Douglas McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) was an industrial management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1960’s. He was also at one time, the president of Antioch College in Ohio. McGregor believed that the management thinking concepts that were being used at the time were put into place long ago to meet the needs of a more feudal society. In his time, Douglas McGregor felt that the world was changing, and that it was time for new thinking. His ideas about managerial behavior had a great effect on management thinking and practice.
Some of McGregors ideas were strongly influenced in part by Abraham Maslow’s need satisfaction model of motivation. His hierarchy of needs is based on the idea that motivation comes from need. “Needs provide the driving force motivating behavior and general orientation. Maslow’s ideas suggested that worker disaffection with work was due-not to something intrinsic to workers, but due to poor job design, managerial behavior and too few opportunities for job satisfaction.” (www.newgrange).
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs showed the basic needs to be; physiological needs (basic survival needs including food, water, and shelter), and then up the ladder were; safety needs (including the need for peace and security at work and at home), social needs (including the need to feel loved, accepted, and as part of a group), esteem needs (including the need for status, self-confidence, and respect) , and finally self-actualization needs ( including the need to develop your full potential, achieve, and be all you can be) at the top. These ideas greatly influenced McGregors thinking. In fact, it is said that Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor were two of the best known contributors to the human resources perspective. The human resources perspective was a management perspective that suggested that jobs should be designed to meet higher level needs by allowing workers the ability to utilize their full potential. McGregor observed that managers had two different attitudes that led to entirely different managerial styles. He called them Theory X & Theory Y.
The Essay on How far is it applicable to management and employee motivation in contemporary Chinese organizations?
Critically evaluate McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. How far is it applicable to management and employee motivation in contemporary Chinese organizations? During the 1960s the number of psychologists invented motivational theories, which aimed to increase organizations’ productivity. One of those is McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, in which he claimed that people can be managed in two extremes, ...
Theory X was the traditional way of management thinking. It was based on certain assumptions about human nature and human behavior. Many assumptions are made in the workplace, based on observations of workers, and their relationship with management. The kinds of tasks being performed, as well as the types of employees that constitute a particular company or organization can set the stage for the types of leadership roles that will be assumed. Theory X management assumes that the average person dislikes work. It assumes that the average person will avoid work if at all possible. It assumes that because of this dislike of work, the average person must be forced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to make him or her put forth enough effort to achieve the organizational goals. It also assumes that the average human being prefers to be directed and wishes to avoid responsibility. Basically, they are self-interested and prefer leisure rather than working for someone else. These same individuals, according to Theory X, have relatively little ambition, and seek security most of all. The last assumption of theory X is that a human beings primary motivators are fear and money.
The Term Paper on Elton Mayo: Biography, Key Works And Theories
Elton George Mayo stands out as one of the prominent personalities in the management discourse. He was born on the 26th day of December 1880 in Adelaide, Australia to the family of George Gibbes Mayo and Henrietta Mary Donaldson. He joined collegiate School of St. Peter in Adelaide, and attempted to enroll as a medical student. When his efforts to secure this chance failed, he went to England and ...
For many, many years, the typical manager operated from these assumptions, and of course, there are some who still do today. In these types of situations, motivation is more likely to take the form of punishment for unsatisfactory work, rather than reward for good work. Theory X people require a rigidly managed environment, usually requiring threats of disciplinary action as a primary source of motivation. It also holds that employees will respond only to monetary awards as an incentive to go the extra mile for the company. Workers are given very little responsibility or authority. “McGregor felt that such managerial views led to behaviors and organizational systems which relied on rewards, promises, incentives, close supervision, rules and regulations, even threats and sanctions all designed to control workers.” (wwwnewgrange).
Theory X managers (also called autocratic managers) believe that they need to energize their staff. Tasks need to be well specified. Many need pushing in order for them to apply an adequate amount of effort towards the task at hand. Managers feel if their relax their grip around their employees, then sloppiness will set in. Autocratic managers like to retain most of their authority. They make decisions on their own and inform the workers. Autocratic managers are also often called “authoritative ” managers for this reason. This type of manager is highly task oriented. They place a great deal of concern with getting the job done. They have little concern for the workers attitudes toward the manager’s decisions. Theory X communication is largely one-way. It is orderly and quick. If employees hesitate to respond, they can be blamed for lack of interest and be deemed unreliable. These types of managers usually lose ground in the workplace. People tend to like leaders who share more authority and decision making with employees, who will work as a group. McGregor argued that there was nothing wrong or bad about exercising authority or giving instructions, simply that it was probably less effective in the grand scheme of things. There was also what was known as “soft X” and “hard X”. “Hard approaches are represented by -the stick- coercive language, harsh authoritarian management. Soft applications-the carrot- dangle rewards and promises in front of the employees nose /i.e. more pay (cash and non-cash), more work, a fair days work for a fair days pay. The relationship is a wage-work bargain, an exchange.” ( wwwnewgrange).
The Term Paper on Classical Management Theory Work Theories Workers
... and high-quality work 4. Equal division of work and responsibility between worker and manager Limitations of The Theory of Scientific Management: ... technical competence and reinforced by written rules of promoting employees entirely on the basis of merit. o Adoption of ... & hygiene factors). Late 1960's: Edwin Locke outlined his goal setting approach to motivation. 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. ...
