In the past 30 years, the emphasis on the human relations aspects of management has greatly increased. As a result, new management theories have been advanced, acclaimed and criticized.

The purpose of this empirical study was to determine what effect, if any, the biographical factors of age, education and rank had on managerial attitudes in a particular plant and whether the managerial personnel tended to identify with the assumption of Douglas McGregor's widely publicized managerial theories, known as Theories X and Y.

Data for the study were gathered by means of attitude questionnaires which were mailed to randomly selected managerial personnel who represented all levels of plant management. The responses were tabulated and statistically analyzed for significance. Based upon the results of this statistical analysis and prudent logic and inference, certain findings were noted and conclusions drawn.

The major finding was that in the plant studied, age, education, and rank were relatively unimportant determinants of managerial attitudes. The principal conclusion drawn was that the nature of the work performed and certain, local economic factors, rather than biographical factors, probably accounted for the particular managerial response patterns.