriptive in that the theoretical conclusions are generated from the way things ought to be. Moreover, Jaques argued
that the progression of the time-span boundaries has a geometric logarithmic
quality, suggesting the operation of a fundamental psychological process. Yet the
geometric logarithmic quality of the time-span series of 0.25, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50
and 100 is not immediately apparent. It takes a cognitive leap of faith to rely on
the time-span instrument as objective knowledge, develop conclusions based on
the normative rather than empirical structure of organizations, and rely on
curious logarithmic geometry. This is all the more reason to attempt falsification
by engaging with the philosophical logic of the theory.
Secondly, the realm of critical debate on Requisite Organization should be
enlarged by testing through practical implementation. Assuming we can accept

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Brown

the reality of a fifth dimension, a key question is whether practical implementation creates the results predicted by the theory. Does the time-span instrument
effectively measure complexity of work? Are there discontinuous levels of complexity in organizations? Do individuals mature in their capability along predetermined pathways? Is an individuals time horizon in correlation with the
relevant methods of information processing? Once these questions have been
addressed, the ultimate test of the relevance of Requisite Organization will be
whether implementation leads to trust-inducing managerial systems.
Elliott Jaques created a theory from remarkably creative insights into the
underlying systems embedded in the structure of human social organizations.
Through practical implementation, he worked at building the edifice of the
theory of Requisite Organization up to his death in 2003. The task before us is
to continue the natural process of falsifying and eliminating the theory to see
what emerges.
What will be the legacy of Elliott Jaques for our understanding of human
social organizations? Will his legacy be the development of a scientific foundation
for the effective and requisite ordering of our human social affairs and relationships? The answer will only emerge after attempts of falsification through critical
discussion and testing through practical implementation. Jaques the philosopher
would have wanted the theory of Requisite Organization to emerge from No
Mans Land in no other way.
REFERENCES
Brown, W., & Jaques, E. (1965). Glacier project papers: Some essays on organization and management
from the Glacier project research. London: Heinemann.
Jaques, E. (1976). A general theory of bureaucracy. London: Heinemann Educational.
Jaques, E. (1982). The form of time. London: Heinemann.
Jaques, E. (1997). Requisite organization: Total system for effective managerial organization and
managerial leadership for the 21st century. Aldershot: Gower Publishing Ltd.
Jaques, E. (2002a). Social power and the CEO: Leadership and trust in a sustainable free enterprise
system. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Jaques, E. (2002b). Life and behavior of living organisms: A general theory. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Jaques, E., & Cason, K. (1994). Human capability: A study of individual potential and its application.
Falls Church, VA: Cason Hall.
Popper, K. R. (1999). All life is problem solving. London: Routledge.
Russell, B. (1946) History of Western philosophy. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Justin Brown
GPR Dehler Limited
3rd Floor, Windsor House
55 St Jamess Street
London, SW1A 1LA
UK
jbrown@gprdehler.com

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Studies 8: 8994 (2011)

DOI: 10.1002/aps

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