This leads me into the aspects and assumptions of the Theory Y. Theory Y is based on more humanistic values. It offers the following assumptions. The average person enjoys work. Work (the expenditure of physical and mental effort) is as natural as play or rest. It also assumes, the average person naturally works toward goals in which he or she has committed themselves to. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only ways to bring about effort towards organizational goals. The depth of a workers commitment to goals depends on the perceived rewards for achieving them. The most important rewards are those of self-respect and personal improvement. It assumes that under certain conditions, the average human being not only accepts responsibility, but seeks it as well. Workers are imaginative, creative, intellectual, and clever. “Rather than emphasize authority, direction, and close supervision, Theory Y emphasizes a relatively free managerial atmosphere in which workers are free to set objectives, be creative, be flexible, and go beyond the goals set by management. A key technique in meeting these objectives is empowerment. Empowerment gives employees both the right to make decisions and the tools to implement those decisions.” ( Nickels,315).
Theory Y (also sometimes referred to as “participative”) is certainly the more popular view of the relationship in the workplace between managers and workers. The trend in the United States business world is more toward this theory than to X. It works because it allows for a more comfortable work environment where people are not afraid to express themselves and their ideas to authority figures. Theory Y is so applicable today because it secures genuine commitment & efficiency. Theory Y is far more in tune with today’s workers and today’s work environment than Theory X . “In McGregors mind, the ability to help employees to discover goals consistent with those of the organization is the essence of leadership. When a genuine commitment to these objectives is secured, said McGregor, “supervision consists of helping employees achieve these objectives: to act as teacher, consultant, colleague, and only rarely as authoritative boss.” (Newstrom,227).
The Term Paper on Supervisors And Manager Employees Organization Mrwmd
I'd give you an A, not many mistakes. Just check on a few things. ORGANIZSATION CULTUREATMRWMD: DOES IT SUPPORT THE ORGANIZSATION MISSION? Table of contents? Introduction 1. The Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) had humble beginnings in 1951 when forward thinking county officials had a vision of a better waste management system for the Monterey Peninsula, ending the era of ...
Theory Y called for “job enrichment” ( a term used by Herzberg in 1964), and “empowerment” as discussed briefly earlier. A way to contribute to improved performance would be to re-design jobs and expand opportunities for self-control and self-direction. Even though a controlling role would remain in the workplace, that leader was often encouraged to remove most job restrictions and create more room for job development. This enabled employees to grow and give more of themselves and their potential to the business. A Theory Y manager tends to believe that there are alternatives to relying on pushing threats. They believe that if people feel committed they will show self-control and self-direction in achieving the organizations objectives. He/she believes that the intellectual capability of a worker should be fully utilized, and that workers are capable of handling more complex problems. Good managers, supervisors, and bosses are willing to step back periodically and examine their own assumptions about the nature and motivations of the people they oversee and work with. A Theory Y manager is more sensitive. He/She will take the time out to explain things. He/She will try to comprehend the needs of the individuals they work with. He/She will engage in joint-problem solving and interpersonal exchange with each person they work with. A Theory Y manager will take suggestions from workers, but will usually keep the power to implement it themselves. The manager’s ability to exercise power and authority comes from the workers trusting management to take care of them, and still allow them to do their jobs. Workers also have a great deal of weight and input in the decision making process. Theory Y principles have influenced the design and implementation of work policies and practices (including total quality management and staff appraisals) all over the world.
Theory X and Theory Y – Traditional management styles were based on one of two major assumptions: 1. Workers are basically lazy and must be directed, threatened and negatively motivated (Theory X) or 2. Workers are basically goal oriented and self-motivated. It is right to offer them incentives and freedom (Theory Y).
The Essay on The roles of managers and individuals
Managing the change process in an organization can be difficult for all individuals’ involved included management as well as the employees. A manager’s role during the process is to be positive, honest, and supportive by providing as much information as possible to the employees involved in the change. Most importantly the manager should lead by example and the employees will follow. An ...
Both state that managers are responsible for organizing the elements of the production process, getting workers to cooperate with eachother and stay focused on that organizations particular goals. The trouble is that no organization that we know of is really strictly one or the other. It’s mostly the individual leaders who work on behalf of the organization that will practice either X or Y management. And even still to break it down further, we need to look at the individuals that the managers are managing. What works best for one worker in a group may not work at all for another. And, what motivates one of your employees may be totally different than what motivates the others. There are even managers out there who do not want the responsibility of making crucial decisions and would prefer to be told what to do. All of these assorted types of people can be working under the same roof.
Having a clear understanding of human nature is an extremely important aspect of management in the workplace. In order for employees and employers to have a productive working environment, the workers need to know how they fit into the overall scheme of things. Persons of authority must have a clear understanding of how they can maximize production, and support their employees through appropriate leadership. It is also important for persons of authority to realistically evaluate the work environment in order to decide how he or she deals with and directs individual employees.
Aside from knowing how human nature dictates an individual workers actions, the manager must also be aware of the specific working environment, specific personalities, and specific motivational forces which drive each individual employee. This can be used to decide which actions are necessary (which theories should be applied) to motivate the workforce.
If I were in charge of an organization, I would want it to be run in the most efficient manor for production. I feel that means allowing my workers to choose by their actions the way that their leadership would be handled. I would also be sure that all of the managers that I hired were well skilled in McGregors Theory X & Theory Y. It is so important to fully understand these two theories in order to better relate to the human beings (as an understanding of human nature) that work for you and that help you each day to produce and be successful. I would choose Theory Y as an employee, to be given the opportunity to put forth my fullest potential into my work. My motivation & reward would be the pride & success I could feel in a job performance well done.
The Research paper on Human Resource Management Works Well In Theory But Not In Practice
... employment practices, both individual and collective, and wider business strategy. In conclusion, while it works well in theory surrounding the ... On the other hand, many senior managers convey the business goals to their employees by the mission statement, hoping ... Employees should be given intrinsically rewarding work rather than uninteresting functions for which pay is the sole motivation. Workers ...
