Resumen
In order for companies to have humane leadership, the mental models of managers must transcend the ?great-man? approach (Owens & Hekman, 2012). As mental models are founded on deep-seated beliefs, managers normally react defensively when change is needed (Argyris, 2010; Senge, 1994). The organizational structures generated in the mainstream management studies are contrary to humanistic management ((Berger & Luckmann, 1967; Horkheimer & Adorno, 1999; Alvesson, et al., 2009; Choi & Murphy, 2009; Largacha-Martínez, 2011). This paper explores aspects of humanistic management in order to show that the emergence and introspection of a company?s mental model by top managers is important if a humanistic management is desired. The paper also demonstrates how the traditional elitist mental models prevalent in Colombia and other Latin American countries reinforce the growing trend towards an informal economy in these countries. Hence, the challenge is twofold: to change mental models towards a more life-conducive economy, and to change management practices toward a more humane workplace (von Kimakowitz, 2010). This paper additionally examines a Colombian company to show how a non-elitist mental model increase productivity and help decrease the GINI coefficient in practice. Keywords: Mental Models, Inequality, Humanistic Management